Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Out-of-Ordinary

Here is me, in this mundane world, hoping and wishing for titanic adventurous miracles to happen- for a Godzilla to walk through the streets (I know- a lot of people’s lives might be destroyed, but what the hell!), or a meteor shower with a space ship from Krypton (a lot of meteor freaks might emerge, but it could be good entertainment!), or a volcano to erupt somewhere close(I know- I am turning into a sadist!), or for me to by-mistake slip into the volcano’s crest to reach the center of the Earth (hey! I am not all that graceful, you see..), or find a car which would take me to the past/future at 88 Km/Hr (yeah yeah, highly unimaginable, but I can still hope, right?), or for me to walk through a closet into the monster world(alright! I am not as small or as cute, but I am not scared of ghosts either!), or the queen of Genovea declaring me to be the princess of genovea, the next heir to the thrown :P( I so wish even more for the handsome romantic duke), or for me to discover that I am actually a witch, and get an invite to attend schooling at Hogwarts( fine! I might be too old for school.. but it I can still learn to use a wand!), or fall in love with a vampire(then, life wouldn’t be more exciting!!) , or for me to discover that I had a special ability(may be the healing power :)), or for atleast Kolangal/Kalasam/Solla than nineikiren/Kasthuri to end(Like that’s gonna happen!!). Sigh.. There is no limit to what a person can dream, now is there?!? But hey! Don’t get me all wrong! I am not a terrorist, wanting to hurt people. Just think that I could use some real adventure and some excitement in the world! That’s all. :)

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Subtlety Issues

Now that I am home and pretty jobless, I seem to have loads of time to spend. Not too unusual as its just like any other vacation, in fact summer hols used to last for about 3 months! The only difference is that now, I know that I am definitely not returning back to campus, and have no sense of purpose, as of now. Disturbing though it may be, that doesn’t change the fact that I still have the entire days and sleepless nights to kill (I am mostly insomniac. I sleep only once in 2-3 days, that too during early mornings or noons only! :P Old habits die hard, I guess.). So, now I am into watching movies and a few dumb weepy illogical storyless tamil serials on TV. Well, living with 3 adults who could compromise anything but tamil serials for me, I don’t have much of a choice, considering the fact that I m kinda taking it slow in watching all the movies and series I got from d campus due to fear of running out of them. :D Nevertheless, I watch re-runs of a few of the old fantasy movies and Smallville now and then, when I get too sick of TV. Seriously, they hardly screen anything watchable. But occasionally, a few good ones do get shown, for which I fight for happily and watch.

But if there is anything that I have realized, it is that it is too damn hard to watch a good movie in a house with 3 adults!! One kissing scene and I HAVE TO CHANGE THE CHANNEL! Else THEY WILL!!! If no one does, then there will me my dad giving me looks of disapproval, my mom giving me shocked looks that say, ”Oh my! Why is she watching such movies? Doesn’t she have anything good left in her? Has Pilani taken them all away?!?” and then she would get up and walk away, careful not to make eye contact. But there would me my paati (grand mom), sitting with a smirk on her face, looking at me to check out my reaction. Now she would have loads to talk to the relatives!! You can actually see her hiding her wicked grin and turning away, shaking her head, and nonverbally exclaiming,” Oh!! So this is what she has been upto all these years away from home! Watching indecent movies! Kids these days! :D”. What would they even say if they had a son and they caught them watching porn! Sigh! After all this, anyone would just want to give up on them, switch the channel to some weepy tamil serial, and just LEAVE! Grr.

In our country, ‘falling in love’ with a fellow student/colleague itself is a sin in itself. Expressing it is a crime worth punishing! Absolutely unforgivable!! The whole world believes that marriage is a leap taken by two people in so much love with one another, who wish to spend their entire lives together, a celebration of bonding, a declaration of until-death-do-us-part. The whole world but ours! Here, the whole definition of marriage is different, bonding oneself to a stranger/acquaintance, chosen by one’s parents based on the words of a stranger who draws squares and ‘predicts the future’, so that the two married strangers can live a ‘happily-ever-after’. Outside world-“We are in love, eventually married”. Indian version-“We are married, hence in love”. Why are people here so afraid of expressing love? So uncomfortable of watching even movies that show a girl n a guy holding hands? I do understand the awkwardness in watching your close friends/relatives making out in front of you (have seen a few friends do and felt nauseated), but well, some of the current so-called subtlety rules over watching a nice-sweet-cute-romantic movie really bothers me! Hmph!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Kids These Days!!!

Recently, I was talking to a very very close friend of mine and we ended up having a heavy argument. I felt that she was a typical Hufflepuff, a lot like Phoebe. She was totally outraged and asked why I thought so! I told her that I thought she was just really nice and sweet and that she values hard work, loyalty, tolerance, and fair play (qualities of a Hufflepuff as given in wiki), and she tells nice interesting elaborate anecdotes of her earlier life (and a lot of other reasons too), that she could just fit into the character/House I had suggested. Her immediate response, ”That’s so condescending!! I can be a bitch too you know?!? I could take things light, not work hard, bark at people and lie a lot too!! How dare you judge me to be nice and sweet and all?” and BHAM! She swooped out of my room and went into hers and slammed the door!!! Then… then what? I had to stand outside her room, begging for forgiveness to have called her nice and sweet and assure her that she could be a bitch too if she wanted- Definitely!!! Kids these days!! Humph!! Just don’t know how to take a compliment!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Connecting the dots

Disclaimer: Heavy rambling below. Don’t tread if you have better work to do, and continue at your own risk only!
Sometimes, we fall… after all, accidents do happen. The fall though may be an accident or a deliberate sabotage by someone jealous of your grace, or even a harsh revenge, a means of showing contempt by someone who hates you, or a simple act of the disgraceful fate, that you fall in the wrong place, at the wrong time in the wrong position. Which ever the reason may be, the outcome remains independent of it, nevertheless, may vary in intensity, from a slight scratch to a broken limb bone or even severe skull injury and a few unlucky times, even death. The slight scratches vanish in time, replaced by new skin. There is absolutely no problem at all in case of death too! :P

Broken bones and skull fractures take a lot of time, energy and money, cause a lot of pain and stress not only to the injured, but also to the close ones, but they eventually do get mended, but done leave without leaving a scar, that keeps reminding you for the entire life, about the whole incident. The actual physical pain just vanishes away in some time. But the mental and psychological pain is that is the trace it leaves, that sometimes tends to be even more painful than the skull surgery itself!

As Steve Jobs had said in his Stanford speech( incase anyone hasn’t heard it before, I suggest you do.. or atleast read it, for its just really good. I listen to it pretty often. Not that its of much help, but it just makes me feel good and, well, it makes a lot of sense. That’s all.), the dots in life will connect one fine day, and they connect only by looking back and not forward. But the helplessness doesn’t really help, now does it? I have never been the one to believe in prophecies or predictions or horoscopes( which I usually call horror-scopes), and I still definitely don’t! But I guess I now understand why people do go to the seers or jyothishis who claim to foretell the future of even strangers. They hate being helpless and in the dark too. But hey, how can a stranger tell about your future, which even you, who have known yourself since you were born, cant tell? Atleast, that’s my main reason for not believing in them anyway.

In any case, the future will definitely unfold. May be not as one had planned, may be not as one had hoped and may be not as someone else had foreseen it for a payment, but it will fall right under our feet and we will walk through it, whether we like it or not, whether it hurts or not, whether it is pleasant or not. But what ever comes, it is not written on stone. The future is NOT WRITTEN ON STONE. Even Alice Cullen cant predict it right because it changes with each decision one makes, every choice one makes/ is made for him/her. It changes at every crossroad, every turn taken and every new move.

Hence, I guess, that is why it is impossible to join the dots looking forward in life, because they just aren’t there. If Mr. X takes a left to reach a palace and become a king, or goes straight to his wife and kids to live a happy peaceful middle-class life, or take a right to meet with an accident and loose his limbs forever(I wouldn’t say die coz I believe there are things worse than death in this world), and he is totally lost and really doesn’t know which to take, a psychic can tell only upto the point where he reaches the crossroad. It is his destiny that makes him choose a path, fate that leads him to whatever destination.

I guess at the end of a bad road, all a stressed person can do is ask “Why now?” or “Why this?” or “Why me?”. But I guess fate is just deaf and dumb! So it would be a much better use of time and energy, if instead of asking oneself/fate such idiotic unanswerable questions, one would just go back home and continue watching cute sweet romantic fantasy movies, dream one’s own happily ever after, yet live a real life without questions!

Monday, March 30, 2009

Toffee Issues

Life here is becoming more n more difficult, n well, may be, more expensive. Hey, I am not talking about some stupid inflation or some economics stuff. But well, the conversations normally exchanged in shops here are somewhat like these:
Student: One center-fresh pack.
Shop-Keeper(SK): 6 Rupees.
Student gives a 10 Rupees note. SK returns him 4 coffee-bites, or some unknown 1-Re toffees!
This happens almost always these days! I mean, most of the students have to give the SK the right change, up to even 1 Re coins. Where the hell do they all go? I mean, this is obviously, a stupid mass strategy for chocolate/toffee marketing, and a n effective business tactic for the SKs, coz they get them in a bulk, for way a lesser price, and I don’t know, throw away all the changes that they have (or just hide them) and refuse to sell the customers stuff if they don’t have change, unless they are ready to accept these toffees or simply buy more stuff till they get a round number, when in fact, they intentionally fix the prices at some odd value, just exceeding a round value, in-order to sell more of their toffees!
Today, a friend wanted maggi, and we went to the Nescafe stall inside the Girls Hostel. One plate of maggi is Rs 12, a coffee is Rs 6, Tomato Soup is Rs 7. But we all know that she takes 15 for maggi, 10 each for soup and coffee. If they don’t have changes then why not make the prices round, and just increase/decrease the quantities? Then no one has to lose, except these SKs would make lesser profit! They have gotten so used to bullying this extra unseen money from students, that they have become so damn arrogant now!
Friend: A plate maggi plz.
Gives Rs 15. SK gives back 3 melodies (which we all hate).
Friend: See... I really am not a chocolate person. I'll give you Rs 2. Gimme the five back.
Friend gives a 1Re coin and 2 50-paise coins.
SK: Sorry. We don’t accept anything other than 1/2/5 Rs coins. 50 paise and all doesn’t go in the market.
Friend: Then just note my name, ID and my room no and take 10 Rs, n I promise I'll get the change by tomorrow.
SK: See... I cant do that. But take these toffees. Don’t you know? Coins are not there anywhere in Pilani. The daily market works only with these toffees. They are really good! Just try them! And if they are not good, let me know.
Student: Why?
SK: Then I’ll change to some other toffee! :D
Then my friend had one of those damn toffees that was given a couple of days ago from the same SK. So she gave it in place of the 2 50 paise coins.
Friend: Well, since the market is running on these toffees, there you go!.
SK: Uh.. well, we only give toffees, not take them. Sorry. But then you can buy something else for 3 or 7 Rs, surely.
Friend: Nopes. Don’t want anything else either. But you know what? Forget the maggi. I am not hungry anymore! Your toffees just drove it away!
SK: Sure. That’s fine.
She then turns to another girl who shows a 100 Rs note for some 32 Rs purchase, and gives her back 8 toffees! The girl takes them with no complaint at all! Either the girl is just too dumb, or just very hungry and ok with being cheated! So much for education in a ‘prestigious institute’!!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

DIB(The Expansion will be Explained Subsequently)

1.15 am
BUMBRO BUMBRO, SHYAM RANG BUMBRO…
Me: (Yawn)
Knock Knock.. Door opens.
Me: Hi.. can you please reduce the volume? I am not able to sleep.
DIB: Oh! Ok.. I’ll reduce it.


1.35 am
Bumbro bumbro.. o…o… tummm…
Me: What the hell man? She just touched the volume control or what? I can still hear it well, loud enough and clear! You can hear it through the phone!!! Imagine listening to the same song for the past half an hour!! Whaa I want to sleep!!!
Friend-on-phone: Well.. good luck with that!! Anyways, goodnight!

Knock Knock.. Door opens.
DIB: Oh.. you can still hear?
Me: Yes. Very very clearly!
DIB: Oh.. k.. I’ll reduce it further. Sorry! :D

2.00 am
haira haira hairabba.. haira haira hairabba..
50 kg tajmahal enakke enakkagha..
Me: (Thinking) Oh that is considerate of her to put tamil song for my sake!! WHAT THE HELL?!?!? Doesnt she know how to reduce volume?

3.15 am
Phone rings.
Me: So the world is against my sleeping!
Number seen: +301
Me: Ohh! ISTD??
Hello?
A male voice: Hulloooo…. Aap kaun bol rahe hain?
Me: Huh? Aapne call kiya tha.. aap boliye? Kaun hai aap aur kya chaahiye?
The male voice: Aapka voice bada sweet hai… Aapka naam kya hai? Mere saath friendship karengi?
Me: urgh! (Cut the call.)

Phone rings again. Number seen: +301.
Me: (Thinking) If its not ISTD, it must be some VOIP or some thing like that! Hmph.(Switch it off.)
Aaye ho kis bagiya se..
Bumbro bumbro, oh oh tum..
Bumbro bumbro, oh oh tum….

Me: This is just not happening!! Deaf Insomniac Bitch(DIB)!!
(Switch the fan on.)
The noise of the fan drowns the bumbro music.
Me: Well, this noise is atleast bearable!
Cover myself with an extra blanket and finally fall asleep.


Monday, March 9, 2009

The unwelcomed guest

About an hour back, there was a really unbelievably huge and unexplainably ugly lizard in my wing that caused a huge chaos, and led to a not very new, yet a valuable realization, and a huge sigh of relief. The lizard was kinda playing hide-n-seek with the rooms and the wingies when all of them banged on my door and screamed out,” Hey.. A lizard is coming into your room!!!” I immediately, out of reflex, opened my door, and was immediately confronted by a few of my friends with their brooms held high! I realized that they were not joking, and tried to locate where the stupid homeless lizard had gone, when I sadly found that when I had opened my door, it had gotten stuck to the bottom of my door and was struggling to get into my room!!! I jumped and picked my own broom, and there we were, just staring at the obscenely huge struggling lizard, not really knowing how to tackle it, for none of us, especially me, fancied seeing a dead stinking lizard under my door. Since we were all delirious, NO- NOT SCARED, just you know… kinda panicky, I went to ask the didis for help, thinking they might have more experience and might tell us exactly what to do.

FYI, didis are the 24x7 helpers who stay in the girls hostel and their so-called-jobs are to be there for us in case of any required help. Well, as I was saying, they were all gathered in their own common room, knitting sweaters (Lord knows why considering the winter is long gone) and watching a really old Hindi movie. I went there in a delirious hasty state and pleaded and begged them for help. One out of the five maids looked up, and said she didn’t know what to do, and told me to take someone else. Others didn’t even bother to look up from their ‘knitting’ or their ‘fascinating movie scene’. So much for their presence in the hostel!!!

I walked back, and then the rest of the ‘friends-with-brooms’ were standing just where I had left them- right outside my door, keeping an eye on the lizard, though it seemed pretty still, and I was afraid it was dead where I didn’t want it dead!! Of all the places to get stuck! Urgh! Anyways, then we formed strategies, found that it was still alive, very much actually, and slowly maneuvered it out if its hole, into my room and out through the balcony, using a number of brooms and tracking it to its right path and all. Phew! What an exhaustingly nasty business! And ew! What a disgusting reptile!! Even more than the fright of it lying dead under my door, there was a disconcerting thought of it ripping its tail or a limb off and running away, leaving it in my room. The lizard would eventually grow it back. But my room would have been a mess!!

So the main lesson learnt- Didis here are so used to luxurious life of not working at all, and watching TV 24x7 and doing nothing, that these helpers are just not helpers anymore, except if them not helping leads to us learning to help ourselves is the help that they really are here for! And the huge sigh of relief was hence a mixture of the ugly lizard leaving my room whole and alive, and, me leaving this place for good, by the end of this sem, to a place where I hope to God, not to face such useless irritating unhelpful didis ever in my life. But oh well, at the end of it all, the unwanted guest left my room alive, when all the odds were pointing the other way, no thanks to the didis, but all thanks to the wingies-with-brooms!!