To most of the people, it means welcoming the new year in style. Parties, dinners, get together, something, anything. Song, dance, drink, laugh and generally make merry. And yet, to some, it is totally different. No, don't worry, I am not going to talk about the downtrodden class and how miserable their lives are. Here are a few of the observations made on new year's eve, that I found amusing:
The chicken shops: I don't know what is the relation between chicken and new year! Every little shop selling meat is teeming with people! And when I say "little" I mean the ones titled KentAcky fried chicken. No kidding, every time I pass that sign, I chuckle.
The Bakeries: All the Iyengar bakeries, fake or genuine are making big business today. The name Iyengar bakery in itself is ironic because usually most of these bakeries serve delicacies with egg as an ingredient, which is not to be consumed by them. There are little extensions of the shop, covered by shamiana(tent) selling cakes in every imaginable colour. I don't mean to be condescending, but they really looked anything but edible! I think I even spotted a bright green one shaped like a guitar. Rock On? :)
The loners: Near every shop, or any other commercial establishment, there will be one guy, just this one guy. Either seated or leaning against a pole or a wall. Smoking or just doing nothing. Age no bar, class no bar. I spotted a kind of good looking guy and I also saw a guy who looked like the police department in 11 nations are looking for him. But the guy is there, without fail.
The funnily dressed: nah, this isn't going to be a tirade against the badly dressed or a lecture on fashion consciousness or dressing etiquette's. By "funnily dressed", I mean the ones who dress in a way that does not suit the occasion. Confused? Take the example of this family - mother, dressed in fake silk, adorned with jewels, daughter, pre teens, dressed in something bright and new, with an old scarf over the head. It's cold you see. The father takes the prize though. He is dressed in the Sabarimala pilgrim clothes, all black. Where are they heading to? The local mall, of course.
These are your normal people, trying to make a big day out of something, which actually does not bear too much significance in their mundane lives. But these are also the people, who make the most of it.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Astral Projections!
Even I don't know what the title means, I found the term being used by a blogger and just decided that I had to use it somewhere! But one thing I do know is, applying the general rules of etymology, the word is connected to astrology,stars, constellations, the whole deal. Which brings me to the point of this post.
Did you happen to catch the smiley? "The what?", you may ask and maybe rightly so. Well I won't go into the technicalities of it but a few days back Mars, Venus and our Moon decided to show off a little in the sky and went ahead and formed a smiley-the two planets being the eyes and our over glamourised satellite being the lips/grin/smile. I didn't even know about it till people told me. "look at the sky!" came one message.
This message came at a time when I was returning to my cubicle after my aerobics class. For those of you who haven't been through this torture session, let me tell you, it is, well, torturous! That day in particular I remember being really, and I mean, really exhausted after the workout (quick digression for mental note: dedicate a post to aerobics classes) and here I get a message asking me to move a part of my body. Making sure it wasn't sent by my sadistic instructor, I looked up. First, up ahead. Then, to the right. To the left. Nothing. The only part left to check was overhead and behind. Since I feel a little tipsy when I am tired, I was scared that I might trip over and fall if I try to do so while walking, so I decided to sneak a peek when I change the direction of my path. And then I looked.
No, this isn't the part where I go "it was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen". Yeah, it was nice, actually, it was pretty amusing. I am quite sure I stood there for a good two seconds extra, chuckling to myself, thinking how silly the sky looked. But I am the kind of person who gets amused by the weighing scale they use in the courier office, so I won't read too much into this experience. But it was better than the others:
The Meteor Shower: This topic makes my blood boil. Take a 13-14 year old girl, addiction to television, easily excitable and an overhyped phenomenon. What do you get? Major disappointment! I stayed up almost the whole night, during winter, craning my tender neck upwards towards east, west, north, south, every direction possible, hoping to catch "one of the most spectacular display of nature's fireworks" in the sky and what do I get? One shooting star, which, now that I think about it and analyse that situation, could have been a figment of my imagination or hallucination, owing to exhaustion! The next day the sheepish news reporters admit that it was more prominent and visible over certain areas of Taiwan and China. Well thank you 哑的 驴!
Solar Eclipse: Contrary to what they show in television series like Heroes, it doesn't envelope the whole sky and look like a beautiful diamond ring, straight out of Dubai's finest jewelry store! OK, it does happen, but only if you happen to live in Greenland or Alaska or the Moon! Other places, you get superstitious elders who ask you to bathe(or is it not bathe?) on that day, super excited adults dragging their kids to the local planetarium for the "once in a lifetime experience", weird glasses made of colored, transparent cellophane paper and contraptions which would make the cave man wonder if he committed a mistake by inventing the wheel. And of course the people from Doordarshan, who drone on in such a manner that it would put hardcore insomniacs to sleep! If they are to be believed, witnessing a partial (percentage ranging from 5-15, max. I think) solar eclipse is a greater achievement than Deve Gowda not sleeping in the parliament. Umm..kinda lost my train of thoughts there.
The point is, next time anyone gets all enthusiastic about any kind of event or phenomenon related to any heavnly body in the sky, I'll ask them to take a pic, maybe record a few words, take a video, and mail it to me.
Did you happen to catch the smiley? "The what?", you may ask and maybe rightly so. Well I won't go into the technicalities of it but a few days back Mars, Venus and our Moon decided to show off a little in the sky and went ahead and formed a smiley-the two planets being the eyes and our over glamourised satellite being the lips/grin/smile. I didn't even know about it till people told me. "look at the sky!" came one message.
This message came at a time when I was returning to my cubicle after my aerobics class. For those of you who haven't been through this torture session, let me tell you, it is, well, torturous! That day in particular I remember being really, and I mean, really exhausted after the workout (quick digression for mental note: dedicate a post to aerobics classes) and here I get a message asking me to move a part of my body. Making sure it wasn't sent by my sadistic instructor, I looked up. First, up ahead. Then, to the right. To the left. Nothing. The only part left to check was overhead and behind. Since I feel a little tipsy when I am tired, I was scared that I might trip over and fall if I try to do so while walking, so I decided to sneak a peek when I change the direction of my path. And then I looked.
No, this isn't the part where I go "it was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen". Yeah, it was nice, actually, it was pretty amusing. I am quite sure I stood there for a good two seconds extra, chuckling to myself, thinking how silly the sky looked. But I am the kind of person who gets amused by the weighing scale they use in the courier office, so I won't read too much into this experience. But it was better than the others:
The Meteor Shower: This topic makes my blood boil. Take a 13-14 year old girl, addiction to television, easily excitable and an overhyped phenomenon. What do you get? Major disappointment! I stayed up almost the whole night, during winter, craning my tender neck upwards towards east, west, north, south, every direction possible, hoping to catch "one of the most spectacular display of nature's fireworks" in the sky and what do I get? One shooting star, which, now that I think about it and analyse that situation, could have been a figment of my imagination or hallucination, owing to exhaustion! The next day the sheepish news reporters admit that it was more prominent and visible over certain areas of Taiwan and China. Well thank you 哑的 驴!
Solar Eclipse: Contrary to what they show in television series like Heroes, it doesn't envelope the whole sky and look like a beautiful diamond ring, straight out of Dubai's finest jewelry store! OK, it does happen, but only if you happen to live in Greenland or Alaska or the Moon! Other places, you get superstitious elders who ask you to bathe(or is it not bathe?) on that day, super excited adults dragging their kids to the local planetarium for the "once in a lifetime experience", weird glasses made of colored, transparent cellophane paper and contraptions which would make the cave man wonder if he committed a mistake by inventing the wheel. And of course the people from Doordarshan, who drone on in such a manner that it would put hardcore insomniacs to sleep! If they are to be believed, witnessing a partial (percentage ranging from 5-15, max. I think) solar eclipse is a greater achievement than Deve Gowda not sleeping in the parliament. Umm..kinda lost my train of thoughts there.
The point is, next time anyone gets all enthusiastic about any kind of event or phenomenon related to any heavnly body in the sky, I'll ask them to take a pic, maybe record a few words, take a video, and mail it to me.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
As I see it
Happiness isn't just the ability to smile through hardships, it is also the ability to hide the effort
Sorrow isn't just crying over a loss, it is also the wish to not think about it, to avoid the tears
Sacrifice isn't just giving up something you love for someone you love, it is also the act of never letting them know
Anger isn't just yelling and throwing things around, it is also the feeling of helplessness that accompanies it
Ego isn't just the inability to admit you were wrong, it is also the stubborn belief that you were right
Faith isn't just the act of holding on, it is also the strength to let go
Distance isn't just the barrier in between, it is also the gaps you had failed to see
Fear isn't just the shadow that scares you in the dark, it is also your own image that makes the shadow
Truth isn't just what everyone wants to speak, it is also what no one wants to hear
Jealousy isn't just wanting what the other has, it is also wanting to destroy what cannot be yours
Love isn't just about giving up your whole self, it is also about accepting the other
Friendship isn't just about saying what you would do, it is also about doing what you don't say
Character isn't just what you show yourself to be, it is also what others see you as
Sorrow isn't just crying over a loss, it is also the wish to not think about it, to avoid the tears
Sacrifice isn't just giving up something you love for someone you love, it is also the act of never letting them know
Anger isn't just yelling and throwing things around, it is also the feeling of helplessness that accompanies it
Ego isn't just the inability to admit you were wrong, it is also the stubborn belief that you were right
Faith isn't just the act of holding on, it is also the strength to let go
Distance isn't just the barrier in between, it is also the gaps you had failed to see
Fear isn't just the shadow that scares you in the dark, it is also your own image that makes the shadow
Truth isn't just what everyone wants to speak, it is also what no one wants to hear
Jealousy isn't just wanting what the other has, it is also wanting to destroy what cannot be yours
Love isn't just about giving up your whole self, it is also about accepting the other
Friendship isn't just about saying what you would do, it is also about doing what you don't say
Character isn't just what you show yourself to be, it is also what others see you as
Monday, November 10, 2008
Situation: Cynical
I would be so freaking rich if I had a nickel everytime:
1. Someone did a quick hand maneuver on spotting a temple/church/any other place of worship while passing it by.
2. Someone said sorry and did the quick hand-to-forehead maneuver on mistakenly hitting me/ kicking me/ their foot coming in contact with any single cell of my body.
3. Someone said the F word. For the record, I don't.
4. Someone asked me "How are you?", said "Sorry" and "Thank You" and not mean it. Not in the same order, Einstein!
5. Someone gave me a fake smile. OK, sometimes even I am guilty of it.
6. Someone expressed surprise at me being a twin. Yeah, it's a little different, but really? That fascinating eh?
7. Someone joked about one twin feeling the pain when the other is hurt. Yup, so original. Har Har.
8. Someone asked me "what platform do you work on?". Seriously, you have no idea how irritating it is to answer that question. Unless you want to recruit me, do you really care?
9. Someone asked me if I know so and so person in my company. Dear Uncle/Aunty, there are at least 90,000 other employees! Providing their nickname, height, colour and weight does not help in any way either!
10. Someone commented on my smile. Don't get me wrong, I love all the attention. You can keep talking about it. No complaints. I am just making a list to get rich, you know. Don't mind.
11. Some ignorant half-desi-who-thinks-he-knows-my-country makes some random, derogatory comment which is lapped up by the media. Dude(yeah, I said "dude"), if you don't live here and do nothing to improve the situation, you don't get to talk. Comprehende?
12. Someone(Indian resident) sent me the Obama vs Bush pics. I am waiting for the honeymoon period to get over. We'll see how much you like this man after that.
13. Someone gave me gyan on the reasons of the collapse of Lehmann Brothers and the current economic crisis. I have access to Wikipedia too, you know.
14. I meet a hypocrite. If you are so concerned about child labour, pay for your maid's child's education, don't preach. We have Miss India's for that.
15. A Hollywood star flaunts their United Colours of Benetton adopted child. Get your house in order first, you rehab regular, now married, now divorced, now happy, now gay freak.
1. Someone did a quick hand maneuver on spotting a temple/church/any other place of worship while passing it by.
2. Someone said sorry and did the quick hand-to-forehead maneuver on mistakenly hitting me/ kicking me/ their foot coming in contact with any single cell of my body.
3. Someone said the F word. For the record, I don't.
4. Someone asked me "How are you?", said "Sorry" and "Thank You" and not mean it. Not in the same order, Einstein!
5. Someone gave me a fake smile. OK, sometimes even I am guilty of it.
6. Someone expressed surprise at me being a twin. Yeah, it's a little different, but really? That fascinating eh?
7. Someone joked about one twin feeling the pain when the other is hurt. Yup, so original. Har Har.
8. Someone asked me "what platform do you work on?". Seriously, you have no idea how irritating it is to answer that question. Unless you want to recruit me, do you really care?
9. Someone asked me if I know so and so person in my company. Dear Uncle/Aunty, there are at least 90,000 other employees! Providing their nickname, height, colour and weight does not help in any way either!
10. Someone commented on my smile. Don't get me wrong, I love all the attention. You can keep talking about it. No complaints. I am just making a list to get rich, you know. Don't mind.
11. Some ignorant half-desi-who-thinks-he-knows-my-country makes some random, derogatory comment which is lapped up by the media. Dude(yeah, I said "dude"), if you don't live here and do nothing to improve the situation, you don't get to talk. Comprehende?
12. Someone(Indian resident) sent me the Obama vs Bush pics. I am waiting for the honeymoon period to get over. We'll see how much you like this man after that.
13. Someone gave me gyan on the reasons of the collapse of Lehmann Brothers and the current economic crisis. I have access to Wikipedia too, you know.
14. I meet a hypocrite. If you are so concerned about child labour, pay for your maid's child's education, don't preach. We have Miss India's for that.
15. A Hollywood star flaunts their United Colours of Benetton adopted child. Get your house in order first, you rehab regular, now married, now divorced, now happy, now gay freak.
Monday, November 3, 2008
First time!
They say that the first impression is the last impression. OK, that was just to give a nice, serious start to the post. My problem with first impressions is this- it turns out that it isn't the first at all! Confused? It means that whenever I meet new people, they tell me something about me which is a little, er, bordering on creepy. So I am not exactly a stranger to them! This post can be best explained with the use of examples:
I:Year 2006; Company training
My friend, who was in the adjacent class, a class with only guys, wanted to get a little "info" about a girl in my class. Don't raise your eyebrows as yet, I can vouch for his harmlessness and the girl in question wasn't exactly a stranger. They studied in the same school, but he wasn't sure. So noble old me volunteered to help out. Now, it so happened that I barely knew the girl's name(we were a class of 80 plus girls) but wondering how tough could it be to talk to another one of the same species, went upto her:
Me: Hi, did you by any chance study in *bleep* school in Ranchi?
Stranger classmate: Yeah! How did you know?
Me: My friend, *bleep*, he told me. *Good words about my friend, introduction etc.*
SC: Oh ok, that's nice. Such a small world!
Me: Yeah. Oh by the way, silly me. I never introduced myself. I am Karuna. *sheepish grin*
SC: I know. *smug, suggestive smile*
II: Late 2006; Company provided room in the hostel
I had got "pity hostel". It's a long story, and an old one at that but for the time being, just know that I had got hostel for a limited period-one month. So here I was, huffing and puffing, dragging my luggage up three floors, lifting it one at a time(had it been a public place, one item would have disappeared by the time I got another). I did not know who my roommate would be and I did not care. To me people aren't a problem, if I can live with this mixture of species, specimen and subjects(of research) known as my family, I can live with anyone. There she was, sitting on her bed, chewing on an apple, amused by my state.
New roomie: Hi, are you moving in here?
Me(*gasp*): yeah, I shall be living here for a month.
NR: Ok, which batch?
Me: *details* What about you?
NR: *details* Which branch in college?
Me: *details* And you?
NR: *details* Aren't you from *college name*?
Me: Yeah! How did you know that? Have we met before?
NR: No, I have seen you on Orkut. *smug, suggestive smile*
III: Flashback time over, year 2008, month of October
It was my best friend's birthday. Everyone was busy so instead of a grand treat, we decided to have ice cream at the parlour known for its fantastic flavours. Of course, now that they know that we are getting addicted to it, the thugs have increased the prices to such an extent that paying for research to grow such ice cream trees would be cheaper! I seem to have got distracted, back to the point! The company involved all of her classmates from college, most of whom I knew just by name, and yours truly. Again, no people problem, so I did not expect to feel out of place and had no hesitation in tagging along. We were supposed to pick up one of her friends on the way.
Best Friend: Sorry I kept you waiting
Best Friend's Friend: No problem, I didn't have to wait that long
BF: *banter*
BFF: *banter* *banter*
Me: *wisecrack*
BF, BFF: ha ha
Me: oh I don't think we have been officially introduced before or met. Hi, I am Karuna.
BFF: that's ok, I know. We have never met but I have seen you a lot in college. *smug,suggestive smile*
Now my problem is this, all three times, the other person involved was a girl! Why are girls keeping a tab on me? Why is it that everytime I introduce myself, I am greeted with that smug smile? Why can't I be anonymous, for a change?
Yeah right. Weird as it may be, I have to admit, it's flattering to learn that people you barely or don't even know, know at least something about you. Famous or infamous, that, is a different point to ponder over, altogether!
I:Year 2006; Company training
My friend, who was in the adjacent class, a class with only guys, wanted to get a little "info" about a girl in my class. Don't raise your eyebrows as yet, I can vouch for his harmlessness and the girl in question wasn't exactly a stranger. They studied in the same school, but he wasn't sure. So noble old me volunteered to help out. Now, it so happened that I barely knew the girl's name(we were a class of 80 plus girls) but wondering how tough could it be to talk to another one of the same species, went upto her:
Me: Hi, did you by any chance study in *bleep* school in Ranchi?
Stranger classmate: Yeah! How did you know?
Me: My friend, *bleep*, he told me. *Good words about my friend, introduction etc.*
SC: Oh ok, that's nice. Such a small world!
Me: Yeah. Oh by the way, silly me. I never introduced myself. I am Karuna. *sheepish grin*
SC: I know. *smug, suggestive smile*
II: Late 2006; Company provided room in the hostel
I had got "pity hostel". It's a long story, and an old one at that but for the time being, just know that I had got hostel for a limited period-one month. So here I was, huffing and puffing, dragging my luggage up three floors, lifting it one at a time(had it been a public place, one item would have disappeared by the time I got another). I did not know who my roommate would be and I did not care. To me people aren't a problem, if I can live with this mixture of species, specimen and subjects(of research) known as my family, I can live with anyone. There she was, sitting on her bed, chewing on an apple, amused by my state.
New roomie: Hi, are you moving in here?
Me(*gasp*): yeah, I shall be living here for a month.
NR: Ok, which batch?
Me: *details* What about you?
NR: *details* Which branch in college?
Me: *details* And you?
NR: *details* Aren't you from *college name*?
Me: Yeah! How did you know that? Have we met before?
NR: No, I have seen you on Orkut. *smug, suggestive smile*
III: Flashback time over, year 2008, month of October
It was my best friend's birthday. Everyone was busy so instead of a grand treat, we decided to have ice cream at the parlour known for its fantastic flavours. Of course, now that they know that we are getting addicted to it, the thugs have increased the prices to such an extent that paying for research to grow such ice cream trees would be cheaper! I seem to have got distracted, back to the point! The company involved all of her classmates from college, most of whom I knew just by name, and yours truly. Again, no people problem, so I did not expect to feel out of place and had no hesitation in tagging along. We were supposed to pick up one of her friends on the way.
Best Friend: Sorry I kept you waiting
Best Friend's Friend: No problem, I didn't have to wait that long
BF: *banter*
BFF: *banter* *banter*
Me: *wisecrack*
BF, BFF: ha ha
Me: oh I don't think we have been officially introduced before or met. Hi, I am Karuna.
BFF: that's ok, I know. We have never met but I have seen you a lot in college. *smug,suggestive smile*
Now my problem is this, all three times, the other person involved was a girl! Why are girls keeping a tab on me? Why is it that everytime I introduce myself, I am greeted with that smug smile? Why can't I be anonymous, for a change?
Yeah right. Weird as it may be, I have to admit, it's flattering to learn that people you barely or don't even know, know at least something about you. Famous or infamous, that, is a different point to ponder over, altogether!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Picture Pefect
Nothing like a good vacation to beat the..err..blues? I am slightly apprehensive about using that term because, well, I don't usually have them. Workwise, life isn't hectic at all and yes, maybe the traffic woes do suck in all my energy and the long distance traveling get on my nereves from time to time but hey, you can't have it all, can you?
I had been away for a social obligation, also known as "family function" and decided that if I were to travel outside the city anyway, why not pull in some extra days of leave and convert it into a vacation. There was another reason for it but I failed miserably in that so let's not bring it up here.
My trip covered Udupi, Sringeri, Horanadu and Kudremukh. I won't convert this into a travelogue so more information, if needed, can be found on many good blogs and websites, but not here. Talking of travelogues, I really like them and would definitely do them one fine day, but when I am more prepared with facts, figures, anecdotes and passion.
All this traveling made me think about the one concept that may not hold much relevance these days - picture postcards. Actually, do you ever remember using them? The only time I bought them was when in dire need of good pictures for a Holiday Home Work project or some assignment for the House bulletin board. OK, maybe once or twice my parents were forced to buy the ones sold outside places of interest where we went as tourists. But even then, it was just the lure of the glossy finish. I had no clue then what you are supposed to do with them and I have no clue now.
Sure, I know that when you visit a place you buy postcards of that place and mail(old school) them to your friends, relatives and well wishers. But..umm..why? That is my question. Is it a direct "haha!we are here and you are not" rubbing it in action? Or a more cruel "you might never be able to afford coming here, so here is how it looks" pity gesture? So does that mean the list of people you mailed it to comprised of the same list of people you despised? Olden days, olden times. I guess we shall never know.
PS: I think if I search long and hard enough, I can find an old book of these picture postcards. The keywords are "hard enough". Yeah right.
I had been away for a social obligation, also known as "family function" and decided that if I were to travel outside the city anyway, why not pull in some extra days of leave and convert it into a vacation. There was another reason for it but I failed miserably in that so let's not bring it up here.
My trip covered Udupi, Sringeri, Horanadu and Kudremukh. I won't convert this into a travelogue so more information, if needed, can be found on many good blogs and websites, but not here. Talking of travelogues, I really like them and would definitely do them one fine day, but when I am more prepared with facts, figures, anecdotes and passion.
All this traveling made me think about the one concept that may not hold much relevance these days - picture postcards. Actually, do you ever remember using them? The only time I bought them was when in dire need of good pictures for a Holiday Home Work project or some assignment for the House bulletin board. OK, maybe once or twice my parents were forced to buy the ones sold outside places of interest where we went as tourists. But even then, it was just the lure of the glossy finish. I had no clue then what you are supposed to do with them and I have no clue now.
Sure, I know that when you visit a place you buy postcards of that place and mail(old school) them to your friends, relatives and well wishers. But..umm..why? That is my question. Is it a direct "haha!we are here and you are not" rubbing it in action? Or a more cruel "you might never be able to afford coming here, so here is how it looks" pity gesture? So does that mean the list of people you mailed it to comprised of the same list of people you despised? Olden days, olden times. I guess we shall never know.
PS: I think if I search long and hard enough, I can find an old book of these picture postcards. The keywords are "hard enough". Yeah right.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Festivities!
It is that time of the year again. OK, so maybe us Indians don't have a single "festive season" like Christmas in many parts of the world, but so what? I think these nine days, known as Navratri(translation nav-nine ratri-night), can be classified as one. This time of the year reminds me of my childhood for many reasons.
The autumn break during school days was always cleverly timed to coincide with these days. The autumn break followed the Half Yearly Exam, if I am not mistaken. So you did not even have the "stress"(heh) of having to deal with studies for an examination that mattered a lot in terms of weightage, towards the calculation of the final marks and rank in class. My god, talking about all these things makes me feel so old! These concepts seem so alien now and the time when they occurred, ancient.
Next in line in this assortment of memories is the Durga Puja. No, I am not a Bengali. It goes like this- the Residents Association in the colony where I lived as a kid had a good number of Bengalis. More importantly, there was a good sized park in our neighbourhood. Combine these two factors and voila! you get a pandal (tent) filled with smoke, Bengalis in their best dhotis, sarees(as the case may be), a big idol of Kali Ma(another name for Goddess Durga) killing Mahishasura(who, according to mythology, could not be killed by man, mortal or immortal), skits, magic shows and other wonderful things usually associated with a carnival. Now the most important part of it, at least to us kids, was the collection of toys that were sold outside the park. Mind you, these weren't anything close to what was usually sold in the local shops. They were based on the prevalent theme i.e. bow and arrow(made of plastic or cardboard), sword(either fluorescent coloured plastic ones or thick cardboard covered with shiny paper), mace(usually my weapon of choice), masks(weirdest looking animals and one of a clown) and so on and so forth.
If the toys weren't distracting enough, there was food. Now that I think about it, I can't really recollect what all items were sold inside the park but I do remember that you did not need too much money to have a mouth full of assorted goodies. Actually, you did not even need parents. Collect a little amount(and by "little", I mean it) of money from your parents, join the kids in the neighbourhood(age ranging from tiny tots to early teens), the older ones incharge of the younglings. Or so the parents thought. But the arrangement worked perfectly. Once the difficult tasks like crossing the road and walking in the darkness were crossed, the group broke up into smaller ones, each going in a different direction, based on their likes and dislikes.
The next memory, in stark contrast to above, is Gollu. A familiar term to Tamilians, it is the tradition of arranging dolls in the house during the nine days of Navratri. Don't ask me what it signifies, it did not matter. As kids, we used to hop from one house to another, of course belonging to friends and family members. The incentive was the prasad(offering in the form of food) usually distributed by the lady of the family. The catch and the rather boring part- you had to earn it. How? By singing a song. Not just any song but devotional songs. When you are in school, devotional songs are surprisingly never short in number. So sing we did. After a couple of years, we had a routine. We knew which songs were to be sung(clue: stick to songs dedicated to a Goddess) and in which order(start with Lord Ganesha).
And what about home? Well, the significant ritual observed at home is the Saraswati Puja. If Diwali is for parents then Navratri is for kids. You see Goddess Lakshmi(wealth and prosperity) is worshipped on Diwali but Goddess Saraswati(knowledge) reigns supreme during Navratri. We were supposed to keep one text book each in the puja room, which was to be removed only after the end of this phase. Which meant that you could not touch these books during these ten days. Could a student be any happier? One funny recollection that comes to mind is that every year, without fail, the mathematics text book held a prominent, permanent position in the pile of books.
Simpler times. You grow up, beliefs change. Traditions and rituals? Some remain, some don't.
The autumn break during school days was always cleverly timed to coincide with these days. The autumn break followed the Half Yearly Exam, if I am not mistaken. So you did not even have the "stress"(heh) of having to deal with studies for an examination that mattered a lot in terms of weightage, towards the calculation of the final marks and rank in class. My god, talking about all these things makes me feel so old! These concepts seem so alien now and the time when they occurred, ancient.
Next in line in this assortment of memories is the Durga Puja. No, I am not a Bengali. It goes like this- the Residents Association in the colony where I lived as a kid had a good number of Bengalis. More importantly, there was a good sized park in our neighbourhood. Combine these two factors and voila! you get a pandal (tent) filled with smoke, Bengalis in their best dhotis, sarees(as the case may be), a big idol of Kali Ma(another name for Goddess Durga) killing Mahishasura(who, according to mythology, could not be killed by man, mortal or immortal), skits, magic shows and other wonderful things usually associated with a carnival. Now the most important part of it, at least to us kids, was the collection of toys that were sold outside the park. Mind you, these weren't anything close to what was usually sold in the local shops. They were based on the prevalent theme i.e. bow and arrow(made of plastic or cardboard), sword(either fluorescent coloured plastic ones or thick cardboard covered with shiny paper), mace(usually my weapon of choice), masks(weirdest looking animals and one of a clown) and so on and so forth.
If the toys weren't distracting enough, there was food. Now that I think about it, I can't really recollect what all items were sold inside the park but I do remember that you did not need too much money to have a mouth full of assorted goodies. Actually, you did not even need parents. Collect a little amount(and by "little", I mean it) of money from your parents, join the kids in the neighbourhood(age ranging from tiny tots to early teens), the older ones incharge of the younglings. Or so the parents thought. But the arrangement worked perfectly. Once the difficult tasks like crossing the road and walking in the darkness were crossed, the group broke up into smaller ones, each going in a different direction, based on their likes and dislikes.
The next memory, in stark contrast to above, is Gollu. A familiar term to Tamilians, it is the tradition of arranging dolls in the house during the nine days of Navratri. Don't ask me what it signifies, it did not matter. As kids, we used to hop from one house to another, of course belonging to friends and family members. The incentive was the prasad(offering in the form of food) usually distributed by the lady of the family. The catch and the rather boring part- you had to earn it. How? By singing a song. Not just any song but devotional songs. When you are in school, devotional songs are surprisingly never short in number. So sing we did. After a couple of years, we had a routine. We knew which songs were to be sung(clue: stick to songs dedicated to a Goddess) and in which order(start with Lord Ganesha).
And what about home? Well, the significant ritual observed at home is the Saraswati Puja. If Diwali is for parents then Navratri is for kids. You see Goddess Lakshmi(wealth and prosperity) is worshipped on Diwali but Goddess Saraswati(knowledge) reigns supreme during Navratri. We were supposed to keep one text book each in the puja room, which was to be removed only after the end of this phase. Which meant that you could not touch these books during these ten days. Could a student be any happier? One funny recollection that comes to mind is that every year, without fail, the mathematics text book held a prominent, permanent position in the pile of books.
Simpler times. You grow up, beliefs change. Traditions and rituals? Some remain, some don't.
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