Since coming here, I have come to know a lot of people, who have of course become friends by now. However, there is a slight difference in the definition - not actually the definition, but the line differentiating the friend from the acquaintance.
It might be because of the short span of time that I have lived here that I feel this, but the fact that there are such less people who you can actually talk normally with; in your own language, about things that you would normally talk about back home; that whoever can at least listen and respond to such conversation automatically becomes your friend.
People you hang around with are your friends, and then there is no necessity of being close to them.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Phase 2: Commencement
My mom sat with me in the afternoon; asking if I was ready for the new phase in my life. She thought I was, and so did I.
The flight to Newark was full of some of the best words written to/for me; with the upgrade to Business from Brussels onwards adding a lot to the excellent experience.
Jersey City was hot, to say the least. I was ready with a sweatshirt in one hand, and a raincoat in the other. The weather was sure to play a large role in this new phase of my life.
After a smooth immigration and an excited hug with my sister, we moved on to her house. The living room was a guy's dream; a 32" Sony LCD, a Harman Kardon sound system, a Playstation 2, a Nintendo Wii, and the Rock Band Set. I spent a couple of hours singing, drumming and playing the guitar; obviously out of tune.
The next few days passed by in eating different cuisines having really large portions, roaming around Manhattan like it was Bombay, experiencing Eureka-like moments for some engineering problems, and cooking a little bit of food.
We drove to Pittsburgh on the Friday. After a brilliant brunch of eggs, sausages and the world's yummiest pancakes, we arrived at the Steel City. Pittsburgh at night was quiet, to an extent that we felt a little scared walking back to the hotel at 10.30 pm; but that is how Pittsburgh is, not unsafe, but quiet.
Most of the next day was spent apartment hunting and settling down. We took a tour of Carnegie Mellon and fell in love with it.
America has really impressed me; at least with the food if not more. In the 10 days I have been here, I have had Indian, American, Italian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Chinese and Thai food. On my list next are Polish and Spanish.
It has been a good first few days of the new phase!
The flight to Newark was full of some of the best words written to/for me; with the upgrade to Business from Brussels onwards adding a lot to the excellent experience.
Jersey City was hot, to say the least. I was ready with a sweatshirt in one hand, and a raincoat in the other. The weather was sure to play a large role in this new phase of my life.
After a smooth immigration and an excited hug with my sister, we moved on to her house. The living room was a guy's dream; a 32" Sony LCD, a Harman Kardon sound system, a Playstation 2, a Nintendo Wii, and the Rock Band Set. I spent a couple of hours singing, drumming and playing the guitar; obviously out of tune.
The next few days passed by in eating different cuisines having really large portions, roaming around Manhattan like it was Bombay, experiencing Eureka-like moments for some engineering problems, and cooking a little bit of food.
We drove to Pittsburgh on the Friday. After a brilliant brunch of eggs, sausages and the world's yummiest pancakes, we arrived at the Steel City. Pittsburgh at night was quiet, to an extent that we felt a little scared walking back to the hotel at 10.30 pm; but that is how Pittsburgh is, not unsafe, but quiet.
Most of the next day was spent apartment hunting and settling down. We took a tour of Carnegie Mellon and fell in love with it.
America has really impressed me; at least with the food if not more. In the 10 days I have been here, I have had Indian, American, Italian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Chinese and Thai food. On my list next are Polish and Spanish.
It has been a good first few days of the new phase!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Choices
The choices you make depend on an uncountable number of factors. This is why the world goes on. A little variation disturbs everything remotely connected to it.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Going up.
I love going up the stairs.
I hate coming down the stairs.
I'd rather not go up if I have to come down later.
I hate coming down the stairs.
I'd rather not go up if I have to come down later.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Scindia Stories #1 - SM973
I arrived at Gwalior station with a huge black trunk and a 16-inch suitcase. I was in a daze; I do not remember at all the trip from the station to Gwalior fort, where the school was. It was afternoon.
I was in Dattaji house. Apparently, our housemaster, a Mr. Sanjeevan Bose was out of town with a school contingent, and one Mr. Dhirendra Sharma was helping out the incoming 'new boys'. We were also introduced to the house matron Mrs. Handoo, a tall, heavy built woman, who looked extremely sweet to the parents, what with that over enthusiastic smile of hers. All 'new boys' were queued up in a veranda and weirdly, some teachers and some 'old boys' were trying to clap hands to gain attention. They would go 'Clap clap' and shout 'Quiet please'.
Now, the parents were asked to leave the premises. I could see tears rolling down my mother's eyes. I was holding mine up somehow. After the simultaneous emotional exchange between 65 new boys and their parents, we were assembled again for a talk.
During the talk, we were given ID numbers, that would last us for our Scindian life. I was allotted 973. We had to tag everything that was ours with our initials and this no. So, for my Scindian life, I became SM973. My underwear was tagged, my shampoo was tagged, my shoes were tagged, and basically everything was tagged with a permanent marker.
Later through the years, whenever my clothes or shoes were dirty even after a wash, the matron ready with a stick in hand would summon me and give me a nice beating on the palm.
Although it was supposed to last me only for my Scindian life, SM973 has stuck to me even ten years after Scindia. My previous phone lock code consisted 973.
I was in Dattaji house. Apparently, our housemaster, a Mr. Sanjeevan Bose was out of town with a school contingent, and one Mr. Dhirendra Sharma was helping out the incoming 'new boys'. We were also introduced to the house matron Mrs. Handoo, a tall, heavy built woman, who looked extremely sweet to the parents, what with that over enthusiastic smile of hers. All 'new boys' were queued up in a veranda and weirdly, some teachers and some 'old boys' were trying to clap hands to gain attention. They would go 'Clap clap' and shout 'Quiet please'.
Now, the parents were asked to leave the premises. I could see tears rolling down my mother's eyes. I was holding mine up somehow. After the simultaneous emotional exchange between 65 new boys and their parents, we were assembled again for a talk.
During the talk, we were given ID numbers, that would last us for our Scindian life. I was allotted 973. We had to tag everything that was ours with our initials and this no. So, for my Scindian life, I became SM973. My underwear was tagged, my shampoo was tagged, my shoes were tagged, and basically everything was tagged with a permanent marker.
Later through the years, whenever my clothes or shoes were dirty even after a wash, the matron ready with a stick in hand would summon me and give me a nice beating on the palm.
Although it was supposed to last me only for my Scindian life, SM973 has stuck to me even ten years after Scindia. My previous phone lock code consisted 973.
Scindia Stories - Prologue
I had a little history regarding boarding schools. In the 1st or 2nd grade, I had appeared for an entrance examination for Welham Boys, and when the result came out and I realized I was admitted; I tore off the result. I simply did not want to go.
So it still confuses me as to why I enthusiastically suggested that I be admitted to the Scindia School, Gwalior in the 4th grade. It may have been because of the stories of Mussoorie International School that I had heard from my sisters.
Whatever the reason, the three years in Scindia were the fondest of my schooling life. In the following series, I will write incidents and tales that I remember from Scindia.
So it still confuses me as to why I enthusiastically suggested that I be admitted to the Scindia School, Gwalior in the 4th grade. It may have been because of the stories of Mussoorie International School that I had heard from my sisters.
Whatever the reason, the three years in Scindia were the fondest of my schooling life. In the following series, I will write incidents and tales that I remember from Scindia.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Desire
A list of the few things that I would want to have.
1) BMW 530i
2) Tag Heuer Grand Carrera Calibre 8RS Chronometer
3) Mont Blanc Meisterstuck Solitaire Silver Fibre Guilloche
4) A Hugo Boss Suit
5) A Vincent van Gogh
6) Signed copy of all Jeffrey Archer books
7) Cristopher Tolkien signed Lord of the Rings
9) Sachin Tendulkar signed bat
10) Arsene Wenger and Thierry Henry signed football
11) Pink Floyd signed The Wall
12) Bose Lifestyle home entertainment system
13) Arsenal Football Club
Do they say lucky no. 13?
1) BMW 530i
2) Tag Heuer Grand Carrera Calibre 8RS Chronometer
3) Mont Blanc Meisterstuck Solitaire Silver Fibre Guilloche
4) A Hugo Boss Suit
5) A Vincent van Gogh
6) Signed copy of all Jeffrey Archer books
7) Cristopher Tolkien signed Lord of the Rings
9) Sachin Tendulkar signed bat
10) Arsene Wenger and Thierry Henry signed football
11) Pink Floyd signed The Wall
12) Bose Lifestyle home entertainment system
13) Arsenal Football Club
Do they say lucky no. 13?
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The Indian Premier League - A delayed review
A few years back, when the South African cricket team visited Australia, a new rivalry was born; that of arguably the greatest leg spinner the game has ever seen and of a flamboyant young captain leading the resurrection of a tattered team after an unsuccessful world cup campaign. Shane Warne and Graeme Smith never became the best of friends.
Come 2008, and suddenly, the two fierce competitors were bought by the same franchisee in the much fancied Indian Premier League. By the end of the tourney, Smith declared Warne as a 'fiery old man' and said that they 'got on like a house on fire'.
Now that is what the IPL has done to the sport of cricket. Even one Mr. Sourav Ganguly is now happy to work closely with one Mr. Ricky Ponting, something that seemed unforeseeable in either's careers.
No sport is friendly, but it must be played in the right spirit. The IPL was no different. At the opening ceremony itself, each captain signed the Spirit of Cricket statement, confirming that they intended to play in respect of the game. Another incentive for promoting sportsmanspirit was the Fairplay Award, which took into account a team's behaviour with their opposition as well as the umpires.
It might seem surprising that the Rajasthan team eventually won the IPL. They were touted as the weakest link, they had an accented English-speaking captain, they had no Indian superstar cricketer. However, they had desire. Warne's want to win a game from the most miserable situation was infectious, and it thus showed in the performances of youngsters like Shane Watson and Yusuf Pathan.
One might argue that the famous Harbhajan-Sreesanth slap incident did not do much for nurturing sportsmanspirit; but it is clear that neither of these players have behaved saintly in their past careers, so to blame the IPL for such an incident is not correct.
The inaugral IPL did its bit to promote the game of cricket. Old enemies became pals and respect grew amongst contemporaries. Cricket still remained the gentleman's game, although the viewership grew amongst ladies and children as well.
Come 2008, and suddenly, the two fierce competitors were bought by the same franchisee in the much fancied Indian Premier League. By the end of the tourney, Smith declared Warne as a 'fiery old man' and said that they 'got on like a house on fire'.
Now that is what the IPL has done to the sport of cricket. Even one Mr. Sourav Ganguly is now happy to work closely with one Mr. Ricky Ponting, something that seemed unforeseeable in either's careers.
No sport is friendly, but it must be played in the right spirit. The IPL was no different. At the opening ceremony itself, each captain signed the Spirit of Cricket statement, confirming that they intended to play in respect of the game. Another incentive for promoting sportsmanspirit was the Fairplay Award, which took into account a team's behaviour with their opposition as well as the umpires.
It might seem surprising that the Rajasthan team eventually won the IPL. They were touted as the weakest link, they had an accented English-speaking captain, they had no Indian superstar cricketer. However, they had desire. Warne's want to win a game from the most miserable situation was infectious, and it thus showed in the performances of youngsters like Shane Watson and Yusuf Pathan.
One might argue that the famous Harbhajan-Sreesanth slap incident did not do much for nurturing sportsmanspirit; but it is clear that neither of these players have behaved saintly in their past careers, so to blame the IPL for such an incident is not correct.
The inaugral IPL did its bit to promote the game of cricket. Old enemies became pals and respect grew amongst contemporaries. Cricket still remained the gentleman's game, although the viewership grew amongst ladies and children as well.
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