Updates

I know, I know, it's been a while. A new year has started and all that. I just couldn't bring myself to write and even now, I have the feeling I'll be writing in bullet points, which is something I don't want to do. But let's see. Many mental posts were written but never published. For e.g., I wanted to write on Taare Zameen Par, (like every other blogger has I'm sure), about the thoughts that sprung from reading Sudha's post on Flowers for Algernon mingled with emotions brought up by TZP. After watching Darsheel Safary's interview, I do feel a little cheated that a 11 year old was playing an 8 year old boy, but I guess that only goes to show the depth of his acting ability. Uppu had warned me that the movie had brought tears to his eyes, and in spite of being warned, I frequently found myself teary-eyed and overcome with the urge to just gather the little boy in my arms and comfort him. That DS' acting was much more than convincing should be apparent through this incident at the cinema hall - around 7-8 college students sat in a row a few rows ahead, and began cheering wildly the minute Aamir Khan's name was flashed on the screen... during the beginning too, they made stupid jokes about the boy and laughed raucously, but soon enough they shut up and remained quiet until the ending (except of course when Aamir, the clown came in). I think what I liked best was how the music matched the mood of the movie at every moment, especially the song Maa... it just broke my heart into pieces - 'Kya Itna Bura Hoon Main Maa?' And of course, the mother knows, mom radar never does fail and you can see her pain too. I loved the 'Jame Raho' song too, and how they show the little kid waking up, taking his own sweet time staring into space. Well, yes, I do like it because I do the same things, but still :) Sudha's post did make me think during the movie, about how easily we laugh at others who're 'not as smart' as we are. I remember a nasty 'make a sentence' I had made about a girl who always used to fail in class and how my teacher had said it was wrong of me to do so. I really was proud and arrogant then, but now having spent 6 years competing with people who're much smarter than I am and having endured relative grading, I can empathise more easily with the bottom segment now... or so I think.


T: T's mom suffered a brain haemorrhage but is now stable. The wedding that she had planned for months is now taking place but she won't be able to attend it. I pray that she gets better soon inshallah, their family has suffered a lot already.

Benazir: We sat in our MSHTP class with our laptops open, the professor firing away as usual when someone sitting on my left nudged me and said 'Bhutto's been killed'. My first reaction was, 'What crap! That's not possible'. And then I hurriedly clicked on news.google and saw 'Bhutto injured in bomb blast' and I said 'See? She's just been injured' and then I read more reports... the denial was not because I've been a fan of hers, but just because she's such a larger than life figure and it just could not be that she was dead! So quickly, so instantly, poof and a life's gone. I was outraged without knowing why and I felt so sad for the Pakistani people. Not that she was a superior alternative but just that she was at least an alternative. The Times of India, I think, summed it up perfectly in a headline called 'Hope Dies'. I spent the rest of the class just popping from one news report to another, still quite dazed. (Which reminds me how I was _not_ dazed when our dear Modiman won again. But I guess his victory this time should be less of a shock than his victory the previous time. They do say that the past 5 years were the only time when there were no riots in Gujarat's history. Of course, I suppose it doesn't matter that a strict barrier now divides the Hindus and Muslims in many areas and many live in fear. Also, a number of people have drawn up interesting comparisons with Hitler wrt their similar rise in power).

MSHTP: MSHTP stands for Marketing Strategies for High Technology Products. The prof. was one of the most dynamic guys I've ever seen and a master of many trades. Sure, he was a show-off but he could keep my attention and that means something. He, along with his student at MICA, apparently designed a campaign to build the 'Bullet' brand and he also penned an article on the Bullet for Autocar India. He sure has a way with words and I just couldn't get the following (italicized) lines out of my head:

Forget the techies, forget the doomsayers. Forget even the manufacturer, they don't know what a wonderful bike the Bullet is. All said and done, a Bullet will never let you down on the highways which are its natural habitat. On city roads it rides in a lackluster, protesting way. Even if it does stop, a village mechanic with a six pound sledgehammer and a crowbar can soon set it right. One does not buy a Bullet for transport, show or performance, one buys it because one loves what motorcycling stands for: individuality, independence, an eternal love of tinkering and of course adventure and the sound of untrammeled wind in one's ears.

Listen to the Bike baba. What one needs is a disciplined right fist, boorts, gloves and a helmet.Someone to love, plenty of gas and an eye for beauty in man, machine and wind. The wisdom of the ages decrees that those who have this will travel far indeed and attain Nirvana on the Pony Trail.

Such passion! Such individuality in writing and sigh... what imagery. If an article can arouse such emotions in me, in someone who can't even drive a scooterette, forget a bike, I can only imagine how an actual Bullet owner/rider would feel.



"Consider wheat, chocolate and soap haraam for you": Words of my latest dermatologist. A man who sat with two other doctors in a tiny room, making silly jokes with all of his patients. With me, it went something like this:

'So, where are you from?' and then he tried some telugu on me which didn't register because, firstly, I was too preoccupied in trying to sit down on a stool that was tied to the table and secondly, I was half asleep because it was 9 in the morning and I hadn't slept well at all the previous night.

Then the gentilman beside him noticed my tshirt and asked, 'Are you from the IIM?' and when I replied in the affirmative, Mr. Main Doctor, let's call him Dr. S. said 'So how much are you worth? 70 lakhs?' There was some discussion about the media hype over salaries and how what we got finally was much lower.

Dr. S: 'So what kind of job do you want to do?'
Me: 'Consulting'
Dr. S: 'Consulting?'
Me: 'Strategy consulting'
Dr. S: 'What's that?'
Third doctor sitting in a corner, let's call him no. 3: 'She'll set up a business for you and tell you how to run it'
Dr. S: 'So you'll get a cut out of the profits?'
Me: 'Sir, if I join a company I probably will get only a fixed salary...'
No. 3 (interrupting) : 'Even if she ruins your business, she'll get her salary, don't worry'
(The three of them start laughing and I sit like a fool)
Dr. S (pointing to my copy of Economic Times that's now lying on the table with my bag): Look at that. These people no, no quran for them, no bible, this is their bible!
(They laugh again. I pretend to heehee)
Dr. S (ignoring the tests I was thrusting into his face): 'So ma, are you married?'
Me: No, sir
Dr. S: 'Don't say no, say not yet' Hehehehe
Fellow doctors go hehehee
Dr. S: 'So why are you not married? Have you found someone?'
Me: 'Err.. no sir.'
Dr. S: 'How old are you?'
Me: __ sir
Dr. S: 'See, my colleague here, his son is doing medicine, will you be interested?'
Me: Uhh...
Dr. S turns to father-of-son and mutters, 'She'll be older than him no? But it's okay, Prophet Muhammad.. didn't he marry Fatima, she was older than him?' FoS corrects him and says 'Khadija, not Fatima', 'Yeah, yeah, her only'
Dr. S then turns to me and says, 'So how do you like Calicut? You're going to settle down here only'
Me: 'Uhh.. I like it sir.'
Dr. S: 'How do you like the men here?
Me: 'Uhh.. I haven't interacted with them sir'
Dr. S: 'Forget interaction, how did you like them? How do you like Malyalis?'
Me: Sir... Uhh.. I have no preference as such sir...
Dr. S: Hahahah! She's being diplomatic, see, see!
Dr. S: So do you mind if we take this forward?
(I'm completely lost and staring at the ground and FoS is keeping very quiet)

Finally, we start talking about my condition. And then comes the blanket ban: no wheat, no chocolates, no soap. I'm quite tired of these dermatologists, each finds something new to ban. I remember one person saying potatoes and I'd gone home and cried. And wheat is EVERYWHERE. Imagine not being able to eat roti/naan/bread/buns/cake/maggi/anything made from maida... nothing! I'd decided to forbid myself wheat only for a week, but now everyone's saying it won't make a difference unless I do it for a longer period, maybe a month. I can't imagine a month... it's just impossible. But I shall try... this is going to be one tough month!

2008... is going to be one tumultous year. At least it looks like that. Final placements and other kinds of placements :| Inshallah, all will be well.

Happy Noo Yurr peoples,
see you soon!