Band-Aid Covers the Bullet Hole..

Excerpts of dialogues between friends, and friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends...


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[Guy talk]

"Friends with benefits should be a legitimate option in India.. Look at us- we're 26 and still are not used to the cruel ways of love. Yahan ke logon ko heartbreak ki aadat ho jaati hai by the time they are in their twenties. That is the healthy way of living life..

"Oh please, do you want to give girls more avenues to use the "let's just be friends" dialogue?! No ways! No friends, only benefits.."

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[Girl talk]

"I think sex is over-rated"

"What? How can you say that?"

"No, seriously. I think it's not as big a deal as people make of it"

"I'm sure it's not but you haven't even done it yet- so you never know!"

"Exactly! I haven't even done it yet but I still know I'm going to get bored of it in a few months.."

Turning to friend's fiance : "I feel sorry for you man, really sorry!"

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[Mush]

"I think love is like friendship with two shots of espresso topped with two scoops of chocolate syrup!"

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[When Harry met Sally..]

"I think we should just be friends for now.."

"Isn't that supposed to be a girls-only dialogue? You cannot infiltrate our territory like that!"

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[Ex-files]

"My ex-boyfriend just sent me his wedding invitation card."

"Oh? Sooo...you're going?"

"Going? Seriously?! What do you want me to do - go on stage, congratulate him and his wife, shake his hand, pose for an awkward, corny picture with them, and act all dignified while the whole time I am imagining myself dunking him in sulfuric acid?! NO! I'm not going !!"

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[How to Scare Your Mother]

"Do you know there's a vaccine for cervical cancer now? I was speaking to Dr. Bhidaye and he said you are a good candidate for the vaccine. You should take it when you come to India."

"Why am I a good candidate?"

"Coz the vaccine is most effective if you take it when you are unmarried.."

"Unmarried? You mean if you are a virgin right?"

"Huh?!"

"I'm sure marriage has nothing to do with it. I guess you have to be a virgin to be able to take it?"

"Usually, the assumption is that the two are inter-dependent... But the world is changing, so..."

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[Arranged Marriage 101]

"Dude, however cool he may be, the fact is that no Indian guy is going to marry an Indian girl who voluntarily has a tattoo!"

"Are you trying to scare me?"

"No, but I'm just telling you to be prepared.. You signed on for a very difficult life.."

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[Good girls finish last]

"You are too nice"

"Awww... Thanks ya, that's sweet.."

"No, no. Listen to me- you're too nice"

"And....that's not good?"

"No - guys don't like nice girls! You need to grow some horns!"

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[True Story]

"I know this may seem like a rip-off from the Jerry Maguire dialogue but the fact is that you had me at 'Tujhe dekha toh yeh jaana sanam..' Seriously.."

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[Teen-ache]

"Yaar, I am in trouble. I try to be mad at him, I want to be mad at him. I get mad at him too- like really, really, really mad- the maddest I can be! But it all goes away when his stupid, smiley face flashes on my cellphone when he calls.."

"You need a new face; or honestly, you need a new life.. Join a dance class or something!"

Why does everyone always wait till 3 ?

Sometimes the Youtube suggested videos come up with real gems- like this short film that popped up after a Grey's Anatomy song (go figure!)...



If you think about it- the story is very standard- a guy with a list of things to do before graduation, his girl - friend (the dash that makes all the difference!) who he also has a crush on, and how he gathers up the courage to tell her his feelings in the end..

All of us have those lists of things we want to accomplish before graduation or before we turn 25 or 30 or 50, whichever bracket you fall into..
All of us know the feeling of being secretly crazy about someone but not knowing how to say it because you don't want to "ruin the friendship.."
And hopefully some of us have gathered up the courage to tell them how we felt in the hope of leaving nothing unsaid..

In matters of the heart, more than ever, timing is everything. One missed chance, one wrong move, or a little too much alcohol (;)) can break your shot at the possibility of a great love. The funny thing though, is that you never really know at that point, if it was a good or bad thing. What seems like a lost cause then, could probably be the pathway to something even bigger and better in your future. The dots connect backwards- true. But at the same time, you can connect the dots only if you create them in the first place. Unless you take your chances, how will you know what you could get? Why does everyone always wait till 3? The right moment is now, not when the moon is in its waning crescent phase and stars are forming a heart shape in the sky.. :P

My second take-home message is this- I sincerely hope that none of you have to experience lost love, because no doubt, it is one of the hardest things you ever have to go through. But if it does come your way- then never go down without a fight. If you wallow in self-pity, then it's like giving the other person the remote control of your life. And that is completely unacceptable. Cry if you want to. But only for fifteen minutes. Love is not a battlefield, but bouncing back is.

(This post goes out to Aly- This is all I want you to remember, girl..)

Do we always make the most of what we have?

So this is going to be one of those other random thoughts that crept into my head a few days back.. I'm trying not to be so analytical about every thought that crosses my mind, but due to some reason- I can't make it stop! Lol.. Good thing about this new obsession is that it at least provides food for thought for new posts on the blog.. :D

So anyway- you know how the economic situation around in the world, and in the US, in particular, has been in the doldrums for some time now?! Of course you know it.. I think the recession has affected the lives of each and every one of us in some way or the other. So anyway, in such cases- one thing people always talk about is making the most of the options we have on hand. So gone are the days when we could afford to be picky about the kind of job we wanted to do, or the kind of company/city we wanted to work in. Of course, you always apply for a job profile you think would suit your qualifications and interests, but by and large, you take what you get *gratefully*, without complaining too much! So, a job in upstate NY?!- Sure; I hate the snow and desperately want to move away from here- but that can wait for later! For now, a job is a job!

And there's nothing wrong with that- I mean, life is about making the most of the cards that are dealt out to you, right? There's always this ring of fire each of one needs to go through- where we are finding our niche, moving an inch closer to financial and emotional freedom, setting the foundation right. Once that is done, we are free to make our choices and demand what we desire and deserve.

So, is it okay to do that with the other aspects of life too- like in relationships? Most people do not get the chance to tell the perfect story- families are imperfect, people are imperfect. In the case of family, it is something we cannot change. So making the most of the situation is the only way to deal with it. But what about friends and especially, a life partner? When we choose the person to spend our life with- do we usually wait for the right one to come along or do we make the most of what we have? And which option is the right one?

I know most people would like to believe in the former option- that they were patient and believed there was a right one and soon enough, he/she came into their life. But isn't there always this moment of desperation some of us face- this fear of what if, just what if there is no such right one?! Or maybe there is, but they cannot afford to wait. Like, moving back to the job scenario. You have a job in hand, which is not the one you always dreamed of- but it's not bad either. You know there is a job out there that is tailor-made for you, but your OPT status is to expire in a month! Would you take your chances and wait it out? Or would you grab the job at hand? Okay, so I know that real life has no such OPT status expiration date- but I hope you get the idea I am trying to project! :D

I guess all I'm wondering is- in friendships, relationships and even in marriages- both the love and arranged kind- the way I always thought it's supposed to be is that you go with your gut feeling. You just know when the people/person is right for you. But there are times when people opt for the practical approach and take what they get. And then make the most of it. Accept it gratefully and learn to be happy with what they have. Is it okay to do that? And is it being fair to the other person? The obvious black and white answer is an emphatic no, but as always, there exists that gray area where things are not always so clearly defined...

India, Love and Acceptance

I got back two weeks ago from the most wonderful trip to India. It was so amazing, it almost feels unreal.. :P I wanted to start the new year on my blog with a detailed post on the trip, but I'm sure I'm going to burst into tears when I start thinking about it. So maybe I'll talk about it when I'm a little more stable.



So this post is going to be about two random thoughts that have been hovering around my mind for the past few days-

The first thought is about love- I just realized a few days ago, how important a role love plays in life. I mean, there are so many segments to our lives- our careers, our social life, our personal hobbies and interests, our material possessions, our family, ambitions, spirituality. Somehow in all of this, love seems to dominate it all- and by love, I mean, the idea of having someone to come home to, or having someone to call your own. Of course, I understand that this is just a feeling- you can feel that comfort and security even with a close family member or friend or a pet. But not having that feeling is one of the worst feelings in the world, regardless of how abundant all other aspects of your life may be! I know that because for three months, I came home to an empty house with no furniture and a bowl of fish that belonged to my roommate, who was never there! When I could take it no more, I decided to go through the terrible process of moving all my stuff, just so that I was living in a house with people! :P I don't think this hype about love is a bad thing though- I know people talk of self-sufficiency and being independent and what not, and I know that that are important qualities to develop. But at times, it is okay to just let your guard down and allow yourself to be a little bit vulnerable. True, right?

Another thought that came across my mind this morning is about acceptance. Think about it- what is the most common advice people give you when things are not going your way? To just accept the reality and move on. Somehow, no one ever tells you to fight the circumstances and claim what is rightfully yours. I know that acceptance is supposed to be the path of least resistance and subsequently, faster happiness. But maybe that is not the case all the time. Maybe sometimes you need to stop accepting and start forming your own reality; believe that you too can deserve something that you saw only others get. It is a risky proposition for sure, but then again- in order to get success, you have to have the strength to face potential failure!

A Few Good Blogs

One of the interesting after-effects of quitting Facebook is that now I use my blog as my window to the world- and in this case, my social world comprises of fellow blogger friends. In the past few days, whenever I crave for some FB-isque timepass, I check the latest updates on my blogroll and then navigate to other people's blogs through them and so on and so forth.. What is enjoyable about this is that I have come across such well-written, innovative and thought-provoking posts! Satisfies my craving for good reads and is definitely a lot more enriching than Facebooking! :P

So, I thought I should direct some of you to some of the posts/blogs I particularly liked..

1) Nupur just wrote the most amazing post today- I think women need posts like these to remind themselves how strong and capable they actually are. I mean, I did not ever have even an iota of doubt regarding this, but posts like these make you appreciate and respect yourself as a woman, a lot more! Hats off to us! :)
2) Sometimes even the most mundane happenings around our life can become food for an interesting blog. This article is a really hilarious take on how arranged marriages work in India. Another amusing story here.
3) I love this blog !!! Got some very insightful posts, some are very creative too- which is expected, given he just published his own book! But while on the topic of arranged marriages, I love this very filmy, but true story- It's not easy for a guy to write from a girl's point of view, but this guy has done it really really well.. (Requires guts to do that, too!)
4) I'm sure a lot of frequent bloggers know about Sayesha and her bar! :) She is probably the most vibrant girl I know- and I know her only through her blogposts! But they go the whole nine yards- from sport to movies (of course!) to family to work etc. Definitely worth spending some time!
5) This is the blog of a fellow COEP-ian. He was my junior and from another department, so I never knew him personally. But his blog has some very motivational and thought-provoking posts. Now, this guy is doing some big stuff at MIT and some of his posts are just accounts of his interactions with some rather influential people- those are definitely some good reads!

Well, that is it for now. I hope you enjoy some of them! I would have liked to put some technology/politics/world issues related stuff too- but somehow I never come across anything that makes an impact. If you do know any blogs focusing on these aspects, then please direct me to them.

Notes

1. Exactly a month from today, I will be in India !!! I cannot wait! I know I am luckier than most students because I have got the chance to go to India every Christmas since I arrived in the US- but this time's trip is more valued because for the first time, I have a crazy, maddening urge to see my parents. I saw my mom six months ago during her trip here, but I think I have never missed her more. So much has happened in the past two months and I think we as a family, have been trying to get over things just through conversations over the telephone. I really really need to feel my parents' physical presence and support around me.
2. Point 1 brings me to my second point- It's funny how you realize the value of every friend and family member when times get a little difficult. In the past two months, I have been at my communicative best with my friends, some of whom I haven't spoken to in over 3 years- got in touch with so many of them, and it sure feels good! I intend to keep it that way.. :)
3. I have also realized how some people can get so superficial- people you thought you could bank on at any time of day. This has been one of my biggest lessons since coming to the US, but I think this warrants a separate post.
4. Three weeks from today, I will be done with my thesis defense! D-O-N-E !!! Yesterday, my thesis advisor asked me how it felt. I told him I couldn't believe it was over! O-V-E-R !! Work that have been doing since March 2009 is finally coming to an end!
5. Before I rejoice over point 4, one of the biggest things I need to do in the next three weeks is write my document and funnily enough, this time writing isn't coming easily to me! I think I should seriously consider Gauri's advice of treating it like an 8 hour job and just getting it done with, once and for all!
6. Even though things didn't go as planned on some fronts of my life recently, there are still so many other things that have gone way better than I thought they would. I am a person who believes in signs and if the signs of the past few weeks are anything to go by- then I am grateful and thankful to God. I know things are changing for the better! I can feel it. Amen.
7. I also believe in jinxes- which is why I hate people telling me that I am lucky or constantly talking about any minor successes or good things that come my way! It scares me. I know it is paranoia, but I have had some experiences which have made me believe in these things.
8. I am so tired of living alone- I think that has made the past few months a lot worse than they should have been. I cannot wait to live with some people and have a social life again... :P
9. Another thing that is funny is how you realize so many things about yourself in times of adversity. Even things that were glaringly obvious in the past, but you never chose to pay attention to them. I seriously think that if we really believe in this, getting over difficult times becomes a lot easier.
10. I have been off Facebook for three weeks now- for multiple reasons which I do not wish to get into. But I don't miss it now at all! I did have withdrawal symptoms for the initial few days (sigh!), but now I am happy to be away from all social networking stuff! It gives me more time to do productive things. I think I'll be back though, just because it's a good way to keep in touch with some school friends living in other countries- maybe after 3-4 months.

Back to some thesis writing now.. :)

Being 25 is sexy... :D:D

So the last few posts have been a little too serious and definitely not the type of stuff this blog is used to seeing. Well, it has been a slightly tough time and I guess I was using the blog to vent out my frustrations. But thankfully, some old and new friends have very successfully managed to show me the lighter, brighter, happier side of life and so to commemorate that- here is a positive post! :)

So, I am from the batch of 1985 and so all of us from this super-awesome batch turned 25 this year. Some (like me) passed through the golden doors much earlier this year, whereas a few others are heading that way over the next two months of 2010. Nonetheless, you know this whole hype around turning 25 right- silver jubilee, quarter life crisis, time to settle down, career, marriage blah blah blah... To be frank, it's just like any other birthday- you get a year older, but you still essentially remain the same person. It's not like the moment the clock turns 12, you undergo this magical transformation where your purpose in life becomes crystal clear and you attain this new found respect for life unknown to you before. Sure, there are changes- like a dear friend discovered on his 25th birthday- his tolerance for alcohol was no longer as strong as it was when he was 18! :-(

So anyway, with all this negative vibe going around turning 25, it was pretty heartening to see an amazingly cheerful birthday wish from one friend to another on her 25th birthday. I'm quoting from her Facebook page-

"You have successfully reached the first major summit! The view is fabulous from this point and I hear it gets better every year!"

I was so happy when I read this message- reminded me that just because I turned 25 doesn't mean that there is some imaginary deadline staring at me in the face! I partly blame our parents for this though- they somehow are still living in this 80's era where 25 was the then 35 !! :P And what is worse is that this weird rule applies more to girls than guys.. I mean, I don't see parents of 25-year old guys asking them about when they want to settle down.. Then why us girls?! Hamein bhi toh apni zindagi jeene do..

So anyways, I've decided to stop worrying for now. Life sucks and is crappy and is unfair and is dark and twisty and is full of a**holes- Agreed. But it is still a gift and I am going to try and cherish it from now on. :D:D

With this happy thought, I begin another crazy week... :D

Being held at gunpoint right now..

Firstly, my apologies for not writing for this long. But believe me, the kinda month I've had, it's a wonder I even found time to write right now! But more on that later. I have midterms coming up and my dear friend P chooses this very moment to tag me. And added to that is the fact that the tag is a rather lovey-dovey type. Which is not my favourite topic to write on. Anyway, I have to complete the tag coz I stand to lose quite a bit if I don't. So with a sufficiently large amount of trepidation, I begin-

Q. What would you love the most in your lover?
Ans: His totally arbit sense of humour. His awesome smile. His ability to understand the little things that matter to me (big point)

Q. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Ans: Invest for sure. (I'm my dad's beti bhai !! And he's big on investments!) And build the most amazing farmhouse for my parents. And...donate a part of it.

Q. What is love?
Ans: I honestly don't know.

Q. Would you fall in love with your best friend?
Ans: According to me, that's the best kind of love. I belong to the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai line of thought.

Q. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?
And: I guess a bit of both is always good !!

Q. How long should you wait for someone you really love?
Ans: Till someone else comes along.. ;-)

Q. Is it possible to like someone without loving them?
Ans: Yes.

Q. Is it possible to love someone without liking them?
Ans: Yes.

Q. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?
Ans: Make him feel like the world's worst loser and then move on.

Q. If the person you secretly like is already attached, what would you do?
Ans: Keep safe distance.

Q. What takes you down the fastest?
Ans: Umm...the stairs!? Ok, I'm bored of these questions now.

Q. How would you see yourself in ten years’ time?
Ans: Slimmer hopefully. But that's more like in ten months. I don't believe in ten year plans yaar..

Q. What’s your fear?
Ans: Ummm...losing people I love. And not being able to fulfill my dreams.

Q. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
Ans: A lunatic. And I mean this. :-P

Q. Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor?
Ans: Depends. Ladka kaun hai!? ;-)

Q. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
Ans: Brush my teeth!

Q. Would you give all in a relationship?
Ans: Isn't that how it's supposed to be?

Q: If you fall in love with two people simultaneously, whom would you pick?
Ans: Haha...two people!? Pehle ek to sambhalne do !!

Q. Would you forgive and forget, no matter how horrible a thing that special someone has done?
Ans: Koi guarantee nahi.

Q. If you get to go back in time and fall in love all over again, would it still be with the same person?
Ans: Not applicable.

Q: Describe your ideal man.
Ans: Ok, is this for 3 marks or 5 marks!? :-P
Ummm..lets see. Crazy sense of humour. Awesome killer smile. Sports freak. Music freak. Good English. Film buff. Cook. Eclectic interests. Experimental. Committed to his work and family. Totally mad. Should get on my nerves. Subtly romantic. Should please please exist. :-D

Phew! That wasn't too bad. Anyway P, now that I'm done, give me back what you've taken! :-P

And hopefully, I'll come up with a real post real soon...

Mush on the net !!

I'm not a very big fan of publicizing my personal (read: love) life- whether in public or on the net! I find it pretty incredible how couples are so upbeat about the idea of putting up little details about their "better"-half or their marriage on their blogs or personal websites. I'm not saying it's wrong or whatever; I guess it's just about me being a kinda private person, that's all.

But I came across this and this on the blog of this girl I know through a common friend. Now, though I don't think I would ever write similar posts on my blog, reading them even made me go awwwww...... :-)

Note to all boyfriends: Girls like having a "proposal story", so even if you'll have been seeing each other for ten years, make it a point to formally "propose" to your girl before taking the big step !! She's obviously going to say yes, so you don't have to get all jittery and anxious about it.. You may call it the western influence or whatever..but it's important to us! Gives us a nice story to tell the children and grandchildren and well...makes you look kinda cool too !! ;-)

Found this cartoon strip on the net - guys would probably be able to identify with this! ;-) Cheers !!

Knot ready yet !!

By some strange coincidence, a lot of people I know have got/are getting married in the period from May '07 to July '08- at least 20 people until now and another 15-20 people due in the coming few months. (Please note that for me, being engaged is pretty much equivalent to getting married; hence I include both the sets of people in the same category!) Now though I always used to be (pleasantly) surprised as each wedding invitation kept landing in my inbox, it never bothered me that much coz all were people who were at least 2-3 years elder to me, if not more.

Anyway, cut to about a week ago. I'm talking to one of my best friends- Z, on the phone. We were discussing some teaching assignment she's doing and that is the moment she chooses to tell me that her parents are "looking" for a boy for her and she'll probably be married in the next one year! Now, that freaked me out for three reasons :-

1. I'm petrified of marriage. No, I'm serious. Love and relationships is ok, but marriage is a very different ball game man...impossible to think about it right now!
2. She's my age. Actually, she's 35 days younger than me.
3. She seemed cool about it! I kept yelling and screaming on the phone (which isn't something I do very often, it's a skill only Gauri has!), while she was like, "Yeah! So...just thought I should tell you. My parents think it's the right time!" :-0:-0

See, I know of girls who turn 21 and all of a sudden, the only thing they want to do in life is- get married. I'm not judging them or anything. They're just people who're happier when they're running a home and managing a family. That's a hard job too. But Z is not like that. I know she needs a great career as much as she wants all of the other stuff. Sure, people say a marriage doesn't mean the end of a career, but it surely delays the process a bit right!?

I also know that Z's parents are very cool people, so I never thought they'd be the type who'd get unduly tensed about things like settling down and all. But I guess, on some level, parents of girls are all of the same kind. (Damn!!) I actually had an argument with my mom on the same issue once, when I told her that I felt she was treating me like a to-do list- you don't feel satisfied unless you tick off one of the activities on that list each year!

Anyway not much point to this post, except that- Z, I don't know if you read my blog. But if you do, I'm not dissuading you from going for it. But only if you feel it's the right thing to do! Also, make sure I'm in India for the big day ok! :-) And secondly, parents- please stop worrying about your girls! Don't try to force them down a path when they're (k)not ready yet !!

Peace.

Ich liebe Deutsch !!

....and that is the extent of complexity I can manage in concocting a German sentence today, which is weird, considering that German has always been one language that I have absolutely and truly loved! I started learning Deutsch only in the ninth standard at Symbiosis. It was one of those composite languages we had, for fifty marks, and I took it up because my teachers told me it helped in easy scoring during SSC. And thank God I did !!

We were taught German by this teacher called Mr. Dusmanta Chakra, who is probably one of the most amazing teachers I have ever come across. He used to get a tape-recorder to class and teach us these fantastic German songs, complete with hand gestures and all- that used to be our education!

Of course, what makes German even more special is that it gave me Anushree, one of my best friends ever. Coz I think Social Studies, unfortunate rejections by other friends and a mutual maddening love for German were the three factors that formed the foundation of our friendship! We used to go for German class to this lady on Law College Road and those days spent in the company of stray dogs and Reena are probably some of the most memorable moments I’ve ever had. Then in tenth, I joined another class closer to home. A school friend of mine called Pranav and I used to go together for this class, in one of those tum-tums (six seater rickshaws)*. And the whole time, he used to fill me in on the latest bit of gossip among the Symbi guys- who secretly likes whom, what happened during the class picnic...all that kinda scoop. Used to be pretty interesting to know what guys talk!

So you see, apart from actually loving German, there were a lot of reasons why it was special to me. Of course, Anushree and I have a long cherished dream of going to Germany some day, for a nice long holiday. And Inshallah, when she’s earned a lot of money as an art historian and I’ve earned a lot of money as god-knows-what, a day will come when we’ll leave behind our pesky kids and boring routines to make that trip !!

So anyway, in my tenth standard, I participated in this competition organized by Max Mueller Bhavan, wherein students were supposed to write an essay on a given topic, short listed candidates had to go through a German interview and the top three won an all-expense paid trip to Germany, and get to stay with a German family etc- sort of a cultural exchange thing. I’m reproducing the essay I wrote here- for posterity. You see, the only copy I have of the essay is two A4 size sheets of paper which have already been folded seven times over! And though I narrowly missed making it to the top three, this was one of those times when I did something purely for the love of it, without a definite purpose in mind. I have no idea of how good the essay is, or how grammatically correct or incorrect it is, but it is something that I’m very proud of…

The topic of the essay was “Freiheit und Disziplin” or “Freedom and Discipline”. (We were school kids then, we weren’t supposed to have views on nuclear testing !! :-P..)

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* Incidently, these tum-tums in North India are a fluorescent green colour and are called vikrams- I have no idea why !
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P.S- The essay below is really long and in German. Reader discretion is requested!

FREIHEIT UND DISZIPLIN

Disziplin- das ist ein häßliches Wort für die Schüler. Aber die Disziplin ist sehr wichtig in Lebem besonders in die Schuljahren. Die Schüler, die als Kind schon diszipliniert sind, sind erfolgreich im ganzen Leben. Die Hausaufgabe rechtzeitog zumachen, täglich das Lehrbuch lessen, im Unterricht nicht laut sprechen, sich höflich benehmen, das alles gehört zur Disziplin.

Die Disziplin ist auch sehr wichtig für die ehrgeizigen Schüler.

“Der Fleiß in den Jugendjahren
wird später gold’ne Früchte tragen
Drum nutze jeden Augenblick
verlor’ne Zeit kehrt nie zurück.”

Sie haben gut Noten bekommen und haben viele Zeit für Lernen und Spielen.

Meine Schule besteht auf das Prinzip “Freiheit und Disziplin”. Unsere Schulleiterin ist streng, aber sie gibt uns auch die Freiheit. Wir dürfen unsere Gedanken ausdrücken. In der Freizeit düren wir mit einander sprechen, aber wir müssen nicht viel Lärm machen. Unsere Lehrer und Lehrerinnen schimpfen uns aber das ist für unser Gutes.

Aber viele Disziplin ist auch nicht gut. Die Jugenlichen düren Fehler machen und dadurch können sie lernen. Sie können über ihre Karriere selbst bestimmen wenn sie genug Freiheit genießen. Die Jugenlichen müssen eine Gelegenheit haben. Die Freiheit verbessert die Persönlichkeit der Jugendlichen.

Die Jünger in Europa habenmehr Freizeit als in Indien. In der Schule sind die Lehrer mildere und liberater als die Alten in den Gesellschaft. Das ist gut in gewissem Grad. Die Schüler legen dann keinen Wert auf das Lernen und die Zeit. Sie geben viel Geld aus.

Die indische Tradition hat viele Begrenzung. So die indische Leute haben nicht so viele Freheit. Indien ist nich ein senr moderner Land. Die Eltern kümmern sich um ihren Kindern und schützen sie sehr viel. So haben die indischen Jugendlichen nicht viele Freiheit.

Andererseits wird man unabhängig und pragmatisch wenn man frei ist. Aber viele Freiheit ist schädlich für die Erzeihung.

Man fragt mich: Wo willst du leben? Ich sage: Natürlich in Indien. Das Land hat 29 Bundesländer. Die Kultur ist reich und alt. Jedes Bundesland hat seine Tradition. Aber Indien, als ein Land, ist eine Einheit. Die Leute helfen sich. Indien beitet einen großen Spielraum für Entwicklung. Die Leute sind sehr klug und fleißig. Ich möchte in Indien altwerden. Für das Land und die Leute möchte ich vieles tun.

Die meisten indischen Politiker sind korrupt und unehrlich. Aber trotzdem möchte ich in Indien wonhen. Hier bleibe ich.

Indien hat eine größe Bevölkerung. So viele Leute sind arbeitslos. Viele Leute haben keine Chance im Leben. Die Leute sind arm und das Schulwesen hat keine Wert. Die Jugenlichen in Indien haben größen Druck von ihren Eltern, denn sie müssen gute Noten in ihrer Prüfung haben. Die Jugenlichen müssen immer lernen. Sie wollen in die Discothek und ins Kino gehen. Sie wollen unabhängig sein. Aber die Alten und die Großeltern sind alt-modisch. Sie dürfen die Jugendliche das alles nicht machen.

Besonders die Mädchen in Indien müssen im Haus bleiben. Sie dürfen nicht studieren. Die Jugendliche in Indien haben auch Druck von ihren Freunden. Die Jugendlichen möchten machen, was sie sich wünschen. Die Jugendlichen möchten besser als ihren Freunden sein. So sind sie aggressiv und anmaßend. Die Jugendliche in Indien wollen mehr Freizeit haben.

Die Jugendliche in Deutchland haben ähnliche Probleme. Sie fühlen, daß sie genug Freiheit nicht haben. Deutschland is auch ein industrielles Land. So viele Leute haben keine Arbeit. Das Leben für die Judendlichen ist sehr geschäftig. Die Jugendliche haben keine Erholung. So sind sie sehr nervös und aggressiv. Die Freunden der Jugendliche verführen sie oft. So fangen sie das Rauchen und das Rauschgift an. Sie zerstören ihr Zukunft. So ist die Disziplin wichtig im Leben, aber mit genug Freiheit.

“Früh übt sich, der Meister werden will”

It's been a while !!

New look. New name. And I officially announce that I’m back to blogging…..

Well, to begin with, I thought of writing a customary post about the past one semester (something on the lines of this one…) but somehow I don’t feel like reliving the past 3 months! Not because they’ve been the most terrible ones I’ve ever had to go through, but at the same time, they have, in no way, turned out to be like I expected… So I am considering myself memory charmed for the past 3 months and moving on…

Cut to the present. And this is probably the most amazing time I have ever had in a long long time. Doing nothing is really a privilege these days. And I’ve also discovered that I’m an expert at doing that, without actually feeling an iota of guilt !! ;-)

Some valuable revelations:

- Playing ‘Life’ and ‘Uno’ is fun….wonder why I never played it more often before !!

- You don’t always have to read big, fat books that are high on literary quotient. One hour of the good ol’ Tinkle comics helps one to clear one’s thoughts !! Really !

- Mushy movies can be enjoyed tremendously even when you don’t have ‘someone’ to watch them with you… And they don’t leave you feeling all sappy in the end… How can a person not love While You Were Sleeping….its BEAUTIFUL !!!!

- My cat has learnt some really new antics, which I wasn’t aware of, till now!

- Its fun to stay up till 3 at night… Especially if you’re chatting with old school friends after months…

- Eating platefuls of bhajis and drinking tea on Sinhagad after a (hard?!) climb is a different feeling in itself…

- Same goes for getting wet in the first pre-monsoon showers!

- I haven’t listened to genuine ghost stories crammed up in a car at 8:00 pm, on the drive back from Sinhagad….ever !! Thanks Pari…

- I can effortlessly talk absolute gibberish with Akshay for on hour on the phone, and actually feel good about it in the end… :-P

- I rock at teaching… I could teach my sister Gravitation in one hour flat, and actually enjoy it much more than I did during my 12th !!

- Doing 30 lunges with 5 kg weights IS an accomplishment !! :-P

I guess this is what Gau means when she talks about ‘ayushyatlya chotya chotya goshtit ananda ghene’ (Translating specially for Anup, that means- taking pleasures in the smaller things in life…)

Now frankly speaking, I’m not very much of a ‘living-for-the-moment’ kinda person. Never have really understood the meaning of this philosophy. How can a person not think about what happens next?! But now I know that there’s a different kind of happiness in just setting yourself free at times.. :)

And Month Six...

A low-down on the months that were:

- Semester 1 of T.Y.B.Tech has ended successfully !!

- For the first time ever, I got through a whole semester without submitting a single bunksheet, and having more than 70% attendance !! And this IS a big deal !! ;-)

- PIET is back to COEP !! Hurray !! Actually it’s PIET’s COEP now….but whatever…

- Finally zeroed down on Finite Element Method (FEM) as an elective. Decision was based more on elimination of other elective options. Added attraction to chose FEM was that it has computer programming… Hoping it doesn’t turn out to be a let down….

- Submissions got done on time, and we survived the ordeal…through numerous purple glitter pens, Lexi black refills and night-maraoing !! The thrill and satisfaction of holding our first, 93 page, entirely hand written TOM journal was unbeatable !! So much so, that Gau, Gaya and I have a brilliant snap of us holding it, right before final submission, like it were our graduation certificate !! :) The list of disaster management skills we’d learnt at COEP just got bigger !!

- Survived through the five orals too !! Right from discussing ergonomic considerations involved in designing a chair to suffering a near blank-out before ICE orals to bearing Shewatkar’s atrocities…I’ve done it all !!

- Mini project was the coolest !! My dear uncle and Productivity Aids Pvt. Ltd came to the rescue, and voila! We had a leakage testing fixture used in AC units of cars adorning our ME journal. Thanks Mamu !!

- Somehow Barron’s didn’t seem so bad anymore !! That’s the best thing about having a passion for languages! The incomparable thrill of learning new words supersedes the mammoth task of learning 5000 of them !! About the actual GRE….don’t really want to get into it !! Got a 1410, which is ‘pretty good’, ‘sufficient for mechanical’, and even ‘awesome’, according to people !! The funniest thing about being the first one to give GRE in the new year is that news of your score spreads around the whole campus as if it’s the latest alleged link-up to hit Bollywood !! ;-) Even I was amazed at the number of people who knew that I was done with THE GRE in the 21 hours before I stepped into college next day !! But yeah…the good thing about being done with it is that life is finally back to normal…GRE is no more a reason not to do Fervor, Firodiya, Gathering, Zest etc etc…. But nonetheless, I had fun studying for it….

And finally….I’m back to blogging !! Can’t imagine what kept me away from it for six months….not that nothing exciting happened, just that nothing was exciting enough !! :-) And I had the GRE….so………. ;-)

Month One...

[Disclaimer: Its been nearly a month since I wrote my last blogpost. The long period away from blogging and the numerous activities that have taken place in the past one month, have resulted in a post that a tad too long than its meant to be. Niri...and others...I beg for forgiveness...I can't help it !!]

The past one month has been nothing less than a rollercoaster ride !! Most importantly, the Third Year of Mechanical Engineering at COEP has finally begun, and boy...its been way more shocking than I expected it to be !! Of course, I had heard from loads of my brilliant senior friends about how 'true' engineering begins at Third Year level und so weite...but that it would begin right from the first day of T.Y.B.Tech (Maaz !!) was a real shocker !!

Shock No 1: For the first time, probably in the history of COEP, lectures began right from the 'theoretical' first day of college. In the sense, it is an understood fact for years now, that when the COEP notice board says: 'College re-opens on 4th July', no one is supposed to even step into the classroom before 20th July, at the earliest. But lo and behold...we enter college on 4th and news spreads that Mech I has a lecture in Room 11 !! What the hell ??!! What's wrong with people ??!!

And that, my friend, was just the begining...

Shock No 2: Dale enters class. I mean, OK we need to attend lectures on the first day of college after a billiant two month vacation, but DALE ??!! Could it get worse than this? And of course, as expected...he went on to lecture us on how we are at a very crucial stage in our lives where everything we do will have a direct impact on our placements, and consequently our careers. And of course, how we should stop acting like 'Pariksharthi' or 'Exam -Givers' (Doesn't he LOVE that word ??!!) and learn more, to bettter our knowledge. And how in the true sense, placements don't really determine our careers, because it's only when we face such setbacks, that we learn to dream beyond our limitations and earn a better life. And how the Indian parents determine that their child should become an engineer and earn a salary of 20 grand, right from the time he enters this big bad world (Khara mhantla tar, 'pair'ents chi hi attitude ach chukichi aahe !!) Christ !! Attending lectures on the first day of college was bad enough, now we have to bear up with the same ol' ghisa-pita, das bar doharaya hua lecture, which I now know better than the working of a 4-stroke petrol engine !!

Shock No 3: We have electives to take next semester. Options are: Finite Element Method, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning, Analysis and Synthesis of Mechanisms, Tribology, Non-Conventional Energy Resources. Do we understand anything of anything? NO. So how do we decide what elective to take? DON'T KNOW. Present status: After a not-exactly-fruitful talk with Dale (!!), we have zeroed down on FEM and RAC as options. Still waiting for Mangesh to arrive in Pune...some expert guidance is necessary !! Seniors..HELP !!

Shock No 4: NO PRINTED JOURNALS THIS TIME !! This was, by far, the worst shock ever. That implies sitting up late nights writing gibberish on one side ruled papers. That implies more work. That implies havoc !! Why introduce printed journals in 'autonomous COEP' (Damn the B.Tech !!) when you're gonna get bored of typing them for us, in 2 years ??!! Right now, one ICE and MD assignment and one 35-page (and 42 with my handwriting) Carburetors submission later, the grave reality has dawned upon us...its tougher than it seems. Ok the true COEP-ians sat up one night and wrote the whole journal out, but we just can't do that ! We have weekly submissions, which are graded the next week, and so we need to do them WELL !! Enter purple sparkle pen, 5 hours of sleep before the BIG day (and 20 minutes, if you're Gaya), GT, good handwriting, and if you're Akshay then colouring your diagrams to get a 10/10...the works. Anyway we are getting the hang of it soon enough.....after all, we have no choice now !!

Shock No 5: Five practicals !! Isn't there a 'standardised limit' for the extent to which a department can screw its students ??!!

Shock No 6: Chowgule tells us that we have a mini-project in MP, where we have to design a jig/fixture for some component which has to be given to us by a company. And the 2-D drawing of the component is to be submitted in a week. Hang on.....WHAT is a jig and fixture ??

Anyway, College done, we began our first GRE Dilip Oak class that evening at 7. Day 1, greeted by Mr. Atul Londhe.

Shock No 7: GRE has tough words !! Ok, so I never expected it to be a cakewalk, but words like vexillology, discombobulated, ameliorate are.....Martian ??!! In D.O.'s words, 'words that we've never heard before, and will never hear again once GRE is done !!'

Shock No 8: AWM is weird !! Its not the stupid kind of writing, like we do while posting on blogs. Here we need to understand, analyse and present in logical order, with fast typing, good language and correct grammar. When has so much thought-process gone into writing an essay ??

Shock No 9: I've forgotten Math. Day 1 of Analytical, and Gauri and I couldn't solve a Sets problem. Dammit ! That's 9th grade syllabus !! I came home and asked my sister to give me her school textbooks. One hour of revision, and things were back on track..

Anyways, the initials shocks had done their job...we were terrified about the days to come !!

Fortunately for us, the Gods decided we were getting too hard a deal. Second week onwards, things were more relaxed !! The off-lectures, off-practicals made their way for the usual timepass. CCD-going, Softy-eating on F.C.Road, Dumb-C playing on BC, Dare-giving to Omkar to tell fat-belly girl on BC that she's wearing disgusting clothes (which he didn't do ultimately !!), gandao-ing Akshay, Gaya getting new cell (finally !!)...all of that rubbish !! A beautiful Wednesday morning, an off MD practical and two over-enthusiastic friends for company (Read: Gau and Gaya) resulted in we watching Dus at E-square, 9:30 am show, first row 40 bucks seats !! And the enthusiasm prevailed even after the movie, so we topped it up with two chocolate mousses and a spicy chana chaat !! Rains played havoc in everyone else's lives, but for us, it was heaven-sent. COEP closed for 4 days !! BC waters had reached an all-time high...the sight was phenomenal !! (Photo below) Can you imagine BC being closed for students, because of perilious levels of Mula waters ??!! Election season arrived soon enough. Again the campaigning, distributing panel members' lists, strategising, serious meetings with Pranjal after D.O....and more lectures to bunk !! :-) The mini-project problem was solved by a visit to my uncle's jig and fixture factory with Gau and Gaya. Was an awesome experience. Finally got to see real jigs and fixtures. Now we're armed with two components, given by my uncle, for which we have to design a fixture. Interesting work...

GRE class was awesome fun !! Our Verbal Prof., Mr. Mukul Hinge knows everything of everything !! From Coppernicus to Desert Rose by Sting. (Did anyone know, by the way, that when Sting sings Desert Rose, he is refering to his dream sweetheart, who, like a rose in the desert, is an illusion ?!) And he has to begin every sentence with 'Okay Engineers....' and end it with a '...., Right ?' Londhe is good too. And of course we have Vicky's wife, Mrs. Chitnis, teaching us too !! ;-)



All in all....finally life is back to normal again !! :-):-)

50% Engineer ??!!

Ok…so its that time of the year again !! End semester exams done, a rather disappointing end to an absolutely fun-filled 4^th semester. It doesn’t take too long for the realization to dawn on me, that I’m nearly half through engineering now. Everyone I meet (read: the innumerable relatives, who’re ever enthusiastic to drop in those usually unasked for ‘valuable’ views !!) keep reminding me of the fact that I can now call myself a ‘50% Engineer !! (Ok…the results aren’t out yet, but I’m definitely not getting a Year Down !)

Been brooding over the whole ‘50% Engineer’ phenomenon for the past 3 days since exams, and here’s a low-down on the semesters that were:

First semester: Naïve, vulnerable me, all excited and geared up for the new world…after all it was COEP Mech yaar ! Got a whole new cool gang of 14 people- timepassed like crazy. Discovered how much fun bunking lectures and not going home, or giving proxy can be !! Not done much except give the now-routine T1, T2 and ESE.

To quickly chronicle the events- A fun Freshers party with great food, first outing with Gau, Gaya and Rads on tub four- amazing time, Pardeshi’s gay histronics, Mrs. Ekhande’s new-age physics fundas, dreadful time with Electrical !! But loved Workshop and had a marvellous time with Joshi sir in Elements of Mech Engg. !!

Getting to know seniors- the baaps, the geniuses, the GODS, the influencial ones, the inspirations and the ones to be steered clear of…

The only prominent activity was the cultural audition, where I got selected (hurray !!), found a place in the COEP Firodiya 2004 team. Now that was something to look forward to !!

Second semester: The whole of the vacations went in Firodiya practice, the late nights, the music, the freedom, the creative satisfaction, the thrill of being on stage, the COEP maaz, ‘new friends’, ultimate bliss..

6^th February- Show done, enter Zest (thanks to Gau) and Fervor (thanks to Sonia)

Celebrated Valentine's Day- COEP ishtyle !! Full Kalla....:-)

Turned 19 in style with a brilliant surprise party (Thanks Mom !!)

Gau and I passed the swim test, ambitious beginnings on the clinkered pair..

Next in the pipeline- Gathering (participated for ‘friends’ sake)

Of course, exams figured somewhere on the agenda !!

In a nutshell- 4 events, 4 bunksheets (that was the new buzz word !!), a whole new life..

Highlight: Post exam stay over at Soumya’s place- romping around town at 1 in the night, drive to Singhagad with new friends, baring my soul to near strangers…rather enriching time !

On the dark side (which I realized later) – made some wrong decisions, trusted wrong people, took uncalculated risks, lived life, probably a little too much on the edge !!

Was the COEP maaz getting on to me a tad too fast ??!!

Lesson learnt: Never take life for granted, Time and tide wait for no man !

Third semester: Begins with new resolutions, new goals, new aspirations…

New department, new class, new friends, new professors…

Elections in August- campaigning, voting, publicity gimmicks, strutting around with funny badges pinned all over, putting up banners…fun !

Getting chosen Joint Secretary, MESA- Thanks to my F.E. work !

MESA Inauguration- first taste of what being ‘politically correct’ is all about !!

Taking up the job of revamping the music room- first hand experience in Gymkhana politics, quotations, faxes, money matters, persuasion, the government style of functioning, delays, maska-giri…the works !!

Fervor 2005 work begins with sponsorships- read: visit with Sonia to TATA Motors (and lunch at the executive canteen, thanks to Cheri and Manisha Singh !!)

Mercedes Benz- awesome time !! Great company, great technology, great employees… getting people to shell out 50 grand for an event couldn’t get easier !! Of course, a part of the package deal was- a lecture series by two of the nicest men I’ve met- Mr. Chandavarkar and Mr. Mandpe, and approval to get the new Mercedes Biofuel car to COEP….yippee !!

Highlight: The Diwali ‘high’ (if you get my drift..)- a brilliant time with Soumya, arguably one of the craziest but best times of my life !!

Another highlight- industrial visit to a sugar factory, special for ‘special’ reasons !!

Again on the flip side- disagreements with friends, a few people ka parda- faash, a sour end to a few relationships, a fiasco with the Maths department for being caught giving proxy (Result- we haven’t given proxy in a single lecture ever since !! Unbelievable, but true !!)

Lesson learnt: Learn to say NO to people, Never trust people too soon, Speaking your mind is not always such a good idea !!

Fourth semester: Visit to the IIT, Bombay Techfest, and needless to say, the trip was fantabulous !! Inspired the engineer in all of us. Added attractions- the local train journeys, Hiranandani, Vertigo @ Café Mocha (smack !), travelling by the last local at 1:32 am !! An absolutely marvelous weekend !

Uniforms made compulsory on Mondays and Thursdays- thanks to Dr. Sathe (that SSB !!)

No Firodiya, so immersed myself headlong into Fervor. Sponsorships, printing permission letters (Sick !!), endless discussion sessions with Ohol and Kajale Sir, minor ego clashes, lack of communication between team members….don’t really want to get into all that…but in general, not a very fruitful period. Add to that…the trauma of compering a flop valedictory function !! All’s not well that doesn’t end well !!

Lesson learnt: A joint secretary’s job at FERVOR is limited to drafting and printing permission letters, never put your finger in too many pies !

Zest was opening up new avenues, something exciting and never-done-before, but alas…the Regatta incident changed the face of the whole scheme of things..

Highlight- winning the Personality contest at the Gathering- I now am Miss COEP/PIET !!

Another Highlight- Gau, Gaya and I decided to participate in the VIT Techfest Model Making competition- we were finally doing something technical !! Two sleepless nights and late night brainstorming sessions with Gau’s genius dad’s genius friend and the baaps of COEP (read: Addy, Pushkar and Mangesh) later, we had a beauty of a bridge made of ice-cream sticks, cardboard, straws of two different thicknesses and cross-sectional areas (!!) and a whole spool of black thread !! The joy, the exhilaration of creating something with your own hands…priceless (not to add the exposure the whole experience gave us !!) And of course, our bridge was a runaway hit at the competition. And had it not been for the wrongly interpreted rules by a certain Mister Mittal of VIT, we’d have been proud first-attempt winners at a techfest !!

Highlight of Highlights: Brand new, flashy, 25 grand Magnum (read: videsi..imported man !!) drum kit arrives at COEP- An extremely satisfactory end to four months of toiling !!

All in all, managed to garner up bunksheets for three out of the three and a half month long semesters we have (legalized fun !!), hardly attended lectures, bonded better with old friends, made really treasured new ones !!

So..very frankly speaking, the past 2 years have hardly been straight out of the life of an engineering student !! Probably they should be giving us an Event Management and Disaster Management degree instead of the B.Tech we’re getting !! Loads of ups and downs, loads of disappointments, lots of fun and masti, lots of growing up and too many lessons learnt and the learning continues...!!

What the future holds for me- I don’t know, and I don’t even want to know !! All I know is, at this phase in my life- I’m blessed with truly wonderful people, and cherished bitter-sweet experiences that’ll remain an integral part of me, at every point of my life.

As for Engineering- we have all that sorted too !! Come June, and we friends will be off to the Mercedes School of Mechatronics for a month long training course (Thanks to Kadlaskar uncle and Gaya !)

Anyway, as I get ready to enter T.Y.B.Tech, I am reminded of what a senior friend once told us- Students undergo a major transformation as engineers, in their third year !! I can only say….AMEN !!

(P.S.- Gau and Gaya- have I missed out on anything else that we've been upto in the past 2 years? Do let me know if you remember anything !! And looking forward to another 2 years of chill marne with u guys !! :-):-))