Why oh why

These are some of the questions I have in mind but either have no answer(either I'm too lazy to find them or there is no way I can get them or there is no answer from nature itself) or cannot be asked(cultural niceties, lack of courage, keep any reason).

Why is it that
1) it snows when I'm asleep or sitting inside a boring lecture?
2) I return home anticipating a hot meal but all I see are a sink full of dishes?
3) I get up early morning at a friend's place and rush to the bus stop to go home only to realize that the first bus is not due for another hour and I could very well have curled up for some more time?
4) the bus leaves exactly a minute before I reach the bus stop?
5) the presentation I so wanted to hear turns up to be all crap?
6) the presentation I thought was all crap was actually enjoyable(RR your presentation comes in this category)?
7) the first of leaves that turn brown/red/yellow are the ones still on the tree while all others are falling down, down and down?
8) A certain friend of mine has killing dress sense but not much dollars to spare for decking up?
9) A certain non-friend of mine has killing dress sense AND much dollars to spare for decking up? (Okay! I made this up because none of the Indians are dumb enough to spend money to deck up here :D )
10) whenever I think I'm too tired and hungry, the smell from Au Bon Pain drafts over to increase my hunger pangs?
11) there are two events happening at the same time in the university offering FREE great FOOD?
12) those events never happen when I'm at my hungriest?
13) those events occur in a hall that I can reach only by crossing half the university?
14) my lab does not have a microwave?
15) I am tempted to the soup section every time I go buy a meal?
16) I buy a bowl of soup for $5 and feel full after half a bowl?
17) I get to see cute chicks with not-so-hot guys and hot guys with not-so-cute chicks? (none of this fits Indians here)
18) none of the graduate Indians are as cool as the undergrads?
19) none of the PhD students seem to have fun?
20) so many of my friends into PhD are quitting after Masters?
21) my day becomes a series of hi's and bye's with a big bunch of people, conversations with a handful and meaningful conversations with only one or two?
22) I spend about an hour talking to my parents every day and not feel the time go by but sit in a class and look at the watch every few minutes?
23) the cold wind always targets my poor nose and ears while my cheeks are fine?
24) I've lost touch with so many people with whom I shared four full years of my life? Now I don't even know what some of them are doing :(
25) some of my closest friends are close no more?
26) some people whom I didn't care much in the past permeate every nook of my life now?
27) I'm watching more movies than when I was back in home?
28) I think life is a drudgery and suddenly someone makes it easy to bear by some action of theirs?
29) though I've bought loads of clothing for winter, I still feel I'm not prepared for it?
30) I pick up a product with a great discount only to find that discount ended the day before?
31) I get up early when I don't have classes or meetings to attend but invariably end up sleeping late when I have something important coming up?
32) one of my exams is scheduled at 7.30 AM and my first bus from home is at 7.15 AM (put in 10 minutes for traveling time and you'll get the picture).
33) whenever I think life is a bed of roses, there is a rude shock waiting just around the corner.
34) every shock that comes effectively takes me out of stupor.
35) the day I want to eat ice cream, there is none at home.
36) I get up just when a dream turns really interesting and I'm not able to get back the dream even if I try my hardest?
37) I can't get my mom or dad to scold me nowadays? (I actually miss my mom's scoldings!!)
38) some of my friends are going places from where there is no return to original state and I don't have the courage to do so?
39) I can't sit down to blog anymore and go into hiatus more often?
40) life shows the presence or absence of something only when we least expect it?

The End of Something

She was enjoying
She was having fun
She was living life to the fullest

Suddenly,
She understood something
Or the lack of something

She stood still
The reality hit her
A pain seared through her heart
A tear rolled down her cheek

The voice was content
The voice was calm
The voice was at peace with itself

Suddenly,
The voice sensed something
Or the lack of something

It was time
Time to show her the reality
A reality that would pain her
A reality that would make her cry

The voice consoled her
She was unconsoled
The voice reasoned with her
She said that this was beyond reason
The voice argued with her
She was too tired to argue

Because this something sapped her energy
Her love for life,
Her interest in life,
Her peace with the world.

The voice didn't give up
The voice persisted
The voice dinned sense into her
And let the pain dull and tear dry

She was battered
She was bruised
She didn't want anymore of it
But still she went on in life

Because Life doesn't end with something
Life dulls the pain
Life dries the tear
And life goes on.

The voice showed her strength
The voice stood rock-solid
The voice guided her by hand

She followed the voice
She followed its reason
She followed it by hand

The Voice and She
Emerged stronger in this contest
More understanding of each other
More clear of each other's goal
And more trusting on each other.

All that was left
Left of the something
A few words and actions
A dull pain in her heart
And an infinite wisdom for the voice.

A talk about earth

Check this out. Its a lyrical view of life on Earth by Frans Lanting. To know more about the author, check here



It sure did stir something within me. How about you? And, is this power that encompassed and transformed all these creations called God, the SuperPower? Do share your ideas and comments.

LOST!! Anyone got a home to spare? ;)

Shopping trips are loads of fun.... esp when you get to read something like the one below. This is what I picked up from my recent trip to Walmart. Needless to say, my friends and I, we were in splits after reading it. Couldn’t resist sharing with my fellow bloggers :)

(Warning: I’m not changing anything from the original flyer... so, if any of you wants to give a big whack on the head, please contact the original author. R, I KNOW you are getting ready to sue the author. I’m thinking of sending him/her a English development course flyer :D)

LOST, House Looking for a Home
(now, this house is looking for a home, anyone got one to spare? ;))
This house can be a home, making lot’s of memories(now have you heard of houses making memories? I thought people and events made them!!),
come make a solid(you want to make a solid? You can have a go here!),
holds lots of laughter(is it a laughter-bucket? Is there such a word, R??),
keeps secrets well(ok! Interesting! Can you give me a sample secret that it has kept well?),
you can design what you want(oh! I want an Igloo! Come on, living in an igloo has been my childhood dream. So, I have designed it :D),
some work done(work done?? By whom? Me? No thanks! I already have loads to do)

• 2 BEDROOM( Now why is this in CAPS?), 3 bedromms( If you want roms(aka Read Only Memories, for the non-techie friends), you can get in touch with this owner because he/she has a house with 3 roms :D or better yet, with romms(whatever that is!) if desired(huh? Can you desire a bedroom and just have it?? Then I'll desire for five more. And what about the original floor plans, buddy?)

• All NEW electric ran( what?? Am I missing something here?), 3 or more outlets per room ( outlets of what?? Of anger? :D)

• INSULATED, most rooms ( insulated.. now that’s got too many possibilities! I’m not listing them here. And, what about the poor souls in the rooms that don’t come under the heading ‘most rooms’?)

• ALL NEW PLUMBING (has this person ripped off all the plumbing and put them back??)

• LARGE DECK, with new glass door( Nothing to say! Try to get the meaning ;))

• FRONT PORCH across front of house( oh! Didn’t know that... I thought all front porches would be across the back of house. Come on, yaar!!)

• LOT OF LIGHT, new widows on 2nd floor( this is NOT a spelling mistake... so, if anyone wants light, new widows(of all people), you can go and pick one from the second floor... now what’s there in the second floor? A widow factory? :D)

• NEW LINES TO SPRING HOUSE (now, where is this spring house? And whose is it? Is it a part of the sale?)

• NEW WATER HEATER, never used ( Hey! That’s why its called new, isn’t it? OR have they changed the terminology? :) )

• 11/2 acres, little spring in front of house ( so much area? And only a teeny, weeny spring? So sad of that poor spring! And in front of house? I thought there was the road and other normal stuff)

• STORAGE BLDG( Now, what’s this? Isn’t storage part of any house?)


You WILL NEVER find a deal like this again(really? Thank God for that! Actually, I don’t mind seeing flyers like this more often :)),
very warm in winter(isn’t that what a house is supposed to do? Keep warm in winter, keep cool in summer and protect all the time? I learnt it in second standard),
LOTS OF POSSIBILITIES (Now, this is very interesting! What are the lots of possibilities? Too much to tell ;)),
with the right imaganation( what is this??? R, I think you are ready to sue this person for wrong usage of English.. chill! :)),
some supplies go with house( supplies? With house? GO???? Go where? )

[Date and time of selling and contact address]

End of the flyer :)
I saw this one hanging up on one of the boards of Walmart. We had more than an hour to kill, waiting for a cab to come. So, what better way than this? :) And, the phrases ‘new widows’ and ‘LOTS OF POSSIBILITIES’ were the best! Really, where is America going to?

The scene

She was standing...
She was having fun...
She was relaxed...

It was a perfect scene...
It was life all over...
It was good...

She tensed...
She was expectant...
She was waiting...

It was the same place...
It was the same car...
But the scene was different...

The voice calmed her...
The voice soothed her...
The voice explained...

It was a dream...
It was unreal...
It was good...

The voice clarified to her...
The voice encouraged her...
The voice understood her...

It was the same place...
It was the same car...
It was a different scene...

A book... and how my life changed!! - III

[continued]

Being a teenager myself(ok, in the last of teens :)), I could easily relate to what the protagonist is going through and could empathize with her. Also, this story helped me get a really deep and clear view of the Indian family system and the gossamer-like interconnections that exist between every relation in the system. Things that were so far unclear or comical to me, gained more importance in my eyes and I could appreciate the value of the Indian Family. I could only be awed by the structure of Indian society that has withstood so many assaults(or is modifications the right word??) from other cultures and still maintained its charm and unique flavor. Any system that leads its participants and products to success and finally victory is a good system(my definition :)). In that manner, the family system that exists in India is a really good one. Though there are some casualities in it, by and large, it’s a successful one.

This book does not have a separate humor line or character. Instead, humor is subtle and very much a part of the entire story. There is Loganathan, a comical character who acts funny and has an inexplicable behavior. But there is a sad story within him and he is grappling with demons from his past. Though Mythreyi does not understand it at first, she slowly comes to know of the truth and makes amends through his son thereby giving Loganathan peace. The main charm of the book is that it talks of ordinary people, people whom we can see in day to day life and whose life is assumed to be very normal, very regular, very boring. In this age of wanting to have fun “all the time” and trying to fill in every waking moment with pleasure of all kinds, this book was a refreshing change. It allows the readers to contemplate on all what’s happening in their lives in a slow manner. It basically shows that everyone needs a minute to rest, to ponder, to plan and to relax in this rat-race to success because success is not defined by the goals that you achieve. It also places importance on the ways of achieving it and the experiences that you gain along the way. Till I read this book, I wanted to keep doing something all the time. I could never sit still as I wanted to do more and more in less time. More of fun, more of work, more of studying, more of enjoying life, more of everything!! In the process, I lost some good times with friends(I didn’t have time to keep up with them), lost control of life(I was just jumping from one deadline to another, one meeting to another and one work to another and didn’t know where life was leading me) and came close to losing my health(thanks to my mom, I’m still very healthy :) She took care of all my needs when I was busy enjoying with the world. Thank you amma! ).But this book helped me slow down a bit and enjoy the quiet flowers of solitude. Even now, being some thousands of miles away from home, I still have this book with me to show that I have to slow down whenever I feel I’m going too fast. Because I have learned the hard way that it is as important to enjoy the journey as it is to reach the goal.

I feel this is one of the few books that have to be read to be fully understood. No matter how long I write about this book or explain it in different ways, it will not make a big impact unless it is read and experienced first-hand. I haven’t captured the essence of the novel fully. I have just stated the storyline and given a brief overview of what is explained in the book. Or is it that I’m not that good a writer to capture all my feelings about this book in these posts? Hmmm... Scary! But I guess I’ll have to find ways to improve myself in that case. Readers, what do you think?

(Phew!! I'm done. I've kept up the challenge and put in three posts, each more than 500 words about the same topic, something which someone else has not tried out. Finding some such topic(this particular book came as a God-send) was difficult. And writing about it was more so. V, it was an interesting experiment. Though you have to say if the results were as you expected them to be :) However, though I started on these set of posts as part of a challenge, it finally became interesting to explore my feelings for this particular book. Though I knew earlier that I liked this book a lot, I could never put a finger on exactly why I liked it. Even now, the exact reason remains vague. But I have a better understanding. Though I'm not sure how you readers took it all. Sorry if you got bored of it. But, if you can get your hands on it, I would suggest you to read it as it is a wonderful book, especially if you are looking for something different.)

A book... and how my life changed!! - II

[continued]


Mythreyi gets married to her cousin(I know this is a rarity nowadays, but fifty years ago, it was a common thing, especially in India) without knowing if she really loved him and always felt insecure despite all the love that was showered on her because she felt that she was an orphan, all said and done. So she has lots of expectations on her husband and expects to have a home of her own where she can find her roots and feel more secure. But her husband is a very shy person and though he loves her very much, doesn’t tell her about his love for her. This is the state of their wedlock. Everyone else in the family assume that the couple love each other very much and have fun. In between all this, there are various incidents like one of her maternal uncles losing his sanity, her brother’s marital problems, the tiffs between Mythreyi and her sister-in-law, her friends and their teasings, etc. which she has to deal with care and maturity expected beyond her age. She takes everything as an experiment and learns different lessons from each of those incidents. She wins over everyone in the family and outside with her patience, quick thinking and hard work. But, finally, she loses heart(Niantha ullam, in tamil) and one of her closest aides finds it out. He sets things right between the couple and things end well. Her heart is full of happiness now(Niraindha ullam, in tamil :))

Though this sounds like a fairy tale from the outset, it is basically a bit more. It tells about the Indian family system and the expectations, responsibilities and other complexities that are ever-present between the family members. For example, though Mythreyi’s aunt is her mother-in-law and knows that Mythreyi is going to wed her son, she does not encourage too much socialization between Mythreyi and Seshadhri(her son). This does not mean that she doesn’t want them to have fun as all others but that she places more importance in each of the family members maintaining their present relationships(i.e. cousins, in this case). She is also concerned about the society’s opinion and wants everyone in her family to follow the societal norms. Though our Indian family has developed a lot from that portrayed in the story, every family still sticks to some of the core values shown in it. More on it in the next post.

Till this book came, I’ve read loads of English and Tamil books and novels that have dealt with a variety of themes ranging from murders and mysteries to humor and hazards. I’ve also read a lot of family-based novels, even some of Anuthama’s. But none of them touched me as this one because this novel is very simple(without being simplistic), clear in its approach(some of the authors try to connect different incidents to make up the final story), lucid in writing(all of Anuthama’s novels are, this one is more so...) and doesn’t make love as the be all and end all of life.


[to be continued]

A book... and how my life changed!!

This post is basically the result of a challenge that I had with one of my friends. He said that I am supposed to write three consecutive posts on one thing(nothing alive... only articles allowed). And that the thing has to be something general(no personal objects allowed). So, being the brave girl I am, I accepted his challenge and here I go.

The topic I've chosen is, what else, books. Books have been my best of friends from my young age. I've seen happiness in them when I was sad, solace when I was hurt, good advice when I was confused, fun when I was bored, companionship when I was lonely(not alone, but lonely) and comfort whenever I needed it. I know everyone reads loads of books. Our generation reads more than our parents did and certainly much more than our grandparents' generation. I read around five books per month making it roughly one per week. But there are a few books that I go back to and find comfort in them all the time. Everyone connects to a few books in their lifetime. Among my five most favorite books, four of them are popular and contain loads of links in the net world.(You can see their names in the "My favorite books" list). The fifth one is a recent favorite of mine and I couldn't find much about it on Internet(amazing! I never thought I would find something which google can't give much info about... at the time of writing this post, I found only one link :() And, that book taught me so many things about life in a very subtle way.

The book is "Naintha Ullam" by Anuthama, a renowned tamil author who dealt with life and family, in particular. Though I've read some other books of hers(like Ketta varam, manal veedu, ondrupattaal, alangaana kathaigal, arpudhamaana kathaigal, etc.), I was not as impressed with them as I was with this one.

The story revolves around Mythreyi, the protagonist who is a young girl at the impressionable age of 14 and comes to Chennai(yes, our Singara Chennai ) from Sri Lanka(none other!!), leaving behind her foster parents and foster brother and family. She comes to her uncle’s house where her brother is. She is, at first, very scared of all the happenings around her because of the variations in the lifestyles between her house in Sri Lanka and her house in Madras( Doesn’t Madras have a more nostalgic feel to it, compared to Chennai?). She was brought up as the “apple of the eye” by her foster parents and her uncle and aunt do the same too. Her brother worships the ground she walks on and everyone is partial towards her. But, she has to learn the various nuances in the relationships and gets to learn so much about people and their relationships with one another and the complications that arise due to even seemingly simple happenings. She also understands the complexities that are present in each relationship due to the very nature of such relations. She experiences the changes that come with her transition from childhood to teenage to young adult and finally, an adult. She also enters into marriage without knowing what she wants out of it and learns to take things in the stride.


[to be continued]

One Black Coffee!!

This is one of the most interesting forwards that I have received in recent times. One of my friends sent it. When I opened it first, the subject didn't intrigue me at all because I was fully expecting a forward that spoke about the virtues of black coffee(I'm sure all of you would have received forwards extolling the virtues of this and that). But after reading the entire thing over, I reread it :). Do tell me your comments on it.... And, now, here goes:

One Black Coffee

"One black coffee. No sugar please" He told the Café CoffeeDay employee.

Every day at 1:30 in the afternoon he ordered exactly the same configuration as dessert after lunch – sometimes after skipping lunch.

The girl standing next to him eyed him curiously. "Americanized!" she remarked with a smile on her face.

He was jolted. It was a clear intrusion into his privacy. She had no business accosting him like that. He wanted to tell her how annoying her remark had been.

But he didn't – mainly because the girl in question was Monalisa Kumari. Twice she had been unanimously elected the Crown Princess of SoftSol, the company both of them worked for.

Monalisa was part Indian part Deutsch. She was fluent in Hindi, Spanish and French apart from Deutsch. She was so beautiful that it was difficult to describe her beauty in words.

He would accept any word spoken by this girl. Guys considered it a privilege to talk to her.

She was still looking at him. He realized he had to respond.

"Not exactly. I love black coffee."

She nodded, "So you are saying, you loved black coffee ever since you were a kid!"

He thought about it, "No, only in the last five years"

"That is – after you visited the West"

He was surprised, "How do you know I'd been to the West?"

"Oh, that's pretty easy!" she replied casually, "One: you said Black Coffee. No Sugar and not Black Coffee without Sugar. Two: You said Please! Three: You look quite old. Everyone in this firm of your age had visited the West at least twice."

He laughed, "One and Two are quite good. But I think it is Three which gave me away!"

"Right Dr. Watson. So you started your tryst with black coffee after an expedition to the West! Am I correct?"

"Yes" he responded.

"Quad Erat Demonstrandum" she smiled.

"That doesn't prove that I am Americanized" He retorted, "It only proves that I was introduced to black coffee's virtues in America"

"Same difference, ain't it?" Monalisa gestured him towards a table nearby.

They walked to the table and occupied it.

He sipped his piping hot black coffee and started talking, "You know! It is not the same. Americanization means – a paradigm shift in the way we think and operate. Just liking your coffee black does not mean you are Americanized. It just means that you are familiar with certain Western practices. I don't see anything wrong with that."

She stared into his eyes.

"Whatever it is. I still believe people drink Black Coffee just because it is the in thing you know… and not because they love the taste of it. Who would love that bitter liquid anyways."

He was offended. She might be the most beautiful girl of the campus. She might be a swift driver of a Swift. She might be a 99 percentiler. But she still had to respect the tastes of her colleagues.

She knew at once there was something wrong. "Oh I am sorry Srini. I didn't mean to hurt you. You know I really don't know why people like this black coffee."

He composed himself and came up with the most daring proposition of his life so far.

"Why not give it a try?"

She was surprised, "Black coffee? Eeeks! Thank you very much. I am pretty much Ok with my Latte – full of Sugar – Soulful!"

He asked her, "Have you ever tried it?"

"No!" came the emphatic answer.

"Alright. Let us play a little game. Tomorrow onwards, every afternoon at 1: 30, we will meet here and have a cup of black coffee – for five days. I suggest you don't drink any other type of coffee in this period. If at the end of the fifth day you still don't understand why people drink black coffee, I will stop drinking it."

There was silence. Pin drop. She eyed him suspiciously. It was evident that he wanted to spend more time with her. She knew it.

"Tomorrow at 13:30. Same place." She said.

Day 1:

Monalisa examined carefully the contents of the cup.

"Do I really have to drink this?" she asked no one in particular. He didn't respond. He knew she cared a damn for his answer.

And then she took the first sip. Her facial expressions changed at the speed of light. He waited. She eventually came back to this world.

He didn't say a thing.

She silently walked over to the trash can and threw the coffee cup into it.

"Let us get out of here. I want to show you something." She gestured him to follow her.

Half an hour later – they were seated in a dilapidated dhabha off NH45 twenty kilometers from the office.

He sipped the three rupee coffee sans sugar. It was delightful.

"What do you infer from this?" she asked him.

"That coffee in a NH45 dhabha twenty kilometers from the office tastes really good?"

She laughed, "You do have a sense of humor"

He smiled, "Maybe yes. What is the point?"

She sighed. "One way of looking at it – pay 3 rupees and have a lovely coffee. Or pay ten rupees and drink the rubbish you've been drinking till now."

He was stupefied, "you want me to drive twenty kilometers to this dhabha just because it offers me coffee at 3 rupees?"

"Think about that" she took her purse out.

Day 2:

Srini was curious. Monalisa sipped her black coffee and told him, "You know! We don't have to do this. I am most certainly not going to like this liquid."

"We decided. We follow." Srini was adamant.

Monalisa winked, "All this just for black coffee?"

Srini thought for a moment, "I am enjoying these meetings"

"Friends?" she extended her hand.

"No" He was firm.

There was a stunned silence. She was swept off her feet. "What did… why?"

"I don't think we can ever be friends. You are too beautiful to be a friend."

She stared at him, "When Harry Met Sally?"

"Partly yes" he responded.

"More than twice?" she asked.

"More than twenty times. I own the DVD."

"Aren't you taking it a little too seriously? It is possible for a girl and a boy to be just friends. Give me a break. We see so many such friends in the food court everyday."

He shook his head, "I don't want to talk about others. Myself – I am attracted to you. Wait! I am not saying anything wrong here. All I am suggesting is that we can never be friends."

She finished the black coffee in three quick gulps, "Goodbye Harry!"

Day 3

She was dressed in a black chudidaar. He couldn't take his eyes off her.

"You are staring." She said gently.

He was caught off guard. "Not my mistake"

She smiled and sipped the black coffee. "You know what! This is turning out to be a very interesting incident."

"Drinking black coffee?" He asked her.

"Drinking black coffee with you." She looked into his eyes. He lowered them.

"Why are you so nervous when I am talking to you?"

He looked up. "I told you yesterday."

"Srini, you do realize this is not a movie."

He nodded. "Yes"

"Real life is not reel life."

He cringed, "Thanks for the cliché Monalisa!"

Her face turned red. She kept the black coffee cup on the table and stood up. "What do you think you are Mister? Just because I am drinking coffee with you – doesn't give you the right to say whatever that comes to your mind."

He was surprised, "All for that pathetic cliché?"

For a while neither of them talked. "Coffee's on you." She said.

He agreed.

Day 4

"As such life is a great mystery." Srini told her.

They were driving down the highway NH45 to the dhabha. It was a pleasant afternoon. Traffic was scarce.

Monalisa laughed, "What a cliché"

Srini shook his head, "It is the truth."

"So you speak truth and nothing but the truth. When I say something I speak cliché and only clichés"

He smiled. "You have a way with words."

She didn't reply.

"What are you thinking Monalisa?" He prompted her again.

"Mona. Call me Mona." She deftly swerved right throwing Srini off the seat.

"What the hell was that?" He was dismayed.

"I was avoiding a speeding buffalo you idiot." She yelled, "God! I hate driving in India."

Srini was silent. They reached the dhabha.

She ordered two cups of coffee. He observed silently. She knew there was something wrong.

"OK. What is it?"

"What?"

"Why are you so silent?"

"Nothing. I am OK."

"Idiot?"

"Yes"

"Can't I call you idiot, dear?"

"How can you? I want to be treated with dignity...." He abruptly stopped and stared at her. "What did you just say?"

"Can't I call you idiot, Dear?" She ruffled his hair, "Can't I?"

"Wait. Whatever happened to being platonic friends?" He asked her.

She didn't reply.

"So Harry met Sally?"

She nodded. "I saw the ending again yesterday."

Srini couldn't suppress his quirky smile. "A lovely little fool I know told me sometime back that real life was not reel life."

"Yes. Don't push it though." She sounded cold.

Day 5

"I still don't like this black coffee. Will it really make a difference? It is the final day – right?" She pleaded with him.

"The agreement is binding Ms Monalisa Kumari" He was ruthless.

"No way out?" She wouldn't give up.

"There is" he smiled.

"Great! What is it?"

"Number one: Since you don't want to finish the fifth day black coffee, I need not stop drinking black coffee"

"With no sugar?"

"Or without sugar."

"OK. What is number two?"

"You tell me what made you talk to me on the first day."

She didn't expect that. "What?"

He was serious. "Tell me Mona. Why did you initiate the conversation on the very first day?"

"I thought you were cute"

"Bulls. There were many more cute guys around. More handsome and dying to talk to you."

She looked around. "I can't see any?"

"Don't change the topic. Tell me what made you talk to me? A bet with your friend?"

She stared at him. "You knew!"

"Yes. Unfortunately your friend is my friend's girlfriend. He told me last night when I was raving about you."

She stood up; held his hands and said, "It all started because of that bet I agree Srini. However our black coffee encounters introduced the real Srini to me. The bet did not govern my actions after the first day. Please believe me."

He shook his head. "And all the time I thought you were really interested in me."

She was horrified to see tears in his eyes. "Srini please. I like you. I really really like you. I am extremely sorry. I shouldn't have done that. But tell me Srini... How would I ever have known the real Srini if it were not for the bet with my friend? You are an introvert. You don't talk to girls. How could I have found you otherwise?"

He kept his black coffee on the table and walked away. "Srini. I said Sorry." She shouted completely ignoring the other people in the cafeteria.

He stopped, turned back and told her – "Convince me."

She went to Café Coffee Day and said – ""One black coffee. No sugar please"

Back with a Bang!!

Hi friends,

Ok! Ok! I know I've been too long away from my dear blog of mine... so much so that I missed one of the most important days:my blog's first birthday. Well, I'll write a belated bday post later. Now, back to important stuff! I know I should have stopped by and written something for the past two months. But a bad case of serious work, a worser case of travel and settling down and the worst case of writer's block and commenter's block(both attacking at the same time is the worst possible thing) have put me off for this long. There was one thing I wanted to add to the Voice series. That was the only time when I could break out of these blocks and write something. Now that I have done the 'breaking out' part, I hope I get to do it more often... so often that these blocks don't attack anymore.

A small update: In these two months, I've traveled over oceans and mountains,met loads of people(some fun, some not so fun but all of them interesting in one way or the other!) and had some amazing experiences throughout the way! I've changed my place of living, style of living and the people I live with. But the core values and the love and friendship that remained earlier remain the same. For all who know me personally back home, I miss you people! For all those who know me only through this blog, I've missed you as well. So, I only hope to God that no more sabbaticals come along the way.

Coming back to my own lair(if you can call this blog that :)) is always a satisfying experience. It is one place where I know I make a small difference in the world, a difference of a thought, a smile, a tear, an emotion. It is the place where I discover the world, surprising myself in the process. When I started this blog, it was just for fun. Now, its a part of me, a part that speaks to the world without any limitations and inhibitions.

I'm sure you will find more posts coming along this month. And, do give me some time. I'll catch up with all your blogs too. Till then,

Ciao!!
-Alpine Path

The rest of darkness

“He was here”, a voice said.
“He was there”, a second voice piped in.
“And she lay there”, a third voice screamed.

She was shocked.
Shocked to hear voices.
Voices that didn’t have any relation to her.

The Voice was quiet
The Voice was thinking.
Thinking how to convey things clearly to her.

“Don’t worry”, the Voice said.
“This is the aftermath”, the Voice consoled.
“The rest of what was there”, the Voice reasoned.

She looked around.
She understood.
And moved on with a prayer in her heart.

The Voice sighed.
The Voice prayed too.
For eternal rest for the souls of the dead.

[This was written after going to the infamous Norris Hall where lives were taken just for madness, futures were lost just for insecurity and love withered and time stood still just for a weakness. My sincere prayers for those who left this abode and my deepest condolences and constant support for those who are left behind to witness the agony.]

Gone with the wind!!

Hi readers,
Right now, I'm gone with the wind. Will be back soon. Till then, take care.
Love,
Alpine Path

My Daddy the best!

Dear Dad,
When I sit to write something about you or even think of you, only one advertisement comes into my mind – “My daddy strongest”. Yes, whenever I think of you, be it at the tender age of five or at the age of twenty, I remember you as kindnesss personified with just the right sense of strictness, oodles of love and a sense of humor that can make me laugh even on my darkest days. Nay! I can never have dark days as long as you are with me.

It is from you that I learnt the importance of hard work, compassion, never-say-die attitude and most of all, to follow the dreams that I dream for myself. Your passion for work never ceases to amaze me and your commitment to duty is one of the many qualities that I wish to imbibe in myself. You taught me the importance and worth of “quality time” where, though you have a very busy schedule, you found time to be with me at all the times I’ve needed you. You taught me to appreciate books for that is where the great masters of life talk to us about the myriad subjects of the heart and universe. You also taught me to love nature, accept the lessons of the physical world and admire the innate beauty of even seemingly inconspicuous things. You helped me develop a clear perception of what is right and what is wrong and how I should stand up for what I believe in irrespective of what the world says. You’ve given wings to my dreams and helped me soar in the vast sky. Your love for me has moved me to tears many days. You’ve stood by me and removed my anxieties, assured me in times of self-doubt, brought me to level when I was flying in the clouds, buoyed me up when I was down in the dumps and always been there for me as a pillar of support, as a rock beneath the clear waters, as a shoulder to cry and lean on, as a soul to understand me, as a guiding light in this world and beyond.



When I was five, I wanted to enact your ways of eating and putting on socks and shoes. When I was ten, I wanted to work like you. When I was thirteen, I wanted to drive a car like you(fast and safe, I don’t think you’ve ever had an accident! Touch wood!!). When I was sixteen, I wanted to follow your footsteps in my career too. And now, I still want to do all this and lots more. I’m sure that you will be my hero forever in life. I only hope that I can be a good enough parent for my kid and that my son/daughter also grow up to be someone like you.

I cherish all the times that we have had together and look forward to lots more. Though I would have to leave you and our family and go to B_____ for future’s sake, my heart yearns for some more time together. I know that among the very few things that I can count upon in this world no matter what, your love comes first. I also know that it cannot be stopped or lessened because of distance or time but that it grows like the “aadi maatha kaaveri”. How is it, appa, that you become better and better every passing day? Every day I think that there cannot be a better dad than you and you prove me wrong the next day by being better than the best. For all this and more, you get the title “The best dad in the universe” :)

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Independence Day

There are some books that make your heart race while their onscreen versions fail to catch the magic(eg. The Da Vinci Code) while there are still others which are tedious for the normal reader in the written format but make for lively viewing as a movie(eg. Jurassic Park). But, there are a rare few that keep people at the edge of their seats both as a book and as a film. One such is the Independence Day. (Ok V___, I’ve nothing to say about the fourth group of films which are pathetic both as a book and as a movie.... why waste time?)

My earliest experience with this story was when I was a kid and was taken to the movie by my uncle(who is a movie buff) with the entire family. I remember sleeping through half the film(or, rather, three-quarters of the film) and then waking up groggily at the end when everyone is happy and then being dragged by my mom to the car from the theatre. I, for one, hate movies that make me sleep. Come on! If a movie cannot sustain my interest the first time round, then what was the guarantee that it will in the following times? (believe me, I’ve gone through lots of stupid tamil, telugu and malayalam movies and sat through them patiently without a blink of shut-eye! So, if a movie can make me sleep, then imagine how pathetic it should have been!).

After the first bad experience with ID(Independence Day :)), I avoided it as much as I could. I’ve escaped from seeing it in star movies, HBO, our local cable channel, etc dozens of times. Even when my brother was seized with an irrepressible urge to see all the English movies he could lay hands on, he couldn’t convince me to watch that movie with him. But, all of this changed when I saw the book! N___ brought along that book when we had gone on a family trip and I couldn’t help glancing through it. Even then, I wasn’t so interested (very atypical of me, if you remember the penchant I have for books of any kind) remembering the bad experience I had with it earlier. She started telling me about it assuming I had already seen the movie and slowly interested me into reading it.

I had already been accustomed to reading about extraterrestrials and the search for them(courtesy, Carl Sagan’s Contact) and thought that I can give ID a try(or rather a retry). Worst case, I would have one more bad experience with it :). But, once I started, I couldn’t stop. It kept me on the edge till the end and made me get a DVD of the film and watch it. Wow!! I still can’t believe how I slept through the movie the first time. Guess it was a combined case of exams(quarterly exams, if I remember right), playing all afternoon and evening and a sumptuous dinner just before the movie that induced me to sleep.

My favorite character in the movie was Steve Hiller. I like his cool-come-what-may attitude and his belief in cigars for victory dance. Especially, his plane drives and the final journey with David was great! And, Tom Whitmore is the type of a leader that each country should have during times of crisis, if not all the time. We need leaders like that in each country who put their country’s well being before theirs and their family’s. Both Jasmine and Connie symbolize the bravery of women during times of hardship. And, David’s character has been etched well. That reminds me! Julius(David’s dad) has a minor role to play in the movie but he seems to have brought the entire thing together. Kudos to him. Every character(right from the silent man whom Jas picks up on her way to El Toro to Russel) has been etched well and has been chosen with care in the movie.

Some of the scenes in the movie were spectacular. Especially, the scenes showing the aliens and their vehicles(the attackers, the city destroyers) were cool. And, the scene where Jasmine comes out of the tunnel with her son Dylan after surviving the wipeout only to see a devastated LA touched me like no other. Imagine coming out of dark tunnels towards light only to find that life is no longer the same and you wish you were better dead than living! The terror and later, hope in the eyes of normal citizens says it all throughout the film. The film is the basic good-wins-over-evil story but the portrayal is fantastic! It brings out the true spirit of mankind and shows us what can be achieved if we put away our differences and join hands together to save Mother Earth and ourselves. Let our children lead a life of peace and harmony. Let them have a world devoid of bloodshed, pollution, nuclear wars and most of all, fear. Let them be fearless! This is our responsibility towards the future generation(rather than having better technology, more money and more countries and governments).

In short, ID, by Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich and Stephen Molstad, is sure to enter the “Top100 English films to be seen” list. Long time since I knew a story in which both the book and movie were equally good. Though it is years late, it is still not too late to enjoy the movie or the book. Folks! If you’ve not seen it, I would surely recommend this movie for the weekend. If you’ve seen it, one more time is time well spent :)

P.S: And the book is better(the reader in me says :) )

A bend in the road

She was calm
She was serene
She was cruising along
Along a tunnel that seemed endless
And straight!!

She was shaken
She was jolted
She was almost thrown over
Along a tunnel with a bend
And curves!!

The bend was mysterious
The bend was fun
The bend was promising
Along a tunnel that had treats
And traps!!

The Voice said "Go for it"
The Voice said "The bend stays"
The Voice said "Irreversible"
Along a tunnel that held dark promises
And the light of fear

She tightened her seat belt

The Voice showed the "thumbs up" sign

What do they see?
What do they decipher?
Where do they go?
Time will tell

End of a beginning

This is the last day of my internship at C_____, B_______. Though I can cross back the threshold of C____, it would be only as an employee. The thought saddens me. I know that this is only the end of a beginning, the beginning of my career. So, my mind and reason stress that I should move on and let the next change in life take over. But, my heart tugs on saying that I should atleast give a good goodbye to the internship period before I move on to become an employee. For most people, this might sound like a ridiculous idea because the internship and employment in the same team would be similar. But, no, it is not!

As an intern, I am only responsible for my part of the project and I am allowed to make mistakes, even silly ones. Also, I can put in only certain hours of work and plan my work to finish it within the stipulated time. I have not been in the office after 8 pm during internship period(save for one day when we did for the pure heck of it!). Also, I reach the office by 9.30 and leave at 6-7. I've been without a care in the world and have immensely enjoyed myself these past few months surrounded by friends. I've done things when I wished, learnt to survive in a new city with none to aid, learnt a new language(I can pass muster in K____), learnt to travel in buses and to move in a crowd, gone shopping for 11 hours non-stop(yeah rups, me, a shopaphobic, have become a decent shopper with some good shopping experiences to my credit(Guys! It IS very important to know to shop well in the female world... don't underestimate its importance)), met with friends from different parts of the country and generally learnt to manage at any place on my own. This has given me more confidance on myself and has helped me know myself in a different light.

As an employee, I'm sure the scenario will be different and that I would learn a lot more in the corporate world. But before a new beginning, a good round of farewells to the past always reminds me of various events and helps me write the past as sweet memories. The entire team(GSBU) has been cool and its been great working with them. Though there were times when I was at my wits end, they were few and far between. A special thanks goes to each one of them(esp. MD,M,N and SK) for making my internship period a memorable one. During our time as interns, we had a few new additions like SKrish and MK into our team. I also got to meet with Bill, Eric, Joanna and Kevin from our team in US and had an interview with them which was good(I also brushed through the basics of ECE and CN in order to attend the interview.... only then did I know how much I had forgotten in six months time. From what I've heard, this seems to be the case. Once we are into the industry, we seem to remember only the information necessary for the job at hand and comfortably forget the rest... with my memory, I tend to forget even faster :)) I also met up with the W___ people in our team(A,SD,AKG) during the lunches that we went when Kevin and his team had come. I've already told a lot about my team. So, lets move on.

About the house where I was a paying guest for so long, it was a fun place. All of us there have had some great time together(I can't forget the sundays when we'd lived, shopped, dined and slept without a care. This was the first time I never hurried through my life. I took my own sweet time to do something. Life at C__ was a perpetual whirlwind compared to this. I had something pressing to do all the time.) And the food and care given there was amazing. Had I gone into any other place, I doubt if I would have so easily adapted to a life outside home after living a cloistered life so far. Thanks to Janani for suggesting that place! Also, I've learnt so many good things from Geetha chechi, Anjus(both of them), Doss, Bhar and of course, Vidya. All along, S has also been quietly advising me on so many issues that I have so far never thought of or have taken for granted. Thank you, folks!

Now, back to my office. I would like to remember and thank every person, right from Asha(my concierge) to Amita(my HR) to RR. And, special thanks to all other interns from Tech who made life more interesting :) Let us all move from being interns to being employees together, either at C____ or at other lucky companies that have hired you. Further come my gtalk friends, who, whenever I was running tests and didn't have much to do, came to my rescue and pinged me :) There were a few others who patiently listened to my incoherent ramblings whenever I was bored. Thanks guys! :)

Finally, coming to SG and a few other friends who made life at B____ seem bliss. Whenever I've needed something, I've made them a call and they'd pitched in. I've never felt lonely with this gang around me. All those calls, all those treats and all those talks! Wow! I feel that these few months have brought me closer to them than any other period of my life. I would not be thanking you because I feel that the fun that we shared is too good to be true and I don't want to spoil it by bringing sorrys and thank yous into the picture :) But you all know my heart and I'd surely yearn for the lovely times that we spent together in this beautiful city. Looking forward to lots more of fun wherever we meet on Mother Earth. :)

Ok! Now, I'm done with the round of goodbyes and am looking forward to joining as a C_____ite. I'm going on a vacation for a month's time to spend some time with family and friends back home. I'll keep you posted on things that I come across during my vacation(there are some interesting things planned ;) Shhhhhhhhhhh) Hope all of you have a great time in your lives too. Take care, Ciao!!

Five things the world doesn't know about me!!

I’ve been tagged by a friend of mine(actually she tagged me almost a month back and I’m in the process of catching up!!). The tag is “Five things the world doesn’t know about me”. Well, what does the tag mean by “the world”? Is it people whom I have no idea of their existence and they of mine? Nah, it can’t be. If they don’t know of my existence, then there’ll be a million things that they don’t know about me(not just five!). So, lets take another try. Is it people I have met once(either online or offline because nowadays all of us lead two lives.... well, the cat has nine, its high time humans had atleast two. What say, folks?) and then moved on in life’s course of time? No, that cannot be true too because these are people whom I might never get to meet again. So, why should they cram their minds with five things about me? Doesn’t make sense. Or, does she mean that I have to fill this tag for people who are my world? The chances are meager because the people who are my world know me very well(sometimes too well... but that cannot be helped :) A small price for such love and trust ) Ok, my guess is that (since I have exhausted all other options) this tag is for people who have met me more than once and have liked me enough to come to this blog and keep reading(if not, dear reader, I would suggest that you stop! Because the following information will not help you in any way! Nor me, if you read it).


Ok! Now to the tag!
1) I can gaze at the sky anytime, anywhere for hours together. When I was a kid, cloud gazing was one of my favorite hobbies. Even now, I try to use any little opportunity I get to look at the sky. I love the sky’s vast expanse and would love to soar like the eagle in the blue, blue sky. I love the sky during sunrise, sunset and anytime in between(day or night). My favorites are the moon, the pole star and the Venus. In fact, I find that poetry or prose or painting depicting the sky is a tad better than the rest.

2) I can read any book( right from kids story books(Doss, remember the afternoon where I read the entire comic collections in the bookstore while you were looking at other books?) to serious ones drenched in philosophy). Novels, especially those that have a historical or magical touch to them, are the best. Humor is a must, though.(Check my latest books section and the favorite books section for more details!!)

3) I love to eat anything red in color. I feel that if something is a deep red, it would have an extra taste to it. Need I say that beetroot is my favorite vegetable and red chillies figure frequently in my shopping list?? (But I’ve not tasted red wine, so I can’t comment on it ;))

4) I love doing things on the computer. There are two reasons behind this. One, I get a personal thrill when I know how something works and when I create something similar(the basic logic-and-program connection). Two, I can easily multitask with a computer doing more than one thing at a time(I feel that my throughput would be higher that way(of course depending on the combination of jobs queued up) and the efficiency would be more. However there are times when this basic law has been deflected in strange cases(like when I have to turn off all other jobs in order to study something I hate) and then my efficiency would really suffer. In such a case, I would have to reduce my throughput to increase my efficiency. Strange, right?)

5) I love a good discussion on any topic. Even listening to a good one is bliss! Nothing to stimulate you more than a good discussion with good buddies who enjoy it all. If the swords and daggers cross, then all the better ;)

Now to the most interesting part of tags. I tag
Princess Banter(Princess, do tell about your daily life too!) and
Confessions of a Psychic mind(Here's a chance to go deeper into your confessions :))

The results

She was tired
She was tensed
She was waiting

The results came
A mixed bag of fortune
A bittersweet concoction

The voice saw
The voice sighed
The voice waited

Her reactions came
A mixed thought
A languid response

The voice wondered

She clarified

Hers is the power
The power to show emotions
The emotions in response to situations

The voice had the power
The power to know her innermost thoughts
The thoughts that can fill the entire universe

She had the desire
The desire to win
And this was only a battle
A battle where she has had a setback

The voice had the responsibility
The responsibility to guide her
And this was the universe
A universe swathed in darkness

A name like Nakki!!

What's in a name? There are lots of issues involved! Even wars have been fought over names. Basically they are used for identifying a person in a group. It increases or decreases the chances of identification of the correct owner based on how unique the name is. The more unique it is, the lesser two people in a room can have it and so, more easy to identify the owner easily. In India, names like Rahul, Sonali and Payal are common in the North while Priya and Arun and Karthik dominate the south. Names like John, Bill, Ann, etc. are famous the world over(like John Chambers or Bill Clinton or Bill Gates and so on). They are like handles for a person. Having a name like Nila or Surya ensures more success than names like abhithagujalaambal or tudelin morchovosky because of the simplicity and ease of pronunciation of the former group of names to the latter. (Ok! I'm stopping here because this post is not in praise of names... but I hope you got the importance of names).

I have the habit of trying to read people's names whenever they wear a tag or ID card. Now that I'm into the corporate culture, I read people's tag first and only then look up at their faces. This is especially true when I am bored and am in a meeting with a large number of people or when I get onto a lift. This is one of the most entertaining things and you can get to know a lot of information about a person in a very short time. Some of my friends share a similar taste and we usually try to find out unusual names. We also quiz ourselves about the origins of that name, why it is unusual and so on. It makes for lot of enjoyable time pass and we've had some great times with this hobby.

One of my friends in the same office said that there was a person with the name "**** Nakki". We were, as usual, interested to know what this name means, its origin,etc. So, where do we go but Google? The mother of all search engines and one of the best. We found the following results:
1) There is a Lake Nakki near Mount Abu, said to be very clear and surrounded by breath taking scenery. A must visit for trekkers and nature lovers.
2) The Hotel Nakki Palace in Shirdi with its 36 rooms.
3) The Nakki Khan(in history) who is a friend of Mangal Pandey, the rebel(by British history) and the revolutionist(by Indian history).
4) A nakki (hopefully a word for an object) in marathi
5) Nakki means to have licked(in tamil)
6) It can be twisted from nakkal (teasing in tamil)
(The last two were my additions... of course, did you think Google would have thought of twisting a word to get another... come on! it is still a search engine and not human. Though that day is not far off)

Also, the next question was what sort of a person can have the name "nakki". This was far more difficult to comprehend because I have very less experience in this and am really poor at predicting what a person can do(except of course very few people... and I should know them well enough(which in itself is a rarity)). We made up some interesting assumptions and were quite freely talking about it when the proud owner entered the cafe. We were flabbergasted! Imagine if you were talking about a person and he/she materializes out of thin air! Then, we tried to change our topic(because we weren't sure of how sharp his ears were) and still tried to see if our predictions were true. Sadly, not one of our predictions were right :( Now, here is a challenge! Predict something about a person who is named Nakki. Lets see if they match.(I can assure you that it makes for some good time pass) :)

Mother's Day!

This is among the oh-so-many forwards on Mother's day. But almost all of them bring a warm feeling in our hearts because the people, mothers, are so special in every person's heart. Two of them which I really liked are:

Reflections
Today, I looked in the mirror;
Curious as to what I would see.
I expected to see my reflection
Staring back at me.

But as I looked, I saw something more
In the face that was there.
I saw the reflection of my mother;
A woman filled with care.

Each year is another year closer
To looking like my Mother.
I see her in my reflection,
In one way or another.

May I not only look like her
But, reflect her heart as well.
For, it's full of love and kindness;
God's goodness in a nutshell.

Another year closer to looking like mom,
That only makes me glad.
For, I love my beautiful Mother.
She's the best reflection I've had.

Mothers
Mother's are special,
With their own brand of love;
Filled with warmth and compassion,
From our Father above.

They can tell when you're happy.
They can sense when you're sad.
But, they're always there for us;
Through the good times and bad.

Their lips fill with praise
Because you've made them so proud
When your report says all A's
And you stand out from the crowd.

Mother's are nurses,
And teachers, and such.
They'll do anything for you,
because they love you so much.

And you'll never find
A more loyal friend
Than your mother or mine,
Because they're a God send.

We know Mother's are special.
So, we'd all like to say,
"This love wish brings blessings,
On your Special Day."

Happy Mother's Day!
To all mother's everywhere!

Unnalae! Unnalae!

Unnalae! Unnalae!
Vin aala sendraenae!
Un munnae un munnae
Thee kaatraai nindraenae!

Oru sottu amutham nee, oru sottu vishamum nee,
oru sottu heavennum nee, nesithen!
Oru sottu inbam nee, oru sottu thunbam nee,
oru sottu hellum nee, yosithen!

[English translation is:
Because of you,
I went on to rule the skies.
In front of you,
I stand as a mixture of fire and air.

You are one drop of nectar, one drop of poison, one drop of heaven.
I like you!
You are one drop of happiness, one drop of sorrow, one drop of hell.
I think of you!]

Easy and Difficult!!

This is one of the forwards that get passed on through mail. But a very interesting read! Hope you like it.

Easy is to get a place is someone's address book.
Difficult is to get a place in someone's heart.

Easy is to judge the mistakes of others
Difficult is to recognize our own mistakes

Easy is to talk without thinking
Difficult is to refrain the tongue

Easy is to hurt someone who loves us.
Difficult is to heal the wound...

Easy is to forgive others
Difficult is to ask for forgiveness

Easy is to set rules.
Difficult is to follow them...

Easy is to dream every night.
Difficult is to fight for a dream...

Easy is to show victory.
Difficult is to assume defeat with dignity...

Easy is to admire a full moon.
Difficult to see the other side...

Easy is to stumble with a stone.
Difficult is to get up...

Easy is to enjoy life every day.
Difficult to give its real value...

Easy is to promise something to someone.
Difficult is to fulfill that promise...

Easy is to say we love.
Difficult is to show it every day...

Easy is to criticize others.
Difficult is to improve oneself...

Easy is to make mistakes.
Difficult is to learn from them...

Easy is to weep for a lost love.
Difficult is to take care of it so not to lose it.

Easy is to think about improving.
Difficult is to stop thinking it and put it into action...

Easy is to think bad of others
Difficult is to give them the benefit of the doubt...

Easy is to receive
Difficult is to give

Easy to read this
Difficult to follow

Easy is keep the friendship with words
Difficult is to keep it with meanings.

What do we blog about?

Ok! The title might sound to be an advisory post but then its not. It is just one of the confusions on an average blogger’s mind(assuming that I am one of them! And going by the experiences of some of my fellow bloggers).What can be blogged and what cannot? This is not to say about the problems that might come when you blog on some sensitive issues(though they make some interesting discussions of their own in the blogger community! :) Such problems have even driven most of them towards anonymity in the blogspace. Imagine a scenario where the blog that you so frequently read and appreciate is your best friend’s. Or, better still, your worst enemy’s. Or, it could be your boss, your wife/girlfriend/significant other, your father or anyone. Why! It could even be that of the person sitting next to you in the cafeteria munching his lettuce sandwich day in and day out. Scary, huh?? We think we are the only ones smart and tech savvy enough in our group to maintain blogs and secret online personalities. But, my pal, the entire world thinks so! That is the boon and bane of Internet. But, I digress... )

Back to the confusion. We have so many new experiences every day. Especially if you are working/studying, single and love to travel and meet people. What do we blog about and what do we leave? Some seemingly trivial experience, at that moment, can have life-turning impact in the days to come. Some important experience(atleast we attach that importance) becomes immaterial in the coming days. So, what do we blog about?

For example, in the last few days, I attended a farewell party, had some great time with friends(lots of juicy titbits thrown in), had a contemplative train journey, met, quite unexpectedly, some seniors whom I had wanted to meet for long but had lost touch due to daily work pressure, finished a review, made progress on the project, met some people after a long time, had some cosy chats with loved ones, planned a trip, cribbed about dogs and caterpillars and the EB(for the frequent power cuts... What else?), saw a movie and did a thousand and one other things. Even if I wanted to note down everything that was happening(remember the blog is a sort-of online journal, according to researchers?) at this point in my life, I don’t think I would ever find time to pen down(or should it be key down? ;)) all this every day. I would be missing out on some more of the interesting things that are now occupying these busy, fun-filled days. So, what do I blog and what do I leave in this? Finally, what do I blog about?

There is another scenario preceding the same question. I’ve seen so many of my friends and fellow bloggers who have asked their readers to suggest some topic to blog on. This does not mean that there is a dearth of creativity. Its just that sometimes they have come a full circle and have exhausted some of the trivial topics to blog on. Everyone blogs about different topics from time to time ranging from serious to hilarious. People finally run out of topics to blog about. So, what do we blog about?

Anyone answering this million dollar question?

An Ode to Bazzingerz!

We’ve been together for four years,
Lots of fun, lots of tears.
Hostelites and Dayskis mixed as one
I’m sure would make others run.
We won the Chillout the first year we came,
And spiced up Dramatix with our dames,
Sports was one field we proved our talent
And showed the world we are not latent,
Tech music had our own star
With whom there was none at par,
NSS, NCC you name it we are there,
With YRC, we showed that we care,
IEEE had our own contribution
Giving us loads of adulation,
Our own ECEA is not the least
The work we did there is a veritable feast,
Who can forget the fun in class
And the planning we did to reach the stars,
We broke many a record
And stood in unison, in accord.
Quizzes and competitions we won so many
All sweet memories, just like honey!

We had good seniors who paved the way
And lovely juniors who made life gay
Our teachers helped us in more ways than one
We’ll thank them till there’s moon and sun
Sure, we’ll go our own ways after this year
But we’ll keep in touch, never fear.
Life is like that, I do know
But this is one phase I don’t want to outgrow
College life has taught us many lessons
And showed what’s life’s true essence
I’ll miss you friends next year
With my eyes steeped in a tear.

Success is what I wish for you,
Life goes on – lets get the cue!
When twilight puts her curtains down
And pins it with a star,
Remember that you have a friend
Though she may wander far
BZZ!! We Rock!!
- Alpine Path
PS: This is my poem on my batch - the Bazzingerz. We are doing our last few days in college together. All that was said in the poem are cent percent true, no hype, no exaggeration. It is one great batch to be a part of and I've loved each minute of it. Thank you friends for making the past four years a memorable trip all the way from the orientation program to the farewell(and graduation day, of course! :))

Patience

She was discouraged
She was losing hope
She is one who cannot wait long for anything in life

She felt tired of waiting
She felt languid
She felt that nothing is worser than waiting

Waiting for something that she deserved
For something important
For something life changing

The voice saw her struggle
The voice saw the journey
The voice is one who sees the end of the journey

The voice consoled
The voice tried to reason
The voice advised Patience

Patience to wait for something that is to be hers
For something irrefutable
For something life-impacting

She listens to that voice
She finds solace in the voice
She hasn't lost hope, not yet...

The Truth???

I was reading an article on India becoming a super power where lots of statistics were given as to how we can finally join the elusive club, right now the special pride of a few nations. I was so proud about the fact and went to the next article which was just the opposite – it denounced all the hype being given about India being a superpower and gave an equal number of statistics as to why we are going the opposite way actually. That set me thinking! Which is the truth?

On one side, we have the Ambanis and Tatas and Birlas doing large acquisitions all over the world (not to mention Indian-origin Mittals), Bollywood movies being released all over the world, all companies opening offices in India, India becoming a nuclear power, Indian authors and artists winning wide acclaim at foreign shores and much much more. Generally, the style of living of the medium class has gone up (atleast one person in a family has a cell phone, we can afford better clothes, more travel and better education and sanitation). However, on the other side, we have an alarming increase in the number of people dying due to poor sanitation and diseases like AIDS, decrease in the number of kids going to school, decrease in the number of jobs for ordinary people (due to various reasons like newer technology making the job obsolete, automation, people not developing the necessary skills and so on), lack of needed infrastructure, rampant corruption and a complacent attitude amongst people at various levels and lots more. Now, how can a country go to two extremes at the same time?

If India is really going on to become a super power( I’d be really happy if that was the case), then why do I see so much of poverty, hunger, death and so many other problems in providing people with basic amenities like food, clean water, air, shelter, clothing and education? But, if India is really sinking down, then how do I see so many companies setting up shop here drawn by our immense talent pool in all fields, so many people being able to afford better and costlier life styles compared to a decade ago, so many men and women becoming financially independent (can you imagine so many youngsters earning so much to support themselves and even their families just a score years???), so many new buildings and construction of facilities, so many different but sure signs of growth everywhere? Which is the truth?

I’m sure the answer must lie somewhere amongst this seemingly confusing jumble. Does it mean that while a certain section of India is becoming rich, another section is becoming poorer? And, does it become imperative which section we are in for our own lives to be a success or failure? If this is the case, then when will everyone in the country start having a decent living? Doesn’t the brand name “super power” take all this into account? Is it being awarded just on the numbers that are generated every year in the balance sheets? For me, a country in which all the people have good food, clean water, air, shelter, clothing and proper education is a better candidate for super powerdom than a country that has the longest road or biggest nuclear bomb or maximum percent of foreign investments (though these are good things to have). I see that this post(and the previous one :)) has lots of questions(though of different types). I see only questions, where are the answers? Now, that is another question!!

Forever young - Possible???

Can a person be “forever young”? I was coming in bus from office to home(for the lack of any other name for the place where I stay... It is more personal compared to a house and less so compared to an actual home.. so the name!) when I saw an advertisement board stating “Wild Jasmines, woman’s creations(whatever that means!!)”. And, then I saw the tagline “Forever young”. That statement intrigued me immediately. So, can a person be forever young? Won’t he/she be bored? First, what does the word young signify? Does it mean signs of vitality and vigor? Then, what do we say of old people who are still leading an active life? Are they young or old? Or somewhere in between? Is this called middle age, by any chance? Then, what can the middle-aged people be called? More interestingly, what can the young people who are leading a sedentary lifestyle with only their computers for their company and surviving on minimum motion be called? Are they old, then?

Or, does the word signify the number of years lived on earth? Then, how can a person be forever young? If that is the case, he/she would have to be born every minute in order to retain the title of the youngest person in the world. Since that is not possible and since we are talking of ‘forever young’ness, the first hypothesis of young denoting the number of years lived can be safely dropped out of discussion?

This leads me to another question. Is the word young used relatively? For example, I can described to be young compared to X while X can be described to be young compared to Y. Does that mean I am young compared to Y at all times? Taking age into consideration, this can be assumed to be true. But, since we already decided that young does not necessarily mean the number of years on earth, we should look into other possibilities. One of them could be looks. We often say, “she looks younger than the other lady”, “he looks younger than the other person”, etc. In such a scenario, the case I gave earlier need not be true at all times and circumstances. For example, though I may look younger than X and X may looker younger than Y, Y can also look younger than me... or may be not. It all depends on the viewer, his/her mindset, the situation, the dress and mindset of the person in question and a lot more. Why? It can even depend on the weather and other external factors out of our control.

Further, when we say a person is young, who is taken to be the comparison-point? Is it based on gender or does gender play no part in this comparison? Also, is the commenter's gender too important? For example, is the case of a lady telling another young different from a man telling a woman so? Against whom is the youth or oldness of a person decided? And, who takes the decision? Is it collective (as in a society) or depends on the viewer as such? Interestingly, nowadays, it is considered to be good or even fashionable to be called young. There is someone I know who smiles widely whenever she receives the compliment that she looks young. Though she knows that the truth is way off the mark, she is still willing to accept it. But, in olden days, it was more respectable and desired to be called old and wise. (How many times have we encountered “wise old men who knew everything that was to know on earth” in stories?) Who makes these decisions as to how a society should react to youth and old age? And, how do we find out when a society changes from one to another? Very interesting!!

Also, is young related to innocence? Then, can’t young people be wise? Or, is it the right of the old people only? And, are all old people wise all the time? What is wisdom and who gives a person the title? Who is authorized to do so? Who gave such an authorization? Anyways, let me not digress... Back to the question of youth and its meaning. When so much of ambiguity lies in the word young, then what can be said of ‘forever young’ness? Even if we were to quantize youth by some means(there is none as far I know), how much young is young enough? Or, is even this relative? Then, wouldn’t everyone want to be in a group of older people so that he/she is the youngest in the group? In such a case, can there be any such groups formed without anyone not being happy with the arrangement?

One last thought... won’t a person be bored of being “forever young”? I mean, only change takes life forward (for good or for worse, that is another question), keeps us from stagnating and makes life interesting enough to live through. Imagine if you had to live every day the same way without any change in routine? Won’t it be the worst thing on earth? Even death would be better than such drudgery. That is why a person’s imagination and creativity are most important qualities in any walk of life. Even if they are not enough for a person to compete with the Mozarts and Da Vincis of the world, atleast they can lift a person from drudgery and cast a rainbow in an otherwise grey life. What can a person do being “forever young”? Can he/she be happy when all the loved ones die some day or the other while he/she remains young forever? And, does being young mean being happy? Are they directly related? Who said that age and happiness are inversely proportional? Isn’t happiness more related to a person’s attitude? Are all youth happy and all others unhappy?

Guess this has been a post full of questions. But, when I see such sweeping statements like this(another example is “happily ever after”, the ubiquitous fairy tale ending – can a person live ‘happily ever after’ – won’t he/she get bored? Where would the spice be in life?), I immediately start arguing against it(like in this post). I think it is an affliction due to my sun sign( I’m a Libran, the scales, forever tipping this side and that, ever judging if everything is fair and wanting everything to be fair to one and all... I can never accept any statement unless it is the irrefutable truth like “the sun rises in the east”. But, come to think of it, one can argue even on that fact. Any takers?? :) ) What’s your opinion, folks???

Two different poems with the same message

To have succeeded
To laugh often and love much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
And the affection of children;
To earn the approbation of honest critics
And endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To give one’s self;
To leave the world a little better,
Whether by a healthy child,
A garden patch,
Or a redeemed social condition;
To have played and laughed with enthusiasm
And sung with exultation;
To know even one life has breathed easier
Because you have lived....
This is to have succeeded.
-Ralph waldo Emerson


Varam kaettal
Kalaiyaatha kalviyum kuraiyaatha vayathum
Or kabadu vaaaraatha natpum,
Kanraantha valamaiyum kundraatha ilamaiyum
Kazhupini ilaatha udalum,
Saliyaatha manamum anbu agalaatha manaiviyum
Thavaraatha sandhaanamum
Thaalaatha keerthiyum maaraatha vaarthayum
Thadaigal vaaraatha kodaiyum
Tholaiyaatha nithiyamum konnaatha kollum
Oru thunbam illaatha vaazhvum
Thuyya nin paathathil anbum udhavi
Periya thondarodu kootukandaai
Alaiyaazhi arithuyilum Maayanathu thangaiyae
Aadhikadavurin vaazhvae
Amutheesar oru paagam aghalaatha sughapaani
Arulvaami Abhiraamiyae!
-Abhirami Pattar

Both the poems are about a successful life but the views are totally different. The influence of culture and practices on the respective authors is evident. And, these poems have the distinct flavor of their cultures and represent all that relates to the West and the East. They have the same underlying principle but have opposite ways of expressing it. Two people, in different countries, different cultures and different time periods have had the same thought process and have defined success in life in their own terms. And, we are lucky enough to enjoy both and wonder at such similarities and differences. Interesting, right?

Dream Tag

Dream world is full of interesting stuff... and Sudipta tagged me about dreams! I am supposed to write three of my weirdest dreams and tag about five people. I don’t know which part is more fun. Anyways, here goes!

1.I had this dream when in school. Our school is one big building with an equally big terrace. As a small girl, I loved to play in the terrace but it was a forbidden area for us. Anything forbidden is always more tempting and I always wanted to go there at every possible opportunity. We also have another building very close to our main building with small bridges in between. This was the basic setting of my dream. It was dark in my dream and my friend and I are running from dogs (ok, I’m scared of dogs) that have somehow come up to the terrace. We both manage to close off the terrace door and try to find a way to escape. We see the adjacent building but lo! There is no bridge between the main building and the adjacent building. There is only one big swing(yes, you got it right! A swing!) and we have only ONE chance to get across. We start swinging and when we are about to reach, both of us slip off, me on one side and she on the other. We hang there like two sides of a balance. Then, I see down, realize how high up we are and....... got up all sweaty with fear!! From then on, I never went upto the terrace alone until my seventh or eighth standard.

2.This was a really weird but a very lovely(and hunger-inducing ;)) dream. One day, after my first experience of the giant wheel(a usual sight in the exhibitions) and reading the “Wishing Chair again” book where there is a land of goodies(where everything is made of food, even the trees, houses and roads.... wow!!), I dreamt that there is an exhibition in our town where once you enter, you get transported to the land of goodies spread over a hillock and there is a giant wheel at the very top. Me and my sister go to the exhibition and we are wearing a bizarre belt with a spoon, fork and a cup hanging from the belt :)We go to the giant wheel for a ride. On the way, we stop every now and then to taste everything. Even the mud on the road is made of chocolate. The flowers have ice creams and rasagullas and the houses are made of murukkus and appalams (a South Indian savory like the Papad but more yummy!) We keep eating a bit of everything with the spoon and fork(and sometimes with just fingers :)). However, there doesn’t seem to be any liquid anywhere. Then, we ask someone for water or milk or lime juice or....... anything liquid because we are so thirsty. He says that we have to go to the giant wheel, get into it, wish whatever drink we need and we’ll get it. Sounds simple, right? So, we go to the giant wheel, get into it as instructed and we both wish for strawberry milkshake. The giant wheel moves slowly and as we come to the top, a big pail of strawberry milkshake falls on us. (Cool yaar!! I could actually feel the chillness of the drink!) we go for a few more rides and each time, we wish for different things like the Rasna (I love you Rasna!! Remember??;) ), Pepsi, Lime juice, etc. Finally we ask for chocolate sauce and end up looking like Charlie in the Chocolate Factory. I remember waking up and feeling very hungry. Even now, whenever I think of that dream, I start feeling very good and very hungry. ;) Any takers for this land???

3.In college, I used to study till 12 at night for semester exams. One day, as I had a difficult exam in a few days time and I hadn’t touched the book till then, I decided to do a night-out all by myself... then, armed with the books, music, the occasional snack, I went into my room and started studying. I didn’t know when I had nodded off... I had my book in my hand and lay on my desk in an awkward position. Then, I had a dream.... Someone at the window is asking me to open it by scratching it but they seem to carry a stick (like the ones witches have). I go to open the door but suddenly my mother appears asking me to say Adhithya Hrudhayam(a slokam that would protect us from all evil). I tell her that it is night and that it is supposed to be told only in the morning. Suddenly a lizard falls on me and... I woke up shivering. I saw that the time was 3 AM, switched off the light and went to sleep covering myself from top to bottom. The next day, I discovered that the scratching sound was because of a tree branch at the window. But, I’m yet to find out why my mother asked me to say that slokam. Kinda enigmatic, right?

This was one of the more interesting tags that I have got. Thank you Sudipta!! I love sleeping and trying to remember my dreams. People say that dreams can predict the future. If anyone can predict mine from my dreams, I’m all ears... I’d love to know a thing or two about my future... if not the far away future, atleast the near-future. Any help, anyone?? Ok! Here goes the tagging part:
Arun
Sunshine
Janani
Syrals
Anand
Happy dreaming!! :)
And happy tagging!! ;)

First month from home

Ok... First things first!! Wishing you all a very (belated) happy new year! I do know its kinda late and that this post is long overdue. But what with one thing leading to the other and me not having a system for quite sometime, I couldn't help it :( Ok! This new year, the first thing that I did was to become a paying guest in a completely new city with all trappings associated with it. It all started with an interview I attended months back and got through. Then, I had thought I might not take it because of various reasons. Finally, each reason after another slowly faded out of sight and cutting a long story short, here I am!!

So many of my friends are asking how I am and how I am managing things all by myself. Thanks a lot for all your concern and care. I am both happy and touched with all your mails and messages. I am doing fine and have started learning lots of basic things in life like traveling in a public bus day in and day out(I've already used buses but infrequently... traveling daily is an adventure onto itself. And traveling to office and trying to keep yourself from looking as if you were just out of bed is no mean challenge!! The first day to office, I was looking like something that the cat picked up on its way!! :) Now the situation has improved. I only look like a rag doll and this is slowly fading too :)), learning to get ready in time with all the work done before I leave( this is no small job either), learning to manage in a place where I don't know the language, learning to work in an office environment and so on and so forth. Also, I got acquainted with lots of other people in the same predicament as I am.

I have learnt a lot of important lessons in the past one month, some of the most important ones being able to pick after myself wherever I go (those who have seen my room at home would know this better. Till last month, I never used to pick up my own stuff. I am a person who thinks that things are better kept at handy places than at proper places, though the amount of time that I’ve spent searching for stuff because of this policy of mine is really huge.), learning to adjust with people of all sorts and dispositions and having to move with them on a daily basis and not getting tensed in the process(I can’t afford to get tensed every day  It is one luxury I can’t afford myself) and trying to save myself from making a fool of myself in various situations(It’s really hard, you know??) For example, on the first day at office, I and S(my teammate, batchmate and roomie) were taken to our team and was introduced to M(who, by the way, was covering for our project leader, MD, who had gone for some meeting). He was friendly and told us about the different things that our team was doing and what was expected of us. I was already on a high because I had successfully done various things (right from doing everything on my own to reaching the office on time and in good condition) and I was really interested in the project. So, I was only listening with half a ear and even lesser concentration. I was more into imagining what all could be done in the project(one of my never-dying habits where I am all imagination at the beginning of any project, technical or otherwise). Somehow the talk session was over and he asked if we would like a cup of coffee. Such an exposure was new to both S and me and we tagged along after him to the pantry. He took a cup and went on explaining as to how the coffee is prepared and other useful related stuff. Something in my mind clicked and I told S that we could prepare our own coffee. She was ok with the idea too and immediately told it to M. Then, he looked at us with a blank look and then said “This cup is for me… I’m not that nice” with a laugh. We stood as if an iceberg had hit us. S recovered faster and said something. I could manage only a weak smile. I still didn’t understand what had happened. I went into autopilot mode, took a cup, filled it with some liquid(I guess it is milk) and went and sat in a cabin with it. Only after some ten minutes did I realize what fools had we made of ourselves! And S was furious at herself(and more furious with me because I was the originator of such an idea. Really I can't imagine how I could think things that way. Guess I was placing lots of hope on the innate goodness of mankind :) Anyways, that accounts for a really good laugh, right? )! Then, we both looked at one another and started laughing. We were having one good laugh when M came again. Since we were laughing, we hadn’t finished our drinks. He wanted to introduce us to the entire team. So, again we went, with cups in our hand to each cubicle and introduced ourselves. I can tell you that easily qualified as one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. I wished that the earth would open up and swallow me(only thing is, even if the floor below had opened up, I would have ended up in the ground floor and not exactly the underground;) ). Imagine meeting your teammates the first time with a cup in your hand. Oh God! What would they have thought? I’m sure it would not be one reserved for angels. This incident should tell you lots about saving myself and the potential difficulties ;)

Anyways, the first day, we went for a treat at office (M had bought a land and treated the entire team, since we were two poor souls who had only joined that day, they invited us too... But the food was heaven for someone who was missing home food). The first day had more amount of buns and came to be known as the “Bun day”. The second day was the “Drug day” where we saw some college students using drugs (well, B________ is giving us new experiences). The third day became the “Laughter day” when both of us were laughing at each and every single thing. The fourth day, we got down to some work and that was our “Verilog day”. After that, the days started moving faster and suddenly, it was time for the first review. We went to college, attended our first review and came back today morning. That was one more great experience (more on that in another post). From office, I learnt the importance of freedom, the responsibilities that come with the freedom and that things should never be assumed and understood wrongly; it is better to clarify it straight with the person who knows it. About my team, there are about 12 of us under MD. Our team has both design and verification people. We have N,J,U,HP,SK,G,K,M,So,S and myself with MD leading us. My team is really good at teaching us, especially me in clarifying all my doubts and queries. They also pitch in and help us with various other issues. Also, I love the work that is going on in my team and respect each person’s hard work, sincerity and dedication to their jobs. The atmosphere at office is motivational to work, interesting to be in and fun to do and, most important of all, comes with a large dose of freedom to experiment with things. Btw, I got my first stipend  Ah! The feeling that comes along with your first paycheck. It should be experienced to be understood.:)

In the weekends, we go shopping and meet friends at different places ( though café Coffee Day is one of my favorites, the simple reason being that it is near to my place and not too straining on my stipend). I went to IIM, B_____ one weekend for a cultural event (Unmaad 07), met a few friends there and had a great time. I liked the place a lot. From weekend escapades, I understood that I would have to manage my time, money and effort properly in order to get the best deal out of all that I do and still have time to enjoy my activities. These are lessons that are needed in everyday adult life, the lessons that I am currently learning. Whether I stay here or go somewhere else to study or work, I am sure that these lessons would stand me in good stead and help me cruise along life’s way. I can see for myself that this one month has made me more mature in more ways than one. I’m moving faster and faster into the adult world and out the kids’ world. Though it is fun in one sense, it is nostalgic at the other. I feel as if I would miss the world that I know and am intimidated by the new world surrounding me. However, the challenge of the unknown is too tempting and I can only pray that I get to take the right decisions and do the right things at the right time. For that, I would need to harness all that I have learnt so far. Anyways, it has been fun so far and lets hope for the best 

PS: Guess this has been a long post. Please do bear with me. I had wanted to tell things as they happened but due to lack of resources and time, I put it all in one post. From now on, hopefully, there will be regular posts from me. Glad to have written this post after a long long time. See you, folks!

Wait and despair!

She waits
She despairs
The result is unknown

The voice smiles
The voice pacifies
The trial goes on

Will she stand the trial?
Will she come out unscathed?
Will she live to rejoice?
Or will she be consumed by the dust,the dust that encompasses the entire universe?

Time will tell
Till then.....



The wait goes on.