"I have to meet a boy..."

Today is a friday. Today was also a day of festivities at college, with all the department having their Freshers' Welcome! All the first years were in various costumes and some really funny accessories! The themes varied from 'angels & demons' to 'Potter mania'. Our department saw its' freshers as book characters who had the seniors wildly guessing their identities! The usual song and dance routine followed, after which they said the stage was open for impromptu performance "including from the teachers" :D The next thing I heard were the typical LSR chants and hoots of 'S**** ma'am!! S**** ma'am...!!" Lol!! One of my students came up to me with a mic in hand for me to sing! I almost died! Only I know how shy I am when it comes to singing infront of anyone! But it felt good too, more so since it was least expected. I however did say something short and sweet to them, after which J sang two lines of a song! We made our way out after that ;)
Then NJM was asking us to stay till later in the evening for the union freshers' welcome. Everyone had their 'excuses' ready - kids at home, in-laws at home etc etc. I ofcourse don't fall in that cateogory. But somehow I was so exhausted that I just told her "I have to go meet a boy". That was followed by me being smothered with hugs & kisses from all of them! They wanted to know if he was coming to college, so all of them could 'meet' (interview) him :)
The boy has come and gone. Let's see what happens.
My nephew has also come over. He's all of 15 months, has just begun to walk, has wrecked our house and is an absolute darling!

Tired...

I can't wait for tomorrow, and the weekend that comes with it. This has been a very long week. Things are moving along slowly, which isn't bad really, but...

Mid-week monsoon traffic...any gift ideas?

तुम आये, बहार आई ...... would aptly sum up my parents' return to Delhi. We are now officially into the monsoon season. It rained all of yesterday afternoon, evening and night. Quite expectedly by late evening news channels were reporting the massive traffic jams all over the city. Drains have begun over flowing, the roads have begun sinking.... today morning it took me two hours to reach college from home! Two hours for 8 kms.... Insane!! But well, it's worth the pleasant weather and the chance to wear your hair down :)

Classes are going fine. This year's Freshers' welcome is coming up. Apparently so is a department trip :D AND so is rakshabandhan, that sweet sweet festival. I'm open to suggestions for a gift for RG....
I should go talk to M, apparently she's been stuck with a flooded house and no electricity since last night. Lol!

I have to take up Sen's capabilities approach in one of my classes tomorrow. Needless to say I have been super lazy this weekend. Which is probably why I find myself confused right now, about functionings and freedoms and capabilities. BUT I am not going to bed till I figure it out. It's there in my brain. I just need to be able to explain it to 40 other people....

RG's home today. Parents should be landing in another few hours. From tomorrow, it will be back to the normal home routine :p

Of Vamps & a "quirky character"

I dreamt of vampires and warewolves last night. Seriously weird. And a certain vamp at that. I mean, seriously, c'mon!! And it was one of those lengthy detailed dreams that stay with you even after you wake up. All morning I was thinking whether or not to tell M about it. I eventually did, when we met to bid adieu to the "quirky character", our dear K who took the plunge last year and is flying out tonight to the States for a PhD. We had coffee and the essential 'chocolate excess' - for the first time we couldn't finish it. Unbelievable, I know. I will miss K, and all his madness, his 'duuuude, veryyy nice', his frustration (?!) with JNU/the system....lol! I'm really happy for him though, if there's anyone who needed to get out of here, it's him.
So, back to the vamp-dream. M had a big solid laugh :D I have a feeling I haven't heard the end of this for some time to come. We then went to shop at Nalli where she convinced me to do loads of shopping....this, when I had planned to not pick a single thing (as if that was going to work, considering it's one of my favouritest stores.)

Tip tip tip tip baarish!

Even the Gods show mercy, eventually. And so it has rained in my part of the city. I absolutely love that geeli-mitti-ki-khushbu! I obviously couldn't resisit getting deliciously drenched in the downpour today. And am now enjoying a nice hot plate of pasta :)

Santushti in work...

For the past two weeks, we have been SO close to having monsoons, it's torture! Every morning the sky is thick with clouds. But by the time it's noon, the wind blows them away. The sun is strong and there's this unbearable humidity all day long. And seriously, in this country, you can't keep the AC switched on 24 X 7! I've been surviving on water and neembu-pani; the canteen bhaiyya makes amazing fresh lime soda!
Work is good. Preparing for the classes takes up most of the time, but honestly I don't mind! I think it almost serves as an escape route, to avoid thinking about other stuff. Although Prag & I did have a super long conversation yesterday, about faculty appointments in the Univ and the prospect of having to meet more random guys. It's funny how six months down the line we are so much more clear about what we are looking for in a life partner - and given the lack of change in mindsets of people here, I think we still have some time to ourselves. People's true colours really do come out once you begin interacting with them in this regard - all the s0-called 'exposure' and 'education' and 'liberalism' comes through. I shall not dwell more on this right now, since anyway the entire ordeal is going to restart from next week. Parents come home this sunday...
I think I've written previously too, about how much I love the college structures in this univ. It's a world away from the rest of the noise and etc.
A word on practically being baby-sat by my grandmother. I love my nani to pieces. But honestly, if I hear one more discourse on religious values; the degradation of morals in todays' youth; 'adjustments' required by girls once they get married; the amount of poisonous chemicals in every single thing that we eat; the amount of time we spend on computers; why non-veg food is bad for us etc etc etc...I will scream. I don't want to decide today, what we will eat for breakfast, lunch & dinner today & tomorrow. I don't want to discuss how the maids work in our house, since that pattern is a mutually acceptable one they, and we, have reached over a period of time. I don't want to change that pattern. I don't want to discuss why all the men I have met so far have been utterly disappointing. I just don't. And if this gets worse then I seriously will scream. I know she comes from a completely different time when things were very very different, but times have changed and all I can say is, move with the times. I am done with trying to keep up with her views and trying to reach a middle ground. I now know why Aa & La are the way they are....

The bad & the good...

The first weekend after the univ reopens is seriously very difficult. It's impossible to get into the study mode. I have watched movies, listened to the radio and eaten SO much food (all thanks to naani!) and conveniently slept. Add to that the fact that for no apparent reason I've been feeling totally and utterly miserable today. I just don't want to think about anything or anyone anymore. I wish I could just be alone for a bit, in a place where no one even knows my name. I actually broke down today evening. Just couldn't help it.
Later on I went through a friend's blog. उसने कुछ इतना ख़ास नहीं लिखा था, लेकिन पता नहीं क्यूँ, उसे पढ़ कर इतना अच्छा लगा....बहुत अच्छा...

Saw a dead body. On the road. run over by a blueline bus. The brain was all inside-out. It was horrible. I almost puked.

Back@work

The univ has reopened. The first two days have been light, work-wise! It's fun to see the Freshers finding their way about college! They are just swarming all over the place, trying to figure out their classes, ECAs, library (?), grounds and the cafe (!) ofcourse! And they are still shareef enough to wish random teachers in the corridors! Lol! Well that is certainly the last time they will be doing it!
Our dept timetable seems to be unsually skewed this time! Way too many tutorials in between lecs. I have a 3b this time, I taught them last year so it should be fine. I also have 2b, a class considered by some as pretty bad (= naughty!) !...well well, we shall see :D
I was also introduced to a recent grad from our dept, who happened to know me in a 'roundabout way' since she works at McKC. I didn't even bother asking through who! Thankfully I had to rush to the library at the time.
The weather's been strange. There are clouds but not enough for rain. There is wind, but the sun's too strong. And there's humidity. Ugh!

At Long last...

The univ reopens tomorrow. At Long Last. I think I would have gone positively insane if I had to wait for even one more day. Ofcourse the route will probably be a little difficult since the metro bridge and cranes collapsed bang opposite our college. But whatever...
I wish parents would hurry up and return. It's been odd, having to decide things about work & studieswithout them being around. No matter how many other people I've spoken to, and there have been quite a few, it's not the same sense of reassurance.
RG is also coming home tomorrow. Naani's been around since ma left, and for once I'm glad I wasn't left home alone.

The Proposal

I think M's on a spree to try to cheer me up! Which is awfully nice of her. So we went to watch The Proposal. It has decent bits of humour and sarcasm. And Alaska is just sooooooooo beautifullllll....omg! It's like remote raw untouched beauty. We were debating the various ways to get there ;)

Catching up...

I had a Rotten day yesterday. Considering which, today was s a double treat. M dropped by, by surprise. It must however be mentioned that she did have an ulterior motive - to get rid of 'certain' books in the 'hope' that 'i' would make 'use' of them! Lol! Anyway we discussed, amongst other things, 'Bill' from True Blood. I think for once we both found the same man Hot! Seriously hot!
Called up P for birthday wishes...
In the evening, met up with D. She did some shopping after which we went for some dinner -pizza. Our waiter was extra-caring! He did everything short of sitting down with us at the table! Lol! D & I talked about the same old brand new things...felt good :D

Update

Ma leaves for H**** today. Both the parents will return together in a few weeks. I'm sort of tired, with all the packing and shopping of the last few days. RG has come over. He needed to talk about the sad state of government hospitals in this country. You can only begin to imagine what it's like if you've been to one - on a recurring basis.
I was hoping to being home alone, but well they never let me be! Naani's coming tomorrow. For a while. Then we'll see.
Oh btw, today is UD's bday! Lol! RG reminded me enough to mention he finds it odd to speak to his younger cousins over the phone! Some things never change :)
And, I now have a little more respect for Rakhi than I did earlier. She can make some sense at times!
As for the rest, the two most pressing issues in my life right now, I am not worried! Seriously, what is wrong with me?!?!

New New new!!

I have got a plan :D
A Brand new, nice, workable plan :D [M knows! & approves!]
I am the happys!

The End

I am feeling seriously stupid right now. I can't believe I turn to the same person for comfort even now, and obviously comfort is the last thing I get. And yet I just refuse to learn the lesson.
However something tells me this was the absolute last time. As for the Irish proverbs, they stand for a point in time which has finally passed me by. And no, I don't want to be friends, Thank you very much. I deserve better. Much better.

Sweeeet Wimbledon'09

I was watching DDLJ after Years...then shifted to tennis....WHAT an Amazing mens' single wimbledon final it was! Roger Federer wins, beats Pete Sampras' record, that too in the most gripping 5th set match EVERRRRR!!!!! I mean, 16-14???!? It could kill you just to watch it on tv!!! Andy Roddick did make up for Nadal's absence, but well...I never really missed Nadal! Roddick does have a super serve but well, a serve doesn't make you the best!

Sweet Home Alabama

Well Well Well, bumped into C's mom at Anokhi today. I think in Harry Potter they say that there are always signs, which the mudbloods always miss. I really don't know how I feel about signs, but I've been getting quite a few of them over the past 3-4 days. And I don't like them because I don't know what on earth they mean!! Anyhow meeting C's mom wasn't all that bad, I mean she is rather sweet. One day I'd really like to tell her about everything...maybe.

I am now watching Sweet Home Alabama...for the n'th time. I'm so glad they're showing it this month! I just so love that movie! :) Especially when he asks her to marry him! "Pick one"...Awww...! And that look in Jake's eyes through out the movie....n the ending ofcourse... just *sigh* so *sigh* perfect *sigh*

Of shopping & moods...

Since yesterday I have been feeling a little low. This summer's been unusually long and testing. I am honestly exausted. Not physically, since I haven't been doing anything that taxing! But emotionally/mentally. It's just sickening, the way people think, especially since I know enough number of girls going through this process to know that it's not us who are being too demanding or fussy. Initially I felt a mix of anger and disgust at the kind of people I've had to interact with these past few months. Now I'd like to believe I've become uncomfortably numb. And wiser.

Anyway on a lighter note, went shopping today. What is it about shopping that just uplifts my mood? The markets, people, chaat/momos, traffic, rain.... To be honest, I'd planned to wait for the univ to reopen, but then couldn't resist! :p Even bought something for RG, who by the way is also going through some really anxious moments.... I think I'll go now, and speak to him!

rains and a bollywood song

The monsoons are finally upon us. I have gotten drenched twice, so far. I know there will be several more times in the days to come.
There's something about Delhi when it rains. It's as if the mood of the city changes. The roads become cleaner, the trees are greener, the air is cooler and the skies just so much more clear. It's also sweet how radio channels play the most amazing songs to match the season! My ALL time favourite is this quite-old-but-still-nice one....

सावना बरसे, तरसे दिल, क्यूँ ना निकले घर से दिल
बरखा में भी दिल प्यासा है , यह प्यार नहीं तो क्या है
देखो कैसा बेकरार, है भरे बाज़ार में
यार एक यार को इन्तज़ार में

M came for lunch yesterday. We had a usual catching up session. Talked and cribbed and laughed and planned....