Interesting people I meet...

Just found this post in my archives hidden amongst the many drafts... Sep 4,2011 is the date I wrote this, coming back from India! :) On to the post now...

Yes I am still alive - Alive with a mosaic of emotions engulfing me every single day. As I realized I need to write something simply because it has been long since I wrote a post and as I read old archives, it occurred to me that the blog was becoming more and more about me and me only. So I decided to write something that just took me by force during my India trip and that was not necessarily about me. That said, my India trip is something I can't miss writing about, so that should come very soon, God willing.

So after waiting for almost a week for that moment, I went to Marina, probably one of those places that makes me a totally different person. A place that has witnessed many of the most defining moments of my life, and as you can see, I can go on and on about it. The first thought that occurred to me as I set my bare foot on the sands of the beach - yes, I spent a fortune for Miami, something I had been dreaming of for quite sometime, I planned it so well that it would be on New year's eve when the whole city erupts partying and yes, I had one of the most rocking days of my life there. But Miami grossly lacks that weird little something that Marina has, and my heart skips a beat here. This is probably the only beach in the world where people wear a saree to, where you can take an 80 year old and a 3 year old at the same time and still manage to have some fun.

So as we were chitchatting over home-packed food and mangas from the beach, there came this tiny little boy around 7-8 years old, selling the iconic sundal. He said 'sundal vaangikonga ka' (please buy boiled chickpeas). My mom being this huge supporter of children's education being a teacher herself, asked him if he goes to school. He said he was going to the nearby corporation school and that was kind of obvious coz he was still in his school uniform. Here is how the conversation goes - pardon me, all the people who don't understand Tamil.

Mom: So which class are you in?

He: 2nd standard.

Mom: Which school do you go to?

He : The corporation school near___ place.

Mom: Ozhunga school-ku dhinam poviya? (do u go to school regularly?)

He: Aama apram miss thittuvaanga illa. (yes ofcourse, or my school teacher would scold me.)

Mom: Evlo neram vela paapa? (How long do u work?)

He: 8 :30 -kku school-ku poven, 3 manikku veetukku vandhuttu odane inga vandhuruven. Engamma sundal panni vechirukkum. Enga akka oruthi irukka, avalum naanum inga vippom.

Mom: Oru naalaikku evlo rooba kedaikkum?

He: Sani gnayiru apdina 600 kedaikkum, school naal-na 200-250 rooba kedaikkum.

Mom: seri onakku koota kazhikka ellam theriyuma? Rendam class dhane padikkara?

He : Hmmm theriyume (in that unimitable iconic tone). Neenga vena kelunga, kooti kazhichi solren.

Mom: Seri, oru sundal potlam evlo rooba?

He: 5 rooba.

Mom: ungitta naam ambadhu rooba kuduthu sundal vaangina evlo thirupi kuduppa?

He: Evlo sundal vaangireenga-ne sollala? (That's where I was bowled over. We were thinking it was a task doing (50 - 5) Never realized he would know multiplication!

Mom: 1 vaanginaka evlo?

He: naapathi anju

Mom: Rendu vaangina?

He: naapadhu.

Mom: 5 vaangina?

He: iruvathi anju. IN LIGHTNING FAST SPEED.

I should agree, with an Anna university degree, I was ashamed of my reflexes. My cousin who is in 3rd standard going to the best school in a Honda city, being taught by teachers with enviable degrees was put to shame with his speed. He was still borrowing to do the subtraction while this beach wonder just blurted out answers in a tone that said, thu ivlo dhana.

Mom: seri appa enna panraar?

He : Avaru kudichitu road-la vizhundhu kedapaaru.

Mom: Aiyo., Seri nee periyavanana ennava varanum?

Mom: Doctor ah? Engineer ah?

He: Police aaganum. Vijay maadhiri!!!!!

I don't know if i should smile or laugh aloud! :)

In the mood for old songs...

And please, no, don't expect black and white songs! These are songs I grew up watching on TV literally everyday for an extended period of my childhood.. So here it goes, the first one of these is what I would call the grand daddy of all item numbers in Tamil. And this is my dedication to my mom for, hmm, lets say Mother's day! She's gonna kill me if she reads this, but I know she likes this song a lot! :) And my dad too! So here it goes - saraku vechiriken... The funniest part of it is the English subtitles...

Just feels so liberating! Love this one!! :)

Thought for the day...

Or rather, the wish for the day! I want to watch an Aurora Borealis happen live! Don't know why it struck me today of all the days. (I am sort of specific, not the Aurora Australis, not the red/brown hue!) I really really want to envision the magic of a million shades of blue or green engulfing me with all their glory. And in that moment, I want to forget that this is earth, I want to get the closest to experience cosmos, to be immersed in nothing but colors. I distinctly remember even the exact conversation and the day, when a friend of mine first told me about this phenomenon - for the very first time, in my 9th grade. And after reading about it/seeing pictures, I still refuse to believe such a spectacle can be real. And if seeing is believing, no wonder I don't believe such a spectacular thing exists, simply because I've never seen anything like that. The fact is I don't know remember much about the event or the science behind it. All I know is that I was and will always be fascinated by such a possibility of envisaging colors and colors and more colors. Not knowing how the laws of science might dictate the event, I can dream on and on about what an amazing experience it would be. Often we fail to realize how blissful a state of mind this is - when our little knowledge is guided by imagination and thoughts alone, without the realms of reality limiting us. And there, friend, we'd have found the infinite. So, Aurora Borealis, here I come! P.S : Of course I am not putting up a picture here! Isn't the whole point of this post lost then?!

A near-utopian Sunday

I have been trying hard to live a life that I truly cherish, honestly, who doesn't? As the wiser souls there probably would know, it's easier said than done. But I decided to have someone inside of me monitor me this weekend. Planned to take a complete off from work this weekend, told myself that it is sort of my detox weekend. When things are going wrong, just pause, look away and focus. Nobody at home, so I have all the space I want. Near-perfect weather, not too hot, not too cold. A bharatanatyam recital yesterday. Practising my favorite Carnatic songs in the eveing. Rasam sadham with vadam for dinner, frozen yoghurt in the night.A good 8 hour sleep. And the Sunday thus dawned. A mile and a half jog, and half an hour of yoga and a refreshing shower afterward. Oatmeal breakfast and a phonecall back home. Then an Ilaiyaraja concert starting with soundarya lahari followed by janani janani, amma endru azhaikadha and then appa's favorite - naanaga naanillai. Goosebumps. Bliss. Hope. P.S - I decided to document these here just so I would relive these again, and the take the effort to do so. Important note - I missed 8 calls and a couple of skype sessions during these 3 hours alone, but hey, it's more than worth it. It's amazing how much ignoring technology can positively influence your feel-goodness!

Two years... Since that email from CMU changed my life...

So today is the second anniversary of my CMU admit - two years since receiving
that email that gave the biggest boost to my self-esteem.
That email whose attachment wouldn't open.
That email that caused my heart to skip a beat and go on beating madly for two days of that weekend until that attachment would open...
That email that would change the way I live, the way I perceive the world, my life and the people in these.
That email signed by Adam Linstedt with a subject "Congratulations from Carnegie Mellon"...

Today was the day when my belief in dreams was reiterated and when Geet's movie dialogue became my life's motto - "Jo dil actually chahta hai, actually actually ke liye, insaan ko voh hi milta hai". Roughly transted to Paulo Coelho "If you want something truly, from the bottom of your heart, the entire universe conspires to make it happen for you".

And now, I am sitting and working towards crossing another big milestone in CMU - qualifying exam for PhD. And as usual, in God I trust. Another phase of life where life shows up in its most frightening and stressful avatar and tells you how important little acts of kindness are, how important a couple of good words are and how important people's good wishes are.

So pray for me brother, pray for me sister! Thank you, good souls! God bless!

This day, shall definitely be special, very much indeed!