To a dear friend...

Today is one of my dearest pals' birthday. Sunil U. U Sunil. Friend. The guided. Schoolmate for 12 years. Friend for enough years. Partner. Listening board. Shravs' 'Sunta'. The initital U before his surname was the cause of much ribbing in school.

Tall. Shy. Fair. Brown eyes and Pink lips. Vain. Selfish. Charming.

He had a way with parents. My parents thought he was a very nice guy...sweet and shy and extremely well mannered. If only they knew. He had two sides to him. One he never showed to those who didnt know him. He prided himself on thinking that no one really knew him well. But he was easy to read. Or maybe not...

He thought he was good looking. Unfortunately, so did a lot of others. And worse, a lot of these others were 'girls'. To him looks were important...he wouldnt spend too much time in the sun for fear of a tan. He didnt do a lot of 'boy stuff' in order to protect his complexion. Him of the blackhead remover nose. And so, conciously or unconciously, he associated mostly with good looking people.

Memories...of his wonderment at me being crazy about a guy who he felt wasnt good looking by any stretch of imagination. He stopped chatting with a net pal because she sent her pic and he felt she was goodlooking...anger. And now 'As far as I am concerned, she looks good to me. And looks arent the only thing that matter'. I dont react. But maybe my voice over the phone is now warmer. Prouder. Happier.

A 3 year strain on our friendship. On his friendship with Gundu. And on my freindship with Gundu. Long months of no communication. And then, a sudden, never ending phone call. An effot to keep in touch...unusual and unexpected of him. And then a message during L^2. I run away from the noise and call him...I want an explanation for the message, the reason behind it. And then, everything is right with the world once more.

Addicted to the phone. Has been hopelessly in love with over a dozen girls since the first standard! Maths stud. English dud. He would shout out the answers to problems in Circles even before Niranjan Sir fully completed his question. Pathetic marks in Commerce in both years.

Miser of the millenium. My debtor. Sometimes a sweetheart. A role which does not suit him. My 16th birthday. He gives me a big pack of chocolates...comes to my place, which is teeming with girls. And gathers the courage to give the gift to me in front of them. Then he bends and whispers 'Please dont open it in front of them or we'll never hear the end of it' . Charlie and cookies a year later. A card and letter when I was in Hyd...my fave so far.

I remind him of the birthday of every common friend. So he never bothers to remember. Except mine. Him a week older. Long time planner. Teetotaller. The man who threw up during his first XXX movie. Keeper of my darkest secrets...like I am of his. Future husband...if no one else wants to me marry me. Teacher. The much advised.

Brave warrior...he is reading fat books these days. The outsider in a bunch of boys. Sunny owner. Now he can drive a bike...or so he thinks. The lil kid who was scard of being left alone by his friends on the hill. The mean kid who made his servant say he wasnt in when Gundu, a future best friend, walks a long way to play with him.

Pluto house captain. Useless runner. Practical. Sensible. Confused.

Hey Sunil...this one is for you. Happy Birthday!!

Im nostalgic

Im listening to songs from old telugu movies. Ive never done this before...and it feels good. Ive never had a ear for telugu film music...most of it is noise...and its the kind which you dont want to listen to after youve heard a song a couple of times. Today, I was just going through some music files on a classmates comp when I came across a folder marked Telugu and opened it. There I came across some old classics which I remember hearing many years ago. These are my parents fav songs...mostly from vishwanath films...and much to my great surprise I found I enjoyed them. I remember my aunt mentioning that the songs in his films had beautiful lyrics but unfortunately, Im unable to understand them. I guess I should try listening to these more often. And my aunt is going to be pleased with this sudden change in my attitude towards telugu film music.

Actually, listening to these songs brings back some old memories. My parents used to listen to these songs every night on the red tape reccorder in their room, at night, at very low volume. Sometimes, Id go their room to sleep and I could hear the soft strains of these songs. And of course, now that I think of it, these were the very songs my Dad used to sing, completely out of tune, oblivious to the corrections my mom kept making.

This reminds me of another thing...my Dad used to recite a Sanskrit sloka every night before going to sleep. Of course, that phase lasted just for a short while, just like his other phases of walking, yoga, oil pulling, dry dinners etc (Oh yeah!! My dad has been there and done that when it comes to health related stuff). Anyways, for as long as this phase lasted, whenever Id climb into bed nekst to my parents, I would ask to recite the sloka after him. For some reason, I was in awe of the sloka.

My dad uses this oil from Malaysia...a sort of remedy for cold, headache, aches etc. My aunt would get him enough of those lil bottles to last till her nekst trip (and she came once every 4 years!!) I was fascinated by what I called 'Malaysian Oil'. One of my strongest desires was to get mom to rub it on my forehead or nose...but I was a healthy child who hardly caught a cold ( I never knew what a headache was till I was in my late teens). So I didnt get too many opportunities to use the oil.

Today, I was sent a boquet of roses, a cake, chocolates, a teddy bear and a card wishing me a Happy Birthday from my parents! Needless to say, I was speechless...my birthday is a full 10 days away!!! So I called them up and they told me that they had ordered it thru the internet and had forgotten to enter the date when placing the order (sounds like my dad). So I got my surprise gift early. I was etremely touched by the gesture. Hulloo...I am almost 21 and my parents are still sending me gifts on my birthday. I thought it was awfully sweet of them. If only they had been careful about the date!! Huh!! Anyways, we all ate up the cake in 10mins flat(twas yumm) and finished up most of the chocolates too.

I guess it was the gift which brought up all these old memories. Me feeling all nostalgic now...:)). Its 4am and I better sleep now so I can get up in time for my ManAcc class. Im allowed only 4 bunks and I already have 3!! I dare not miss anymore.

Why I dont write romantic novels and other stories

So I dont write Mills and Boons level novels because I dont think any self-respecting M&B reader would appreciate the literary genius in the following sentences:

'Brian let out a sigh as he lay down next to Fawn. He slowly pushed aside her golden hair from her eyes, looked into those blue-as-sapphire eyes overflowing with love and said "You have an ass as soft and smooth as a baby's cheek" '

or

'May lay down on the bed, staring out at the window.How she missed Windsor, his platinum speckled brown eyes, the feel of his strong muscular arms around her, the feel of his mouth against her...well, really, it wasnt right for a woman of her upbringing to be thinking such traitorous thoughts.She suddenly looked up as she heard horse's hooves. Yes, yes!! It was her darling Windsor emerging victorious from battle. She ran to the balcony and leaned against the railing, trying to get a good view of him. She couldnt. So she leaned over.Some more.Then she toppled over and fell. Died on the spot. End of novel.'

Basically, the few precious hours I wasted on M&B's, I wished all of them would end like this. And last time I went home for the holidays, my sister tells me she found a particular M&B much more touching than Eric Segal's 'Love Story'. My sister also listens to Britney Spears, Blue and BSB. I have not yet decided whether to disown her or to take up the onerous task of making her a better person, in the lines of yours truly.

Its Valentines Day today. And a bunch of men on campus have organised a 'Shab-E-Tanhai' at L-Square tonight. The setting from outside my window at the L^2 is beautiful...lots of matresses at the L^2 and some lamp shades to create the effect of dull lighting. Soft ghazals playing. The men are drunk. Some are sticking to the brief of looking sloshed, sad and lovelorn. But some are laughing in the manner which can be associated only with men who are so drunk they would find Chacha Choudary hilarious.

I dont care much for Ghazals so am playing cheerful songs in my room loud enough to drown out the strains of the ghazals. Most people fall into two categories when it comes to V-Day...there are the ones who have a valentine for whom they buy gifts(heart shaped pilows, heart shaped balloons,heart shaped chocolates, soft toys holding red hearts...basically everything you can think of which is red and heart shaped) and get back such gifts in return.

The next category of persons are those who crib 'I dont have a Valentine this year. Im so sad.And they go buy red heart shaped stuff for themselves and eat lotsa of heart shaped chocolates and watch sad romantic movies and cry their hearts out. And the final category are those who, when its V-Day say 'Im afraid I cant give you my heart but I do have certain other throbbing organs you might be interested in'!

Me? I dont fit into any of the categories. I do believe all these 'days' are just hyped up by card and gift companies to boost their sales. But if some guy is getting commercial exploited by the card and gift shops fo rmy benefit, I have no problems at all with it! But I dont rant and rave against these 'days'. I just treat them with the laziness with which I treat most other things.

I shall now leave you to comment. And yeah...Happy Valentines Day everyone!

i love this time of the day...

I just watched a movie...'Life of David Gale'. A thriller...Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet. Extremely good movie.
Tomorrow is a Saturday.Yay!!

Eating Out

I went to this small, undiscovered place called Induss at Jaya Nagar for dinner today. Its a small, cosy place, all done up in terracota and earthen ware...the Indus Valley Civilisation look...ah, now the name makes sense. Good food...we were hungry and ate a LOT...so much so that at the end of our meal, when the man came to ask us if we wanted anything else, he could barely supress a smile.

I've been going out almost everyday this term. Mostly to eat out, sometimes to shop, sometimes to hunt for Gol Gappas which they serve with aloo and not with channa (trust me, they are hard to find in Blore...though there is one lil place very close to campus)

Just a few days ago, I went to Inchara again, when my co-mentees and I treated our mentors to dinner. Inchara has this small/large rooms open on all sides, with only a roof, like a verandah. And the place is covered with greenery so you can hardly see those at the other tables. And since its an almost outdoors place, the candlelit atmosphere lends it an awesome ambience.And it has good food too...the pepper chicken and Kashmiri pulao there are delicious. The best part is it has a lot of cuisines and does decently in all of them.

Then there is this place called Lazeez, a tiny low ceiling place located on the 1st floor of a builidng in the heart of Commercial Street. Its a plain, no frills place which serves the most amazing kati rolls.The 1st time Mom was here, we took a break from shopping to eat there...and it rejuvenated us for another round of shopping!!!

The night after the Strings-Indian Ocean concert during Unmaad, about 11 of us went to this sexy place called Hypnos for Amol's Bday. I guess you could call it a lounge bar...very dim lighting, low level sofa seating...and a small area off for the bar and dancing. I had my 1st tequila shot there...it was a fun way to drink it but doesnt make one tipsy (only one drink doesnt and I made sure I ditn have more than one). Then we all smoked a peach flavored hookah...interesting.Took to the dance floor for a while...the guy was playing a lot of trance( or so I think). The atmosphere of the place is sexy but I cant say much about the food coz they close orders at 1 and we had ordered hardly anything.

Hmm...Im off for my Culcom interview. Will be back soon with more on eating out in Bangalore!! (Sheesh!! I sound firghtfully like an anchor ona travel show on Star Plus!!)

A few of my faveourite things...

The smell of the earth before it starts raining. The rain. The sea. The hills. Sitting by the beach with a roasted corn cob. Dimples. Chocolates. Books. The drive from beach road to Bhimli. The smell of popcorn. Trains. Museums. The smell of 'agarbathi' early in the morning in my room as Ammamma does her puja. Late night drives by the beach. Chubby kids. Hugging Amamma. Staring out of a train window. Amamma's hot pakoras on a rainy day. Cuddling up in a warm bed on a cold winter morning. Twinkling eyes. Curling up in bed all day with a book and grub. 'The tank' at Duvvada . The sleepy feeling after washing my hair. The wind blowing against my hair . The feel of sand under my feet when walking on the beach. The sound of the sea in a shell. The smell of a book shop. Laughing at William. Watching corny Gult movies at home while eating popcorn. Sundays at home. Staring out of my balcony on a silent night. The sleepy feeling when coming back from a second show movie. Sleeping on the terrace, under the stars, with the whole gang of cousins.

Unmaad!!

Unmaad is over. Friday, Saturday and Sunday passed in a blur. Unmaad was a it. 3 days of events...literary, musical, performing arts and fine arts. On friday, we had Strings and Indian Ocean performing, on Saturday it was Choreo and fashion show night followed by an L-square without free booze and on Saturday we wrapped up with the Personality Contest followed by a concert by Moksha and Parikrama and then L-square with lots of free booze.

So what did I do during Unmaad? I was in charge of the literary events and the carnival village. My events included Debate, DumbC, Potpourri, Jam and 3 quizzes. There is a small quizzing community, a large part of which is from Chennai, which takes part and wins in most of these literary events. Debate and Jam apart, the restf the winners belong to the quizzing community. And these guys never cease to amaze me. It is not ther extensive knowledge which brings out the admiration ...its the fact that they can actually remember so much that is a source of constant wonderment for me.And I really admire these guys...with a couple of exceptions, most of them look like nerds...maybe they are...and they are undoubtedly atrocious when it comes to dancing...they are intelligent and write well...They are a major source of fascination for me.

My role in Unmaad was basically pushing my event coordinators so that the event started and ended on time, making sure they had all they needed etc. And to achieve this end, I spent all my time running and talkign on the walkie. I got a walkie for 3 days and I made full use of it. But above of all, Unmaad was one helluva experience. It has been a great learning experience and though I slogged my ass off, it was also a lot of fun. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.