Unleashed

As the college comes to an end, nostalgia is expected. But when you ask people to scribble in the Class of 2016 Yearbook, beans are spilled, the town is painted red, inside jokes come out, unheard of friendships speak tons in 100 characters, emotions are unleashed!

As is human nature, each person forms an opinion of others. Some you know inside-out (my GANG members are laughing at this double entendre), while some people are a 50 shades of surprise. Sometimes you read between lines and realize a conversation some x months ago in some y context had some z meaning. Whereas most of the times, you know where you got your hands dirty from and that your partners-in-crime are just airing your dirty laundry in public :P Even if you or your friends aren't involved, but your crushes are, your brain cells are so active you'll just read the entire book of testimonials and connect any and every dots.


You start seeing people in a new light. Like a guy seen as a man of few words is really an encyclopedia  on Rock music. Or a guy I knew as a tough task master, focussed on work work work, has a romantic side.

And then you see yourself through others' eyes. Boy o' boy! You and your close friends are the wild animals who have seen each other naked in the field (well, figuratively). They know your harkartein, they know your takia-kalam, they know your soch-vichar. And you too. So you are mentally prepared for whatever comes out of their "shabdo ki pichkari". And they too.
But when rest of the junta writes about you, many different chemical reactions take place in your "khali-dimaag-shaitan-ka-ghar" :P And when your friends read out stuff written for you, the "chamak" on their chehre only indicates a night long session of leg-pulling and assumptions and conclusions and predictions and endless laughter.

So in the process of creating memories, we create memories.

Solitary Contemplation

People can be with you till the penultimate, but you have to walk alone to the ultimate.

Every person walks their journey alone, as everyone's path is chalked out uniquely. Roads converge, diverge, turn a U-turn, dead end sometimes, or end as a seashore and then you swim. Or row a boat. But cross the river you must.

When in class two, I dreamt that I and two other kids are at the ocean. We're playing and walking on the water. We run till the point where the blue sky touches the surface of water, and then probably we fall out of earth. I had fallen out of the bed, almost.

I would play with five-six friends in school and with two of my neighbours at home, but as far as I remember, I was always alone. Not someone who went out of her way to make friends. In the new school, I automatically became close to other two new kids. It was convenient and thankfully, they were fun. Both loved the Harry Potter series, one of them introduced me to the world of cartoon strips and the other remains my friend till date. Then I switched to yet another school and this place was a culture shock. I didn't think I fit in. But once again my friends were the other new kids, one who followed me to college as my junior , and the other with whom I sometimes go on long walks around the city. A third friend from the third school also went to the college with me, and with her gregarious nature, found many many friends. I, on my part, stuck to my convenient strategy, and my first friends at college were my room-mates. We were inseparable, for two semesters. After which I and my one room-mate had a fallout with the third. Then we had to shift to the new hostel, where the occupancy was two people. I and my room-mate naturally continued our room-mate-ship. We became very close, like best friends. I also found a science geek, an athletic girl, a new kid who joined the hostel to live the hostel life and two more ladies who were my neighbours in the new place. Being in the hostel committee brought more proximity to more people. College fest is where I met crazy seniors and a short-lived crush. Some foreign students who were in my room-mate's class, the good-looking talented lads in our college bands, the CAT prep and towards the end, the last days of sentiyappa also added some people to my Facebook friend list.

New college. A girl walked up to me and asked, "Will you be my room-mate?" As I had absolutely no idea about anyone here, and since this saved me from asking the same question to others, I smiled and said yes. She introduced me to two other girls, a singer and a dancer. We met at the Pond. Newness was the binding factor for all. For a management game, I, my room-mate, the dancer and two other girls teamed up. We sat, brainstormed, laughed and won. In class I met many people, guys and girls from different worlds. I easily made many friends there. By the end of that year, I had my own gang, another group- 'book-o-holics', some committee friends, some more from the senior batch. The gang goes everywhere. We have faced so many things together, spent all waking hours with each other, helped each other for everything, and being the youngest I've been taken care of. So much so that in the start, I would wonder how come the friend-less me became a confidante for so many? Now, they all aren't just my go-to but my be-with people.

Friendship is a drug. It is. They have gone to their roads ahead, and today I sit alone on my bed, as each has to fight their battle alone. I know I have them just a phone call or a WhatsApp ping and an FB/Twitter DM away. Despite the emptiness in and around the hostel, I know they are there. With this knowledge, I'll cross my river.

Ambition: yay or nay?

"Why do you go home so often? Yes it's nearby, but why do you go all the time?"
"Whenever there's a holiday, you head to your uncle's place."
"You read gossip and fashion magazines?! MBA students have time to read these things too?"
"Are you not participating in any case study? Job kab milegi?"
"Students are into start-ups? Kuch entrepreneurship tu bhi kar.. Any business plan?"
- things I'm accused of and questioned about. Sometimes I wonder am I the right kind of MBA grad student? I do participate in some competitions and try to know the world. But what I can't do is give up my day and night and food and ethics. I try to contain my ambition. Aim high but not too far away in the sky. Is that wrong?

I am twenty two. Most of my friends are working. Some of my friends are pursuing higher education: a few technically inclined ones are doing M.Tech, Science and/or foreign university- enthusiasts are abroad for M.S. and many are pursuing MBA like I am.
All of them are smart. Most of them funny. Many are intelligent. Some talented. A few brave about life choices.
Everyone is deceptive. Not all have much figured out, but all are confident. There are those who are not only sure of themselves, but also make sure others aren't. And then some are too cool to think too much. They just save their charm for the right moment and remain passive and "chilled out" for rest of the time.
Five years ago, I was in class XII and that in India means Board Exams followed by Entrance Exams. I knew I'm good at academics but I knew I can't slog. I ate, slept and watched a lot of TV- which helped me remain sane. I appeared for two exams- didn't clear one of them and did well in the other. In the hindsight, limited ambition helped me enjoy the toughest year in a student's life. College? I went to an NIT. Pretty neat!
Two years ago I was in the final year of engineering and decided to give CAT a shot. Herd mentality? Maybe. I did appear for oncampus placements for a few days, because normally I'm a risk averse person. But somewhere in between,I decided to focus only on belling this cat and not suiting up for the interviews. Risk taken. Return? I got a decent score, call from some decent institutes and finally admit into a good college. That right there was pretty ambitious, I believe.
Last year during internship program, till I didn't get an offer, I had a fractured toe and a bruised ego. One day, I decided to just take a break and spend the night at my cousin's place. The next morning I got my plaster off and following that I got an interview call. It wasn't a company in my dream league. It wasn't a company I knew much about either. After seeing many rejects, ambition had taken a backseat. Regrown toe did the job of  injecting happiness. So I gave an interview sans ambition and voila- I cracked it. The company? It is top in its industry and gave me paycheck for having fun for two months.
It is true hard work pays off. Risks precede returns. Being fit and at peace can help win the game. What remains unclear is ambition: yay or nay?

The City

What makes you fall in love with a city? Last I checked, a guy posted on Facebook that he got engaged, and is in love with the city where he met his fiancee. Years ago, I had seen on television, a cricket world cup match being played in Melbourne. Before the toss, they showed the beautiful sites of Melbourne city, along with the MCG. I had never been there, still I felt like I 'loved' that city. So much so that I told my father, "I'll live there one day, and you'll live with me." Papa of-course said yes to amuse his little girl.

The little girl has grown up, and outgrown that love for that city.

When 12, she moved from the city she loved to a city she had never even thought about. Eight years later, she claimed she loved her new hometown.

Again, years ago, probably around the same time of my love affair with Melbourne, I had heard about Mumbai. Like not just Bollywood, but about the city. Now I don't remember what was what I heard, but I had decided "I want to live in Mumbai someday".

Unlike the Aussie city, I was not too vocal about my decision on Mumbai, because a) I was a child and had chosen Melbourne and b) I was a child and was 'laughed' at by some not-ill-meaning relatives about my wildness to live in a 'foreign' land. In those days, Mumbai too was 'foreign' to me so, probably to avoid b), I kept quite.

 No big issues really. Not then, not ever.

Now, after the two cities I have lived in and loved, it has been an year in Mumbai. Things that are different are that I don't live with my parents now and there are more exciting things than just McDonald's when I was the kid in love with, yes, Melbourne.

Right now is pretty interesting for me. I'm interning- so it's like my first job.  J Office is in Pune, another city I had never thought about. Lovely weather! But I yearn for human companionship. No, I don't work with robots (and I don't think I would like that). There are people, but no one I talk to. Like no friends to hangout with, or just chat for hours together. So, decided to spend the weekend in Mumbai.
Sorry, but no sorry- I love Mumbai :D The City is fun.

12.30 am- late night dinner in Amar Juice Center, Juhu.
1.00 pm- lunch in college with friends
4.00 pm- Mocha Chip and Donuts and talking with a friend in Dunkin Donuts, Powai
4.30 pm- Haiko- to window shop and for AC, and KFC- to use the restroom
5.30 pm-  Mediterranean Focaccia Bread and Coffee in Starbucks, Powai
7.00 pm- Crossword showroom (books ♥)

7.30 pm- Sneaked into a movie hall and watched last 25 minutes of Cinderella
8,00 pm- Watched Avengers- Age of Ultron- the movie whose tickets I had bought
10.30 pm- a non-veg meal at McDonald's
11 pm- on my bed, blogging.

Love for the city bases out of the carbohydrates apparently, but really because of the humans. The friends I talked with. Talking really may have been bitching, gossiping, cursing, giving cold looks to the new people staying in our college hostel, or discussing the clothes passersby were wearing around Haiko/KFC. But without this, despite a fun job in a cool city, life was BORING. Not living in any other city has never affected me like this. Mumbai is The City. 

I Did.

2014
Resolution to read a Wodehouse. Political blogs. Belling the CAT. Getting my article "The Gift of Time" published in AS WE ARE. Being nostalgic about AS WE ARE. And Renesa.  Hostel Day- LBD, check! Farewell to NIT Surat- Saree, check. And The Takeaways. 

Living in Mumbai . Space Crunch. Took part in a city-wide treasure hunt #FirstTime. Starbucks, Mumbai Local Train and BEST bus #FirstTime. Tweeting. Stage antics on-camera, in-front of whole college and Godrej executives ;)

Fracture :'(

Business Suits. Feel Harvey Specter-like. 100 stairs. Pond. Green Tea. Girlfriends. One-piece. Zumba. Garba Night in Chatak Gulabi Chaniya-Choli. Making friends over cuppa coffee and Lijjat Papad. Video-making. Wrote the first-ever article in insideiim.com series "Weekend Wordsmiths". Halloween themed Birthday. Composed the winning tweet for a marketing proposition of a new brand. 

Caught the selfie fever. I blame my Nexus 5.
Got as many as 5 friends to watch F.R.I.E.N.D.S. <PROUD OF MY SELF >
Latest Crush: Fawad Khan 
Can make breakfast for self. Omelette :D 
Doing household chores #FinallySaysMom 
Baking a Cake. 

J J J 
2015

Losing Sleep over The One

Today started in continuation to yesterday. I was burning the midnight oil, trying to watch “Moulin Rouge!” It was a movie I had wanted to see since forever, which is since I heard the song “Kaisi Paheli Zindgani” from Parineeta. No, since Monica Geller accused Chandler Bing of being gay to love a movie like Moulin Rouge! The movie is everything that can keep me awake: story set in the year 1900, set in Paris, about the Bohemian revolution, a musical, a dark dark film…

It’s 4.45 A.M. now. Some 23 minutes of movie are still left, but a voice inside me says classes from 11.30 A.M. till 9 P.M. It’s the voice of that devious biological clock inside me which bodes well for my health. My roommate is finally done with her assignment aka “Google Searching Random Cow Videos about McDonald’s and Supply Chain something.” Now she’ll sleep.

This is life. You watch movies or TV shows till 4am and complete your month long assignment in 40-45 minutes of searching the web.  As we switch off the lights, I blurt out the truth- “Moulin Rouge! wasn’t what kept me awake, it was my facebook ‘fan’”.

Let me introduce myself. I am a kiddo in front of all the other MBA students who are three-four years older than I. This means marriage on the cards for most them. My classmates talk of the impending doom and how MBA has helped avert the wedding for another two years. Since marriage is what they avoid and what seeks them with an equal force, they go delirious with happiness in believing that my fan is The One for me.

My introduction continues- I finished 12 years of school to go to four years of college to pursue two years of MBA. I am officially student-zoned. I am not looking for The One. Give me a break.

True, the love nest- our NITIE Pond calls out to me. But walks around the waters are a great source to check-out the budding romances between the naughty NITIE- junta. I constantly tell myself-“This is what I want; oxygen, adrenaline and gossip. Shaadi is an exciting prospect, way into future.”

The professor responsible for the assignment on those Cows pops into my mind. He told us during the first day in college that NITIE pond is where many eyes meet, many hearts skip a beat, many love stories blossom, many marriages happen. The pond is the last thing I see from my window before falling asleep.

No. After you have seen the clock saying 5A.M., your mom comes to your mind. You wonder how you are yet to go to sleep when she has woken up. And when you check again and the clock reads 5.17 A.M., you start a mental calculation of hours of sleep you can still hope of catching. It’s more than five. Great! You curse yourself for drinking that cup of tea when ideally one should brush their teeth and go to sleep. You curse yourself for the plate of Maggi along with that chai. You curse the mess food, you curse the weighing machine which is in disagreement with someone who climbs more than 100 stairs everyday to go to class, you curse the 100 steps and when you are out of breath, you curse yourself for having no stamina. You blame lack of sleep. Sleep!

I realize that its 5.37 A.M., a loss of sleep worth 20 minutes. So the last thing I see before dozing off is my mobile. That’s the first thing I see when I wake up. I am practically married, my mobile is The One. No, my bed is The One. The snuggly pillow is The One. This silk quilt is The One…

Yes, I am the one who missed her class. 

Fun Funny and Fragile

A lot has happened since my last post. Life at NITIE is fast, furious and fiery. And as it turns out, I am fun, funny and fragile.

There have been times when all seemed to be going wrong. The Ms. Studious was not studying, the Ms. Blogger wasn't blogging, the Ms. Book-lover just could not read books. So basically I wasn't doing any regular stuff. My regular stuff.
Freshers' Party was round the corner. Every other girl seemed to be shopping, or thinking of going shopping or sitting in front of the laptop: e-shopping. Girly things have never been my things. Ron Weasley, Ross Geller, Jim Parsons and the Ellen Show are sort of my things.

My "non-alcoholic" drink ;)

Anyway, somehow I found myself going mad when everyone else seemed to have shopped till they dropped (rather till the Sales and stock were great). I did buy what was like the first one-piece of my life and the last one left in all the malls of Mumbai. J

This also reminds me of the first ever party I went to. First taste of night-life. Some 10 of us, "breaking the ice" while some crushed ice into their drinks, and I maintained my teetotaler status. J

Meanwhile, I had to undergo three daunting weeks of dentist appointments L.

After the initial euphoric vigor to participate in EVERY event died, the glum gloominess of not doing ANYTHING took over my senses.

And many stories remained untold (some in the drafts of this blog, some in the recycle bin of this laptop).
Celebrations like Friendships' Day, Raksha Bandhan, Dahi-Handi happened, but not really. Rohit, a friend, on his pan-India tour to reconnect with friends and travel different cities, came just a stone's throw away and I could not meet him. Well because of the dentist appointment.

Freshers' Party showed me that I can dance, I mean I CAN DANCE. Cool!

In my niche group of friends (it's better than "small group of friends" and much better than "intimate group of close friends" ;) ), it is quite well known that I can provide some comedy.

All these things aside, who am I, if not the clumsy little girl who's prone to getting injured. So brace yourselves, we have a fracture coming our way. With broken toes and determination, I faced the last one week of examinations. Accompanying me, in these testing times were Rosesh Sarabhai, Abhishek-John's Dostana, my room-mate's kettle and Sonal's extra soft pillow. If there's one thing I have learnt, then that is: "If you want a Princess-like treatment, injure your limbs". That's the easiest, albeit a painful way. 

And all these woes seemed endless, until today. 

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi :)

The moment I saw Lord Ganeshji, all dressed up and adorned in flowers and lights, I knew everything is fine. God Bless us all. :)

A treasure hunt and the final treasure

Place: EDP (3-4), NITIE, Powai

Instructions given, mentors allotted.

Place: NITIE Pond

Clue1: “This place has recently seen a construction of something famous”. Place shares name with Scottish writer Hector Hugh Munroe.

Google told something like Saki. So, next destinations => “Saki Naka”. Auto rickshaw hunt followed. Almost all the teams had booked an auto, so our team was trailing by about 10-15minutes.

Auto found. Now the question was “Where/What in Saki Naka?”

Google said a new place called “Peninsula Grand” has been inaugurated. It turned out to be a new hotel. Auto driver confirmed that 2 new hotels have recently been opened. But mentors said that that’s not the right answer. So, auto-walla said metro station can be the new thing we are looking for. It turned out to be correct. Rules were to take a group selfie there and post it on Whatsapp and the next clue would be “pinged”.

Place: Saki Naka Metro Station

This selfie business did amuse the auto driver, and contrary to what I had heard about Mumbai auto-wallas only going on certain routes of their choice, this one turned out to be sport enough to go ahead with us to help us win this event.

Clue2: “Bhel Puri, Sevi Puri, Rangeen Ret, Suhaani Raat”

My team mates Madhur and Ipshita quickly guessed it right-Juhu/Chowpati!

So off we go. On our way, many other autos were carrying many other teams and indeed, it was  a matter of pride for the drivers too as they raced to get their passengers to the famous beach first. On our way, we were speculating what could be the next destinations in this hunt. I said it has to include the sea-link. My idea was immediately rejected by both my team mates and even the auto driver echoed their denial. How bruised I felt. Anyway, no time to sulk.

Place: Juhu Quickly we clicked a snap with the sea visible behind us and let Whatsapp do the magic. After a few unbearable seconds, answer was declared correct and we received the next clue.

Clue3: “The 64^th most famous surname in the UK”.

Ok, so I asked the auto driver to think of a place with “Angrezi” name. Meanwhile, we were checking Wikipedia of famous surnames in the UK. Auto-walla was giving us the most quizzical look he could manage. But, Madhur found the answer to be Carter and of course, we were now heading towards the famous Carter Road. Since this is in Bandra, I again pitched in the idea of Bandra-Worli sea link. This time the denials were more pronounced, including “tsh-shh!”

Place: Carter Road

An eatery with the name “Carters’ something”, and thus we clicked Madhur’s picture with that sign board above him to prove that we have indeed reached there. The answer to next clue was something that gave me an enormous amount of inner-joy.

Clue4: “If this thing is put in a weighing pan, you’ll need to put 50000 African elephants in the other pan to balance it.”

It did take me about 40 seconds while my team-mates frantically googled, but here was my moment of glory- “Heavy as elephants- it’s got to be the Sea Link”! Hearts of hearts my team acceded to my genius and when our mentor confirmed that the answer’s correct and gave his “blessings” to go ahead, it was a real task to keep a modest face and conceal the smirk.

                        

Clue5:  “The last scene of ‘Wake Up Sid’”.

Ok, so it was the kissing scene. It was raining. It was at Nariman Point.

Now, the auto-driver had to experience the pangs of separation as there was no way he could drive all the way from here to there.  All this while, he had been the benefactor for us, our mode of transportation, and a clever one- taking all the short cuts and racing with (against) his fellow auto fraternity. Naturally he felt a kinship towards us.

 Anyway it was harder on me and Ipshita as from hence forth; the journey was long if we take a cab and quicker if we choose to travel by the local train. I was determined not to go with the latter. Determined I was. As it turned out, Madhur was more determined in this case to take the short trip via the dreaded mode of transport-the locals.

Saying my silent prayers, clutching my sling-bag closer to me, trying to look like a confident, everyday traveler, I boarded the train. Luckily it was Sunday afternoon, meaning we got empty berths to sit on.  To ease ourselves, we girls sipped in the Appy Fizz, talked about something I don’t remember, while I listed the possible destinations for the finale clue- “the CST, the Marine Drive, the Ambani’s house Antilla, the stadium Wankhede…,” took deep breaths and ultimately reached the last stop-our stop- Church Gate.

I sighed relief for about 5 seconds, when Madhur waved at us and started running towards the exit. We took a cab. He tried to negotiate and settle for Rs.30. We had to settle for Rs.40-as quoted by the cab driver.

The few minutes inside the cab were for me to take a mental note. “I travelled the dreaded local and nothing went wrong. Thank you God”. 

Place: Nariman Point

We reached the beautiful destination, clicked a selfie and waited with bated breaths for the last clue. Out of nowhere two more teams appeared and in lovely air of Nariman Point, there was an air of rivalry and urgency to crack the last code. And this was time my team-mates’ mobile internets chose to go down!

Clue6: “This place is sarcastically known as the greatest centre for gender transformation in Mumbai”.

Missing the sarcasm intended, I thought of nearby hospitals. Re-reading the clue out loud, I called my uncle whose office is in the vicinity of where we were and he told me that there is a National Centre of Performing Arts nearby. We were convinced that sarcasm intended was at the male dancers in female attire in the plays. Wrong answer!

Our mentor called Madhur and told him to head towards the CST. Clueless, we did. Two minutes into the cab, I thought out loud- Centre for Sex Transformation! The answer to the clue was an inside joke involving the abbreviation of the famous railway station. What the hell! The mentor now told us to head towards the Gateway of India, because the reason he asked us to head to the CST was because the game was over. Winning teams had already cracked the code. We touched and went from the CST to the Gateway.

Place: Gateway of India

Now that the game was over, we sipped the refreshing sugarcane juice from a nearby juice shop and joined the crowds picnicking at the well known tourist spot. We spotted the rest of the teams, the winning teams in the centre and though we were drenched in sweat; the treasure hunt had culminated into an awesome tour of the City of Dreams.  After a few group photos and selfies, it was time to be treated by our mentors for the winning teams and time to treat ourselves for the rest of us. While others were deciding the eatery to go to, I quietly looked at the magnificent Taj- the celebrated hotel opposite the Gateway.

Some 9 of us walked on the streets of Mumbai looking for the famous coffee shop Leo Pold, then decided to go instead to the Starbucks. I followed the group silently while once again trying to look street smart and confident in the overcrowded tourist spot, which has also witnessed a terrorist attack. Calming my nerves and keeping faith, we enter the Starbucks coffee shop.

Place: Starbucks

So today was not just the first time I travelled a local train, it was also the first time for me in a Starbucks. J J J

Another dreadful experience was ready to be encountered. Catching the BEST bus till the CST, from where we take a local train for the journey back. Now, I am no daredevil. Travelling in the local and catching the BEST bus in the same day was the scariest that could happen. With the other 8 marching confidently towards the bus stop, my “keep a calm face-look confident-be brave” inner machinery went into auto mode.

Another myth of my mind was busted that day, and there is nothing scary about the fast moving transportation of this fast moving city. All safe and sound, we reached the CST. Panic easily trumps my feeble faith and again the inner mechanism has to pump me up. Getting into local train was easy. Getting out of it was easy too.

To add to this eventful day, the auto-rickshaw we hired from the station to our hostel faced a tire-puncture.  But this did not deflate my spirits as in about 6 hours, I had travelled across Mumbai, journeyed in the local train and the BEST bus, visited the Starbucks and discovered an effective inner faith machine. J

Takeaways

The four years of my college have completed. There are memories that will always remain and moments that will always come back to me in a good way. That's the hope. There are many priceless things that came my way, and this a list of takeaways:

1. It's easy to get a picture in the newspaper. On page 3. Be at the right place at the right time.

It seems as if we were  listening to the lecture,
but we really were just pretending :P

2. Your best friend's boyfriend!

It's just adorable to see boys blushing. 

3. The fun games we played. The crazy seniors we met.

Informals, SPARSH 2012

4. And the epic matches that we all watched together.

THE 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup
INDIA WON!!

5. Music, SVNIT canteen, GRAMMY . Not just the cool tech fests or testosterone fueled sports events, my great college is a host to many great events which is how I got to meet a Grammy winner.

4th International Congress of  Environmental Research

Shiksha and I with
the inventor of Mohan Veena
Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt

6. WEDDINGS WE LOVE- be it the food loving wealthy Surti shaadis we gatecrash or some of our classmates who are ready to tie the knot. It so happens that as one thinks about jobs or higher studies, at least once the thought of marriage does creep into our minds. And hey, the Red Wedding!


7. It is possible that some of your friends entered the college with no idea about TV and now have downloaded so many gigabytes of TV series or spent so many hours streaming , then watching the episodes online. It's just impossible to talk to each other without a GOT reference these days! And then spoilers...

In the spirit of Hostel Life :P

And so I have friends who are crazy about F.R.I.E.N.D.S. There is a group of gals in my department religiously following Vampire Diaries. I am nuts about SHAMY and TBBT. Some of the guys talk BREAKING BAD. Everyone has watched HOUSE OF CARDS.  My youtube history is cluttered with the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Chandler-Joey moments, Matt Damon-Ben Affleck interviews and I once was in love with the Winchesters.
Meanwhile my best friend has evolved from Naruto to mangas. And of-course the superheroes from Marvel and DC Comics have their own cult following.

8. How can we not talk about the cartoons we loved watching while growing up? The 90's cartoons and movies and Indian television always remain the topics of endless discussions.

Our love for cartoons often turns into heated contests with everything at stake ;) 

9. And the world of Harry Potter. There are pure bloods who have read the novels, the half-bloods who have seen the movies too and the muggles who have only watched the films and don't know the minute details.

I proudly claim to have played and won the HP based scrabble contest once. 

10. Being born is a big thing. Birthday planning for your friends is like a project.

Friends go all the way to kick you out of your
room to decorate it
and sometimes you are a little late
so that candles are now just melted wax!  

Some times
the birthday girl
chooses her own cake

And actual project work is like a hideous wall hanging some one gifted you. You ignore it big time by throwing it away in a pile of assignments, laundry and other such stuff. Procrastination. So just like when those people visit home, you have to take out their wall hanging and dust it and display it-a major tiresome task, similarly with professors and project submission :(

11. GYAN There're many things I didn't know.
 (1) It's not important to have many friends. It's sufficient to have just enough friends who drive you crazy and this is how you survive the real world crap like a piece of cake.

 (2) EK GARAM CHAI KI PYAALI HO... the solution to all problems.


 (3) The driving force to appear in exams is never pointers :P

Boys and Booze :P
Courtsey: SVNIT Trollers, FB

(4) Do what you may, EC practicals will never yield outputs 

12. college ki hariyali

boughs of peace :-)

And the sentiyappa. "Bye bye" fb statuses. Forever together wali Jay-Veeru baatein. Everything one last time. A last lunch. A last dinner. A last ice-cream. A last walk. The last hug and stream of tears. One last time you see your clutter before packing and moving ahead. Memories of last this and last that that'll last long J

The Gift of Time

The Gift of Time

What do you do when you are suddenly given the gift of time? You can lose your mind. But hey, being a graduate student, you have plenty of opportunities to lose it. So I say, you use your time.

This is how...

Call all your relatives who don’t expect you to call. Catch them off guard. Try to avoid the ones who’ll talk about studies and your ambitions and life, because you don’t need this crap. There are many HR rounds of prospective jobs/higher education to give you this pain. Talk to your favourite aunts/uncles/cousins who are like-minded and would talk about fun stuff. J J J

Take a long walk. Really long. It ought to be brisk, but a normal pace is fine too. Because you have the gift of time. If people ask you, you could say that you really need it for quiet introspection (and can evade unwanted company). Inside, you know that you really need to get rid of those kilograms. So keep walking till you quit, because let’s face it, you are going to quit sooner or later. So make hay while the sun shines. :P

Do laundry. That way, you’ll use up a significant amount of time and finally the laundry basket would get some respite. Since you have lots of dirty clothes, it’s the most productive use of time and this way you get a chance to return to the civilised way of life.

You go to bed early because if you are free, better invest it in some good night sleep. Very soon the examinations would be here making sure you have to choose cram over couch. So sleep well! Unless, you find a great book which keeps you hooked till 4.26 am. J

You miss your breakfast because you had to finish that book. This is bad for health but good for appetite for reading. Choose wisely :P

 

Of course, many a times you’ll end up hating yourself. Self-abnegation et al. It won’t be fun but it’ll use up some of the time. The important thing is you must have a project, any project that helps you kill time.

Make a diet chart. Plan an exercise regime. Let’s do it.

Forget all this and opt for the easiest and laziest option. Watch reruns of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. 

If someone asks you what’s going on, you tell them “I am ...

This time it's more than pitter-patter

I like the sound of pitter patter. Rabindranath Tagore called it "tapur-tupur". Raveena Tandon sang "tip-tip barsa pani". You can choose your own words. 
Like, rain is falling chama cham cham... actually this is clearly an understatement in Gujarat right now. Raining cats and dogs, if this expression can cover all the cats and dogs of the world.

3 years ago, before joining the college, I had asked a family friend, who had been studying here then, to describe Surat. She had said “it rains all the time”. I had shamelessly displayed all my incisors in ecstasy. Rains, I love.

It brings out the lazy, the foodie and the romantic in me. There’s the cool breeze that splashes the raindrops on your face. My lush green campus becomes oh so green! I lie in my bed all day long, cuddle with my pillow, imagining I’m on a bike ride and he stops to buy me a hot bhutta. Mushy daydreams aside, rains give me a craving for bhajiye and chai. There were days when I used to dance in rains. Whatever happened to that, I wonder? My nanaji’s anecdote pops into my mind. When he was young, whenever it rained, the school would be dismissed. I mean, isn’t that AWEsome!!

And this time the heavens poured just a couple of hours before my exams. And boy, did they pour! They had to actually announce that the exams have been postponed. I wake up because of the blaring noise that the public announcement system is, and I find my batch-mates dancing like peacocks. What a sight (And we are a bunch of clumsy gals). While panic was about to strike the city, a new lease of life was awarded to us students.

Then came the awkward moment when no one really knew what to do with this sudden freedom. And was it freedom indeed? I mean, we all knew we can shift+delete all the mugging. We can sleep. We can dance. We can yell.  We can do all that pleases us, within the threshold of the hostel. So this is going to be like stranded in the safe, albeit boring havens of H-12, the quintessential girls’ hostel.

And stranded we are. We have all the food, the water, the wifi- the basic necessities of everyday, mundane life. We can hop about, like a frog. We can go to each others’ rooms, to download into our external storage devices, the movies they have and we don’t have. We can listen to the radio; they are playing some of the sexiest songs of the 90’s. We can (as advised by our grey eminences and ignored by us all) utilise this time to study some more.

I, on my part, have been doing all this with a new found gusto. I am reading Agatha Christies. I’m day-dreaming big time. I’m eating all the biscuits and dry fruits I could hoard in this time of emergency. I’m listening to my favourite rain-song “Saawan barse tarse dil...♥”. I’m liking and commenting on facebook updates and uploads. I’m talking to my ma round the clock to know how much water has Ahmedabad received. I’m convincing my papa I’ll step carefully on the glazed tiles and through the water puddles and not slip/skid/fall like I’m prone to.  

Then there’s the municipality’s praise-worthy feats of cleaning and recovery that one hears about. There are also many crusades my fellow comrades are pursuing in an attempt to live their own version of Prison Break (read once again our safe havens of H-12J) I, myself, am thoroughly enjoying my days in the VIP cell: P

I would like to sign off now, with the hope that the rains will come to a stop and sunshine once again spread in our lives (literally as well as figuratively). Meanwhile, I advise all to list and listen to their favourite rain songs. J   

Status Quo

In each one of us, there is a dream to make it big. Some hit jackpot, while others do it step by step. We all want gold, in cash or in kind. Basically: top class job, sexy lifestyle!

And when that moment actually comes, when you cross the threshold of jitters to job, hassles to hired, panic to placed, the feeling is all you have. Amidst smiles, tears, hugs (and ass-kicks), you know you did it.

We do it for our parents, our siblings, ourselves. Years of hard work (or just work) seem to pay off. A new sense of self-respect seeps in .  Bole toh achievement ho gayi mamu!

Facebook updates, twitter tweets, dur ke rishtedaaron ka saalon baad telephone karna , mom-dad ka mohalle me mithai baatna and dear friends yelling "treat treat treat" all happen so suddenly, you realize life does change. 

So when yesterday I too got placed on-campus, the world expected an fb update. A juicy status update. Moreover, they wanted to post congratulatory messages on my timeline. That is, virtual hugs and kisses. And love.

And a self-invite to party. 

But, well, my timeline has posts by me only settings. And I didn't update any status. Nor did I change my profile pic to some pic with me in interview attire. Nor did my cover photo say "placed"/ "hired" . Nor did I use the hashtag of the company hiring me.

Why?

(Asked my friends in my mind and out loud)

Am I not happy? Of course, I am. 

Didn't I want this job? Of course I did.

Don't I want my fb friends fraternity to be happy for me. That's really your choice :-)

The truth is, for me, I'm still the same Vinti. The careless, pampered youngest child of my parents. The baby sis of my big brother. The fatty little, daydreaming, boastful gal of my gang. I still have the sames issues: weight and weighty ones. My aspirations still intact, purse still empty( and so chic! ;) ) 

Novels and gossips and Chandler Bing still rule my heart. 

Status: Status Quo. 

Sparsh 2013 : Episode I

NIT SURAT'S  ANNUAL SPRINGFEST: SPARSH

Whazzit

"Innaugral Nite"

The annual bubbling euphoria comes to the brim with the onset of this night. The techies: the teachers and the students come under the same umbrella  to celebrate SVNIT's SPARSH.

Encore is wished time and again.

A huge welcome to the effervescent plethora of performing arts is given . The last edition of Sparsh began with the entertaining concert by the upcoming youth icon , musician Rishabh Srivastava's energetic performances .

 The delightful crowd enjoyed the musical treat with delicious doses from food stalls strategically located near the entrance to the SAC ground; where the ground literally shook with enjoyement! 

And with this we get a promise for a scintillating showdown on the coming nites!!  

"Singing Nite"

The mellifluous engineers of the proud SVNIT present their serenades to fill the heart and ears with contentment. 

Solos, duets and group performances render the audience enraptured and wanting for more. The nite really brings out the baritone barons and nightingales among the technicians that we are.

This chapter of our institute helps us all to understand that life too is a song and we must remain in-tune to live it with beauty

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Other nites will be talked about soon