The week that was

- Got back my first ever installment of clothes from the dhobi. They looked wonderful. They smelt wonderful. And best of all, I hadn't moved a finger to affect the transformation. But before I could completely enjoy the lightness that ancient man must have felt on seeing golden brown toast pop out of an automatic toaster, an immense sense of responsibility weighed me down. I realized that a major attitude and lifestyle change was called for. No longer could clothes be carelessly strewn on my chair, bed or floor. No longer could they be stashed in the cupboard to make place for the occasional visitor. They had to be respected!

- Met the mother-in-law and 2 year old daughter of one of the new students. They had come all the way from Chennai to Kanpur to settle her into what will be her home for the next two years. And were going back to life(?) in Chennai. At first, the child appeared surprisingly unaffected. She readily left her granny and followed akka to the TV room to watch Pogo. But she'd walk out every 5 minutes and ask any passer-by "Amma enga" (where is mother?), not caring that she never got an answer. The granny of course put up a brave front and said she'll get used to it. Sometimes, right thing at the wrong time amounts to a wrong thing.

- Realized that at least in the technical arena, any problem you face someone else has already overcome! And google helps you get in touch with that special someone. Restores your faith in humanity when you see how helpful people are towards faceless strangers sitting at the other end of the earth!

A few days ago, on the 23rd of July, I happened to travel from Kanpur railway station to IIT. I couldn't help looking back. Exactly a year ago, to the day, I had landed in Kanpur to start a new chapter of my life. A year that just flashed by, even though each moment was lived to its fullest. A year filled with more novels and movies than any other year of my life. A year in which I kept odder hours than I ever thought possible. Suddenly, all 24 hours were equal. A year of finding friends who tolerate me at my silliest and friends who motivate me to my brightest. A year of teachers who gave me glimpses of beauty in computer science. I got senti over almost every question paper I had to solve. A year that almost rid me of my fear of presentations. A year which made me wash my own clothes. Believe it or not, it was a first for me and gave me an immense sense of achievement and independence! A year that made me appreciate simple home food. Thier saadam (curd rice) was always heaven, but all the more so now, since it was so rare. A year that made me realize that though not at the "where-I-lay-my-head-is-home" level, I could settle down in any place without too much fuss. A year in which I realized I had changed, but not as much as I thought I had.
A year very different from any I've had. I would have been a different person, had this chapter been differently written.

Happy new year!

Got this wonderful feeling of achievement after ages. Weird, its happened only 3 or 4 times since I've been here. I always thought IIT life would be filled with challenges, chances to improve yourself. They are there, I guess, but they're not thrust upon you. Its up to you to grab one. And for that, you have to be super-interested, super-motivated, super-proactive or super-desperate! And I of course don't fall into any of these categories. If you put an obstacle in my way, I'm most likely to run away. Maybe walk around it. Or simply stop walking. Only when you have me surround from all sides and sit on me will I even try to think of overcoming it. Getting me to rise to a challenge is a challenge in itself!
(I know I shouldn't feel proud about it, but today, nothing can get me down!)

All in a morn's work

The devil got to me. Finally. Why else would I suggest we prepone a trip to a nearby Hanuman temple on cycles to 5.30 a.m. when I know I can't fall asleep even if someone gives me sleeping pills before 2 in the night? And why else would I set the alarm for 5 *shudder*, thinking I will have a bath before we leave? Common sense had taken over by the time the alarm rang and I decided to give in to half an hour of bliss. After all, my sleep logged brain reasoned, we go to the temple to cleanse ourselves.
And so we set off, the 6 of us (4 uncleansed) on our mini pilgrimage. I was really looking forward to the ride. A cool breeze, the cloudy July sky, greenery all around, perfect roads and practically no traffic - I could cycle forever! All of this lasted till the IIT gate. And then a rude awakening - Kanpur city! With all its dirt and potholes and traffic (yes, even at 6 in the morning). Don't ask me how I forgot what the city was like. Maybe I was not completely awake.
It only got worse. Rains had left water-filled potholes everywhere and if you spied a truck at a distance you ran for dear life and dear-er clothes, whose cleanliness becomes all the more scared when you wash them yourself. There were stretches of road that the municipal corporation had in all its wisdom decided to lay with pointed rocks. One such stretch and Shailaja and I decided rafting had been less adventurous. By the next stretch, we had become experts. "Peddle forward", I yelled. Grade 3, we decided when we got out of it.
Many such ups and downs later, we reached the temple. It was like any other temple. Darshan over, we braced ourselves for the journey back. We crossed some children cycling to school and I couldn't help thinking that in the afternoon these children would run back home, all excited, yelling - "Mummy, aaj main school pahuncha!" We reached the grade 3 rapid again and I this time I had to cross it with added hurdles - a tempo and some cyclists. Feeling rather proud at having done so without incident, I waited at the other end for Shailaja to catch up, only to find that she had taken a much simpler, safer by-lane and was way ahead of me. No, it was not a stupid thing to do, and no, she was not laughing her head off.
As we entered the campus gates, the contrast hit me once again. And maybe because of it, the campus seemed all the more peaceful, serene, quiet. It felt like I had entered a temple.

Book Tagged!

Arjun booked tagged me and then nagged me to do my obligation. Not that I'm ungrateful. I LOVE books and look upon this as a God(?)-sent opportunity. So, here goes.

Number of books I have read
200+ excluding Enid Blyton, Agatha Cristie, P.G. Wodehouse

Number of books I own
10+
(Shameful I know, but I plan to buy more when I grow up!)

Number of books stolen/borrowed
Again 10+
(And its not like I stole them. It was more of a family effort, excluding my parents and me)

My first book(s)
Jurassic Park
Shall we tell the president
Coma
(listing all three since I don't exactly remember the order)

Books right up there...

Forever
1. Atlas Shrugged
(it manages to unsettle me every time I read it)
2. Trinity by Leon Uris
(Exodus has a better, more uplifting story, but the characters in Trinity are amazing. I fell in love with Conor Larkin)
3. H2G2
4. Harry Potter series

Youth
1. Not a penny more, not a penny less
2. Guns of Navaron
3. The evening news
4. The Bourne identity

Childhood
1. Enid Blyton (all of them!)
2. Tintin

Classics
1. Gone with the wind
2. The mill on the floss
(The central idea was something that had been bothering me, so I guess I liked it all the more)

Over-hyped books
1. The Alchemist (life changing? Come on!)
2. Love Story ( very sweet, but also very forgettable)
3. Kane and Abel (call it blasphemy, but I read "The Prodigal Daughter" first and liked it better)

Best movie made from a book
Gone with the wind

Worst movie made from a book
The Bourne Identity

Authors I keep away from
Sidney Sheldon (unless I'm really desperate)

Books that make me wish I were a child
Harry Potter series
(Although I don't really believe I can enjoy them more!)

Books I wish I'd never touched
1. Some Sidney Sheldon that put me off the guy forever
2. Doctor Zhivago. Maybe I was too young, but all I remember of the story is that he has three wives. And that he dies.

Current read
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
(Makes some sense in some places)

TBD...
1. Ulysis
2. 1984
3. Redemption
4. Crime and Punishment
5. To kill a mockingbird