Independent me?

Generally whenever anyone poses a typical "What does independence mean to you?" question, I have a set of responses ready to rattle out. You know the type, the freedom of speech and freedom of thought and expression stuff.Last year while watching CNN IBN, Paras Tomar posed a question which has had me thinking ever since. He asked "What does independence mean to someone who has always lived in a free country?"

The question hit me hard. I realize that I don't know what it is like to be not free. To not have these privileges. So what do I really mean when I give these answers? Seeing that I have nothing to compare against. All my life I have had the freedom to say and do what I want. Because the country allows it and also because my family does. Would I be appreciating freedom more if it was briefly taken away from me? Maybe.

Notice that even when I am posing a rhetoric question, I use the word briefly. That's how scary it is.


What is freedom really? What is independence?

Watching your father become a child again : priceless

My father’s engineering batch just had their 30 year reunion.

It was the most delightful thing to watch my generally serious, stiff, reserved and introverted father let go and have such a blast. I do not know if it is going back to his alma mater or whether it is the high of meeting people who knew you since your 70s hairstyle and bush-shirts-and-bellbottoms days which did that. Backslaps, exchanges of old stories and scandals, laughing over the old fist fights, dancing after 30 years, laughing more, smiling more, hugging more. There were some heartfelt speeches which even shut up the cynic in me (Not something which happens often I can assure you). It was emotional to say the least. Even for an outsider like me!

Makes you wonder why it takes 30 years for a reunion to happen.

PBDS

Pre Birthday Depressive Syndrome. PBDS. Something I go through every year.

Birthdays both excite and depress me.

The child in me is excited with all the attention I will get.
The adult will ask me "So Sravanthi...You are 22 now. What have you done with your life?".

I have no answers. None that will entirely satisfy my rational mind atleast. When I was younger it used to be something like learning to tie my shoe laces or learning to iron my own uniform. Now my mind looks for bigger things. Which I don't find. *sigh*

And 22 is OLD!!!! 21 is a nice age. The young-hot-blooded-passionate-take over and change the world type of age. At a few days before I turn 22 I feel more sober already. Like I have to be more responsible. Like I have to choose wisely. Like I have to tread carefully henceforth.

In the logical sense it shouldn't matter this much you know. What is a birthday after all? Just an acknowledgement of another year gone. Just another day. A day can't make you change. A day can't sober you up. Numbers don't matter. 22 is just another random number. It is. It is. It is. There. I have said it now. If only I can believe it.

Damn.

Dear Sneha,

This is a week late. Nevertheless...

Six years ago when we met in the classroom at Chinmaya, little did I know then that you would end up becoming such an important person in my life. I think we barely exchanged pleasantries and introductions. I don't know how we became friends, but I am really glad we did.

The Rs.5 icecream ritual (finish lunch fast,discreetly slip out as if going to the loo, quickly scavenge for change, buy the icecream and find a safe place to eat it) may have ended. But a lot of things haven't. You still remain the one person who I know will never judge me. You still are the person who gives me that sense of calm. You still write your h's and t's with a scale! You still cut vegetables with scientific precision. You still can't scream much at people.

You still remain a constant in my life.

Happy Birthday Sneha!!!!

Is it just me?

I got a new phone today. One I was contemplating on buying for a long time. After making use of the employee discount and placing my order in advance and waiting in a long queue I finally got it.

After all that the packaging appeals to me more than the phone itself . *sigh*

I am too lazy to write anything now. But I do want to point out the best fiction I read on blogworld in recent times.

People let's hear it for Sowmya Rao

Oh and I also went river rafting yesterday. Mindblowing experience. I want to do justice to it with a good post. So more on that later. Or not.

I knew it!!!! Muhahahahahaha

You scored as Calvin. You are Calvin! You are an obnoxious little six-year-old who knows way too much to be getting Fs in school. You know how to have the best time playing, and can annoy adults to no end.

What Calvin & Hobbes character are you?

Blank Noise Project

Blank Noise Project has been on for a while. I do not know how many of you know about it. Do go through the blog.

Eve teasing is the most ignored crime ever. Every woman has to constantly be subject to it day in and day out. And there is nobody making an effort to stop this. The project is a first step towards a safer world for women. A world where I will not have to carry a safety pin wherever I go. Where you need not wait for hours in the bus stop because the buses which came by were crowded. Where you need not sit at the edge of an auto with your mobile in hand. I know almost every girl knows what I am talking about. And guys if this is all new to you it is high time you get informed.

The current project is about collecting clothes from women. The clothes in which they were subject to eve teasing. It is a common perception that women "ask for it" by wearing the clothes they do. Rubbish. This project is just going to dispell the myth. Please go through this link which explains it better. Women you need to be part of this. The target of 1000 is still far off but still very achievable.

Perfect......

Perfect weather............cloudy with a slight drizzle here and there.
Great conversation.........stimulating but not overly so.
Perfect filter coffee..........strong and extra sugar.

What can be better??


Maybe the test I wrote in the morning could have been....oh hell....let it go.

Random musings...

Nishita pushed me against the wall and asked me the purpose of me having a blog when I never intended to blog at all. So baby this post is because of you. Not for you. =)

Also I noticed that my hit counter crossed 150 and I seem to be having readers from a lot of places on earth. =) =)

There are journalists and then there are idiots pretending to be journalists. I wonder how most of the second category people ended up in Times Now. You should just watch their idiotic coverage to know what I mean. The other day Sudha Sadanand in the crisp journalist saree and 'i-am-actually-stepping-out-of-the-studio' sunshades was interviewing Arundhati Roy about the NBA. Sorry, supposedly about the NBA. Because every single question focused upon Aamir Khan. Why he did this, why he said that, what he was wearing,what he ate blah blah. Ok maybe I am exaggerating a little but it was that pissing off. If she wants to know about Aamir Khan then interview him!!!! Why Arundhati Roy? The news channel is so much like Times Of India. No news ,only rubbish. It is so focused on Page 3ites and what the celebs do and nothing to do with the news.

I like CNN-IBN. I predict that they will overtake NDTV in the ratings soon. Don't get me wrong, I love Prannoy Roy and his entire team. But Rajdeep Sardesai is going to be real tough competition. I also like Karan Thapar. The man is so suave and .....debonair? Yeah that's the word.

My final project review is on 28th. Once it is done it's like a heavy weight of my head. I will not get into coll and dept bashing now. I wouldn't stop if I did. So I will sum it up in

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

There now that that is done.....

My friend sent me the India version of the Lonely Planet Guide. It's awesome. All the little details about all the little places. I mean places you might not find on a regular map. I keep opening it at random pages and reading up. It's nice. India has so so so much to offer. It's awesome. Thanks pig!!!

I am in a wierd mood. Not sad but not happy also. And I don't know what else to write.

I am no good at titles...

Last Saturday (18/3/2006) was my farewell. It was postponed a million times already and I had given up hope of going 'coz my proj manager in Motorola would not give me off for the 3rd week in a row inspite of me doing no earth shattering research. Seriously....I would love to be! I would like to imagine myself working on a seemingly impossible piece of code and peole calling me all the time saying 'where are u? We need u to get this done! Nobody else can do it!'. ROFL.

Anyway getting back to what I started with.....geeta (the hostel rep and a very darling junior of mine) called and told me that the farewell was postponed to a weekend so that I could attend. ( I swear she did! This is not somethin I am sayin to glorify myself)

The farewell was beautiful. All hostel farewells are. Seriously. I thought I would end up crying but I eventually didn't. But ever since the farewell I have been choked up. I realize how much I am actually going to miss hostel! These are some of the things I will definitely miss...

• Me and my roomies(Eleza and Saparya) all invariably waking up every single morning at 8:45 to attend a 9:00 class.....And managing to make it!
• Cribbing about mess coffee/sambar/rasam/papad/anything all day long but still trying to sneak 2nd helpings of each
• Singing 'action' songs(actually making every song an action song) with Eleza and making everyone around us look at us with an expression of mingled exasperation, amusement and pity
• Fighting with that stupid moron hostel secretary to get mess reduction
• Sitting on the terrace late at night and talking about life,men,careers,dreams and realities
• Knowing that whenever I need it a hug is less than 50m away
• Being in the mess hall at 7:30pm sharp every Monday to eat the biryani served for dinner
• Screaming myself hoarse at every sports week/hostel day/previous farewells/any other event that happens
• Dancing for stupid cheesy and sometimes awesome music with the music blaring at 1 in the morning
• Fighting to watch some particular programme on the common TV in the mess hall
• Having chai in the mess for 10 minutes but a conversation during chai for over an hour
• Dorji' laughter which I could hear when she is locked in her room on the 2nd floor and I am in the ground floor of the other block
• For that matter Solachi's laughter which goes on for 15 minutes continuously at the same loud volume level
• Watching Eleza trip over the wire, then hit her head on the table, then bang her leg against the edge of the bed, then trip over the stool and finally wake up every morning
• Amrita's hazaar ways of making Maggi yummy
• Planning, plotting, conspiring,scheming and all that for every birthday
• The birthday bumps (Especially the ones Lakshmi got whenever it was anybody's bday)
• Watching Radhika's ears go red whenever she lies....She still can't lie!
• Thinking of a new way to sneak out of hostel every single week
• Raiding Amrita's wardrobe at all times of the day
• Bitching,bitching,bitching about the warden/hostel manager/anyone in the mgmt.
• 200 girls standing together whenever any problem arises in hostel
• The first year students screaming liiiiiiiiiiiiiitle less when I pass by
• Watching a movie with ten people crammed into a room and the lights off
• Crying for the movies and hoping nobody saw
• analyzing the movie later
• Acting/talking/looking completely crazy and being ok with it

Oh and so so so many million other things which I will keep posting as I keep bloggin...

-Sravanthi