If you ask me what my favorite season is, I would always say winter. When I was a kid, my friends would not agree with me saying summers were much better. One, because you have the 2 month long vacations, and two, you get to eat ice-creams. But I always loved winters better. And I still do.

Having spent all of my childhood in northern India, I have seen the coldest of winters. Meerut is situated around 75 Kms to the north of Delhi and gets to see temperatures slightly lower than Delhi, in fact as low as 1 degree Celsius. For us, winters would officially set in the day one of us would want the fans switched off or school announced the changed timings, which would be pushed from the regular 7 am to 8 am, whichever came first. The woolens would be excavated from the interiors of the cupboards. The colourful quilts will be brought down from the trunks in the attic. A tarpaulin sheet would be spread over the open grilled bit in the roof over the aangan or central courtyard. And we would be all set to welcome the season.

All said and done, winters were always good fun. Even though it also meant frozen fingers and toes, endless sniffles, squabbles with mom who would always ask you to wear a scarf, chapped lips and dry skin. And now that I am at a place where you have none of it, I miss it even more. And I really doubt if I would actually be able to bear the cold anymore, after being away from it for 8 years now. But the memories remain, and every little thing triggers a bout of nostalgia. Whether it is frozen toes because of the air conditioning. Or the rare days when there is a cool breeze and  the sun feels warm on the skin rather than scorching it. And sometimes, even the fragrance of oranges. 

Ok, so now I feel like listing out all the songs which for some reason always remind me of some situations from the past. Funnily, most of these songs are such that I hardly ever even listen to them anymore, but whenever I do, it is big time nostalgia!

 So here goes-

 Song: Aisi Deewangi - Deewana
Reminds of: Home, and watching chitrahaar with the whole family on a Wednesday night.

 Song: Saathiya Tune kya kiya - Love
Reminds of: Home again, lazy afternoons, back from school, listening to a borrowed cassette over and over again.

 Song: Gaate the pehle akele – Khamosh
Reminds of: The unfortunate 1997 moped accident, leading to the stitches on the knee. The song playing all the while in the head.

 Song: Aate Jaate – Maine Pyar Kiya
Reminds of: 10^th Boards. Trying the ‘study with music’ concept for the first time and combining Geometry theorems with Bollywood.

 Song: Chaiyyan Chaiyyan
Reminds of: Rainy afternoon, tea, pakodas, and a newly acquired cassette playing in the back ground.

 Song: Chiqiquita – Abba
Reminds of: CAT preparation in Hyderabad, and doing mock tests with the ABBA Gold Cassette on repeat.

 Song: Touch and Go
Reminds of: K parties! Especially the first one.

 Song: Allah ke bande hasde – Kailash Kher
Reminds of: Sunny afternoon. Walking down B Top’s corridor to call DC for lunch, after having bunked all the morning classes, the song being played from one of the rooms on the floor.

 Song: Kahaan ho tum – Shankar Mahadevan
Reminds of: K again, and getting ready at leisure (a rarity) for an evening class with the song in the background.

 Song: Lagi Lagi - Aksar
Reminds of: The penthouse. And a spring cleaning session of the room, ofcourse with songs from Aksar playing on the Boom box.

 Song: Aap ki kashish (aashiq banaya aapane)
Reminds of: The first attempt at gymming, the hour long workout with Himesh Reshammiya every day. Well, for 20 days.

 Song: Nuvvena (Anand – Gult movie)
Reminds of: Chatting with The Dude late in the night, while he was in London suddenly having developed a liking for a sing which I didn’t understand anyways.

 Song: Don’t be shy – Rogue
Reminds of: Bottles and Chimneys, and the dancing sessions on Saturday nights with The Dude

 There are a few more general songs which I associate with moods, like Yellow is romantic, and Lemon tree is happy, and Waqt ne Kiya is plain depressing, but that will need another post dedicated it to it I am sure. So till then, Ciao!

There is one thing I have finally come to accept. Change is inevitable. Whether it is for the better or for the worse, whether you want it or not, change happens. Or changes happen. Well, whatever. I am personally not a very big fan of change. I like things simple, stable, routine, even boring. Unless I am convinced that the change is actually something big, and is definitely very positive, which for me, hasn’t happened too often.

My very first aversion to change came to the fore pretty early. I was 3 and my little sister was born. Mom and dad had done their job of making me all excited about the idea, and actually look forward to having a sibling to play with all the time. And I was, suitably so. Well, almost, till it was 15 days since she had been staying with us and hogging all the attention. And I, straightforward that I am, went to my mom, and told her that I was really happy to have the kid around and all, but 15 days was enough, and so, could we please leave her where she came from and get back to normal? Just us? Me, mom and dad? Like before? Please?

I am not really fond of the position I am currently in. It’s a state of absolute joblessness (no, I am not claiming to be a busy-bee otherwise, but right now I am officially jobless and it’s actually getting on my nerves.). And stuck in between the role I just moved out of at work, and the role I am yet to get into. Officially.

The past 19 months have been good (and average, and even bad at times, but we shall not delve into that), and given me a thorough insight into the very concept of working. And there are quite a few situations to which I am now in a position to say ‘been there done that’. The best part was however that I ended up making friends here. Something I hadn’t really expected from a workplace, where everyone is professional etc etc. So if I look back it’s actually been a good experience.

Anyways, all I am doing now, is trying to make most of the last few days here. The new role requires me to move to the other office, which is like really far off. So, I am doing the final desk clean up and wondering why they give more than one drawer to anyone. More space just means more clutter, and I am realizing this as I scoop out more and more junk from the three drawers allotted to me. Quite a bit of the stuff makes me kinda nostalgic too, an old wedding invite from one of the team members, the handwritten notes taken down in the first week at work, about the department, and in fact about each and every team member. Or the numerous pencils, notepads, erasers and sharpeners (Yes! Even sharpeners!) that have been distributed in the beginning of each month without fail, and a birthday greeting that we have all signed and forgotten to handover to the concerned person (L).

All things, good or bad, have to come to an end, and while this phase of my first job ends, I am actually feeling a little weird and that is something I didn’t really expect. But that makes me feel nice in a way too, as I directly correlate it to having had a good time J So I guess I should be getting back to the desk clearing activity, and hope that the new place is at least half as good!

P.S. Completely forgot! A very HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone, and hope your year is filled with, well, everything you want it to be filled with! Cheers!
P.P.S. Added the subject in the end, and couldn't think of anything better, so kindly adjust J.

I completed one year at work on the 15^th of this month. Since I had somehow escaped giving a ‘joining treat’ or ‘completion of first month at work treat’ or ‘completion of 6 months at work treat’, I finally ended up going out for dinner with the boss, and the rest of the operations team. Somewhere in between discussions about the latest books being read, how much time who spent reading what, out of the blue, my boss said ‘ So did you want to be a writer?’

The question was a passing one, and I obviously answered in the negative, and there was no further discussion regarding it, but it did get me thinking about all that I had ever ‘wanted to be’.

As far as my memory goes, the first person I ever idolized was Kiran Bedi. And so came the ambition to become an IPS officer in future. Mind you, it was never just the police force; I had to be Kiran Bedi –2. The idea of riding bikes, punishing criminals, and on the whole protecting the world from evil (all the while looking extremely smart in short hair, which I already sported at the time) was extremely irresistible to my 5 year old brain. All the more when they started airing ‘Udaan’ (the story of how a young girl goes on to become an IPS officer again) on television.

The songs from Parineeta are actually exceptionally good. Obviously, one tends to love Piyu Bole instantly. But the other songs deserve a special mention too. Especially, since each of them have perfect music and lyrics, which make them masterpieces in their own sense. I especially like Soona man ka aangan, and Sonu Nigam as always, does full justice to the emotion the song tends to express (Unlike Mr. Udit Narayan, who I feel, has a perennial smile while he records any song, and that kinda reflects in the end product). But then I might be exaggerating, and can go up to the extent of saying that the only male playback singer ever; who can be said to be better than Sonu Nigam is Kishore Kumar. Strictly a personal opinion though!

It’s a pretty comfortable day at work today. And since keeping MP3s on systems are considered integrity violation now, there is less music to be heard. But then, luckily caught hold of an mp3 player, and am listening to Parineeta now, and hence the realization about how awesome its songs are J

Weekend’s here again, proving that time really does fly. On 16^th, I complete an year at work. And that’s huge! No wonder the 2 years at K passed in a flash L. Underwent another bout of nostalgia today, as I ended up browsing through the earlier posts on ggollerkeri’s blog, after posting his Birthday wishes. If only I would get a chance, I would rewind time by 3 whole years, and relive every moment again. The alumni meet in Hyderabad is scheduled to happen in a week’s time, and I don’t know if I would be going. Its just not the same until a decent number from our batch turns up. And Hyderabad doesn’t really have many people from the 2005 batch.

Am done rambling, and the music’c shifted from Parineeta to Pukaar, and yeah, the songs of Pukaar (especially Sunta hai mera khuda) are pretty decent too. Till then, Ciao.

Well! Well! Well!

Here’s wishing my dearest blog a very happy second anniversary!

Yup. I have actually managed to keep this journal up and running for two whole years now, and yes, I have surprised myself by doing so. And considering, how easily I get bored and frustrated with anything that requires even a little bit of my patience ( believe me, I don’t have enough to spare), this is an achievement in itself!

The sole reason I had started this account in the first place, was to, well crib about life during my summers in Gurgaon, and keep all my  friends at K updated about what was happening in general. Starting with the common IIMK blog, a personal blog seemed to look more and more conducive, as my posts just got longer and longer. And this was the best way to get whatever I felt across, whether it was about my summers guide, the movies I saw, our mean PG lady, my first attempts at cooking, or the horrid power-cuts in Gurgaon.

It proved to be fun. And very interesting. But I was still unsure whether I would keep going once I got back to campus, and then again when I started working. But I did. And here I am, still cribbing, and maintaining a record of all that I think is worth recording and at the same time making new friends, and keeping in touch with more friends than I could have otherwise.

And today, two years, and 125 posts later, I just hope that I am able to continue J the same way!

There is this school right behind my present place of accommodation called ‘Neeraj public School’ I think. So every morning, when I am on the verge of waking up, the choir greets me with a prayer song, followed by news headlines, and a small speech on some random topic, and then the National Anthem. At times, I also get to hear, a particular Class 7 or 8 or 9, being asked to stay back, and then given an hour long lecture about how school property should be treated with care, and how Play-grounds are not to be littered. Every Saturday morning, this routine is followed by what is obviously the PT class, with the drum being banged away for an hour again.

But today was different. The first thing I heard was as usual the prayer song. But it was not followed by the news, or the even the anthem for that matter. Instead, there were loud blaring cheers, and hoots, and then at full volume, bass and treble, I could hear ‘Dus Bahaane karke Le gaye Dil’! It took my half asleep brain around 2 minutes to realize that today was actually Children’s Day J…

In school, like all other kids, I always waited eagerly for the 14^th of November. Probably even more so, as it is my Mom’s birthday, and that usually meant eating out (as did my dad’s birthday, and their wedding anniversary. Our birthdays were usually, the cut cake, call all friends home kinda celebrations). But it obviously started with school. And school that day was awesome fun.

Firstly, you got to wear casuals. Which was a big change from the usual grey and white uniform. And it removed to a great extent, the ‘you’re-in-school’ feeling. So that mattered quite a bit.

Then, you didn’t have to carry books, as there were no classes. And that removed the all the remaining ‘you’re-in-school’ feeling. So there you were, wearing your party clothes, and without your heavy bag, all ready to enjoy the one complete day of freedom at school.

The routine remained the same through the years. All the children were greeted at the gate with chocolates. Really small ones, but I didn’t seem to mind the quantity till around 9^th class I guess, when I actually learnt cribbing about everything. A considerably shorter prayer in the grounds followed this, and every student would be eagerly looking forward for it to end, well, as always.

Then came the Star attraction of the day. Performances by the faculty. It was always amusing to see the ‘I-am-just-too-cool-for-words', Mrs. Nathaniel dance to the tunes of ‘Mere Haathon mein nau nau choodiyan hain’, or listen to the ‘hindi ki kaksha mein angrezi shabdon ka prayog uchit nahi hain’ Mrs. C.P.Gupta, actually hum an English number!

The euphoria would last the entire day. The chocolates would be long gone, the music would have stopped, but there would be no end to the discussions about the same. These would start from amongst the classmates, to the children in the bus, and finally to Mom and Dad at home. And the final pause would be when I would go to sleep, exhausted, tired, and genuinely happy.

As I write all this, I feel all grown up. Kind of like I am discussing the ‘Good ol’ days’ or something like that. Fact is, I have never even remembered this day for being Children’s day for quite a few years now. And today, all because of this school next to my building, I got to journey back in time, and think about the days that are long gone, but are still capable of bringing a smile to the face J. 

·        Waking up from the afternoon naps to the ridiculously irritating yahoo messenger audibles , especially the one which went ‘Hello! Hello! Anybody there? Echo!’

·        Playing xonix while listening to blaring music for 2 hours at a stretch.

·        Playing text twist for the next two hours.

·        Watching ‘ TOW Ross’s Sandwich’ for the nth time while munching on Kurkure Chatpata chaska.

·        The walk to the CC at 3 A.M. for taking printouts for the next day’s submission (followed by not finding enough paper and then running around, begging for the same

·        Mass messaging ‘ Ppl, any good movies?’ on yahoo at 4 A.M.

·        Synchronizing and playing the same song along with the other C- bottom residents, not for any resonance effect, but plainly for noise.

·        Staying up the entire night, to watch the sunrise, knowing you would never wake up early enough for the same.

Two days of ER, and I am almost dead already. Probably the only subject in second year which has had me staying up all night and getting an average 4 hrs sleep per day during the entire period the classes continue. Its been a pain, and on top of that we had our presentation stretching for 5 hours! And my poor back couldn't really take it. Anyways, the course gets over in a couple of days, and am I glad! Diwali was ok types, but I haven't missed home more. Went for Veer Zaara, and seriously found it too slow, well except for the last 45 minutes or so, which were pretty sentimental, and yeah, so as always, I enjoyed that.

Was reading a random blog and it mentioned Enid Blyton's 'Five findouters'. Reminded me very much of the hours and hours that I have spent reading and re-reading Enid Blyton stories. Starting from 'Bed Time stories' and 'sleepy time tales' to 'The naughtiest girl at school' and its sequels. Each book was delightful in its own way. Infact ,having read these books so many times,I can actually remember all Elizabeth Allen adventures at school.

 The next series was Famous Five, and though reading about the mysteries they solved was fun, more fun was reading about the unending descriptions of the food they seemed to carry around on camps and have during 'high tea'. The way it was written, strawberry jams, buttered scones, apple pies, puddings and all seemed much more delicious than they would otherwise.

 But my all time favourites were the school series 'Malory Towers' and 'St. Clare's'. Both about girls' boarding schools, reading about them always made me feel that I had missed out on a lot by attending day school. Midnight parties, dormitories, fooling the wardens, everything seemed to exciting to have missed out on.

 Another favorite ofcourse was the three book series of Enchanted wood. Still remember the adventures of Jo, Bessie and Fanny with Silky the elf, Moonface and saucepan man. Reading about the different lands that came to the top pf the faraway tree used to take away hours , but never got boring. Yeah , as obvious , I even read my share of Nancy Drews and Hardy Boys, but nothing could ever beat Enid Blyton. Infact I still make it a point to read a part of my collection everytime I go home. Spending all the pocket money on these books atleast has left me with a huge collection of the same.

With ER eating away all my time and energy today, I just wish I had a couple of these books here, and I know I would be all fine again. Guess I should stop rambling for a while. GG was right, I seem to blog only when I have maximum work on hand. Anyways, its ciao for now.....

The first Malory Towers book I read, yeah I started with the fifth.....:P

I cant believe it !!! Since the morning i have dialled atleast 175 phone numbers and got 16 responses !!!! And on top of that GP has to go missing on this very day.... At the rate things are going, 300 responses seems to be a very distant dream, and i neither know nor care how i am going to do it...And my dearest guide needs an update at 4.... Ha!

 Anyways, right now, i am in no mood to think about my project, the work here or anything even remotely related to summers. it will definitely be better if i spend my time thinking about how awesome last summer was. i remember how i used to rush to the cybercafe everyday just to check mails on yahoo group, cos i was sooo very excited about getting thru K!come to think of it, last year was probably the most eventful in my life. after 3 years , should say boring years of graduation, this was an awesome change. i cant really claim that everything last year was awesome, but i am sure, there will always be loads to remember forever. probably, when i joined k, i was a bit apprehensive about the whole thing, it being a big change for me. i was used to staying away from home, it was my first time in a residential campus. and as is usual, i did expect quite a bit of fun , as i had a lot from my cousins and friends who had been through it. have to say, every bit of what i expected was fulfilled, and though there were the usual ups and downs (more than usual in fact , considering its 'ME 'we are talking about!), overall the year was amazing, and so was the experience.

probably thats the reason why i really miss the institute right now. this has been the longest i have been away from there, since i joined, and it is never good enough anywhere else for me anymore. i remember how i used to get back to hys from home after holidays, but here its different, of course i miss home, but when its time to go back to k, i am equally excited! i really hope my next year is equally fun and infact even better...

went out with my cousin to the malls for a while yesterday, he got me "alchemist' and jeffery archers 'twist in the tale'. so spent quite some time reading yesterday. dunno why, but i never seemt o enjoy anything philosophical while reading. i remember when i had started 'atlas shrugged' and couldn't go beyond 20 pages...its funny considering how much people praise 'ayn rand' and his work. i seem to need pure fiction to keep me interested... so its always 'jeffery archer', or 'robin cook', or 'erich segal', 'sydney sheldon',' o henry' and the likes for me.... I couldn't even enjoy any of 'richard bach' books after 'jonathan livingstone seagull'!!!!!! guess my taste in reading is never going to be as refined !!! i guess i am always going to be a harry potter, LOTR fan...

anyways, i will stop for a while , go and finish that horrible, irriating, frustrating, boring, idiotic job........... till then, ciao