Monday, November 27, 2006

Al Italia

I can bet that 99% of the o-sounds originating on globe come from Italians. So much so, Ghalibiano has begun to sound more natural a sound than Ghalib.

We just came back from a three day trip to the land of pizzas, the o-sounds and so on. Roma was enchanting, Venezia was interesting and Milano was haute coutour-ish.
But I still can't believe I had the spaghetti with sea-food. I almost thought I saw something wriggle. And one of the pieces almost looked like the claw of a duck. I somehow managed to eat it and avoided all the suspicious looking pieces. Not to mention the sidey looks others gave when I struggled with the noodles. Did I tell you I hate spaghetti !?

I also liked the idea of throwing coins in the famous Trevis Fountain. Felt like a kid. I actually frown upon this tradition in most places , but this one time, I let it be. And it felt great. The best part was actually thinking that if there were one wish I wanted, what would it be! Enter Grandma.

I just had an idea of jotting down some of the phrases that I have liked over the years. Here they are:

" ...
For what I worshipped stole my love away

It was the ground beneath her feet
...
"
from U2's "The ground beneath her feet"


"And he beamed with a desire that was so fiercely intense,
his eyes burnt ."

"More than you can understand, others can believe or I can express..."

"Love means never having to say you're sorry."
And now I don't have to reference this one, do I ?

"He smiled as he saw the drop of sweat trickle down her glistening face..."

"Here's looking at you, kid. "
from the movie Casablanca

"And though I want and could ask for everything, I just ask for your time. For its not only in the promise of a future, which is so uncertain anyway, but in the ecstacy of the present that I want to be with you. I wish this could last forever. I wish this didn't have to change just because God had other plans."

Monday, November 20, 2006

Wingies at IITK...

A consecutive set of rooms in IITK hostels is called wing. It is normally the first level of platonic bonding on campus. You see the same people when you brush your teeth, and you bid them goodnight. You probably also sleep with them sometimes, when your brother visits you. You go out on dinner treats [to mess or beyond] and trips to other places. You begin to love them.
This is my wing:

We were an eclectic bunch of people, ranging from one who couldn't distinguish between contraceptive pills and kaun-domes to the one who was famous as the complete man. One was alleged to have distinctly girlish choice of colors and other stuff while one pushed heavy iron in the gym. The latter had a chest to show, and later, he supposedly even had breast cancer! We had a badshah among us as also the guy who wore only full sleeve shirts, or thats how the juniors recognised him. There was a budding goalkeeper, a talented AOL chat specialist with friends named kerala, bangalore and so on, a hawa-22 who was a mentor to many an IITian, a reputed contributor to wikipedia and a reincarnation of Jonty Rhodes. Not to forget, the only IITK MTech amongst us, whose legendary thighs and cake cooking skills were the envy of many a girl !

We are all in our own worlds, some doing jobs, others MBA and the rest sweating it out for MS/PhD.
But I miss them all.
Its been over a year and a half since I saw most of them. I met one, and saw that his biology had improved, as also his acquaintance with girls. The ones with jobs are doing well. Badshah is doing well with wing bhabhiji. [The real one, not the one to whom this moniker had stuck!]

This one doesn't seem to have had a good luck with photography:


Not to be misconstrued, I intend no slander. I possess no malice. But I want to have some fun.
Another photo is in place here:

With best wishes to one and all. Hope to bump into you somewhere, sometime soon!

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Been blogrolling and nothin'

I guess I have had too much free time off late. The clothes were washed, dried and ironed out sometime back. The room is clean. There is no lecture in a week. No travel plan for 4 days.
Though I have been obsessively watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S. episodes, I begin to feel like a desperate housewife. I want some work.

Its a pity the fellow banterer is busy herself. I look at the cobweb of friends around me and wonder at how small this world is. But it still gives me creeps. Nothing can be too good to be true, isn't it?
In my childhood, I used to dream about icecream fountains and chocolate walls. I dreamt of winning a lottery. Some people do win lottery, don't they? Some people do get unimaginably lucky sometimes, don't they? I thought I was lucky to be blessed with some things, but a strange thought once clouded me. What if I woke up one day and realised that it was all but a happy dream...?
Should I pick up some morphine now? Will that make the dream last forever?

A friend of Strato says its only as complicated as you make it. Thats a simple sentence. Or is it complicated?

I was reading a rather serious article. At least the kind of discussion it has evoked in the minds of some people does give that impression. The article is titled Should IITians keep away from IIMs? and the most interesting thing I found there was the mention of Bundelkhand University. Thats the university in my city, Banda. I couldn't help noticing how it was contrasted against IITs. I mean, should I feel happy for the IITs or should I feel sad about the univ. ! ! !?!?!
At this point in time, I guess I should be branded as the champion of the most ignominous debates. When they start discussing serious topics in small chitchats, all I think is "how does it matter what you think". May be what they did would matter, but in the words of my HR prof, I don't see the connect... between what they say and what they do.

That just ignited another thought. What would an exact opposite of me look like?
Someone who :
-is good at debates and quick repartee
-has hair that just refuse to settle down
-is athletic
-has a good taste in music
-is well learned in childhood literature and other serious-er forms of writing
-is interesting and has a good sense of humor
A law in physics says that there is a good chemistry between opposites. They attract, don't they? The description doesn't imply good things about me but still !

In my free time, I also discovered a few blogs. I liked mavernik for his was a good way of presenting a serious thought. Something even a naive [or knave, if you wish ] person like me could comprehend. This blog sounded more like a commentary inspired by Sex and the City for one post, but others are interesting. Or is it just the voyeurist in me :O !

...
Let them say I'm crazy,
What do they know!
...

Friday, November 17, 2006

The [Dis]Advantages of long hair.

First the advantages.

+My receding hairline isn't so visible. The havoc it can wreak on my prospects is considerably reduced. Something in my brain tells me that now I shouldn't worry about my prospects so much. But then, a bald face can do wonders, not excluding dissuading interested people!
+I don't feel so cold in the head. Its almost like wearing a woolen scarf.
+I am saving the precious euros I would have to spend on a visit to the barber. In the amount that it costs here, one can get a nice therapy/treatment done back home.
+Vatika Nariyal Tel Company has spotted me as their most prized customer.

And now the disadvantages.

-People with uncommon tendencies can take signals that I am not giving out. Some people will never appreciate the difference between metrosexual and homosexual!
-They poke into my eyes, at times irritating me so much that I pull at them, and shriek out with pain.
-They make me feel untidy, almost as much as a pair of smelling-like-hydrogen_sulphide socks do.
-I am afraid of asking some girls out for date, as I might end up being the one with the longer hair!
-Some of the thoughts I want to let go of get caught in them and stay literally at the back of my mind.




Disclaimer: Not everything stated here is factually correct! :P




.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Life sciences !


Its one of those times that remind me that geography and physics are for real. The distances aren't just for the maps, as are the time differences. Flying isn't for humans in the real world.

Our life saviour McD turned devil for Strato, and she is down with illness. She is hot as well, and I am referring to her temperature. Here's wishing her the speediest journey back to the world of strong and healthy. :)









Life in Vallendar gaon has come to a standstill. Its the phase when the feeling dawns that the time to return is coming. A guy from IIMC has already gone. Few more will go in 2 weeks. We will be gone in another 2 weeks.

On looking back, I realise that both of my major investments, the Eurail pass and the laptop have turned out to be pretty worthwhile. I wouldn't have known that earth is such a beautiful planet if I hadn't made those investments. Without the laptop, the lousy lectures, dull evenings and boring afternoons would have been intolerable. And the beautiful morning afters would never have come. Without the Eurail pass, a Eurotrip would be unthinkable.

I look at CM and wonder. He is changed. At times, he tries to sound like a professor. Just this afternoon, I was making fun of his 5micron ego and he became serious. Quite a contrast from the usual him, he who laughs at his own jokes and sometimes is the only one laughing.

I was also wondering about why and how Chashmish hasn't featured here. He is a childhood buddy I was always proud of. His awareness of insider information so frequently gives him the upper hand in the battle of wit-less humor. Too much, however, can never be said about this gentleman. He is so naive, he confuses Casanova with Kournikova. And I feel utterly unsafe taking panga with him, so I will avoid more such descriptions! :D

I wish everyone had a brother and a sister like I do. An elder brother who recommends spending now and saving later, and an elder sister who just wouldn't let me live girlfriendlessly!

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

The Swissing and the missing...

So we swissed some and missed some, but thats life.

I just came back from an enchanting trip to Switzerland. The most panoramic scenes were to be found on the stretch from Lucerne to Interlaken. We decided to ditch the ride to the top of Jungfrau peak, but ended up spending an hour in Brienz. I will let the photos do the rest of the talking...

If they keep saying Switzerland is a beautiful country, you better believe it. Build your expectations and they will be surpassed.

There are a couple of things one can't help noticing about the Swiss.

First things first. They understand that human beings have urges which need to be attended to every once in a while, and for which, backpackers on a shoestring budget may not be willing to shell out the precious euros [or Swiss Francs either!]. So they have made public toilets at convenient locations. And they are damn neat too.

The Swiss cows aren't so horny. Probably they have been vaccinated with sterlising hormones or something. Probably their horns don't grow so well. Contrast that with the sturdy and insanely horny cows of Ahmedabad, and probably the whole of Gujarat.

Switzerland is a rich country. You go to an information counter in the railway station, and get a printout for your query. You will feel it in the quality of the paper. You can also see it in the way public systems are managed. But after travelling to many European countries, one must concede it to the Germans that they have a talent for running an efficient railway network. DB trains mostly arrive on time, often with a difference of only a few seconds!



In exactly a month from now, I will fly back to apna desh. Even the thought seems so comforting. I won't be able to go back home, but I will at least break out this monotonous routine of cooking and eating. And fending for myself for most things!

Friday, November 10, 2006

What could have been!

I just came out of a what-could-have-been moment.

I mean, I once fell into a water tank and survived. What if I hadn't been rescued in time?
Would I still have made my way to IIMA?
I guess I would. And then, some of those weird monkey cries [mating calls, some people claim] people hear in the old campus at IIMA would have come from my throat. The monkey I saw being scared away by cracker bursts could have been me. Or may be the dog that was kicked by the drunkard next door.

What if I hadn't been selected into IITK that year? All those friends I cherish now would have been my seniors. Would I have met Talisma, Sweety, Roy, Rama, my wingmates and so on?

It's a complex thought process. But one that leaves you clueless about what-could-have-been.

There's a problem with dreaming too much. And that is, that they shatter a lot. If the moment a girl smiles at you, you start thinking about what your kids are going to be called, then there is a problem. The Classical Dreamers' Dilemma.


To dream or not to dream, that is the question!
Whether its nobler in the mind to live like a dud,

or to dream and win or lose and suffer...

Monday, November 06, 2006

On resolutions and wishes...

Its that time of the year when I make resolutions and wishes.
Previous resolutions have included calling home more often, not forgetting friends' birthdays and acting normal.

This year calls for strong resolutions and dreamy wishes.

1- Weaning away from too strong addictions.
A few months without eating jalebi and I think I have shed a few kgs, had to discard a few trousers and buy a new leather belt. As I sit back and think about jalebis all over the country being devoured by afficionados, it kills me. I guess I wouldn't feel so bad if my feelings for jalebi s were under my control.
I will start by not looking at the MessMenu every evening.

2- Learning to love life for what it offers.
Once when I was in class XI, I was following a girl. And a streetdog in her lane bit me so hard, I think I must have passed out. Once I bought a 3-euro coffee at Munich Airport to help deal with my headache. I ended up with one of my worst memories about headaches. Never drank coffee in Germany after that, unless I was the one preparing it.
I guess there's a risk-return tradeoff in everything we do. You wake up in the morning, brush your teeth and hurt your gums. End up being unable to eat anything not on the same temperature as your gums. The next day you decide not to brush your teeth and your girlfriend kicks you away. You see what I mean?
I will start by loving my socks for not smelling as bad as my neighbour's. And still loving them when they stink.

3- Improving my digestive system.
It stinks. I don't intend to ignite ewwwy thoughts about bile juice, salad marinated in saliva or the first thing one would think after hearing 'digestion' and 'stink' in the same (smelly?) breath. Well, I am talking about my ability to hold on to facts. May be there's nothing wrong with my system except that it has been overloaded. Numerous secrets about current affairs, and other trivialities reside in my heart. Sometimes they spill over.

4- Visiting a cardiac specialist.
Heart ek hai yaar, can't take risks. I have miss-used it quite a lot, spent it on charming ladies too often, let it slip away unnoticed only to find it a week later lying drunk in chandni bar.

5- Never say never again.
Its a fantastic movie and I will watch it as soon as I can get my hand [or eyes] on it.


Now its time to enumerate my wishes.

1- Blood Donation.
Once in an adventurous mood, I went to a blood donation camp to donate blood. They put me on the receptor's line! Many a mosquito have starved to death in my room. Bro says I look like a shirt has is hanging over a skeleton. Its only recently that clothes of my size have become available in showrooms.
I hope one day they will let me stand in the donors' line.

2- Swarovski
Those crystals look so insanely awesome. In varied hues, shapes and sizes, they just take my breath away.
I hope I am capable of gifting one to someone sometime... or may be, anyone anytime!!!

3- Mercedes
Hang Kamlesh for putting this thought into my head but its so many years and I think it still remains among my most desired things. I don't know nought about racing cars, or even normal cars. But I do know that whenever a Merc passes by, I still can't stop having a second look. And mind you, very few sights are capable of provoking that second look!

4-Hmm.
Grand ma says thats enough wish-revealing. And I really want them to come true.

Aaameen.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

German quirks!

They say you should never see a dog or a monkey in its eye. If you are new to the German way of living, I think you should not see anyone in the eye. I mean, like every dog has his area defined [ though demarcated by pretty unhygienic means], I feel like even I have an area. Anyone whom I see inside the imaginary circumference wishes me Hallo, Guten Tag or something. Some people do it so sweetly, you feel running to them and... ok, forget it, they are mature nuns busy in the work of God. But some people look at you and say the hello in such a grotesque manner, you wish you'd never see them again.

Water is supposed to be water. Hydrogen two atoms, Oxygen one. Somehow, that is not the case here. Un-carbonated water feaures in the same extinct species' list as dodo and dinosauraus. Especially when one is travelling and drinking so much CO2, there is all this green house effect going on inside. And it makes your stomach go queasy at the very mention of bottled water!

Just about everything can be made more convenient and hands free using technology. We bought a bottle of strong adhesive and couldn't figure out how to open its capillary like nozzle. So we decided to take a look at the instructions [ it was in German, so looking was all we could do.. luckily there were some photos and photos don't have any language so far! ] . Flip the cover , place it securely against the nozzle and twist. Lo and behold! the nozzle tip is open.
Of course, the sensor fitted doors are found everywhere - from local banks to supermarkets to railway stations.

Speed. Its not just a Hollywood movie, its also a passion for the Germans. Look at the autobahns. Or the ICE trains. You can travel at 260kmph in an autobahn and you would still find people whooshing past. As for ICE trains, well, the less said the better. The way trains cruise at 250+ kmph speeds, you wonder if they are on magnetic levitation. But they are not. And thats the biggest deal.

Language. If you can say 'Danke Schoene' and 'Tschuss' with the same elan as Germans do, you can win their hearts. But if you can't, be prepared to be surprised. Not always, may be, not often. But sometimes, you can see faces twitch and twist when you communicate that you can't speak in Deutsche. 'Ich sprache nicht Deutsche'. That will kill you.

Beer. If you can't bear beer, you can't enjoy any party in Germany.

Bread. There are more kinds of bread to be seen in a German cafe than there are kinds of insects in this world. [Wasn't that a huge number?]

This list is by no means complete. Nor is it meant to be in bad taste.
To a ill-mannered guy who comes from India, the German politeness and sense of humor is inspiring. But it takes time to get used to these things. Till then, you are allowed to say you don't like it !