fresh days…

so i’m blogging 40 mins after the awaited hour of midnight – was in a hall filled with people, my ‘bong connection’, was awaiting a message and was awaiting a call… strange how those three things kind of sum up my past year and going according to common belief, this year as well…its strange, this does not feel like the beginning of a new year at all – much like my birthday didn’t seem like a birthday to me at all… the realization that yet another year is past is yet to dawn on me…

a few resolutions which i make for the coming sem, considering my life has become defined on sems now :
put my best in things i choose to do
participate in things i’ve always wanted to
let my ego be trampled upon – its for the good
find time for love, family and acads (order not specified)
not get too emotional at things, atleast not in front of people
value people worth being treasured
not hurt people dear to me
lose weight.

fortune

sometimes there come moments in life which you wish would freeze forever – the flood light, the discus throw area, laughter in our eyes, music in our hearts – the realm of fondness, smiles of completeness…

something about that moment left me spellbound for more than a few seconds – i slipped consciously into this reflective phase of what i was a year ago and what i have now… i have no qualms in saying that i am thankful for whatever i have… God has been more than fair to me and for that, i hope i remain credible enough, because i do not to wish to lose these pieces that make up the larger picture of me… paradoxical i know, how something peripheral is seemingly imperative in my definition of my own self…

you ask for something and you get another – and its beautiful before you even begin to realise its magnitude… God is wonderful and i simply couldn’t ask for more – i’m complete…

a realisation dawns for want of better days
He comes and waves, and i remain swayed…

as it comes…

third sem is officially over… basic spi equals basic cpi equals 8.85 – no improvement, no deterioration – consistent performance, taking a conservative stand…
the past few days have been nice… i finished my urop today – for this sem atleast… have been literally free for the first time this afternoon… love got my card and he was completely awed by it… was extremely glad he liked it – more so that his parents were impressed…
have been hanging out thesedays with roomie, bubbly, AD and saggi baby… fab five as we call ourselves… its nice to belong somewhere – and know that you have a rapport with a group of people… even it is a lukkha group though it is much more than that… have been missing love a lot less – because of this company i think…

watched the godfather today – didn’t quite appreciate it… to an extent i’m appalled at myself that i did not minimally appreciate the second greatest movie of all time according to imdb … i don’t even feel like re-watching it… it did not have the capturing quality like shawshank redemption did… that is one movie that i really would die to watch… but still, the godfather being such a legend, i’m a tad bit ashamed i did not even begin to attempt to understand the minutiae of it… at the end of the day – i didn’t like it. period.

life is wonderful in a way – no acad pressure – no time constraints… friends… fun… love

roomie bhaavana :D

me + roomie = infinite masti + lukkha + pagalpanti + mugai + gossip + mad laughter

over the course the past year and half (as we approach the end of our third semester together and grow painfully older, day after vanishing day) we can’t help but realise this bond that has managed to tie us both (metaphorically) together …

we have been christened ‘the shortest roomies in the history of H10′ (hostel 10 is the UG girls’ hostel here) and to be honest, we love each other the first days that we saw each others’ names on the ‘allotted rooms chart’, we thought ‘hogi koi… dekh lenge..’ and the journey began… slow at first when we were only adjusting to this whole new place and new people and new faces, and then there wouldn’t be a day when we wouldn’t call out ‘roomie!’ when knocking on the door… telepathy came with time, but the fastest to hit the roofs was the sound of our maddened laughter before the night of an exam when both of our brains would be switched off and we’d make the lousiest of fatte this lead to the birth of the ‘potato chips incident’ and god only knows what else…

till date, every morning is exhausted in waking her up from the infinite alarms and calls on her cell… in exchange for my, seldom but outrageous, afternoon and morning dreams recounting… peals of laughter and ‘looks’ to be exchanged in all types of situations to blabbing about things that happened… ‘you know, i know’ being in different subjects i still know all of her assignment submission dates and timetables by heart and she still refers to the paper one i made her in the beginning of the sem even after i told her the timetable logic seriously, meri pyaari roomie mahaan hai

and when we mug, its almost a friendly competition – tutes, notebooks and texts to be devoured in, at a maximum of, from three nights before the deadly day…

the little things remain unsaid – her pile of books on her forver scattered table which comes to some sense of orderliness after midsems and before going home, the fact that all the FA related stationery she will borrow from my ‘brown blue pencilbox’ despite the fact that she has it as well, how i’ll always hang the lock behind the door and she on her table, lan cord ke pange, dominos stuffed crust non veg extravaganza, tilted lappies which shall remain our trademark forever, the fact that she never wakes up before its 8 30 no matter how much you try, my ‘haath dhona hai – oh shit! baarish hone vaali hai‘, dhobi ghaat every alternate weekend, how her slippers miraculously manage to end up on my side of the bed every morning, how council meets are painfully dealt with through half hearted mugai, donut treats and grub oh and i forgot to mention, we’re both carmelites

made for each other

reunion :)

that’s the five of us, i think in july 2003… and this is the five of us again in october this year :

namita (tallest), divya and gunjan (on namita’s right and left respectively), and tusheeta and me sitting (from left to right)…

felt good to meet all of them but had to leave early… didn’t talk as much i’d wished we would… but felt nice to meet after 3 years…

shubho bijoya :)

today is officially the last day of Durga Puja – or pujo as we call it… the idol is immersed today and otherwise, all over india its dussehra – or dashami… this time pujo just whizzed past because i had exams on monday, tuesday and wednesday – four of them… i was so busy in preparing for them that i could only give anjali on ashtami and have bhog on that day… didn’t go to pandals in any of the evening – though had invitations from a specific someone… i’ve never missed home as much ever before…

gargi, ana had called day before evening when they were going to have the ‘world famous’ egg rolls of the sector 35 banga bhavan pujo at chandigarh… the fun, the lights, the noise, the people decked up in new clothes, smelling of proshad and bhog, little kids peforming on stage, elders performing plays by rabindranath and the like, the protima – in daak-er-shaaj, the smell of camphor from the hands of the thakurmoshai, smiles on peoples faces, children running about, the octagenarians cooling off under fans, meetings and greetings, dhaak, dhol, dhunuchi naach, everything… oh how i miss it all…

and to think today is the last day and i didn’t see even an iota of all this stuff… pujo – totally nonexistent for me… i wonder how my di sitting in ithaca is feeling… thank god i’m going home in exactly another fortnight

PS : officially crossed 5,000 hits

rambles in brambles

quit camp – i can’t even walk properly, turn sides while sleeping, it hurts to laugh and i wish i never had to sneeze again… clarification : did not GIVE UP – it’s not physically possible for a ‘non sporty’ person ( equals a person who has not even engaged in even one hour of any kind of sport, even running, with the past year ) to go from zilch to 4 hours of swimming in a day…not being a wuss… but given one month, i would’ve been up to it… the main reason i went for it is because i like to swim but i’ve never done any kind of competitive sports… i’m quitting camp, not swimming… i definitely want to give it a shot next year with full and gradual prep for the camp… ma said i could hurt myself if i continued stressing my muscles like this – sure i can swim atleast for an hour for a day before i graduate to 2 and then 3… but not like this 0 to 4…

anyway, now that swimming is off the cards, have a few things i hope to qualify for… and lots of fight on acads… seriously need to study… cleared out a few things – cleared out a bit of my conscience…

western vocals classes, well – let’s hope the coming ones are better… wanted to sing for Unplugged… let’s see – better luck next time… and yes – i’m going for the zubin mehta concert (fingers crossed) with nithya if no other one

birthday – part 1

a week ago i was all un-enthusiastic about my birthday… i had wished my birthday were just a day i turned 19 and i could sign a form and it would be done… i was not at all excited about it…

but come mr. saviour – he turned my mood around, albeit after withstanding a lot of stubbornness and adamancy ( is that a word? ) i became excited about it… the day that i call mine – the day where i’m celebrated the excitement was back – and i found myself awaiting midnight like anything…

his card had reached two days before; and a day before – my sis’s card with cat earrings ( i’m building my animal collection – i already had frogs and butterflies )
and it was midnight! – my batchies were searching for me cuz i was in a desolate room speaking to him
anyway, i went downstairs – cut the heart shaped chocolate cake, gave everyone a piece of the cake and there was a dance party upstairs in the super lounge – danced till 2 30am !

i got huge birthday card from deepika – with all the messages in miniature origami things – with a page reserved for the roomie and pseudo-roomie aka spoon waster
we have this tradition here the roomie gets the cake and a card that is signed by the entire batch – and the cake is cut at midnight and i got bumps! – literal kicks on the butt!

there was a prank firing back bring me to tears over the birthday card surprise but we sorted it out – thanks to deepika
and i got a new clipboard with pics of seashells from tejal cuz she lost mine and tejal and swarna got locked out of their room – yet again! ( they lost the keys to their room twice in two days! )… a gift’s waiting for me inside their room… i’ll get it today i think

and then my love has made me a list of 11 songs to be heard today – and he’s telling me which song to listen to when :

1. ‘wonderwall’ by oasis – to be heard after midnight on my birthday
2. ‘ab na jaa’ by euphoria – heard before going to sleep
3. ‘for emily, wherever i may find her’ by simon and garfunkel – just after waking up
4. ‘kahan se tu aati hai’ by lucky ali – after breakfast

and there are more to come as the day progresses…

i feel so so lucky and loved – divya and he called; prerna, kalyani, shamit… lots of people i’m so loved – i’m so glad

update : tejal and swarna found their room keys with the watchie of all people! i wonder how it landed up with him…

jaane tu… ya jaane na

went with divya yesterday… had wanted to watch it but wasn’t exactly craving it…

the movie is a nice feel-good romantic fun movie… the first half is typical college life – a bit boring… but the second half brings it to life… the excessively cute and mischeivous genelia d’souza and trying-hard-to-be-chocolate boy imraan khan make a cute couple

a lot of the scenes are at st xaviers, marine drive and band stand… bringing back a handful of memories to me…

enjoy the movie must watch it once

one week of hols left :(

time flies, it really does… and in a week and two days i have to board that inevitable flight back to college… these hols were simply the best and i really really don’t want them to end… i wish all life were hols

for the record, this was officially the best summer ever… may was one hell of a roller coaster ride and i loved all the twists, turns and loops ( the past 11 days ) june was a week in awesome andamans, a week in sultry yet oh-so-homely calcutta… and after cal, it was two glorious weeks at home… july, well, i’m still at home and rest latter half will, alas, be at insti…

what i did at home : read and read – digital fortress, deception point – both by dan brown, the devil and miss prym – paulo coelho, the cracking codebook – simon singh and halfway through ‘the adventures of feluda’ – satyajit ray…

dan brown,well, here’s the gist of the four books : one world disasterous situation… a maiden and her faithful scientist… one high class dude who wants to save the maiden because of senti reasons… and lethal killing troupe who are ruthless and have no idea who their employer is

paulo coelho is what ma calls too intellectual… you need to see as he ’sees’… his writings are vague yet i find them enjoyable… kind brings in a deeper aspect to your soul if you want to understand his writing, that is…

the cracking codebook – the history of cryptology, the evolution of ‘unbreakable’ ciphers… lost fame and recognition and wit at its very best… a MUST read for anyone who enjoyed dan brown and also others, even otherwise

feluda – a bengali detective, class apart – satyajit ray’s works of art come to life through his words ( though i’m reading the version translated to english cuz i ain’t that fluent in bangla )

and… i met up with a lot of friends with whom i didn’t think i’d ever meet up… painted bathroom tiles and kitchen tiles ceramic painting – the latest obsession for me

and ofcourse, conversations at 6pm

sums up the summer of 2008 was simply awesome

iitb cracks chaos at iima :D

well, my first college fest out of my own college… my first college trip absolute unadulterated ( ) fun !!!

first the results :
first in street play; first and second in hindi band competition; second in hindi music solo vocals; first in rangoli; first in face painting; first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth in pictoretto; first in english creative writing; fifth in paper dress design…
but we missed out on all the dance events and the debates…
btw, ritika harsh and i comprised of the team that came second in pictoretto… cash prize of Rs 1500 split amonst 3 our first outside insti win !!!
basically, chaos is iima’s cultural festival… it was to be held from 1st to the 3rd of feb… the iitb contingent decided to reach on saturday cuz friday is a working day… we left on friday evening at 7 hoping to make to iima at 7 30am on saturday… but we were stuck in a 6 hour traffic jam although, we made up by singing ourselves hoarse and played LOTS of mafia and dumb c
anyway, as i said before, i went as part of the fa contingent but (forgive me if i’m boasting ) i was a part of the lit and music contingent as well… so basically, i had an awesome time with everyone is almost the whole of the contingent…

the campus of iima is GOD – literally… i’m serious… i stepped onto the pavement in front of the main building and was overawed at the majesty and sophistication of the entire atmosphere… you need to go see it for your self…

all in all, it was a really memorable first college trip hope there are lots more to come

JAM

11 30 pm, the beginning of the night
deb secy neha knocks loudly on my door
i’m not quite in a fright
except my first chem quiz’s score.

we get the fundae, ritika banging the table to often
she’s speaking like a professional, without giving me a chance to soften.

at length i break the ice
coming up with random words in a trice.
six of us initially and three passers-by join in
from what they see, its fun jammin’

stuttering and pausing, i’m jammed again and again
only to jam someone else and ramble on about Jill and Jane.

the art of jamming, i finally gather
is speaking rubbish and mindless chatter
confidence should ooze with every syllable you utter
you shall be jammed, in case you stutter.

interesting rounds like alphabet
with each sentence starting with the letter next.
also others like disconnect, called ‘disco’
connect any two sentences in the history of the game,
and you’re in a fiasco.
another involving no four letter words leaves you in a fix
counting the letters before every word you speak,
you’re almost an adding whiz.
there’s simple story building, to sharpen your skills
say your sentences with panache and the others you thrill.

jamming is fun, and though i fumble
i intend to carry on and not stumble
its with continued enthu in each art you show
that you actually as a person grow.

this thing has caught on so fast,
you’ll find us freshies jamming on the mess table
even at breakfast!

can’t wait to try it out with someone very dear
maybe i’ll have to wait till the coast is clear.

ps another round of jamming is one called rhyme
each sentence you speak has to rhyme with the previous line
as you can see, i’m still down with jamming fever
though i hope in the process, i become a bit more clever

music enthu junta

godmax day
four lectures in the morning – two tutes… first ever mech workshop – filed a wooden piece and my biceps are aching
attended a classical concert at the insti convo hall… chatted infi with anirudh, yash, sourabh, nithya…
and, BEST part – had awesome dinner – 5 types of salad including hawaiian chicken salad… Chinese! after a decade! awesome noodles, garlic chicken and yea, watermelon juice
and after that, open pot pourri elims with ritika and neha…
all in all, an AWESOME day :D:D

congrats to…

to aditi and gargi for clearing the first round of the chemistry and biology olympiad. they will shine. i know it. i wish them all the luck!

diwali… alone…?

this is the first time in my life i’m going to spend diwali – the festival of lights – alone… alone in this hostel room, with no one to talk to and no one who’s voice i can hear… had gone home for pujo and going back in december after the sem ends… so it was unreasonable to make three trips in three months…

but decided to get some diyas and light them on the sill of the corridor outside my room… just atleast to have my ‘place’ lighted on this auspicious day – as after all, light is the main element in diwali…

back home, baba and i go diya shopping the previous day… buy about a 100 diyas… we’ come home – he washes them and i lay them out to dry in the afternoon autumn sunshine – arranging them on about 4-5 big thalis and trays… then, on diwali morning, baba and i make ’sholte’ all morning… and in the afternoon, after lunch and having bathed, we lay them out on big trays, absolutely ready to be laid on the verandah sill – just oil to be poured…

in particular, there is this silver diya which i don’t know from where we got… but, that one, i insist, be lighted with ghee and be placed on my study table, near my books… that silver diya burns all night…

on diwali evening… around 7 (sunset happens around 6 at chandigarh during the beginning of november) i pour the oil in all the diyas… and baba helps me… he takes the tray while i evenly space the diyas as i lay them… and always, the wind keeps on extinguishing the diyas on one side of the house (we have a verandah at the back of the house as well as the front)… that is frustrating but i go check on my diyas every fifteen minutes, a lighted candle at the ready to light an extinguished one…

after the diyas are all laid out, i light candles between the diyas… and since we live on the second floor, i keep some of the diyas separately to be lit along the staircase… 40 steps to climb until i reach my home…four landings before every ten steps… i put three diyas on every landing…

ma comes in the evening… she works in this private clinic… she doesn’t have an off day on republic day, let alone diwali… she comes and the two of us make alpona… with zinc oxide powder, water and a johnson bud…

i miss all this,,, i’m almost crying as i type out this line… i want to call up my friends and wish them happy diwali… but somehow, i’ve lost of all of my friends to time and me – my enemy…

i miss being home… seing the buildings lighted… seeing every nook and cranny illuminated… the beautiful fireworks in the sky… i miss you baba… i miss you ma… i miss you gargi, ana and all the fun we used to have… i miss you all so much…