What Do You Say...

When someone tells you that the moon in all its sublime glory can’t be more beautiful than you?

But But But...

It’s been a tiring week and I’m feeling awful about not having written to friends even though I’ve been back for over a week now, not to mention not being able to accomplish everything on my agenda. Time just seems to slip out of fingers like loose sand and before I know it, it’s already past midnight and I still have a dozen odd-things left to complete. I shouldn’t complain – I’ve got pretty much what I asked for and it’s not like it’s been all work and no play. Despite the fact that I’m now working weekends, this weekend was much fun, with a movie, lunch and a soirée organized by my students. Actually managed to dodge a potentially traumatic weekend merely by keeping myself occupied from 6 a.m to way past midnight! But…there’s always a BUT, isn’t there?

I don’t know…while it’s wonderful to be so busy, to be on my feet and constantly doing something and putting those grey cells to work, I’m finding myself wishing for something more. What I really need right now is…

- Someone who will hold my hand and tell me that it will be alright, someone who will just hold me and be there for me when I’m feeling so incredibly tired of putting up a brave front, when all my reserves are wearing thin and when I’m reeling desperately out of control.
- To organize myself into some kind of a routine, that helps me balance work (which is surprisingly becoming more and more challenging by the day) and studies, along with my other responsibilities.
- But what I need more than anything else is for Papa to tell me that what I’m doing and what I plan to do is the right thing…

Why...

Do I have this over-whelming urge to stick my head in sand?

20/20

When I packed my bags before I left for Bombay, it was with some trepidation – I didn’t know what to expect from the “stage” – all I knew that I was going to Bombay for a fortnight, something that will probably not happen again for a very long time. To say, that I’ve returned satisfied with my experience would be an understatement. The programme was dense, to say the least, and there were many days when I left the center feeling the burden of information over-load and grasping for words in English, having spent 8-10 hours with the French language and the best ways to teach it! (Yes, it led to much exasperation and frustration for my dear friends who had to bear the brunt of my “Frenchification” and at least one of them got back by talking to me in Marathi !) I hadn’t counted on the programme being this demanding, intense and exhausting – I definitely hadn’t imagined that I’d come down with fever and have to take class when I was burning with temperature! But it was worth it – all of it, from getting up at 5.15 am daily and commuting to other corner of the city, and then putting in 8-10 hours of work before heading back home…

The amount I’ve learnt in this short span has made me realize just how much more I still have to learn – it’s also made me painfully aware of my short-comings and the areas where I need to work and improve myself. Needless to say, if I were to re-do my self-evaluation post, I’d probably give myself a 6 on 10 – maybe a 7, but that’s only ‘coz I’d be cutting myself some slack for being a “professeur debutante”! On the other hand, I can’t deny the fact that I see an improvement in myself – in terms of fluency with the language, comfort levels with Didactic theory and the related notions and ofcourse my class preparation – I’m putting in a lot more time and effort into my class plans and I can already see the results in class!

While the “stage” was complete success, at least from the point of view of pedagogic training, social angle was…interesting! Surprisingly, I got along with everybody in the group and had quite a bit of fun as well – there were also many moments of pure mirth and befuddlement at the attitudes and behavior of some of my "co-stagiaires"!

I didn’t quite manage to do everything I had planned, or meet even half the people I’d wanted to meet, but I finally got to spend a reasonable amount of time with my closest friend and with another dear friend. Strangely, in hindsight, even that time doesn’t seem enough! Squeezed in a rendezvous with another friend, with whom I haven’t spent time since last year – that was a nice evening. Spent a day with the parents of another close friend – and was hit very hard by how much I miss her and the reality that we truly have chosen our different paths and life is taking us all far away from each other. If our friendship had to pass tests before, this one’s going to be the toughest!

Met people about whom I’d heard a lot and had been itching to meet for over a year now – and apart from the fact that it involved watching one strange film with too many brains being blown out, it was an extremely fun evening! Make that three evenings and one very satisfying dinner-n-dessert! There was also this one painfully catastrophic night, which I’d like to pretend didn’t happen – but unfortunately it did, and I have no option but to face up to the fact that amongst my eccentric friends, there also exist(ed) some truly weird personalities which I can do without.

Apart from that…

I’m glad I went to - the Hard Rock Café with Aristera and A.S – the combination of rocking music and good company went down quite well with the beer.
I blew up money on – books and music at Landmark, stationary at Chimanlal, chappals at Colaba Causeway, a facial and radically short hair-cut (for me) at a nieghbourhood salon.
I was zapped and then just died of amusement when - I was addressed as Kundamini, Pratibha and even Gajgamini in class by a forgetful formatrice!

I’ve tried hard to sum up the experience in one word but I’m afraid it’s a motley of words that I’ve come up with – enriching, frustrating, fulfilling, exhausting, satisfying, thrilling, enlightening!

Mes Affaires

Voilà – mes affaires!

A hopeless romantic who is boringly sensible and quite practical, even though undeniably eccentric – what else would you expect on her bed-side table?

White Mischief

We had a guest for two days – Schnapps, our adorably regal cocker spaniel fathered eight cute puppies two months ago. As the rules of mating dogs state, we got one of the puppies – unfortunately with a zoo already running at home (Schnapps, Shaurya, Shaurya’s dad – my brother and some fish) there was no way we could have kept “chicklet” without risking our sanity! So it was that when the uber-adorable puppy had to be given away (luckily, a friend has adopted him, so I’ll get to meet him regularly)…

Chicklet, as I started calling him is the most affectionate puppy and the first dog to enter our home, who was following ME around and not Bhaiyya. I melted within seconds when he wriggled his plump little body onto my foot, curled up and fell asleep there! He was following me around everywhere, would mewl and wait outside the bathroom, wake me up in the morning by nibbling on my fingers – ofcourse he also had my work chalked up by his incessant urinating! I fell in love anyway…miss the little chap scampering around our home!

- Off to Tinsel town for nearly a fortnight. Officially, to attend a “Stage Pédagogique” and get trained rigorously as a debutante professeur du réseau Alliance Française, which shall hopefully give me a helping hand up that ladder of professional progress. Unofficially, for twelve days of complete freedom and letting down my hair! :-) There’s loads of people to meet, tons of catching up to do, crazy amount of fun to be had – shall toss in some serious back-breaking work as well and voilà the Quintessential Bombay Life that I miss all the time! Now that’s what I call living the life!

The Constant Gardener (2005)

I went for the film like an ignorant viewer – I hadn’t heard of the film, didn’t know it was based on the novel by John Le Carré and definitely didn’t know that it had won accolades at the Oscars. It was the opening film for the European Film festival organized jointly by the Alliance Française de Poona, Max Mueller Bhavan - Pune and the British Council - Pune at the Natinal Film Archives of India, Law college road, Pune – and that’s all I knew about it.

In a way my ignorance turned out to be for the good, since I went with absolutely no expectations and definitely no idea what the film was about! I walked away silenced and quite disturbed by the film’s portrayal of the immense betrayal and the double-standards that continue to be practiced by the “colonizers” against the “colonized” even though I was well aware that it still isn’t an equal world. The extent to which the “third-world” countries are exploited by the super-powers (in this case against the backdrop of the powerful pharmaceutical industry and a drugs being developed to combat killer diseases) has been brought to light with an almost brutal efficiency – the silences and the vast landscapes of Africa bring to fore the stark reality that we all pretend doesn’t exist. Even now, weeks after seeing the film I can’t obliterate the image of the white birds circling over a bleak terrain characterized by dry bushes, fecund swamps and a wildness that doesn’t even spare its human inhabitants. Even now I get goose bumps when the strains of the haunting African soundtrack flash through my mind. Yet, despite this impact the film has had on me, I know I’m not going to do anything about it, that I shall move onto the next topic of interest and this too shall fade away forgotten in the pursuit of more inane matters. And I think to myself – am I any better than those that colonize(d), oppress(ed) and exploit(ed)?

The film is definitely worth watching for its brilliant treatment of subject and for the acting par excellence by Ralph Fiennes – I am, however, not convinced by recognition Rachel Weisz got for her role that made its impact more by its absence than its presence. The character certainly deserves a mention, but in terms of acting – from my point of view, she was barely around to act and it certainly wasn’t exceptional! Ralph Fiennes, on the other hand, is superlative, as usual!

Instant Gratification

Oh come on, don’t give me those looks! Haven’t you seen all those issues of Cosmopolitan and the like, screaming about how instant gratification is the thing in today’s world of instant-this and instant-that? So, anyways, since I need some instant mood boosters right now, I’m going to talk about instant pick-me-ups (talking about my mood here people, rein in that imagination!)

• Head-banging to Bon Jovi with the volume at an ear-splitting level that is sure to make the neighbours raise their eyes heaven-wards praying for deliverance! (they were probably doing that this morning, since the song playing was Born to Be My Baby by the one and only!)
• Waking up at the crack of dawn to the sight of the sun-rays piercing through the cottony clouds, the smell of freshly watered earth and the sound of nothing else but the fan whirring in the room.
• Slipping into my oldest and most comfortable pair of jeans – yep the same ones that hug my body so faithfully and have that green spot right below the knee, marking me as a messy painter. They may look like they need to be shown the way to the trash-can but no other pair makes me feel sexier ;-)
• Being the recipient of that one comment of appreciation in the middle of a frustrating day – nothing like a little ego massage to make me feel a lot better!
• Switch on the television to find one of my all-time favourite numbers playing on VH1 (it was King of Wishful Thinking by Go West, this morning)…
• Escape a boring (yawn) session of food/clothes/relative gossip talk at a soporific dinner party, to a conversation with one of my wicked buddies. Oh, I’ve done this so often!
• Being gifted flowers – even a random bunch of wild flowers. Actually better those, than boring roses! *hint hint* (again this happened very recently, so happiness again!)
• Shopping – it doesn’t have to be a truck-load of bags, even walking out of a store with a new set of fun, sexy lingerie, or a new book (don’t you just love the look and feel of a new book that hasn’t been read as yet?), or even some new stationary (I admire my new books for weeks before I can finally convince myself to use them)…retail therapy rocks. Totally. (Had picked up all three last week, so imagine how indulged I was feeling then!)
• Lifting my head from dreary accounting work, at the sound of my phone beeping and read a message from my one of my favourite people.
• Last but not the least - sinking my teeth into a Cognac or a Cointreau filled Lindt chocolate, letting the liqueur flood my mouth as the chocolate slowly melts on my tongue. Sheer ecstasy within seconds.

Recent Film :- Astérix et Obélix: Misson Cléopatre – the one with Monica Belluci (as Cléopatre), Gérard Depardieu and a whole bunch of very good French actors. A totally fun film, and a must watch for Astérix fans. Make sure you go with someone who enjoys Astérix and that particular brand of humour.
Current Books:- Bloodlines by Fred D’Aiguar and Skin and Other Stories by Roald Dahl.
Current Music:- Free Your Mind by En Vogue (remember them?)
Current Mood:- Strange 'coz I'm in a limbo between downright melancholy and a completely-abnormal elation of sorts.

PS Belated but heartfelt greetings for the festive season to all in Blog-world!

My Current Wallpaper

Self-Evaluation It Seems...

“Why B.A? Why M.A? Why Literature? Do you want to become a teacher/lecturer?”

These questions have dogged me ever since I decided I’m going to take up Arts, and specialize in English Literature. And I’ve doggedly dodged the questions refusing to satisfy anyone’s curiosity or appease their frustrated attempts at making me consider more lucrative career options. My decision to take up French was met with some relief, for most people thought I was aiming for the corporate world and the well-paying field of interpretation. Yet, through-out my under-graduate years and even during post-graduate studies I never, in my wildest (or most sober, if you please) dreams, imagined I’d end up in the teaching profession. I knew I’d do something related to Language and Culture, but what exactly, I wasn’t sure. Frankly back then, even I didn’t know the answer. So when I took up teaching, most people around me weren’t as surprised as I was (specially since I started with the dreaded kid’s course)!

Yesterday was the last day of my fifth session with Alliance Française de Poona. I’ve had a rollicking time this session – it was more of fun and sharing my knowledge, than actual teaching/working. Today, I got a call from an ex-student from my weekend batch, asking me if I’d be teaching a 1B in the next session and I burst out laughing on the phone. The current batch has been asking me the same thing for the last few days – initially I thought they were just asking because of the comfort level that is attained by the end of a session between a teacher and students, which makes you want to continue in the same group – but now I’m beginning to think that perhaps I am a likeable professor, irrespective of the fact that I do make them write a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot!

I don’t think I fit any of the stereotypes one has about teachers, except maybe the fact that I am bespectacled ;-) and that I was a sincere student who had an astonishing 90% attendance in college and expects the same from everyone else ;-) Yeah well, I have high expectations from the world in general! Seriously though, I was thinking about my classes and realized that with my appearance, my attire (faded jeans with glass-paint stains!), my attitude and my antics in class (I talk to myself, I tap my feet and swing my hips when I’m teaching them a song and I threaten to throw my pen-knife at them when they make silly mistakes), it’s a little wonder that I have such an easy, relaxed relationship with my students. Plus I’ve lost my cool only thrice and am generally quite lenient, since I think my students are old enough to decide where their priorities lie and thus old enough to choose between responsibility and discipline and the opposite.

I attended an Alliance Française organized cultural event yesterday with some of my students (a Nouveau-Cirque group that calls itself “Méli-Mélo” )…my brother was also there with his partner and after the event, they both had one thing to say – that they would never have guessed I was their teacher, not their friend, if not for the fact, that most of them address me as “Ma’am” (atleast the ones younger to me – still can’t get them to call me Mademoiselle)! I’m not quite sure how to react to it, but I do know that it feels nice when my students stay in touch and want to continue with me as their teacher. I’m guessing that means I rock as a teacher. I think I’d give myself an 8 on 10 ;-)

P.S The current batch has done quite well, making me even prouder of them, than I already was, after having replaced a colleague for 4 days and walking away from that class horrified at their lack of comprehension and required level of fluency, not to mention complete lack of discipline!

P.P.S The Nouveau Cirque performance was amazing – I’m not sure I managed to interpret it correctly (the main theme being the delicate balance and transition from childhood to adulthood and the over-all absurdity of our existence), but in terms of performance it was a really well-executed and entertaining display of acrobatics, gymnastics combined with dance and mime. The backdrop of the Shaniwar-wada fort highlighted the absurdity of their act, though the acoustics could have been better had it been in a closed auditorium or else at least quieter environs, not bang in the center of the old city and one of the most traffic-congested areas of the city.

Current Music :- Pretty Child by Indus Creed.
Current Book :- Nearly done with Perfume – it’s made my hair stand at ends, yet drawn me to it, like a moth is drawn to fire. It’s definitely not a book that you can read, without any kind of reaction. Perhaps it wouldn’t qualify as high-brow literature (one never knows), but considering the fact that I’ve not been very impressed by most works that are hailed by literary critics these days, I’d rather read something of this sort, than well…other literary trash! *chortling with wicked mirth*
Current Mood :- Satisfied.

Je Suis Contente :-)

At long last, I’m sitting in the peaceful haven of own environs, in front of my computer, with my own headphones clamped firmly into my ears, crooning along to the familiar tunes of Françoise Hardy’s “Tous les garcons et les filles de mon âge” – I could just about sink into an oblivion, so intense and deep-sated is the satisfaction right now.

It’s been a strange, strange three weeks deprived of the computer and thus continuous connection with the “other” world, as it were. Three weeks of enforced isolation and distance from what I considered my only outlet. And this close at the heels of my decision to distance myself physically and emotionally from two people whom I’d grown to love a lot. Expected to feel adrift, lost and lonely (more so, since guardian angel Kitana caught that flight to La France – and I do, so miss her!) – but strangely enough what I found was the peace and content I’d been craving with desperation. It’s been three weeks of re-acquainting myself with the quintessential Geetanjali. It’s been three weeks of learning to love myself again, of letting myself let go and do as I feel. Most importantly it’s been three weeks of being in control of my life and making things happen for me…and of smiling from within, once again.

Current Mood :- Optimistic. Light-hearted.
Current Music :- Hasta La Vista – Mc Solaar (merci encore une fois Kitana – j’ai finalement écouté les chansons que tu m’as donnée le dernière fois que j’étais chez toi. Ma pirate préfèrée..je t’embrasse ma chère !)
Current Book :- Perfume by Patrick Suskind (a most riveting read vis-à-vis the descriptions of perfumes, as well as the hair-raisingly bizarre plot)

Grihasthashrama

Friday 29th September 2006

I woke up with an uncanny feeling that something's changed...well not really, just woke up to see plenty of missed calls and messages from people who wanted to wish me at midnight, but forgot my eccentric habit of putting my phone on silent. I'm now 25 years old - a quarter of my life has whizzed past me, and I'm still not half as intelligent as I'd like to be, nor have I found what I"m looking for...and then there are those who remind me I've entered Grihasthashrama and should think of "settling down" - *puke*

I thought I had a nice materialistic gift-list which included Anne Hathway's wardrobe from the film The Devil Wears Prada, books, music, flowers, chocolates...but that morning as I read my messages and spoke to my friends, I realised all I really wanted was Papa...obviously not a gift anyone in this world is capable of giving me...

Didn't want to do anything special, but three days later, I'm still reeling under the whole Birthday after-effect. Messages, phone calls, cards, cakes (yes in plural, five to be precise), flowers, visits from unexpected and expected quarters, gifts, lunch treats - everyone (from family, to friends, to students) seems to have worked over-time to make this birthday special...am still recovering from all of it...

Update :- Registered for and started DFA (remember I spoke of it earlier?) last week. This time I didn't tell anyone till after my first class! LOL!

Request :- Am devoid of computer and this the internet, so please bear with my prolonged silences in blogger world and elsewhere on the internet.

Current Book : Toujours Provence by Peter Mayle (a continuation of the Provence series, one of which I read and reviewed some time back)

Tagged

Chamique tagged me sometime back to write about my five favourite things to do in MY city. My first thoughts were of Bombay (but obviously), but then I realized that Pune is as much my city, today, as Bombay, so here they are my two cities and five of the things I enjoy doing in each :-

Mumbai Meri Jaan

- Take a long, long walk around sunset, down the rock-beach, 7 bungalows, preferably in the company of dear friend, but alone is also nice. Nothing like the cool sea-breeze to clear the mind…
- Colaba Causeway – just stroll down the entire stretch, stopping to pick up bargain stuff from the stalls. I’ve picked up some real treasures from there at throw-away prices.
- Café Mondegar (yes I know it falls in the above category) – anytime of the day, from morning to night. The jukebox, the caricatures, the wine, the beer, the food, the people, the feel of the place.
- Walk-talkathons in the Nana-nani park with another bumchum pal – I’ve not indulged in this for over a year. Nostalgia hitting hard right now…
- Walk down Marine Drive after finishing work, tossing bhel into my mouth while the wind tosses my hair around, talking with one of my closest friends ever.

Phew that was NOT easy. Narrowing it down to just five things when there are so many things I enjoy doing in that beloved city of mine…but these definitely have to top the list!

Warming Upto to Pune

- Chai and Upma/Poha at the Y-point in the Pune University over eclectic conversation…it used to be great fun with one-time soul-brother/friend, but any good friend will do for company in changed times.
- Cappucino and conversation with Kitana at the “adda” i.e. Law College Road Barista. We’ve talked ourselves hoarse (atleast I have), laughed, cried, had crazy fun…in short spent some of the most memorable moments there!
- Drive/ride down the lanes and by-lanes of the city that are still shaded by those gorgeous canopies of trees, admiring the old buildings and houses while my friend (and driver) worries about the insane road and traffic!
- Spend an entire evening at the German bakery, lingering over a cappuccino or lemon cheese cake, discussing n’importe quoi, all the while getting vaguely amused by the people that walk into the place.
- (This is the strangest) Teaching at AFP. It’s not really city-specific, yes, but I started teaching in this city and it’s perhaps on the few things that gives me immense pleasure today. Mind you, just teaching – the rest of the parcel that comes with work could be improved! ;-)

Well there you have it – I, hereby, pass the baton onto Apercevoir, E vestigio, Casablanca and Nocturne.

Current Mood :- Peaceful. Content. Happy. Naughty. Mad.
Current Music:- Two out of Three by Bonnie Tyler
Recent Films :- The Devil Wears Prada , The Constant Gardener (both are highly recommended by me for different reasons – DON’T miss either!)

I Don't Want To Fight No More

They say my outlook towards life has changed. They say I'm becoming incresingly negative, cynical. They say I'm sad - that I should try and be happy. I wonder how they can have the gall to say these things to me, when they have been responsible for my tears, for the pain I've been through, particularly in the past few months. I wonder how they can look themselves in the eye and not flinch when they think of the lies and the betrayals. I've been kicked before - this isn't the first time and I've always forgiven, moved on and bounced back. But not this time - this time something inside me seems to have broken beyond repair. This time, I am not only hurt, I'm disgusted and I'm furious...and I want the person to pay for single-handedly opening my pandora's box, for reviving all the demons I thought I'd slain, for every tear I've shed, for the sleepless nights, for the hours I've spent staring blankly at the television while tears rolled down my face, for each time I reached out for my medicine to drown the pain.

I didn't want to believe - I held back for so long, but then I told myself that not everyone is a jerk, that I shouldn't punish new friends for mistakes made by someone before them. I should have gone with my first instinct. I should never have believed, for a little over a month after I opened my heart, allowed myself to believe the promises and I began to trust the person would be there for me, the door came slamming into my face - and I'm sitting once again surrounded by emotional debris in the aftermath of a storm that's splintered yet another friendship beyond repair. I fought the storm - I didn't want this to happen, but when the other person simply doesn't care about what happens to the friendship, when the person couldn't even care whether I live or die, what can I do?

I don't understand - I've never hurt any of my friends. I've never been embarassed of them, or been ashamed to admit to other friends and family that I love them. I've never hidden the fact that I'm spending time with them because they didn't gain the approval of someone else in my life. I've loved them despite their flaws - hell I've loved them for their flaws. I've loved them for who they are, not because they reminded me of someone else! I've always pushed aside my issues, my problems to be there for them when they needed me - smiled, laughed with them to make them feel better even when I was crying inside. I've bent over backwards to accomodate them, their whims and fancies, their eccentricities, their schedules - so why then do I get treated like a second-class citizen, whose feelings don't count? I thought I was a nice person to know and to have as a friend. Apparently some people don't agree with me.

I would never have called myself cynical or even pessimistic for that matter – always believing that things would fall into place in the end. I don't know anymore...all I know is that I don't deserve this. I don't want to feel this blind rage. I definitely don't want to be hurt. There's just so much I can take and this year has just been one blow after another. I'm retreating into a cocoon once again where noone can hurt me. I'm tired. I'm really tired.

Dog Day

(A one-time Orange, now Hutch advertisement, that seems to capture the essence of my days perfectly! God I'm bummed out these days, not to mention feeling like I could fade off the surface of the earth and no one would really care. Grumpf.)

The Wonder Years (1988-1993)

I'm from that generation that witnessed the entry of "Cable TV" into their homes and watched English programmes on a rationed Star Plus that was initially aired only in the evenings and gradually became a 24/7 channel. I grew up watching The Wonder Years, that awesome, warm, intelligent, lovely, bitter-sweet tale of Kevin Arnold growing up in suburban USA - I kinda grew up with him and miss watching it. Went back to some quotes from the show - here are my favourites:-

“All our young lives we search for someone to love. Someone who makes us complete. We choose partners and change partners. We dance to a song of heartbreak and hope... all the while wondering if somewhere, somehow, there's someone perfect... who might be searching for us.”

“Growing up is never easy. You hold on to things that were. You wonder what's to come. But that night, I think we knew it was time to let go of what had been, and look ahead to what would be. Other days. New days. Days to come. The thing is, we didn't have to hate each other for getting older. We just had to forgive ourselves... for growing up.”

"Change is never easy. You fight to hold on. You fight to let go. "

"Love can tear and rip you apart. It can kill you. But if you’re lucky, it can put you back together. "

"Winnie Cooper: Yes I do like him.. not like-him-like-him but yes I do like him."

On the Tragicomedy that is My Life!

05.45 hrs. 04/09/2006.
The alarm rung and I rolled out of bed to get ready and leave for class at 06.45 hrs. I was out of the house dot on time, got a bus easily enough and was at Alliance Française at 07.45, not too early but early enough for class. The staff room was open, so even though I was there as a student at that time, I walked in and settled myself in one of the armchairs. I was reading the papers, when at 07.57 something started bothering me. There didn’t seem to by any other students around. Ok, so the students aren’t as punctual as I am, but surely the professor would be here by now? I knew something wasn’t right and with my luck class had probably been cancelled!

At 08.02 one of the receptionists (the nice, efficient one) who’s doing 1B right now walked up the stairs and expressed astonishment at seeing me there so early – when I told her that I was there for the Cours de Traduction, she stared at me in disbelief and confirmed my suspicions. “But didn’t ****** call you and inform you that it’s not starting today? There aren’t enough students! What will you do now?” I had two hours before my class – boy was I early for class today! I shrugged my shoulders in resignation and said I’d probably kill time at a café till 09.30.

I called up my guardian angel in Pune, Kitana, who seems to have always been there when I needed a friend in the recent past. After expressing my irritation and frustration I told her I’m going to go grab a cuppa cappuccino at the nearby Barista (our Adda). I picked up my bag and decided to walk down since it was a lovely morning with a nice, refreshingly cool breeze.

***

The Way It Happens in The World of Novels:-
I walk down to Barista, the breeze playing with my hair, smiling at the sound of the birds chirping in the trees and the sight of people rushing to work, while I was going to enjoy an unexpected cup of coffee! A short walk later, I walked into a cozy, welcoming café, ordered my cappuccino and croissant (or better yet, bagel!) and settled into the couch with my novel. Once I had my coffee, I curled up and lost myself in the novel, only to find myself disturbed with “Could I be impertinent as disturbing you?” I look up into a pair of the warmest eyes, twinkling lightly with humour and mischief. A little surprised at this new turn of events, I just stared at him tongue-tied. He pulled out the accompanying arm-chair and introduced himself. Pulling myself together, I reminded him pertly that I hadn’t asked him to join me. Lifting an eyebrow lazily he asked me if it would bother me so much to humour a fellow human for a few minutes. At a loss for words again, I just shrugged and reached hurriedly for my cup to hide my confusion…

Forty minutes later, I reached reluctantly for my bag. It was time for class – time seemed to have flown past, so enjoyable had the conversation been. He rose with me, reaching for his car keys that were lying on the table between us, lifting that eye brow inquiringly, “Let me drop you to work?” I smiled back in agreement. We parted ways at the gate having fixed a date for dinner (obviously candle-lit) later in the week and I walked up the steps of the building with lightness to my step that hadn’t been there earlier.

The Way It Happens in The Real World:-
I started walking to Barista, enjoying the walk and the cool breeze, despite the fact that the roads were dug up and thus dusty. I reach Barista, itching to wash my face because it feels coated with several layers of dust and the exhaust fumes from all the vehicles that had raced past me carrying their hassled, frustrated owners to work…only to find the gates firmly shut! The watchman informs me that it won’t open till after 09.00! Am I supposed to have my early morning cup of coffee at mid-morning? Refusing to let myself believe there’s a conspiracy against me, I head to the Café Coffee Day further down the road – that too, is not yet open! ARGH!!!

Feeling my blood begin to simmer, I hit the speed dial button for Kitana and wail in distress! She suggests Krishna, an Udipi between the two cafés, promising to join me soon. I head over to Krishna (it’s open and serving breakfast – god bless Udipis!) and order filter coffee. As I waited for Kitana to join me and watched the people walk/drive past, my mind began to idly drift in the direction of a story. But, this is the REAL world, so I dragged myself back to reality, pulled out my diary and started jotting down notes for the next day’s class and making an exercise!

Kitana arrived soon enough and we chatted for a while before heading back at AFP – I learnt there from the super-inefficient and extremely annoying receptionist that he has “misplaced” my form and that’s why he “forgot” to call me! ARGH!!! Stamping down the urge to break something over his nearly bald head, I told him that’s not my fault. Accepting his sorry excuse of an apology, I walked out of the reception wearily, wondering when the class would start…ah well, I had a class to take in 2 minutes and had to walk in with a smile!

***

So, ladies and gentlemen, Cours de Traduction is temporarily postponed/shelved until further notice and I’m now waiting to see whether this course or Diplôme en Français d’Affaires will start first and will enroll myself for which ever beats the other!

On a lighter note, Kitana and I went for Asterix and the Vikings after my class – it is such a FUN film (goes without saying since it’s an Asterix, but yet!)! My first Asterix film in English – a very “rocking” and modern Asterix, if I may say so myself, this is a complete Must-see!

Yet another nice thing to happen – today was Teacher’s Day (my first as a teacher)! I walked into class to receive compliments for my dress and perfume - my eyebrows must have hit my hairline when one of the male students sniffed appreciatively at me and said the perfume is excellent! He was followed by the other students who wished me and presented me with a lovely card (personally made), flowers and a chocolate! My day was made – totally!

:-)

Alias Grace - Book Review

Even though my promised review of Casa Rossa is not yet up (I'll put it up - cross my heart and all that), here I come with yet another review of another Atwood. Alias Grace, which took me embarassingly long to finish, given my current discontent with the world (myself included) at large. Check it out people!

Update :- I'm going to be studying again! Lève les bras, danse avec moi! Cours de traduction (Translation course) starting Monday. Twice a week only, so it's not going to be hectic...and it fits in quite well with my current class schedule - quite excited about it. Hope it doesn't turn out to be a wrong decision! And there's this one other thing that I hope falls into place...let's see. *crossing my fingers*

Current Music :- Crossroad (the album) by Bon Jovi.

Current Mood :- Implaccably ruthless. I want my pound of flesh..and I just got it.

Who Needs A Guy?

I've been known to to speak my mind when I'm with my close friends, but rarely do I bother wasting my energies with strangers (preferring instead to mentally lash out at them or havemy fun at their expense later - yeah I'm wicked) - but sometimes I can't hold my tongue and then ofcourse much fun happens :-)

I recently had much fun and gave an obnoxious relative a mini-heart attacks of sorts...thought I'd share the fun...

(Scene - I'd taken the pain to dress up after ages, so I was actually looking quite raapchik, even if I say so myself!)
Obnoxious Relative :- You know, Geetanjali bitiya is quite pretty and can look quite nice if she makes an effort.
Me :- I know. What exactly is the point being driven home here?
OR :- You would look so much better if you took care of your looks and wore contact lenses.
Me :- I think I look nice enough just as I am, thank you.
OR :- But imagine what nice boys you'd get if you made some effort!
Me :- Maybe I don't want a nice boy...
OR :- *Look of confusion and a little shock*
ME :- Seriously, why would I want a guy? What can a guy give me today that a girl can't?
OR :- *Complete shock*
(Others in room stare at me with their jaws dropping to the floor, some chortling in glee at my wickedness, knowing I'm going to have some poor souls worrying about my sexual preferences and probably concluding this is the reason why I'm still unmarried at the grand old age of 24 years!)
Me :- *Bliss* (I know she won't bother me for some time now! SCORE!!!)
(More such crazy conversations - In Paris and at Getting Gorgeous at CCD

New word discovered that I'm dying to use - tarantism (TAR-uhn-tiz-uhm) noun - An uncontrollable urge to dance.

[After Taranto, a town in southern Italy where this phenomenon was experienced during the 15-17th centuries. It's not clear whether tarantism was the symptom of a spider's bite or its cure, or it may have been just a pretext to dodge a prohibition against dancing. The names of the dance tarantella and the spider tarantula are both derived from the same place.]

Current Music :- Rock On (the new version) by Def Leppard
Current Mood :- Restless. Blue. Wicked. Satisfied.

Move Along

It's a nice, bright Sunday - the skies are a clear azure after ages (hell, I don't even remember when was the last time we had a such a beautiful day!), the breeze that's blowing through the window is delightfully cool and is ruffling the curtain ever so lightly (not to mention my freshly washed, fragrant hair). All this should have set my heart skipping out a jolly tune and a smile fluttering lightly on my lips..why then is my heart sinking into the grips of fingers so icy they hurt as they tighten and squeeze around my heart?

Current Music :- Move Along by The All American Rejects
"When all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through"