The key event

It was the 19th of July, a day before my birthday. It was a Sunday and the reason for dressing up and going out was my teacher's wedding who is now going to the US of A for her doctoral studies. Anyways, the point is that me and 3 friends were dressed up in all our finery and after the wedding I had the brilliant plan of spending some time at Sarasbaug.

While on the overbridge

We had to cross an overbridge to go to the park and I was clicking some shots of the park and the distant hill. All this while I was holding my big, huge bunch of keys in the forefinger of my left hand. While getting down the steps I took a couple of close up shots of my keys and now too I am at a loss as to what prompted this strange behaviour from me. I had no inkling about what was to shortly follow.

 The 2nd shot

When we reached the park, Patra dragged us off to see the 'big' and 'huge' fishes in the stinky, dirty and muddy pond. We oohed and aahed at the site of the tadpoles, baby fish and the 'huge' fish in the pond and then marveled at the pitiable state of the pond.

I was in my element and was madly trying to capture the films on my camera and I shifted to another spot to get a better angle-right at the water's edge. Patra came next to me and at that exact moment I was trying to click 3 fishes swimming backward. She showed me something in the pond and what happened next was a nightmare. The instant I clicked the fishes, my keys just left my forefinger and splashed into the pond in front of my stunned eyes. I was speechless and I was for a minute oblivious to my friends exclaiming around me. After I found my voice I just kept muttering 'Oh Shoot!', 'I'm so dumb!', Oh crap!'. What a fix I had landed myself into! I just kept staring tat the spot hoping that somehow magically the keys would emerge out.

The fishes, my downfall

We ran to the watchman's cabin and narrated our plight to them. Those idjits turned out to be the most unhelpful bunch of slobs that I had the misfortune to meet. One had the audacity to suggest that I forget about the keys and go home, one asked me to come the next day because the person who could get down in the water hadn't come that day. One idjit, curling his lip at us, asked us to enter the water. He very well knew that doing that would be impossible given our attire. I could have clawed him. And then they asked us to ask any balloon-seller to help us with our predicament.

I found one seller who asked his friend, who just asked us about the spot where the keys fell and got into the water. The water was knee length and boy was it sickeningly dirty! His legs turned with the cake of slush. He dipped his hand into water and got out a variety of trinkets-a hair band, a bracelet, wrappers and black coloured mud. So many things but not the keys. He delved his hand again but was yet again unsuccessful. He did a third time, fourth time, fifth time and still no luck. Now I was panicking and was all set to enter the water. Patra kept telling me to shut up and to behave myself.

A big crowd had gathered by now to watch the proceedings and one man came up and told me superiorly that the minute he saw my keys fall into the water, he kept his in his pocket. He too had been dangling his keys dangerously close to the water. One little boy asked me, “ Khup bhari model cha phone hota ka?” I was aghast and I just shook my head wildly at him.

All this while the man kept hunting for the keys haplessly. Patra then said something that drove my heart stone cold and which I think will make me shudder for a long time to come- “Pranietha, just thank God that it was your keys and not the camera that slipped out of your hand.” I could do nothing but just curse at my foolish, awful habit of holding the keys in my forefinger.

The man then sent his two brothers to the watchman's cabin asking them for a metal trough to sift through the water and mud. But those idjits were reluctant to help and to our chagrin they presented the boys with a bamboo 'tokri'. The man clenched his teeth at the apathetic attitude of the watchmen.

20 minutes had elapsed since the man had got down into the pond. The water had also become turbid and we now feared that the keys might have moved away from it's original spot. My heart was clenched like a fist. The man was all set to come out but my friends begged him one last time to check near the railings. The man complied with our request and put his hand once in the water once again. Heart-throbbing we waited and then he got his hand triumphantly out of the water. The shine of the silver was unmistakable. My keys were back from the depths of murky and dark waters and the entire crowd heaved a collective sigh of relief.

The man rinsed the keys and returned them to me. After he came out of the water, I gave him a 50 rupee note and he refused to accept it. Relief mixed with exasperation, my friends were all set to knock him down. But the man turned us down and finally I told him that it was to be my birthday tomorrow and he had to accept it. He just wished me a 'Happy Birthday' and was ready to go. The crowd instead of dispersing were now looking at us with amusement. Then we tried to give the money to his brothers who also refused and they kept looking at their brother for cues. Finally the little boys could no longer contain themselves and we gave the money to them.

My mood did take an upward swing after this but I could still feel a tight fist clenched across my stomach. The loosening up took a long time and my friends helped me cheer up by pretending that we were part of some loony show. Nevertheless, the thought of the pond with those 'big' and 'huge' fishes gives me the jitters and makes me want to go hide my face into the ground like an ostrich.

Walk the Rock

A walkathon had been organised by Connecting NGO 25th July to spread awareness about suicide prevention. CYDA was also participating in the walkathon and I too jumped in at the prospect of trying out something new and I truly experienced an evening worth remembering.

The walkathon started from Dastur Girls' High School (I am an ex-student of this school) and nostalgia crept up the minute I stepped inside it's premises. We took a circuitous route from the school, passing by Victory Theatre on East Street, crossing over to M.G. Road, Aurora Towers, LandMark and then back to school.

My friend and me lead the walkathon, keeping up the tempo by shouting out slogans. It was certainly a new for me to have so many people on the street stop and stare while we were walking. People came running out of shops and a huge crowd gathered outside SGS Mall while we passed by. We sure did create awareness and I do hope the message did reach people. And speaking of shouting, by the end of the walkathon I had yet again lost my voice, reminiscent of my days in Bengaluru last year when my voice had left me for a week. Now my voice has yet again become scratchy and my throat hurts as if needles are being shoved down it.

While walking by, I met an old school-mate and she was curious regarding our initiative. I explained to her about her walkathon and got a thumbs-up from her. It feels good to be part of doing something worthwhile.


After the walkathon, a rock concert had been arranged by a band named Jet Set. They put up a terrific show and I let my hair down after nearly 7 months-the last being New Year's Eve. They played killer songs and our group did some good shaking of the leg. We danced for 3 hours non-stop and by the end of it I was all set to drop down dead.

I also met my school's Principal and it was a pleasure to speak to her again after 6 years. She was glad to see me a part of the action and I was surprised to know that she is the trustee of Connecting. What a small place after all! All in all an evening well spent notwithstanding the terrible throat ache!

Rainy Walks

Walking in the University campus is such a joy. It's been pouring since the last couple of days and during our break in between the lectures my classmates and me go exploring out to various departments. Armed with umbrellas, I find it very quaint walking on the water sloshed winding paths and the fresh greenery transports me into another world. At times like these I'm at a loss for words and just hum a tiny tune for my pleasure usually one of the songs which I have learnt in dance class.

Today I met my old friends again while I had gone to the bank to deposit the fees for the convocation ceremony. Gosh! Again we buzzed like bees, cracking all the same old nonsensical jokes which make sense to none but us. We had to stand in the queue for over a couple of hours but it really didn't matter. The time was yet too short for us. Then after a couple of members of our group departed, 3 of us went to the University Canteen. It's an old, gloomy, dully lit but an interesting place which serves 'Egg Sez' rice.

While sitting there I wished that it would have been so pleasant to have all my friends there with me and studying with me but they jackasses wish the same thing for me to be studying with them in their departments. It's a good thing though-at least each person likes the course that they have elected for. But I oh so do miss them so so so much :)

Algae and Bacteria

I love anything to do with micro-organisms but sadly I will not be studying about them in-depth further I think but the interest remains as strong as ever.
Here is a link to something really fascinating about what these tiny things are capable of doing. Somehow made me feel very very happy. Click here

Microbes are great!

A Tribute to my friends

Had such a wonderful time today. Met all my friends from the bachelor days and it now seems such a long time since we sat together in class, talked crap while much more crappy lectures were going on, got the tag of permanently being engulfed by laughing gas, being scolded by teachers for not answering questions in class, sitting together for lunch, running up and down the corridors holding our flasks and petri-plates...all seems such a long time ago.

But frankly I was standing on one leg to be done with college and at that time I never thought that I would miss my friends so much. I don't miss college because it was a sad place but my friends made each and every minute I spent there seem worth-while.

One friend would just come to college to sleep, one friend had made it her life's ambition to dress to college everyday in pink, one friend would to college just to discuss how boring it is to come to college, one friend would come just to dance and the other one would just come to fill in her daily dose of movie gossip. Fascinating people all of them-really..

And the best part is now that I realised that I can have the same kind of fun with them anywhere and anytime. Nothing has changed.

Today we 5 of us met at SGS Mall at Camp and we all just burst out talking like just as if we had never parted. Each one had such fascinating incidents to relate-talking about cute and crush worthy professors at their new colleges, weird teachers who somehow manage to forget what they are teaching and some teachers who refuse to even come for the lectures. All this talk has got me eagerly waiting for my department to begin so that even I can join in with regards to this topic.

And then inevitably whenever we meet, out topic of discussion always turns to biotechnology. Now we are all biotechnology graduates and I found the course a nonsensical farce. My friends too found it a farce but they all stand by their decision to do their masters in Biotechnology whereas I was so disillusioned by the course that I had decided a year ago to fly the coop.

I found the course a mish-mash of all tid-bits from botany, zoology, microbiology, biochemistry and molecular biology and all this was just given a fancy name of Biotechnology. I would keep questioning that if one doesn't know the basic sciences how does one propose o do Biotechnology. Because Biotechnology, ultimately is an applied field which teaches you how to extract DNA but it doesn't teach you an iota about DNA. It's truly a sad state of affairs in most of the colleges in Pune. Students are all being taken in by the glamorous sounding word and colleges are wooing them by hundreds.

And the proposal put forth by Kapil Sibal to scrap specialised courses like this for the undergraduate level really vindicated what I felt about the course. So a yay! for that.
Well I have drifted off to somewhere else from what I had begun to write about. Just had to get these things out of my system.

Guru Purnima and Dance

Today I danced after 5 long and painful months. It was Guru Purnima and me and my friends had gone to meet our Guru. The surprise on ma'm was evident as she was not expecting us to come to class in the pouring rain but her face just lit up like a bulb.

Ma'm is a wonderful teacher and a friend. She laughs with us, keeps us in splits with her comical stories and she always has a ready ear to listen to all the woes of our life. She is a true epitome of patience. During our dance exams she works harder than anyone else to ensure that we do a good job. She has had a very calming and soothing effect on me and I'm truly grateful to her for that.

And then we danced. It was magical listening to the beats, trying to keep rhythm, getting the tala right. And even after 2 dances I didn't want to stop. I could feel my legs crying out in protest, I could feel my muscles ache and that awareness was blissful.

For me dancing would mean to push myself beyond my endurance. I would love it when I would get tired, when I would barely be able to walk, to hold myself upright after a hard session of dancing, to feel the sweat trickling off. It would make me feel light as if I were floating. The joy of out dancing the others and to show that my stamina was the best were my highs.

Dancing would make me feel refreshed after a tough and hectic day at college, the exercise would be invigorating, keep my stress levels low, help me concentrate better at studies and give me a good night's sleep.

I miss it so much and I can't wait to go back again now.

Monsoon-Disappearing so so soon.

Oh let it rain. Oh please let it rain- That's what everybody has been wishing since the past fortnight but the Raingods don't seem to be impressed with all the wishing and hoping going around. Makes me want to caper around like Calvin, closing my eyes, hopping on the ground and pleading to make the skies open up. And all the grey clouds do is hang around in the sky tantalisingly, promising untold joys but still withholding their gift. Even the North-East has not yet received it's quota of rain this year.

It is said that the wars of this century are going to be over water. It is so awfully true. Putting up with the water tasks is making life unpleasant. We are so used to the routine, timely 24/7 water supply that if newspapers would mention about places in India parching under the heat of summer it would hardly take up an iota of my attention. Now not a day goes when we don't hear someone or the other shouting in the society for water.

Now the water comes to our society in tankers. Suppose these tankers are unable to procure anymore, how will it be to get up in the water and face the prospect of no more water. I can't even begin to think of facing such a scenario. What will the Government do to ensure that water is delivered to every household? From where will help pour in when other states are undergoing the same crisis? Is there any substitute for water? Ha! Will we just die out slowly, one by one and perish? Tick tock tick tock.
Can things like these happen? Oh no it can't happen to us, can it? Something will happen. It will rain. The dams will fill. We'll get water and normalcy will return. At least all the time, money and energy put into the yagnas should now bear fruit (rain). This is what we have to turn to in times of dire hope.

The last three years we were faced with inundations where all low bank settlements were wiped right off. Now is it drought? Why has the climate become so erratic? Is the monsoon really disappearing?

P.S.- Floods in Assam are again. Floods in China. Floods in Europe.
Will write more on this.

Sleeping and Movies

It's 3.15 a.m and I'm awake. I sleep off the entire day and stay awake at night watching movies on my ipod. I just cannot manage to sleep at night and during the day I can't keep my eyes open.

Today though I spent my day watching Mr. India, a little of O Lucky, Lucky Oye which put me to sleep, Then I watched Pirates of the Carribean-The Curse of the Black Pearl and now finally I watched The Unbearable Lightness of being of which an hour is still unwatched.

These tasks don't demand any brain activity, my reading has gone for a toss. Since my exams got over my fascination with reading too ended. I think during exams reading books was a way of escape and now there is nothing to escape from. I'm bored of reading the newspapers too. The news is just not as interesting as it was when I was busy.

Now I just loll arond from bed to another, from one movie to another and oh ya, I'm also becoming very very fat.

The book, the said friend and me!

CAUTION--LONG STORY AHEAD. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

It all began when my friend asked me to lend him Linda Goodman's Sunsigns. I lent it to him gladly, thinking that he would return it within a week. This was in August 2008. Well things didn't turn out the way they were supposed to and the entire episode culminated with me turning as red as a beetroot right up to my boot!

So I met this said friend of mine at Peppinos-a joint on F.C. Road, a week after I lent him the book. However, my friend's brain is wired to be in a state of permanent absent-mindedness. He is a hopeless case and there is no cure for him. Even he knows that and agrees whole-heartedly with me. Since I expect promtness, I was anticipating the return of my book by him that day. But he plain forgot. I not quite forgave him but the I let the matter at rest and decided to take it from him next time I met him. Like I had a choice.

And so the days just kept passing and the pages flipped till the month of May 2009 and this is where the crux of the story lies. It was time for the said friend to leave Pune for his hometown. I received a number of calls from many of our common friends to meet up before he leaves. But yours truly was stuck in a whirlwind of exams to study for to fulfill the requirements of obtaining admission to a decent post graduate course. And so the ever elusive time was never on hand. I prefered staying at home and directing other friends to collect the book from him. Messages were passed, messages were exchanged and everything was set. Well no, not really.

One fine day the entire group decided to meet and I stayed put at home. The said friend was to deliver my book to another friend (1) who was to meet me the next day. And so next day dawned and my friend like Santa Claus delves into her bag dramaticaly saying, ''I have something for you."

Now I am exceedingly fond of presents and so I clap my hands only to be presented with Linda Goodman's Lovesigns. Alas for my childlike joy!! The said friend's brain didn't work right and thus was presented with the wrong book. I used some choice words on him but had to limit them owing to the fact that my mother was beside me. The day had just got worse. I promptly dialed his number but I was instead told that the subscriber was out of coverage area. What crap!

Called up another friend (2)and after exchanging pleasantries as quickly as I could, I asked her if she could somehow get in touch with the said friend and somehow wangle my book out of him. She said yes but she didn't know how she would do that as the said friend was leaving the next day and she had no means of getting in touch with him a he had very kindly quit using his phone. So the net was the only way of establishing contact with him.

Next day dawned and I met another common friend (3) online and asked her to give me directions to the said friend's accommodation. She tried but I was at a loss because the said friend stayed at a place where I have seldom ventured-Model Colony. And thus so I was armed with crude directions.

I found myself in the whereabouts of Model Colony at 12.30 p.m. No balance in my phone. I reached the BSNL Office and went round and round a couple of times. Couldn't follow the directions my friend had given me. Tried new routes but they were all in vain. Yet I was calm. Tried going in different directions and landed up in the same place thrice! Then I messaged my friend (1) asking her to call me back. I waited and cursed around for some more time. I reached some shops hoping to recharge my phone but none were available of my Service Provider. So I called up friend (3) asking her for directions again but I was successful in getting confounded again and while speaking to her friend (1) called. Friend (1) claimed to know the directions much more clearly than friend (3) as she was fortunate enough to visit the said friend at his accommodation just the day before to collect my book. She gave my a new set of directions. I revved up my bike to retrace this path now and I again landed up at the BSNL Office. Now oh boy was I panicking or not!!

I finally reached some place which I imagined to be a paying guest accommodation. This I assumed is where my said friend stays. And I even spotted a tailor's shop opposite the apartments which curiously shared my name. Taking this as a good omen I thought that I have finally reached my destination. I stopped a passing lady and asked her if this is a PG Accommodation. She said sorry (?) and that these are quarter for LIC employees. She asked me the name of the person I wanted to meet and I gave her the name and she old me that he lived in one of the bungalows on my right but right now he must be in office.(????????)

I backed out from there and started on my search yet again.

Friend (3) called me up again after 15 minutes to find out my progress. None had been made whatsoever. She volunteered to locate him online and convey my dilemma to him. It was a tiny sliver of hope. Meanwhile she sent me packing on a new set of directions. It was 1.45 p.m now. Inching towards clocking 90 minutes since I had first set out on my task. I vroomed up my bike this time with my jaw set. It had to be now or never.

Splutter splutter. To my increasing disbelief, I found myself in some shady place with not so nice looking strange men giving me even stranger looks. Oh Good Mother of God. Why oh why did I ever manage to get myself in this scrape. Really truly, I'm an awful person!

And then my phone sang. It was the said friend. Oh what joy! Rapture! Never had I been ever so glad to hear his voice. He was genuinely concerned about my antics and promptly asked me to meet him. Gladness overtook every feeling I possessed. “Where?” I asked, “do you want to meet?”
“Why the BSNL Office of course” he replied. Well at least that was one place that I knew oh so very well. He said that he would be there in 5 minutes. Swell I said and zoomed off.

Friend (1) called me up then and told me that she was successful in locating the said friend and delivering my message to him. I could have kissed her. She said that it was a stroke of luck that she had found him online. Later the said friend explained that he was helping his friends move to different locations all across Pune. "Social service?", I inquired of him. He said hesitantly," No. Not quite. I'm hoping that if I help them now they'll come and see me off at the station today evening." He he.

I reached BSNL Office and the said friend was already waiting there for me with my book. He had returned another friend's book to me and that other friend thought that the said friend had already returned his book to him. (Confused? So was I). And so I had been stuck with the wrong book and the other friend thought the has his book which he actually doesn't. Like I said my said friend is absent-minded. He had somehow managed to convince his other friend that he had returned the book to him. Story ended? Not quite.

We had a lot to speak about. The usual stuff about admissions, exams, the meanness of professors, the smartness of students et al. And thus we spake for quarter of an hour. And then it happened- A shooting loud noise started emanating from somewhere close by. It was a screeching alarm and a handful of people shot out of the BSNL Office. We thought it was a fire alarm and we looked around interestedly. The sound was deafening to the ears and we could speak no more. One man ran towards his car thinking the burglar alarm must have set off. He checked the horn, under the booth, over the booth, locked the car, unlocked it but still couldn't figure out the source of the alarm. The said friend and I pitied him and resumed our conversation at a slightly higher pitch now so that we could make ourselves be heard. And thus another 15 minutes passed. The mad guy was still going over his car and I thanked my stars that it had nothing to do with me.

Then after much time had passed, some men walking past me told me that I was leaning against my bike's horn and so I was the source of so much shrilling noise and anguish. I had left my keys in the ignition. The mad guy came running towards me and started going over my bike. And then he grinned and said, “ I thought the sound was being made by my car. But now I see that your bike was causing the sound.” I grimaced and felt the blood rush up to my face and the mad guy was so happy at not being thought mad anymore. Oh I could have hid my face anywhere, anywhere but there. And it didn't help when my said friend said that even he didn't realise that the horrible sound was coming from my bike. Soon a crowd gathered and they pointed at my bike and I was utterly shamefaced. My said friend was staring down at me nonchalantly. I wished he would have said something, done something, at least laughed. But he didn't. And after the crowd dispersed he blandly resumed his conversation. Now my heart was not set in talking and I was still mighty embarrassed. After another quarter I hurriedly waved him goodbye and a happy journey and he told me conversationally, “ Don't go leaning on your bike's horn anymore, go home safe.”

Well!

Characters-
Said Friend- Anirudh Venkat who shares my love for books.
Friend (1)- The great Anushree Kogje. I can trust her with absolutely anything in this world.
Friend (2)- Ishani Bose. Sweet and charming-as always.
Friend (3)- Mahalakshmi Ganapathy. Never fails to help and one person whom I know for sure I can rely on.