SG OwnBlog

It used to rain very heavily in Mumbai during the monsoon. It still does. But this is from the time I was undergoing my grad studies. From my window in the ground floor of the hostel that I lived in, I could see a couple of tents with dish antennas attached to them. There was a saffron flag that flew defiantly atop a mast on the roof of a single story building. I always wondered if the simple houses and the people hid something mysterious. One day, I got my rain boots, torch and decided to look what was in there. The tents were totally deserted, except for a boy in shorts playing with a football. I moved towards the well that I could see from my hostel window. As I approached it, the boy disappeared in the alley before me. The well was strange. It had no water. I flashed my torch and found a flight of stairs going down after about a meter of nothing. I looked around. No one was there. Holding my torch I sat over the well and positioned myself such that I could land on the stairs safel...

The most favorite of all technology is the personal computer. It is the single most taken for granted piece of tech that drives all our lives. From the registration of our birth, the education we receive, he games we play, the taxes we pay, our medical and marriage records, we rely on the PC for them all. It is for this reason alone that I salute the silent but omnipresent little personal computer. Considering how little we appreciate these things, I have decided to write at least one post about them. It makes sense and irony that I am using a tablet to write it while I usually use my laptop. But nevertheless here I am. 

Wednesday is a day of freedom for us. There is only one real class and that too is rather light. After that we have a seminar on a few days in the late afternoon. This time we had an associate professor of the prestigious Lund University by the name of Jagtosh Santap. I will be writing live, while attending the seminar itself. Method of presenting is very traditional. Very much of a monologue though well researched. He takes great pains to go into substantial detail but fails to make it clear why it is important for him to speak in front of us. That I believe is the primary goal of a speaker. One needs to sell his point of view. He shows us what he does, but not why he does it. Very soon the audience is busy dozing off and wishing the seminar to be over as soon as possible. This is very expected if the speaker does not engage the audience or simply refuses to feel the pulse of the people he is speaking to. I also notice the colors used in the slides are also like the speech itself. Bla...

This was a difficult decision. Coming back to Mumbai was easy. But getting back to an academic schedule was and is tough. The adjusting is not done yet and I face problems regularly. But that is kinda obvious and I remain rather undaunted by this. As time progresses, I am sure I will fit right in. Unfortunately the rains are not doing me any good. The excess incessant rainfall dampens my spirit. Whenever I look at the sky, I find no trace of the Sun. During the day of course. Anyway, this situation will last till my mid semesters, after things are going to improve rapidly. There will be Durga Puja, my mother may come and so on. So yeah, things will look up from here.

The life as I knew it is about to end in a couple of days.  The time for procastrination is over. I can't pretend to be not afraid. Truth be told, I'm scared like hell but at the same time I am hopeful. In a way I am also certain that the days ahead are going to be fruitful and full of happiness and most importantly ...satisfaction. My packing is yet to be done. I intended to make a thorough job of it. But I am yet to really get things done as they should be. I have certain vague plans about what to do and what not do while leaving Bangalore for good. But I haven't yet made any real progress on this front. Actually, as I write this, the urgency of the matter impresses upon me. May be I should write more. Self introspection helps. Wait, that's ridiculous. Introspection is by itself ...self. Anyway, so my this time next week I will be home. For a period of two weeks at most. Then my classes will begin. Best wishes to me, I guess. 

These are difficult times. I don't mean that because of an AAP victory or a BJP defeat. I am rather disturbed about my own life and the way things are going right now. I have a few plans in place and I am working on them but the future is something we can never predict accurately. Hence the anxiety. Of course, it makes little sense to be anxious. We can only do our best and leave the rest to fate/God. But that does not make it any easier for us, any of us actually. তবে তার জন্যে আগে আমাকে ঠিক করতে হবে যে আমি ঠিক কতটা রিস্ক নিতে রাজি আছি। আমি নিজে থেকে তৈরী থাকলেও একটা পিছুটান থেকেই যায়। সেটাকে অতিক্রম করা অতি মুশকিল। তবু চেষ্টা চালাতে হবে।  যা হবে তা না হয় পরে দেখা যাবে। 

Saraswati puja has been one of my favourite festivals since my childhood. When i was a kid,I remember how my dad used to chant the mantras and we would wait patiently repeating the Sanskrit verses.  Since class IX I have had the same Saraswati. Somehow I felt she should be a part of our household. So she is still there, more than twelve years now. We are supposed to immerse them every year. But yeah, she is special.  On the whole I always loved the way the simple rituals were followed, along with the good food that we always had for the purpose. Even today I got fruits, sweets and incense sticks to do things as my dad used to do back in the day. Maybe when I do back, I will be able to redo everything the way we used to in the past. With all the family members present. I have almost forgotten how that feels like by now.