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23 September Pluto is GoofyDo you believe in ESP, premonition, intuition and the like. I do and here's one story that proves it - to me anyway.
So all of us went through school, learnt about the solar system and the 9 planets. We learnt the order of the planets in terms of distance from the sun. We also learnt that the smallest one, the coldest one, the one farthest from the Sun is Pluto;a tiny little dwarf, living in a world of giants. For me it was an inspiration, as I struggled to do the same; match up to the giants around me. But one fine day, a bunch of scientists decided, just like that, that Pluto is no longer a planet. That it is, ironically, a dwarf planet. No longer among the big boys, standing at the periphery of all that action.
I was a little unhappy, coz I had always liked Pluto. I decided to do what any sensible adult would, watch a cartoon, one where Pluto was still the same ole cute, well-loved doggy; Mickey Mouse. As I watched the cartoon though, I discovered that there had always been signs and I had never noticed them. Namely, the characters of Pluto and Goofy, not only behaved in the same clumsy manner , they looked similar too. It had always been there, just that many of us had missed the signs. PLUTO was GOOFY all along.
Thanks for being there.My moods and mind, render me blind
And I look past your problems
If the tape rewinds, you were sweet and kind
And you words were shining gems
Its age, hormones, just different timezones
That you and I inhabit
You ask me to tone, figure out and hone
an idea before I grab it
You are right; I am wrong, but I am on a song
I just refuse to listen
Goliaths and king kong, fall to david before long
As the wisdom in your voice glistens
I falter and trip, much as I firm my grip
Its you who bear all that pain
After bitter medicine sips, I grow up to be a chip
of the old block, and mom you keep me sane 17 September ProposalBe subtle, Don't just speak it all out
What you whisper, you may as well shout
Convey your meaning, just don't use words
Its all about the bees and the birds
Let her use some womanly inituition
To figure out the situation
Buy her fresh flowers, talk to her for hours
Just don't babble on about your devotion
Make sure you treat her like a queen,
Your actions should make her want to preen
Do what you can, to be her man
Let her decipher though, what you mean
If you hand her your heart on a plate
If your love for her, you blatantly state
She will be bored, you wouldn't have scored
You will be flung soon out of the gate
The best way is to keep her guessing
In that manner slowly just keep progressing
Do not be too fast, when you want it to last
Make her feel that your love is a blessing
And finally impatiently, when she asks
Quickly slip off the smooth faced mask
Let your eyes, your face, your lips do the talking
Till in her ribcage, you hear her heart knocking
Some guile, some hints, some hidden appeal
Required apparatus if you wanna steal
a woman's heart, and engage her mind
When the perfect partner for yourself, you find 04 September Being Stubborn" I figured I am a stubborn, somewhat cynical, rather critical, very judgemental individual. "
I also figured that
-being cynical, really does not do anything for anyone. You see the same things as everyone (so it does not widen your perspective like most of us cynics like to believe) but you expect the worst; its like looking at a beautiful flower and thinking its going to wilt. It is and everyone knows, only, a cynic focusses on just that.
-being critical is alright sometimes. Its better to be critical of yourself, rather than others and try to improve. For people do onto others as others do onto them. So if you are good, the world is good to you. Simple, logical, obvious
-being judgemental is okay only when you figure out people so as to not be taken by surprise. But you need to give people a chance and when those fools do just what you feared they would, you need to give them another chance. So be judgemental enough that people do not take you for a ride. But not enough to lose the chance of making some very good friends even before you know the people.
And finally
- being stubborn means I am not likely to change easily, so I'll try but am not sure it will work. In the meanwhile did I tell you what I just figured about myself.
" I figured I am a stubborn, somewhat cynical, rather critical, very judgemental individual."
03 September Over the hillIt tells of princes, of kings and their wives,
Of treacherous nobles, of arrows and knives,
It stands tall, proud, silently on a hill
the beauty a proof of long forgotten skill
The bats live where there once was a throne
A seperate story revealed by each stone
If you listen hard, there are sounds of a war
and strength that shows up in every scar
The clinking of bangles and whispering anklets
Those long drawn card games, the madness of old bets
It is paradise that has been lost like others
A story of families, with warring brothers
One history lesson, a magnificent tale
Golcunda I bow to your beauty and scale
A true representative, telangana's mainstay
The fort's over the hill, yet forever here to stay
01 September Komplete Kookie KickKookie was in town for a quick 2 days and 3 nights trip this week, I had just finished exams and the weather was good, all factors that simply led to a touristy exploration of Hyderabad by the two of us. I have said this before and I will say it again, that, Hyderabad is an extremely navigable city, rich in history and culture. The climate is pleasant, moderate, the landscape punctuated with rocks is a visual delight, the roads are good and the traffic - way less crazy than any of the other Indian cities that I have lived in (Bombay and Delhi). In short, it is lovely.
On Tuesday evening, Kookie emerged smiling from the airport late in the evening. Once in my room, she looked around and mentioned that this certainly was not her idea of student living. The ISB campus is beautiful, very well planned and the sudent rooms are extremely comfortable and even more importantly 'serviced'. That evening we hung out with a few of my friends planning to hit the town next morning.
With just 3 odd hours of sleep from having talked a lot through the night, me and Kookie emerged rather unscathed and enthusiastic the next morning. After partaking of a huge breakfast, we set out to go to Charminar. I did not know the route and we stopped about 4 times on the way there for directions before finally getting to the monument. A little mishap with a mail truck loosened the front bumper of my car a bit but that was hardly enough to set us back.
Set in middle of a roundabout in the old city, Charminar is surrounded by old buildings and small shops selling just about everything. On one side is the 'Chudi Bazaar' or bangle market, a place every girl who visits the city must visit. The glittering arrays of bangles, the old world charm of the shops, the burkah clad clientale and the vigrous bargaining - all send you back in time by a 100 years atleast. The prices bring you right back with a jolt, flinging you 10 years into the future especially if you are not the haggling kind. Anyhow, the variety of bangles is mind boggling and the shine holds your dazzled eyes captive for quite some time. Charminar itself is fun too. Though it is not much to look at, the spiral stairs made for extremely thin, short people with long legs ( narrow, low ceilinged and each stair atleast a foot high) lead you up to a platform from where you can see the whole city. On a breezy afternoon, its fun to sit down on a parapet and talk for a while, which is what we did.
Next, we visited Birla Temple. The white marble temple with carvings of various scenes from Ramayana, Incidents from Hanuman's life and pictures of the 10 avatars of Vishnu, is located atop a hill, from where again, the whole city is visible. The temple is a gorgeous looking monument, asthetically crafted, both pleasing to the eye and calming to the mind. A slight puncture in my peace bubble was when the guard handing back our camera from the locker room asked us for money for a free service. Maybe, we are stubborn, maybe it does not matter, but both Kookie and I did not like the idea and we did not pay. A weird simile to me was the news of Kerala adopting Linux as the OS for its government. I don't want pay for what can be acquired free. I don't like someone demanding extra payment to do their job.
Our last tourist destination for Day 1 was Golkunda Fort where we took a one hour guided tour followed by the sound and light show. It is a spectacular fort. It was a spectacular show with the musical interludes being a tad too long for my liking but otherwise perfect. A meal for two at Pizza Hut was the final pit stop before we headed home.
The next day was again was a packed one, starting with a trip to Salarjung Museum. The museum is huge, with awesome artifacts and beautiful paintings, scriptures, old royal regalia and some amazing marble statues. We spent three hours walking around the place and there are two statues that I would recommend to anyone visiting the museum. First is the 'Veiled Rebecca', a statue that I thought was covered with a white cloth, till I carefully looked to find that the veil too was sculpted in marble. 'Breathtaking' is the only word I will use. The second a copper statue is a double statue, the front a man and the back a woman. Awesome idea, executed brilliantly.
Tired after Salarjung, we did some pearl shopping and finally walked around the Hussain Sagar lake before taking in the late night show of a movie. This morning I dropped kookie back to the airport. Back in my room, I have slept, showered and am going for a group meeting. Its been a busy tiring two days, but also a very happy time. The new and the old have blended again for me, coming together seamlessly to give me joy. Old friend like old smooth wine, new city like a piquant, tangy flavor. Thanks Kookie, Thanks Hyderabad.
25 August View from the middle of the bell curveI am just another average person
My problems are the average guy's
I constantly feel my averageness
My happiness yeilds average highs
So everyone says I am normal
With predictable moods and mind
Right on the mean, but not too mean
My kindness, the average kind
It hurts when someone's not nice
I cry when there's too much pain
I am mad too, very often
But confidently, never insane
I am frivlous, somedays superficial
I am passionate sometimes too
And though I'd love to be unpredictable
Most people emphathise with what I do
Its not to say I don't have mood swings
I am woman enough to have those
But some how the poetry in my soul
Is balanced out with prose
I am confident, strong, independent
And then I'm an emotional fool
I learn from life and experience
yet do silly things to be cool
I battle with my inner quandries
The exterior's a slippery mask
My stomach too coils in tension
Before each important task
I have the most wonderful family
And like you, the greatest friends too
They all love and accept me
And ofcourse love them back I do
I am average, not mediocre
At least that what I think
There's teeny weeny dissatisfaction
That I refuse to let sink
So sometimes I dream of another
Unstable, alternate life
Mostly that need is muted
Today it cuts like a knife
But don't worry, its just another
Predictably, crazy mood
To douse this fire in my stomach
I'll go drink something good 21 August Crossing the line...Last evening a few friends and I attended two very different but equally fun parties. The first was a dim lights, fruit punch, muted music, sit down/ stand around in groups party with a lots of people talking about books, plays, movies, politics, lifestyle differences that careers bring about, intellectual pursuits and the like. The second, on the other hand was a section party with loud music, dancing and drinks. Both were relaxing, the people around were nice and the mood was happy. There was one small problem though, the parties ended early at about 12:00 midnight and some of us were just not winded down enough to sleep.
So we decided to drive to the 'lake', this small waterbody in front of a corporate office about 2 km from ISB. We drove down and parked our car in front of the 'lake' and got off to enjoy the breeze; a group of four, two men and two women. The men had had a few drinks, but not more than what qualified as social drinking. The two women were completely sober.
Within 5 minutes of reaching that place, we found a security guard from the nearby office asking us to drive away immidiately. One member of our group told this guard that we'd be there only for 10 minutes. The guard amicably backed off and was walking away when another 3-4 guards approached us. Again they asked us to leave at which we asked them why we should do that. An older looking guard from the group, ostesibly their leader at this point became belligerent, asking us threatningly whether we would leave or not. When we again questioned them asking them whether they had any jurisdiction outside the boundry of their building they became even more threatning. A friend at this point indicated that we'd move alright but we needed to know what we had done wrong at which another few guards joined the melee. The guard leader indicated a stretch of road in front of the building and asked us to move away quite angrily at this point. When we persisted in asking why, the man waved a finger threatningly and said you'll see. Well, we moved.
What had we done wrong? I don't know. Were we loitering around late at night, yes. Were we dangerous in any way? The first guard had ascertianed that we were not. Were we rude, did we misbehave? No. Did even one of us raise the volume? No.
Then why were we driven away like that? I know that we were way oustide the boundry wall of that premise and we had not commited any crime. My quandry; Who crossed the line? We or they? 20 August A friend came by...Tisb was going along pretty much at the same sweet breakneck pace when the Martian arrived one Wednesday. D'Shaw was forewarned unlike some other Tisbians who had also seen some surprise alien landings in the last week. The Martian 'Galactica' was D'Shaws friend from the long back Earth days when D'Shaw had not been a peasant. At that time D'Shaw and the Martian had been studying together at the University of Defiance. 'Those were the days' D'Shaw thought as she waited outside the Intergalactic Landing Hub. The Martian Spaceship was late and as D'Shaw looked around aimlessely her eyes rested for a minute on the old grey transporter she had bought along with another peasant at Tisb. In the last few days the transporter had made life so much easier...
As the hot sun glinted into her eyes, D'Shaw brushed aside these thoughts pondering upon the importance of this visit. An inter planet inhabitant orbital resync was required as the shifting of wavelengths had been causing some minor earthquakes, wreaking destruction over the planets. In short, the visit was a crucial one...not to be taken lightly
In a few moments Galactica come out of the hub. She had changed a little bit from the last time D'Shaw had seen her but the surreal typical Martian glow was still there. D' Shaw smiled and hugged her and they travelled back to Tisb discussing changes they had seen in patterns of life. The next two days were hectic as D'Shaw struggled to give a complete account of her life at the new planet to Galactica. Infact Galactica attended a few council meetings to figure out the workings of Tisb. On the second evening after her landing the Martian asked for a Chaato-Sensory Recharge(CSR). While this was not available with ease, D'Shaw was aware that the lack of CSR somethimes caused Martians to behave in the most erratic manner. At the university she recalled, multiple recharge sources were always posted at short distances.
That evening was a challenging one. D'Shaw, Galactica, Murtz-man and Tilu (D'shaw's collaborators) took off towards a distant Recharge hub. The transporter hummed and hawed, the route was obscure and it was getting late but they managed successfully to get the recharge to the Martian. In fact, flushed with the excitement of accomplishing the daring mission they took the Martian to see 'Chair-minor' the historical monument closest to Tisb.
The last day of Galactica's visit soon arrived, the resync seemed to be successful and another set of pilgrimages around Tisb made it complete. After leaving Galactica back at the Intergalactic Landing Hub, D'Shaw walked back into her room, surprised because she realized that in two days Galactica had managed to spawn a new inhabitant in that world....M.T. Ness now shares the room with D'Shaw.
05 August Sharing some magic...Have you ever walked out of a lecture hall, a conference, a class, a meeting, a simple discussion or even just a conversation feeling enthusiastic, happy, dreamy eyed or sad beyond compare and found that you are not the only one; that the entire audience is moved in the same way, and that most of this effect comes from the personal charm, style of expression and wit of an excellent orator. In the last few months I have had occasion to hear many speakers of acclaim, men who can hold an audience of hundreds captive for hours by each nuance of their speech; volumes dipping, falling, rising as they elaborate on one point or the other, tempos flailing and speeding, moods switching from laughing, happy to unbelievably tragic within the space of a heartbeat. To me, these people seem to have the most exquisite power over others. They spin shimmering silken yarn, weaving it into beautiful stories that blanket the mind. They make us alternately laugh, cry and exult; spellbound and powerless in the grasp of their words. Today I listened to another such unusually good speaker, a successful serial entrepreneur, who painted some colourful vistas before a group of MBA students, all of us wannabe entrepreneurs. He explained how the process of ideating had been for him, how his company had been his brain child yet he had sold it without a qualm, what were the lessons he had learnt from life and where he thought he was headed. For many in the audience, he awakened the gigantic impulse of enterprise that usually quietly slumbers inside us. While most of the time, I use this blog as a medium to express my inner quandaries, today I will use it to quote some of what he said and that I thought was too elegant to not share. So here goes...
· Let me tell you some of the lessons I have learned. After all, hindsight has a reassuring certainty that prescriptions don't
· If you are going to do this right (entrepreneurship), there is never going to be a time when you have lesser loan than 15 lakhs (fees for ISB). In fact that amount is actually more like the rounding error on the actual loans you may need to take.
· Opportunity dances with those people who are on the dance floor.
· Analysis is a commodity - you can outsource it to some funky MBA if you want. Its synthesis that makes a project work.
· If perfect information were available a clerk could take all the decisions that a CEO does.
· As I see it, life offers a constant trade-off between quality and growth. Sometimes we can grow much faster by being a little substandard. The question really is whether you want to be a mile long and an inch deep OR an inch long and a mile deep.
· Venture Capitalists are really good at throwing you 10 feet of rope (silence), when you are drowning 20 feet away from the shore.
· The difference between a cult and a religion is that only a religion outlives its founder. Make sure you are not indispensable to your business.
· Life and school require completely different skill sets for success. To do well in school you need to work alone. To get ahead in life you need to work in teams. Infact, in school, there is even a different name for team work. Its called cheating.
· Strategy is all about creating unfair advantages.
· The pain in entrepreneurship is kissing many frogs to figure out who to cast in a princess's role
· A great orchestra is not made up of great musicians playing together. Its made up of adequate musicians playing together at their peak levels.
· Anyone can say NO and no one can say YES - that’s a big company for you
· Life is not a sprint, its a marathon. A bad start does not really matter too much.
· In a beauty contest, you don't need to be Cleopatra to win. You just need to be a little less ugly than the other contestants
· Horse riding is the only sport where men and women compete together in the Olympics. Strength is irrelevant, its all about technique. (speaking about competing with MNCs)
· There are two types of companies that you can choose to craft, a baby or a dwarf. The only difference is that a baby grows.
02 August Budget WoesD'Shaw the peasant got up with a start. There was something going on, an incessant a boom boom sound that just would not stop. Puzzled D'Shaw walked to the window to look out. Nothing looked untoward on Tisb. The denizens were moving about, shouting out the ritual greeting 'Wassup' to each other pretty much like everyday. This was one of the things that had amazed D'Shaw when she had first come to Tisb, that 'Wassup' was never to be replied to literally. You always had to say 'Hey' or 'Wassup' back and just walk past the other person quickly. Anyway, today looked no different but for the dull thud that went boom boom. Did no one else notice it she wondered.
Confused, D'Shaw got ready for the day ahead. There was a meeting at ten that morning and she had to explain her annual expenditure to DAD, 'Donater Ad Definitum'. There was much to explain. Reports had to be pulled up from the database of stories. Creative input from fellow Tisbians had to be incorporated, book prices and grades were to be inflated with hot air till they looked like they would fly. All this required concentration, yet there was the disturbing boom boom that seemed not to bother anyone but her. Somehow D'Shaw got through the job at hand and was somewhat ready at the appointed hour (you never can be ready for these things really).
The meeting went awry right from the start. Before D'Shaw could even begin presenting her case, DAD brought out his arsenal. Records, figures and data that was irrefutable. A firing of sorts followed all to the tune of boom boom. At the end though, DAD mellowed down a little and a budget compromise was reached with D'Shaw stammering little sorries every now and then. Finally when the meeting ended, D'Shaw was relieved. She quickly ran back home to begin prepration for the rest of the day.
As soon as she got into her room, she noticed curiously that the boom boom seemed to have died down completely. An idea stuck her then; the boom boom had been nothing but her heart racing in fear. Suddenly and loudly she laughed before she caught sight of herself in the mirror on the wall. "Weird" she thought, "I don't quite remember having a mirror in the room. Oh well, guess some one did a bit of magic to put that there. Exactly what I needed!" She sobered up quickly and sat down to read the "Epic Tales of B-School Education explained using the Infinite Case Studies Method.", thinking peacefully that the meeting went rather well, after all. 28 July The color of joyToday was a rare free day for me; a day when there were no appointments, meetings, classes or pending work that I was guiltily telling myself to do. I woke up at eleven-ish to find smiling sunshine, nimble footedly stepping into the room wherever the heartless guardian curtains were a little lax. I grinned contently, I knew something was just right. The weather too was purrr-fect; Overcast with sun shining through the clouds creating the fingers-of-god-effect in the distance every now 'n then -pleasant, peaceful, happy.
From being choicelessly crazy-busy for what seems like ever, today I suddenly had choice. Do I sleep some more, do I watch a movie, do I go out to the city and shop, do I read, do I study (yawnnn), What should I do I thought. Finally I decided to lie in bed to read and sleep alternately. Now, you must understand this whole process of thinking, evaluating and deciding took less than a minute. My mind tried to convince my body that there were options, my body put its foot down and hence I stayed in bed. A marathon nap-wake-read-nap-wake-read-nap-wake-read day followed. Hmmm...there is something to be said for going through one of Hercules Poirot's charming little intrigues sleepily.
I finally got up at four thirty after a total of 13 hours in bed. Must say, I felt fresh as newly baked croisant. Went to the ISB Cafe to get a glass of Iced Tea with a friend, it was drizzling a little. Just came back and now I feel rejuvenated enough to go do something else. Only one thing puzzles me a bit, every thing looks little pink today. Wonder whether this is what they call being in the pink of health or is it just that I am wearing rose coloured glasses? 23 July The Nizam's CityHyderabad, the city of the heavenly Hussain Sagar, the brilliant biryani, the eternally breezy evenings; has been my abode since April this year. But thanks to the rigors education imposes and the literally 'out of the world' location of ISB, exploration has been very limited. So, this term break (5 days out of which 2 went in finishing an assignment), a friend and I decided to stay back and look around, a little bit. And what we found in our 2 days of gallavanting around, has us asking for more.
The city is a mish-mash of multiple religions, cultures, sensibilities and moods. The old parts of the city are tightly packed, narrow street-ed, bustling centers of activity. Every corner becons promisingly, revealing no more than a glimpse of the myriad treasures within. All sorts of little shops line the roads, traffic is a chaotic mix of pedestrians - burqua clad ladies and all sizes of men with or without skull-caps, and buses, cycles and autorikshaws, and cars. At regular intervals, a few Mercedes and BMWs seem to cut through the crowd, like sharks in a sea of turtles. As we moved through this area, the world seemed askew, viewed through a curved glass, both history and the present confusingly playing hide and seek and sticking out their tongues at us in unabated mischief, every once.
While the Char Minar located in the middle of a busy street is a dissapointment, the exhibition of the Nizam's Jewels at the Salarjung Museum is awe-inspiring. There jewellery is heavy and huge, laden with diamonds, rubies and emeralds; some of the stones the size of eggs almost. The Jacob Diamond, which is the highlight of the show is so spell-binding; we saw a group of entranced women stand there, worshiping it with their eyes, busily chattering about what they would do if they could have it. The rest of Salarjung has been saved up for a visit in the future.
Then there is the Falakhnuma Palace, the idea of visiting which had almost become an obsession with my friend. Alas, the place is private property and we were not allowed in. But even from the outside, placed atop a hill, the Palace is a visual delight. A lone historic monument, smiling down bemusedly at a city thats changed it hue.
The new city in contrast, is a jungle of metal, chrome, glass and tar. The roads are wide and smooth. Multiplexes, offices and restaurants abound. One restaurant with a unique theme that we visited was the 'Silver Metro Diner' at the Bashirbagh Ohri's. The theme is that of a metro station. The stairs , the metal lined ceiling, the model of a metro train inside which food is served made for a different experience.
Another restaurant that I liked was 'Dastar' at Banjara Hills. The rooftop restaurant was lit by overhanging charming little bowls of fire (that were actually lights as my friend later explained). The decor was simple, a red wall with matresses laid out next to it. Hookahs were available as was an elaborate variety of food. The service was the best I have seen in a long long time.
Over the holiday, we also saw two movies. One we saw in an old theatre, with the ticket priced at Rs. 35 in the balcony and the other in the new-fangled, shining PVR at the Hyderabad central mall. That experience too somehow matched with the old and new city theme, that the weekend wove itself into.
Finally, like all good things, the vacation has come to an end. There is another term to study for, another journey on the way to becoming an MBA. And I have had my bit of fun in the short break, falling in love with the city of the Nizams, in the bargain. 22 July The good mood....The good mood has arrived with the hols. I haven't done much. Just watched some movies, hung around town a little bit. But it has been pleasant. The people-crazed, homework-dazed, term-end mood has left and hopefully for good. Reading Agatha Christie, waiting for sleep to come. At peace. Happy almost. 21 July Tagged Twice!!!I got tagged by Arun Dhar and Chiranth a while ago, but I have been lazy...here goes anyhow (and I promise to be more regular)
I am thinking...Its a beautiful life coz I have no plans, no place to go today
I said...more than I should've already so I'll keep mum for a while
I want...to sip a chilled glass of neembu paani, on a hammock, next to a beach..now!
I wish...I could be a kid again...laughing, crying, being me...no maturity, no temperence
I miss...the alternative universe that I abandoned to come here. Would miss this if I went back. Guess I miss something, someone, someplace...constantly
I hear...strange sounds in the night, mostly its my stomach :)
I wonder...how to store my life in the single cupboard alloted to me...Don't mind if you see clothes on my bed. Cubboard's kinda full these days.
I regret...my very existance on monday mornings, but regret does kinda wear off by evening
I am...the happy girl, humming a tune out loud today.
I sing...the first line of every song and coz I dunno the rest, I hum along.
I cry...rarely but achingly, poignantly, sobbing my heart out when I do
I dance...outright weirdly, I ought to take classes.
I am not...growing any thinner :(
I write...random ideas that occur to me and make people read them.
I hate...that little frogs suddenly hop out of my way and startle me. I think its all a conspiracy!
I confuse...myself most of the time. No wonder others can't figure me out easily.
I should...have a plan some of the time
I finish...every morsel on my plate. I am a good girl, I am.
05 July Wonder why?Something is bugging me. I am not sure what but there is definitely something. What I do know is that no matter how good the day is, by the time I sleep, I am kinda unhappy. So words don't flow now-a-days. Neither do thoughts, coz it just makes no sense to try and reach towards a nebulous area of my mind where ideas are always just out of grasp. The mind and hence the keyboard are lying unused currently.
Why am I putting this on my blog? Just coz I feel I owe an explaination to all those poor folks who still wander this way... 18 June ClumsinessWhen I woke this morning, and put out a hand,
my specs decided to dive.
And when they met the hard stone floor,
they obviously didn't survive.
I quickly awakened and before I could land,
my toe stubbed the corner of the bed.
Of my pain and general discomfort,
its better the lesser is said.
I got in to school on time to find,
the schedule had been changed.
This was the second week after
my classed were rearranged.
I went to the café,
and I felt, the place was so jam packed.
That more vigorously than the food on the tables,
us customers were being attacked.
Before 15 minutes of the class were done
the laptop battery had died.
I knew it charged through the night,
so as usual I was stymied
At dinner time, the soup decided,
to drip onto my shirt.
Coz that was white, you can imagine,
it looked quite absurd.
I headed to bed and before I slept,
I asked a question of God.
“Just why in heaven's name did you make me,
clumsier than the drunkest sod?”
15 June Atchoo!!!I just finished my first term at B-School. What is particularly savory, is that, I am now on the right side of exams i.e. they are over (with the results not in sight, atleast currently). Coz, I favor the ostrich approach; burying my head in the sand when trouble approaches; the disastrous marks will only hit me when they actually are in my face. Till then, its all fine.
Except that the new term looks like it involves a lot of work. And I am allergic to work ( why do you think I am doing an MBA?). This figurative allergy has somehow evolved into a full fleged literal cold and is leading to some sleepless nights and more frustratingly, some sleepless classes. If insomnia at a b-school seems trivial to you, I'll have you know one thing - its nothing to be sneezed at!!!
To illustrate my pain, let me tell you what happened in one of the classes today. This was a first class by one of the external professors. The prof enters the lecture hall, and starts his presentation. As he's introducing himself, he says " Hi, I am ATCHOO!!! This term we will be discussing ATCHOO! and Atchhoooooo(long and not as loud)." Well of course, I was moved to tears. Infact, from that point onwards the rest of the class was a very moving experience. As he went on to his next few slides, I sneezed lightly in approval. But this was just the calm before the storm. His forth slide was when I came up with a record breaking performance. "ATTCCHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" I went. A missed opportunity at entry in the Guinuess Book. At long last when I opened my eyes, the world seemed a little different. I don't want to go into the gory details, but must mention this - every major earthquake leads to destruction and debris....
From this point on, it got more and more interesting. In fact, in between there was a time when I came up with a sneeze orchestra. It went something like ACHOOOO, atchoo, aich, ATCHHHHH - CHHEEEEE... ACHOOOO, atchoo, aich, ATCHHHHH - CHHEEEEE... ACHOOOO, atchoo, aich, ATCHHHHH - CHHEEEEE. Post this high caliber performance, I opened up my eyes to find that all the other students seemed to have moved to a distant corner of the classroom. What I could see in there eyes was some combination of awe and horror. Pleased with this performance, my nose sensed a need to put in an even more sterling event, with the result of my brains liquifying under high pressure and pouring out onto the shreds of tissue I was holding.
By now, even the professor was quaking in his shoes. So from economics he suddenly jumped to communicable diseases. Interestingly, a little later, the whole class seemed to be coughing and sniffing a little bit. Some feat that; where I lead the world follows...I thought (please excuse my arrogance, told you brains dropped out a while ago).
Very soon the class ended though. By that I mean that the time was over, rather than that the virus lead to the total anhillation of the class. What had seemed like a somewhat short lecture to me was reported to be a long ordeal by those people sitting around me.
Anyhow, I am now back in my room, safe and sound. Oh and if you don't know me but happen to see me in the next few days..I am the one with the red nose.
Signing off
Rudolph
01 June Term-end TakewaysI left my cushy job, to come back to school, To learn many new things, master management tools I picked up all belongings, definitions of wrong and right And ate some humble pie to reach out to the light
To me said the accountant, be conservative and true Just constantly pen down each transaction you do I knew this from experience, on my own accord For each good deed and evil, somewhere there's a record.
The statisticians, they said, nothing's absolutely true The better you look at data, the more confident are you I took that to mean, that I may do my best, Will I surely succeed, just a probability per test.
The economics class, was like a game of chess Your moves make you win, when others know less It taught me to be alert and step into other's shoes And when I make decision's, be aware of the news
The marketing professor, he taught us, how to sell The customer is the king, to him you can't tell So you must do your homework, ask people what they need And then when you sell your wares, and they will buy indeed
I spent a term in B-school and here's what I know You finally reap the benefits of seeds that you sow. Its all common sense, I knew it all before But now I quantify it with a subject wise score.
These lessons of experience, they make up management science Just open up you mind, you don't have to be Einstein.....28 May Unusual CocktailsThere are many, many ways of getting a high, of getting really happy, of creating that warm glow inside your head.
My favorite (do not try this at home, performed here by professionals) is attempting to study well past midnight a few nights before an exam, failing absolutely and abandoning all pretense and hope, in favor of a half-hour of beautiful music. My favorite singer(s) are an unlikely pair; Alanis and Jagjit Singh (Mirza Ghalib).
Do exams alone make me happy (God Forbid!!!)? No. How about just music? Well, yes but rarely ecstatic in quite this way. The combination of exams and music is potent though. What makes it so? I don't know but I am guessing it’s the idea of giving up on all worry, in the most pleasurable way ever.
So wordsmith friends who happen to wander to this space, is there a word for this 'enjoying giving up’? And others, do you understand what I mean? Does it echo somewhere? Any unusual cocktails you like? Or am I just plain weird?
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