This is again, a bit of my boring life in JNU, where things livened up for just a little bit.. Ofcourse, life will never be as fun as it was before, and this, will slowly turn me into the official JNU, freak of nature kinda guy.. Ooh, scary..


The story starts during this seminar i decide to attend. The seminar is on the 1857 mutiny,
because we'll be celebrating the 150th aniversary of the mutiny. The seminar itself was very
boring, and the speaker was stumped by the questions all the people in the group were asking.
Bottom line is that it was a flop, though the only high point of the whole arrangement was the
free chai and samosa each participant recieved. As the seminar was going on, i remmebered that i had to attend the bible study at 6.00pm. The time was 4.00pm. I got a couple of calls that i had
to reject. Then, this tamilian girl called Priyadarshini sms's me reminding me to take her to the
Bible Study. After the seminar, we go to the bible study.
The study wasn't conducted by the usual speaker, but this very contemporary pastor, who spoke English with almost no accent at all!! He was talking about the concept of marraige, purity, etc. Then he expressed his disappointment in the men of the church, as they do not make decent grooms for the more mature, brides in the church. He said that there
were more women leaders in the church than men, and the reason for the feminist movement was the lack of quality men. He claimed that men treated their wives like their mothers, expecting them to either go get things done for them, or look to them always for advice... "What has happened to the men?" he said with so much passion, that all of us men, did not dare to look at a girl in the eye for the next half hour!!

We sat on the carpet throughout the bible study, and there was no break, and after the study was over, i thought i had lost my legs completely! I stood up so gingerly, that everybody wondered what was wrong with me! Lipok, later called me and asked me to join the executive comittee of the JNUCF.. He asked me if i wanted to pray about it.. I accepted the offer immediately, much to his delight.

I was supposed to meet Basil asap for preparing our Book Review. I took the laptop to the room, and we began to type the thing.. Basil was the one coming up with great sentences or the review. I think i should post a copy, if you want to admire his writing skills. As we were working on our project, Chon called up. She wanted to recharge her phone, and she was very far from the recharge shop. Since i was nearby, she decided to ask for my help. So, I ran in the rain to the shop for the card. Anything for a friend. As soon as i had finished this, I ran to Basil's room, (getting slightly wet in the drizzle.)

We finished the assignment around 12.45, and I left for my room, completely tired. I was all
ready to crash till kingdom come. Basil had asked me to bring the iron for his clothes. I had
forgotten to bring it earlier, and so, i went back to Basil's room with the iron. It was
beginning to pour now, and lightening flashed across the sky. I wasn't sure if i should go, and
all the sleepiness in me was pulling me to the warmth of my mat. Then, i felt sorry for Basil,
because he had done almost all of the book-review work. I had just typed, while he dictated. So,
i ran in the rain, holding the iron under my hand. it wasn't pouring, but there were high gusts
of wind.
At this time, i began going into dreamworld, wondering what would happen if i got struck by
lightening. If i did, the students of Jhellum hostel (Basil's hostel) would see a guy running
down the street with an iron under his arm, and suddenly disappearing into the darkness!! As i
was thinking, I suddenly see this girl from our class in front of Basil's hostel. Her name is
Tarushika, and she was standing in the rain, getting wet, just waiting for her boyfriend.. (Talk
about commitment!!) She was showing off her brand new bicycle. (Stupid girl, buying a bicycle,
when she needs an umbrella!)

I reached Basil's room and hand him the iron. He hands me a comic book and goes off to the loo..
I begin to read the comic book, and then I notice that Basil's room begins to flood!! Basil comes
back, and we realize that the drain was clogged, because of the renovation work that went on in
his balcony a few hours ago. Basil tried breaking the clog, but it didn't help. He only got
drenched in the rain and broke a couple of sturdy wooden police sticks. This was because the
drainpipe was made of cast iron, and the clog was made of cement!!

We called up Shiva, who was in a friends place, and asked him to come to the room asap. he said
alright, and hung up. The guy only seemed to be too concerned about his books, which were in a
carton under the bed. At this time, the current went off! We quickly transferred all the stuff on
the floor onto the beds, banging ourselves here and there in darkness, and since we had nothing
else to do, decided to play the sailor game. What do sailors do when there's a leak in the boat?
pail out the water. Basil and I grabbed a mug each, (I had removed my t-shirt, so that i won't
wet it unnecessarily.) and began to pour water out of the balcony.. We did this for around 15
minutes, stopped when we realized that the water had gone down to an extent and that our backs were sore (that would hurt in the morning;))

Shiva came, and suggested we go the warden, get permission to break the pipe, and take a barbell from the gym and break it down. We did exactly that, and Basil tried the 7kilo Barbell rod on the pipe.. NOthing happened.. Basil and I did it together, but the rod began to bend... We thought the 7 kilo rod will snap, and we gave up.. After this, we got back tothe sailor game, for another half hour till the rain stopped. The time was 3.00 am, and i decided to call it a day.. (or
night) and went back to the room, washed and disinfected myself, and crashed...

I realized the next day that all my clothes had got wet in the rain. I also realized that they
stank to high heavens.. i tried to wash them, but there was no water in the taps!! it rained all
night, and there was no water inthe taps!! So, i went to college, and attended the class, which
was a novelty in itself.. Evry class is different from the previous.. I returned back to the
room, (skippin the library reading time i usually have) hoping to sleep, only to notice that
Rajiv hadn't left the keys on the door post!! grr.. i found out that he ws in thelibrary..whiche
was a long way from the room.. i went ot the library, got the key, went back and crashed...
...and in the evening, went with basil to get a new matress (for him) He wanted to break his 500
rupee note, and acc to him, buying amatress was the best way 2 do it!!

I then got down to washing the clothes and removing the stage.. and then, i decided to call mummy (remembering the bible study message) and ask for the best way to remove smell. Btw, ma, it worked!! And i recomend surf excel for detergent!! the stains go off so easily, (along with a bit of cloth, i think)

Spinning around!!!

Many interesting things have been happening during the past few days. It may not sound so interesting to the average reader, but these past days in Delhi has taught me a lot about the Christian life. My life these past few days could be put in a song by Jump 5. Here’s the song…

SPINNING AROUND
You keep me spinning around
Round (echo)
I was thinkin' bout it yesterday
I was thinkin' bout tomorrow
In a dizzy kinda sorta way
Like vertigo
Ive been tryin' hard to figure out
But its drivin' me crazy
Well you'd think I'd know by now
A is last Z is first
Living life in reverse cuz thats the way it works!
Spinning around
I've got this funny feeling
Turning my whole world upside down
I'll keep my heart and my eyes on you
'Cuz you keep me spinning around (spinning around)
What were doing doesnt have a sequel
Don''t wanna loose your balance
All you know you gotta keep your equal-librium
Going back to go forward
All these definate maybe's
It's like running around in circles
Make it last
Take it slow
Just forget what you know
Cause' thats the way it goes
Spinning around I've got this funny feeling
Turning my whole world upside down
I'll keep my heart and my eyes on you
'Cuz you keep me spinning around(spinning around)
Every now and then i feel your peacefulness surround me
Then once again it all goes up and down and over under round and around
Spinning around
Thats the way to works
Taking it slow and not so fast (fast)
Z is first and A is last (last)
Up and down all around (hey hey!)
Turning my whole world upside down
Oh yeah
It's not the take its the give
Yes thats the way OK the way it is!
Spinning around
I've got this funny feeling (oh yeha)
Turning my whole world upside down (spinning around)
I'll keep my heart, my eyes on you (on you)
Cuz you keep me spinning around
Spinning around
I've got this funny feeling (spinning around)
Turning my whole world upside down (upside down)
I'll keep my heart, my eyes on you
Cuz you keep me spinning around


The Christian life, according to most people is a smooth ride. I guess its not. A Christian could be compared to a paratrooper dropped into enemy territory. We are constantly bombarded with the attacks of the devil. At the moment, The Lord has put me in JNU, and I am staying with a thirty-three year old. He is a smoker and a drinker, and so are most of his friends. I am already dreading the winter where there’ll be more drinking and smoking to keep the cold at bay, and when the weather will also give me more reason to join them. I have never been in such a place where smoking and drinking are so commonplace. When I say no to them, it will only be by God’s grace.

Yet, the Lord, in His mercy always lets us be put in situations we can face. Of course, the devil is very clever and powerful, but God is even more wise and powerful. As long as we hold on to Him, it is impossible for the devil to attack us. The devil thus tries to loosen the grip we have. He tries to make us rebel against our Lord. Yet, we must always hope in the Lord, and constantly train our eyes on Him.

God has given each Christian the power to soar over his/her problems. Each Christian is a soldier. Fighting a war no one else can see or hear about. Every believer has his part in the battle against his spiritual enemies. The other people here do not notice this, and thus consider the Christian as a fool. But ‘God chose the foolish things of this world to shame the wise… the weak things of this world to shame the strong.’ I don’t know whether God’s speaking from an eternal perspective or from a worldly perspective. But it could be applied both ways.

Each Christian, as he daily takes up his cross is hampered by the devil and his minions. The Christian thus fights back with his spiritual weapons that are far more powerful than the ‘weapons of this world’.

Have you ever observed the philosophy of Kung fu and the other ancient martial arts? Most of these one on one combats were not designed by soldiers, but by monks. They consider certain martial arts as ways of training the body as a ready fighter with a higher philosophy. I often used to wonder what a Christian would do when he needs to physically defend himself. I used to day-dream about fighting off the bad guys, or bravely taking a beating. But whenever I have nightmares, when the pictures in my head are clearer, I always end up running away. Yet, until date, I have never been challenged to a knock-out nor have I been mugged or beaten up in real life.

One way to put it is that God knows that I’m not ready to face these obstacles yet. A friend of mine was a black-belt from Nepal. He is the definition of fitness in our church, and was a gang-fighter before accepting Christ as his Saviour. He has known Christ for four years, and recently, he was man-handled by this thug when he was conducting a ministry at the railway station. He could have easily beaten that thug to a pulp, yet he restrained himself. It wasn’t fear that held him back, but courage. I do not have courage. I am one of the most fearful soldiers in the King’s army, and I know that. I am not blessed with great faith like many people I know. But, I pray that I will learn to harness the little amount of faith I have.

This lack of faith could be pointed to me. I do not have enough time alone with my God. I spent 3 months at home with my parents, and I only very rarely read the bible. Now, that I’m alone in Delhi, I read the Bible and pray everyday. Of course, I do not spend the best hours of the day, this is definitely better than the last.