musings

Pillow

2010-05-16T14:43:00.000-07:00

Soft and quiet, is my pillow
In its softness, I wallow
All through the night, we cuddle and sleep
Even when I am in slumber deep

With arms around, its close to my heart
Its so small, I don't know where to start
It never complains if I pull it tight
Never have we been in a fight

Sweet little thing, it never has any expectation
I just wish it were great in conversation
It looks so pretty, with all the flowers
I wish I could stare at it for hours

I come and go, whenever I want
And still it would never taunt
Never has it any expectation
As if I were its only infatuation

This is dedicated to my pillow, which has faithfully seen me through many a night!

November, week 3

2009-11-17T14:32:00.000-08:00

Fall, leaves

Sunlight on bedroom window

m & m

Sandwich and the olive

2009-07-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

Sandwiches are a grad student's best friend. They come cheap, can be made in a jiffy and you can eat them anywhere anytime (ask Joey). They need not be microwaved like most other food, nor be refrigerated lest they get spoiled soon. Also so far I had found them very convenient to eat, primarily because I am clumsy when it comes to eating and everything else either drips or breaks or melts or splashes!

I eyed my sandwich with a savory delight. Filled with lettuce, tomato slices, onion rings, bell peppers, cheese, mayonnaise and one olive. Actually I had put 3 round succulent olives but the other two had gone missing somewhere between my kitchen where I made the sandwich and my lab where I ate it. I munched through my sandwich as the conversation in my lab took on a lighter and jovial turn with my advisor away for a conference. Very soon I had finished all of it save a small piece and I had intentionally left the olive there as I wanted to have it in my last bite.

It happened then. As I dug into the remaining slice, the olive decided to go for a walk. With it it also took along some cheese and lots of mayonnaise. First stop was my new tshirt. It rolled all the way from the round neck collar till my belly button. There it met an obstacle in the form of my belt whence it decided to take a slight jump and continue its journey along my jet black trousers leaving a neat streak along the zipper so that to a casual onlooker in my lab it seemed as if I just got a bit too excited seeing the crow flying outside the window.

Meanwhile the journal paper I was reading with the other hand slipped from my hand as I tried to save the olive. Somehow defying the laws of physics that landed first on ground and the olive on top of it. Not satisfied yet, the olive decided to roll on further under the desk and then went into a dark corner when I finally lost interest in it.

Friends

2009-06-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

Last week one of my closest friends from IITM was visiting US. 12 months feels like an awfully long time to be away from people with whom you have shared four years of coexistence, so I was delighted when I heard that he was coming to Washington. I had planned to meet him in the weekend(the one that just went by).

I was trying to finish my pending assignments for the next week, working overnights, and sometimes coming back to the apartment only to crash so that I could take the weekend off. Except for booking my tickets, I had planned almost everything and waited in anticipation of the trip.

We were supposed to finalize our plans as soon as he landed, but it was not until 5 days later that I got a call from him. Imagine my disappointment when I learnt that he had a very busy schedule and hence we won't be able to meet.

I guess as we grow up work becomes such a strong point of focus that everything else just blurs into oblivion. And that is sad at times.

------------------------------------**-----------------------------------------

I needed a journal paper urgently today for a pending course project. However I couldn't access any electronic source from the department server today. So, I mailed a few friends with the link hoping that someone should be able to get it and mail me within a day or so.

I was surprised to find several copies of the paper in my inbox within the hour. Every single one of them had tried to download it and sent it to me within an hour!

This again affirms my faith in the fact that however busy we are, friends can always rely on each other, and rightly so.

Today

2009-05-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

I saw her on my way to the lab. I walk or cycle nowadys as the weather is simply brilliant. Warm and sunny, albeit a bit too dry for my taste. I saw her as I walked down Neil ave and she was crying.

She pointed towards a kitten lying motionless beside the sidewalk. It was a furry little thing, light brown with tiny little paws. It had succumbed to the carelessness of some reckless driver on the road, and this girl, seeing it lying injured on the road, had stopped to help it. She had taken it to the sidewalk and was looking around for help, but the kitten was already dead by the time I met her.

Then we tried to look for its owner in the neighboring houses; a kitten this small couldn't have gone far from its home. But no one answered to our calls. Everyone seemed to be sleeping tight on a holiday or away somewhere. After a futile search we finally came upon an old couple who promised to bury the cat at their backyard.

-----------------------------------**-------------------------------------
I was on my way back home after a long day at the lab. Its been pretty dry and hot for the last few days though its still nothing compared to the severity of Chennai.

The nights are better though and I love walking back alone from the lab in the cool dark night. The air was heavy with sweet smell of flowers, and it was just beginning to rain. The smell of damp earth mesmerized me, and reminded me of days gone by.

It reminded me of my days in school when I used to walk back all drenched, my bag soaking wet, and my shoes and socks brown and muddy. Mom would scold us for spoiling my school uniform, so I and my sister would try to wash them before she came back home. Now, I am sure she wouldn't scold me for anything. She misses me far too much for that.

The smell reminded me of the days back at IIT when we used to play footer in the rain in our little hostel quadrangle. It reminded me of the walks I used to take sometimes with Setia, just to get drenched, and then go to Gurunath for a cup of steaming hot tea.

It reminded me of the times I spent sharing an umbrella with her, for more than two years. We always used only one umbrella even when we had two. Heavier the rain, better it was. We made ample use of the deserted streets and umbrella, warily looking over each others shoulders in case someone spotted us :P

It also reminded me of the day I had my first flight while coming here to US. I was finally in the clouds, nervous with excitement as the plane swayed and tossed about in the inclement weather.

I am so glad the wet earth smells the same everywhere.

Photo: A footer match in the Godav quadrangle.

My Hands

2009-05-14T17:45:00.001-07:00

They feel weird. I don't know what to do with them anymore.

It was perfectly fine a few months ago. They never asserted their existence, but were always there whenever I needed them. They were there to hold a pen as I screwed yet another exam, to hold a muffin while I ate it, to hold a bat as I got bowled over on the very first ball. Even when seemingly I was doing nothing but walking, they were always there beside me subtly adding to the balance.

They even saved my life that day as I hung outside the door of a female compartment holding on to the bars of the train door for over two hours in the dead of the night.

It all started with the winter. The frigid cold here forces one to keep ones hands inside the pockets. Now, after doing that for over 4 months, with the cold giving way to warm sunshine they simply don't know what to do.

They search for a pocket, but don't find the once familiar jacket. From the perspective of a third person, it must be pretty interesting. Imagine the pair of hands going towards the sides of one's belly, and after a slight hesitation, sliding inwards and downwards, not knowing what to do.

A tshirt or a shirt doesn't have pockets down at the sides where a jacket normally has and hence, I tuck them into the pockets of my trousers. But the weather is warm now, and that is not a very comfortable posture to walk anyway. So out they come. Then suddenly I feel the presence of these two appendages hanging from my shoulders, not kowing where to go, and what to do, still searching for pockets.

Girls are crazy,

2009-05-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

well, at least half of them.

The other half make the people around them go crazy.

Sucker for soccer

2009-05-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

I played soccer again after a long long time. It was so long that the football felt weird between my legs. Well there were a lot of things that were different compared to the 6-a-side we used to play at the hostel quadrangle.
The best thing about the match that day was the playground. I had never played on such a lush green field! It took some time getting used to the soft, bouncy feeling with every step I took, but it was just fabulous. There were a few good players too, and it was a pleasure playing with them.

Another interesting fact was the presence of 4 girls in our team. Talking about girls, I was a fairly strong believer of the beauty-is-inversely-proportional-to-footer-skills hypothesis. Not any more. That hypothesis has been proved false and replaced with the hotter=better hypothesis, which apart from being more concise is more versatile in its applications.

All of them played as defenders, and pretty good at that; not all owing to their dribbling skills of course :P. Rather than kick the ball when they got a chance, the strikers of the other team would for some mysterious reason try caressing the ball slowly towards the goal as if they were afraid its the ball that would get hurt otherwise and not the girls!

No wonder, after leading the match 4-0, we finally lost it 7-5 after the girls in our team left.

Blown away!

2009-05-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

It says: Yer arrrrrcount has left to fight some scurvy traitorous rogues, but will return. This be not a marooning! Better luck next time ye scurvy sea dog after a few sots o' rum.

Things like these are what scary nightmares are made of! I hope my account hasn't been hacked.
Also I wish I hadn't changed my language settings so that this thing made more sense. :P

An evening away from lab

2009-05-02T22:08:00.000-07:00

I am not a fan the races, but when a few friends invited, for the lack of anything more exciting, I just decided to go and watch the Kentucky Derby. Besides, my friend assured me that there would be good food, and that is reason enough for any grad student to venture out of his lab. There were about 15 of us, and we all contributed 1$ each, and random chits with a horse number allocated to us. Whoever won, was supposed to get all the money. I had a ticket for No 9

The race was intense. No 5 was leading followed by 17. Imagine my surprise when we all discovered that "5" was actually 9! The jockey, the moron that he was was blocking the view partially.

Trifles apart, I was excited; my luck had never been any good, rather lady luck has always punched me in the face, and when I stumbled kicked me from behind. You get the idea. Only a few seconds of the race were left and I was eyeing the cash with glee. The horse was named "Join in the dance" and I did that with full abandon.

Then as people there would testify, lady luck came and did her part again, and I was left with my foot in my mouth. Now you know why I called him a moron in the first place!

After that, we went to short north, and it being the first Saturday of the month again, there was festivity everywhere. Open galleries, music, art, food and beauty; the atmosphere was ripe with such noble things. It was the stuff that made one's heart sing, and induced a spring in ones step. I and my Canadian friend roamed on the crowded streets and admired the beauty: natural, aesthetic as well as feminine. We went to a few art galleries, saw paintings, sculptures budding musicians on the street struggling to attract attention and discussed the trials and tribulations of a grad life.

We finally went to a bar where we had chicken wings and carried on our discussions. But that didn't go very far. After all a bunch of girls were having a bachelor's party beside us and an exciting ice hockey match was on the huge television. One of the girls from the group came to the table for a drink, and I noticed something sticking out of her cleavage! On careful observation, it turned out to be a small plastic replica of what Joey (in FRIENDS) refers to as a soldier or Little Joey.

I am a gentleman and all that, but I just couldn't control bursting into a guffaw. Thankfully she was drunk and just said "Hello."

Why me!

2009-04-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

It was raining, and I decided to open my umbrella; a brand new that I bought only a few weeks ago. It had served me well a couple of times earlier. However as I pushed it out to open, some quirk of fate incited the top part including the rib to just fly away, and I was left with the handle in my hands. One of my profs decided to make an entrance just then, and made her presence felt by the squeal of laughter at my antics. I have seldom felt more foolish as I did that day chasing the flying rib with the handle in my hands. The fact that the prof in question was a beautiful lady was not helping at all.

My morning had not started beautifully either. Last two days had be very warm (after Chennai, hot seems like an overrated adjective here). So I decided to embrace the prevalent cool summer style comprising of shorts, cotton tees and sunglasses. After a last touch to my hair and a few seconds of narcissism in front of the mirror, I stepped out of the house to catch the bus.
It suddenly hit me that I couldn't see anything. It didn't take long to realize that it was due to the overcast sky and it was going to be a cold and wet day. The bus was already at the stop, so I had no time to go back and change. Though I tried to put up a brave face, I shivered the whole day. The only consolation I had was wondering what an inspiration I would have been to the girls** here.

**The hot pant hypothesis: At any spatial point inside the OSU campus, at any point of time, it is possible to spot at least one girl wearing shorts(hot pants) within a time span delta t, where delta t<=5 min. The above statement is valid for all weather and all seasons.

A few days ago, it was like this

2009-04-15T14:08:00.001-07:00

But now, its like this:

And I am doing this

Whats in a name!

2009-04-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

Chunnu Munnu. That shall be your names. Thus spoke gods of Godav as two skinny, terrified and confused freshies looked in horror, struggling to come to terms with the magnanimity of the event that just occured. One of them was me, known to the world at large as Santosh till then and the other used to called Abhishek before that day.

I was in fact relieved to some extent because till then I had heard names like Chutputra(CP) , KLPD, Lauda, Sarya and BJ (Blowjob). At least this was a name I won't mind telling my parents or being shouted from the other side of a busy street.

In IIT, freshers are christened with a new name as soon as they enter and that is the only thing people will know you by for 4 years and in all probability for ever. Names, that are the result of whims and fancies of seniors and in most cases are not at all connected to any characteristic of the person concerned. Many a times people do have good names with awesome "fundaes." Funda of our name can be derived from our physical appearance and the fact that we both looked very much like two long-lost-brothers-reunited-in-a-mela.

As I said earlier clean names like mine are a rarity and in spite of it sounding childish, I actually enjoyed it. Sometimes it did get in the way of my batting (when I was trying to pataofy my gf) but then how can you expect a girl to take you seriously with a name like that. All is well that ends well, so I can leave it at that. On the other hand I have been allowed a few concesssions because of my name. A clean "good boy" image is one of them. For 4 years I have got so used to the name that someone calling me Santosh makes me a little uncomfortable.

Problem started when I left IIT. I don't know why people tend to call me Munna instead of Munnu here. I patiently exlain that its 'u' ........... 'Munnu,' even explain my funda in the hope that it'll help drive home the point. They say, its the same. It means the same.

How does one explain that its not the same!

Grub are there!

2009-03-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

After being used to mom-cooked delicious food at home for over 15 years and mess food at IITM which though of dubious taste and origin is at least served regularly, grad student life hits you hard initially when one has to cook for oneself. With the measly pay, you can't expect us to buy food everyday!

So, it is with considerable eagerness that I look forward to the Friday after seminar coffee and cookies and the occasional grad-prof tea-coffee. In fact free food draws grad students like the opposite ends of a magnet. In fact, after a few days one attains a level of proficiency such that there isn't even a need to scourge noticeboards for the next free coffee hour. Assisted by your nostrils, you just home in to the correct room.

A few weeks ago, as I was walking back from the administrative building, my nostrils caught a faint whiff of warm bagels and muffins in the vicinity. Within seconds, I was able to locate the target inside our fitness center and proceeded thence without delay. There were a few people around looking at pictures and posters displayed around a center table. I smiled my way to the table without paying much attention to what was going on around. Just as I was about to take a plate, someone said "Hi!"

I won't go into the details of what happened next; suffice it to say that it was a health workshop for homosexuals. As I looked around, the posters and pictures started making sense and I optimized my way to the shortest exit with a fake smile pasted on my face.

The only thing I regret is that I forgot the plate of muffins and bagels that I had so assiduously assembled.

The phone call

2009-02-08T21:37:00.000-08:00

My thoughts drifted towards him gradually.
I was waiting for the simulation to end. The flying molecules on the screen reminded me of stars and wistful thoughts about the last 23 years of my life swarmed in my head. Glimpses of time spent with family and friends flooded my thoughts which gradually homed in towards my school days and finally settled on that one face which I saw almost everyday for 12 years.

We weren't the best of friends to begin with. If I had known the definition of a "geek" back then, I might have described him so, but in retrospect the ravages of time have muddled the clarity of his image. He never saw a 2nd (or higher) rank on his report card, and his idea of fun was to sit with a geography book in the games field while I was engaged in a fruitless chase of a football somewhere in the vicinity. I used to rank somewhere in 30's and 40's in a class of 50, and soccer was my primary motivation in life back then.

It all changed when I ended up sharing the same table with him in class 7. I was simply awed by his personality and his academic abilities and as the year went by, I forged a new friendship and realized that he was more human than I had taken for granted, and like me he had his likes (BJP, environment, Agatha Christie.....) and dislikes (drawing class, biology, girls? .....).

We used to read story books together, and by the time I read 5 lines, he would be at the end of the page and wait for me patiently to finish the page before turning. But slowly, I tried to catch up and within a few months I found my reading speed substantially enhanced. This is just one of the many things in my life that changed for the better since then. That year I ranked 3rd.

Coming back to the present, I suddenly felt a strong urge to talk to him. I suddenly wanted to know what he was doing, what did he eat today and where did he go.

I flipped out my mobile, only to realize that I didn't have any of the numbers from India stored there. A search through my gmail resulted in zilch, nor was he online then. I rummaged through old pocked diaries old phone diaries and finally came up with 3 different numbers associated with his name from three different places.

"The Vodafone number you are calling is no reachable." was the response I got from the first number. The second try also resulted in a similar disappointment.

The familiar ringing sound pumped up my spirits a bit as I dialled the third and final number. After a few minutes of ringing, it stopped. "Maybe he is away from his phone," I thought and tried again. I redialled a few more times during the next half an hour, but without any response. Finally, as I was about to succumb to the futility of my endeavor, a voice answered at the other end.

But it wasn't his voice, nor was it in a language familiar to me. It sounded like Tamil. I said sorry to the guy at the other end and hung up. My simulation had ended by now, and once again I was back to chasing molecules.

P.S. I finally talked to him a day later, but I wish I could reach (at least talk/chat) anyone anytime, or rather some people who stir up emotions buried deep in my heart.

The football match

2009-02-01T20:08:00.000-08:00

was definitely the highest point of the day. The superbowl is the biggest game of the year, and it was a unique experience to watch it with so many people. An American friend had invited me over to watch the game and it was fun to watch it with his friends. It was at a house with many kids around too, and that lent a very homely atmosphere to the whole experience.
The commercials were no less interesting than the game and I hear that many people watch this game just for the crazy commercials!

Today the weather went crazy again! It was about 3 deg above zero today and it felt like spring! But I am sure it'll be back to freezing tomorrow with lots of ice everywhere :(

Tomorrow I have a morning class at 8:30, and that right after a weekend makes it worse. My resolution for the coming week: More badminton!

Journal entry for 31st January 2008

2009-01-31T21:41:00.000-08:00

What I cooked for dinner: Karela (bittergourd) and french omlette(with beans tomatoes and spinach) with rice and dal.

Today morning was spent in the company of about 30 other Indians celebrating Saraswati Puja. That was followed by a lavish(by grad student standards) lunch cooked by my labmates and various other friends. It felt almost like back home and was fun.
The weather turned out to be treacherous. The morning started at -16 deg C and by a late afternoon it was close to -2. The melting ice lead to slippery roads and I narrowly escaped landing on my back more than once. Scarier were the icicles hanging from every nook and corner (see picture).

With not many assignments lined up for next week, I am going to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

In retrospect

2008-12-31T17:04:00.000-08:00

Cliched it shall be, but its difficult to let this year go by without savouring a chosen few moments gone by. After all, this was the year when more things happened than in any other year of my life; maybe.

There were were some happy moments. Placements had almost got over by January and thankfully most of my wingmates were placed. So the first quarter of the year was spent in treats, more so because it was our final semester at IIT and for many in Chennai too, but most importantly because it was the last few months with friends who were as integral a part of my life as my family before I came to IIT-M. Saarang was also a good time, especially with no classes (not that there were much in the final semester anyway). Then there was Holi and like every year, we tore each other's clothes.

I got an MS admit and an RAship too within a few days and this was one of the biggest events of my life since I got through JEE. Surprisingly, I wasn't that elated even though studying abroad was one of my childhood dreams. My first flight was no letdown nor were the first few days in US. A new country, new culture, new people and a completely independent life were nothing short of a thrill to my dreamy mind.

However, the enormous change that this year has witnessed, it also left behind some ugly scars. Leaving IIT was one of the most difficult events in my life. I was one of the last one's to leave (fact that my girlfriend was interning in Chennai might have had something to do with it) and to see the hostel become empty like a deserted banquet hall after a party did bring a lump to my throat more than once.

My cousin got married and it was a happy occasion for our family but I wasn't there. Ocaasions like these when all family members come together are rare and I hate to miss those.

The aggravating economy had many victims and some of my friends were also among those. Then the numerous bombings and attacks all over India also scared me to my wits. I did not lose any friend or relative, but the banality of such attacks does paint an eerie picture.

With a lot to look forward to in the coming year, I am ready to move on, carrying these memories with me to relish them once in a while.
Photos: Sunrise at Besant Nagar beach, cricket with wingmates and Holi.

cricket

2008-12-16T08:12:00.001-08:00

2003 world cup was the last time I enjoyed cricket. Back then I was as devout a fan as any other Indian. My 12th board exams were on, but I wouldn't have missed a match for the world!

But it was back then, long long ago. Somehow all my enthusiasm for the sport has just fizzled out during my college years. Match fixing, the long hours for a single match; I myself don't know what exactly was the catalyst, but the sport doesn't interest me anymore.

This is precisely why I was amused when I had a lump in my throat on hearing about Kumble's retirement. I have my heroes, and they were never dictated by the player's performance, records, style, or any other logical parameter. Dravid, Kumble, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Agarkar and Srinath are the only players I adore and it took just one match in each case to develop a liking for each of them. Jadeja too was once part of this list.

I rejoiced at their successes and my subconcious mind always found a plausible and forgivable reason for their failure. The 300+ partnership between Ganguly and Dravid is still one of my most enjoyable moments related to cricket. I had watched that match with "all" my cousins during my uncle's marriage.

Cricket was the perfect bond for most students back at school and many a lunch break was spent discussing a previous day match. Though soccer was my forte, I preferred playing cricket simply because most of my friends did.

With just two of them remaining it may not be long before I completely forget such a game existed.

Interesting

2008-12-05T07:17:00.000-08:00

You know continuum mechanics is getting into your head when names of a couple like Mohan Pandey & Rajni Mohan conjure up visions of tensorial notation Aij Bki!

Life in a new country is like beginning a new one altogether. Almost every experience seems a novelty. So many interesting things to tell but sadly so less time.

Worth mentioning are the thanksgiving celebrations with an American Family. UN International Festival, the trips downtown, first snowfall etc. But more on these later.

I got my first camera yesterday and here are some pictures of my desk, and a view from the window of my lab.

My weekend

2008-11-10T11:59:00.000-08:00

was awesome!
Saturday was spent in volunteering for AID at the the Columbus International Festival. It was a fun event with food and dance from various assorted countries. Check out the pics below

After the event, later that night at home we made palak paneer and a carrot cake :) . What more can a grad student as for!

The abundance of foliage in red, yellow and orange simply catches one's breath away. Having enjoyed the fall season for its beauty I am equally eager for the winter if not for anything else then just for the novelty of snow! However with the weather getting colder, its becoming tough to go out. I would have liked to enjoy more of the beauty the fall at Columbus had to offer.

Diwali in America

2008-10-29T19:22:00.001-07:00

I wouldn't have known it was Diwali but for the few calls from friends and relatives. We woke up as usual, had our diurnal dose of corn flakes and I went to lab. Had a lot of work that day, so came back later than usual. By The time I reached home at about 9 o'clock, Gera, my roommate was already there.
Tired, we had no enthusiasm to cook anything special either. I don't even remember what we had!

Later at night we were reminiscing about last year Diwali at IIT, and the year before when Gera suddenly started, "Abe this doesn't feel like Diwali. Lets do something"!

After half an hour of brainstorming on "how to have fun on Diwali," we finally agreed on making rasmalai. As with all excited-new-grad-students-away-from-home, we had an improvised recipe inspired by half a dozen websites (including a 6 min long video on youtube! ) within ten minutes, and it took another ten to execute the concoction. Gera was universally chosen to be the guinea pig in case it turned out lethal.

It turned out to be awesome! :)

PS: A belated happy Diwali everyone. Hope you had fun.

Grad life ver1.0

2008-09-30T14:11:00.000-07:00

I'm broke. Well not exactly as I still have $3.73 in my account and $0.99 in cash, but thats the standard answer I have for anything that requires an investment of more than 25 cents.
And I am particularly not happy about my current state of finances because I can't go to watch this.
I read Great Expectations when I was in 11th std as part of my English course. And it had a great influence on me. The brilliance of the book lies in ease with which teens of that age relate to the book. I must have read it at least ten times, and every time I discovered something new which I had missed earlier!
Coming back to my present state of affairs, graduate life is sad, especially till you get your first paycheck. Though there have been fun moments too! Classes started on 24th, and the whole of the week is celebrated as "Welcome Week."
Now put 52000(approx) students in a university(which is the largest in US currently!) and celebration takes on a whole new meaning. It was one week of free food, free t-shirts, free time, music, DJ, dance. Add a brilliant weather and it feels like paradise.
Well that day I was talking to my mom and my sis and happened to mention oval which is sort of the center of all happenings around here. For some reason they both end up searching flickr for oval and end up with this result! I'm sure that if I didn't have a girlfriend already I'd have had a tough time explaining what I've been enjoying out here :P

Kindergarten

2008-08-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

Go on, have your laugh. But lets see how many can recognize me in this kindergarten pic.
I wish I remembered more of my kindergarten days. However there are a few things that do stand out in my memory.

I spent the first three years at "Arya Wonderland". It had one big swing, and I never got a place in it. The bullies used to scare me away.

I had a friend, Sasmita (third from right, bottom row) , in KG-I. We used to share our tiffin boxes. I sincerely wish I could remember more about her and our friendship back then. I completely lost contact with her after joining Std 1 in a boy's school. I met her once on a train journey after 1st sem at IIT, but I couldn't see any trace of my old friend in her.
Somehow, we tend to keep with us the old image of friends we haven't met in a long time. The heart finds it difficult to acknowledge the change a person might have undergone just as we ourselves have changed. Thats why people find it shocking when they hear so and so is smoking now, or so and so has a girlfriend.

I was the shortest in my class (till std 7!) and used to stand at the front of the queue during morning assembly. Few realize that this was one of the primary reasons I couldn't indulge in any mischief in my younger days and not because I was shy!

I was placed 1st in a frog race when I was in KG-I. I don't remember winning a "1st" prize ever again!

Our house had a huge open space adjoining it back then. Half the colony came to play there. My friends ranged from college guys to prep girls. Games we played were just as varied; cricket, footer, lock-and-key, kabbaddi, cooking, making-houses-with-twigs-and-leaves, kite flying and catch-catch. I was horrible at kite flying. That blasted thing never went higher than my head :(

My dad had a Rajdoot (still has! ) back then. I used to envy kids who had scooters. My sole dream for some time back then was to ride a scooter in that space between the driver and the handle where one stands on the footrest. I finally realized my dreams in KG-II :)

I studied three years, nursery, KG-I, KG-II at the same school and it'd be another 3 years before I realize that KG meant kindergarten after I complained to my parents why wasn't I sent to a kindergarten school like everybody else!

Beta kuchh khate kyun nahin?

2008-08-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

Discovery is the channel to look out for. If nothing else it'll save me the sighs every time I hear "beta kuchh khate kyun nahin?"
Some scientists have concluded that people can be fat without eating too much or thin in spite of eating normally. Its got something to do with metabolism rate, fat storage, etc etc.... you get the picture. Anyway, no point explaining all this to you now. I am a changed person now. Even I have started eating, hogging on every specimen that mankind is known to digest. As someone rightly said, "If you believe in something with all your heart, the whole world conspires to prove you wrong."

Don't believe it? Well, then read on.

I hear it from my mom almost on an hourly basis. Protest, mild consternation followed by flattery does the trick of calming her vehement protests about my eating habits.

Old aunts invariably start their conversations wondering aloud whether food was a scarcity in Madras, and how on earth am I supposed to find a girl and marry with a figure like that (most of them don't yet know that half the job is already done :P ). In such cases, I just let out a sigh, raise my hands upwards transferring all the blame to the almighty above. Never argue with old aunts, experience speaking.

Then there is dad who starts the topic by saying how he used to be when he was my age. Now I can't remember the last time when dad saw eye to eye with me or vice versa. Now, I have observed that there is a certain age beyond which it feels as if dads say the opposite thing just to contradict you and the feeling is mutual. The chance of winning an argument against your dad is always very alluring, so I try to expalain my views on the subject. Ultimately mom becomes the peacemaker and the debate whether I eat enough comes to an end without any conclusion.

At least one gets to open his mouth and argue with dad. Not so with girlfriend. She goes on and on about what i should eat, how I should eat, when I should eat ad infinitum. By the time I try to get a word or two edgeways she has moved on to another topic (Why doesn't a beautician open her parlour on weekdays in the campus?).

However the most embarrasing one has to be the chat wala incident last night. I had had a big, really big lunch and so was not in a mood to eat any more after having two sweets. But this friend of mine gets two plates of alu tikki chat and I had a tough time finishing it. You'll sympathize with me if I tell you that a dinner awaited me at home five minutes later, and try telling mom that you can't finish your dinner because you have had aloo tikki chat from a thela.

Eventually I had to call the friend for help. The glutton that he is, he had finished his plate by the time I was taking my second spoon! Now the chat wala saw this. "Can't finish it son?" he asked. "Well no wonder, you look like that. Beta kuchh khate kyun nahi?"

Of boys and boys who became girls

2008-08-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

In std 3 the teachers had this weird idea of a couple dance for our annual day. You can't call it Salsa, or Tango or anything for that matter. It was like one of those Bollywood numbers, the sort of dance where a girl holds a bloke's hand, and they jump together, sway, spin.... I hope you get the picture. Now, our school being a boys school, you can imagine how inappropriate a boy-boy couple would have looked dancing.

Relationship with Carmel school, the girls school with whom we shared a boundary wall was not friendly. Maybe the kindergarten-kids-of-Saint-Paul's-throw-stones-at-Carmel-injure-girl incident may have something to do with it. Maybe they were plain jealous of our new auditorium. There is also the offhand chance that it might have been triggered by the way we guys from Saint Paul's gape at them during parade, as if the girls materialized from thin air and we aren't quite sure what to do with that. I must mention here that students of std 6 gape with the widest open eyes followed by the 7, 8, 9 and 10.
The gist of all these babble here is that girls from Carmel could not be bribed into partnering us in the dance.

Ingenuity coupled with need led to an interesting solution. Dress up half the boys in frocks. At that tender age there are hardly any visible physical differences between the two sexes, I mean nothing that a touch of rougue and a bar of lipstick can't fix :P

There were some ready volunteers who probably thought they would get chocolates if they became "girls." Then there were some who were enticed into it by a few flattering words of the teachers. Then there were some like me who were just told to become a girl. I am still cloudy as to why I thought protest was not an option! Looking back at it now from so far away in time makes it an amusing incident but I remember how terrified I was initially.

Because of my height, I was the first in line, and the teachers who used to train us would say how cute I was and that embarrassed me to no end. Anyway, there I was leading the group wearing my sister's frock on the annual day. I don't remember who my partner was, but I recall that it was hugely popular among the crowds. The people loved the show happily clicking away the beautiful "girls" with lipstick, rouge, hairbands, colourful frocks, the works!

The makeup was so good that even I couldn't recognize one of my classmates for quite some time.

Beauty in Rourkela

2008-08-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

Having spent the first 17 years of my life at this small town followed by 4 years in Chennai interspersed with a few months of Bangalore in between, I can now say with conviction that I love to be in Rourkela more than anywhere else. What appeals most to me is its simplicity.

There are few people, just one main road encircling the town, two prominent markets, good schools, one NIT, and one big hospital. Ideal for an idyllic life.

You never worry which road to take to avoid traffic.

Don't have to worry about where the season sales offers include 2 free with every 3 purchases, and whether 33.33% discount is better than that. Just two markets, so you go to whichever is closer to you.

You don't have to spend an entire day to keep up with your 9 to 5 job! My school used to start at 10. Starting from home at 9:50 used to give me two minutes leeway which i spent fruitfully playing hand-cricket before the assembly began.

Apart from its simplicity, I adore the beauty of this small town. The ring road especially looks charming with its tree lined wide roads.

Lack of good quality restaurants are made up the myriad fast food joints. My favourites are the tangy papri-chat at NAC market and the ghoogni-chat at Gundicha Mandir. Also worth mentioning are the dosas here which are way better than anywhere else, and that includes Bangalore and Chennai.

of boys and girls

2008-06-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

One thing I haven't been able to decide conclusively is whether it would have been better studying at a co-educational school. Having studied at a boys school for the first twelve years of my life, and then IIT, my judgment is bound to be biased.

My opinion is that in a boys school one grows up with a very inaccurate and narrow perception of the other sex. Girls were considered a curiosity and to be able to talk to them a big achievement. Till Std 10 i don't remember any girl or anything related to them ever mentioned among us, and by "us" I mean my group of friends including me.

Friends who have studied at co-educational schools narrate how they had fights among the two sexes. I recall a particularly funny incident narrated by my mom who is a teacher. The story concerns students of Std 9.

Scene: The Classroom
There is some minor disagreement between Boy1 and Girl1

Girl1: Tujhe AIDS ho jaye!

Boy1(flummoxed): Kya boli? (To his friends)Suna tum logon ne isne muhje kya bola!

Many dissenting voices heard in the background as boys protest.

Girl2(coming to the rescue of her friend): Tum saare ladkon ko AIDS ho jaye!

Uproar.
The boys go to the teacher's common room en block and complain against the girls. I don't know how the issue was resolved and in in whose favour the decision was awarded, but my mom said that all the teachers had a good laugh about it.

Now I have no idea whether all co-ed schools have such colourful existence, but if they do I certainly would have preferred that to a boys school. The only incident in my school that bears any semblance to the above is when I was in Std 11 and Std 3 students started throwing water at us through the window. We were defeated, but in my defense I have to say that we were severely handicapped by the fact that they had water bottles and as a mark of "adulthood" hardly anyone in our class used to carry those.

Sketches

2008-06-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

I came across these sketches while I was packing for home. Sketches done sometime in the last 4 years of my stay at IITM. The sentimental person that I am, these sketches made me nostalgic, and stirred a few good memories. Here are some of them which I have scanned.

I had painted this during the second year fine arts competition. I never paint as per the given topics in a painting competition. I just paint/draw and then fit a topic that comes closest :)
This time the topics were "insight" and "technology." Anybody's guess what topic I chose to write under my painting. Though I didn't win anything, somehow this is one of my favorite paintings.
Incidentally, I won a 1st prize in pencil sketching the same morning for drawing an eye to which I later added the topic "destruction" among the ones given. The eccentricities of human nature!!

This is a potrait of a very dear friend, Tushar. Sketched sometime in my 3rd semester, I had intended to gift him on his birthday. I lost it before I could send it and found it years later.

I used to feel afraid of doing portraits. I thought that I didn't do full justice to the beauty of a person while I tried to depict him/her on paper, and so used to shy away from attempting any. Hope to overcome that during these holidays :)

This is how I used to endure BT(Life Sciences) and ID 120 (Ecology and Environment) classes. This particular sketch on the left is of girl who was sitting in front of me that particular day.

The next sketch above shows an unfinished batsman and the face of "Big daddy" as we used to call him because of the exuberance of his facial hair and huge size.

This sketch on the left is also a product of creativity induced by boredom during one of the two infamous courses. I don't remember who the batsman was, but my guess would be Tendulkar. After finishing this sketch I had slyly escaped from the classroom with a good 20 mins left. However, on my way out a pencil fell down and I was caught!
How passionately I hated these two courses!

I love drawing flowers! They always make me happy.
Another uncanny thing is that whenever I start drawing a face, it ends up as a girls face! I cannot draw a guy's face of my own imagination!

Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle

2008-05-01T00:32:00.000-07:00

People have many a times expressed surprise over my certainty of marrying the girl I am in love with currently. "How can you be so sure that you'll still be in love with her five years down the line?"
Well, after some frantic flow of ions through the grey matter I have concluded that it all boils down to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle!
The confusion and indecision that pervade all other decisions of my life amply make up for the certainty of this one thing. At least, I hope so.

Splashing Waves

2008-04-15T11:52:00.000-07:00

Today’s evening at Elliot’s beach was about:
Sweet corn,
Rustling wind,
Gurgling waters,
Punjabi kulfi,
Punjabi kudi,
Wet trousers,
Starry night,
Slippery slippers,
McD Burger,
Coke

and now back to BTP!

Happiness lies in the journey and not the destination.

2008-03-03T22:01:00.000-08:00

Why do we bother so much about results then?

Maybe thats the question that decides our state of "happiness."

Hips Don't Lie

2007-12-27T10:40:00.000-08:00

You must have seen Shakira shake her hips. Now watch it once more :)
This was an impromptu dance of a bunch of crazy guys inhabiting the 3rd wing of Godavari Hostel at IIT Madras. Particularly watch out for Tejas (in blue full sleeved at the back) and Bharath at the denouement.

a short story

2007-12-26T23:07:00.000-08:00

This semester I had a course "Short Story Classics." And we had to write a story as part of the course. Here's my humble attempt.

From a train window

2007-12-18T22:28:00.000-08:00

When I wake, up it is ten o'clock. As I grudgingly open my eyes and look down from my upper berth, for a minute I am confounded whether by mistake I am in a Mumbai local. But then I forget that this is quintessential Tata/Dhanbad-Allepey- the only train I believe, where you experience India within a span of 32 hours. There being only one direct link between my hometown and Chennai, inevitably I have to relive this experience at least 4 times a year.

However I have never a felt any sense of deja vu, rather what unfolds in each journey is a hitherto unknown page of the same old chapter in the book of my life. The fact is I have come to relish these journeys as opportunities for reflection and contemplation. It was in such a journey that I had planned that perfect proposal. Alas, if only things went as smoothly as planned. I mean how on earth do you account for aberrant weather in such a case. That my friends makes for another story altogether and I shall not bore you with that here. As I was saying, train journey in India is an experience in itself.

I love looking out of the train window. I watch as the tress fly by while the mountains behind it try to race with the train, but eventually they also fall behind. The golden sun behind the mountains follows me further before that also is swallowed among the orange clouds. As the blanket of darkness slowly engulfs the world around me, I suddenly feel very small. I feel scared and alone in a train chugging along amidst an unending wilderness. Not a single ray of light-the mark of civilization at night- is visible till the eyes can see. But the gush of cold air on my face never felt so refreshing. All the tension of placements, career, future, app and job are cleansed out of my system and th rush of cool forest air that goes into my lungs breathes a new life within.

The window is soon closed as it gets colder with the progress of night. There are three couples in my compartment-each from a different walk of life. One newly engaged, who retire together to an upper berth and carry on with their honeymoon oblivious of the stares of curious children, angry mothers, and hawkers who look with an air of nonchalance mixed with resignation. Another couple have a small kid with them who kept himself busy eating something or the other and jumping on me throughout the journey. Currently the couple are engaged in cleaning up the mess created by the apple of their eyes, and I decide never to travel long-distance on a train with the future-apple-of-my-eye. The third couple is past their prime, maybe retired from their jobs as well. The lady is involved in knitting intricate patterns with two sewing needles, and the man is saying something about the cold in India and the coming elections. If I remember correctly, he had started with Pakistan about an hour ago, and I have been nodding my head since then.

But I am soon bored of looking at people. They are always the same. Unlike the darkness beyond the windows which provokes a new thought every time you stare into it.

Rewrite

2007-11-15T10:38:00.000-08:00

Life seems scary right now. With fate hanging on the tip of a sword, final year is nothing what its famed to be-peaceful and fun. It is at such times that one gets contemplative, and I wishfully ponder what would happen if I could change my past.
I am sure I have sympathies of many there. Who wouldn't want to go back in time and change some thing or the other. In my case, there are many things I would have changed and enlisting them all would fill pages. Who knows where I might have been then.
I love the people around me, my friends, this institution, my life. Maybe it is those little flaws that magnify the good things.
So what would you do if there was a rewrite option in your life?

Choreo Nite

2007-10-19T03:57:00.000-07:00

It had all the ingredients to make it an unforgettable evening, and unforgettable it shall be. For the uninitiated, choreo nite is the annual dance competion of IITM. Its a welcome break between the two quizzes, and Saarang still months away. But thats not what it gets its unforgettableness from.

I believe it owes its glamour quotient not to the occasional elegant performance, but to the "B teams" of each hostel. The audience might ignore them as a nuisance, a visual catastrophe of gauche limbs. However for the dancers themselves, it is the hedonistic indulgence for ten minutes that surpasses everything else.

This year though the one thing that that'll be etched in the memory of the frivolous audience is the "Godav thing". No even I won't call it a dance, it was much more than that. It was a meticulously executed operation designed to surprise, entertain, tickle and shock the audience (in that order). When guys start gliding on roller skates and boards instead of the hooligan baraat party dance expected of B teams, one does get surprised. Add a score of bandana sporting, hockey stick wielding Godavites and a score more chasing a football amidst all these, and you begin to wonder "what next!"
Its when all start swaying to the background score of Chak de India that you realize whats happening.
Blind Aunty, roop tera mastana, parade, GODAV. This is all that comes to mind when I think of the next few minutes.
It all came to a premature end when all Godav decided to pull off a Salman Khan with O' o jane jana. Now in order to pull off a successful Salman Khan you need to be bare chested! And that didn't go down very well with the organizers.

Strange

2007-10-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

You attempt three out of four questions in a humanities exam only to learn later you had to answer two.
There are 20 guys in the wing, and somehow all decide to hang you upside down from the first floor parapet (though I think my duty to inform the naive reader that I am the lightest in my wing at 51.374 kg and also I might have spilled water at the entrance of a few of those guys rooms)
A monkey comes and pees right in front of your room.
And if I tell you that these are just some of the happiest quirks of fate this week, you'll know what I have been through. When things start going wrong one wonders if there is not some deep conspiracy against you with the whole world colluding behind your back.
Well the day before a physics exam is not the right moment to muse on such existential questions, but strange I say, very strange.

Pottermania

2007-07-23T01:06:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist any more. Not after those dreams. Soon after breakfast, I darted out of the house towards the bus stop. What if shop runs out of stuck! Who kows how long I'll have to wait then.
I was waiting for a bus on the main road. Before long, I saw a blue and white BMT bus glidig towards the stop. Just as I was getting ready to board the bus, the familiar name munnu rang out loud and clear above the din of the traffic. As I craned my neck above the passing traffic in front of me, I percieved Abhik (our acquaintance dates back back to the start of my B.Tech career when I was belaboured with hazaar gyaan from this senior) waving at me across the road.
I decided at once. No way I could have boarded the bus ignoring his smile. It may all turn out for the best after all. So I went. It was indeed a pleasure to see familiar faces at an unfamiliar land. I mean somehow whenever I think of any IITM guy, be it my friends, seniors, or even Aman I always tend to associate them IITM. That is the place I picture them all to be whenever I think of them. It was akin to seeing your school headmaster at a public restaurant. Mild surprise followed by an acceptance of the situation. Well, I went.
Glad though I was to see him, the pleasure wasn't entirely mine. He too flashed a warm smile. I asked him where did he work, where did he stay, etc, the usual stuff people meeting familiar faces on a street ask each other.
"Where are you up to?" He asked.
"To buy Harry Potter."
"What! Yaar Ganga waalon ke saamne to apni izzat ka dhyaan rakh," stealing a glance at the two guys standing beside him.
The faces of the other two widened into a condecending smile.

********************************
I was on the bus on my way back, all agog to read the book, my ears burning hot and red with the anticipation.
The phone gave a discreet ring. As I prressed the green button, Abhik's voice answered answered at the other end- "Can you buy a Harry Potter for me also?"

Figments of paper

2007-05-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

It was a gentle wisp of a cool breeze on a wet morning, and riding along it was a tiny little bit of paper-insignificant; as insignificant as my presence in the class. A white paper turned pale with age, dirt accumulating along its cracks.
It wafted across my face into the corridor. There it was edging forward, undecided. Then the gentle wind lifted it, delicately as a mother would caress her baby. For a few seconds it danced merrily , a slow rhythmic dance. Reluctantly it came back, settling on the window border beside me. I tore a scrap from the corner of my notebook and gently blew it through my palm.
Now the lonely bit of paper had a friend. Elated. Now they were like two sparrows, skipping and jumping with little gusts of wind. And now they were like two children playing the merry-go-round, dancing in tiny circles.
"Twenty four........ (louder) twenty four!" the prof called out. "Present sir." Then I walked out of the class.

Cool Summer Style

2007-04-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

Its the latest fashion statement in the insti. Guys with mane even girls would envy, baldies, hippies, geeks....... all have a reason of their own to shed all inhairbitions and flaunt the tough shell that houses those little grey cells.
Now why did I do it? Well for me it was a simple case of ephemeral pleasures superseding the furious stares of my GF I knew I'll have to face in near future. It all started when the drunk barber asked whether I would like to have my sidelocks short.
Apprehensive of his wavering scissors, I consented to the use of an electric razor for the purpose. Now anyone who has ever placed his life at the mercy of the drunk barber who frequents Gurunath will sympathize with me.
Now I was a novice when it came to the use of vibrating electric razors. The soothing feel one derives when the vibrating machine glides over one's head is something I almost have a fetish for. It soon lulled me to sleep and I didn't interrupt the barber in between. When I awoke from the reverie I had fallen into, a horrifying scene it was that awaited me. As I stared at the mirror in front of me, what stared back was someone alien to me. It was sort of a black flower with a stubbly brown receptacle. A few minutes of focussed attention to the image confirmed that the brown receptacle was my visage, and the black petals of the flower were my hair.
Rather than face ignominy with such a haircut, I made an impromptu decision-why not enjoy the whirring machine for a few more minutes, and mow down the entire domain!
The result, as you see my dear friends is this.
P.S. I am indebted to a great friend of mine for the inspiration for this post.

Classics

2007-04-10T09:59:00.000-07:00

The sheer thickness of it looked daunting at first, especially with all the assignments that I've got to submit this week. But I started reading, and hoped to complete it during the holidays. It was a good book, and what caught my fancy were the initial pages of the book. I'm talking about Jane Eyre.
What I love about classics compared to popular fiction like a Sydney Sheldon, which one can zoom past, is that one needs to amble through a classic. I couldn't put down the book once I had started and put my 1st night out of this sem reading it!
Another book I highly recommend is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. The way the character of Pip develops through the story is something, I'm sure we all can relate to-and thats where lies its appeal.

Treats

2007-04-10T09:15:00.000-07:00

Wing treats have become sort of a ritual-a great opportunity to hang out with all friends together. And in case you didn't notice, this is my new summer hairstyle.

Happiness.

2007-03-10T04:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had a weird dream.

I was a grown up man, and had returned home to my parents after several years. I was tired and sick and was lying in the lap of my mother. I was not well and had a headache I guess. I asked my mom to massage my head.

Here I must say that my mom has magical fingers when it comes to any of these two things- giving a soothing massage or making the finest rotis! Cooking anything for that matter as I remember now.

Well, getting back to my narration, as I asked my mom, she seemed to get a bit pensive and replied that her fingers have grown weak with age and they hurt . She cannot move them the way she used to. I suddenly couldn't remember when was the last time I had felt that soothing touch touch on my forehead. I couldn't remember when was the last time I had eaten her rotis, the last time I had helped her in her morning chores so that she doesn't get late to work, the last time I had waited eagerly for my mom and dad to come back from work so that we could eat together, and the last time I had told her that she was the best mom in the world, nor could I recall the last time I had put my head on her lap.

I woke up with horror, and found rears rolling down my eyes.

Suddenly the dream seemed too real and close. Now, completely awake, I still couldn't recall when was the last time I had done any of those above things. And I couldn't foresee my future any different from what I saw in my dreams. The tears never stopped pouring as I continued to be awed by the future.

At the dead of the night as the world slept (except most IITians ) , here was I pondering over the biggest challenge to all philosophers- what exactly construes happiness?

Here I am, in an institution that I had dreamt of since my childhood, learning things that are at times fascinating as well as intriguing. Though some of the things have not been as rosy as I had dreamt of them in my childhood, I couldn’t have had a better present, isn’t it?

Some time back when I joined this place, I had the chance of opting for another institute, though not as good or well known as an IIT in my hometown. I could have then enjoyed all that I miss now- all that I can enjoy only in my dreams and for a few days twice a year. I could have continued to enjoy her rotis and all those simple pleasures of life. But, would I have been happier?

I don’t think so. Then I would have missed living my dream of studying at a place like this. Besides studies, this place has also taught me a lot more things about life and people- some I would cherish forever, some I’d like to forget. One cannot have all that one aspires. Sometimes, you need to let go of some things to hold on to others. Sometimes, you need to forget old dreams so that you can achieve new ones.

I feel, no one can achieve absolute happiness. Pursuit of that elusive mirage is what drives this world. Once you have everything, then there is nothing more to fight for, and nothing more to live for. I am not an atheist, but I do ask you one thing, what would you prefer- achieve nirvana, the final fruit of all pursuits and retire from this rat race or continue to struggle in this seemingly unfair world with all its faults and.

Well there is no correct answer, and as I go back to sleep, I feel I would still like to continue the way it is now. I don’t want to know what my future is going to be, nor where shall I be. I just want it all to be the way it is.

winter at home

2006-12-25T11:16:00.000-08:00

Eat
Sleep
Eat
Movie
Eat
Sleep
Cartoons
Sleep
Hang out with friends
Eat
Sleep
Well thats how my day goes here at home during these winter vacations. Everday seems rosy and I wake up without bothering about my next class or the pending CASDD assignment. I eat till I get bored or tired of chewing and have the option of indulging myself in "Tom and Jerry" all day. I seriously think my mom should be called on some special deputation to our IIT mess to teach the cooks there a thing or two about cooking.
Its cold here, but even thats enjoyable compared to Chennai weather.
Last week we(including my two friends) went to a movie "Kabul Express". There were a total of 15 people in the hall, including the three of us. The theatre was in its last stages of ultimate breakdown,plaster peeling off walls, seats almost rotten and cushions eaten away by rats. More than once, I looked towards the ceiling to make sure that it doesn't come too close to our heads, following the diktats of gravity what if it suudenly decided the torture and humiliation of neglect too much to bear. I enjoyed the movie, though the dialogues were barely audible through the decrepit speakers. I was home, and I was with friends. Nothing else was worth bothering about.
On our way back we went to the IG park, sort of a landmark of this small town. We enjoyed the newly installed musical fountain, though I wished we could dance to the foot tapping music.
My culinary adventures are someting I shall miss sorely back at the insti. Consider my adventures since today evening, strictly in chronological order-
Gajar ka Halwa, by mom
Samosa Chat at NAC market, koel nagar,
Gupchup(some call it Golgappa, Panipuri etc...) , at NAC ,
Carrot cake by mom
and I'm still awaiting my dinner :)

2006-11-03T23:14:00.000-08:00

Lost it during the Shaastra, and this was in addition to the following things that I had already lost in the past few days-
my bag which was my only means of transporting all that was unwanted in my room to the classrooms everyday
my cellphone- this one was run down by a bus(not joking)- our insti bus.
my watch
another cellphone- don't ask me how.
And I have even lost count of all the things I have lost.
Well, coming back to the case of the lost mess card, its worthwhile mentioning that it also contained a new coupon booklet worth 200 bucks of extras. To top it up, I lost my mess registration password also. But relieved, I was on seeing a link "Forgot passsword? click here" on the mess registration homepage. Relief turned to dismay on getting the the following message on following the link " A most proper and honourable thing you have done. Now contact the HAS( Hostel affairs secrtary)."
This is what I sent to the HAS-
A most proper and honourable thing have I done,
Lost my mess card,and my password too gone.
Have some mercy and let me have some fun,
Extras and Lays and Ice-creams I have none.
Please reset my password and fast get it done,
Forever shall I be grateful for this one.
Needless to say, I got back my password and a new mess card to flaunt.