Well, most of us have gone through our "waiting period" to get into some god-damn college. All those blissful hours of uselessness, those afternoons spent peacefully slumbering aware of the fact that we are good for nothing and won't get admission anywhere, cherishing our nocturnal existence and pretending to be rockstars while we are the only "unemployed" memebers of the family, getting to know the ceiling of our rooms like the back of our hand, having all the time in the world and still working hard to do nothing, lying sprawled on the bed in all our conscious moments, being comforted by the fact that the next day was going to be exactly like today...nothing to do, nothing to care about...gosh! That was the best time of my life! I wish I could bring it back...
But like all good things in the world, that happy period had to end too. To everybody's surprise, and I mean to entirely everybody's surprise (read: happy shock), I got into a college! (Yes! Can you believe it? Nor can I!)
If you are one of those people who think college is all about fun, masti, freedom, independence, carelessness, adventure, madness, anarchy, fun exploring trips, spontaneity and gaeity, then my college is not the place to go to. My shiksha ka mandir (accompanied with the gesture of a sweep of my hand in a semicircle above my head) is a place devoid of any abovementioned possibilities in the normal sense. It is located in a very busy area of Old Delhi where the traffic sense is so bad you can get squished to pulp anyday, anytime. It's a thrilling experience! I myself have had the fortunate chance to just escape from being crushed between a DTC and a Tata Safari once; two more occasions too but I can't recall the vehicles involved. And not many days untill I do get crushed, given how careless I am and one has to cross the intersection without traffic lights to get the photocopy done. Yay, adrenaline! (I wonder if boyfriends can be called widowers :p Haha! Oh well, that's the sort of humour I've been reduced to.) Since the crowd is what should be typical of Old Delhi, it's not a very good idea to venture into the local markets (they mostly sell autoparts anyway). Feeling hungry, want a quickie? Worry not, Makhanlal Halwai comes to the rescue! There is nothing of interest where you can go and hang out, the only relief being the somewhat well-equipped metro station a small walk away.
So that was the area around the campus. Now I'll tell you what an incredible campus my shiksha ka mandir has. As has already been mentioned, the xerox shop within the campus remains forever closed. Before you judge too soon, let me tell you that this is done intentionally so that students can get a first hand experience of relying on their instincts and learning to survive. Not to mention the adventure, ofcourse. Apart from the closed xerox shop, the world-class facilities present on-campus, as proudly stated on the site, include a fine basket-ball court (which is used as a parking lot), tennis court (sorry, I haven't been able to locate it yet, but the search goes on), badminton court (my peers play on clay, where clay means kichad...and yes, the excessive rains have made the court appear black), gymnasium (again, invisible), library housing 18,000 books (hah! it seems so tiny), cool cafeteria ( kidding, for some mysterious reason it was filled with smoke the two times I've been there), et cetera, et cetera.
Though the main feature is the huge, sprawling, lush, evergreen, wonderful, terriffic, awesome, yudli-yudli-yoo ground, bang in the middle, surrounded by buildings on all sides. Trust me when I say its heavenly. The first time I lay my eyes on it, all I thought was that the administration had taken the words "green" campus too literally. I mean, the grass literally flourished :p You could play hide-and-seek in it, or receive guerilla training! Or go explore its exponentially high biodiversity! Anything new you desire, the taller-than-everyone grass is sure to offer you :') Except...you can't sit there, and crossing it is a tad bit difficult sometimes... :p And yes, a small group of boys also displays chivalry by trying to play soccer there. Alas, they neither offer me the chance to watch a decent game nor the oppurtunity to have a new crush. Well, you can't have the best of everything I guess :p
Jannat :) But...there was a shady character in that delightful place. I was being stalked, let's refer to him as monkey.
( -to be continued)
Oct 31, 2010
Oct 17, 2010
A Little Bit Of Time - II
( -continued)
But...God is cruel :p
Despite all the pains that I took to avoid one of my biggest phobias, destiny was determined to teach me a lesson. Against all odds, I developed a very curious liking for a certain person quite many months before. And so, as is my habit of taking everything to the extremes, I would spend four out of the five school hours staring at my "object of fascination" :p I can't even begin to count the number of people for whom I provided entertainment...sigh! But the point is, no amount of comments, sniggery, jeering or even encouragement prevented me from my, er, quest :p Life was all roses untill I realized that my "object of fascination" would be transported some roughly 1714.64 kilometers or 1065.43 miles away :p I was doomed. Given a choice, I would always be the one to leave than to be left behind. But Vivre did not mean that to be!! Being the snobbish little friend that she is, she felt a moral obligation to teach me lessons of life :p "Archika...thou shalt wait! Thou shalt wait! Thou shalt wait! Wuhahaha!" she bellowed :p (Note: Friends like Vivre are also sometimes the prickiest hair in your nose :p)
I thought it couldn't get worse than this and made peace with the situation. But can a story be complete without the twists and turns? Nay, friends, nay! The scriptwriter of my life story thought it would be a good idea to throw in another sub-plot. And so...blackout...suspense...spotlight...drumroll...taa-daa...off goes Mehr, my best buddy, to Thailand! (That's a mere 2917.88 kilometres or 1813.14 miles away!) Vivre stole the oppurtunity to whisper into my ears, "Thank me Archika, I'm making sure you are completely alone so that you master the lesson." I tell you, Vivre is such a witch :p
Well, it hasn't been easy at all. God is cruel. Even though he knew I'm incapable of cultivating patience, he did not bless me with the superpower of teleporting :p (I can telepathy, in case you were wondering :p) And though I recently met Corazon (for which I'm very grateful), it does not suffice. It's like eating momos when you are very hungry. You think they will do for the time being only to realize that you want more :p
It's roughly three months more before I see him again. 3 months= 92 days= 2208 hours= 132480 minutes= 7948800 seconds :p Gasp! How will I survive?! The agony!
Well, I don't know about me, but yes, we will definitely survive :) After all, if the presence of the other is always felt, what more can one ask for. Even though the distance remains, he is always there, listening to all the blabberings and daily futile chit-chats of me :p So from the pointless complaints of how bored I am to his chuckling when I tell him how a common friend commented how do I manage to sit in class without having "someone" to stare at, he bears it all ;) From making me laugh to listening to the serious stuff, he does it all. He never complains if you are being bratty and demanding too much attention :p He will do all the things in his power that you ask him to. And if you happen to mention in passing what a bad day you had, he will call you and very subtly help you unwind and talk and relax. We will survive...also because the three beautiful hours together will be treasured forever, and the three months apart will one day be a distant memory :)
And Mehr..I promise to get the gtalk sorted :p I miss you when the landline rings, for my brother, and not for me. I miss the sound of your laughter, and all the hours we spent seamlessly talking about anything and everything in the world :) The champions of random :p
When the people you love go away, even if temporarily, you wish you had just a little bit of time more. A little bit of time to laugh some more, to talk some more, to be silent together some more. And sometimes you feel so helpless, you wish you could freeze time to the happier moments. But life goes on. And the ones parted will also one day be reunited :)
Untill next time, Cuidate!
But...God is cruel :p
Despite all the pains that I took to avoid one of my biggest phobias, destiny was determined to teach me a lesson. Against all odds, I developed a very curious liking for a certain person quite many months before. And so, as is my habit of taking everything to the extremes, I would spend four out of the five school hours staring at my "object of fascination" :p I can't even begin to count the number of people for whom I provided entertainment...sigh! But the point is, no amount of comments, sniggery, jeering or even encouragement prevented me from my, er, quest :p Life was all roses untill I realized that my "object of fascination" would be transported some roughly 1714.64 kilometers or 1065.43 miles away :p I was doomed. Given a choice, I would always be the one to leave than to be left behind. But Vivre did not mean that to be!! Being the snobbish little friend that she is, she felt a moral obligation to teach me lessons of life :p "Archika...thou shalt wait! Thou shalt wait! Thou shalt wait! Wuhahaha!" she bellowed :p (Note: Friends like Vivre are also sometimes the prickiest hair in your nose :p)
I thought it couldn't get worse than this and made peace with the situation. But can a story be complete without the twists and turns? Nay, friends, nay! The scriptwriter of my life story thought it would be a good idea to throw in another sub-plot. And so...blackout...suspense...spotlight...drumroll...taa-daa...off goes Mehr, my best buddy, to Thailand! (That's a mere 2917.88 kilometres or 1813.14 miles away!) Vivre stole the oppurtunity to whisper into my ears, "Thank me Archika, I'm making sure you are completely alone so that you master the lesson." I tell you, Vivre is such a witch :p
Well, it hasn't been easy at all. God is cruel. Even though he knew I'm incapable of cultivating patience, he did not bless me with the superpower of teleporting :p (I can telepathy, in case you were wondering :p) And though I recently met Corazon (for which I'm very grateful), it does not suffice. It's like eating momos when you are very hungry. You think they will do for the time being only to realize that you want more :p
It's roughly three months more before I see him again. 3 months= 92 days= 2208 hours= 132480 minutes= 7948800 seconds :p Gasp! How will I survive?! The agony!
Well, I don't know about me, but yes, we will definitely survive :) After all, if the presence of the other is always felt, what more can one ask for. Even though the distance remains, he is always there, listening to all the blabberings and daily futile chit-chats of me :p So from the pointless complaints of how bored I am to his chuckling when I tell him how a common friend commented how do I manage to sit in class without having "someone" to stare at, he bears it all ;) From making me laugh to listening to the serious stuff, he does it all. He never complains if you are being bratty and demanding too much attention :p He will do all the things in his power that you ask him to. And if you happen to mention in passing what a bad day you had, he will call you and very subtly help you unwind and talk and relax. We will survive...also because the three beautiful hours together will be treasured forever, and the three months apart will one day be a distant memory :)
And Mehr..I promise to get the gtalk sorted :p I miss you when the landline rings, for my brother, and not for me. I miss the sound of your laughter, and all the hours we spent seamlessly talking about anything and everything in the world :) The champions of random :p
When the people you love go away, even if temporarily, you wish you had just a little bit of time more. A little bit of time to laugh some more, to talk some more, to be silent together some more. And sometimes you feel so helpless, you wish you could freeze time to the happier moments. But life goes on. And the ones parted will also one day be reunited :)
Untill next time, Cuidate!
Oct 8, 2010
A Little Bit Of Time - I
Let me recount to you the events of the night when I was born. It was a historic night indeed. The moment the world heard my first cry (a sweet melodious screeching sound :p) the clouds joined in the symphony with great crackle and thundering. The inky blue sky was marred with great bolts of lightening. All winged creatures were panic stricken by the disaster just born and flew helter-skelter to search for safety. A heavy storm picked up and threatened to blow everything in the way. Gaint trees shook violently. The very Earth threatened to collapse. And then...suddenly...the sky parted...and a divine voice announced, "Archika shall be impatient forever!" :p
Well, pardon the exaggeration, but the truth persists. I was, am, and will be impatient. I hate having to wait! For as long as I can remember, I always had a nagging disgust for that evil device named "watch". Its two arms, like swords, always drove me to despair. The mockery in their slow parikrama was unbearable. I was a bit sympathetic to the seconds-hand though, the poor thing :p
So whenever I asked mom, "When do I go to the park?", pat came the reply, "In the evening". So I asked how many hours more before it would be evening. Two? Oh no! One hour=sixty minutes. One minute=sixty seconds. Two hours=___seconds? I was too young to do the math (and lazy, ofcourse) but I knew that it was a lot of seconds. Gasp! How will I survive? The agony! And so I would spend those two hours glancing at the watch time and again, cursing it for taunting me, writhing in torture.
Again, I would cheerfully ask, "Mom, when will you make ice-cream?" And mom would reply, "Next week. Don't pester me". So again a repeat show of the whole thing would take place. One week=seven days. One day=twenty four hours. One hour=sixty minutes. One minute=sixty seconds. Seven days=___seconds? Gasp! How will I survive?
Same thing happened with the time for dad to come home, for Holi to come (you see, I love getting wet and dirty :p), for vacations to begin, for vacations to end, for the ice-cream to set, for the cake to bake, for my first bicycle, for its first puncture, for new course books, for new novels...the list never ends. In fact, if a friend and I ever planned an outing and she would propose to pick me up, I would tweak everything and make sure I was the one to pick her up, just to avoid the torture of having to wait.
But...God is cruel :p
( -to be continued)
Well, pardon the exaggeration, but the truth persists. I was, am, and will be impatient. I hate having to wait! For as long as I can remember, I always had a nagging disgust for that evil device named "watch". Its two arms, like swords, always drove me to despair. The mockery in their slow parikrama was unbearable. I was a bit sympathetic to the seconds-hand though, the poor thing :p
So whenever I asked mom, "When do I go to the park?", pat came the reply, "In the evening". So I asked how many hours more before it would be evening. Two? Oh no! One hour=sixty minutes. One minute=sixty seconds. Two hours=___seconds? I was too young to do the math (and lazy, ofcourse) but I knew that it was a lot of seconds. Gasp! How will I survive? The agony! And so I would spend those two hours glancing at the watch time and again, cursing it for taunting me, writhing in torture.
Again, I would cheerfully ask, "Mom, when will you make ice-cream?" And mom would reply, "Next week. Don't pester me". So again a repeat show of the whole thing would take place. One week=seven days. One day=twenty four hours. One hour=sixty minutes. One minute=sixty seconds. Seven days=___seconds? Gasp! How will I survive?
Same thing happened with the time for dad to come home, for Holi to come (you see, I love getting wet and dirty :p), for vacations to begin, for vacations to end, for the ice-cream to set, for the cake to bake, for my first bicycle, for its first puncture, for new course books, for new novels...the list never ends. In fact, if a friend and I ever planned an outing and she would propose to pick me up, I would tweak everything and make sure I was the one to pick her up, just to avoid the torture of having to wait.
But...God is cruel :p
( -to be continued)
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