This is just to inform all my faithful readers (and those of you who have wandered here by dire accident) that the weather in Delhi is as fickle as the heart of a bumble bee! There was a time not so long ago, when a human being could walk for a kilometer in the middle of the day without going insane, but today, it took a herculean effort to just get to the cyber-cafe just behind my hostel! I'm absolutely sure I've darkened three shades during this short walk.
This is also to inform you all that life is going to get extremely busy in the next few days. Classes have shifted into third gear, and one particular professor had used the strangest metaphor when he described his course. He compared our class with pregnancy! Where after we go through a painful struggle for over 4 months, we'll produce material that we will be proud of for a long time! As a half-baked academician, I'm not so sure if I want that for myself. But let's see how things move on!
I'd rather get a job for myself as soon as possible. In this modern version of Survival of the Fittest, I'll soon have to get into a state of economic stability, at least after I finish my Degree. Hope to find some new avenues to gain work experience, and new contacts, by the time a month is up. But for that I have to start looking! The smarter among my readers would have found out by now that I am not that kind of a person. But well, if I can walk for 3 kilometers in the hot Delhi sun without kissing the ground even once, I should be able to do this too!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
.... And I'm back!!!
... continuing the trend of increasing incoherence in my writing! All of you looking for literary genius and great penmanship, please click on the 'Next blog' link. I have decided not to use the backspace button even once while typing this post, as I just don't have the time to proof-read and edit my work. Also, typing a post in a cybercafe could be harder than you imagine. When the peace and quiet you usually need to type decent posts are taken away from you, the words just don't flow so easily. Also, those who hate blogs that ramble on about their authors life, can click on the aforementioned link. There... All disclaimers have been made!
There's just so much to write about! (Oh, for those of you readers who don't know, but actually care, today is my birthday!) Celebrating your birthday in campus full of friends is something so uplifting, that grin on your face could last the entire year. Well, let me take you all to the garden outside the pink palace, on 26th July, 2007. Few of us were sitting on the grass in a circle, praying and sharing, not very differently from the four old women sitting a few meters away from us. The sky was brilliant! The light on the leaves and in the sky had such a magical flavour to it, that it looked like a huge, well-drawn watercolour painting. It was the buzzing mosquitoes on my head that reminded me that it was real.
At this time, when I am supposed to be listening to my friends speak, my mind wanders to same time last year. I was new to Delhi then, and didn't know a soul. There wasn't anybody around to wish me happy birthday. Most of the calls came from Bombay, which made me dream of going back there... As I looked at all these new friends I made in a year, I was so grateful to God for his grace, that he even provides us with good friends!
There was a cake cutting after that meeting, with a Happy Birthday song with mock choreography! I so wish I had a camera... (Yes, I am aware I am sounding more like a sentimental girl than anything else)
There was another cake cutting session on the 27th midnight, three of my classmates came to wish me happy birthday with an expensive cake... And also with Pooja! pooja was my classmate in Xavier's, now studying in North Delhi. She came all the way down just to wish me a happy birthday! How sweet is that! I couldn't stop being grateful for such thoughtful friends! What have I ever done to be so blessed?!
Well, Enough of sentimental mushiness... Hopefully there'll be a genuinely interesting scrap next time!
There's just so much to write about! (Oh, for those of you readers who don't know, but actually care, today is my birthday!) Celebrating your birthday in campus full of friends is something so uplifting, that grin on your face could last the entire year. Well, let me take you all to the garden outside the pink palace, on 26th July, 2007. Few of us were sitting on the grass in a circle, praying and sharing, not very differently from the four old women sitting a few meters away from us. The sky was brilliant! The light on the leaves and in the sky had such a magical flavour to it, that it looked like a huge, well-drawn watercolour painting. It was the buzzing mosquitoes on my head that reminded me that it was real.
At this time, when I am supposed to be listening to my friends speak, my mind wanders to same time last year. I was new to Delhi then, and didn't know a soul. There wasn't anybody around to wish me happy birthday. Most of the calls came from Bombay, which made me dream of going back there... As I looked at all these new friends I made in a year, I was so grateful to God for his grace, that he even provides us with good friends!
There was a cake cutting after that meeting, with a Happy Birthday song with mock choreography! I so wish I had a camera... (Yes, I am aware I am sounding more like a sentimental girl than anything else)
There was another cake cutting session on the 27th midnight, three of my classmates came to wish me happy birthday with an expensive cake... And also with Pooja! pooja was my classmate in Xavier's, now studying in North Delhi. She came all the way down just to wish me a happy birthday! How sweet is that! I couldn't stop being grateful for such thoughtful friends! What have I ever done to be so blessed?!
Well, Enough of sentimental mushiness... Hopefully there'll be a genuinely interesting scrap next time!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Did you know?
Here's a few snippets from a website that's stood beside me during my painful hours of boredom during holiday season. This is actually e-mail forward material, but what the heck...
Here are a few movie cliches
For the female teenagers there is only one way to go; they find a new friend (odd girl, dance teacher, old lady) who transform them into Cinderella. So she first gets attracted by the school´s Idiot (seen from the sight of an adult: football star, best looking bully, is barely able to read or write) but later chooses the friendly, shy guy that she got to know on her first day, all are happy, the end.
Whenever the main hero is about to confess something important to another character (usually a love interest) they both have something to say. The hero lets the other person go first, and whatever they say makes the hero not want to say what he was about to say. When asked what they were going to say, they say something unimportant like "Nice dress".
People never get hickups , sneeze, or cough during movies.
Everyone wears their shoes on inside the house.
Teens are always confronted by their lover/crush/friend the EXACT moment they open their locker.
The Eiffel tower is perfectly visible from any window in Paris.
Enemies are very inaccurate when it comes to firing a gun.
Throwing spitballs and passing notes are the ONLY two forms of amusement in a classroom when it comes to movies.
Clapping finales in the movies often follow the same rules. First, there will be complete silence after the hero accomplishes a task or gives an inspiring speech. Second, one solitary person (this is often someone who means a great deal to the hero. The hero might have even had relationship problems with this person) will begin to clap slowly and rhythmically. Third, the solitary clapper is slowly joined by another...and then another...and then another clapper until ultimately everyone is clapping for the hero. ex. Cool Runnings, Strictly Ballroom, Can't Buy Me Love, etc.
The president/leader of any organization will be in a swivel chair. You will start talking to them, and only when you enrage them will they turn around.
Here are a few movie cliches
For the female teenagers there is only one way to go; they find a new friend (odd girl, dance teacher, old lady) who transform them into Cinderella. So she first gets attracted by the school´s Idiot (seen from the sight of an adult: football star, best looking bully, is barely able to read or write) but later chooses the friendly, shy guy that she got to know on her first day, all are happy, the end.
Whenever the main hero is about to confess something important to another character (usually a love interest) they both have something to say. The hero lets the other person go first, and whatever they say makes the hero not want to say what he was about to say. When asked what they were going to say, they say something unimportant like "Nice dress".
People never get hickups , sneeze, or cough during movies.
Everyone wears their shoes on inside the house.
Teens are always confronted by their lover/crush/friend the EXACT moment they open their locker.
The Eiffel tower is perfectly visible from any window in Paris.
Enemies are very inaccurate when it comes to firing a gun.
Throwing spitballs and passing notes are the ONLY two forms of amusement in a classroom when it comes to movies.
Clapping finales in the movies often follow the same rules. First, there will be complete silence after the hero accomplishes a task or gives an inspiring speech. Second, one solitary person (this is often someone who means a great deal to the hero. The hero might have even had relationship problems with this person) will begin to clap slowly and rhythmically. Third, the solitary clapper is slowly joined by another...and then another...and then another clapper until ultimately everyone is clapping for the hero. ex. Cool Runnings, Strictly Ballroom, Can't Buy Me Love, etc.
The president/leader of any organization will be in a swivel chair. You will start talking to them, and only when you enrage them will they turn around.
Friday, June 15, 2007
A secret about Sam
For those who actually read this blog now and then, here's a treat you've all been waiting for! Well, not a treat exactly, but a report of the results of my efforts to keep my self from dying of boredom. (Didn't understand? Read over)
I'm a bonafide juggler now. From the beginning of this year while you guys were wondering what I was doing with all my free time, I was working hard tossing balls into the air. Thanks to the Internet, I think I'm pretty good now! Not that anyone has seen me juggle, other than my poor roomie (My roomie lives in constant fear of flying balls crashing into his head, or worse, his expensive, very much breakable, stuff. Hence the qualification 'poor') and my family. I really wish I could show of my skills on youtube, but the only thing stopping me is the lack of a decent video camera.
Speaking of my juggling finesse, I'm working on juggling three balls in one hand, and on juggling 5 balls with two. Contact juggling has also taken a sudden interest. (Obviously this is due to the recent scarcity of things to do)
Well, I try not to blame myself for wasting my time on such 'useless' hobbies, but like a very good friend of mine said. "It's better to do something that will enrich your life instead of wasting it on merely acquiring money" (Of course, this guy is a proper junkie, so what else would he say?!)
Well, I thought it was time to proclaim this newly added skill of mine to the world, and thus this will result in more posts on juggling! Oh, for those who don't want to read those posts (that would most definitely be filled with technical mumbo jumbo) I'd have tagged them for you :)
I'm a bonafide juggler now. From the beginning of this year while you guys were wondering what I was doing with all my free time, I was working hard tossing balls into the air. Thanks to the Internet, I think I'm pretty good now! Not that anyone has seen me juggle, other than my poor roomie (My roomie lives in constant fear of flying balls crashing into his head, or worse, his expensive, very much breakable, stuff. Hence the qualification 'poor') and my family. I really wish I could show of my skills on youtube, but the only thing stopping me is the lack of a decent video camera.
Speaking of my juggling finesse, I'm working on juggling three balls in one hand, and on juggling 5 balls with two. Contact juggling has also taken a sudden interest. (Obviously this is due to the recent scarcity of things to do)
Well, I try not to blame myself for wasting my time on such 'useless' hobbies, but like a very good friend of mine said. "It's better to do something that will enrich your life instead of wasting it on merely acquiring money" (Of course, this guy is a proper junkie, so what else would he say?!)
Well, I thought it was time to proclaim this newly added skill of mine to the world, and thus this will result in more posts on juggling! Oh, for those who don't want to read those posts (that would most definitely be filled with technical mumbo jumbo) I'd have tagged them for you :)
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Early Mornings
Most people consider us University students boring people with no night-life, and usually live with their heads buried in their books... Well, you guys are right.. Most of us are like that, but you do know that there are a few exceptions. Walk into my MA class, and you'll know what I'm talking about. (Because my class is the one with all the exceptions!!!) We've got inspired film-makers, artists, journalists, comedians, jugglers, singers, guitarists, mimics, and a lot more.
Well, I know that's not anything great, but finding people like this in a research institute is pretty cool! But, since we don't do as much work as the average city slicker, we obviously don't need much sleep. This has made a few people like me end up having the weirdest sleep cycles. I now don't sleep at 2.00am anymore.. I sleep at 7.30am or later!!! (When everybody gets ready for work) What do I do till then? Well, there are so many things a guy can do in the middle of the night in a hostel like mine. There is the internet, and all it's information, both relevant and unnecessary; there's my roomie, Digvijay, who's availability 24x7 for chatting and debating on any serious or frivolous issue. (Talking with ol' Digg can last for hours on end). And of course, there's the food-court, where the food and the fun happens!
Another great thing about sleeping so late is the fact you get to witness dawn. If there's something really really important, I can force myself to wake up before the sun, but that has happened less than ten times in my twenty years of existence. And once you witness dawn at JNU, you get addicted.
Early morning walks, runs, exercises are great for body mind and soul. I didn't believe in that until I tried it out here. (Obviously, I didn't get up to exercise. I just stayed up) If you've been reading my earlier posts (Crazy fog!) you'll know what I'm talking about. I thought only the JNU landscape with it's temperate springtime flowers and trees, peacocks, squirrels, and tweety birds would make great mornings, but I was once again proved wrong.
I wanted to check out how the morning looked like at Chennai, so when I went home for my vacations, I was amazed by the sunrise! From my terrace, I could see the Chennai harbour, with it's towering cranes and ships, and the rising sun throwing rays between these monsters of steel, with the reflecting glassy ocean as a background. It is definitely a great idea to wake up early in the morning
Well, I know that's not anything great, but finding people like this in a research institute is pretty cool! But, since we don't do as much work as the average city slicker, we obviously don't need much sleep. This has made a few people like me end up having the weirdest sleep cycles. I now don't sleep at 2.00am anymore.. I sleep at 7.30am or later!!! (When everybody gets ready for work) What do I do till then? Well, there are so many things a guy can do in the middle of the night in a hostel like mine. There is the internet, and all it's information, both relevant and unnecessary; there's my roomie, Digvijay, who's availability 24x7 for chatting and debating on any serious or frivolous issue. (Talking with ol' Digg can last for hours on end). And of course, there's the food-court, where the food and the fun happens!
Another great thing about sleeping so late is the fact you get to witness dawn. If there's something really really important, I can force myself to wake up before the sun, but that has happened less than ten times in my twenty years of existence. And once you witness dawn at JNU, you get addicted.
Early morning walks, runs, exercises are great for body mind and soul. I didn't believe in that until I tried it out here. (Obviously, I didn't get up to exercise. I just stayed up) If you've been reading my earlier posts (Crazy fog!) you'll know what I'm talking about. I thought only the JNU landscape with it's temperate springtime flowers and trees, peacocks, squirrels, and tweety birds would make great mornings, but I was once again proved wrong.
I wanted to check out how the morning looked like at Chennai, so when I went home for my vacations, I was amazed by the sunrise! From my terrace, I could see the Chennai harbour, with it's towering cranes and ships, and the rising sun throwing rays between these monsters of steel, with the reflecting glassy ocean as a background. It is definitely a great idea to wake up early in the morning
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
After a long while
I just realized the hopelessness of typing a blog like this, knowing that no one other than a few good friends I know would read it. Besides, what was
Friday, March 02, 2007
Crazy Fog!!!
I had the privelege of watching the glories of God's creation two early mornings in a row! Those who know me will be kinda surprised thinking "What's Sam doing so early in the morning?" Well, let me tell you..
Oh, don't worry.. I haven't even thought about the joys of being a morning person or anything yet. I still enjoy my late nights. As a matter of fact, I didn't sleep at all last night! (Ah, that explains it...) We Tamils of JNU had dance-practise yesterday, (The Tamil Cultural Association performing for the entire university tomorrow night... And the reason why all my friends have decided to turn up for it is (obviously) because I'm dancing!!!) and it lasted upto two in the morning. I decided that it wouldn't do any good if I attempt sleeping, because it would surely result in my not waking up o
n time for lectures. I did the same thing yesterday, which resulted in my not being able to control my sleep in Nilika's class, (but who cares). Later, I was able catch my sleep from two in the evening to eight at night. Of course, I didn't have anything close to what you would call productive days. (err.. nights).. Mostly reading my reference books and watching juggler videos:)
Ok.. About the morning.. I wore warm clothes and kegs, took out my camera and ran out into the morning! I've never seen so much fog! The visibility would have been around 10 meters! For a southie like me, fogs like me can easily drive me crazy! I took a few snaps and started on my run towards the playground. On the way, I found a peacock sitting majestically on a tree, (sadly, it was too dark and foggy for me to get a decent snap. went to the ground, enjoyed my run in the mist and the dew wetting m
y face as I ran! Sadly, I had gastro prob
lems (obviously because of the overnight vigil) and couldn't run as much as i wanted to. After more admiring scenery, I took those stereotypical photos of flowers in full bloom, exercised and ran back to the room!
I have decided to do this more often.. Hopefully everyday.. *Deja vu.. I remember uttering the very same sentence the first day I came to JNU! *
Oh, don't worry.. I haven't even thought about the joys of being a morning person or anything yet. I still enjoy my late nights. As a matter of fact, I didn't sleep at all last night! (Ah, that explains it...) We Tamils of JNU had dance-practise yesterday, (The Tamil Cultural Association performing for the entire university tomorrow night... And the reason why all my friends have decided to turn up for it is (obviously) because I'm dancing!!!) and it lasted upto two in the morning. I decided that it wouldn't do any good if I attempt sleeping, because it would surely result in my not waking up o
n time for lectures. I did the same thing yesterday, which resulted in my not being able to control my sleep in Nilika's class, (but who cares). Later, I was able catch my sleep from two in the evening to eight at night. Of course, I didn't have anything close to what you would call productive days. (err.. nights).. Mostly reading my reference books and watching juggler videos:)Ok.. About the morning.. I wore warm clothes and kegs, took out my camera and ran out into the morning! I've never seen so much fog! The visibility would have been around 10 meters! For a southie like me, fogs like me can easily drive me crazy! I took a few snaps and started on my run towards the playground. On the way, I found a peacock sitting majestically on a tree, (sadly, it was too dark and foggy for me to get a decent snap. went to the ground, enjoyed my run in the mist and the dew wetting m
y face as I ran! Sadly, I had gastro prob
lems (obviously because of the overnight vigil) and couldn't run as much as i wanted to. After more admiring scenery, I took those stereotypical photos of flowers in full bloom, exercised and ran back to the room!I have decided to do this more often.. Hopefully everyday.. *Deja vu.. I remember uttering the very same sentence the first day I came to JNU! *
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