Because I love The Beatles :)

I became a fan of The Beatles on Facebook earlier today. I don't know why I didn't do that earlier. Seriously. I'm just glad that I did though coz I came across all these Beatles songs that I've never heard of before. I know! I know! I call myself a big Beatles fan and yet......... *Hangs head in shame*

In my defense, they do have very many songs. Also, with me, when I listen to a song and I really really like it, it just gets stuck in my head. Then, I have to go and Google it (coz Google's awesome! I love what they did on Gandhi Jayanti :D) and download it (if I don't already have it). These are just the preliminary steps. Then, I listen to it and listen to it some more (hence not giving other songs a chance to be liked), until my room-mate is sick of it. When that happens, do I stop listening to it?? Noooooooooo. Room-mates come and room-mates go, but the music mustn't stop. At any cost. Full stop. Errmm, sorry, did I say that out aloud? No offence to room-mates, though (past or present). Peace, Homies! So, as far as The Beatles are concerned, my all-time favorites are Can't buy me love and Hard day's night and hence, the other (equally awesome, I'm sure) song never got a chance to be heard.

So, anyway, today has been a Beatles-obsessed day. The top 25 songs played on my iTunes?? Any guesses?? That's right! The Beatles *drumroll* I've been Youtube-ing stuff and just randomly downloading stuff (with scant regard for the internet, which we've (roomie and I) been stealing for the past week because our router( the thankless thing that it is) had to go and die!) and I'm happy to report that its been a fun day. I came across this amazing song by The Beatles- Norwegian Wood. You should go listen to it. If you don't like the song (which I highly doubt, otherwise you just don't have decent taste in music:P), you might just find the discussion in the comments section entertaining. If you don't find that entertaining, I'm just really sorry for you.

Anyway, while I was listening to this song, I was reminded of another one that I'd heard over a year back, in the Fall of '08, quite by mistake. So, there's this place at the Union (this really old building right across the Engineering Campus) called the Courtyard Cafe where I like to hang out between classes or otherwise. The reasons are fairly straightforward- this is one of the few places on campus which has white light (coz yellow light gives me a headache and also, I think its incredibly depressing), there's the coffee place in a corner(which I love :)) and there's lots of space to sit,so no one's hovering over you, waiting for you to vacate your table so they can sit. Anyway, they have this thing going on during weekdays at around noon (or maybe a little before that), when they let random artists play center stage. As long as they're not bothering anyone and as long as their music is bearable, everyone's cool with that. I used to have two hours to myself between classes on Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's till noon, and I especially liked going to the Courtyard Cafe to get my daily (one of the many) dose of coffee and listen to some live, original music. Anyway, during one of those times, I remember listening to one of the artists. This guy was strumming away on his guitar and no one was really paying any attention to him. I was about to leave when he started playing this song about an Indian girl with a Norwegian name. I remember being glued to my seat after that. I think I missed my class that day. Before playing that song, he mentioned that this was something that he'd composed on his own. I didn't really believe that then because the lyrics were so original and the music was superb. This was when he was just playing the guitar. I can only imagine what it would've been like if the song was played with the works. Anyhow, I was sorely tempted to approach this guy and ask him where I could get the song from, but I couldn't because a friend of mine walked in just then and whisked me away.

I did go home and Google that song. I didn't find it. I YouTube-d it also, but I didn't find it there either. That's when I realized that this dude had really written that song. It was pure genius. I don't know if I'll ever get to hear that song again. I do know that if I ever do, it will be recorded and it will certainly make it to one of the top-played songs on my iTunes.

P.S.- This one's for you, Vasan with a V. Because you wanted me to write :)

Won't you please give me some butter for my bread??

When I was a little kid, I used to hang out with this one cousin of mine who happens to be just 3 days elder to me ( The term 'elder' being used loosely in this context). He also happens to be my favorite cousin and we used to get along like a house on fire. We still do. Its just that now that we've grown up and all and moved to different cities, ( In my case, I moved to a completely different continent.) we don't get to just hang out with each other as much as we used to in those days. I remember the fun and fights we had, the mischief we got into together, ( masterminded by me, ofcourse. He just went along with all my plans. And I loved him for that.) the games that we invented, and the time that we spent with each other. My sister was always there, ofcourse, but she looked upon us like we were really a bunch of ignorant, pesky little kids who did not care two hoots about the larger, more important issues of the world and she was just happy to be left alone to her numorous books and of course the T.V. that never failed to attract all her attentions. So, this cousin of mine and I were pretty much left to our own devices. We were both shy kids and never really tried to reach out to the kids at school. So, basically , at the end of the day, we just had each other. Which worked out really well for the both of us when I look back at the fun times that we've had together. In a lot of ways, we were soulmates, dopplegangers of each other. We struck a fair balance between ourselves. He taught me cricket and I taught him how to ride a two-wheeled bicycle. He helped me with Formal letter writing (not because I couldn't write a fairly decent one on my own, but because as far as English Grammer was concerned, he considered himself to be more knowledgable compared to me, considering the fact that he studied in and I.C.S.E. school , which gives a lot more weightage to Grammer as compared to C.B.S.E. schools. Convent schools affiliated to the C.B.S.E. curriculum are an exception, ofcourse :P) and I taught him 'The Mole Concept' ( 9th standard Chemistry which had been the bane of his existance for a long, long time. ) So, basically, with us, it was always fair.

Since both our parents worked, we were pretty much left alone for the majority of the day. And no matter what they left in the casserole, we never touched it because we were addicted to bread and butter. Not, bread with jam or marmalade ( we had that with hot paranthas.) and we almost never put sugar or jaljeera ( chat masala) on top of the butter the way most kids our age did way back then. Just plain bread and butter. That was our quota and thats what we had. So, whenever we felt like a snack, he used to pull out the bread and butter from the fridge, wait for the butter to melt a little, spread it on one slice, hand it over to me, and then fix himself a slice. My sister, being all Miss Goody-Two-Shoes, dutifully ate whatever the servant heated up.

Anyway, the whole bread-and-butter memory came up becuase I just stumbled across this related ( and very witty) poem on the internet. Enjoy!

The King's Breakfast

The King asked
The Queen, and
The Queen asked
The Dairymaid:
"Could we have some butter for
The Royal slice of bread?"
The Queen asked the Dairymaid,
The Dairymaid
Said, "Certainly,
I'll go and tell the cow
Now
Before she goes to bed."

The Dairymaid
She curtsied,
And went and told the Alderney:
"Don't forget the butter for
The Royal slice of bread."

The Alderney said sleepily:
"You'd better tell
His Majesty
That many people nowadays
Like marmalade
Instead."

The Dairymaid
Said "Fancy!"
And went to
Her Majesty.
She curtsied to the Queen, and
She turned a little red:
"Excuse me,
Your Majesty,
For taking of
The liberty,
But marmalade is tasty, if
It's very
Thickly
Spread."

The Queen said
"Oh!"
And went to his Majesty:
"Talking of the butter for
The royal slice of bread,
Many people
Think that
Marmalade
Is nicer.
Would you like to try a little
Marmalade
Instead?"

The King said,
"Bother!"
And then he said,
"Oh, deary me!"
The King sobbed, "Oh, deary me!"
And went back to bed.
"Nobody,"
He whimpered,
"Could call me
A fussy man;
I only want
A little bit
Of butter for
My bread!"

The Queen said,
"There, there!"
And went to
The Dairymaid.
The Dairymaid
Said, "There, there!"
And went to the shed.
The cow said,
"There, there!
I didn't really
Mean it;
Here's milk for his porringer
And butter for his bread."

The queen took the butter
And brought it to
His Majesty.
The King said
"Butter, eh?"
And bounced out of bed.
"Nobody," he said,
As he kissed her
Tenderly,
"Nobody," he said,
As he slid down
The banisters,
"Nobody,
My darling,
Could call me
A fussy man -
BUT
I do like a little bit of butter to my bread!"

-- A. A. Milne

Sigh. Good times :) And, then we had to go and grow up!

Chai-na. LOL.

The tea lover in me hearts this picture :) Are you a die-hard tea-o-holic too???

I'm back. And its only been 5 days. Aren't you proud of me?? :)

*******************RANT ALERT******************


Where is the inspiration?? I can't seem to write anymore. I mean , I try. I really do. But, its just not coming to me like it used to . The words, that is. Its not like I can sit down infront of the computer and get inspired enough to actually write something. My fingers don't fly across the keyboard anymore. Why ?? Why?? WHY ??



*************************************************


Ok. So, I'm done ranting and you can just totally ignore this post coz the rest of the post will be just whatever I can write off the top of my head. Well, I've warned you now. So, I'm in Delhi for 4 weeks for an Internship that finally ( finally!!) came my way. I've done my first week here but I still feel like an outsider. I pretty much slink into the office at the beginning of the day and then slink right out at 5:30 pm IST. The very first day, this lady from HR, who I was supposed to get in touch with, took me to a conference room to introduce me to the person that I'm supposed to be working under, who, in turn, introduced me to another person. So, now tecnically, I'm supposed to be reporting to this second person.


Anyway, this guy gave me a big fat book to read up during the first week so that I wouldn't gape and gawk like a fool when they talk in the technical terms. So, I've been trying to sit and mug ever since (Unsuccessfully, I might add). I mean, sure I'm now a bonafide 4th year Engineering student. But, the contents of the big fat book?? Greek and Latin, dude, Greek and Latin!


To top it all, I've landed myself in the most embarassing situations so far. Like, the very first day, these guys were having a meeting in the conference room regarding the Project on which I'm supposed to submit my project report by the end of the 4 weeks. So, everyones all driven and excited and I'm sitting there quietly, looking at the screen which has the details of the project and minding my own business when the guy who is incharge of the entire thing turns to me and asks- " So, does any of this look familiar to you??" and I promptly say," Oh wait, I'll have to put on my glasses first." Possibly decent answers would've been- "Yes, it does" or " Yes, but I may have to read up some material on it. But, nooooooooooo. I have to go and say the most absurd of things. Why?? I ask you. WHY ?????


On a completely related note, there's this other incident that makes me cringe when I think of it. My pretty silver kolhapuri chappals gave way the very second day. So, ok, no big deal, I think to myself- I'm just gonna have to stay put in my cubicle. But, do I stay put in my cubicle???Nooooooooo. I just have to go out during lunch break and drag my disgraceful chappals with me. Its just that my chappal and I are not of the same mind. So, if I'm going left, my chappal insists on going right. But I was cool, I could totally handle this until I bumped into someone near the ladies room and he took one look at my recalcitrant chappals and , brace yourselves, LAUGHED! Dude, that was it. I just couldn't take it anymore. I rushed into the ladies room and to the very first person inside ( who happens to be this girl who sits in the cubicle next to mine), I announced that I was in dire need of some help. She took me to her cubicle, called up her friend and said,"That situation that we were talking about in the morning???...is standing infront of me!" So, dear dudes, I was the situation. And, here I was, thinking that I had successfully handled the suituation. Big surprise :/ Anyway, she gave me a stapler and some cellotape and I fixed my chappals. To the girl who helped me out without openly laughing at me: God bless you!


So, yeah. That's what its been like so far. Also, I've noticed that when you'll be hard at work, nobody will notice. But when you're blogging, tweeting, answering a call, then thay'll come and look at you accusingly. Its just not fair, I'm telling you! And also, what is UP with the autowalas of Delhi? Why won't you charge me the right amount. Come on! I'm a poor college student. Cut me some slack. And, why would you insist on showing me the whole of Delhi when I'm in a tearing hurry to get to work. Seriously, dudes (I'm referring to the autowalas here). When I need to see the various wonders of Delhi, I'll ask you , ok?? For now, just drop me where I asked you to without taking any detours. Ok?? Ok. I'm glad we're clear on that.

This blog is so NOT dead!

Erm......Hi....been a while since you and I met.....How's it goin' ??......sigh....Alrite, I know I know. I haven't written in quite a while( a year, to be precise) and I've just shamefully neglected this blog. But, to be fair( to me), I have a valid reason.

I started blogging in Manipal and blogging just didn't seem the same after I left Manipal. I mean this blog was born there and I was just so used to sitting on my bed and looking out of the window which was right at the foot of my bed when I would loose track of things while blogging. Manipal, the place and its people, were, in a way, the inspiration. I had just so much to say back then......I still have a lot to say.....I just couldn't find the right words(sounds cliched, right??)

I left Manipal to transfer to a University in the United States and its been nearly a year since I left India. Technically, I did come back during the Winter and I'm also here for the Summer( 3 months. Awesome, right??). But its just not the same as actually living here, you know?? I mean, its not like I don't like it there....its a decent enough place..the people are really friendly and I especially like their brand of humor..maybe, because I get it as opposed to some people that I know.....Its just that its not India( Duh!) And, I miss all things inherently Indian...like the authentic cutting chai. Starbucks tries to pull off a fairly decent imitation...they call it the Chai Tea Latte ( Random thought: If you translate it in Hindi, they're calling it the chai chai latte. Which is kinda absurd. Coz they're mentioning chai twice. Which is kinda absurd. Did I already say that?? Sorry. I mean, we get that it is chai if you mention it once. You'd trust me to ponder about something like that, right??)

Anyway, I'll have to leave in nearly a month and my heart bleeds at the thought. Everytime, I leave India, dramatic as it may sound ( but then, noone ever accused me of not being dramatic, right??), its like my heart breaks in a million pieces. And, every time I come back, I go down on my knees devoutly and kiss the Indian soil.......Erm.....ok, so I don't really do that but I would if it weren't for the scores of people all around me at the airport, who would get the impression that I need to be admitted to an institution for the mentally challenged.

Ok...So, I think I've blabbed enough already. This should keep you satisfied for a while. More about where I'm right now and what I've been upto lately in my next post.

Also, FYI, this blog is NOT dead. It was just dormant for some time but its totally alive and kicking. We're back in business, baby!! :D

We've Come A Full Circle

I shall miss you ,Manipal. I know I cribbed about you and bitched about you ( a LOT.) and
everything but in the process, you kinda grew on me....I remember the first time I saw you. Two years ago, I was quite the young and impressionable child. Oh...and also extremely imaginative and this was my big adventure- staying so very far away from home, living among people whom I barely know,making my own decision and, well, in general, doing my own thing. But then ,all the aforementioned plans went haywire (Did I ever mention that I was homesick in a major way for a large part of my first semester here ?) and I kinda retreated in my own shell. Which also worked out fine for me in a way, except when that bout (to put it in delicate terms) of homesickness subsided, I found that I was quite alone. Oh sure, I talked to people and we hung out(is that even a word ?) together but we weren't FRIENDS friends, you know ? Having said that, I've met a lot of people who've given me some very good memories.

I have to say that I was quite set in my ways when I came here....In a way, I still am but I have learned to accept people just as they are. As a very wise soul once told me, people are not made to order. And , so I've lived through it all and dare I say, even enjoyed it all. Manipal has taught me that you don't need a crowd to be happy, you can just do your own thing and still be a part of the system. I've met such characters in the two years too !! I really didn't know that such people existed on the face of the planet. I've judged people and they've probably judged me to so I'm not gonna apologize for that. I've learned that you shouldn't take things at their face value and everyone should be given a second chance so that you've not left with any of those what-if's. I've had some awesome times with people that I only just started interacting with and to be honest ,it made me knock my head and ask myself where were these people all this time and what the hell was I doing in the meantime ? I've learned that friendship is spontaneous. When you look at a person , you just know that you want to be friends with him/her. Making friends should be the easiest thing, you don't need to make that extra "effort" because then it'll be trying too hard.And if you're trying too hard then its just not the real thing. I've realized that you don't need to do something just to be a part of the crowd or just because everyone's doing it. Its OK to not follow the crowd once in a while if it doesn't feel right.I've learned that people's opinions are not that important. In fact, there are many people who are in a habit of giving you their unwanted opinion and in general, making you feel like an insect and I've learned to just look through them .I know I'm awesome and I think I've pretty much proved what I'm capable of (Now, there's a trace of the ol' flighty me ;) Manipal has given me all of that and much more. It has given me an identity (one that I'm proud of) and it has made me a much more confident person. At the risk of sounding like Oprah, I think I've grown as a person.

Oh....how I'll miss this place !!I'm gonna miss going to the 2nd Block and sitting in that small room there which is connected to my present block through a narrow path and where we once spotted a snake (shudder) . Hell, I'm gonna miss the 2nd block, even if I don't live there anymore because that was my very first experience of what hostel life is like . I'm gonna miss that small stall near the 1st block(Fresh and Honest....really, what a name for a coffee shop...they could have been a lil' imaginative there.) which sells those slightly bitter cappuccinos(ground coffee, basically) and cup-noodles .I'm gonna miss Campus-Stores which was the answer to anything and everything (Class Notes Xerox ?? Campus Stores...Airtel Recharge ?? Campus Stores...Food ?? Campus Stores...Tea/Coffee ?? Campus Stores....That's right..EVERYTHING.) I think I'll even miss that irritating guy behind the counter there. I'm gonna miss walking down to K.C. and hanging out there right in front of the B'Ball Court (with the legendary cows...lolz..). Oh, and I'm so gonna miss the Hostel Library !! I'm gonna miss taking that winding path to the Temple and the Children's' Park there where we used to hang out a lot during the 2nd Sem. I'm gonna miss going to the Frustration Point and sitting on the fence even though I was shit scared of falling (Ya ya....I know its silly. ) Oh, and how could I forget the rains ?? Manipal is magical during the monsoons. Its the kind of weather that makes you want to curl up with a good bookwith a cup of steaming coffee , listen to the pitter-patter of the rain and watch the rain from your window(Although it was a lil' annoying reaching the lectures soaked from head to toe !!) But then, they're a part of this place and I really can't imagine Manipal without the rains during this part of the year.I'm gonna miss running down to the Canteen in the 10-10:30 break where everything was so very cheap.I'm gonna miss haunting the hostel during exams, looking for places where I could concentrate for those Theory Papers. I'm gonna miss having fellow haunters and cribbing with them about "the amount that they make us study !!" I'm gonna miss coming out of the Innovation Center after the exams and our collective sighs (" Whew !! That was tough but its finally over !!") and sitting on the steps. I'm gonna miss my lecture hall where the A.C. never worked and where we spent hours sweating it out over complex problems (literally and figuratively !!) I'm gonna miss my class because every single one of them became a part of my life for such a long time. But, one thing that I don't think I'll miss is the endless amount of tests that we took....Oh well, maybe they were just an indicator of what lies ahead.

Yes, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna miss Manipal. I never knew it would become so very dear to me. Even now, when people ask me about this place , I can't help gushing about it in pride. It's been raining non-stop for 2 days. I leave tomorrow and I guess it'll be raining then too. I remember that it was raining the day I first landed in Manipal and I'd like to take a rainy picture of Manipal when I leave.That's just the way I want it to be. I think Manipal and I have come a full circle.

Can't Think of a Suitable Title ,So make one up , Will Ya ??

*creeps into the room like a guilty, albeit, harmless thief, and hopes (in vain, i may add) that her absence will have gone unnoticed...... realizes (not so quickly, i may add) that she is the object of quite a few narrow-eyed, piercing and not so-very-friendly stares (oh well....staring is considered to be rude anyway) , tries to crawl away into oblivion....yet creeps back in (bravely, i may add) , wringing her hands in nervousness*

Ok, Ok....So, I've neglected this blog shamelessly.But , I've been busy doing...er...how do I put this delicately ??....nothing....But ,in all fairness,I am back and I've got plenty to tell y'all. So, Friends , Romans and Countrymen (and any other jobless soul who may be reading this blog) , lend me your ears !! ( This is about the only sentence that I can quote from Shakespeare....Oooh, and also the one by Shylock- "Come prepare"....And, no, I am NOT a sadist.)

Well, to start with, I finally went to Goa....Yes, you heard it right, and there is absolutely no need to gasp....Hmph. Last Saturday, 13 of us traveled to the Land of the Glorious Sun and returned with a Not-So-Glorious tan. Well, anyway, we returned on Monday morning and it was a short trip, really ,but trust me when I say this, we squeezed in as much as we could and it was totally worth it !! Of course, the fact that we almost went without sleep may have had something to do with it ;) The water-sports was kinda jinxed for us though ,as all the people were involved in some kind of accident or the other , including yours truly. However, the brave souls that we are , we survived, thank you very much . Much fun was had and many a legs were pulled in the process and all of us enjoyed ourselves muchly.

So, besides that , we've had a pretty eventful week here owing to the 3 and a half days holiday that we had towards the end of the week. Also, the Annual Day happened ,which ,by the way, sucked. We don't have much to say about it except that we think its totally unfair that the girls are supposed to dress up in saris and heels ,to go with it ,and watch every step that they take unless they want to end up falling flat on their faces and making utter fools of themselves in front of the whole lot ,while the guys can just throw on any old shirt and trousers that they can lay their hands on. So, we(at least the grace-less ones) are stuck in a corner throughout the evening while they(i.e. , the guys) glide about as if they own the place. That, my dear friends, is certainly not how it works. We are supposed to glide while they are supposed to.....you know....not glide (okay, so I couldn't come up with a better word. Sue me :P ) The only fun part of that evening was when all of us went to a disc afterwards. Seriously, the look on peoples' faces when a bunch of us entered in saris and formals....Priceless..!!

Ok....what else am I missing here ??...Holi !! Right. Except that there is nothing much to say about that, either. We got up late, were cooped up in our room the entire day. Plus, it was raining and very chilly and depressing. Plus, no one dragged us out of our room ,kicking and screaming, like last time. So. Basically, Holi was quite uneventful unless we count the two movies that we watched on You Tube , back to back (Did we ever mention that You Tube and Ashton Kutcher totally ROCK !!) and the pizza (which was quite cold by the time it reached us) that we hogged on later. Speaking of which , we are haunted by this song that we heard in one of the movies (by Aqualung) and it absolutely refuses to be downloaded. Apparently, the net-walas have blocked every Godforsaken site in our block. Hmph.

So, it was a pretty sucky week. But , the high point of this week occurred sometime ,earlier this evening. We was sick of being holed up in our room and the glorious weather outside (according to some misguided souls...Tsk Tsk) beckoned us .So , we ventured out in the rain (slight exaggeration...it was drizzling , really) and walked towards the Temple and who should we see there but our very own CS professor( who has been the bane of our measly existence this semester and who looks at us as if we have brains the size of a glorified amoeba or ,better still, none at all), looking extremely uncomfortable and , may we mention, undignified in a pair of orange shorts (quite unlike his usual,dignified self, we can assure you.) We came away with a self-satisfied , smug smile and a lighter heart. Ah.....sweet revenge :)