Saturday, June 24, 2006

GEN ARBIT UPDATE

Imagine no net,no TV after 10,no newspaper,no cell phone during working hours {assuming I work that is},no people around your house.Come outside the quarters and see a full fledged village replete with cattle walking on roads ,vendors selling "aamblet and aaf boil ", fish markets,town bus,monthly fair etc.This has been my life for the past few weeks.Two more weeks and I will be done with this intern stuff.I am literally killing time thanks to the extended sleeping hours in the afternoon ,football matches before 10 pm,fart sessions with room mates,some good books etc.Actually absence of newspaper is a huge handicap as I am literally cut off from the world.I just cant think of any possible reason for the prohibition or absence or whatever of the newspapers.I have to depend on my mobile for every damn thing.This has resulted in the message counter showing 10500 sent messages right now as against 8000 odd on May 16th,the 1st day of interns. We finally got our swimming passes after
weeks of dillydallying and as ill luck would have it I ended up with severe cold after 2 days.The worst part is that I have been advised against using the pool.So my plans of being in the water have gone down the drain or shall I say have been watered away!

I suppose I have to get used to such a lifestyle as life after getting placed will in all probability be an extension of the same. Work on weekdays,wash clothes and press them on weekends and also travel long distances,going home only for a few days etc.I haven't bunked a single day inspite of waking up with totally zuk enthu on many days.Actually I have realized that I can attend 6 weeks without sleeping during the working hours.Yo man!Of course books and newspapers have been the main weapons in keeping sleep at bay but atleast I have the satisfaction of proclaiming from rooftops that I havent slept or bunked.I hope I dont squander away the momentum because next sem the class strength will not exceed 20 and will be as low as 9 in some courses. The lovely days of getting and sending smses at 7:55 AM with the golden words "Macha put proxy da" will be thrown into the coffin soon .The obvious replies "Macha I am already putting for 3 da.Ask XYZ" will also follow suit.I cant even sleep in the last bench with just 20 people and so its better to attend the remaining 2 weeks also without bunking and sleeping.I hope I am adequately geared for the personal attention by the Profs by the end of this summer intern.

The saddest part has been the quality of the food which has been detiorating.I surely can't imagine anyone having kachori-chana,chapathi-raitha or pav bhaji for breakfast.On second thoughts I guess only South Indians find this queer.Of course for a guy used to Himalayan food this should not be a problem.Lunch has been the only saving grace and continues to be fabulous.There is another thing which is supposedly very good but is of absolutely no significance for/to me.{Kindly let me know people.Do we use for or to there}It is the booze rates.Liqour is sold at half the rates thanks to the zero tax .If there are any takers for quality foreign booze at cheap rates let me know :P.

6 weeks have passed away.The first 2 weeks were very painful and irritating mainly due to boredom. Actually I fear loneliness and boredom, when they are together that is.Its one of my phobias apart from human anatomy.The advent of some books has killed the boredom to some extent.The best part is that my novel reading pace has increased a lot.The library here is awesome and boasts of quality literature and has many classics and best sellers in its shelves.I hope to cash in on this for the next 2 weeks.Otherwise there is nothing much to be written about the project.Eagerly looking forward to rushing through the next two weeks and getting back to Hyd on 9th for a 20 day vacation.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

10 SIMPLE PLEASURES

I was tagged by Asha.Its called some ten simple pleasures in life.I dont think I can post it in the order of preference.I guess I am one of the last guys to post this .Even that intro tag was posted by me last December ,a good 4-5 months after it was being tossed around in the blogosphere.So I think many things will be found else where too.Lemme give it a shot-

1) Sit on the Bessie beach after some 10 in the night without any worries in life {Till the police shoos me away at 12.It did happen on a couple of occasions }

2) Eat Paruppu Kuzhambu cooked by Mom,Vetha kuzhambu cooked by Dad,Maggi noodles by Sis and kesari by Paati.

3) Simply sit and chat with my Mom.

4) Watch Sachin Tendulkar in full form.A morbid passion is to see Abdur Razzak's face bleeding on being hit by Sachin's lofted drives :P

5) Watch some old Hindi or Tam movie starring Big B/Dev Anand/Dharamendra or MGR/Sivaji with my Dad and discuss the dialogues{Hindi} and songs {Tam}.I am a huge fan of Big B and he is a huge fan of MGR.

6) Visit the temples of Kumbakonam with cousins and take bath at a pump-set in the nearby fields.

7) A walk in my colony with friends after the rain has stopped and have pani puri (or) Go on a long drive with beshtu buddies in some car with myself behind the wheels.

8) Hum and sometimes loudly sing desi film songs.If I am taking bath and you are in the vicinity ,kindly plug your ears.

9) Sit in my room on a hot summer afternoon,switch on the AC,take out the photo album and look at my old photos.

10) Reading a good book in the night with gentle ,mellifluous music wafting.

Will add one more -11) Making faces,karaoke singing,aping the thalam {hand movements} and teasing sis and Mom when they are practicing Carnatic music.

Obviously this is not an exhaustive list.The ones that came to my mind readily have been posted.I dont wish to tag anyone because almost all my readers have finished theirs.