Hyperbole

Tamil Nadu is a place which for some reason fascinates me. Infact I haven't come across any other non- Tamilian who is as fond of Chennai as I am. Sun-rain, humidity-heat I've seen it in all forms and still yearn to go there over and over again. Went to Chennai a couple of years back during December as my annual conference was being held at Le Meridian. Had taken my brother's Thunderbird then and ridden all the way from Bangalore to Chennai and back with Daya as my co-rider. The irony of that trip was the fact that I was more comfortable there as compare to Daya who being a Kannadiga was very wary and had started the journey after full prayers and a big tikka on his forehead. As if he was not going to Tamil Nadu but Pakistan! Got an opportunity of ride around Chennai on the bike and that really was the best part of the trip. Went to Spencer plaza for lunch & shopping with Shaleen and Marina beach with Daya at night. First time around I was taken around C

Monday morning 4:42 a.m. Is it normal to get up so early to finish a book you have been reading? Was in the midst of Haruki Murakami's "Sputnik Sweetheart" when I slept, rather early, at 11 last night. Woke up all of a sudden at dawn, or was it pre -dawn?, and straight away took the book from my bedside and was engrossed in the mystic world of words within minutes. Finished it finally at around 7am, just before leaving for the gym. The book was spellbinding needless to say. Short, sweet and a standard Murakami . Later on it made me think. Is there anything else in this whole wide world that would make me get up so early and eagerly? No, I guess not. I couldn't think of anything. Isn't this weird? But then being normal was my forte.

KFC opened it's outlet in Sahara Ganj recently. Had to go there to purchase some furniture from the Home Store on Sunday. Reached there around 7pm and was my way up when I saw KFC outlet practically empty. Seeing my good luck went in and had a mini meal which by the usual KFC standard was pretty OK- no thick, crunchy masala, no boiled, bland chicken pieces. The chicken pieces were large and well done with just the right amount of flavouring. While relishing my meal thought about all the times I had been to KFC in Delhi & Bangalore and how I had to wait in queue to place my order, had to search for a place to sit with food trays in my hands and how people used to hover overhead waiting for me to finish so that they can occupy my seat. Compared to all that this was pure bliss. Instant service, choice of places to sit and finishing the meal at your own easy pace. Things which can only be enjoyed and appreciated in a small city like Lucknow.

Few paragraphs in literature come close to what you would write if ever got a chance to describe yourself. This is one of my favourite. "Idling always has been my strong point. I take no credit to myself in that matter - it is a gift. Few posses it. There are plenty of lazy people around and plenty of slow coaches, but a genuine idler is a rarity. He is not a man who slouches about with his hands in his pockets. On the contrary, his most startling characteristic is that he is always intensely busy. It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do. There is no fun in doing nothing when you have nothing to do. Wasting time is merely an occupation then, and a most exhausting one. Idleness like kisses, to be sweet must be stolen." -quoted from "The idle thoughts of an idle fellow" by Jerome K Jerome

22nd November. The Chamber. Haze is the word which comes to my mind if I had to describe the state I am in. Everything around is bright and clear. Atleast all the physical things. I can analyse. I can converse. I took a detailed, extempore class. But mentally I seem to be far, far away. I can feel myself breathing. Which is not a good thing when it means every single breath. Floating would be the second word which comes to my mind if I had to describe my mental state right now. Swimming is good most of the times but you can also float once in a while and let the currents guide you. "After the slumber of the year The woodland violets reappear; All things revive in field or grove And sky and sea, but two, which move And form all others, life and love." - Shelley

A couple of weeks back, early morning around 7, was working out in the gym. I was in a bad mood, full grumpy and grumbling to myself. In between sets was taking a breather by gazing at some song playing on the TV monitors placed all over. Sometime then I noticed the ticker running at the bottom of the screen on MTV. That day they were running the daily horoscope as one liners on colleges i.e. students, profs and canteen. Like for Leo it was something like "Attend coll today, take up your attendance by 0.0001%" or for Pisces "You bunked college and no one noticed". That caught my interest and I wondered what was the one liner they had for Scorpio. Missed it a couple of time between sets. Finally landed up on the tread mill still all grumpy and pissed. Still musing about the events of the day gone. At that very point Scorpio's ticker came on screen. Just three words. "Stop being juvenile" For some reason that really caught me unaware. I wasn't expec

I had a clean slate in my academic life of almost 25 years. Was never hauled up for anything by my teachers. Was never caught cheating or was frisked for chits by the exam squad from the University. On the 12 th of November 2008 I was caught cheating and ordered to be expelled from the examination hall by the Controller of Examinations from RML University. The irony behind all this was that I was the invigilator for that hall! General Surgery examination was on and the poor students were floundering with a couple of tough short notes and I did what anyone with even an iota of compassion would have done in my place. This situation would not have arise if anyone had taken the trouble to teach them surgery in the first place. The controller from the University caught me once- twice- thrice. I guess this is what happens when you don't have good, solid experience of cheating from your student days. On top of all this the students were also pits as far as cheating was concerned. I h

Well not exactly a train robbery to be exact but more of a robbery discovered by a co-passenger while she was travelling with me to Lucknow. Her husband called up around 7pm when he came back from the office in Delhi to discover that their flat has been ransacked. He called her up promptly and all of us came to know that the only thing missing were her three beloved “imitation” jewelry sets. The laptop was untouched, the three cell phones were left behind. Now the question that comes to my mind is that what kind of a loser thief will bother with crappy fake jewelry in the first place and leave all the electronic goodies behind? I’m sure that the husband must be sick and tired of the “ chamko ” stuff and dumped them at the first given opportunity . Good riddance to bad rubbish was what he must have thought. Moreover I was intrigued by her cell phone provider who let her talk for a good 20 minutes without any break in the network coverage in this godforsaken east U.P. countryside.

I've things for certain words which for some reason tend to fascinate & intrigue me. I use them while talking, I pause when I read them somewhere and I wonder who came up with such unusual names/words and how. Words that fascinate me: Syncytium , Apoptosis , Cantielever , Gomphosis , Orbicularis , Metatarsal, Omnipotenet , Omnipresent, Ubiquitous, Wrath, Megnanimous , Megalomania, Concurrent, Cumbersome, Exhume, Rostrum, Beget, Canape , Touche, Theque , Torque, Diabolical, Demented, Quantum, Icicle, Encephalitis, Harakiri , Kamakazei , Oui , Crimson, Beige, Crepe , Camaraderie, Capeche, Meche, Vagabond, Mistletoe, Voila, Mirth . . . to be continued. Names that fascinate me: Kankanadi , Gwyneth, Allepi , Patadhakal , Magoud , Copenhagen, Azerbejan , Zach, Morpheis , Zakaria , Zingzingbar , Hemis , Pyongyang, Gokarna , Pehthal , Pollachi , Kramer, Kruger, Rasputin, Raizada , Parvardigar , Jahanpanah , Kamini , Mrignaini , Hallikerimath , Louvre, Kathgodam , Coppernicus, Leonardo,

Mmmmm ................... Walnut brownie in the morning is one of the little pleasures of life. All the more when it is delectable! Things like this makes me wonder how come I am so passionate about certain snacks when I am not very fond of food and not exactly a foodie in the first place. Eating does not figure in my top things to do list. But I am a bit partial towards chocolates- but then only good ones. Like Milk Chocolate is a thing which I abhor, it sounds more like an oxymoron then anything else. How can anything which is white in colour can be called a chocolate in the first place? And while on this topic I feel that Amul and Nestle should be prevented from dishing out the things they produce and calling them "Chocolate". In India the only true chocolate I feel is the one produced by Cadbury . They maybe drier then their foreign counterparts but atleast they taste like them. Time to take another bite of the brownie now...... Mmmmmmmm

Canteen is the heart of most of the institutions. You get to hear the latest gossip, college news, score updates, uptake on political events, local news, reports on hostel fights, departmental ego issues and discuss crap which you would never bother or be interested to talk about anywhere else. More so in this place where it was placed in straw shacks on open ground right at the entrance of the college. Here it was not only the heart but also the eyes of the institution as you could see whoever was coming or going from the college. And then dissect them, their personality, attire, mannerisms, gait, way of talking, eating habits, sexual orientation, personal and social life etc. I think you get the point. I must have spent countless hours sitting there with Daya (who used to have his b'fast ) during the winters of 2006. The tea was bad, dosa was sad and pav bhaji had a chinese twist. Stuffed parathas were the only redeemable feature by far. But then all said and done there was

CCD , Gomti Nagar , 7:25pm, 3rd of Nov. '08. Here I am sitting in this joint and typing this blog. So that day has finally come when I'm the one on the comp rather then being the person staring at someone else working on one. And wondering what on earth would be so important that he had to work in a cafe rather then just sitting back and enjoying his coffee. So now I know. Best possible way to kill time while my desktop is being upgraded. Couple in front of me are discussing their occlusion and what should be the normal place for the lower jaw to rest. God! want to just tell them to shut up! But obviously can't cause they were sweet enough to offer me this seat when the cafe was full. Gasp! the ass just came back from the loo and wiped his hands on the cushion. An English speaking bhaiya - something you only come across in Lucknow. Well on the other hand they are kind of entertaining and I've never seen a guy match a girl word for word........he really can talk. Mus