yes the year is almost over. another one. personally i regard it as the most significant ever. in a general view though it definitely isn't the way i would have wanted to the year to go. in an air of fear. its very difficult to ignore the omnipresence of fear, akin to the winter chill all over the country. i'll be going back to college, apparently now no more a very safe place. a possible target for terrorists, they said on the news the other day. beefed up security.
i came home a few days back. for the villagers who read this page, it should be heartening news that kgp won the gc at roorkee. a most unexpected but pleasant outcome. in a series of unexpected events, our football team fell to a lot of bad luck and exited in the first rounds itself. but as a part of the athletics team, i managed my first ever inter iit bronze in the 4*100 ms relay. i also clocked my fastest 100 ms ever- 11.75 s. (sadly this was the heats, the finals i screwed up :( ) but i shall get better yet. the relay was defintely a confidence builder.
the second phase of my journey was super! i learnt a lot and i think its given me a lot of things to think about. a change in perspective too. hopefully i can accomadate all of the baggage as i move into the new year.
my favourite places in mumbai now are marine drive, juhu chowpatti, haji ali and all the cafe mochas. i'm sure we'll find better places still in more trips to follow.
...............................
there are a lot of thing i'd want to write about. about how it feels to visit places you've lived in 16 years back. of childhood memories revisiting. of watching the sunset over the mumbai skyline, while sitting on marine drive. of the feeling of my body going hollow as the train pulled away from mumbai cst.
i think i'll let it be for some other time.
...............................
heres wishing all of you a great new year ahead!
Friday, December 30, 2005
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
westward...
i'm all set. my bags are packed and my sights are set. will be back in this seat 29 days later. the initial few days are spent in the village, ergo, blogging shall continue uninterrupted.
am probably on the longest journey of my life. incidentally the song thats playing on my computer right now shall cease to have much meaning for me by the time i'm back. U2 singing "Still haven't found what i'm looking for..."
...........................
"nothing can capture my emotions now. they are free..."
am probably on the longest journey of my life. incidentally the song thats playing on my computer right now shall cease to have much meaning for me by the time i'm back. U2 singing "Still haven't found what i'm looking for..."
...........................
"nothing can capture my emotions now. they are free..."
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
how often have you woken up early on a late november morning and felt the chill creep in as you stepped out from under you quilt? well, I do that almost every morning because i know the five next steps shall take me to my balcony where the soft golden morning sun welcomes me. nothing beats that feeling.
i think i am lucky, i rarely have nightmares, unlike a lot of other people i know. yes, last night, i know what you told me was scary. but the optimism in me will never die. i guess thats why i'd never shirk from taking those five steps because i know the warm sun awaits me. and you...
i think i am lucky, i rarely have nightmares, unlike a lot of other people i know. yes, last night, i know what you told me was scary. but the optimism in me will never die. i guess thats why i'd never shirk from taking those five steps because i know the warm sun awaits me. and you...
Sunday, November 27, 2005
coming back to life...
it has been time now. a long time since this page saw some activity.
5th sem over! finally! retrospection? yes. at times i tend to do that, and what i see looking back i am happy with. everything i did was memorable. a whole lot of sports, some soc-cult, coming face to face with destiny and almost killing off my blog.
i left the village day before yesterday and am here in town until wednesday. and then its back to the village for week long preparations for the biggest calendar event for every iit. inter iit sports meet. venue- iit roorkee.
at present its something i am really looking forward to. two weeks of unrestrained fun and some high sporting action. the fact that we get to go to roorkee, a beautiful place in its own right is a welcome bonus.
following that is a vacation off to the warmer locales of the west coast. all in all some december it shall be. fitting way to cap off the most significant year yet.
................................
i'm feeling very out of touch and hence shall let it be thus far only.
5th sem over! finally! retrospection? yes. at times i tend to do that, and what i see looking back i am happy with. everything i did was memorable. a whole lot of sports, some soc-cult, coming face to face with destiny and almost killing off my blog.
i left the village day before yesterday and am here in town until wednesday. and then its back to the village for week long preparations for the biggest calendar event for every iit. inter iit sports meet. venue- iit roorkee.
at present its something i am really looking forward to. two weeks of unrestrained fun and some high sporting action. the fact that we get to go to roorkee, a beautiful place in its own right is a welcome bonus.
following that is a vacation off to the warmer locales of the west coast. all in all some december it shall be. fitting way to cap off the most significant year yet.
................................
i'm feeling very out of touch and hence shall let it be thus far only.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
news
winter is very well on its way. a lot of people would call it pleasant but i find it chillier than my comfort level in the evenings. but all said and done, i still rate this time of the year as amongst the pleasantest times in the village.
on other fronts, ITC visited the campus for Summer Training interviews. one of the first glimpses of life after Kgp materializing for a lot of people. for me it shall be "westward ho!" at all costs.
last weekend witnessed the Nehru Dumb-C team comprising lancelot, S and acroyali come third at one of the most dramatic interhalls. rk getting disqualified owing to direct interaction with the judge in a moment of excitement. sn leading for four rounds and then failing to feature in the top 3 cause they messed up the last round.
football practices are on hold at present. am happy to announce that IIT Roorkee awaits our 15 member football team on the 10/11th of Dec. and yours truly shall be a part of the party. the disconcerting thought though is the temperatures during that time of the year in roorkee. hovering around 7-8 degrees centigrade, they definitely sound most uninviting to me.
end sems are well within view and its time to worry again. and maybe as a consequence maybe not, i shall announce my departure from the blog for quite a while now. but i surely hope to be back in full josh once december begins and i am stuck here with nothing else but inter IIT practices, a whole lotta novels and a treasure trove of movies on the lan.
so till then...
(in a moment of delusion i shall allow myself to believe that you will want me to eat up my words and then i shall assure you that i am one of the most fickle minded creatures)
on other fronts, ITC visited the campus for Summer Training interviews. one of the first glimpses of life after Kgp materializing for a lot of people. for me it shall be "westward ho!" at all costs.
last weekend witnessed the Nehru Dumb-C team comprising lancelot, S and acroyali come third at one of the most dramatic interhalls. rk getting disqualified owing to direct interaction with the judge in a moment of excitement. sn leading for four rounds and then failing to feature in the top 3 cause they messed up the last round.
football practices are on hold at present. am happy to announce that IIT Roorkee awaits our 15 member football team on the 10/11th of Dec. and yours truly shall be a part of the party. the disconcerting thought though is the temperatures during that time of the year in roorkee. hovering around 7-8 degrees centigrade, they definitely sound most uninviting to me.
end sems are well within view and its time to worry again. and maybe as a consequence maybe not, i shall announce my departure from the blog for quite a while now. but i surely hope to be back in full josh once december begins and i am stuck here with nothing else but inter IIT practices, a whole lotta novels and a treasure trove of movies on the lan.
so till then...
(in a moment of delusion i shall allow myself to believe that you will want me to eat up my words and then i shall assure you that i am one of the most fickle minded creatures)
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
incoherence...
he hurt. his mind said he shouldn't. but he just hurt, helplessly.
too much joy will kill you? just as sure as none at all?
he realised it was ridiculous but unvoidable.
too much joy will kill you? just as sure as none at all?
he realised it was ridiculous but unvoidable.
Monday, October 31, 2005
festival of lights
Its diwali tomorrow. All around the country people are decorating their houses, balconies and rooms with diyas. If you can picture a balcony lit with diyas, as you walk by a house, you'd know how beautiful it looks.
Whenever i see a balcony lit up like this, i imagine the children of the house dressed up putting the diyas in place; smiles that would shame any light ever lit. Its the joy these lights bring... is what diwali is all about, to me.
I am in the village today. I went out to buy a phone recharge card after dinner. It is a little misty and chilly. As i was walking out of the hall i saw a lot of batchmates, juniors and seniors do the last bits of the decorations for tomorrow's illumination. I felt separated from it all. Like a third person, an observer, someone not a part of the scene.
I wish i was somewhere else today. Its the festival of lights and the diyas haven't brought my share of happiness yet.
Whenever i see a balcony lit up like this, i imagine the children of the house dressed up putting the diyas in place; smiles that would shame any light ever lit. Its the joy these lights bring... is what diwali is all about, to me.
I am in the village today. I went out to buy a phone recharge card after dinner. It is a little misty and chilly. As i was walking out of the hall i saw a lot of batchmates, juniors and seniors do the last bits of the decorations for tomorrow's illumination. I felt separated from it all. Like a third person, an observer, someone not a part of the scene.
I wish i was somewhere else today. Its the festival of lights and the diyas haven't brought my share of happiness yet.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
brishti
brishti
holed up inside my room all day long. thankfully its a weekend. would've sucked to have classes today. got a call from home, my para has sunk. had beguni and peyaaji and cha at the canteen. mess is off today. will have to go out to eat. have no money. maybe the canteen shall save me tonight. anyways i don't expect much while in the village.
brishti- took the photo in the afternoon after lunch. view from outside my window. i rather quite like it. its raining and raining and raining all the while. yesterday, i remember, it had turned sunny in the afternoon and i went thinking that finally i may have football practice. but as came evening, so came the clouds and it started pouring as if in reply to my thoughts.
the photo is a product of my newest acquisition, a gift from boro pishi. pretty little thing it is.
am listening to Iris- Goo Goo Dolls, the title track from the movie City Of Angels. was on the top of my personal fav charts for a long time. and since i am listening to it after a long time, it sounds even better.
and finally, i absolutely INSIST you read my last post, incase you haven't.
holed up inside my room all day long. thankfully its a weekend. would've sucked to have classes today. got a call from home, my para has sunk. had beguni and peyaaji and cha at the canteen. mess is off today. will have to go out to eat. have no money. maybe the canteen shall save me tonight. anyways i don't expect much while in the village.
brishti- took the photo in the afternoon after lunch. view from outside my window. i rather quite like it. its raining and raining and raining all the while. yesterday, i remember, it had turned sunny in the afternoon and i went thinking that finally i may have football practice. but as came evening, so came the clouds and it started pouring as if in reply to my thoughts.
the photo is a product of my newest acquisition, a gift from boro pishi. pretty little thing it is.
am listening to Iris- Goo Goo Dolls, the title track from the movie City Of Angels. was on the top of my personal fav charts for a long time. and since i am listening to it after a long time, it sounds even better.
and finally, i absolutely INSIST you read my last post, incase you haven't.
Friday, October 21, 2005
55 words
I had been tagged a long time back by melchizedek. Personally i hate it! Specially this 55 word tag. I'm BAD at making up stories!! But this time i think it was worth the wait. The following anecdote is from a professor in my department. It's a gem. I tried hard to keep it as interesting as it is, probably messed up bigtime. Given the 55 word limit and my non-existent talent it couldn't have gone otherwise. So here goes...
This is when computers were new. IIT Kanpur had one which was used by the professors only. A student wanting to use the computer wrote a program to store the passwords of all the people who would log onto the computer. Very interestingly a particular professor's password turned out to be another professor’s wife's name!
This is when computers were new. IIT Kanpur had one which was used by the professors only. A student wanting to use the computer wrote a program to store the passwords of all the people who would log onto the computer. Very interestingly a particular professor's password turned out to be another professor’s wife's name!
Saturday, October 08, 2005
....
It happened one night… it came out of the darkness to hit us both. The only glimpse we got of it was a silvery blue flash. At first it felt like a cold liquid whiplash. But soon we realized we were stung. We felt the burning flow through our veins. It chilled each and every vein it entered. Spreading from the stomach where the lasting pain of the sting was fading, it spread radially into each strand of bloodstream it could find.
At first we felt the chill spreading through our body. The next thing that followed was a reduction in our perception of our surroundings. Our thoughts began taking over our brain. Suddenly the darkness around us had dissolved. Flashes of light, sparkles of silver and purple danced in the darkness. Our heads began to swim. Or rather everything around us was taken up in a frenzied dance, while we stood their and watched with bloody horror.
And then I couldn’t think of anything more cause my brain refused to let me make up more of this crap. And thankfully I realize that it is an assertion of the fact that I am only 30% weird. And I thank blogthings for even trying to comprehend the composition of my brain. I'm telling you … yes you… go and get your head checked. I’m telling you it isn’t funny, it isn’t a joke, they ARE out to get you!!
At first we felt the chill spreading through our body. The next thing that followed was a reduction in our perception of our surroundings. Our thoughts began taking over our brain. Suddenly the darkness around us had dissolved. Flashes of light, sparkles of silver and purple danced in the darkness. Our heads began to swim. Or rather everything around us was taken up in a frenzied dance, while we stood their and watched with bloody horror.
And then I couldn’t think of anything more cause my brain refused to let me make up more of this crap. And thankfully I realize that it is an assertion of the fact that I am only 30% weird. And I thank blogthings for even trying to comprehend the composition of my brain. I'm telling you … yes you… go and get your head checked. I’m telling you it isn’t funny, it isn’t a joke, they ARE out to get you!!
Friday, October 07, 2005
pujos and leaving the village
A rather long time it has been. A lot of things have come to a pass. As i write this, there are 3 days left to the pujos. If i were in Cal, i would see the bamboo structure of the para pandal everyday from my window. I would hear the dhaak beats and new sale offers on the radio and tv 24*7. Here in the village its a different world. Theres absolutely nothing to give that pujo-is-arriving feeling. The only thing that allows the feeling is the slight misty mornings and the chill in the air at dawn and twilight. There is a certain characteristic pujo flavour to them. I just realized i haven't yet seen kash phool yet. I'll try and be a little more alert on my journey back home today evening. I have done no pujo shopping yet. Unthinkable if i were in Cal. at present.
I also think i've hit a wall with blogging of late. My blog always used to an account of my life's happenings. Nowadays i don't like that style. I even had this post which i wanted to post anonymously. Losing anonymity on a blog is (i can't find the word.)
Am listening to Joan Baez's version of No Woman No Cry. Its faster than the original by Bob Marley. The refrain "...everything's gonna be alright..." is like a support. Lean on it when you want to. Two days ago i shut the lights in my room. Thought of a certain incident that plagued me. And kept listening to Diamonds and Rust over and over again. And when i couldn't take it anymore, i lay on my bed to look up at my ceiling to think about it. My tired body shut itself off. I woke up next morning.
Enough of random ramblings. Am going home today. Am out of money. Don't have enough to buy me a ticket! And train journeys of late are things i look forward to. I can stand at the door, sipping a cha in a bhaar after a snooze. Thinking of the one thing that drives me endlessly. The one thing that makes everything exhilaratingly beafutiful and can leave me breathless.
I also think i've hit a wall with blogging of late. My blog always used to an account of my life's happenings. Nowadays i don't like that style. I even had this post which i wanted to post anonymously. Losing anonymity on a blog is (i can't find the word.)
Am listening to Joan Baez's version of No Woman No Cry. Its faster than the original by Bob Marley. The refrain "...everything's gonna be alright..." is like a support. Lean on it when you want to. Two days ago i shut the lights in my room. Thought of a certain incident that plagued me. And kept listening to Diamonds and Rust over and over again. And when i couldn't take it anymore, i lay on my bed to look up at my ceiling to think about it. My tired body shut itself off. I woke up next morning.
Enough of random ramblings. Am going home today. Am out of money. Don't have enough to buy me a ticket! And train journeys of late are things i look forward to. I can stand at the door, sipping a cha in a bhaar after a snooze. Thinking of the one thing that drives me endlessly. The one thing that makes everything exhilaratingly beafutiful and can leave me breathless.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Fantasy Lover?
| Your Seduction Style: Fantasy Lover |
 You know that ideal love that each of us dreams of from childhood? That's you! Not because you posess all of the ideal characteristics, but because you are a savvy shape shifter. You have the uncanny ability to detect someone's particular fantasy... and make it you. You inspire each person to be an idealist and passionate, and you make each moment memorable Even a simple coffee date with you can be the most romantic moment of someone's life By giving your date exactly what he or she desires, you quickly become the ideal lover. Your abilities to make dreams come true is so strong, that you are often the love of many people's lives. Your ex's (and even people you have simply met or been friends with) long to be yours. No doubt you are the one others have dreamed of... your biggest challenge is finding *your* dream lover. |
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
today was an exceptionally humid day in the village. my legs ACHE! an increased level of physical activity (read football practices) being the source. all morning my poor legs just quivered, after the morning workout routines. classes, labs and then practices in the evening once again. i quite enjoy my right out position. its best suited to my strength as a sprinter, though a marked improvement in accuracy is required.
was writing a lab report for tomorrow, taking a break in between. got all the songs on my computer enqueued in media player. a two hundred and five hour playlist; meaning it would take more than a week (8.5 days exactly) of continuous playing for all the songs on my computer to play atleast once!!
the only thing i see ahead of me is work work and more of work. everyday is packed. i want to runaway to a beach resort. lie under a palm tree, get myself a nice massage, soothe my sore muscles, freshen up and then hang out with my favourite person at the restaurant by the beach.
soft music wafting in on the cool breeze from the sea.... i think i better get back to writing my lab.
was writing a lab report for tomorrow, taking a break in between. got all the songs on my computer enqueued in media player. a two hundred and five hour playlist; meaning it would take more than a week (8.5 days exactly) of continuous playing for all the songs on my computer to play atleast once!!
the only thing i see ahead of me is work work and more of work. everyday is packed. i want to runaway to a beach resort. lie under a palm tree, get myself a nice massage, soothe my sore muscles, freshen up and then hang out with my favourite person at the restaurant by the beach.
soft music wafting in on the cool breeze from the sea.... i think i better get back to writing my lab.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
back in the village. cal was SO humid this weekend, i can actualy feel the difference. presently something inside my head is pulsating away in total bloody glory making life quite uncomfortable.
had planned on getting some work done tonight. working on that article, the lab and some budgeting for the next two weeks. managing money- a BIG lesson that i'm learning over the past month. realising that theres too much of useless expenditure that can be avoided.
have been listening to joe satriani since i came back. needed some soothing music. feel much better after a cold shower.
and i need a vacation!
had planned on getting some work done tonight. working on that article, the lab and some budgeting for the next two weeks. managing money- a BIG lesson that i'm learning over the past month. realising that theres too much of useless expenditure that can be avoided.
have been listening to joe satriani since i came back. needed some soothing music. feel much better after a cold shower.
and i need a vacation!
the man ran... he looked behind, face contorted and ran harder. then he suddenly stopped. turned around abruptly, as if facing up to his tormentor. jumped up and down frantically. stomped the ground furiously. only to hurt his leg.
he tried running hard again. stopped suddenly. then walked. turned around and ran again.
his shadow never left him.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
finally!!!
YAY! (why?)
because
- i'm home
- my damned exams are over
- i feel like blogging
- the song stuck in my head is bitter sweet symphony
- i am fascinated by the passion someone can have for life
I can somehow feel the pujo in the blue skies and the sparkling sunshine. Maybe today is exceptionally sunny. But i can feel it in the warmth. Put on the radio while having dinner last night, and the advert promising crazy discounts on clothes in the foreground of the familiar dhaak beats cemented the feeling.
Will be going to dadi's place in the afty. Rini di and boro pishi have come. They came to Kol on Thursday. Meeting them after 2-3(?) years. Been recalling chhoto pishis wedding, an extremely rare occasion, when all of us cousins spanning 25 years and a few seas in between spend a gala time together.
The good thing about anybody dropping in from the US is the getting together of relatives (fathers side) in Kolkata. Chhoto pishi and pishamoshai come next weekend. Will meet the youngest cousin (3 months) for the first time. Looking forward to a great pujo this time.
Ma's badgering me to go get done with my pujo shopping. Me the procrastinator shall defer it.
On the college front there lies a lot of work. Scholars Avenue next issue- third years running the show. The seniors have decided to take leave and throw us into the water to help us learn swim. Footer and athletics practices shall begin in full swing. Looking forward to a physically draining 2 months. Open IIT Dumb-C on Monday. Lance, Shravan and I plan to go to provide the audience some entertainment value. With the practice we have it'll be great if we could do that decently enough.
Am sorry for an extremely haphazard account of happenings. I already have 3-4 drafts collecting dust on my dashboard. Haven't posted them cause half way through each i lost my way.
Shall be back!
Saturday, September 17, 2005
................
it will be a night with the full moon. silvery waves lashing at our feet. the receding tide. the soft roaring sea filling in the silences in our conversation. the stars would have shied away from the proud moon that night. i'd walk down along the beach. feel the wind in my face. your hair would shame the air that played with it. i'd turn back to look and find you standing. the breeze outlining your profile against a darkened sky.
................
Thursday, September 15, 2005
the jets from the Salua base are streaking across the night sky every 2 minutes. but i don't have time to look up at the clear sky and follow their trail.
exam time is very noticeable in IIT. scholars avenue is deserted by 8 p.m.! the canteens are overcrowded with ppl gulping chai after chai till the late hours of night.
posts should be back within a weeks time.
exam time is very noticeable in IIT. scholars avenue is deserted by 8 p.m.! the canteens are overcrowded with ppl gulping chai after chai till the late hours of night.
posts should be back within a weeks time.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
for a long time now...
I was contemplating this, a fellow blogger put my thoughts into words. For a long time now i've forgone blogging. With exam week coming around i really don't know, in fact i'm pretty sure, the blog will be very dormant.
The week that flew by has been the regular affair. Not many interesting changes in the weekly chain of happenings. A couple of lab vivas (which went well), morning conditioning for football (Inter IIT meet in mind) resumed after ages (resulting in sore and stiff muscles). Hours and hours and hours of conversations and being branded crazy and a source of major bafflement in the wing. And a very unexpected gold in the Open IIT English Elocution.
The last bit happened yesterday and considering the amount of effort I put in it surely was a pleasant pleasant surprise when Manjul called me up to inform me about the results. The dinner that followed with lance as company was interesting conversation. Conversation regarding this guy thing about associating objects of affections with cuteness and baby mannerisms. Don't know if its prevalent with most guys. Lance and i were in consensus and formed a satisfying database, for then atleast.
Anyhow, my sleep deficit is restored resulting in bunking in footer practices. Maybe the library beckons now. Lots of odd work there is. Stuff that is easily forgotten but needs to get done pronto.
Hopefully i shall have enough food for thought to keep fitful imaginations afloat.
The week that flew by has been the regular affair. Not many interesting changes in the weekly chain of happenings. A couple of lab vivas (which went well), morning conditioning for football (Inter IIT meet in mind) resumed after ages (resulting in sore and stiff muscles). Hours and hours and hours of conversations and being branded crazy and a source of major bafflement in the wing. And a very unexpected gold in the Open IIT English Elocution.
The last bit happened yesterday and considering the amount of effort I put in it surely was a pleasant pleasant surprise when Manjul called me up to inform me about the results. The dinner that followed with lance as company was interesting conversation. Conversation regarding this guy thing about associating objects of affections with cuteness and baby mannerisms. Don't know if its prevalent with most guys. Lance and i were in consensus and formed a satisfying database, for then atleast.
Anyhow, my sleep deficit is restored resulting in bunking in footer practices. Maybe the library beckons now. Lots of odd work there is. Stuff that is easily forgotten but needs to get done pronto.
Hopefully i shall have enough food for thought to keep fitful imaginations afloat.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
TGIF!!!
Long bad day melting into a dream. Thats what the present is all about. Am using dad's brand new laptop, and ummmmah. I just can't stop ogling at it. Yeh, yeh i know. I KNOW! Lappys have been around a long time, but if you don't feel good when you use one as your own for the first time, get your nervous system checked!
Day was pretty bad considering classes. Last night the crushing news that resulted in me cancelling my plans to join the Booze Bash for a 3 day weekend celebration loomed largely over all my classes today. I attended every single one of them in a total state of mental revolt. It couldn't have gotten crueler. Everything was PERFECT. We were supposed to be having the day off cause of Janmashtami. All evening was spend in this mental state of complete and utter bliss. The feeling of tonnes of load being lifted off the self. And then i saw the HP's notice - "Classes to be held as usual".
Anyways long story short. Day was pretty bad as long as I was in the village. But it doesn't end there. I boarded the Ispat for home. Making my month end trip to ... well, collect my monthly allowance. This being the end of a month. Also to know that there be food that can taste good. And there be mom to cook the chicken.
The trains stopped by at Andul cause apparently "heavy" rains had thrown the Indian Railways out of gear and trains weren't reaching Howrah. They were piling up one behind the other along the way. Amazing how easily the Indian Railways succumb to the Indian Monsoons slightest whims and fancies. Anyways, got off at Santragachi, took a bus to Rabindra Sadan and walked in front of Nandan under the flyover heading for the Metro Sation.
Am back home after a long and tiring journey. The night is going to be a loong and pleasant one. I have borrowed a friends digicam. So lesse, maybe i'll post a few pics too. But for now, my time is up. Its dreamtime for me now!
Day was pretty bad considering classes. Last night the crushing news that resulted in me cancelling my plans to join the Booze Bash for a 3 day weekend celebration loomed largely over all my classes today. I attended every single one of them in a total state of mental revolt. It couldn't have gotten crueler. Everything was PERFECT. We were supposed to be having the day off cause of Janmashtami. All evening was spend in this mental state of complete and utter bliss. The feeling of tonnes of load being lifted off the self. And then i saw the HP's notice - "Classes to be held as usual".
Anyways long story short. Day was pretty bad as long as I was in the village. But it doesn't end there. I boarded the Ispat for home. Making my month end trip to ... well, collect my monthly allowance. This being the end of a month. Also to know that there be food that can taste good. And there be mom to cook the chicken.
The trains stopped by at Andul cause apparently "heavy" rains had thrown the Indian Railways out of gear and trains weren't reaching Howrah. They were piling up one behind the other along the way. Amazing how easily the Indian Railways succumb to the Indian Monsoons slightest whims and fancies. Anyways, got off at Santragachi, took a bus to Rabindra Sadan and walked in front of Nandan under the flyover heading for the Metro Sation.
Am back home after a long and tiring journey. The night is going to be a loong and pleasant one. I have borrowed a friends digicam. So lesse, maybe i'll post a few pics too. But for now, my time is up. Its dreamtime for me now!
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Monday, August 22, 2005
I Am and I Am Not
I’m tied up
in the prison
which has yet to exist
Not having played
the game of chess
I’m already the checkmate
Not having tasted
a single cup of your wine
I’m already drunk
Not having entered
the battlefield
I’m already wounded and slain
I no longer
know the difference
between image and reality
Like the shadow
I am
And
I am not
in the prison
which has yet to exist
Not having played
the game of chess
I’m already the checkmate
Not having tasted
a single cup of your wine
I’m already drunk
Not having entered
the battlefield
I’m already wounded and slain
I no longer
know the difference
between image and reality
Like the shadow
I am
And
I am not
-Jalalud'din Rumi
Sunday, August 14, 2005
stuck in multiple moments
A 10 day hiatus. I guess its been the biggest break ever. It's one of those phases when your mind falls out of rhythm and well... i really don't know why.
News from the village: convocation weekend this. A whole lotta seniors dropping in. A whole lotta treats and a whole lotta booze- a pretty fruitful weekend. The funny feeling that came flooding into my head was that four years back this same place welcomed these guys with banners all over campus. "IIT Kharagpur welcomes successful JEE candidates". Four years down the line it bids them goodbye. The people coming in are guys straight out of school. Blue eyes filled with dreams. Four years down the line the person you see leaving the campus is SUCH a different individual in so many ways. The realization that four/five years of college here makes such a lot of difference seeped into my head in a very big way.
The weekend gave every wing in every hostel their own copy of Scholars' Avenue. The first issue of this semester. Do follow the link provided on the right hand side of this page under the links section. Scholars Avenue is the campus newspaper capturing incidents in kgp-land. For anyone related to the village the paper provides insightful information with regards to happenings in the student community here. For those not related to the village, you are most welcome to browse through the site.
The weekend had two people celebrate a month of magic, one person leave the country for higher education and I for one found solutions to economic problems in the personal sphere.
It rained here today. And after a post lunch match of tt with lance we walked into our top floor wing to be greeted by the overpowering smell of tulsi pata. The dark sky with the wet, green canopy of trees in the foreground looks stunningly beautiful.
This shall be it for the present...
News from the village: convocation weekend this. A whole lotta seniors dropping in. A whole lotta treats and a whole lotta booze- a pretty fruitful weekend. The funny feeling that came flooding into my head was that four years back this same place welcomed these guys with banners all over campus. "IIT Kharagpur welcomes successful JEE candidates". Four years down the line it bids them goodbye. The people coming in are guys straight out of school. Blue eyes filled with dreams. Four years down the line the person you see leaving the campus is SUCH a different individual in so many ways. The realization that four/five years of college here makes such a lot of difference seeped into my head in a very big way.
The weekend gave every wing in every hostel their own copy of Scholars' Avenue. The first issue of this semester. Do follow the link provided on the right hand side of this page under the links section. Scholars Avenue is the campus newspaper capturing incidents in kgp-land. For anyone related to the village the paper provides insightful information with regards to happenings in the student community here. For those not related to the village, you are most welcome to browse through the site.
The weekend had two people celebrate a month of magic, one person leave the country for higher education and I for one found solutions to economic problems in the personal sphere.
It rained here today. And after a post lunch match of tt with lance we walked into our top floor wing to be greeted by the overpowering smell of tulsi pata. The dark sky with the wet, green canopy of trees in the foreground looks stunningly beautiful.
This shall be it for the present...
Friday, August 05, 2005
weekend approaching!
Quitting the village after 3 weeks for home. Kolkata after a long time.
Not exactly looking forward to be back home. For one theres a lot of work that could've been done over the weekend in the village. A lot of leftover stuff from the heavy heavy week. But i guess the change can recharge my batteries. An influx of money into the Monthly Allowance department.
...Later.... from home
My telephone has of late grown two wings and an attitude to boot. It has become extremely unpredictable and has hung up on me at least thrice while I’ve been trying to finish the post.
Saturday: Spent in soaking up Kolkata in all its quirky and endearing ways. Went off to buy some books from College Street. The craziness and bustle inside these small shops is maddening. Thankfully I was at my boisterous best today and so managed to get my books pretty quickly. No place for the meek, this.
The pleasant surprise came when, while sipping coffee, I spotted DD walking along the road in front of the shop I was in. I ran out and shouted for him. Unexpected it was for him too. Sadly we couldn’t sit down for a good bhaat over coffee since both he and I were running low on time. But the incident put a pleasant thought in my head. Realized that I may actually be travelling with some fellow-blogger I know very well over in the blogworld but a stranger in the real one.
Afternoon ended with a massive meal at a griha-prabesh invitation I had to attend close to the JUDE para. Stuffed myself with ilish maach and patha’r mangsho. Am pretty full for two full meals now, and that because my normally in-form digestive system is a little out of sync with three long weeks of disillusionment over mess “food”. I take every opportunity like this to stuff myself up completely cause I’m pretty much a foodie. And as a pretty-much foodie you’re supposed consider meals like these to be the last ones you’ll ever have.
Most amazingly I found the weather to be absolutely fab today. A journey to and from College Street is always made uncomfortable with the sweat and grime and the shirt-sticking-to-your-skin feeling. The sweat being absent made all the difference today. Actually I love being back in the city more.
Not exactly looking forward to be back home. For one theres a lot of work that could've been done over the weekend in the village. A lot of leftover stuff from the heavy heavy week. But i guess the change can recharge my batteries. An influx of money into the Monthly Allowance department.
...Later.... from home
My telephone has of late grown two wings and an attitude to boot. It has become extremely unpredictable and has hung up on me at least thrice while I’ve been trying to finish the post.
Saturday: Spent in soaking up Kolkata in all its quirky and endearing ways. Went off to buy some books from College Street. The craziness and bustle inside these small shops is maddening. Thankfully I was at my boisterous best today and so managed to get my books pretty quickly. No place for the meek, this.
The pleasant surprise came when, while sipping coffee, I spotted DD walking along the road in front of the shop I was in. I ran out and shouted for him. Unexpected it was for him too. Sadly we couldn’t sit down for a good bhaat over coffee since both he and I were running low on time. But the incident put a pleasant thought in my head. Realized that I may actually be travelling with some fellow-blogger I know very well over in the blogworld but a stranger in the real one.
Afternoon ended with a massive meal at a griha-prabesh invitation I had to attend close to the JUDE para. Stuffed myself with ilish maach and patha’r mangsho. Am pretty full for two full meals now, and that because my normally in-form digestive system is a little out of sync with three long weeks of disillusionment over mess “food”. I take every opportunity like this to stuff myself up completely cause I’m pretty much a foodie. And as a pretty-much foodie you’re supposed consider meals like these to be the last ones you’ll ever have.
Most amazingly I found the weather to be absolutely fab today. A journey to and from College Street is always made uncomfortable with the sweat and grime and the shirt-sticking-to-your-skin feeling. The sweat being absent made all the difference today. Actually I love being back in the city more.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
weekend...
The weekend brings with it a flood of relief. Punctuating a three hour long Friday afternoon tutorial, the feeling of stepping out of the department and walking into two days of absolute freedom is peerless.
Actually the night was beautiful. A getting together of the Kgp-blogworld connection and a smallish high-spirited celebration. Initially we'd plan to meet up at Cheddis for cha and adda. But the inevitable "mod khabi?"-"haan NISCHOI!" routine followed. So DD, two of his friends, Lancelotstake and yours truly ended up in the VSRC flat DD's friend had. The best memory-pic of last night is of the five of us cycle down the road in between TSC and Vikramshila at 2:30 a.m. The wind howled in the trees and the clouded dark sky looked omenous stretching over the huge football and cricket grounds of TSC. And in our happy condition the neon streetlights reflecting off the wet and glistening roads looked very movie-ish. But of late a lot of things have been that way.
Morning here is beautiful too. Looking outside my window i can see a few trees beyond which green fields stretch upto a faraway railway track. And a fine misty drizzle melts the view from here.
Need to get lots of work done. For one, an article for the campus newspaper needs to be worked upon. Notwithstanding the fact that i already feel the weekend slipping away from my grip. But what goes around comes around too!
Actually the night was beautiful. A getting together of the Kgp-blogworld connection and a smallish high-spirited celebration. Initially we'd plan to meet up at Cheddis for cha and adda. But the inevitable "mod khabi?"-"haan NISCHOI!" routine followed. So DD, two of his friends, Lancelotstake and yours truly ended up in the VSRC flat DD's friend had. The best memory-pic of last night is of the five of us cycle down the road in between TSC and Vikramshila at 2:30 a.m. The wind howled in the trees and the clouded dark sky looked omenous stretching over the huge football and cricket grounds of TSC. And in our happy condition the neon streetlights reflecting off the wet and glistening roads looked very movie-ish. But of late a lot of things have been that way.
Morning here is beautiful too. Looking outside my window i can see a few trees beyond which green fields stretch upto a faraway railway track. And a fine misty drizzle melts the view from here.
Need to get lots of work done. For one, an article for the campus newspaper needs to be worked upon. Notwithstanding the fact that i already feel the weekend slipping away from my grip. But what goes around comes around too!
Thursday, July 28, 2005
things...
Sometimes things happen and these things in turn change a lot of other things. Personally speaking, a lot of change in perspective. Not newer perspectives but a change in how i used to see things before. Maybe being out of touch has given me the time and space. I'm so used to ending my day after talking to the person, that the last two days have a feeling of incompleteness about them. Funny how 37 inches of rain in a span of 24 hours in a city 1916 k.ms away from the village affects me.
DD is in the village. He's got news. News that spices up conversations in a group of friends. The kind of news that enlivens any talk. Clothed in jokes and innuendos and a lot of other subtle artistry the conversation gets its own life and is an extremely cherished thing. Perfect adda material.
I'm tired of bitching about how bad my schedule is this semester. I'm tired of moaning and groaning about it all. There aren't words enough to describe the torture. So i'll talk about the stuff i learnt today. I learnt that somebody, in our Structural Mechanics lab (and God only knows who), plays with a toy truck which screams "fire! fire!" everytime you turn it on! In the middle of a boring discourse on the nuances of Reinforced Concrete structures the red toy truck with lights flashing was an extremely welcome diversion. Images of JNB playing with it managed to keep half the class awake through an extremely sleepy afternoon. On the other hand a major realization came along the way too. If only we could change a certain property of concrete (its inability to withstand tensile stress) half the steel in the world would be saved up. One wouldn't need the steel skeletons for buildings under construction. Mind boggling implications that could have eh?
DD is in the village. He's got news. News that spices up conversations in a group of friends. The kind of news that enlivens any talk. Clothed in jokes and innuendos and a lot of other subtle artistry the conversation gets its own life and is an extremely cherished thing. Perfect adda material.
I'm tired of bitching about how bad my schedule is this semester. I'm tired of moaning and groaning about it all. There aren't words enough to describe the torture. So i'll talk about the stuff i learnt today. I learnt that somebody, in our Structural Mechanics lab (and God only knows who), plays with a toy truck which screams "fire! fire!" everytime you turn it on! In the middle of a boring discourse on the nuances of Reinforced Concrete structures the red toy truck with lights flashing was an extremely welcome diversion. Images of JNB playing with it managed to keep half the class awake through an extremely sleepy afternoon. On the other hand a major realization came along the way too. If only we could change a certain property of concrete (its inability to withstand tensile stress) half the steel in the world would be saved up. One wouldn't need the steel skeletons for buildings under construction. Mind boggling implications that could have eh?
Saturday, July 23, 2005
College and things
Haven’t been blogging for a long while now. For all those who love/hate me and have been bored seeing my page not updated for such a long, am sorry. Just that the sudden change of routine with college beginning took its toll.
College begun and all the fears morphed into realities. Heavy workload with no respite. Though i must say registration-room shifting day was the most exhausting. With five hours of sleep behind me i'd turned zombie-like by evening. Imagine huge queues, running all over campus (Kgp ain't a small place) and in the end moving atleast 30 kgs worth of luggage from a ground floor room to a 2nd floor room all by yourself. The killer thought is that I have around 26 hours of classes per week. Four labs, meaning only a single afternoon off! I could jump off the 2nd floor worrying myself about all the load.
And I can bomb the Acad Secn. with absolute glee. If they can't assign courses then why are they even there. A zillion guys are running from Prof. to Prof. for courses due to timetable clashes. Profs will their way always and have been forever doing it. And so the poor student is the one who ends up with the worst part of the deal. Thankfully have been able to stay out of this cycle. And have something to thank my lucky stars for.
Not that they are being thanked enough, though. The fact is each and every single day of I always end up going to sleep a happy person. And yes, talking to The Person does that to you.
Today in fact is the first weekend and probably so much more precious. A day when I can wake up at 10 in the morning listen to Mark Knopfler sing “Sailing to Philadelphia” and send a second year to fill up my water bottles from the distant coolers. Aah! The luxuries of being a senior. My computer was acting funny for a few days. Got a second year guy to try and figure out what the joke was. And he did too! Small problems outsourcing, not a bad thing at all!
I see that a lot of other blogs too haven’t been updated for a long time now. Never realized college could have such a considerable effect on blogsphere. Hopefully will be back to blogging for good in a few days but maybe the old rhythm will be elusive. Till then my mirror of emotions, bloggie dear, dontcha miss me!
College begun and all the fears morphed into realities. Heavy workload with no respite. Though i must say registration-room shifting day was the most exhausting. With five hours of sleep behind me i'd turned zombie-like by evening. Imagine huge queues, running all over campus (Kgp ain't a small place) and in the end moving atleast 30 kgs worth of luggage from a ground floor room to a 2nd floor room all by yourself. The killer thought is that I have around 26 hours of classes per week. Four labs, meaning only a single afternoon off! I could jump off the 2nd floor worrying myself about all the load.
And I can bomb the Acad Secn. with absolute glee. If they can't assign courses then why are they even there. A zillion guys are running from Prof. to Prof. for courses due to timetable clashes. Profs will their way always and have been forever doing it. And so the poor student is the one who ends up with the worst part of the deal. Thankfully have been able to stay out of this cycle. And have something to thank my lucky stars for.
Not that they are being thanked enough, though. The fact is each and every single day of I always end up going to sleep a happy person. And yes, talking to The Person does that to you.
Today in fact is the first weekend and probably so much more precious. A day when I can wake up at 10 in the morning listen to Mark Knopfler sing “Sailing to Philadelphia” and send a second year to fill up my water bottles from the distant coolers. Aah! The luxuries of being a senior. My computer was acting funny for a few days. Got a second year guy to try and figure out what the joke was. And he did too! Small problems outsourcing, not a bad thing at all!
I see that a lot of other blogs too haven’t been updated for a long time now. Never realized college could have such a considerable effect on blogsphere. Hopefully will be back to blogging for good in a few days but maybe the old rhythm will be elusive. Till then my mirror of emotions, bloggie dear, dontcha miss me!
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
"did he have passion?", the Greeks asked
He was passionate,
He loved football and music and books.
He was an idealist.
Is it okay being an idealist?
Maybe not, the world's not a place for them.
What do you say?
Tell me.
I say he loved, because i'm not sure if he still lives.
I'm sure he loves.
I'm just not sure he lives.
I hope he does.
I want him to live.
I think he was emotinal too. But i like that.
I hope he still lives.
The world is a cruel place for such people.
I think the world may have killed him.
I fear it every second, every minute.
Every bead of sweat chills me with the fear.
I want him to live. Please don't kill him.
He was...
He loved football and music and books.
He was an idealist.
Is it okay being an idealist?
Maybe not, the world's not a place for them.
What do you say?
Tell me.
I say he loved, because i'm not sure if he still lives.
I'm sure he loves.
I'm just not sure he lives.
I hope he does.
I want him to live.
I think he was emotinal too. But i like that.
I hope he still lives.
The world is a cruel place for such people.
I think the world may have killed him.
I fear it every second, every minute.
Every bead of sweat chills me with the fear.
I want him to live. Please don't kill him.
He was...
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Déjà vu: The illusion of having already experienced something actually being experienced for the first time.
There are often certain moments. A few seconds frozen in your consciousness when what you see before you suddenly takes you on a ride through the stacks of images stored in your brain as memories. Such a trip happened to me yesterday, when after an invigorating game of football in total mud and slosh, we all dived into the pond next to our field. It was dark. The ripples skewed the moon’s reflection in the water and the moonlight glistened off our wet bodies. It was a stuffy and warm evening. When the clouds brood over the next crying spell. And sitting on the bank looking at the dark figures, I went into such a trip.
Now that my summer vacations are over, I look back and marvel about all that happened. Faced with a two and a half months of having nothing to do. I was very sceptical about it. I plan to document a bit of my days as a kid in IIMC in this post. But I think this year has been incredible. Probably the most significant summers of my life.
Summers at IIMC were amazing fun. The whole campus, like a lot of other campuses overran with trees. And summers meant mangoes. So once our vacations were on we’d be all over campus on a rampage. Stealing mangoes from any tree in sight. Once a friend of ours fell down from a tree onto another guy whilst trying to reach a big juicy one. Poor fellow on the ground was more hurt than Joydeep who’d fallen on top of him. There’d be other incidents of people complaining to our parents about our notorious ways. And then it’d be our turn to get collectively reprimanded by our parents or individually at home. Another time we left poor Samrat atop a huge tree and ran for our lives when the person whose garden we were stealing the mangoes from spotted us and started hollering.
Samrat and I also built a cable car kind of mechanism from my veranda to his. This was used to carry messages. The glitch in the system was that there wasn’t any secret way of informing the recipient of the arrival of a new message. An Indianised version of Jem and Scouts Bob White whistle was used, but within a few days people knew what the shrill bird-like call from my veranda in the late afternoons meant.
IIMC has numerous ponds, and during monsoons they would all overflow onto the roads. There is a small bridge in the campus, called Howrah Bridge. A love spot for students, but an adventure zone for us kids. The ponds on both sides would overflow and the waters would mix up. This was our ideal spot for fishing. Wading into the mud and slush we’d chase these baby fishes with empty jars. It’s a game of patience. You would have to follow the fish with your jar mouth half submerged in the water and lull the fish into curiosity. If it were daring enough, instead of fleeing from the jar, the fish would come exploring. And once in the jar, fish, jar and water all came out together.
There was a hogla-bon on one side of the bridge where the ponds had died into a marsh. I remember reading stories of dacoits in rural Bengal as a kid. I then began imagining the hogla-bon to be infested with such dacoits waiting to pounce on you when you passed by the ill-lit bridge at night. There was also this huge banyan tree on the way to the bridge, which added to the wholesome eerie effect.
Another place that enchanted us was this run-down bunglow once built for some director. It was never used and had fallen into a total state of disrepair with creepers all over it. This was our bhoot-bangla. Funny thing is, rather than being scared of the place we loved playing hide-n-seek here, because the numerous rooms and broken balconies provided ample hiding places.
There are so many memories associated with my days at IIMC. TISS is more of a haze. Mostly cause it was sooo long back.
Yesterday sitting by the pond, soaked totally, a lot of these memories came visiting. And now the vacations are over. And the most precious vacations in my life till date will be lost to memories.
There are often certain moments. A few seconds frozen in your consciousness when what you see before you suddenly takes you on a ride through the stacks of images stored in your brain as memories. Such a trip happened to me yesterday, when after an invigorating game of football in total mud and slosh, we all dived into the pond next to our field. It was dark. The ripples skewed the moon’s reflection in the water and the moonlight glistened off our wet bodies. It was a stuffy and warm evening. When the clouds brood over the next crying spell. And sitting on the bank looking at the dark figures, I went into such a trip.
Now that my summer vacations are over, I look back and marvel about all that happened. Faced with a two and a half months of having nothing to do. I was very sceptical about it. I plan to document a bit of my days as a kid in IIMC in this post. But I think this year has been incredible. Probably the most significant summers of my life.
Summers at IIMC were amazing fun. The whole campus, like a lot of other campuses overran with trees. And summers meant mangoes. So once our vacations were on we’d be all over campus on a rampage. Stealing mangoes from any tree in sight. Once a friend of ours fell down from a tree onto another guy whilst trying to reach a big juicy one. Poor fellow on the ground was more hurt than Joydeep who’d fallen on top of him. There’d be other incidents of people complaining to our parents about our notorious ways. And then it’d be our turn to get collectively reprimanded by our parents or individually at home. Another time we left poor Samrat atop a huge tree and ran for our lives when the person whose garden we were stealing the mangoes from spotted us and started hollering.
Samrat and I also built a cable car kind of mechanism from my veranda to his. This was used to carry messages. The glitch in the system was that there wasn’t any secret way of informing the recipient of the arrival of a new message. An Indianised version of Jem and Scouts Bob White whistle was used, but within a few days people knew what the shrill bird-like call from my veranda in the late afternoons meant.
IIMC has numerous ponds, and during monsoons they would all overflow onto the roads. There is a small bridge in the campus, called Howrah Bridge. A love spot for students, but an adventure zone for us kids. The ponds on both sides would overflow and the waters would mix up. This was our ideal spot for fishing. Wading into the mud and slush we’d chase these baby fishes with empty jars. It’s a game of patience. You would have to follow the fish with your jar mouth half submerged in the water and lull the fish into curiosity. If it were daring enough, instead of fleeing from the jar, the fish would come exploring. And once in the jar, fish, jar and water all came out together.
There was a hogla-bon on one side of the bridge where the ponds had died into a marsh. I remember reading stories of dacoits in rural Bengal as a kid. I then began imagining the hogla-bon to be infested with such dacoits waiting to pounce on you when you passed by the ill-lit bridge at night. There was also this huge banyan tree on the way to the bridge, which added to the wholesome eerie effect.
Another place that enchanted us was this run-down bunglow once built for some director. It was never used and had fallen into a total state of disrepair with creepers all over it. This was our bhoot-bangla. Funny thing is, rather than being scared of the place we loved playing hide-n-seek here, because the numerous rooms and broken balconies provided ample hiding places.
There are so many memories associated with my days at IIMC. TISS is more of a haze. Mostly cause it was sooo long back.
Yesterday sitting by the pond, soaked totally, a lot of these memories came visiting. And now the vacations are over. And the most precious vacations in my life till date will be lost to memories.
Friday, July 15, 2005
the dangling conversation...
It's a still life water colour
Of a now late afternoon
As the sun shines through the curtain lace
And shadows wash the room
And we sit and drink our coffee
Couched in our indifference
Like shells upon the shore
You can hear the ocean roar
In the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs
The borders of our lives
And you read your Emily Dickinson
And I my Robert Frost
And we note our place with bookmarkers
That measure what we've lost
Like a poem poorly written
We are verses out of rhythm
Couplets out of rhyme
In syncopated time
And the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs
Are the borders of our lives
Yes, we speak of things that matter
With words that must be said
"Can analysis be worthwhile?"
"Is the theater really dead?"
And how the room is softly faded
And I only kiss your shadow
I cannot feel your hand
You're a stranger now unto me
Lost in the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs
In the borders of our lives.
Of a now late afternoon
As the sun shines through the curtain lace
And shadows wash the room
And we sit and drink our coffee
Couched in our indifference
Like shells upon the shore
You can hear the ocean roar
In the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs
The borders of our lives
And you read your Emily Dickinson
And I my Robert Frost
And we note our place with bookmarkers
That measure what we've lost
Like a poem poorly written
We are verses out of rhythm
Couplets out of rhyme
In syncopated time
And the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs
Are the borders of our lives
Yes, we speak of things that matter
With words that must be said
"Can analysis be worthwhile?"
"Is the theater really dead?"
And how the room is softly faded
And I only kiss your shadow
I cannot feel your hand
You're a stranger now unto me
Lost in the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs
In the borders of our lives.
My favourite Simon and Garfunkel song. Been listening to it over and over again. Every stanza, every line explores the futility. The futility of every effort made to salvage a love gone wrong. The trivial talk of "the theater" and "analysis", just to fill in the empty uncomfortable silences. Of being shells on the shore, indifferent to the storm at sea.
My favourite lines though, are:
And you read your Emily Dickinson
And I my Robert Frost
And we note our place with bookmarkers
That measure what we've lost
....
Since morning i was all bright and sunny. Happy and excited. Then i decided to watch some TV, so that maybe i could get some diversions and think of other stuff. Ended up watching Serendipity for like the n-th time. Pretty stupid movie actually in more than one places. But some parts i simply love.
Well i am 3 days away from going back to college now. And i can actually bawl more than the rain-clouds. Just can't bear the thought of mess "food" and waking up in the mornings for classes, now that i'm used to my days beginning at 9:30 a.m. earliest.
There are a few other problems as well. For one i'll have to get my computers' SMPS fixed. So i'm basically going to have to live for a few days without any music. But am looking forward to a high spirited celebration with the guys, to bitch about the new sem and all thats bad. It also means i have a whole lot of people to bore with stories of the last few days. Hope the sem is peaceful, though i have chosen a 6-credit breadth out of some vage freaky attack of concern, just so that i get a chance to push up my gpa.
Like most others there isn't much to post about either. Things are good. Infact great. And i guess all i'm supposed to do is enjoy every moment of it. Spent the latter half of the day exchanging mails. Maybe tonight we'll all get some sleep. Have to get up early tomorrow and go to the bank to get my drafts done. Can't believe i'm already sulking!
Anyways, thats that...
Well i am 3 days away from going back to college now. And i can actually bawl more than the rain-clouds. Just can't bear the thought of mess "food" and waking up in the mornings for classes, now that i'm used to my days beginning at 9:30 a.m. earliest.
There are a few other problems as well. For one i'll have to get my computers' SMPS fixed. So i'm basically going to have to live for a few days without any music. But am looking forward to a high spirited celebration with the guys, to bitch about the new sem and all thats bad. It also means i have a whole lot of people to bore with stories of the last few days. Hope the sem is peaceful, though i have chosen a 6-credit breadth out of some vage freaky attack of concern, just so that i get a chance to push up my gpa.
Like most others there isn't much to post about either. Things are good. Infact great. And i guess all i'm supposed to do is enjoy every moment of it. Spent the latter half of the day exchanging mails. Maybe tonight we'll all get some sleep. Have to get up early tomorrow and go to the bank to get my drafts done. Can't believe i'm already sulking!
Anyways, thats that...
Monday, July 11, 2005
tagged
Ok i know i may sound a big spoilsport and all that, but i hate tagging. I consider them to be the new avatar of email-fwds and just as boring. To the poeple whom i tag. I have no personal enmity with you. I am short of people to tag and thus had to pick on you. The onus lies completely with you to fulfil this chain thingie. If you like this tagging business, unlike me, please go ahead and tag all your friends.
Three names I go by:
I have thankfully never had pet names and have always been referred to by my actual name. Maybe I’m not loved, but I like it this way.
Three screen names:
1) gotta_keep_smiling
2) champagne_supernova045
3) ebaar_kali_tomay_khabo
Three things I like about myself:
1) ability to mix with almost any kind of person
2) nonchalance: enabling me to detach myself from any kind of excessive emotional attachment
3) my athleticism (I’m good at almost any kind of outdoor sport)
Three things I dislike about myself:
1) nonchalance: end up hurting people attached to me emotionally or otherwise
2) inability to be an efficient multi-tasker
3) inability to say no
Three things that scare me:
1) never attending a U2 concert
2) mess food
3) never meeting the significant other and getting cornered by my parents into an arranged marriage (maybe to early to worry about this, but I was read a blog on this and was it scary…)
Three essentials:
1) good music
2) good books
3) good food
Three things I like in the opposite sex:
1) good conversation (very very essential)
2) the smell of her hair
3) and a few specific common interests (not essential tho…)
Three things badly want to do now:
1) go for a swim
2) play football
3) eat all the prawn delicacies I’ve had till date for the whole of next week
Three careers I’m considering right now:
1) trek guide in the Himalayas
2) research (aerial photogrammetry, mapping)
3) an mba
Three places I’d love to visit: (this is way unfair, there are so many places to go to)
1) ride a bike through Spiti and Mana valleys and then ride into Leh through the Leh-Manali Highway, thus fulfilling my desire of revisiting Leh
2) travel along the Silk Route through the Hindu Kush and the Pamirs
3) make it to the Everest Base Camp someday
Three kids names I like:
None in particular. But they’d have to end with an “o” or “u”, else my Bangaliana shall be threatened.
Three things I want to do before I die:
1) attend a U2 concert
2) win 100 ms gold at the Olympics with a world record timing
3) watch myself in slow-mo doing the above
And finally the people who get tagged by me are:
1)tempus fugit
2)jaded
3)waltzing matilda
Three names I go by:
I have thankfully never had pet names and have always been referred to by my actual name. Maybe I’m not loved, but I like it this way.
Three screen names:
1) gotta_keep_smiling
2) champagne_supernova045
3) ebaar_kali_tomay_khabo
Three things I like about myself:
1) ability to mix with almost any kind of person
2) nonchalance: enabling me to detach myself from any kind of excessive emotional attachment
3) my athleticism (I’m good at almost any kind of outdoor sport)
Three things I dislike about myself:
1) nonchalance: end up hurting people attached to me emotionally or otherwise
2) inability to be an efficient multi-tasker
3) inability to say no
Three things that scare me:
1) never attending a U2 concert
2) mess food
3) never meeting the significant other and getting cornered by my parents into an arranged marriage (maybe to early to worry about this, but I was read a blog on this and was it scary…)
Three essentials:
1) good music
2) good books
3) good food
Three things I like in the opposite sex:
1) good conversation (very very essential)
2) the smell of her hair
3) and a few specific common interests (not essential tho…)
Three things badly want to do now:
1) go for a swim
2) play football
3) eat all the prawn delicacies I’ve had till date for the whole of next week
Three careers I’m considering right now:
1) trek guide in the Himalayas
2) research (aerial photogrammetry, mapping)
3) an mba
Three places I’d love to visit: (this is way unfair, there are so many places to go to)
1) ride a bike through Spiti and Mana valleys and then ride into Leh through the Leh-Manali Highway, thus fulfilling my desire of revisiting Leh
2) travel along the Silk Route through the Hindu Kush and the Pamirs
3) make it to the Everest Base Camp someday
Three kids names I like:
None in particular. But they’d have to end with an “o” or “u”, else my Bangaliana shall be threatened.
Three things I want to do before I die:
1) attend a U2 concert
2) win 100 ms gold at the Olympics with a world record timing
3) watch myself in slow-mo doing the above
And finally the people who get tagged by me are:
1)tempus fugit
2)jaded
3)waltzing matilda
Sunday, July 10, 2005
in the news eh?
Had a very interesting day today. Logged onto blogger and while sifting through the comments on the last post found comments from herenow and teleute congratulating me. As it turned out, these humble pages got mentioned in an article featured in The Telegraph about Kolkata bloggers. They carried excerpts from a certain post i had written about Kolkata in general. It also sent some disconcerting thoughts scooting through my head as i realized that reporters were lurking around the corners. But anyways thanks to Nilanjana Roy for penning the article. I am grateful nevertheless. You may read the article here.
Other than that the last few days have been busy. Busy because of a million and one things happening all in a go. Finally picked up GGM from dd. My first Garcia novel. Hope he lives up to all that i have heard about him. Problem is being able to find some free time to get back to my reading-mode which i had regained after a loong loong while, till a few weeks back.
Plan to see War Of the Worlds next week with Jo. Hope it doesn't fall out just like a million other plans made with friends.
Heck! Life's already so difficult and now i have to begin disguising myself to keep being mobbed by fans and the media. After all, the fame-fairy (if theres one) just visited the doorstep. To top it all i've been bloody tagged!!
Other than that the last few days have been busy. Busy because of a million and one things happening all in a go. Finally picked up GGM from dd. My first Garcia novel. Hope he lives up to all that i have heard about him. Problem is being able to find some free time to get back to my reading-mode which i had regained after a loong loong while, till a few weeks back.
Plan to see War Of the Worlds next week with Jo. Hope it doesn't fall out just like a million other plans made with friends.
Heck! Life's already so difficult and now i have to begin disguising myself to keep being mobbed by fans and the media. After all, the fame-fairy (if theres one) just visited the doorstep. To top it all i've been bloody tagged!!
Thursday, July 07, 2005
stuff
Heck,its been an amazing 48 hours since i've connected to the net. Infact too many things transpired within the small space of time. Moreover Baba having taken over the comp for the past few days meant i was out of the scene.
But i won't blog about all that happened to me coz i feel very tired and sleepy and also coz it seems pretty meaningless after all the stuff thats happened back in London. Just shows that the actual bomb is still ticking away. And i fear and always perpetually fear that one day that final bomb will blast. It could happen the day someone i know travels in the metro. Could happen any goddamn time!
I'd rather share something that happened to a very close friend of mine. Some thing that needs sorting out. Apparently, a few days back, he got in touch with a female from his city. A total random stranger, who began dropping in messages on his messenger after locating him through an internet-networking site (Hi5). She initially messaged him a lot, until he started replying. They got talking. She mailed him, dropped in her phone no. and asked him to get in touch and finally today they went out. He was pretty elated when i talked to him. But, as is typical with him, he played it down heavily. Sticking to his whole principle of not complicating matters and keeping things easy. As much as i would have him believe that this particular female in question most definitely has more than a just-friends-kind-of passing interest in him, he brushed off my suggestions totally. All i could tell him was to look into the obvious. Because till before today, the female has never met my friend. She had only seen pictures of him. And had till today only known of him through whatever he claimed his interests were, on this site (all of which are authentic). Asking him about the girl i learnt that she's not a freak child of nature and is a pretty normal, regular and nice girl (this is the way he put it). Knowing my friend that is a big achievement. For, a girl rarely generates that kind of a response from this absolute bone-headed freak. They apparently had great time together. "Bhaated for 2 and a half hours straight!". She is single (something she mentioned in a very well-guised manner). And till now she's the one who's done everything to get the whole thing going. I told him that if he felt that they gelled well together, and he felt comfortable, theres no reason not to take the hints. Theres no need to rush and stuff, but he should surely sort out the crux of the whole thing atleast at one point of time or the other, and not let it just be, like he's done in a million other cases to his own regret later on.
But being the bone-headed freak he managed justify his stand and trashed the whole idea that this female maybe interested in him in more-than-just-a-friendish way. So with his go ahead i decided to look for answers from blogsphere. I don't know if i will convince him. Knowing him it will be a difficult task to do so. But i hope people can tell me what they feel.
..................................
Other than that i must say its a pretty amazing night sky tonight, and been an extremely sunny day for a change too.
But i won't blog about all that happened to me coz i feel very tired and sleepy and also coz it seems pretty meaningless after all the stuff thats happened back in London. Just shows that the actual bomb is still ticking away. And i fear and always perpetually fear that one day that final bomb will blast. It could happen the day someone i know travels in the metro. Could happen any goddamn time!
I'd rather share something that happened to a very close friend of mine. Some thing that needs sorting out. Apparently, a few days back, he got in touch with a female from his city. A total random stranger, who began dropping in messages on his messenger after locating him through an internet-networking site (Hi5). She initially messaged him a lot, until he started replying. They got talking. She mailed him, dropped in her phone no. and asked him to get in touch and finally today they went out. He was pretty elated when i talked to him. But, as is typical with him, he played it down heavily. Sticking to his whole principle of not complicating matters and keeping things easy. As much as i would have him believe that this particular female in question most definitely has more than a just-friends-kind-of passing interest in him, he brushed off my suggestions totally. All i could tell him was to look into the obvious. Because till before today, the female has never met my friend. She had only seen pictures of him. And had till today only known of him through whatever he claimed his interests were, on this site (all of which are authentic). Asking him about the girl i learnt that she's not a freak child of nature and is a pretty normal, regular and nice girl (this is the way he put it). Knowing my friend that is a big achievement. For, a girl rarely generates that kind of a response from this absolute bone-headed freak. They apparently had great time together. "Bhaated for 2 and a half hours straight!". She is single (something she mentioned in a very well-guised manner). And till now she's the one who's done everything to get the whole thing going. I told him that if he felt that they gelled well together, and he felt comfortable, theres no reason not to take the hints. Theres no need to rush and stuff, but he should surely sort out the crux of the whole thing atleast at one point of time or the other, and not let it just be, like he's done in a million other cases to his own regret later on.
But being the bone-headed freak he managed justify his stand and trashed the whole idea that this female maybe interested in him in more-than-just-a-friendish way. So with his go ahead i decided to look for answers from blogsphere. I don't know if i will convince him. Knowing him it will be a difficult task to do so. But i hope people can tell me what they feel.
..................................
Other than that i must say its a pretty amazing night sky tonight, and been an extremely sunny day for a change too.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
another day on land
Okay. This sucks big-time. I've been expecting a mail for the whole day and Murphy has to descend and screw things up.
Entered home at 0:00 hrs and ended up ruffling a whole lot of feathers with the people who make the laws around here. Yes, the citizens of this city don't break too many laws and the risk of getting hauled up is significant.
B's place: had a great time. School friends refreshing old memories and catching up with newer ones. Someone's assisting Sabyasachi's fashion juggernaut while someone else just got back from rehab. We got it all and it doesn't stop anywhere. Saw B's share of our Dharamsala trip snaps. He'd scared me by telling me that every picture had me with a cigarette in hand. And these were spposed to be pics which you come back with and show your parents and relatives and the whole clan. Thankfully couldn't spot even a single incriminating one. Amazing, considering the amount of shit 3 college going guys can do when left all by themselves 500 k.m. away from any kind of authority amongst females, beer and freedom.
As usual food was amazing. Prawns, chicken, bhaat and ice-cream equalled dinner for me. The best part at his place is when everyone, (six guys) are all bundled up in the small balcony behind the bathroom, smoking. Funny thing is when aunty comes into his room and hollers for us, you'd have six guys trudging out of the same bathroom one after another. Everyone knows whats happening but you're still supposed to act as if you were in line for the Oscars (we were trying to fix the bulb). The balcony is littered, and i mean every square inch of it, with match sticks. Its a marvel in itself.
Have to get some sleep now. And lie a little low to lull the law enforcers into trust mode.
Entered home at 0:00 hrs and ended up ruffling a whole lot of feathers with the people who make the laws around here. Yes, the citizens of this city don't break too many laws and the risk of getting hauled up is significant.
B's place: had a great time. School friends refreshing old memories and catching up with newer ones. Someone's assisting Sabyasachi's fashion juggernaut while someone else just got back from rehab. We got it all and it doesn't stop anywhere. Saw B's share of our Dharamsala trip snaps. He'd scared me by telling me that every picture had me with a cigarette in hand. And these were spposed to be pics which you come back with and show your parents and relatives and the whole clan. Thankfully couldn't spot even a single incriminating one. Amazing, considering the amount of shit 3 college going guys can do when left all by themselves 500 k.m. away from any kind of authority amongst females, beer and freedom.
As usual food was amazing. Prawns, chicken, bhaat and ice-cream equalled dinner for me. The best part at his place is when everyone, (six guys) are all bundled up in the small balcony behind the bathroom, smoking. Funny thing is when aunty comes into his room and hollers for us, you'd have six guys trudging out of the same bathroom one after another. Everyone knows whats happening but you're still supposed to act as if you were in line for the Oscars (we were trying to fix the bulb). The balcony is littered, and i mean every square inch of it, with match sticks. Its a marvel in itself.
Have to get some sleep now. And lie a little low to lull the law enforcers into trust mode.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
just like a woman
"Nobody feels any pain
Tonight as I stand inside the rain
Ev'rybody knows
That Baby's got new clothes
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
Have fallen from her curls.
She takes just like a woman, yes, she does
She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl."
...been listening to Dylan sing this song for hours now. Finally convinced myself to go out on the terrace, stand in the fine drizzle and play my harmonica after a whole year. The sleepy sparrows on the madhabilata being my only audience.
Tonight as I stand inside the rain
Ev'rybody knows
That Baby's got new clothes
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
Have fallen from her curls.
She takes just like a woman, yes, she does
She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl."
...been listening to Dylan sing this song for hours now. Finally convinced myself to go out on the terrace, stand in the fine drizzle and play my harmonica after a whole year. The sleepy sparrows on the madhabilata being my only audience.
Monday, July 04, 2005
On this chilly late-autumn night, dense heavy darkness encloses a totality of primitive chaos; indistinguishable are sky and earth, trees and rocks, needless to say the road; you can only stay transfixed, lean forward, put out both arms to grope, grope in this thick dark night; you hear it in motion, its not the wind in motion but this darkness which is devoid of top bottom left right distance and sequence; you are wholly fused with this chaos, conscious only that you once possessed the outline of a body, but that this outline in your consciousness is rapidly vanishing;
-Soul Mountain, Gao Xingjian
A damn boring book i haven't managed finish yet, but one of my many favourite passages from it. Pretty Floydish in many ways.
..................................
Pretty uneventful day except for maybe the surprise phonecall from B. Almost telepathic. Good thing is that we've finally fixed up dinner for Tuesday night and a whole lot of school guys whom i haven't met since 3 years will be there. Wonder what they're going to have to say about my safely preserved long-haired looks. I'm supposed to be the last guy they're expecting to have done this. I was always the shanto shishto lej bishishto manush in the group, i'm worried about disturbing that image of mine too when i go to his place on Tuesday. Its funny how doing small things like growing your hair out long becomes such a big talking point with people.
..................................
Was reading about the Live 8 concert, and the opening lines sent me into memory mode.
"It was twenty years ago today,
Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play,
They've been going in and out of style,
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile..."
Reminded me of my first ever cassette. The first one i'd ever bought. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. But that's besides the point. What's important is that Bono and McCartney sang it at Hyde Park. Anything to do with U2 has me sitting up and notice. For me its one of those dreams worth living for- attending a live U2 concert. I remember listening to With Or Without you for the first time. I played it a million times over and my aunt, whom i was visiting, was ready to throw me out.
I also remember my most cherished moment with that song. It was a family trip to Bakkhali. I had gone to the beach alone. It was totally deserted. White sand beach. The sky was overcast and first from a fine misty drizzle the rain grew stronger. The wind howled in the coconut trees behind me. The horizon above the sea grew hazy and foggy with sheets of rain. I was witnessing a storm in the sea and this song kept playing over and over and over again in my head. I was rooted to that place.
I returned thoroughly drenched. But with an unforgettable memory.
-Soul Mountain, Gao Xingjian
A damn boring book i haven't managed finish yet, but one of my many favourite passages from it. Pretty Floydish in many ways.
..................................
Pretty uneventful day except for maybe the surprise phonecall from B. Almost telepathic. Good thing is that we've finally fixed up dinner for Tuesday night and a whole lot of school guys whom i haven't met since 3 years will be there. Wonder what they're going to have to say about my safely preserved long-haired looks. I'm supposed to be the last guy they're expecting to have done this. I was always the shanto shishto lej bishishto manush in the group, i'm worried about disturbing that image of mine too when i go to his place on Tuesday. Its funny how doing small things like growing your hair out long becomes such a big talking point with people.
..................................
Was reading about the Live 8 concert, and the opening lines sent me into memory mode.
"It was twenty years ago today,
Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play,
They've been going in and out of style,
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile..."
Reminded me of my first ever cassette. The first one i'd ever bought. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. But that's besides the point. What's important is that Bono and McCartney sang it at Hyde Park. Anything to do with U2 has me sitting up and notice. For me its one of those dreams worth living for- attending a live U2 concert. I remember listening to With Or Without you for the first time. I played it a million times over and my aunt, whom i was visiting, was ready to throw me out.
I also remember my most cherished moment with that song. It was a family trip to Bakkhali. I had gone to the beach alone. It was totally deserted. White sand beach. The sky was overcast and first from a fine misty drizzle the rain grew stronger. The wind howled in the coconut trees behind me. The horizon above the sea grew hazy and foggy with sheets of rain. I was witnessing a storm in the sea and this song kept playing over and over and over again in my head. I was rooted to that place.
I returned thoroughly drenched. But with an unforgettable memory.
Saturday, July 02, 2005
blogorrhoea....
A portmanteau of "blog" and "logorrhoea", meaning excessive and/or incoherent talkativeness in a weblog (sourced from Wikipedia).
My part of blogosphere has never been under such heavy traffic. Makes me wonder if i can even keep up half the pace at which i'm going at present, once college opens on the 18th.
College opens on the 18th. Now thats a thought that makes me sick. Back to morning classes at 7:30, mess "food", hour long lectures.. and all that crap. On the flip side there are those occasional booze parties which are the closest we get to redeem our sanity.
.............................................
Today was a regular weekend at home. Watched Venus Williams win the most prestigious trophy in tennis. Must say it was an even match right to the end. No one had the clear edge. Was rooting for Davenport all the while but Venus, who hung in there despite going 4-6 down in the first set, won over my loyalties as the match progressed. She clung on hard and hard enough.
My heart went out to Johansson though in the mens semis. It was so so cruel, losing that penultimate point of the match. The return from Roddick hit the net and plopped over into Johansson's side of the court. It left a single point between Roddick and the ticket to the mens finals. And it doesn't take a world no. 2 much to realize his chance. Its sad when so little separates you from the Wimbledon Finals and you can't do a thing because fate handed you a non-negotiable deal.
.............................................
Football in the rain ROCKS! Its muddy and messy and an unbeatable feeling. The best part is when you end up winning. Its a priceless thing. Got my team to win and played my best in a loong loong while. Excecuted the fancy favourite shot of mine to perfection atleast twice. Its one in which you recieve the ball with your right foot and pass it behind you (enabling you to shrug off the defender in front), gather it coming up from your left side and strike with all the raw power. The sight of the ball shoot off goalwards, straight like a bullet, makes life worthwhile. The scene kept playing in my mind like a video. The ball holding straight, bearing into the goal ferociously and the goalie diving full-length. Sadly today the ball hit the bar-post. But nevertheless we won.
.............................................
Now since i'm in Cal. for a while atleast, need to meet up with B an ND. Will be his birthday in a couple of days and also because he maybe leaving the city in a few days. Till date that buggers been my oldest link to the city. Whenever i've come down, be it pujos, be it summer or winter. We've met up and spent lots of time together. We go back long way, right down to Mr. Sajal Banerjee's bangla class when we were 13. And since then he's been the one school friend i've been in constant touch with. The rest somehow got lost. I have this senti-menti thing about school friends (i guess everyone does). We've had some good times together. But the best i guess HAS to be our Dharamsala trip last summer. Seven days away from home, away from the remotest familiar face. Honu, B and meself. Seven days of constant party, hot firang females, amazing mountains and living the bohemian life we all dream of.
My part of blogosphere has never been under such heavy traffic. Makes me wonder if i can even keep up half the pace at which i'm going at present, once college opens on the 18th.
College opens on the 18th. Now thats a thought that makes me sick. Back to morning classes at 7:30, mess "food", hour long lectures.. and all that crap. On the flip side there are those occasional booze parties which are the closest we get to redeem our sanity.
.............................................
Today was a regular weekend at home. Watched Venus Williams win the most prestigious trophy in tennis. Must say it was an even match right to the end. No one had the clear edge. Was rooting for Davenport all the while but Venus, who hung in there despite going 4-6 down in the first set, won over my loyalties as the match progressed. She clung on hard and hard enough.
My heart went out to Johansson though in the mens semis. It was so so cruel, losing that penultimate point of the match. The return from Roddick hit the net and plopped over into Johansson's side of the court. It left a single point between Roddick and the ticket to the mens finals. And it doesn't take a world no. 2 much to realize his chance. Its sad when so little separates you from the Wimbledon Finals and you can't do a thing because fate handed you a non-negotiable deal.
.............................................
Football in the rain ROCKS! Its muddy and messy and an unbeatable feeling. The best part is when you end up winning. Its a priceless thing. Got my team to win and played my best in a loong loong while. Excecuted the fancy favourite shot of mine to perfection atleast twice. Its one in which you recieve the ball with your right foot and pass it behind you (enabling you to shrug off the defender in front), gather it coming up from your left side and strike with all the raw power. The sight of the ball shoot off goalwards, straight like a bullet, makes life worthwhile. The scene kept playing in my mind like a video. The ball holding straight, bearing into the goal ferociously and the goalie diving full-length. Sadly today the ball hit the bar-post. But nevertheless we won.
.............................................
Now since i'm in Cal. for a while atleast, need to meet up with B an ND. Will be his birthday in a couple of days and also because he maybe leaving the city in a few days. Till date that buggers been my oldest link to the city. Whenever i've come down, be it pujos, be it summer or winter. We've met up and spent lots of time together. We go back long way, right down to Mr. Sajal Banerjee's bangla class when we were 13. And since then he's been the one school friend i've been in constant touch with. The rest somehow got lost. I have this senti-menti thing about school friends (i guess everyone does). We've had some good times together. But the best i guess HAS to be our Dharamsala trip last summer. Seven days away from home, away from the remotest familiar face. Honu, B and meself. Seven days of constant party, hot firang females, amazing mountains and living the bohemian life we all dream of.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
why blog.. and more...
I've been feeling a little sick from sometime, but that hasn't stopped me from wondering. Wondering about my blog and trying to reasses why people blog.
I initially started my blog as a personal page thingie. It was a tough time for me. An emotionally draining and confusing period. And thus the blog was supposed to help me ease off by writing it all out. I used to keep a diary when i was younger and so this was more like moving with the times. In those initial days i made my blog public only to a handful of people. People who meant a lot to me. People whom i knew could help me ease off by offering a patient hearing. And some did too. To me then it was more of an exercise of facing my fears by writing about things and a way of communicating my feelings in writing ( i ALWAYS find that easier) to the few people i wanted to.
For quite sometime following that, i blogged sporadically and infrequently. But slowly as one thing led to another, i started discovering the blog world and reading about people whom i had maybe run into once or twice or knew sometime or the other. I realized that blogging is born more out of every humans craving for attention. And slowy but surely it got to me too. I began publicising my blog. Dropping in comments on other peoples posts hoping they'd drop by too. Now, quite a few poeple read this blog.
But today i realized, as i was recovering from a rather bluesy day and a half, that at times i regret having done so. I realize that now i can't reverse the process. I couldn't write about all the things that were bothering me; like yesterday. I miss the hiding place my blog initially provided.
....................................
Coming to back to the regular features:
I must say it was amazing to watch Brazil cream Argentina yesterday. I never thought they'd do them in that bad. I'm not an Argentina fan but neither am i all gung-ho about Brazil.
Its back to enjoying tennis on TV too. Its mind boggling to see Roddick serve like the way he does. Calculating, using some data regarding tennis court dimensions, it turns out that a 135 mph serve from his racquet would reach you within 0.45 seconds. Some more calculations shall lead you to the astounding discovery that to reach this potential ace you would need to generate an acceleration of 12.91 m/s*s i.e. your racquet must be accelerating towards the oncoming fuzzy green mass at that acceleration!! This is more than a G force!! Makes you marvel at this simple, quiet and regular looking fellow called Federer doesn't it??
I played football after a whole week in our sloshy para field. Scored 1 goal and set up the other, but missed a million more. A lot of snails come into the isolated puddles in the field and turn out to be really dangerous. Broken mollusk shells are as good as shards of glass. I got myself a gash in the first day of play itself. But nothing can beat the fun of a para football match.
I initially started my blog as a personal page thingie. It was a tough time for me. An emotionally draining and confusing period. And thus the blog was supposed to help me ease off by writing it all out. I used to keep a diary when i was younger and so this was more like moving with the times. In those initial days i made my blog public only to a handful of people. People who meant a lot to me. People whom i knew could help me ease off by offering a patient hearing. And some did too. To me then it was more of an exercise of facing my fears by writing about things and a way of communicating my feelings in writing ( i ALWAYS find that easier) to the few people i wanted to.
For quite sometime following that, i blogged sporadically and infrequently. But slowly as one thing led to another, i started discovering the blog world and reading about people whom i had maybe run into once or twice or knew sometime or the other. I realized that blogging is born more out of every humans craving for attention. And slowy but surely it got to me too. I began publicising my blog. Dropping in comments on other peoples posts hoping they'd drop by too. Now, quite a few poeple read this blog.
But today i realized, as i was recovering from a rather bluesy day and a half, that at times i regret having done so. I realize that now i can't reverse the process. I couldn't write about all the things that were bothering me; like yesterday. I miss the hiding place my blog initially provided.
....................................
Coming to back to the regular features:
I must say it was amazing to watch Brazil cream Argentina yesterday. I never thought they'd do them in that bad. I'm not an Argentina fan but neither am i all gung-ho about Brazil.
Its back to enjoying tennis on TV too. Its mind boggling to see Roddick serve like the way he does. Calculating, using some data regarding tennis court dimensions, it turns out that a 135 mph serve from his racquet would reach you within 0.45 seconds. Some more calculations shall lead you to the astounding discovery that to reach this potential ace you would need to generate an acceleration of 12.91 m/s*s i.e. your racquet must be accelerating towards the oncoming fuzzy green mass at that acceleration!! This is more than a G force!! Makes you marvel at this simple, quiet and regular looking fellow called Federer doesn't it??
I played football after a whole week in our sloshy para field. Scored 1 goal and set up the other, but missed a million more. A lot of snails come into the isolated puddles in the field and turn out to be really dangerous. Broken mollusk shells are as good as shards of glass. I got myself a gash in the first day of play itself. But nothing can beat the fun of a para football match.
sleepless in kolkata...
feel rather upset and blue tonight... lonely, sad and scared. miss the coffee and the company.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
an awesome day...
Am just back from Cheddis and its 2 in the morning. Got thoroughly drenched in the rain. Except for the trousers the rest of yours truly seemed very happy. Listening to Lyin' Eyes by the Eagles after AGES and it feels good.
I've been brimming with ideas to psyche out all those kids who've come, parents in tow, for counselling after cracking JEE. Would be great to talk about scary fictional ragging stories within earshot of all the concerned parents. It'd be enough to freak them out totally. Its seriously amazing when you think of all the holy notions with which you come here straight out of school. And what's funnier is that these kids think of you as some holy being.
In the evening the weather was unbeatable. Overcast, windy. And i was having coffee and the best conversation with the girl. And some of my first college memories came back.
Went for dinner with Dash, Saahil and SV. Its wonderful hanging out with the guys. Having endless time to kill and not a worry to boot. The most amazing thing about the group is that theres always a ruckus, theres ALWAYS some hillarious incident to recall and laugh our heads off. LAUGH. Something we can't EVER do without. Later I met up with my first and the best friends i have in college. Dutta, Keshto, Nishant, SV and meself. Mandal wasn't around. Keshto hasn't and won't EVER change. The same freaky maniac he always was. His winning ways with the females make up half the funny conversations.
To end it all we walked all the way to Cheddis in the rain just to have cha like old times. Catching up on stuff. I miss the sharing of our hopeless lovelife problems with each other. And every second guy acting as the funda god. And now whenever we meet up we try to regain the lost touch. "Aar tor ki khobor"... the semblance of concern falls flat on its face. Its sad. You can never connect like old times.
Am back in Kolkata tomorrow. Back to good food and all the comforts home provides. But the freedom that Campus life brings is undeniable.
I've been brimming with ideas to psyche out all those kids who've come, parents in tow, for counselling after cracking JEE. Would be great to talk about scary fictional ragging stories within earshot of all the concerned parents. It'd be enough to freak them out totally. Its seriously amazing when you think of all the holy notions with which you come here straight out of school. And what's funnier is that these kids think of you as some holy being.
In the evening the weather was unbeatable. Overcast, windy. And i was having coffee and the best conversation with the girl. And some of my first college memories came back.
Went for dinner with Dash, Saahil and SV. Its wonderful hanging out with the guys. Having endless time to kill and not a worry to boot. The most amazing thing about the group is that theres always a ruckus, theres ALWAYS some hillarious incident to recall and laugh our heads off. LAUGH. Something we can't EVER do without. Later I met up with my first and the best friends i have in college. Dutta, Keshto, Nishant, SV and meself. Mandal wasn't around. Keshto hasn't and won't EVER change. The same freaky maniac he always was. His winning ways with the females make up half the funny conversations.
To end it all we walked all the way to Cheddis in the rain just to have cha like old times. Catching up on stuff. I miss the sharing of our hopeless lovelife problems with each other. And every second guy acting as the funda god. And now whenever we meet up we try to regain the lost touch. "Aar tor ki khobor"... the semblance of concern falls flat on its face. Its sad. You can never connect like old times.
Am back in Kolkata tomorrow. Back to good food and all the comforts home provides. But the freedom that Campus life brings is undeniable.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
blade of grass said bend which way you like cause no one cares except the poet
rain said fall anytime you like cause no one cares execpt the romantic
song said keep singing cause no cares execpt the stray listener caught in a memory
mountain stream said keep gurgling cause no one cares except the animals
she said something but i didn't listen even though i cared....
rain said fall anytime you like cause no one cares execpt the romantic
song said keep singing cause no cares execpt the stray listener caught in a memory
mountain stream said keep gurgling cause no one cares except the animals
she said something but i didn't listen even though i cared....
Kharagpur Khronicles
Just realized that Kharagpur is actually one of those Ektaa Kapoor types pathetic 4 year long ordeals.... (in an entirely different way tho)
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Friday, June 24, 2005
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Kharagpur...
Well i'm finally here. Ensconced in a run down version of what used to be my room. To my horror my computer finally after a whole year of hitch-free performance had let up. I came back to find it in a total state of disrepair. My talented and caring roomies who used it while i was away had tried thier hand at fixing the problem. They ended up giving me more headaches trying to put the computer back together. Now for those who don't know much about Kharagpur life should know that in Kgp without a computer you are totally lost. Its the sole source of all forms of entertainment. And with it you can spend 3 months locked up in a room. Thats how sad the story is on this side of the world.
Anyways i was expectedly very distraught faced with my out of order computer. I have a special attachment to this one because it has till date given me flawless service. Even here where the lan suffers from the most lethal virus attacks. So i got the people who strut the stuff and call themselves computer buffs. On a hunch we replaced the SMPS, the thing that distributes power to the various parts of the comp and voila we were up and running.
Now about Kharagpur. One day down and i'm pissed with this shithole of a place. Firstly food is a big problem. Nothing in PAN loop is open. Even to get a CD (cold drink) we'll have to cycle half a kilometre. The rains aren't here as yet. The days aren't as hot as i thought they would but bad enough. And its boring out here.
Theres a very strange feeling of isolation that keeps creeping into me whenever i return to Kgp after a long time. Its a scary feeling of being stranded and being left with nothing to do. Regular semester times are definitely very busy. But at times like this when college is closed. Its a wierd feeling. At one time i used to like it. Just when the semester would've gotten over and you could enjoy the peace and serenity. An escape from the mad pace that grips you during normal semester time. I'd stay back a few days into the vacations, listen to music and read in peace and contentment. But now after having coming back from home. After having enjoyed the comforts and security this place is certainly not the nicest to places to be in.
But anyways, i'll bear it till Monday and then i'm home!! Tarpor I'll become a member of National Library. Cinema dekhbo, football khelbo. And i'll eat good food.
Anyways i was expectedly very distraught faced with my out of order computer. I have a special attachment to this one because it has till date given me flawless service. Even here where the lan suffers from the most lethal virus attacks. So i got the people who strut the stuff and call themselves computer buffs. On a hunch we replaced the SMPS, the thing that distributes power to the various parts of the comp and voila we were up and running.
Now about Kharagpur. One day down and i'm pissed with this shithole of a place. Firstly food is a big problem. Nothing in PAN loop is open. Even to get a CD (cold drink) we'll have to cycle half a kilometre. The rains aren't here as yet. The days aren't as hot as i thought they would but bad enough. And its boring out here.
Theres a very strange feeling of isolation that keeps creeping into me whenever i return to Kgp after a long time. Its a scary feeling of being stranded and being left with nothing to do. Regular semester times are definitely very busy. But at times like this when college is closed. Its a wierd feeling. At one time i used to like it. Just when the semester would've gotten over and you could enjoy the peace and serenity. An escape from the mad pace that grips you during normal semester time. I'd stay back a few days into the vacations, listen to music and read in peace and contentment. But now after having coming back from home. After having enjoyed the comforts and security this place is certainly not the nicest to places to be in.
But anyways, i'll bear it till Monday and then i'm home!! Tarpor I'll become a member of National Library. Cinema dekhbo, football khelbo. And i'll eat good food.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Monsoons and weddings??
My previous blog has scored and the monsoons are HERE!!! But heres the irony of it all. I have to go Kgp today for some 6 days and in all probability the monsoon clouds are not coming along with me yet. I checked the campus webpage and the on-campus weather link made horrific reading. It was 42.5 degrees centigrade yesterday!
Was watching the first round matches of Wimbledon yesterday and i must say.... the Big W is the BAAP of all that's tennis. Firstly the grass courts look so much more beautiful. But then again i guess the don't last long enough owing to all the play that wears it off as the tournament goes into the deeper rounds. Secondly grass is super fast. I mean Safins' serves simply zoomed from his racquet. Infact the ball was already with Srichapan by the time Safin was completing his follow through. Whats more interesting is that the speed change was definitely perciptible on the TV screen as i was used to (till yesterday) watching the ball lumber along the red-clay courts of the French Open.
F1 is coming to disrepute. The ruckus caused is a little baffling. I can't figure out why the FIA did not agree to build an extra chicane. Karthikeyan maybe, is lucky in way not have ended up on the podium at this race even though he had a realistic chance. He'd become a part of dubious history!
6 days at Kgp mean:
Was watching the first round matches of Wimbledon yesterday and i must say.... the Big W is the BAAP of all that's tennis. Firstly the grass courts look so much more beautiful. But then again i guess the don't last long enough owing to all the play that wears it off as the tournament goes into the deeper rounds. Secondly grass is super fast. I mean Safins' serves simply zoomed from his racquet. Infact the ball was already with Srichapan by the time Safin was completing his follow through. Whats more interesting is that the speed change was definitely perciptible on the TV screen as i was used to (till yesterday) watching the ball lumber along the red-clay courts of the French Open.
F1 is coming to disrepute. The ruckus caused is a little baffling. I can't figure out why the FIA did not agree to build an extra chicane. Karthikeyan maybe, is lucky in way not have ended up on the podium at this race even though he had a realistic chance. He'd become a part of dubious history!
6 days at Kgp mean:
- No newspapers in the morning
- No TV (bad considering I'll be missing Wimbledon AND the Confederations Cup)
- No football in the evenings
- No guilty feelings about using up Internet Hours
- Pathetic food
- Rising cigarette consumption
- Booze and cannabis whenever i want, IF i want to
- Back to unlimited music and movies on the computer
- Meeting up with the guys and going nuts
All this notwithstanding the drab drab drab Solid Mechanics subject matter to be studied.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Rainy night
It was a weary and tired night. And the trees had wilted. The birds were asleep, a tired day behind them. It was a silent, brooding night. The air hung heavy and encumbered. It suffocated and stifled my breath. The insects had forgotten to bounce off my netted windows. The mosquitoes had forgotten to sing. The lizard had been starving. And everybody rued.
Suddenly the sky growled and roared and lit up in flashes of lightning. In the middle of a dark dead night. The world came alive. With each flash i saw the stillness that gripped everything around me. The trees stood pensive, silhouetted against the dark inky skies. The houses stood solemn sheltering everyone who slept. And then the skies gave way. Chasing the oppresive heat away. The rain came down in torrents and the cool breeze flowed. In the middle of a summers night when all had slept. The rain came and gave birth to all. The ponds filled up and so did the puddles. The frogs croaked gleefully, in full throaty pleasure. The aroma of wet earth flooded the air.
In the middle of a summers night. The wet leaves glistened in the flashes of thunder. I ran out onto the terrace. The rain wet me, the breeze chilled me. The heat of the day was a fading image chased by the rainy night.
Suddenly the sky growled and roared and lit up in flashes of lightning. In the middle of a dark dead night. The world came alive. With each flash i saw the stillness that gripped everything around me. The trees stood pensive, silhouetted against the dark inky skies. The houses stood solemn sheltering everyone who slept. And then the skies gave way. Chasing the oppresive heat away. The rain came down in torrents and the cool breeze flowed. In the middle of a summers night when all had slept. The rain came and gave birth to all. The ponds filled up and so did the puddles. The frogs croaked gleefully, in full throaty pleasure. The aroma of wet earth flooded the air.
In the middle of a summers night. The wet leaves glistened in the flashes of thunder. I ran out onto the terrace. The rain wet me, the breeze chilled me. The heat of the day was a fading image chased by the rainy night.
Friday, June 17, 2005
things to wonder about...
Today's newspaper brought along some news of the rains. Thankfully the clouds haven't forgotten to take the crucial U-turn and head towards mainland India. I'm mighty glad and thankful to whoever gives them their geography lessons. They never lose their way, the Bay Of Bengal is huge enough to get lost in i say.
Asafa Powell broke the 100m sprint world record yesterday becoming the fastest man in the world. They say the conditions were ideal and he capitalising on the fast track and the ideal wind conditions did what people like me dream of. I've always been sprinting, since school. The best i've ever managed to clock is a 12.70 seconds, at my level it was good enough to unofficially make me the second fastest guy in college in my first year. Crouching over your starting boards, bending over at the perfect angle, the agonising wait to hear the gun off. Its like a million things compressed into a few milli-seconds. The feeling of the tension wanting to burst out of your body, everything being focussed on one simple clear bang. The world comes to a standstill, and then begins in slowmotion all over as soon as the moment of freedom comes, you hear the gun go off and shoot off like the possessed wind. A 100m dash is like no other adrenaline rush. The margin of error boils down to actual milli-seconds. Its the harshest race i've ever known. Some of my most vivid and pleasant memories of school surround the sports days. I'll never forget the day we (Gonzaga house) won the 4*100 mts relay and smashed the previous records by atleast 2 seconds! Being the underdogs it was even more emeorable at having thrashed all the heavy weights.
Finally got to see Bunty and Babli after a long while. Mediocre was what i would say critically. But good enough if you just want to go and enjoy a few laughs and ogle at Aishwarya Rai. I still maintain on an absolutely serious note that Ash makes you want to jump into the screen and join her- "Kajra re" is absolutely brilliant.
Last week I had my first IndiaMike meetup. As a first time experience i must say it was novel as all first time experiences are wont to be. Now i count myself to have gained a little experience and am sure next time round it'll be better. The most amazing thing that has come out of this whole thing is that i have finally found actual people who totally share my passion for mountains. Its a shame that i have to miss my first trek to a glacier!! Its during the pujo's when i get a measely 7 days off from college and thus can't accomondate the 2 week trek. But maybe the rock climbing exercise won't be missed in late Jan.
Malli has been making the news for sometime now. One of dad's students, Malli, is on his way to do the seven summits. The first solo Indian on such a venture. We flagged him off officially from home a few months back. It was my first meeting with him. He keeps sending us pictures of his adventures. Last i heard he was making his way to Alaska. He's all ready covered South America and Africa. Sent us this lovely tribal art painting of the tribes inhabiting the slopes of Kilamanjaro. Stuff of dreams ain't it??
And finally, Jadavpur is burning over. Till a few days back i knew from first hand sources that the Arts section wasn't affected. Considering themselves to be far away from the epicentre it didn't bother them much. But now even the union room has been shut down, no more carroms, no more cards. Meetings are the order of the day now. Buddha babu i think now finally realises that it has spun out of control. The police lathi charge has done the trick and its everybody's turn to indulge in some student politics. I think you should stick to the newspapers though for more current and comprehensive coverage of these latest events.
Asafa Powell broke the 100m sprint world record yesterday becoming the fastest man in the world. They say the conditions were ideal and he capitalising on the fast track and the ideal wind conditions did what people like me dream of. I've always been sprinting, since school. The best i've ever managed to clock is a 12.70 seconds, at my level it was good enough to unofficially make me the second fastest guy in college in my first year. Crouching over your starting boards, bending over at the perfect angle, the agonising wait to hear the gun off. Its like a million things compressed into a few milli-seconds. The feeling of the tension wanting to burst out of your body, everything being focussed on one simple clear bang. The world comes to a standstill, and then begins in slowmotion all over as soon as the moment of freedom comes, you hear the gun go off and shoot off like the possessed wind. A 100m dash is like no other adrenaline rush. The margin of error boils down to actual milli-seconds. Its the harshest race i've ever known. Some of my most vivid and pleasant memories of school surround the sports days. I'll never forget the day we (Gonzaga house) won the 4*100 mts relay and smashed the previous records by atleast 2 seconds! Being the underdogs it was even more emeorable at having thrashed all the heavy weights.
Finally got to see Bunty and Babli after a long while. Mediocre was what i would say critically. But good enough if you just want to go and enjoy a few laughs and ogle at Aishwarya Rai. I still maintain on an absolutely serious note that Ash makes you want to jump into the screen and join her- "Kajra re" is absolutely brilliant.
Last week I had my first IndiaMike meetup. As a first time experience i must say it was novel as all first time experiences are wont to be. Now i count myself to have gained a little experience and am sure next time round it'll be better. The most amazing thing that has come out of this whole thing is that i have finally found actual people who totally share my passion for mountains. Its a shame that i have to miss my first trek to a glacier!! Its during the pujo's when i get a measely 7 days off from college and thus can't accomondate the 2 week trek. But maybe the rock climbing exercise won't be missed in late Jan.
Malli has been making the news for sometime now. One of dad's students, Malli, is on his way to do the seven summits. The first solo Indian on such a venture. We flagged him off officially from home a few months back. It was my first meeting with him. He keeps sending us pictures of his adventures. Last i heard he was making his way to Alaska. He's all ready covered South America and Africa. Sent us this lovely tribal art painting of the tribes inhabiting the slopes of Kilamanjaro. Stuff of dreams ain't it??
And finally, Jadavpur is burning over. Till a few days back i knew from first hand sources that the Arts section wasn't affected. Considering themselves to be far away from the epicentre it didn't bother them much. But now even the union room has been shut down, no more carroms, no more cards. Meetings are the order of the day now. Buddha babu i think now finally realises that it has spun out of control. The police lathi charge has done the trick and its everybody's turn to indulge in some student politics. I think you should stick to the newspapers though for more current and comprehensive coverage of these latest events.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Humidity be damned!!
The comforting thing is, i have a sneaky feeling that people are actually reading my modest humble blog. Obviously its a very concerting thought but i would encourage you to put in those comments and to remove any sort of misconception you may have about me being a human flesh devourer. This observation about people dropping by and reading this page crept up on me because i find that the no. of people visiting has been on the decline since i didn't blog for quite a few days. Though there appear to be still some loopholes in this theory, it should sort itself out after the small experiment i'm subjecting the page to is over and done with.
Anyways.... its been HUMID for the past few days and i realize that it gets to me pretty much more than i ever thought it would. I just can't wait for the first rains to come crashing down but then my thoughtful mind turns overcast when i realize that this is just mid June! Funny thing is i'm now looking forward to get back to Kgp because i know it'll be less humid but more hot. And i'm craving for change even though the deal might turn out to be for the worse. Yes i have to go back and give a suppli exam. A third term scar a lot of seniors had warned me about. It'll be good though i guess, back with the junta for a week. Though we can't allow ourelves to party much, money shall be at short supply, i guess it'll be good going back to waking the nights. Walking down to Cheddis, ALL of us, just like in our first year. Sit down with lots of cha and cigarettes and talk and talk and talk. Things never turn out the way you want them to though.
I've been re-reading To Kill A Mocking Bird the 'n' th time since i was Jem's age. Its a book that i'm sentimentally attached to. The copy is older than me by 3 years in the least and was gifted by dad to kaku before kaku left for the US. Reading it the first time- around 12 i was then- i didn't understand a lot of it. Those were my Gerald Durrell and Michael Crichton reading days and this was a different, serious novel. But then when i unearthed it 3 years later and read it a second time i fell in love with Atticus Finch. I understood more of it in my second read than my first, and this time i simply marvelled at Harper Lee's amazing ability to paint the racial prejudices deeply engrained in the white community of Maycomb County as seen through a 9 year old girls' eyes.
Saw Serendipity on TV after a long time and can't help being fascinated every time i watch the movie. The vision of New York is magical in the movie. The snow, the shops.... and i love the background score. It evokes wierd but pleasant feelings.
I gotta cut loose now, i'm missing the football match!!
Anyways.... its been HUMID for the past few days and i realize that it gets to me pretty much more than i ever thought it would. I just can't wait for the first rains to come crashing down but then my thoughtful mind turns overcast when i realize that this is just mid June! Funny thing is i'm now looking forward to get back to Kgp because i know it'll be less humid but more hot. And i'm craving for change even though the deal might turn out to be for the worse. Yes i have to go back and give a suppli exam. A third term scar a lot of seniors had warned me about. It'll be good though i guess, back with the junta for a week. Though we can't allow ourelves to party much, money shall be at short supply, i guess it'll be good going back to waking the nights. Walking down to Cheddis, ALL of us, just like in our first year. Sit down with lots of cha and cigarettes and talk and talk and talk. Things never turn out the way you want them to though.
I've been re-reading To Kill A Mocking Bird the 'n' th time since i was Jem's age. Its a book that i'm sentimentally attached to. The copy is older than me by 3 years in the least and was gifted by dad to kaku before kaku left for the US. Reading it the first time- around 12 i was then- i didn't understand a lot of it. Those were my Gerald Durrell and Michael Crichton reading days and this was a different, serious novel. But then when i unearthed it 3 years later and read it a second time i fell in love with Atticus Finch. I understood more of it in my second read than my first, and this time i simply marvelled at Harper Lee's amazing ability to paint the racial prejudices deeply engrained in the white community of Maycomb County as seen through a 9 year old girls' eyes.
Saw Serendipity on TV after a long time and can't help being fascinated every time i watch the movie. The vision of New York is magical in the movie. The snow, the shops.... and i love the background score. It evokes wierd but pleasant feelings.
I gotta cut loose now, i'm missing the football match!!
Friday, June 10, 2005
Bhoy Peona....
Tho this is insignificant now (time-frame wise) its a classic from K pishi.
BHOY PEONA (Sayan Chakraborti; with apologies to Sukumar Ray)
Bhoy peona, bhoy peona
Election-e harbona
Jodio ami Kerry-r shongey
Debate korey parbona
Debate dekhe bujhle to bhai,
Mathhai amaar kichh-chhu nei
“Freedom is on the March”
Chhara nei kono je kothar khei.
Eto ashshaash dichhi tobu bolchho amai gaadha?
Lok thokiye kemon ami judhhe gelam Dada?
Niriho lok morlo boley, dosh dichho kake?
Collateral damage-er hisheb ki keu rakhe?
WMD paini ami,
Hoyechhey ki tatey?
Mithyabadi bolchho amai?
Lorbey amaar shathey?
Gnoaartumir shesh nei,
Ami Texas Cowboy,
Nijer bhulti korbo shikar?
Oto boka ami noi.
Ar ekti bar vote dao morey
Dao aro char bochhor
Iran-e giye ebar ami
Khurbo shobar kobor
Aar baki shudhu North Korea
Bodmaisher dol,
Paromanobik ostro nei,
Tobu kore kolahol.
Supreme court hathher muthoi,
gotobarey korechhi churi,
Ebaar jodi vote-ta na dao, rashtropoti Kerry!
Eto kore bolchhi tomai, tao debena vote?
Patriot Act lagabo kajey,
Bhishon khabey chot
Ami achhi, Cheney achhen, aar achhen Ashcroft,
Dhorbo tomai, purbo jeley, na dile chompot.
.................................................
It's that time of the year again. Bound to rake up memories. Admission time. HS results just got declared and fresh school passouts are thronging colleges. Form'er jonno line. Huge queues harbouring the hopeful ambitious young minds of so many looking forward to the enchantment college life is supposed to mean. For me, I remember I was pretty distraught. I had given my IIT exams but wasn't hopeful at all. And i had a huge mind to study english hons. HS results weren't declared yet and so I was waiting for the Kolkata colleges to start their new session proceedings. And the intervening time was pretty worrisome. I had applied to St. Stephens and had tickets booked for Delhi for the interview. But then came the IIT wala letter. And bas, there went my english hons dreams.
Its also the time, i remember, of parting. Parting ways with friends who've been with you since you were a kid. School friends i'd still maintain- even after half my college life is over- are a special lot. The biggest difference regarding friends from school and college i've found is that of compatibility. In school almost everybody could be a friend. And a good friend at that. But in college i realized that not each and every guy i met i could agree with. In school you grew up together and in the same atmosphere. Right from when you were 6 till you were an adult at 18. But i guess, by the time you come to college you are all ready so different from a lot of people. There are basic differences in ideologies and ways of thinking. Stuff which totally depend on the surroundings you've grown up in. But then again i guess college life gives you the most memorable friendships. Its that taste of freedom. Its when you wake up in the morning and realize you don't have ma hollering at you to get ready for class. You take a walk in the inky darkness of perimeter road, totally drunk. It feels straight out of "The Higwayman"
"...The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor...".
And you fall flat in the middle of the road, look up at the starry sky and try an identify the constellations. And i am only half way through this party. Yay!
.................................................
Sunday evening i'm looking fwd to. Mostly coz IndiaMike Kol chapter has a meet up planned. And it'll be my first one. This is basically a travel forum started by this American guy. It's all about travel in India. The most amazing thing about it is that all the info here comes from the first hand experience of the members. Its like if you want information regarding a certain place you're travelling to, all you gotta do is post it in here and you'll have people who've been there answer specific questions. The database comprises real people. And thus you can get the BEST advise possible. Members are from India as well as people from around the world and the common passion shared is a love for India. Hope we last it out!!
.................................................
To quote a fellow IM'er about the movie Parineeta "...I've been looking at the movie's official web site, and it has lots of great photos of places and sights in Kolkata. Reading the site it really made want to have lived in High Society in Calcutta during the 1960s. They really make it sound romantic beyond reason, like Paris in the 1920s, or NYC in the 1950s." I hope the movie holds out, atleast justifies the looks. And yes Raima Sen looks gorgeous.
BHOY PEONA (Sayan Chakraborti; with apologies to Sukumar Ray)
Bhoy peona, bhoy peona
Election-e harbona
Jodio ami Kerry-r shongey
Debate korey parbona
Debate dekhe bujhle to bhai,
Mathhai amaar kichh-chhu nei
“Freedom is on the March”
Chhara nei kono je kothar khei.
Eto ashshaash dichhi tobu bolchho amai gaadha?
Lok thokiye kemon ami judhhe gelam Dada?
Niriho lok morlo boley, dosh dichho kake?
Collateral damage-er hisheb ki keu rakhe?
WMD paini ami,
Hoyechhey ki tatey?
Mithyabadi bolchho amai?
Lorbey amaar shathey?
Gnoaartumir shesh nei,
Ami Texas Cowboy,
Nijer bhulti korbo shikar?
Oto boka ami noi.
Ar ekti bar vote dao morey
Dao aro char bochhor
Iran-e giye ebar ami
Khurbo shobar kobor
Aar baki shudhu North Korea
Bodmaisher dol,
Paromanobik ostro nei,
Tobu kore kolahol.
Supreme court hathher muthoi,
gotobarey korechhi churi,
Ebaar jodi vote-ta na dao, rashtropoti Kerry!
Eto kore bolchhi tomai, tao debena vote?
Patriot Act lagabo kajey,
Bhishon khabey chot
Ami achhi, Cheney achhen, aar achhen Ashcroft,
Dhorbo tomai, purbo jeley, na dile chompot.
.................................................
It's that time of the year again. Bound to rake up memories. Admission time. HS results just got declared and fresh school passouts are thronging colleges. Form'er jonno line. Huge queues harbouring the hopeful ambitious young minds of so many looking forward to the enchantment college life is supposed to mean. For me, I remember I was pretty distraught. I had given my IIT exams but wasn't hopeful at all. And i had a huge mind to study english hons. HS results weren't declared yet and so I was waiting for the Kolkata colleges to start their new session proceedings. And the intervening time was pretty worrisome. I had applied to St. Stephens and had tickets booked for Delhi for the interview. But then came the IIT wala letter. And bas, there went my english hons dreams.
Its also the time, i remember, of parting. Parting ways with friends who've been with you since you were a kid. School friends i'd still maintain- even after half my college life is over- are a special lot. The biggest difference regarding friends from school and college i've found is that of compatibility. In school almost everybody could be a friend. And a good friend at that. But in college i realized that not each and every guy i met i could agree with. In school you grew up together and in the same atmosphere. Right from when you were 6 till you were an adult at 18. But i guess, by the time you come to college you are all ready so different from a lot of people. There are basic differences in ideologies and ways of thinking. Stuff which totally depend on the surroundings you've grown up in. But then again i guess college life gives you the most memorable friendships. Its that taste of freedom. Its when you wake up in the morning and realize you don't have ma hollering at you to get ready for class. You take a walk in the inky darkness of perimeter road, totally drunk. It feels straight out of "The Higwayman"
"...The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor...".
And you fall flat in the middle of the road, look up at the starry sky and try an identify the constellations. And i am only half way through this party. Yay!
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Sunday evening i'm looking fwd to. Mostly coz IndiaMike Kol chapter has a meet up planned. And it'll be my first one. This is basically a travel forum started by this American guy. It's all about travel in India. The most amazing thing about it is that all the info here comes from the first hand experience of the members. Its like if you want information regarding a certain place you're travelling to, all you gotta do is post it in here and you'll have people who've been there answer specific questions. The database comprises real people. And thus you can get the BEST advise possible. Members are from India as well as people from around the world and the common passion shared is a love for India. Hope we last it out!!
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To quote a fellow IM'er about the movie Parineeta "...I've been looking at the movie's official web site, and it has lots of great photos of places and sights in Kolkata. Reading the site it really made want to have lived in High Society in Calcutta during the 1960s. They really make it sound romantic beyond reason, like Paris in the 1920s, or NYC in the 1950s." I hope the movie holds out, atleast justifies the looks. And yes Raima Sen looks gorgeous.
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