Diwali

Shopping

Diwali is coming up in a few days, so I went shopping with my mom, sis and Masi (mum's sister). We bought lots of candles and wax diye; Diwali gift packs to give to friends and family; I got rangoli colours - have decided I shall make a rangoli outside home. I forgot to get any firecrackers - but that's good because I want to do my little part against child labour. We still have to get earthen-ware diye, will get them on Wednesday. And we are all set to celebrate Diwali.

Shopping in Delhi is an interesting affair. Of course you enter the market after breaking free from a traffic jam. There is absolutely no space on the roads, because the shopkeepers have extended their tables and ware much beyond the limits of the sidewalk (if one exists in the first place!) and busy shoppers throng the market areas blocking whatever road remained!! Then vehicles keep whizzing by much to the danger of the shoppers. They sometimes honk a warning and it adds to the already existing cacophony of shop owners yelling to their staff, the staff yelling to the customers, the customers yelling to their kids, and the kids yelling just because.

Thank God for aspirin! :)

Then the items on Display. One couldn't find the worst possible colour combinations and cheap plastic ornaments in this world elsewhere. The usual flies and bees get attracted by the dry fruits and nuts placed out in the open. The candles were mainly eyesoringly bright coloured, of the most ugly designs and the Aroma candles choked the very life-breath out of one! The shop, from where I got rangoli colour, was selling a sticker rangoli - a big sticker that you stick on the floor! It was disturbingly ugly and my mom even dared risking my fury to ask me if I wanted to get it!! From all this it was interesting to dig out the nice stuff - which existed nonetheless!

Ah! what a sight it is! And I haven't even visited the big malls and shopping centers yet! God only knows what they must be like! For now, thanks to my well known hate for 'going shopping', I shall be spared the torture of the Malls and will be extremely satisfied with the local market nearby!

Quarter Century!!

Gaahh! I am old! Panic! Distress! Trauma! The Horror, the Horror!

Dramatics aside! IT wasn't too bad. Of course the real celebration will come when Poro's in town. But, for now, I was satisfied with a trip to the Oxford Bookshop and ordering pizzas for dinner!

Didn't do anything extraordinaire... Didn't have to cut a cake ...and no birthday presents!!! :) so in all it was normal, just the way I would want my birthday to be! (no sarcasm, seriously! (HONESTLY! I mean it without irony - I think you still don't believe me!))

In the night, at 12, I got a call from my girls - Paroma and Isa. then slept reading 'The Great Indian Novel'. In the morning, I woke up coz of many phone calls and wishes. showered with cold water coz the water tanks were being cleaned. couldn't decide what to wear so wore un-ironed clothes. was late in leaving home. went to class. met Aditi at the Dept. then a trip to CP n Oxford with Anuja. Got Di's examination card for JLPT from New Delhi House and came back home. ordered pizza and checked emails etc. then slept. nothing special.

Just bought myself two books - Shantaram and The New Life. I really wanted Snow, but it wasnt available. I have wanted to read Shantaram for some time now. And I ordered The Trotter Nama. Will get it in a few days. I also finally got the membership for Oxford Bookshop, so I can get points each time I buy a book and then redeem them later. Everytime I went there, it so happened, a sale would be on, and they don't let you become a member during a sale.

When I checked all the facebook wishes, it was soo.... how shall I put it... eye-opening? ...nice, flattering! Thank you all! It was those many msgs that made the day special! :)

Laika

I read a newspaper article about the space dog Laika today. About her tragic fate. while reading I started crying. She was a stray, picked up from the streets and chosen among three dogs to become one of (if not THE most) famous dogs ever in human history. And even though she became special, she still died - the proverbial - dog's death! "Terrified by the roar and the vibration of the engines, the dog lurched desperately to free itself [perhaps from the chains that held her in place] as the rocket took altitude, its heart racing at three times normal speed." (TOI) What makes it all the more indignant is how this little mutt was the center of a political game. In a race to hurl insults at America, USSR may have paved the way to space travel but at the cost of a dog's life!

I vividly remember when I first heard about Laika. I was a little girl and we lived in our joint family house then. It was late at night, all had gone to bed, but my sister was still studying and I as usual was pestering her and asking what she was reading. And then Di told me that she was reading about a dog. She then read me the story and I remember asking her why did they send Laika in space if they couldn't bring her back! I remember wanting to pet and hug the poor creature. I remember trying to remember her name.

I never forgot the name. But I had forgotten the story.

Pardons

for the previous post. For those (perhaps most of you) who don't listen to heavy metal, it was the lyrics to Seplutura's 'Straighthate'... just seemed apt for how I felt at that time! I didn't get to go see Sepul perform, thanks to Mom's Law:

Thou shalt not go to Rock Concerts late at night all by thyself!

So there goes my highlight for the year since coming back to Delhi! And there are 4 days till my quarter century. That should be a blast! hahaha. *dry sacrastic laughter*


Apart from all this cribbing... (I should rename my blog "The Cribbing Chronicles") I have nothing to say.


so I shall post a pic that has no reason whatsoever to be here....

present mood :(

I ask myself why I'm so hatefulMaybe it's just part of my naturePeople say I'm fucked it in my mindFeels like there's nothing left insideWalking now on different dirty streetBut the same old feeling still existsHate is like a shade that won't never leaveLeave me alone I don't need sympathyWhat goes aroundComes aroundYou going downDownStraighthate - StraighthateStraighthate - StraighthateCriticize and call me negativeBut you never deal with life or realityI separate myself from the restWhat da fuck you expect ?

flux

the season is changing... there is that crispness in the air I always associate with Diwali*... in the morning you wake up because its chilly... fans are not needed any more... distant sounds can be heard since there is no humming and whirring of machines to overwhelm those distant sounds... there is peace and calm on the earth... and the sun's rays are soothing.

Winters are coming, and though I am not highly keen about them, I am really looking forward to Diwali. This year it will be so different. I wont be spending it at the hostel with friends. There wont be any chaos of the huge ISHW Diwali Parties, no rangoli** to make and no sari to wear. I shall be at home, lighting a few diyas*** and maybe getting forced into prayer. wonder what it will be like? smokey and choking or bright and uplifting!

* Diwali is a festival of lights, celebrated for the victory of evil forces by the 'good' lord Ram (an incarnation of Vishnu).
** Rangoli is a pattern made with powdered colour on the floor for puposes of decoration.
*** Diya is a small earthenware lamp in which a cotton wick burns in mustard oil.

update

nothing too awesome has been going on in my life... i am usually at home, except when I have to run to a library for material on my papers... or when i have to run to class to listen to other papers. In the interim, i have TV, which my mom keeps on perpetually watching the plethora of singing/dancing/standup comedy competitions (Indianised versions of American Idol/dancing with the Stars and Last Comic Standing etc...) (I will perhaps refrain from my peeves on those for another blog!)

I also have for my own entertainment - apart from the internet - my old mobile phone, on which I am trying to get the highest possible score on the game Snakes! I have reached 1572 till date.

If I am not reading/studying or playing Snakes, it is so because I am cleaning, cooking, doing errands for my mom who has broken her right hand wrist bone.

But the past few days, I had been staying up all night trying to complete my paper on comedy and the artist - Bhupen Khakhar and G. V. Desani. ...the night is always peaceful enough for me to concentrate.... my paper's done and over with, but I have no way of telling whether it was good or bad as my faithful critic, my bff, wasn't there. She was unable to return to Delhi, as she was taking care of her mom as well! It was also her birthday yesterday....

my next blog might be my paper, which I still have to write out.... (I just presented it with extensive notes, rather than reading it out...)

I have another paper coming up on Tuesday, and of course I am completely unprepared. I had prioritized this last paper and it had been postponed twice. I would have had it a month back under the normal timetable! So now my paper on Postmodernism will be a shoddy affair.... I know I have 2 days.... but technically I don't. Today is Dushera - a hindu festival, and relatives will be coming over. I should be sleeping right now, instead of blogging! how will I wake up early in the morning and help mom and di cook/clean etc.?

And on Monday, I have to go and meet my bff, perhaps celebrate her belated birthday. And I need to buy a ticket too. Sepultura are coming to DElhi!!!! AaaaaaH! This will perhaps be the highlight of this year in Delhi for me! (Apart from crossing me quarter century on earth - and i shudder to think about that!)

So thats my update, bye-dee-bye, gotta sleep now...

in the class, once upon a time...

won't you look and say its fit
how on tubelights birdies sit
having fun while making chicks
as our time does slowly tick

just a question asked and we
discuss it, ask it, endlessly
Insanity we have achieved
collective minds completely sieved

Fate brought the Ghost to him
Asked Revenge, the chances dim
delaying with the question most
Rosencrantz stands at the post

All of them sometime must fall
the Skull shall consume us all

(Do you remember, Nandu? Sitting in the most boring class ever, when I wrote this, in college? seems like ages ago. or no maybe just like yesterday. Time was never linear in our worlds, was it? )

...I just found this... in my ole notebook! What title should I give it? Any suggestions anyone?

my treasure trove

Yesterday, I finally mustered up the courage to sort through and organise some of the souvenirs of my year in Okinawa. I had been postponing this process, for obvious reasons... I didn't want to reorganise them as it would mean that that part of my life was finally over and done with and I'd have to put them away in a box and keep them until the next spring cleaning, when I would throw away the least important of those items (or maybe not... I'd just look at them and keep them away again.)

{I know I am childish and silly about these things, but little things mean so much more to me than anything else!}

The box contained:

the pretty seashells and sea glass pieces I collected;
my JET Diary where I jotted down every single days activity at school/otherwise;
my Okinawa notebook, which contained info about Oki, words of Oki-ben, places to visit in Oki. etc;
my keitai and battery (which can't work in India since I need a step-down converter first);
my Inkan, official and the special Hello Kitty one with the kanji Ayumi found of my name;
the glass art photo frame I made at the Nago Glass factory;
Yaeyama Star Sand vials;
the lavender potpourri from Minami-Furano (Motobu's sister town) that the BoE gave me;
goya and Blue Manta keitai thingies;
the I(heart)沖縄 of leftover clay when making Shiisas;
the Kanehide point card and other cards from various cafes;
the felt paper badges I made with the special ed. students of Kamimotobu Chugakko;
the wisdom tooth I finally had wisdom to get removed while I was there;
the Khajinho miniature Okinawan-shirt coasters that Shoko gave me;
the bracelet Minako stayed up all night making before Dave, I n John left;
the various purikura done over the year;
the novel purikura with Ayumi's funky camera;
the towel Saori san gave me, dyed with Fukugi tree leaves as a symbol to protect me as those trees protect Okinawa in typhoons;

Oh Gosh, I cant go on...

coincidence?

My life seems to revolve around the Metro, and I am obsessed about it!

A totally random thing happened today... I was traveling in the yellow line to Vishwavidyalaya, and I chanced to sit next to a girl who was munching away from a tiffin box. I was fidgeting and squirming in my seat as I felt like telling her off about this. "Eating, Drinking, or Smoking in the Metro and station area is not permitted." And they make these announcements all the time! But of course, this girl had plugged her ears with earphones and so she couldn't hear the announcements. I finally decided I'd had it as she kept at it for more than 10 minutes and she was attracting flies (Yuck!!).

I took out my notebook, and wrote her a note saying: "Eating is not allowed in the Metro. You may be doing it cleanly, but others will look at you and start doing it too. Please refrain from setting such a bad example!" and I handed it to her as the train approached the Station before Vishwavidyalaya, and I walked out of the train! I was so annoyed that I couldn't stay in there anymore!

I was already late for the seminar, and the huge platform clock glared 14:44 in a bright red at me. The triple 4s might as well have been 6s as they spelled out doom for me! (my seminars start at 2:30pm) And as I waited for the next train, I wondered why I had been so silly to walk out of the train. I could have waited just before reaching the Vishwavidyalaya station to hand her the note! or why couldn't I just say it to her instead of writing it down?

As the questions plagued my mind, the train approached, and inside, was my really good friend, sitting with her boyfriend whom I had never met, but had seen photos of. She was my first friend at the Hostel, when I started living there four years ago. I hadn't met this friend since I came back from Japan, even though I had made plans but had to cancel. It was so random, to meet her there! If that girl hadn't been eating, I would never get off at Vidhan Sabha, and board a train with my friend in it when I was running so late for class!

I can only say, what a strange coincidence that was!

A Month!

Its been exactly a month since I came back from Japan! Time goes by too fast. To jazz up my life and make it more interesting I am definitely going to try Rachel's idea of 101 in 1001! but I am still making up the list of 101 things that I could do in Delhi! hahahah! so good luck to me!

Delhi Metro

Delhi Metro is my friend and its my enemy as well.

I travel by it to go to the university, it takes about an hour and a half or so to get there. I walk for about 5 minutes to get to the Dwarka Sector 10 Station from my apartment. then it takes about 55 minutes on the Blue Line to get to Rajiv Chowk Station, where I change to the Yellow Line. After another 20 minutes or so I reach Vishwavidyalaya Station. It takes another 10-15 minutes by a Rs. 10 rickshaw-ride to get to the Arts Faculty, where I have my seminars in the English Department. The metro ride costs me Rs. 18, making my commute a total of Rs 28. (less than 100-yen ). I travel in the ease and comfort of the AirCon. and I usually get a seat going as Sect. 10 is the 2nd station from point of beginning.

Yet it is my enemy. You ask 'Why?'? Well, I dont get a seat while going back home, as there are herds of people boarding the train at Rajiv Chowk, and it is just hell. I stand back and let the stampeding crowds in first and then enter squeezing through the jammed pack of people to get a free space in which to stand. But more so coz, if there wasn't the Metro, commuting would be so difficult and tiring that I would just live in the International Students House for Women where I stayed before, and have a far better and interesting life! Plus I would have access to JSTOR on my laptop! And, there would be new people from interesting places I would get to interact with. Currently I am bored to death and wish for something desperately to happen in my life.

Now you ask, "Well then, why don't you go there?" Because, I am sacrificing my wishes to my parents, who sacrificed theirs when I decided to take on the JET Programme. I guess I feel a little guilty too. My mom missed me, and my dad felt that I am drifting away from them. But, I am giving them until my sisters marriage, and after that I am moving out! Until then, I shall suffer the boredom (*shrug*) and the Metro shall be both my friend and enemy!

modern art

Today, a friend and I went to the National Museum of Modern Art in Delhi. Its located in a building that is called Jaipur House and it is very close to India Gate. We went there is search of some of the paintings housed there which we are studying as part of our Modern India in Paint and Print course. It was nice to go there, to New Delhi, where roads are clean and it is only cluttered by the old architecture of Lutyen's Delhi scape!

The fees for the museum for Indians is Rs. 10! and for foreigners Rs. 100! so cheap a price to see Masterpeices of Indian Art! I am so loose with my wallet after coming back from Okinawa, I think its all so cheap, that I just give! Even Autowalas and Rickshawalas (drivers) I can't seem to bargain anymore!.

Cameras werent allowed, but I again managed to sneak in a few pictures on my phone's camera! I shall be put in jail for this if the police search the cyber spaces!


this above is by M. F. Hussain.

these below are by Amrita Sher Gill:

the printed word...

There is certain Joy which I missed while I was in Okinawa... that of reading an enjoyably informative Newspaper in English (perhaps with a cup of tea and cake rusks!) in the morning. Today, being a Sunday, I was greeted by the Sunday Times of India, with the same Editorial columns that haven't been replayed since I've been gone - Erratica by Bachi Karkaria, Jugular Vein by Jug Suraiya, Swaminomics by Swaminathan, Men and Ideas by Gurcharan Das, Shashi on Sunday by Shashi Tharoor, Indiaspora, etc. I usually pore on each word in the articles and their great writing and ideas enthrall me. I am such a knowledge-hog!