It's Birthday Time!!

It is the last week of the year and is also the best time. I say so not because it is time for Christmas or the new year, but because it is time for my birthday. This post is for my self analysis and to find out as to in what ways has my d-day changed over the years.
I am a person who tends to get muddled in numbers. I forget phone numbers and birthdays. So to help other people remember my bday I start rallying about it from at least a month before the scheduled date. I have properly etched my birth date in the minds of my relatives, so that they can forget anything but not my birthday.
I used to love to distribute sweets among my friends at school. But the trouble was that my school used to be always closed on my birthday on account of the winter vacations. But as it is rightly said, “Where there is a will, there is a way”. So I would celebrate my birthday 10 days in advance in school. I liked showing off my frilly frocks with matching sweater and bands and bellies to my friends. And on your birthday, obviously one is the star of the show. But I always had to share the limelight as some of my other fellow capricornians would also think in the same manner, and would also celebrate their birthday in advance. This fad lasted only till junior high and after that there were no such celebrations.
I would also throw the mandatory party at my house. I would start preparing from at least a week before. The guest list had to be made, the music had to be decided and new games had to be thought about. I used to make my mother (and still continue the tradition) to take a day off from work. My father would come home early with (hold your breathe) the birthday cake. I have had many shapes of birthday cakes( one cannot play with the flavour-it has to be blackforest).
Once there had been a house shaped one. Otherwise when you want to underplay it, then the normal round one would do.
Now coming to the menu, there were no options. My friends would decide that they wanted to eat only south indian cuisine and that’s it. My mom would make soft idlis, vadas, sambhar and all other titbits. Even now when my friends turn up they want to eat only south Indian food. (So much for experimentation.)
But this has also changed now. I take my friends out for a treat to some restaurant or some pizza parlour and we would hang out together and have fun.
The best part of the birthday is the gifts. As a child I would tell my parents what I wanted (most probably a Barbie or its accessories. I had about 7 of them but still they were not enough.) I used to love the gifts that my friends would give me, be it a pencil box or a sketch pen set. As one grows older, the variety of gifts that one receives greatly reduces. My friends have started gifting me some small showpieces or other stuff, which I don’t know where to put. I don’t blame them but I am better off without such gifts that have no use. Even if the hapless souls ask me now as to what I want, I can’t tell them, as I myself don’t know.
Anyways it is birthday time again! Its time to leave behind the nostalgia and to decide this year’s game plan. It’s time to get busy.
Happy Birthday To Me.

Stress Busters

The week before the dreaded exams is generally like this- Got up in the morning, tried to study but failed, then slept again, then got up and again tried to study...and the vicious cycle continues. So how to beat the stress as the D-day comes closer. Here are a few techniques to beat the heat which are regularly put to use in the girls hostel.

• Unlimited Bakar- It has been seen that the rate of bakar increases exponentialy as the exams approach closer. The topics range from global warming, the sensex to would be's and M-I-Ls. The optimum time for this is from 11 PM to 3 AM.
• Phone- The telecommunications department would be pleased by the rocketing phone bills. During the stress periods, everyone ranging from parents to cousins, whom you have never met are called. Else turn to the text messages which are a bit cheaper but still burn a hole in the pocket.
• Mess and Canteen- These are the favourite hangouts during the PLs. Girls you never know existed, turn up in the mess at 7:3o PM sharp. The bairaajis have to put in double effort in order to ward off the onslaught of girls. And if you are hungry at unearthly hours,then not to worry. For there is the friendly canteen waala bhaiyya to the rescue. The tasty paranthe and chai can put even the best hotels to shame.
• Dressing up- As the exams approach, all sorts of acessories are taken out and paraded about in- The latest Earrings to bracelets. Another good timepass is changing the nail paint colour. Wacky shades are tried( My personal favourite being Blue) and then rejected.
• Movies and songs- The 60,000 rupees lappy is now put to the best use. Movies are seen and songs are listened to, with a fervour never seen before.
• Orkut- Now is the best time to change your profile name on orkut. Names like-"AArgh...exams are here" and "I am screwed" reflect the various thought processings.

And finally, there do exist some black sheep, who study despite all this, and turn the advantages of the relative grading system into disadvantages.

When will I learn? Maybe next sem(one should always be optimistic). Till then it is time for me to enjoy and find out new and innovative ways to beat the STRESS.

Confessions Of A Bad Shopper

Finally, It is time to let the cat out of the bag-I can't shop for my life. Even if I am given the money and a free hand to pick whatever I want, still I can't do it. The latest instance to validate my point is what happened today. I went to Sarojini Nagar,New Delhi which is surely a shopper's paradise and returned almost empty handed! My friends who had earlier claimed that they were as bad as me went on a rampage and I stood there watching them like a lost puppy.
This trait of mine stems from the fact that I am who you may call a miser. IT really hurts me to take out money from my own wallet and pay. The other factor which helps(or stops me as you may call it) is my practicality. Everything that I see leads me too think whether I need it or not. Unless and until I am in dire need of a thing, my brain does not allow my hand to reachmy pocket.
I am still waiting for the day when I come home and proudly display the things which i myself have bought. Till then I can say" Mujhse shopping karwana mushkil hi nahi,namumkin hai."

Far From The Madding Crowd

Two months have passed since I came back to college. I am back to the monotony of life-Get up, go to class, come back, move around the campus for nonsensical things, eat and sleep. This is now what is left to do here. Does life always become so platitudinous after some time?
Well, the new thing now is that all students are thinking as to how to get summer projects? But according to me this is just a new fad. Everyone is doing this just because someone else is also doing the same. This is just a mad rat race in which no one knows the final destination. The amount of secrecy that is maintained and the hype that is created can even put Manoj N Shyamalan to shame. His movies don't even have half the suspence of it. Friends turn into foes and enemies become the bestest of friends just for the sake of a project.
The best part is that guys never wish to include girls in their projects. And it is obvious too. I have been told time and again by some of my friends, that my presence limits their freedom of expression. To prove my point let me tell you how two guys talk when they meet.
1st guy- Hey u A******, where have yoou been?
2nd guy-You F*****, I have been going around that professor for a project. You piece of s***, what about you?
1st guy-$#$#$***(so on and so forth)
Now if these same guys meet in front of a girl they would have to mind their tongues, which i must say is very difficult.
The other best option right now is to start looking as to how to get an internship( which is done after the third year). My department sends about 4 students every year to Sweden. And students have started thinking about it from now itself!! I don't say it is wrong or I don't think about it, but man give me a break. There is still time left for all this.
I beleive that the most dreadful part will arrive when we will reach the 4th year. Everyone will be preparing for CAT, GRE etc. and I would also have to do the same. I really feel sorry for a friend of mine who is right now in the fourth year. His GRE score did not come as well as expected( he has got a good score but no one seems to be satisfied by a score less than 1500).
Everyone comes and asks him as to why has he got such a low score and everyone consoles him that nothing happens if he does not get a call from a good university. I am a person who does not like to tell people my marks even in my test series. I don't know how I will survive the onslaught then.
Sometimes I wish to run away from all this hustle and bustle, somewhere far,where no one cares about these materialistic things. Somewhere where I can just Be Me, with no one judging my every move. Somewhere far away from this maddening crowd.
But this is life and I have got to live it. So better move along with a smile and again plunge into this race for survival.

Just for the heck of writing!

I am writing this just for the simple reason that i wish to write something today. My thoughts right now are in a haphazard manner. This may partly be due to the fact that I have been ill for the past two days and have done nothing except stare at the ceiling. It is fun to watch people's reactions when you become ill. Either it will be one of extreme concern or others may just scorn at you.
Well, i am back in college and have now adjusted back to this life. But this time around I am unable to adjust to the vagaries of weather. And I feel sick most of the time due to the great quality of the mess food.
I dont know what else to write. So see you some other time
P.S. My tone may be a bit low as right now I am reading English,August.

Jean Therapy

Children are the epitome of innocence. It is their smile that makes our heart glow. But according to me it it their logic that really makes them so special. I have an interesting anecdote to relate which tells us what is going on in a child's mind.
This happened when I was in the 9th standard. That day in school we had been taught about genes,DNA etc in biology. And i was illuminating my whole family at the dinner table,about what had I learnt. My young cousin was sitting and looking at me uninterestedly. My father wanting her to enjoy the conversation, asked her as to whose genes had she inherited-her father's or her mother's. My cousin thought for a while and replied," I have my own pair of jeans, as my father and mother don't wear jeans."
Quite a googly,isn't it?

Food For Thought

It is a dream of every child,to get into the most prestigious institute of the country-The Indian Institute of Technology. So was mine. After I got good marks in the 10th standard,I started preparing for what is the toughest exam in the country. It was generally considered that I would surely clear the exam. But that was not meant to be.
But a goal is a goal and so I again strived to join the elite institution. This time round my hard work payed off. I packed my bags and was ready to join some of the brightest minds in the country.
Now,I must tell you something about myself. I have been quite a good student through my school years. I have participated in various co-curricular activities. In general, I had quite a good opinion about myself.
But when I reached the institute, then i realised that everybody was just like me. Most of the people who came there were toppers in their school,city and even state. Everybody had come with the same opinion of themselves, as I had of myself. So it was a constant fight to prove myself.
I was quite a good quizzer in school. But here there were better people. Wherever i went, there was always someone who was better than me, be it sports,music or even playing pranks. Even in class, I no longer figure among the top students. I am just an Average Jill.
I would just like to tell all the future aspirants that "Getting into an IIT is tough, but being an IITian is tougher."

Meet The Relatives

Its Summer Time...that means time for me to go and meet my relatives who live in the land of temples and Rajnikanth, I mean Tamil Nadu. Now let me tell you that I have a very big family.
Well, quoting statistics, my grandmother has 8 children,35 grandchildren and 32 great grandchildren. I am the youngest among all the grandchildren. My eldest sister has the distinction of getting married even before my parents.
Let me give you a rundown of what happens usually. Various permutations and combinations are made,in order to meet the maximum number of relatives in the least possible time. The journey begins with a 24 hr train journey to chennai and then another 8 hrs to madurai or trichy according to the plan of that year. The arrival of chennai is announced by the smell of sewage while passing Basin Bridge. Down the years, the means of transportation have also changed. Earlier we used to travel by buses and now by cars.
The testing time comes when at last we reach our relatives homes. The first statement that everyone exclaims is "Oh my god,look how thin you have become". My parents just give an apologetic shrug of their shoulders. And then my mom gives a huge explanation about how I don't eat much and so on. Now the point is that i have never been a fat kid. So why does everybody suddenly expect me to become a balloon.
The other adjustment that I have to make is to start eating idlis. I agree with the fact that south indian idlis are just out of the world.But If I have to eat them daily,then sorry to say but soon i will become out of the world.
But this does not mean that i do not enjoy my vacations. I relish eating food on a banana leaf.
How else would i be able to watch movies of my favourite movie star Vijay. It is always good to go to your grandparents house as it is fun to see your parents turn into kids. I think it is fun to see your parents to have fights with their siblings. This gives you a chance to pull their leg when at home they try to behave like Mahatma Gandhi and preach that fighting with your siblings is bad.
Well,after a quick tour that really drains you out,it is time for the best part of the whole trip-time to return home. The feeling on seeing mandideep is something that no words can describe. As I always say "There is no place like home".

Driving Lessons

After sitting at home,doing nothing for a month,my mom decided it was high time that i learn something. From the various options put in front of me,i chose to take up driving. I looked up the newspaper and phoned the driving school. A voice at the other end said "classes will begin tomorrow morning at 7".
Now i must tell you that i enjoy my sleep. But since i had enrolled for a driving lesson, I had to get up at 6 which i haven't done for quite a long time. I got ready and waited sleepily for my instructor to come and pick me up.
She reached at sharp 7 and then i was made to seat in the back seat as another girl of my age was driving. My turn came at last and she gave me a basic run through of all the mechanisms involved.
I have tried my hand(and feet) at driving before. The main problem which i encounter is leaving the clutch and pressing the accelerator at the same time.Once while driving, i left the clutch so suddenly that the car started doing a break dance and a poor onlooker almost fell down. That put an end to my passion for driving.
I must confess that i have a poor hand eye coordination. It took me years of effort and a lot of scolding on my brother's part to learn to ride a bicycle. So how could this lady expect me to start driving on the main road at that very instant. I remembered all the Gods present in Hindu Mythology and asked them to help me.
But it did not go as bad as i expected. This was mainly because my instructor was partially driving the car(she was managing the clutch and accelerator,I was just steering around).
Half an hour later,she dropped me back. I felt proud of my acheivement.
Six days have passed since i started driving and i must inform you all that i have surpassed even my own expectations. I can now drive a bit(at least my dad complimented me).
Hope this good feat continues.

Why A Blog??

After a sabbatical (quite a long one), I have decided to update my blog a tad bit more regularly. Now the question is why did i start blogging ? For its answer we need to travel a long time back, not very long but just a year back.
A year back, when i was a simple and naive girl (which i still am, but a little less), I shifted from my home to study in one of the most prestigious institutions of our country. I left my home teary eyed but filled with the nervous excitement of one stepping out into the unknown.
My parents left me in the hostel along with 30 other girls. Never in my life have I felt so out of place. The daily fights for the bathroom, rushing for the class, sleeping during lectures all became a daily routine.
I have made very good friends and I have come I contact with different kinds of people. My brother had started blogging a year back. But now here I found that having a blog was the in-thing. I also jumped on to the bandwagon but haven’t been loyal to it.
I like to read other people’s blogs. It opens up a whole new world. The class buffoon may actually be a very serious thinker. Or the happy-go-lucky guy sitting in front of you, may actually be very frustrated.
I hope that I continue writing my blog. May God help me.