COVID and Game of Thrones Season 8

Game of Thrones ended with its final season in April 2019 and it gave birth to a lot of mixed emotions from its beloved fans worldwide. YouTube was filled with alternate ending theory videos, which to be honest, we all loved it more than the original. All through the show, we were given high expectations as to how the Night King would die or what the final battle between Jon and the Night King would be like but unfortunately, all these expectations were subverted just to annoy the fans and ardent followers of The Song of Ice and Fire books.

Image Courtesy — Google

Fast forward to 2020 and it seems like we are facing the same situation as GoT Season 8 — Subverting Expectations. The entire world was eagerly looking forward to an amazing new year only to have it subverted, thanks to the outbreak of a new virus that a certain nation with all its technological developments at its disposal, failed to identify and notify the world on time.

A good story is well appreciated by its character arcs and a strong fool-proof story line. That is exactly what appears to be happening around us given the steady rise in COVID-19 cases. I’m trying to draw a parallel here between expectations being subverted in GoT Season 8 and expectations being questioned and, in the end, what would win, assuming the fact that the actual Season 8 never happened.

The first 3 months of 2020 have been very apprehensive, given the relentless news articles about the exponentially rising cases worldwide, especially in India. There have been so many volunteers and NGOs who had got down on their feet and lent helping hands to the deprived in the form of food, water, and other essentials. Companies started informing employees that they would work from home if the threatening cases loom at them and it happened the same way. Most companies who have highly secured Banking projects were never used to work from home options as they were against their policies, but COVID-19 forced them to jump down the well and rescue its employees.

Expectations and requirements were really questioned by employees to their superiors as to how feasible this would become. Will they be providing laptops to everyone or will desktops be given? Will they provide router with LAN cables for internet connection and bear the costs of it? Will critical resources be provided with office chairs and other stationery items? There were so many questions popping in and out of employees’ minds, but we found happiness in the situation. We learnt to enjoy family time and started giving our all to the job at hand. We created our own expectations and even made it come true.

Image Courtesy — Bored Panda

This happened when GoT season 8 was about to be aired in April 2019. I think I speak for all the fans reading this. I am sure that even a couple of months before April, we all started questioning or more so guessing as to what would happen in Season 8. Off the top of our heads, we have doubts on how Jon snow would face the Night King and how the Battle would end. We would have all eagerly waited for the Arya-Jon reunion and imagined beautiful scenarios in our heads. And yes, how did we forget Daenerys Targaryen? Will she take the Throne? Will she marry Jon? Will she? Wont she? We were expecting answers for all these questions and to satiate our imaginations, lets face it, we would have watched almost a hundred YouTube videos on theories. Unfortunately, our expectations were subverted, and our favorite characters were given terrible endings and an even more terrible story arc.

Image Courtesy — Tumblr

Looking back on how our characters were developed from Season 1 and how they were ended in Season 8, we started creating our own theories, one that we like and would accept. 12 months later, we had to take matters into our own hands to protect our family and surroundings. Doctors and well wishers relentlessly advised us to be safe indoors and wear masks, sanitize ourselves while going out and to maintain social distancing. Industries worked overtime to manufacture and deliver masks and gloves to doctors and hospital workers but strangely, the numbers kept increasing.

Desperate situations call for desperate measures. The entire country had to go into a complete lockdown, only relaxing it to buy essential supplies, while maintain social distancing. 4 months into 2020 and we are already witnessing schools and universities cancelling exams and resorting to online classes for students. Racing against time to find a vaccine for COVID-19, we were able to see a greater number of recovery cases using plasma replacement from cured patients. Parents became extra careful when their kids wanted to play outside.

Image Courtesy — Graphic Medicine

Time.

Time brings out the best in us. A crunch in time brings out the utmost best in us. This is seen in ourselves in the form of creativity and innovation. That crunch in time made doctors treat an enormous number of patients with the available resources and materials and their skills outshone. Had the makers of Game of Thrones utilized the roughly 2 years that they had in hand, season 8 would have been a terrific success. No, I am not trying to bash GoT here but all I am trying to convey is that time really is money.

In this difficult phase of 2020, time should be treated like how a mother would treat her new-born after years of trying to conceive. Like a precious diamond. As jobs are being scraped, money is being drained from our pockets, food and water require replenishing — time stops for none. It keeps ticking.

Making use of this time to learn new skills, attain our goals and become a new self is something Nature has gifted us this year. Let us do that. We created our own ending for a bad final season of a TV show, why can’t we create our own path for a beautiful life?

Image Courtesy — Reddit

You would think the cases would reduce the next month, you would think that you will get another job by next week — expectations will be subverted or rather be stomped on but Time is on our side to make everything possible. Make it happen. Make the change.

Yanni, Humanity and Life

The world that we live in is a beautiful place. It’s not because of the cliched sound of the birds, wind blowing on our faces or the light streaming through your curtains into your bedroom. No. It is simply because of the people we have around us.

Yes. The people. Just look around you and look at the kinds of people that have made you who you are today. It can be anyone right from your mom to your house help.

There is your 60+ year old father reading the morning paper and looking at you over his thick-rimmed glasses, sighing that you never get up early in the morning. There is your mom rushing into your bedroom to open the curtains and giving you a pat on the back to wake you up. Your little sister pushing you to the edge of your bed so she can have the whole bed to herself.

All these beautiful moments make up your life. Your home. Your memories. Where does humanity come into the picture? Again, look at your mom. You just had 2 full bowls of custard after lunch and 2 hours later you are opening the fridge, eyeing that last custard bowl greedily knowing fully that it was meant for your mom after her hard day’s work. You look at her over the fridge door with those puppy-dog eyes and she smile and nods her head, beckoning you to take it. That is a little thread of humanity. The way she shows her love to you.

Ok…terming that as humanity is a little strange so I will name it as love. Earlier, love was just very superficial. We did not know the depth of it due to our busy lives and our tireless focus towards money, fame, and a comfortable lifestyle. Love and humanity are like inseparable twins who do different things but for a same goal. Let me go a little in detail with an example.

You might or might not have heard of Yanni. For starters, he is the one in the below picture.

Yanni

Doesn’t ring a bell? How about now?

Yanni in concert

Yeah. That’s him. Else just google him and you’ll know who I’m talking about. *wink* Anyhow, Yanni has touched millions of lives and hearts through his music, his heart and soul into his piano and most important of all, his humanitarian beliefs towards our Mother Earth.

His songs speak volumes about his own life, his beliefs, and his passion towards life as it is. He had assisted conservation efforts of the World Wildlife fund for Nature and even named Panda after one of his own songs denoting that Pandas were now adoptable.

I understood what was love when I started listening to Yanni. It was my brother who introduced me to his music when I was in the 12^th grade, admitted in the hospital, with measles. Nostalgia was the first piece that I heard and that was it. I was head-over-heels in love with his music. I had listened to several of his albums and musical pieces and there was no stopping me from then on. I had even tried to learn some of his masterpieces in my keyboard and luckily, I was able to learn a little of his genius works. I had even made Nostalgia as my ringtone. In later years, I read that he had written an autobiography called Yanni In Words which I then immediately purchased and started reading.

That was when I realized that Yanni was not only a terrific musician but also an amazing person. I will create a separate post about his book but I can safely say that Yanni is the reason that I’m still sane in whatever I do in my life.

Yanni and Santorini, the Panda; named after one of his world-famous showdown songs, Santorini and the insanely beautiful Greek Island, Santorini.

Humanity is scarcely found in recent times, but music can bring back the lost love through peace and happiness. This national and worldwide lock-down due to the outbreak of COVID-19 has taught us numerous lessons that we would not have learnt otherwise. We have learnt to be patient with our folks, considerate, empathetic and most importantly, happy.

Its no surprise that Dumbledore once said that “Happiness can be found at the darkest of times” but Yanni has also said that “Everything great that has ever happened to humanity has begun as a single though in someone’s mind, and if anyone of us is capable of such thoughts, then all of us has the same capacity, capability, because we’re all the same.”

Let us all have that small ounce of humanitarian quality in us. Small enough to let your husband sleep late after a hard day’s work without turning on the TV. Small enough to let your mom rest her legs on your lap so you can massage them after her hard day or work at home. Small enough to let your sister have that last bite of chocolate. Small enough to turn off your gadgets for just 30 minutes a day to keep up with your family jams.

Until later 🙂

 

The Man with the Pink Umbrella

 

And then a large man holding a pink umbrella stood peering amicably at me. I hesitated at first, but then I thought it could do me no harm. I made my way slowly towards him, trying to avoid any direct eye contact as much as possible because I really wished he would at least make an effort to drag his eyes off me and mind his own business.

In the darkness, with rain droplets dripping from the end of my umbrella, it made my vision blurry adding to the already foggy night. I kept inching my way towards him, stealthily, hoping not to catch him off guard. He kept standing there, not moving an inch for the past one hour since the incident happened.

By the time I reached him, the rain had stopped and the cold set in but it felt comforting when I stood near him, silently. He asked me after what seemed like hours, “Are you alright?” “Yes, I’m fine”, I whispered silently, nodding my head. From the corner of my eyes, I saw him folding his pink umbrella and tucking it under his elbow. He then gently got hold of my arm in one hand, held my umbrella in the other, closed his pink umbrella and led me towards our home.

I didn’t know what to expect from him at this point in time since I felt a little shudder run down my spine that shook my body a little. With his protective arm around me, I was sure he felt that shudder because the next thing I knew, I had his jacket around me.

“Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you”, came his voice suddenly in rasp swiftness and soothing at the same time.

“Hmm.”, I said in loss for words. “But I managed to chase them off so I could be safe”, I piped in, hoping to let him know I did something by myself, but he paid no heed.

“Don’t go anywhere without me or without telling me. I’m sure you knew I was there, few feet away from you”, came that ever protective voice I had always known since I met him.

“I just wanted to give it a try. To show you I can manage on my own”, I said, feebly trying to defend myself, well knowing it would not be of any use.

His phone rings.

“John, Where are you? I called home but no one answered. Where are you, man?”, shouted the voice on the other end of the phone.

“I’m out with Melissa”, replied my better half in a calm, yet controlled tone I had always admired in him.

“Out? What do you mean out with Melissa? Did she get up again? It’s 2 AM John, for the love of God!”, the voice rambled on not knowing that I could hear it.

“Mike, calm down. She’s fine and is next to me”, John said.

There was a complete moment of silence and all I could hear was our footsteps, the light raindrops and my heavy breathing coupled with the soft creaks of my crutches.

John hung up the phone without another word that left me wondering what it was that Mike was so worried about. I used only my left crutch and John was balancing the other side of me.

“John?”, I slowly called him. “Yes”, he said.

“Why am I out in the rain?”

“You’re not. You’re just dreaming again”

“No. I know I’m not dreaming. John, tell me. Why am I out of the house? When did I come here? What is this place?”

“Mel?”

“Yes John”

“Close your eyes and sleep. I’m right here with you, alright?”

“Sleep? John, are you crazy? We are out of our house now. How can I sleep here? We need to go home now. Are we there yet?”

“Mel”

“Yes”

“Forget what happened three years ago. We’re not there anymore. We are in Seattle, hale, healthy and happy. Now stay calm and go back to sleep. You’re about to roll off your bed.”

“You’re crazy, John. Seattle? What are you..”

“Mel!”, his voice was sterner than ever and that scared me a little. I felt myself quieten down, considerably.

I settled down and felt his arm around me. I knew something was wrong but I couldn’t exactly place it.  I felt his breath on me and the next thing I knew, I was peacefully sleeping.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! The phone vibrates on the bed side table. It was Mike.

“Has she gone back to sleep?” the message read.

“Yes. I just put her back to sleep.” John typed.

“Is she improving?”

“Better than yesterday. She must have remembered the incident, three years ago. She was pretty violent tonight.  She started screaming, yelling swear words and brandishing her arms and kicking. All at the same time. She is unable to distinguish between real and imaginary events”

“John, schizophrenia really is a serious disorder. Mum’s ‘accident’ has affected her so much that she can’t even realize that something like that had never happened. Why doesn’t she realize that it was Dad and not Mum?  Mum has been telling Mel, every time, that it was Mel and Dad who were in the car the night before the party. Why doesn’t she still realize it was Dad? Why does she seem to be chasing something or the other all the time? John, when will all this end? I really wish to see her back to her old self again”

“Mike, I know how you feel. It’s your sister. I’m your best friend, man. You know this will end soon. That’s why we’re leaving to New York for a long weekend to take her mind off things.”

“Alright John. I’ll meet you at the airport.”

In fond memory of the Bravest Man I ever knew.

 

Snape: So when the time comes, the boy must die?

Albus: Yes… Yes… He must die.

Snape: You’ve kept him alive so that he can die at the proper moment. You’ve been raising him like a pig for slaughter! But.. it’s her son!

Albus: Don’t tell me now that you’ve grown to care for the boy.

[Snape casts a Patronus in the shape of a doe, just like Lily’s]

Albus: Lily… After all this time?

Snape: Always.

---

It was Pongal. So, vacation time!

I was walking towards my platform at the Secunderabad Station eagerly waiting for the Pongal holidays. The station was so packed that I did not even have to make an effort to walk. I was looking for a hotel, above all those scampering heads, to buy my dinner. I got my parcel and got out of the hotel, when I just happened to give Harry Potter a little thought on re-reading.

I was thinking, “Poor Snape. How he risked his entire life for Harry’s safety from the Dark Lord despite being one of the most loyal servants of Voldemort..” since that was one of the most significant events that refused to leave my mind.

By then, my phone was crying for its hourly food of charge when I came to know the shocking and unexpected news about Alan Rickman.

---

Severus Snape is a fictional character in the Harry Potter Series, played so eloquently and convincingly by British Actor, Alan Rickman. J.K.Rowling personally handpicked Alan for the role, from her own reference of a teacher she disliked in her childhood, who taught her Chemistry and Snape taught Potions at Hogwarts. She described Snape as “a horrible teacher and the worst thing a teacher can do to his students is bully them”. Snape was actually named after the village Snape, Suffolk.

Ever since the books and movies came out, I had always considered Snape as the real hero, who fought against all odds to protect Harry from all kinds of danger, including from his own master, Voldemort.

The minute I heard the news of Alan’s passing, I sat there on a seat in the platform, wondering what in the world just happened. Tears welled up in my eyes and since my phone was also dead now, I couldn’t talk with my fellow HP fanatics about this incident. Just before my phone died, I pinged one of my friends, “Hey Alan Rickman died!” She was shocked to the bone as I was. Although Alan had acted in many other movies (which I had never seen), his portrayal as Snape in the movies and JKR’s depiction of him in the books were beyond perfection.

Snape’s true loyalty was one of the most significant questions in the series up until the last installment and his fierce love and devotion to Harry’s mother, Lily, was the foundation of that loyalty. Although he is depicted as being cold, harsh, painfully precise, sarcastic, bitter and always condescending Harry and his father, James, an another side of him showed him as deeply secretive, powerful, self-assured, confident, authoritative, full of himself and rarely at a loss for words or taken off guard which personally, is a type of character I admire in a person. He displayed the always-prepared stature, a very calm and a collected demeanor, however his temper always is short and gets the best of him when it concerns Harry and the owners of the Marauders Map.

Like other prominent members of Slytherin who are wicked, intelligent and cunning, Snape also exuded the same qualities but according to Rowling and me, he was one of the bravest and kind-hearted men ever.

No one could have loved Lily, as Snape had.

No one could have protected Harry because he was Lily’s son, by endangering his own life and memories, as Snape had.

No one could have felt more remorse while he killed Dumbledore the way Snape felt it.

You will be remembered ever so fondly, Alan.

Snape will live long, forever.

---

Harry: Hermione, give me a flask. Anything.

[She reaches into her bag and produces a flask, which Harry uses to collect the memory tears running down Snape’s cheek. He clutches the bottle in his hand then again tries to staunch Snape’s wound.]

Snape: Take them… Take them to the Pensieve… and look at me.

Snape: You have your mother’s eyes.

[A confused look crosses Harry’s face as Snape breathed his last.]

Makes you wanna cling onto everything you love..

There is something beautiful I feel whenever I listen to a song set in this Raag – Karna Ranjani..

Those of you familiar with Carnatic Music would be able to get what I’m trying to say.

It’s pretty hard to pen down what you feel and how you feel when you listen to music but this particular rendition by Ganesh-Kumaresh Duo on the violin is  spellbinding. It makes you, or rather me, literally wanna cling onto everything that I love close to my heart and reassure myself that everything is going to be just fine.

Just thought I had to write something about this..

 

Chennai Floods – How it was there and how it felt from here!

The past week had been horrendous as the “Detroit of India” faced the most dangerous and unexpected torrential rains – Yes, the Chennai Floods. The rains that might break a 100-year record as the highest amount received so far!

I’m sitting here, in Hyderabad, writing this post,  with an immense sense of relief knowing that my loved ones are safe and out of any unforeseeable danger.

Having been born and brought up in Chennai and witnessed all the best and bad moments all these 25 years, this has been the worst of them all, including and especially the Tsunami. Those who are from Chennai or are in Chennai now, will whole-heartedly agree with me on this.

Oct-Dec is Chennai’s usual North-East monsoon season or the retreating South-West monsoon (as commonly called), which gives abundant showers that suffices the crop cultivation for the next year, cools down the excessive temperature it had witnessed the past months and brings genuine joy to its inhabitants. I have experienced all such monsoons – waded through dangerously pot-hole-opened streets, played in those waters, eaten ice-creams, read novels with a steaming mug of coffee by the bedside or the veranda (which I absolutely love doing till date!), walked the roads with friends and just admired the beauty Chennai emanates, smelt the rain-soaked earth and I cannot even begin to explain the joy and fun I have had all through my school and college days, which I wont do now because its going to take up the whole post and moot the actual point.

Since early November, light to moderate showers had started as per seasonal schedule and as usual, Chennai was prepared. Or at least she thought so. But Nature apparently felt extremely bored and loved to test her “Tolerance” level this year but lost considerably to Chennai’s ever-existent resilience and people power. By people power, I really and honestly mean ONLY people power and not the Government. But last week, November 30th, something strange happened. It started raining weird. By weird, I mean the light flooding of the main arterial roads like GT Road, high level roads and strong windy showers. By evening, Bay of Bengal saw sudden depression and the coasts started flooding.

We thought it was going to look like another Tsunami, but thankfully it was not. But hey, it wasn’t good either. By Monday night, if I’m not wrong, the city suddenly plunged into darkness. Assuming it was the usual power cuts that occurs, people were still prepared waiting for it to come back in the middle of the night. They woke up to Tuesday morning with no power and an addition – to street floods. Simultaneously, line-by-line, power went out starting from the main city to deepest of villages, disconnecting the entire State from outside world, till yesterday evening when certain areas started to receive them depending on the intensity of the water draining.

I cannot give you first-hand experience of the rain because, fortunately or unfortunately, I was not there. But from what I saw in the News, I can tell you this – it was absolutely horrifying!. Water level started increasing to dangerous levels and people ran out of food and out of their houses. Low-level houses were completely submerged, cars overturned or stacked one on top of the other and even stuck in one of the many opened pot-holes making the main roads completely inaccessible. Bikes, buses, trains and even flights, for crying out loud, became mere objects of no use. The Chennai Airport became flooded, which was the main thing that shocked me. Water started seeping into the Airport’s waiting lounges from the flooded runways, which was apparently constructed on top of a water body. By Tuesday evening/early Wednesday morning, things became worse – ​bridges and dams gave way due to over flooding beyond its retention capacity causing water to seep into the mainland sparing not even a single road in the entire State; even highways connecting Chennai to southern districts.

Boats emerged with the Indian Navy manning them and soon, Ola, Uber and NTL got their boats and started rescuing stranded people from their homes to relief centers. Food and basic necessities started diminishing at an alarming rate by Tuesday midnight and people, literally had nothing to eat, drink or wear drier clothes. Chennai felt helpless and now to top it all, it was named a “Disaster Zone” due to no fault of it.

But to the relief of all, the youngsters started taking matters into their own hands. Volunteers emerged; the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) came as a blessing to the civilians. Army officials started pouring into the city, spreading themselves all across the State to start rescue operations immediately before something else happens. Social Media – especially Facebook and Twitter saw a boom in SOS cries. News Channels like India Today began calling Ministers on their phones who, apparently had other “pressing” issues. There was still no power and now, the telephones and ATM joined them. All mobile phone signals and landlines were gone and ATMs stopped chugging out cash and transport was possible only by foot.

The skies suddenly saw choppers all over rescuing people ranging from pregnant women, disabled elders, school children, and even pets. Food started draining out. Vegetable markets were completely under water. Price of basic commodities sky-rocketed. And the water, was still coming in making the State, look like an island from an Aerial view.

Something had to be done and the Govt still were in another world. Wednesday evening saw theaters and shopping malls open to public despite the flooding, providing shelter to everyone that needed them. Relief materials like food packets, biscuits, water bottles, medicines, dry clothes, toothbrushes, tooth pastes, soaps, towels, rice, wheat, vegetables, fruits, milk and even some cash was donated by people from other states, even from NRIs abroad. Students even started cooking meals for three times a day, all by themselves. RJs and Actors took to the road and started managing end-to-end of sending all these materials to the affected by keeping track of Social media requests, suggestions, phone numbers, addresses, etc. Some of my friends even took the pain to visit their other abroad friends’ family by foot to check on them. One of the best, were the collated information of details in the form of Google docs that made life a little easier.

Thursday and Friday still saw no luck on the power front but Social Media were still covering everything, that Indian Media should have. Facebook saw students from all over the world trying desperately to get in touch with their elderly parents, their friends and to know the level of water stagnation in their respective areas. Flights were cancelled. Railway tracks looked like another lake. Corporate companies saw water inside their buildings.There were more people seen on terraces than inside their houses or streets. It was a depressing sight. Truly.

But Chennai managed to get back up despite all this with the power of its people, the humanity that still prevails and of course, full support from its own who are helpless in other parts of the world. Though not fully restored to normalcy obviously, but it is at least limping its way towards it. I can assure and reassure myself that Chennai could withstand anything and everything that Nature throws at us, even without a single support from the Govt.

Friday evening blessed the city with power in most areas helping me to finally talk to my mum and friends which was relieving to a great extent but the first hand encounters they told me on how they faced the rains and flood, were truly scary.

On a more lighter and a happier note, this was what the Army officials had to say after all the work they had done  – “Chennai is the only place where we saw more volunteers than victims!” – A Proud moment for us!

So, what did this teach us?

This and only this.

“Humanity Wins Over Everything Else.”

Until later! 🙂

The Unheard Language.

Want to invite someone over? You pick up the phone and call them and you hear them.
Want something to eat? You go to the kitchen and ask your mom to prepare something for you and you hear her.
Want to stop your brother from hitting you? You go shout at him. He shouts back at you and you can hear it as well.

It’s very easy isn’t it? You being able to listen to what the other person is trying to tell you.

Now, what about the people who wake up every morning just to realize over and over again that they can’t hear anything at all?
What is it like for them?
They desperately want to hear someone wish them “Good Morning,sweets!” but all you can see is someone moving their lips.

I was at a major bus terminus called Majestic Bus Stand here in Bangalore, restlessly waiting for my bus home. It was pretty late in the evening and my hunger pangs were getting the better of me. To top it all, it was raining.

I was listening to some soothing piano musical pieces in my phone that was an add-on to the rain when I saw 2 college/high school students – a guy sitting on a bench in the platform and a girl his age standing in front of him. Both of them were waving their hands aggressively towards each other and their lips also moved occasionally.

I knew what kind of people they were but I didn’t know what they were talking about. I plugged out my earphones to observe them. Amidst the din in the bus stand, it was pretty pleasant to see two people converse with each other in such a delicate manner.

What I observed..
1. There was no sign of ‘evident’ negative emotions on their faces (anger, frustration, irritation, etc)
2. Quick and subtle hand movements could be seen, rapidly and quickly acknowledged by the other.
3. Expressions played magic on their faces and their lips making what they wanted to convey much easier (for them).
4. Silence could speak much more than we intend to.
5. Emotions and feelings were expressed much more easily and if hurt, could be bounced back to normal by genuine expressions saying “I’m really sorry” or “I really love you” using hands and eyes. Especially eyes.

Both of them found it easier to understand each other when their mouth was not doing the primary job of talking. All kinds of emotions were put to work without any kind of bias or cynicism. Normal people like us would do anything to hurt the opponent through words and putting them in an even worse position for having to listen to us (the other way round is also possible), but this is something I wish could happen to me. Happy, sad, angry, questioning, doubt, day, night, please, excuse me, sorry.. You tell me. Everything is said with the help of the 10 fingers and all the facial muscles. This is what I really call as’Expression speaks’

The last 2 days, I had found quite a lot of people this way and I feel this as a much better way to converse genuinely to one another. I found it pleasing and soft in the inside.

Until later! 🙂

Cheers!

Closing.. Closing.. Closing.. CLOSED!

Hey all ! It’s been awhile since I posted anything here! Feels great to be back. Anyways, I have a pretty good topic to talk about here and I’m sure, at least some of you would approve of it.

You have been in your neighborhood for some time now and you know the shops, malls, smaller kiosks, schools, teaching centers etc etc around your home. I’ve been in Bangalore for about 6 months now and I see the surroundings utterly different from where I actually come from,Chennai. (Btw,I’m always a Chennai-ite) Anyways, the thing is, even though I’m a shut-myself-inside-my-home kind of girl, I know that some places, will always be there, however harsh the society around changes. One such place that I always love to go to, is MY LIBRARY.

Around my neighbourhood, West Mambalam, I know about 6 to 7 libraries that open at 9 in the morning and do not close until 10 in the night. Just passing by a library, even if I don’t have to borrow a book, feels so good and comforting. One such library, or say, a bookstore (that’s what they call), is about to close permanently and shift to a better place (I hope so). This is not a good news. NO. Not for people who love the rustic ambience, the feel of old yellow pages, its tattered corners, the racks and racks of books and journals that beckon us to stay close to the shelves, the tables and chairs that has people pouring into the pages, smiling unknowingly and sometimes, small outbursts like banging the table.. (Yeah, we all know that feel!).. No.. It sure is not a good news.

Here in Bangalore, I have not seen yet, a library or a book store that gives such an ambience, like the Landmark in Nungambakkam (about to close,sadly) in Chennai, Higginbothams in Mount Road, all the book stores in Airports (Oh, how I love those places.. I’ll come to that later). Amidst all the hustle and bustle in Chennai, with the sweatiness in this summer, there are few people who make it a point to stop by these places of comfort, just to buy a 10 Rs Kalki, Ananda Vigadan and the like, and the 7-8 Rs Archies, Tinkles, Nancy Drew’s and big novels! But in Bangalore, I’ve seen people with ipads and tablets and kids making a racket in libraries.. even the librarian shouts at the top of his voice, trying to bargain with customers for the borrowing price of the books.. Ufff, the irritation! The whole point of visiting a library is defeated. And they try (very hard) to stay quiet and sophisticated in crowded malls! Double ufff,the people here!

So, just a news of a small book store closing gives people like me the heebie-jeebiees. With the world spinning around with ipads, mobiles, kindles on its axis, real and genuine shops like these go into oblivion. Big shots have to understand that there are people who still prefer paperbacks to digital versions and bookstores and libraries, most of all. However old they get, the bond and the memories and the feel come back gushing to them in places like these. Friendships made in libraries, I’ve heard, lasts the longest and strongest. I don’t know how far this is true, but I like the thought. If one starts, the others are bound to follow suit and before you can realize what’s happening, there won’t be any places like these to talk about or to go to. How can elders tell us to teach our kids to read more books and visit more libraries, when none might exist when they actually come into the world ? Surely we cannot ask them to read from electronic kindles and e-books at the age of 5 for bed-time stories.

Recently I went to Chennai and to my good old library near my house, to just, pay a visit.

The librarian there asked, “Where have you been all these days ? Aren’t you gonna borrow books ? Doesn’t Amma want the latest edition of Kalki ?”

I said,” Anna, I have cancelled the membership with your library because I have moved to Bangalore for my higher studies. Your assistant closed my account.”

He said,” Oh no! I have lost yet another regular customer. (He’s not a money-only-in-mind kind of a person). Do you want to buy any books today ? I can order it for you, if it is not there, so you can collect it the next time you come here.”

I didn’t know what to say. I never knew he knew me so well with the kind of  books I and my mom buy. Whenever I go there, I feel a sense of solitude, a sense of calmness and how ever long I stay crouched beneath those shelves, my library Anna knows exactly when I would leave with what sort of books. He would also give me few extra books for free, if I buy more than 5 or 6 novels. So, tags along my favorite Archies, for which I rarely pay!

 

There are so many memories that a bookworm like me has with book stores and libraries. I really wish the others don’t follow suit of Landmark, Nungambakkam. Let’s all join hands for more book stores and libraries to come up and maintain and cherish the old one’s for Pete’s sake!

I’m done for now. I have 2 books to complete now, which I have no faintest idea as to when I would finish. Curse my college routines! My to-read shelf is bursting.

P.S: I mentioned the Airport book stores above. Oh I just love to spend my waiting time there. Obviously and sadly, I won’t have the money to buy a book but I just go there to update my to-read shelf and listen to reviews from other waiting passengers. The usual tired-of waiting feel vanishes and the feel of hushed voices of parents deciding to buy children’s books for their toddlers in their trams, youngsters filling their bags with newly purchased books, guys sitting in waiting lounges and reading the newly-bought book, sets in.

Ummm.. Gotta run! I hear shouts from the other room!

And oh, I almost forgot. That feel when you sit by the window, legs pulled up, and you ease behind with a paperback, listening to the occasional dog barks, smell of earth indicating immediate drizzles and downpour of rain, dry leaves gushing into your room through the open window and sometimes you’ll use it as a book-mark.. Heaven-on-earth feel!

I should REALLY go now! Curse you,reality! (pounding fists madly in air)

Buhbye! Long live books and libraries!!

Cheers! Until next time!

 

 

Everything looks different, yet same…

The next stage of life. No. Not marriage. Studies again! A more professional kind of study..

Its a new city. Not much for me exactly but the environment and ambience is different. Away from friends. Yes that’s one thing that was so not expected. The comfort life I lived in with them. Being with them and laughing my stomach out. Sleepovers. Oh! How much I miss that! I used to tell my friends how independent I try to be but when reality hits me, it hits real hard. Like a sound knock on my head telling, “WAKE UP! You’ve got real things to do and achieve!”

Honestly speaking, I have been in a trance all these days in my UG. I just went along where the track lead me. Once in awhile, I go that extra mile to do something I really wanted but it never turned out the way i wanted it to be. It never does, does it ?!

Its different here (I’m in bangalore for my PG) yet just the same. Friends are different but they behave the same. Happenings are different but the results are same. Before I came here, as usual, I imagined (might have done a tad too much – always do) that things are going to go easy. That I would change how I was before into how I want to be. Now, its taking a shape. 🙂 Maybe irregular, but a shape.

So far things are going really good, I should say. 🙂 I’m getting so much exposure I never thought I would get. So many new friends and fun with each other and I’m trying to take the first step of destroying my comfort zone. I have trouble making friends (real ones, I mean) but as the saying goes, You have to jump into the river to learn to swim. I have jumped into the river of discomfort to get comfortable, swimming.

Getting to know people through various situations is just plain amazing! Yeah, I still don’t know how to react to it outwardly (I still have no idea when I’m going to learn it) but its fun. Motivational speeches always go into one ear and out through the other but now, it stays. Or rather, I make it stay. It still lingers inside me and I have made it a point to actually follow it.

Things to do before I die…

Loved this particular concept in the movie “Anjaana Anjaani” and it actually stuck to me. But in the past two days I have learnt the greatest importance of this in an individual’s life. Who really has time to write those goals/things you want to achieve in a piece of paper ? I did. And reading all those makes me want to try achieving that before I leave. Of the many, I have few very realistic and close-to-my-heart dreams that probably deserves taking shape and I want to be there and see it when it happens. Everybody started doing that because the race has already started.

There’s a small line of difference between wanting to do something and dreaming of doing something. That difference is what’s going to show you who you are. 🙂

“You have to be put under discomfort, to get comfortable” – Someone said.

 

 

See u later 🙂

 

The Unforgettable 4 years…

This is my first post about my college life. So it will go on for a while but i’ll try my level best to keep u interested… 🙂

I still remember my first in college. The funniest moment in my life. Just like all 12th passed-out students, I had great great expectations that my college life was going to be amaaziing.. Awesome-green campus, beautiful architecture of buildings, cool buses, big canteen with yummy food, pretty gals with lovely new dresses (minimum 50 to max 100 will be required) 😛 that they might have bought especially for college life (repetition strictly not allowed), and guys zooming across on their bikes to.. uhmm.. impress girls?! Obviously 😛 HAHA just kidding ! 🙂 Anyway, I DID have those expectations but it never was like what I have mentioned above. But it was fun though..

First day : Our new college bus was packed with freshers and their parents with anxious faces about how the college was going to be. But I sensed none of those similar feelings on the students’ faces. Not in the bus. Inside the college, Definitely YES ! Lemme get to that shortly.. So the Orientation day was over with great “inspirational speeches” by few famous heads.. (I still don’t know who they are. I probably never will !) and we had great food that made my happiness linger till I got home that evening.

Second day : There’s a saying “Good things does not last long”. I had the same feeling. Me and my friend entered my college, heaving our bags full of books needed for that semester ( childish right ? :P) and marched straight into the canteen without having a care in the world as to where our classroom might be. We dint even care to make friends or to even recognize the faces we saw on the orientation day. We had 2 dosas each and a soft drink and the next few minutes, we spent on “gazing” at the beauty of my college “campus”.

There was one building and we thought there would be more somewhere close by. And that’s where we were so wrong. There was just dry land as far as my eyes could see. It was hot that day yet we tried looking for “the campus” but we just couldn’t find any.! Just that one building with few trees growing nearby.. rest all was sand.. just sand !

Third day till date : The classroom was filled with chitter-chatters. Complete with girls and boys I was then completely a stranger to. We both filled the 4th bench in the middle row. We were spanked by a row full of other girls on our left and two rows full of boys on our right. That moment, I have to say, was truly awesome.! I thought,”WOW, I’m a college girl. I’m actually going to be a typical college material ” We chattered on about our orientation day experience, shared our names and phone numbers and I actually took a very long time to register the names and faces. I dint know my own classmates’ names thoroughly until I came to the 2nd yr 4th semester. ( especially the boys). Introductions of our names and our whereabouts were made to all the teachers that came in. I was excited. I really looked forward to how my college was gonna treat me. It treated me well. Really well !

Keeping aside the pleasantaries, our classes started much to our despise. I thought I had to study hard only till my 12th to get a good college and I was wrong again. The subjects they took were completely greek and latin and I take about the entire semester to get the names of the subjects I read, right. I still don’t remember the subject names let alone what I studied.

Leave academics. LIFE : I learnt a hell lot otherwise. Right from the beginning of my college life, I had a few rough patches with one of my friends whom I was (still am) really possessive on. That incident completely changed my life. My life took a rather unnatural, unintended and yes, unexpected turn that I learnt to live with now. I am going to be 22 now and I am actually able to handle big changes in life however hard its gonna hit me but back then, 4 yrs ago, I was just turning 18. I dint know what to do and what not to do and how to handle things and people. And so that incident struck hard into my delicate heart which really is tough to forget about.

FRIENDS : Probably the best I could ever get. As a kid, I never mingle freely with people. I look at someone new, automatically I take a step or two backwards – both physically and emotionally. But with these friends, I was myself around them. I felt completely different. At school, I used to roam with just a handful of friends. I was not used to being with “gang friends” but I came into one eventually. And I loved that ONE GANG. We didn’t keep any gang name but I call it “OUR GANG” .We had fun TO THE CORE I can say, with them and with the rest of the girls and soon we became ONE.

I still remember one day where I was caught red-handed with a spoon of fried rice in my mouth by my DPSD mam. The moment she turned her eyes away from me, I gobbled up that lump making me unable to even smile at the friend making fun of me next to me. 😛 That was fun. And the time we were shifted to the green building with full A/C and the fun we had playing hide and seek during lunch time. And yes! Culturals and sports day. How did I miss that!

The highlight of our college life was these culturals and sports day events taking place every even semester. I sung solo songs and group songs every cultural and we had ultimate fun. We used to decide what dress to wear and what matching accessories we could use. We had our first batch of seniors then so our fun was immeasurable. Yes. We were only two batches of students when I was in 1st yr so there was nobody to stop us ! We used to whistle and scream hard during dance shows and we used to get free grape juice every sports day. A combo of sweet and a samosa would be given to us on culturals too!

 

And the trips I should speak of. Those IV’s we went for to Pondicherry, ISRO etc was terrific fun. Especially inside the bus! The class dances we have during lunch breaks. We also gave Gangnam style a try and it came out fantabulous. I still remember the day – April 11,2013. Those lab hour chats, corridor fun ( I remember one day tripping over a non-dust rubber and falling head-first on the mosaic floor in the green building. the GRUDGE EFFECT CORRIDOR as I often call it 😛 ) Our occasional, most of the time, regretful visits to the main campus for training classes for placements. Those walks on the newly-paved footpath to and fro buildings (now 3 in number :D) where I often trip and fall down. The recent trip to beach and city center mall with my classmates is worth remembering till the very end. Those sleepy seminars we had in the conference hall. Those fan-fighting moments I had with my friends. YES! I was made the fan operator and I never got air whatsoever. Ironic isn’t it ?! Those endless photo sessions we used to have both during class and during outings. That MGM trip I had with my gang of friends. We also saw a movie EPIC-3D with friends and that was pure fun. I could go on guys cuz its college life…! Ok Fine. Not to mention semester days. I dont really remember study days because I hardly ever study. And those after-effect days of results of our exams. I hate that feeling. Just hate it. But everything was worth it till the end…

And now.. today..

We started experiencing rifts among us friends. People started fighting for silly things. Ego was at its peak. First, it was the seniors farewell. It really was a tearful one because I still feel we had THE BEST seniors EVER any juniors could get. So helpful and so fun filled and yes.. some of us who literally attached some of their feeling to seniors, had a tough time letting go of them. And that was when our so-long-divided-class got re-united. I can say that was THE BEST MOMENT in my college life. Unforgettable. Then the juniors came but I couldnt see the fun any longer. No offense to anyone but I just couldnt.

Post exams and placements, we started giving out emotional speeches in our class as to where we would see ourselves in the next 5 years. That was so not good. I couldnt bear to see the people I love the most leave permanently. I hated that void feeling that creeps inside me when I miss a person so badly. I knew this day would come and that is why I wasn’t too attached to my friends. Once I did, they will surely leave me at some point or the other. This change is eventual, I knew, but I didn’t want to take it into my heart. I couldn’t handle it.

 

But that day came too…

 

I went to college today only to find one of my friends leaving to her native. I knew. That moment was forever. She introduced us to her parents and her relatives and that they were leaving that afternoon. Friends around me started saying, “Keep in touch ya. Dont forget us” and the like. But I didn’t know what to say. I suck at expressing feelings so I just stood there doing nothing but to just see her wave us goodbye. Then I knew the moment had come.. the moment I dreaded! Parting ways… I’m not going to write beyond this..

Those 4 yrs.. those yrs that I would never ever get again in my life.. had ended. I regret I didn’t make the best out of it but I’m happy for what it all taught me. Both inside and outside the campus. With friends both inside and outside campus. Yes. I’m happy for how the college has made me what I am today. Yes. I’m happy for all the memories it created for me – good and bad and the WORST. Yes. I’m happy extremely for all the life lessons that I have learnt so far and now.. It has made me ready for the lessons I will be learning in the near and distant future…

And now I’m talking to u my friends.. my college and classmates.. and all other mates out there !! U people better keep in touch.

And with all these mixed feelings, I sign off!

#written-right-from-my-heart

Cheers guys 🙂