piggy tales

It is difficult. Studying something boring after dinner, with stomach full of food that is getting digested even as you're dilly-dallying about where to begin from. And by the time the hour hand of the clock sweeps a full π/3 radians, the eyelids positively begin to droop. At this time, it takes your cellphone to declare 'one new message received', to stir you from your somnolent state. It was from a friend from college about a rather alarming news. 'One swine flu case in our college'-it read. The eyes which were getting blurry a minute ago,popped out with sudden alertness.
"Good lord! who?" I asked.
"Someone from IT dept"-she replied.
And I started rewinding my memory. Did I meet any IT people today? Um..no. I don't think so. I did see a few of them a day before yesterday at the students' section while inquiring after the marksheets, but I definitely didn't talk to them. But then maybe I came in close contact with someone who might've come in contact with them. Or maybe I came in contact with the infected person himself! How would I know? I know very limited people in the college by their names, or even by faces for that matter. Which is explainable, as I still don't know the names of at least a dozen of my classmates..yeah, never bothered to find out either. But the point is..what are the chances? I do travel by buses.Of course it has reduced great deal this sem. And although travelling on your own is a time saver, thirty five minutes at a stretch for a heavily accident prone person like me is a bit trying. But I'm turning into a road rockstar- two full weeks without bumping into other vehicles and speeding tickets :).
My cold has not subsided even after a month. And my mother, like a typical mother is making a big deal out of it.Yawn. But now that there's so much morose news coming from every corner-swine flu tightens grip in the city,state sees its worst hit ever, first disease to be declared pandemic in the last forty one years,death toll soars up,new testing centres being set up-the paranoia is making inroads in everybody's mind. Even mine. My 'be-prepared' father had already purchased the n-95 masks two weeks ago and he daily urges both me and mamma to wear it. No, we still don't. He doesn't, either.But now..now I might. Ew!
It's funny, you know! The absolutely contradictory behaviour that people exhibit. Don't compromise with the roadside dalwadas, travel in brts buses only because they're for free, and please please don't forget to avail from the 'mega' sale that is going on in a mall that is a good twenty kilometres from your home- yes yes the same which records the footfalls of half the city- to buy one and get two free ,or perhaps shop for five hundred or more and get a kilo of sagar ghee free. And yet these are the same people, who'll run like road runners,covering up their noses and mouths with any cloth at hands' reach-hankie,dupatta,free end of a saree,collar of the shirt-at the slightest sound from the inferno- Aaaatchhooo!

It's a pity that swine flu is a communicable disease, and that it can affect humans. Think how easy it would've been otherwise, to prove/determine the real species of many a mammals who pretend to be humans. At least a few people I'm unfortunate enough to know, would've definitely been affected by swine flu.
But every cloud has a silver lining and I'm hoping for the best. Maybe after this they'll close the college for a week. OR maybe they'll curtail the college hours. OR maybe they'll stop sending letters to the parents of the students with an attendance shortage, which by the way I didn't receive. :) OR maybe they would distribute Bournvilles. Yes, I know the last one doesn't fit in, but what the hell! one can never get enough of chocolates! :D

No matter whatever dies out...Hope must live on :)

shit happens

Imbecile! Blockhead! Dumbass! Jackass! Moron! Idiot! Pigheaded! Birdbrained!
I'm all this and more :X

why? Why? WHY? Why did I do it?
I acted most imprudently today. Which person? Which abysmally foolish person would ever rebuff such enticing a proposition, hmph? I still can't believe I said..well whatever I said.
Ohhh..God! I'd been dying for this to happen and when finally it did seem to materialize, I thoughtlessly blew it up. Dream.Wish.Pray.Disregard the answered prayers.Get rueful.That's what I always do. Why am I like this?

I don't deserve to make a wish. That's what. Because even if it comes to me on a platter, I take it and fling it as far as I can. This opportunity that I let go, I'm pretty sure wouldn't come again. And this time, it's nobody's fault but mine. No person to pass the buck to, no destiny to blame, no circumstances to accuse. All my fault :(

No point crying over spilt milk. Pay the price, learn from the mistakes (especially the one that has been made thrice now!) and move on.

gen stuff

I turned one week old today :)
Seriously.
Erm..Ok, fine fine! It's one week, sixty months and sixteen years :D :D
Dunno about feeling older but I definitely feel wiser :)

Last week was super fun. I love my friends :)
There are times when you don't want to thank god, or even wish for something. All you want to say is-" Hey, come down for a while and party with us" :D

I don't want to go to school. Why do I have to go to school? I'd do anything better than going to school.
-Calvin.

I don't want to go to college. Why do I have to go to college? I'd do anything better than going to college.
-Neelanjana.

Yeah, it's true. Mostly because there's no NSP*. Actually there is..not totally nsp, but somewhat nsp. But that too is not possible everyday :x

I'm in love with my new glares :)
When I look at these useless xeroxed pages, like the ones I'm looking at through the corner of my eye, I get irrirated. God knows how many chopping down of trees am I obliquely guilty for :( Ever since I started my college life getting stuff xeroxed- most of the times absolutely unnecessary ones-has become a routine. The owners of the local xerox shops know us pretty well by now. One doesn't even need to tell them what all you want to get xeroxed from the reference handbooks, the ones that they don't issue on a student's library card because apparently keeping such books in our possession is like..ahem..letting in a bull in the china shop! (I dunno if the idiom suits the context. I'm sure it doesn't. But what the hell, I like it and I'll use it.)
I don't like calling a photocopy, a xerox. But I still do because that's what people understand. Twice, I tried without success to get a photocopy done and both the times I was told-"hum to sirf xerox hi karte hain'!
Fine then! xerox, it will be.

I want to watch kaminey. And I want to sit on the rides they have in fairs. There's no mela here..huh :x

Why does my father always need the comp when I'm in a mood to blog? :x

*NSP= Nayan Sukh Praapti :P

PS: This is a record post. i have never used so many emocons in any other post before.
PPS: And yet, these are not one millionth as expressive as my face is 8) (told you about my glares!)

I-day memories

I'll pick up from where I left in the previous post.

The program was good. it makes me very nostalgic. It reminds me of all those dances I was a part of in my school life, especially in the Independence and Republic days. I think the best of all was the one I did in 2nd standard-Aye Vatan, aye Vatan. It was my first dance performance of school life and easily the vividest of all others that followed every year since then.

There were some speeches that stirred us with patriotism and some that gave us a lot of time for idle talk :D
The flag was hoisted at 7:00 AM sharp, which meant that we were to be present latest by 6:30 AM. We had to wear our P.T(white) uniforms, and not the regular navy blue and white on that day. Prayer, pledge, a very inspirational thought, news and then the ceremony would begin. Flag-hoisting, rashtra gaan, a few more patriotic songs,house-wise parade, P.T, a few dance performances, speeches, history of freedom struggle, a few deshbhakti poems. And we sat on the dry ground under the scorching sun, playing with the sand and wishing desperately for the torture to get over. We groaned and sighed when the speech we thought was the closing speech turned out to be yet another intermediate speech. And then..the yellow pendaas :)
Such was a typical I-day at school, which I wished to believe then I would never miss. But that wish has not been fulfilled. I miss it.

Had just been watching those special programs on T.V where they take celebs to the border to meet the jawans. In one channel they took Abhishek Bachchan to the Tiger Hill, where the batttle of Kargil was fought and in other they took Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh to meet the NSG commandos. I watched both the shows. Listened to the gut-wrenching tale that journalist Barkha Dutt told about a major who was the first one she ever interviewed and the also first one whose obituary she ever reported. The way some of the families of the martyrs had pulled themselves together, the way some still cried foul at the slightest mention of their names even a decade after they got slain.
Defence people- the personnel as well as their families are a different race altogether. A very very brave race.

In one channel they brought back a lot of messages to the border from the jawans' families and it was indeed an emotional moment. Even their family members seem to be made up of a different fibre. Fibre of sheer grit, valor exuding from every word that they spoke. And even after watching their families after months, even though tears wetted their eyes, when they spoke they were quite stable and firmly repeated that-"lekin desh zyaadaa zaroori hain". And one of them when asked-"Kya aapko yahaan border par apne parivaar ki yaad nahin aati?" answered with a smile-"Mujhe desh ki zyaadaa yaad aati hain".

Then in the other channel they showed some of the drills of the NSG commandos. And I have no words for expressing my awe. I'd read somewhere that the rejection rate in NSG is more than 95%. No wonder the ones who are there are so fit! Then some of them shared a few incidents from the very recent operation Black Tornado. The spirit of friendship that and responsibility that led one major to engulf the bullets that were meant for his subordinate. The way they forgot everything about food and water let alone their personal lives during the operation that went on for two days. I remember a clip where after receiving adulation from the crowds after successfully completing the operation one of the commandos remarked-"This is the real reason why we chose to become a commando".

I have utmost respect for defence people. I know everybody has. Everybody should actually. And the more I learn about their gallantry the more I hero-worship them. It's not just about the physical fitness. It's mostly about the fervor with which they serve the motherland. One would think that patriotic dialouges are delivered just in movies. But the truth is that even the actors in movies cannot emulate this super human passion and commitment. Imagine being away from your family for a major part of your life, putting the nation before your loved ones, living in a sub-zero climate with modest facilities, braving the bullets, doing every possible thing and sometimes even the seemingly impossible ones by jeopardizing your own life so that your countrymen can sleep peacefully. If this is not the epitome of selflessness and bravery then what is?

They had a very good reason to coin the phrase 'Jai Jawan'.

Vijayee vishva tiranga pyaaraa

वीजयी विश्व तिरंगा प्यारा,
झंडा उंचा रहे हमारा.

सदा शक्ति सरसाने वाला,
प्रेम सुधा बरसाने वाला,
वीरो को हरषाने वाला,
मात्रभूमि का तन मन सारा.

वीजयी विश्व तिरंगा प्यारा,
झंडा उंचा रहे हमारा.

इस झंडे के नीचे निर्भय,
रहे स्वाधीन हम अविचल निश्चय,
बोलो भारत-माता की जय!
स्वंतंत्रता हो ध्येय हमारा.

वीजयी विश्व तिरंगा प्यारा
झंडा उंचा रहे हमारा.

आओ प्यारे वीरो आओ,
राष्ट्र ध्वजा पर बलि-बलि जाओ,
एक साथ सब मिलकर गाओ,
प्यारा भारत देश हमारा

वीजयी विश्व तिरंगा प्यारा
झंडा उंचा रहे हमारा.

शान न इसकी जाने पाये,
चाहे जान भले ही जाए,
मानव मातृ मुक्त हो जाए,
तब होवे प्राण पूर्ण हमारा.

वीजयी विश्व तिरंगा प्यारा,
झंडा उंचा रहे हमारा.

(नोट: यह गीत श्री. श्यामलाल गुप्त "पार्षद" द्वारा १९२५ में रचा गया जब कानपूर में भारतीय कांग्रेस अधिवेशन की बैठक हुई थी.)
We used to sing this song in chorus while at school. And today, like every year, the colony people are playing the entire collection of all the most popular patriotoc songs!
All these songs are so evocative!

Chhodo kal ki baatein, Nanhaa-munhaa raahi hoon, Aye vatan, aye vatan, Aye mere vatan ke logo, Mere desh ki dharti, jahaan daal daal par sone ki chidiya kare basera, saare jahaan se achha, vande mataram, yeh desh hain veer-jawaano ka, aao bachcho tumhe dikhaye jhanki hindustaan ki, insaaf ki dagar pe bachcho dikhaao chal ke...I love all of them!
But the best of all is the Rashtra gaan of course :)

Anyway, I'm running short of time. Need to go down to watch the flag-hoisting and the programs that would follow. More on India and Independence on the next post.

Naya khoon hain, nayi umange, ab hain nayi jawaani
Hum Hindustaani, Hum hindustaani,
Hum Hindustaani, Hum hinduataani. :)

Jai Hind!

PS: This incidentally happens to be my golden jubilee post. And what better day or topic to bring it up!

blah

There are things one discovers, observes and concludes about oneself and others in the course of one's life. I haven't exactly completed my course of life (arrr..hopefully!).But yet, after each passing year our heads are fuller than the previous year. And this passing pseudo-gyaan needs to be recorded; how else will I laugh at my foolish younger self in my toothless and gray hair days? (Gray hair!! Ohhh..I shudder to think that my hair will turn gray one day :o)

Old facts:

• Bournvita/Horlicks/Complan/Milo etc health drinks: All these taste much better in their powdered solid state than the intended liquid state.
  

• First impressions may or may not be correct but first instincts are always correct.
  

• The way guys talk when they're in the company of their guy friends is annoyingly different from the way they talk when their 'gang' is absent.
  

• Kabaddi is more fun than lock and key.

• Vanilla shakes are better than vanilla ice-creams.

• To retain the lustre of the oil-paintings rub them with a dry slice of bread.
  

• Skirts look better than jeans.

• I think I'm a lot like Monica, although I've got a good deal of Phoebe in me. :)

• Heels shift the centre of gravity of our body and thus musn't be worn for health reasons. But if you're 5'3'' like me, tell the person who told you this to go suck a lemon.

Recent gyaan:

• Never take your mom shopping with you when you want to buy a backless halter. She wouldn't let you buy it. (Mine didn't). Always buy it first and then tell her that you bought it from the no-exchange section :P (this will be implemented the next time, which will be very soon *evil laughter*)
  

• The chief minister himself would probably be more approachable than the department peon. Seriously. Imagine a life wherein you can strut around with an air of supreme self-importance, get a naive but dutiful assistant, look down upon the students as if they are absolute scum, and the toughest part of your job is making a pot of tea!
  

• Flirting with a teacher is really uncool.
  

• Majority of the people in the buses talk about buses.

• Orkut was too much trouble than it was worth.

• The concept of moral luck seems to be true enough.

• Chololates are resistant to resistance.

Yeah, so anyway I got fined yesterday for exceeding the speeding limit. My first traffic fine :) Yesterday actually was a day of a lot of boo-boos and so was today :D

I desperately need something constructive to write about!

vague

Row, row, row the boat,
gently down the stream.
Merrily merrily merrily merrily,
life is but a dream.

Innocent kinter garden days. :)

But it amazes me! The depth of these few lines. Children recite this heavy or light (depending on our perception) piece of philosophy, in a singsong voice with a purity that can only emanate from an unsullied heart. And I have a feeling that they understand it better than the adults do. Some wise man had once said-"If you want to see life in the exact way it is, see it from a child's eye". I think all of us were much wiser and much better humans when we were young. But alas! Not anymore. Someone was kind (ahem) enough to remind me that at twenty-one, one ages enough to publicly enter the aunties' leauge (huh! :x). Ohh..no one has called me an aunty yet. I don't think I'm prepared to be called one, nor am I prepared to bid goodbye to the twentieth milestone of my life.

My throat is a lot better now. Throat infection gives me the scare of my life. Imagine not being able to talk! It's like a capital punishment for me. :o

Today as I and priyal sipped our coffees after finishing the paper work, it struck me that the tagline of the coffee shop is sufficiently justified. Indeed, a lot can happen over a cup of coffee.On sunday evening it was a typical g-talk with anu and chinky in the same place. Yesterday it was a leisure talk with harshit whom I met after a long time. And today it was a some vital and hopefully fruitful work.
Now that I come to think of it, I have a lot many good memories associated with these joints. A lot of casual hanging around, a lot of meet-ups, a lot of catching up, a lot of idle talks, a LOT of gossiping :P. I remember the first time I went to one of these outlets, it was with anu, on our way back home from school. As young girls in uniforms, we were heavily embarrassed to see a couple right across our table snogging unabashedly in the full view of public ( I, anu and the shop workers were the only public!). Of course it is OK, but there has to be a refined technique. Tearing each others' faces- how primitive are you? :o
And also that time: my most horrible day of the college till date. The whole thing was so nasty and I was so weobegone that I didn't even care to leave soon. Which is totally abnormal, as I look forward to leave the college area as soon as I'm allowed to. I'm the last person to suggest -"hey, it's just seven thirty let's stay for one more hour". But on that occasion I let the caffeine system along with my friends cheer me up.

As I was glancing through the tv channels yesterday, desperately trying to evade the ridiculous details of Rakhi-ne-Eelesh-ko-chuna-apna-var news, I came across a hindi music channel where they were playing all those nineties' hindi movie songs. Pehla nasha, Main koi aisa geet gaaoon, Dil hain chhota sa, Baaho ke darmiyaa, Aawaara bhanvare...most refreshing! It was then that I wondered where had these songs gone? Why don't I listen to them anymore? I should. I've grown up listening to these songs. Every generation is most attached to the songs that they hummed while they were young. At the age of ten, totally overwhelmed by kuch kuch hota hain, I used to daydream about my college life (a glorious period, thought I, when I'll be like one of those big girls) on the background music of koi mil gaya. Then, when I was in seventh, the entire country was obsessed with ek pal ka jeena from kaho na pyar hain. I was obsessed with na tum jaano na hum, from the very same. I used to sleep with that movie's cassette! In fact, Hrithik Roshan happens to be the only celeb/person whose poster I glued on a wall of my room :). Then there was a movie called 1942- a love story. And if I were to jot down a list of my top ten or fifteen, all of its songs would feature.
There's so much that has changed now. Anyone from the same era would remember a trend that was characteristic of that time. I don't know when it died out. Remember the music videos with songs that had a story to tell? I used to like piya basanti a lot, I still do. It had nauheed cyrusi playing a kashmiri girl and then there was a terrorist who falls in love with her..something like that. Colonial cousins, falguni pathak, sunita rao, alisha chinoy,shubha mudgal- these were people who used to cut an album every now and then. All with stories. Sometimes senseless, and sometimes very touching. What happened to this story-in-a-song culture? It was kinda nice.
Music actually is a very strong link to one's past. It can remind us as much as an old, battered diary can do. If I speak for myself, then as far as hindi music is concerned the nineties and a few early years of the new millennium would define my type of music. Of course some old and new ones are classic as well, but they don't make me nostalgic the way the songs from the former category do. :)

PS: This post is vague :)
PPS: yaaaaawn!