Saturday, November 22, 2008

College




My sister’s school exhibition was held today. Just a little after noon, I took her to the school. It had rained in the late morning, so we couldn’t leave earlier. Unfortunately for us, the exhibits were dismantled and the classrooms closed by the time we arrived there. My sister didn’t mind it. Now, my pre-university college is in the same campus as her school. Same building if you want me to be more specific.


Sis : Lets go upstairs. I’ll show you my computer classroom!

Me : I know where it is.


‘Course I knew. It’s on the same floor as my classroom in 2nd PU. As I climbed the stairs behind the stage, I had a rush of mixed emotions. I expected them. But I still didn’t know how to deal with them.

At the landing of the third floor, straight ahead of me was, well, the loo. But just before that is the staff room. (It’s not as bad as you think.) To my immediate left is my classroom for the 2nd year. One of the non-teaching staff was cleaning out the staff room. She comes out.


Me : Isn’t anyone here?

The cleaner : None right now. They just left.

Me : Oh. Ok. Anyone in the labs? Sumana Mam?

The cleaner : Ah.. She must be there. Not sure.


I look at the newly fitted notice board on the wall. It’s filled with notices on the cricket team. Mostly. I smile.

I enter my classroom. The computer lab attendant is writing down the register numbers on the desks. I look around at the empty room. To me, it seems as if I’m actually IN it. At the moment, I’m in THAT moment. I smile again. I withdraw myself from the room.


Me : Come on. Lets go to the 4th floor.

Sis : I’ll show you my yoga class.

She runs up the stairs. I take my own time. I take the immediate right at the 4th floor landing.

Sis : Here. Come on.

She opens the second door on the right cautiously.

Sis : This is my yoga classroom!

Me : Hmmm.


I walk a few steps ahead. The most secluded spot in the college, just near my 1st year classroom. It was huge.That brought back many memories. We’d put up a bench-desk there outside. Or maybe it was already there. Saturday mornings were the best. We had classes from 12 then. Physics class. We used to arrive leisurely... sit there on that bench. Gossip. Talk. That corner was the best.

I stand there and text everyone telling them about my location. Mixed types of replies I got.

One even asked if I was pms-ing when I said I got nostalgic. :D

I walk towards the physics and chemistry lab. I stand at the center of the corridor and look ahead. Below me I can see the ground. In front of me on the third floor I can see the classrooms. Directly in my line of sight, on the other side, I can see indoor games room. I slightly look up.

The grey clouds. The wind. The light rain. JUST like how it was in those days, standing there outside our classroom.

The physics lab had a few students inside. I walk past it without looking in. My sister peeps.


Me : Don’t look inside like that!

Sis : You were asking about some teacher!

Me : Not HER!


The chemistry lab. Meera Mam is inside. So are a few students. I see that there’s no other lecturer. I walk a little ahead and stop. I can see inside of the lab. Students are working. I tuck my hands inside my jackets’ pockets and stand. The chem lab attendant comes from behind me. He recognizes me.


Him : How are you?

Me : Namskara Sir. Fine. Yourself?

*Tilts his head to his left and slightly closes his eyes. A gesture to be taken as “Everything fine here too”.

Him : How are things going for you?

Me : Great.

Him : You had come to the exhibition?

Me : Yes.

Him : Do have relatives studying here?

*I put my hand over my sisters’ shoulder and say,*

Me : Yes. My sister.

Him : Your sister? Own?

*I nod my head*

Him : Which standard?

Sis : I’m in third.

Him : Ok.

Me : Ok bye Sir.

I turn around.

*My sis spots an open door.*

Sis : That’s the terrace!

Me : Hmmm.


We climb down the stairs and reach the ground floor. I look around. I miss the place. It wasn’t much. But then again, maybe it was.


Memories. Lots of them.

The girls, the guys, the crushes, the tears, the bunking, the classes, the lecturers, the crushes again, all that. I miss it. A lot.

:)


One of my friends said, “I swear that place still haunts me in my dreams”. I second his statement.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Life (2)

This must the nth time I’m asking this. But, what IS life? Those of you, who’ve read my blog since the beginning, know that this is one question that I keep popping up every now and then. This didn’t help either.

How do you know it when you love someone? Take your parents. It’s inherent in you to love them. The same is with your siblings and the rest of the family. Your pets... You coochie-coo your dog and what-not your cat. I wouldn’t know, coz you cant coochie-coo fish. But, you say that you love your dog/cat. You speak with affection whenever you speak of it. Why? Coz its ‘Oh so cute!’, or something like that? Hmmm?

When do you realise that one particular person is special in your life?
You OUGHT to watch the movies Before sunrise and Before sunset.
It’s not your everyday romantic flick. Two strangers, characters named Jesse and Celine, happen to meet on a train, en route from Budapest, Hungary, to Vienna, Austria (No, it is NOT your Hollywood ‘Jab we met’. Bah!). They spend an evening together and wait till the early hours of the next morning to say good bye.

They arrive at Vienna. They walk around and see places, all the time talking and exchanging their views on life, love, friendship, people, the society, you name it. And as the day dawns, they part ways without exchanging phone numbers or any contact details, promising to meet again in exactly six months at the same place.

Cut to nine years later.
Jesse Wallace is married and now a father. He’s a successful author of a book he wrote on the one night he spent with a French woman in Vienna. The opening scene is at a book store in Paris, France, where the story eventually unfolds. Celine chances upon his picture on the store calendar a month earlier and turns up at the time when he’s giving a little press conference on his book at the store. He sees her. They start walking to a cafĂ©. They start talking. He learns that she’s into Green Cross, an environmental organisation. They keep talking and realise how messed up their lives are. He tells her that he feels like he’s running a small nursery with someone whom he used to date. She says that men go out with her, then break up, and then THEY get married... later call to thank her for teaching them what love is and tell her that she taught them to care and respect women. She’s frustrated. She says that the concept of ‘the love of your life’ is absurd; the idea that we can only be complete with another person is evil.

You see that, even though the elapse of time is evident, their meeting each other nine years earlier and the time they spent with each other back then is fresh in their minds. The movie shows in a subtle, yet in a beautiful way, how you can never be sure if what you decide to do in life is right... how things once you miss in life are seemingly truly gone... how beautiful sometimes the ways of life are... how you never know who the right person is. The illogicality of certain notions in life...

Wonderful movies they are. My 'aunt-recommended-movie' movies.
I implore upon you to watch them. It’s a dialogue driven movie. You have to listen and understand. You tend to relate to it. You tend to draw parallels to it. The scripts for both the movies are superbly and thoughtfully written.

Jesse’s character is played by Ethan Hawke. Celine’s by Julie Delpy. Exceptional performance by them.
A must watch.
:)


So, what is life again?

Monday, November 10, 2008

Us 'wimmen'


‘Women are prone to over analyzing. We think too much. In fact we think so much that we create entire imaginary scenarios revolving around minuscule actions. We look for hidden meanings. We relish mixed signals.
And... we praise the day text messaging was invented because that day marked a whole new way to over analyze a non-existent tone by way of texting.’

That, dear blog-visitors, was quoted by a good friend of mine over a text message. It is with her consent that I have used it here. Pretty nice, huh?

Being a girl myself, I tend to agree with that.
Final Destination 3 was on TV today and I couldn’t help but draw parallels to the character of the girl in the movie, wherein she looks for hidden but obvious clues in the photographs taken in the amusement park to escape death, to the ways of the mind of a normal girl in real life.
We do tend to assess too much of very little data. We tend to think way out of the box. We cross lines. And as Joey puts it, we are so far from the line that the line is a dot to us. (Sorry, but I HAD to put that in. =)) ). We have little patience. Oh no... don’t get us wrong. When and if there is a crisis, we’ll keep our cool. It’s the little things that boil us up. We struggle around in the quick sand knowing very well that it’s not of much use. We don’t care. As long as we try, we’re happy. We like individuality, much as we lean towards comparing ourselves with others. We aren’t dumb, though the PH’s of the society are an exception. We are good at words. We might be inclined to read through the book at the first go itself, but hey, we at least understand it.

:D

Oh, and if you’re interested, the SCUM Manifesto. You might already have heard about it though.

Toodles!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

=))



My department HOD is weird. If you think that she’ll help you out of your ‘tight’ spot, you’ll be proved wrong. If you think the contrary, again, you’ll be proved wrong. It's quite uncanny the way she does things. Or gets them done.

Like, the other day, before issuing the hall tickets for the coming exams, the word was that we had to buy stamps costing 5 INR if we wanted the hall tickets. Duh-uh! Few of us got it. Not me.
The best part? The stamp said ‘communal harmony’. HOW ironic. Only I got it. I laughed. A lot.

PS - If you didn’t get what I meant above, don’t worry. It’s a personal joke. You’re saner than me alright.