Thanjavur-Chicago!!

I should’ve posted something about this transition in my life quite some time back. Nevertheless, it’s never too late!

Sitting in my office, staring at the screen, bored of coding all day (something I never wanted to do), mentally rehearsing all that I need to finish on a tiring Monday (I always fancied jotting down things to be done and assumed a sense of achievement after striking them to completion before calling it a day, but now that list seems unremitting!),dreading my assignment deadlines, anticipating a new mail, occasionally liking posts on facebook, mailing unknown people for want of information, not so looking forward to going home(for reasons inexplicable), I thought the best way to deal with this monotonous start to the week by posting something new on my blog. So here we go!

“Transition”- that’s the word. I feel at times that it’s beyond that. I read it in one of my friends’ posts lately that few years back our lives were much simpler, when complications were undefined. It got me thinking. There were several circumstances when I did second that opinion. On the flip side, every stage has its own set of complications; at least we consider them to be, irrespective of the level of complexity. Those were the days when solving a physics problem was in itself a complication. It’s easy to look back to those “good” old days, and convince ourselves that we emerged victorious in all those supposedly complicated stages in life. I guess it’s time to move on and admit that it’s never easy, unless you choose it to be one. According to me, it’s just the way we look at it. I am sure I would look back to this day sometime in the future and ponder “I wish I could go back!”It’s a relentless cycle!

This journey of mine from the Southern part of India to Central America was quite radical, be it food, climate and not to forget, people! There are these typical “should-not-do/say-it-this-way” kind of tenets in the US of A, which do not seem so easy to adhere to, at least to a moderately adamant person like me:P It’s been close to eight months now, I still have the urge to hastily get into an overly crowded bus without caring about people getting down, after all old habits die hard! There were several such gawky instances which remind me of Gopal, (if not that ganvar :P) of “The Inscrutable Americans” fame.( for those of you who are wondering who this random character is, it’s time to Google those three words and read one of the most hilarious prologues ever!)I've had several experiences which make me wonder even today if this place is overrated; according to me it’s never about the place, it’s always about people! By saying all this, I don’t  intend to convey that I have cultivated a dislike for the place, I enjoy the visual delight every day :P There are quite a few exciting factors which keep me going. It’s the kind of attachment one has with a place and way of living, which makes anything else feel ‘extraterrestrial’. This feeling will eventually die down with time. I am sure it does. I say this as I look forward to an exciting tomorrow. :)

PS: Now that’s a long one, on a busy Monday morning. I better get back to cloaking my second skin before venturing out for lunch, while my salivary glands continue to crave for pani puri on a cold rainy day! :|

My dearest moma...

When I was born, I saw your face;
I wondered who you were when you cuddled me with care.
Growing up I craved to speak;
I wondered how you understood my babble and squeak.
When I needed you were there;
When I cried you calmed me with your flair.
Growing up I committed mistakes every day;
You spanked me saying this is not the way.
I swore then muttering to myself angrily;
Not knowing it would help me pass life’s scrutiny.
Soon I stepped into adolescence..
As I plod through this difficult phase;
You always try to guide me in your ways.
When my disposition drips of impertinence;
You endure it trying to keep patience.
I regret it then alone in the dark;
On how to reconcile I then embark.
I complain you don’t understand me;
You explain I don’t understand thee.
These misunderstandings make me weary;
As I ponder for hours with eyes very teary.
When you keep prying and see me crying,
It brings me back memories of when I was a child.
You pray for me with love that is eternal.
I love you dear MOTHER.
A word that’ll remain IMMORTAL!!

Reminiscences revisited…

Walking through the busy streets of my locality last December, I happened to meet my school Van Driver. He was totally startled looking at me for it took him no less than five minutes to realize that the little school girl who tested his patience almost every alternate day has now become big. Btw I was called the ‘late latif’ for always being late. I still remember those Dhoom rides when my Dad and I would chase the van to catch up at least at the last stop! ;) The last time I met him was on the last day of my school in ’05! The sight of the grayish compound walls, the beautiful orchids delicately hanging down the porticos, huge palm streets and the irresistible silence left me in a daze. The faint yet distinctive memories of all those annual sports meets, culturals, installation ceremonies, quizzes, debates and the farewell parties revisited my cerebral. There was a strong urge to get back to school as I could feel the adrenaline rush at the very thought! I had a nice chat with him and started walking down street no.7, the one street I would always remember! Nostalgia filled in the air as the chatter of girls, grumbling of teachers, rumble of feet and the voices trapped in those classrooms continued to echo my ears….

It was hard to imagine as a school girl that one day I would miss going to school, miss those boring assembly sessions, those rigorous physical training classes and mass meetings! I studied in one of those strict schools of Hyderabad where paramount importance was given to discipline, the way people spoke, and their dressing. It was a big deal as you could just be thrown out for not wearing pressed clothes, polished shoes and tied ribbons ,while wearing accessories, colored sweaters and even colored clothes on birthdays was a strict no no.!! It was only after these came our acads.Thankfully there was no running behind books day in and day out. One could just feel a sense of uniformity in everything around in Missionary Schools. I’m sure all Annites take extreme pride in confessing that their school uniform looked smart!  (Thanks to those stringent rules and regulations).I had over forty minutes every morning in the van before getting to school. These forty odd minutes always flew by in wearing shoes, finishing assignments and running through Hyderabad Chronicle (as I strived hard to make an effective use of time :P ). The journey across the 4km long OU campus came as a Morning Bliss. It all seems like yesterday when I think of those Monday morning cribbings, incessant classroom sessions, summer vacations, the arch rivalry among the four groups, insignificant cold wars, naive thoughts, tiny disappointments, Miss Annie…

So much has changed ever since then. Locking up the memories in my mind’s eye, I convince myself every single time I think of my past that “change is the only thing which is constant”. I still look up to all those days, years after leaving school, time and again as those were “My Super moments of childhood”.