Postcards from Montpellier - 7

Oh it's been a tiring few days...I feel like I need to slow down and take a long deep breath and just relax!!! Let's see what can I say about the last few days? A turkish soirée, that I was too tired to appreciate fully, despite the fantastic live music belted out by my colleagues...finally managed to pick up gifts for my Bhabhi ( was getting worried coz I hadn't found anything till last week!)...an excursion to Agde-Beziers-Canal du Midi which included a boat ride and a visit to the Canal du Midi which is really impressive considering it was conceived in the 14th century and connects Bordeaux to the Mediterranean sea...

I visited the Musée Fabre in Montpellier on Saturday with a Sri Lankan colleague...and I will not be exagerating when I say that the afternoon had, for me, the best moments of my stay in Montpellier. It's a well known fact that I'm a big fan of Impressionsm, particularly Monet and when I found myself in front of Monet's "Japanese Bridge" and then the "Poppy Fields - Giverny" not only was I speechless (imagine that!) I actually had goosebumps all over due to sheer awe! I don't think even the sight of "Mona Lisa" will leave me as happy as I was on Saturday...so desperately wanted to call up Papa and share my joy with him; unfortunately heaven doesn't believe in telecommunication :-(

...and today I received the news that I've stood first in my DFA exams - since I was expecting around 75, to learn that I scored a neat 90 left me floored and thrilled as hell...yes yes I'm gloating and pretty much floating in 7th heaven right now ;-) Papa where are you? You should have been here to see my achieve all of this...

K arrives tomorrow...and the celebration starts to continue in Nice, Lyon, Barcelona, Bordeaux, Cologne and Paris!!!

Postcards from Montpellier - 6

Well the week gets more and more interesting...yesterday the day started off with a visit to the Jardin des Plantes in Montpellier, a garden maintained by the medical college of the city, which is the oldest existing college of medicine in the world and houses an incredible botanic treasure...the afternoon was a tad boring specially since I was very sleepy, but then in the evening we visited the zoo in Montpellier which is modelled on an Amazonian forest...super interesting even though there were too many reptiles for my liking (both animal and human variety!) Ended the day with a soirée at the the Parc du Peyrou where I learnt some of the traditional dances of the region...was looking quite good, even if I say so myself and managed to dance till my toes started protesting and I do beleive I'd mastered some of the dances by the end, but I guess thebest judges would be the poor men who had to dance with me and deal with my two left feet! Muhahah! After the soirée the cultural activities team invited us for a drink so we ended the evening at the Place de Jean Jaurès over café, vin et bière!

Have just returned from an extremely fascinating visit to an archaeolgical site that dates back to several centuries B.C...ah if the days continue to fly past with the same lightning speed, I won't even realise how time shall pass before K arrives!!! :-)

Postcards from Montpellier - 5

I wasn't feeling very motivated by my choice of modules this week, but then my choice of "Expression Orale" turned out to be a good one..and then on Tuesday in the module "Découverte du Languedoc-Roussillon" we visited the local market and had to question the vendors about their products etc...that turned out to be loads of fun and we even learnt some really interesting expressions that I'm dying to share with someone! Later we had a picnic in a park with wine, cheese and bread, organised by our prof...pretty cool eh?

...as if this wasn't enough, the excursion for the day was to Sommiers, where we visted the vineyards, the cave du vin and had a wine-tasting session! Excellent wine - I think I drank alot yesterday; my head was spinning by the time I got back to my room...goes without saying I crashed rather early! Hehehe!

Postcards from Montpellier - 4

A week that disappeared before I knew it - my mind is bursting with impressions of this last week! From the first signs of homesickness and insomniatic nights spent tossing in that ridiculously narrow bed, my ears tweaking at the slightest sound outside my dorm room...to visiting new places, exploring hitertho unvisited quartiers of Montpellier, evenings out with colleagues and shopping...I'm scared my budget for the month is going to be terribly strained with the shopping I've done this past week! Ah well, we only live once! ;-)

Visited Aigues-Mortes on Thgursday after class - yet another mediaval city, but not half as impressive as Carcassonne...what was impressive was spotting the pink flamingoes in the "aigues-mortes" (dead water...so called because of the high salt content in the water) and the beach that we visited later via the sand dunes shaded by pine trees...a pristine, gorgeous beach not far from the "naturalist" beach, and no before you ask I didn't go à la nature!

Bid adieu to my Spanish colleagues on Friday - dinner en ville, followed by a promenade en centre-ville browsing through books on sale (yes, at that time of the night since the Estivales de Montpellier is going on), listening to music and watching people tango...glad I met them and hope to stay in touch!

Saturday, 14 july, la fete nationale, I was at Avignon...and I fell in love! No, not with a français, with the city sillies! It's gorgeous..I'd go as far as saying the beauty of the city is sublime...the magnifique Palais des Papes, the humbling Cathedrale, the impressive Pont d'Avignon and the Rochers...yes you can see I was duly impressed! I wish I could have spent more time there, but well, there's always the next time! :-)

Later in the evening I was at Port Marianne to watch the fireworks organised for the national day - spectacular event, followed by drinks at Cubanito, a bar en ville with my colleagues! Returned late to crash in bed till late Sunday morning...spent the entire day at the beach (Palavas) and a café à la Saint Tropez...and I do believe I've tanned badly, but who's complaining? :-)

Was most amused at the sight of 40-50 year-ols sunbathing topless...20 year-olds I expected, but women of that age? Ahem...yes, I know it could be called cultural shock; it was nevertheless vastly amusing to see a swelte 50 something blond sunbathing topless next to a fat, out-of-shape, balding 60 something ;-)

A brand new week, with fewer people at the institute and vaguely interesting modules..I'm now counting-down to next Tuesday when K will join me...ah, for some real company!

Postcards from Montpellier - 3

A lazy Saturday spent in bed till I finally dragged myself out to hit the shops - it's summer sales and boy, is it tough to resist shopping till I'm broke! But I have a travelling extravaganza coming up and must be sensible..or so I tell myself ;-)

Am enjoying my solitude, much to my surprise and am very content with myself and my thoughts. Amen!

Sunday at Carcassonne, a delightful medieval city complete with ramparts, forts, castle and cathedrale. Gorged on Cassoulet, a stew made of meat, pork and beans; had loads of icecream, drank lots of wine and chatted with the other stagier(e)s..and yes explored the city throughly...returned to the Cité Universitaire to a light meal of fruits and juice (is it any surprise after that heavy lunch?), updated my journal and organised myself for the upcoming week...

....the perfect weekend, I'd say!

Postcards from Montpellier - 2

A gorgeous Mediterranean city with the perfect weather - a highly irritating Indian colleague with a tendancy to pick up pregnancy tests instead of toothpastes and writing love letters instead of complaints has been shaken off, so I can meander at peace in the delightful avenues and narrow streets of the city and stroll through the centre commercial, while munching on a croissant or pain au chocolat or pain aux raisins...

I've been out in the centre-ville daily, either strolling in the streets and getting lost, or sitting at a café sipping coffee and soaking in the sun or having crepes with my colleagues. Spent a lazy afternoon at the beach soaking in the sun, sea and sand...and another evening at a concert of Occitanie music.

Yes, the life is good!

Postcards From Montpellier - 1

A long flight later I landed in the magical city of Paris and though I didn't pay much attention to it; being with one of my closest buddies after a year, it was magnifique!! The train journey to Montpellier, though tiring, was inoubliable with the idyllic countryside, rolling green hills, vallyes dotted with sunflower fields and cows grazing on the slopes...as for the city of Montpellier, it is drenched in European culture and makes me pat my back for having chosen this center for my stage d'été :-)

It's just been two days and I've already logged in so many things that I can't wait to share, but it will have to wait till I get more tranquil access to a computer...

Until the second postcard, écrivez-moi!!

Cest La Pluie

The rains truly arrived yesterday - finally - with much aplomb! There was much noise as clouds crashed against each other in a fierce battle to see which would burst first; flashes of lightning illuminated the hills beyond my new home eeerily, crazily, every few minutes...and the wind! It uprooted everything that obstructed its wild race down the countryside, leaving in its wake much mess and a decent amount of destruction, one of them being damaged electricity poles which meant that we had no electricity from 20:30 till 09:30 this morning! This afternoon was a dull, grey, wet which I spent waltzing down F.C road, straining against the force of the wind, pulling my salwar up so it wouldn't get completely ruined by the river making it's way down the road and I returned home tired, looking quite the mouse dragged in by the cat...yet strangely, not only am I impressed, but I'm very happy!

...and I thought I didn't love the rains!

Patience Bears Sweet Fruits...

Oft do I repeat this citation to others, as to myself…and boy, when the tree of patience decided to finally bear fruit, such a sweet, succulent fruit it bore!

Winter 2003, I was in Germany as an exchange student and I promised myself that I would return to Europe and travel at free will. It’s taken me three years and much patience and forbearance to fulfill that dream, but finally it’s come true.

It’s still sinking in, but ten days later I am going to be on my way to France for a summer training programme, in a gorgeous Mediterranean city close to the Spanish border. Montpellier beckons with open arms and the French Embassy sponsors generously – all I have to do is pack my bags, collect those dreams and take that flight! It’s going to be a glorious month and a half in France – I’m finally visiting the cities I’ve yearned to see for the past three years and that too with my dearest friend.

Yes, patience, does indeed, bear sweet fruits.

Not Giving Up...Not Yet

This really charming scholar from Cambridge suggested I re-evaluate my stance on abandoning my pet project, GeeBaby. Since charming scholars from Cambridge are rarely wrong, I stepped back and thought of what I had to lose by bidding adieu to Geebaby, and what I had to gain by hanging onto her and continuing to nurture her (yes, ofcourse my Blog has a Gender and it is but obviously Feminine)...as you can see, here I am with a brand new avataar, all spruced up and ready to bore my readers some more!:-)

Watch this space people, for Plain Jane has a lot of plans for Geebaby!

Phoenix Mecano India

Phoenix Mecano India, as it stands today, the living legacy left behind by my father. A few days back, they started work on the final phase of development, based on the plans my father left behind...I could do naught to control the emotions surging through me when I heard the news...

MY FATHER KICKS ASS - TOTALLY, COMPLETELY!

Souvenirs...

Remnants from my childhood…
A dungaree set made by Ma for my favourite doll – this fat stuffed doll that Papa had brought back for me from England, that I refused to give away. I still have her – used to call her Annabelle and at one time, even Moti
Some of my favourite books from childhood - I couldn’t bring myself to give them to nieces/nephews as I did scores of other books.
Deutschlandrëise - a German board game that involves making a planned trip around Germany. It was a gift from one of Papa’s colleagues and an addiction for years amongst my building friends.
Two of my favourite hair-clips that Papa brought back from one of his trips to – they are these huge bows made from satin – big reminders of the time when I had thick, waist-length hair! Ah those days…
The very first bottles of perfume gifted to me – miniature bottles of L’Air du Temps – Nina Ricci (when I was 5 years old) and a few years later, Contradiction – Calvin Klein. Yes, I’ve been using them since that tender age – classy right from the beginning ;-)
The duvet I used as a child (embroidered by Ma of course, as were many of childhood clothes), the kurta from my school uniform autographed all over by batch-mates from the batch of 1997 (shit it’s been a decade! I’m old!), the Arya Samaji stole given to each and every student who graduates from Arya Vidya Mandir.
Pages from my school dairy, class photographs, essays written by me during school years (including one very embarrassing essay, extolling the virtues of a beauty queen that K and I foolishly considered beautiful in our childhood ignorance of true beauty!)…
Certificates, so many of them, that I got each year in Arya Vidya Mandir, some that make me proud (from when I topped or stood in the top 3 in class), some that make me roll my eyes – who else would get certificates in handwriting, in diligence, in sincerity as a student?
Diaries, that recorded in scrupulous detail events and emotions that marked my college years, including my first attempt at love/relationships that leave me cringing in horror at my naivety! Quite a few painful moments in there as well, which make me think it’s time the diaries went…
The key-chain made from cow-leather (and which made my hands stink each time I carried it, for nearly a year after I started using it!)Papa brought back from Milan, Italy. It still has the keys from our home in Gayatri.

Curios and souvenirs of special moments in my life…
A caricature on a tissue-paper made by K, the very first time we went to Mondegar together – each and every memory of our many South-Bombay trips brings a smile instantaneously to my face.
Letters, postcards and cards – from Papa when he was in Venice in the 80’s; from A, after our first gigantic fight, when we patched up and truly became friends for life; from K when I was in Magdeburg, from friends across the globe.
From my sojourn in Magdeburg, Germany in December 2003 – pine needles, a maple leaf, pebbles from the beach in Lacanau, a good-luck charm gifted to me by a friend’s grandmother, tickets from the various trips I made in Germany, France and Sweden, brochures and postcards from all the places I visited, my Vodaphone SIM card…
Corks from wine bottles opened on special occasions, evenings that I’ll cherish forever – the first bottle of wine I finished all by myself, the Montbazillac I shared with K, the bottle from A’s farewell soirée, one from the many bottles opened recently on K’s birthday, yet another from a Provençal wine, opened on a magical evening…
…and of course all my photographs, each and every one of them is worth three times their weight in gold!:-)

Liberated...

Sorting through my stuff as packing for the final big move started, I made the very difficult decision of letting go off my precious Literature notes that I’ve been guarding like treasure worth its weight in gold, since my First year of B.A! My heart swelled with pride as I saw once again (and for the last time) my notes made painstakingly after many visits to libraries, poring over books, scanning material available online and compiling it all together in a neat, organized manner, so as to aid easy comprehension and retention of matter. Then there were all those assignments and examination papers where professors I still hold in esteem had awarded me as high as 13 out of 15! Yes, yes I was quite the ideal student ;-) I must say it’s quite a painful process to big adieu to all of them – it’s almost like cutting off the umbilical cord and finally stepping over the threshold into a new stage of life that no longer has any links with the past. Over-the-top, melodramatic reactions but believe me it felt much like that…

An Evening in Italy...

Toscana...Barely does the world roll off my tongue that my mind conjures images of an idyllic Italian vacation - the sun-kissed country-side, the wind teasing my hair and playfully blowing away my linen shirt to expose my mid-riff; languid afternoons spent sipping a cool drink by the pool, the water glittering under the sun’s rays; a lizard darting across the terracotta floor towards the kitchen from where wafts the heavenly aroma of freshly baked pizza; sultry evenings spent pirouetting in the arms of a sexy Italian…

What I got was a sultry summer evening transformed into an idyllic evening with the cool breeze gently kissing my naked arms and whispering through my hair, as I sat back in a lawn lit by lanterns strung across the space and a few candles scattered across the tables, retro music drifting in from next-door, and dreamy plans of a European vacation over beer, succulent chicken and pasta, with the best dinner companion I’ve had till date…

Where, you ask, did I find my piece of Italian paradise in Pune? Why, at Toscana, the delightful Italian restaurant next to Soho’s, Kalyani Nagar…it was a perfect evening, with just the right ambience, good food (though not pizza, since we opted for pasta for the main course), good service (surprise surprise!!) and, as I said, great company and great conversation. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed an evening out as much as I did at Toscana – and with it, I think I’ve finally broken the jinx of mediocre gastronomic experiences in Pune!

Geetanjali, the Restaurant Critic!

I’ve been thinking I should take up an alternate profession – that of a restaurant critic. Why? Well, I’ve always enjoyed filling out the suggestion/comments form given in restaurants, but off late, I’ve noticed that those forms are becoming increasingly crucial. Why you ask? Well simply because of the falling standards of services, not to mention cuisine, in most restaurants. Restaurants are popping up at every nook and corner like wild mushrooms. Unfortunately the increase in their number hasn’t led to an improvement in services. I’d have thought that the increasing competition would make them treat their clients better, but it seems that the scarce importance given to the client has also disappeared!

To me, the complete gastronomic experience includes not just quality meals but also a good ambience and service. If even one of these criteria isn’t fulfilled, then the experience simply isn’t satisfactory. And I’m sorry, but if I’m paying for the meal, then I think I deserve to enjoy my meal…and if I’m not content then I think I have the right to express my discontent and have it noted and taken into account.

This weekend, to celebrate my cousin’s birthday we’d gone for dinner to Bombay Brasserie. I’d been given the impression that it is a rather posh restaurant, BCBG as the French would say – Bon Chic, Bon Genre - only to discover the restaurant was far from it!

The entire experience was so unsatisfactory, that it bordered on disgusting. It’s a fact well-established that one can’t find good personnel in a restaurant in Pune (except perhaps for the waiters at the Blue D restaurants and at La Dolce Vita) but the waiters here had exceptionally dour faces, and were remarkably inept and ignorant. It didn’t help that they had a certain tendency to lean too much into the client’s space while serving (or was it just one client whose space they insisted on trespassing?) Their food and service had me disappointed before the first-course arrived on our table....

Needless to say, by the time I finished my meal, I was utterly disgusted with the complete waste of a good evening. To eat over-salty, over-spicy food in an over-lit restaurant with tacky string lights on the steps of a wooden floor that had been scratched and abused, with waiters who don’t change the cutlery after the first-course (unless specifically asked) and table-cloths that were dusty – well that is far from my description of a good gastronomic experience. I didn’t hesitate to inform them that their cuisine and services were befitting of a lower grade restaurant and that it pained me to be paying them the prices they demanded. I ensured that my uncle who was paying didn’t leave them a tip – I have to be really annoyed to refuse to leave a tip, so you can well imagine the quality of food and services.

Word of Advice – Stay away from Bombay Brasserie, Dhole Patil Road, Pune.

Simultaneous critique in French on Francesay

From the Unwritten Diary

Swirling whorls of dust descended on us, sweeping up in their fury clothes not pinned down, saplings already struggling to survive the heat and awnings that tried to obstruct their course and slow them down…seated at my computer staring out the window I marveled at how I couldn’t even make out the form of the building in front of ours. And then, as suddenly as it had descended the dust storm disappeared, leaving behind an eerie silence that echoed in my ears uneasily. There is a restless energy inside me that’s been scrabbling for attention, begging for release. I tried to drown it out with music, turning the volume up till the floor beneath my feet throbbed with each beat, but the restlessness inside me just grew, making me yearn for the forbidden. I tried writing, hoping it would bring forth the much needed calm, but what came forth helped naught…my senses are jarringly, electrically alive and my mind jammed with an entangled mess of images. I’m aching to cut loose and head for the unknown, the unexplored…

The skies outsides are a heavy overcast grey, the sunlight streaming through the clouds bathing the landscape in a strange luminosity…and I must rein in this edginess and focus my concentration on a new project. A long, incredibly boring evening lies ahead – oh how will I survive it? I think I shall shock some people tonight…dare I?

Back From Hibernation

I’ve pinched myself several times the last few weeks, trying to believe that it’s really happening – it’s difficult to believe that this dream is actually coming true, that I’ve actually cleared all the obstacles from my path and that very soon I’ll embark on a long awaited voyage. Somewhere deep inside of me, I’m still incredulous about the whole affair! A friend recently commented on my (changed) notions of romance/love, others have drawn my attention to my (apparent) practical attitude towards all matters related to relationships/ambitions/dreams – I think it all boils down to the fear of losing what’s dear to me…

A much delayed (and embarrassingly mediocre) response to a Limerick tag by the charming Wandering Dervish

There once was a girl quite bright,
Her intelligence was much tried,
As were her generosity and patience,
Till at last she lost all her sense.

Tagged: Extempore, Idle Mind, Jo

Current Book: Che Guevera’s Motorcycle Diaries (don’t recommend the film – I know I’m a fool for having missed it since it’s an astoundingly brilliant film! I don’t need salt rubbed into my wounds! Grrrr!)
Current Music: Say it right by Nelly Furtado
Current Mood: Frazzled by the heat, work, studies and myriad chores.
Recent Discovery and New Addiction : Good Reads Sign-up!

PIFF - the complete review

Pune International Film Festival 2007 – despite what the newspapers might have said about the crowds it pulled, please be informed that the crowd was extremely disappointing. Even while it’s nice not to worry about not getting good seats, or worse watching a film sitting on the floor of the hall, it’s not at all nice to attend a film festival when the halls are half-empty and it feels like you’ve come for pathetic cinema, instead of the other way around. Also, the organization and the schedules were really screwed up this time – what’s with screening three Chinese films simultaneously and scheduling all the good films at the same time, so you’re forced to choose one and miss three others?

Now that I’ve got the criticism out of the way, let me go ahead and inform you that this year too was a great experience! I hardly saw any films in comparison to the last 2 years when I truly did camp out at ESquare for one week but I still managed to catch over a dozen films, short-films and documentaries. If the films I saw in the last two years appealed to the intellect, this year it was largely the senses and the emotions that were appeased.

Unlike last year, when I saw many serious films, I managed to catch some really big-budget, very mainstream European cinema, which was really fun, yet very moving and intelligent cinema:-

Les Bronzes (French Fried Vacation) – France – Patrice Leconte
An exceedingly side-splitting riotous film about a bunch of French people on a vacation – the insane activities, the hilarious attempts to get laid by all-and-sundry and the hysterical swimming gear had me screaming with laughter!

La Vie est Ailleurs (Life is Elsewhere) – Switzerland – Frédeéric Choffat
Three stories, three countries, one common theme, that life is elsewhere. A very interesting film – its main appeal (for me) was the fact that a large portion of the film was shot in trains and stations in France, Italy and Germany. Needless to say, nostalgia hit very hard as myriad images from December 2003 flew across my mind.

Winterskys (Kissed by Winter) – Norway – Sara Johnsen
A marvelously sensitive film dealing with loss - shot in Poland it revolves around a young doctor who loses her son to leukemia and consequently shifts to a small village. It goes on to deal with her various experiences as a county doctor, her attempts to rebuild her life and her struggle to come to terms with her role in her son’s death.

Tibor vagyok, de hódítani akarok (Young Dumb and Full of Love) – Hungary – Goergely Fonyo
The Hungarian version of American Pie – yes that’s it. How else could I best describe a film that deals with the humorous attempts by an adolescent to lose his virginity on a summer vacation, all the while armed with a fluorescent condom? There were also some hysterically funny scenes revolving around a golden cell phone, oops I meant dildo! ;-) Obviously big budget, very mainstream, but just so much fun. It’s almost liberating to watch such a crazy film at a film festival, normally associated with a more serious genre of cinema!

Ik omhels je met duizend armen (Thousand Kisses) – Netherlands – Willem van de Sande Bakhuyzen
Once again, very big-budget and very mainstream cinema; this one dealt with relationships, guarding as it’s take-off point the relationships and lives of young professionals in the world of fashion and cinema/television. Much crazy fun, sex, partying and holidaying, but also another level of complexity in relationships at home, dealing with the fatality of a parent and losing the parent to euthanasia. As much as I enjoyed seeing this one, it was an equally heart-rending experience sitting through the scenes dealing with euthanasia and much as I miss him and wish he was still around, I’m suddenly very glad I didn’t have to see Papa go through that and want/opt for such an end.

Yadayim Kshurot (Tied Hands) – Israel – Dan Wolman
My second film by Dan Wolman – I’d seen Ben’s Biography last year, and like it, this too, was a sensitively and very intelligently made film dealing with very prevalent issues, yet not being preachy and militant about it. Without revealing much about it, the film basically deals with the attempts of a mother to obtain grass for her son who’s suffering from a fatal disease and needs grass to gain some respite from the pain. In the course of that one night, physically away from her son, she truly comes to know her son and ends up closer to him at the end of the night…and his life. An extraordinary film, worth watching – I’d go as far as asking you to actively search for the film and get your own copy!

And some others as well, namely – Cry, The Beloved Country, The Collector, Reyhaneh, the very strange Macedonia, the stranger A Bahraini Tale and the interminably long and boring The Road.

This year’s PIFF was also my real introduction to the documentary genre – saw some great documentaries which were not only informative, but extremely sensitively shot and touching.

Vietnam Symphony – Australia – Tom Zubrycki
A heart-warming documentary about the Hanoi music conservatory that had to move to the country-side during the Vietnam war, it narrated the experiences of the students as well as the villagers who welcomed the school and its member into their homes – some 40 years later the students, now professionals, go back to the village for a performance. An excellent experience, not only vis-à-vis to what it opened my eyes, but also from the angle of music (except perhaps for that one shrieking wonder!)

The Black Road – Australia – William Nessen
I wasn’t very sure about this film dealing with Aceh (otherwise famous for its struggles post-tsunami) and its struggle for independence from Indonesia. Informative, but highly disturbing, as would be expected from any film dealing with the subject of struggle and that too, such a militant and violent one – I emerged from the film wiser for sure, and wondering what really drives us to indulge in such horrendous deeds all in the name of power.

Rhythm is It – Germany – Thomas Grube and Enrique Sanchez Lansch
Interestingly the first German film I’ve seen despite 3 years of attending PIFF and the only German film I’ve seen apart from Run, Lola Run – an exhilaratingly liberating experience if I may so. Revolving around the production of a dance performance based on Stravinky’s Sacre du Printemps, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle (quite delectably handsome if I may so!) the performance brought together nearly 250 young debutant dancers from variously realms of society and their growth (professionally and personally) through the course of the preparation for the performance. My aesthetic senses and sentiments were highly delighted.

And then, ofcourse there was the Kristophe Kieslowski retrospective. Hard-hitting cinema that forced me to think – really glad I saw at least some of his films and would definitely recommend his films.

My Students – the “Lumières” of the 21st Century!

When I started teaching I never imagined that apart from being incredibly de-stressing and satisfying at an intellectual and emotional level, it would also be an amazing source of humour…the things I hear in class are worthy of being compiled and published in a book! Here’s a teaser:-

• J’ai emmené mes mères là-bas. (I took my mothers there) – My immediate reaction was “Really how many do you have?”
• Je suis une question. (I am a question.) – You can imagine the mirth that followed at this one! Ah bon, really? The student meant to say “J’ai une question” (I have a question.)
• J’étudie lingerie (I study lingerie.) – it took several minutes for all of us to calm down before I figured out that the student meant to say “J’étudie l’ingénierie.” (I am studying engineering.)
• Je suis mort l’année dernière. (I died last year.)- this came as a response on being asked to rearrange the given points and write a biography using the past tense. It seems we don’t know the difference between a biography and an autobiography. I couldn’t help adding another line, “Maintenant je suis phantôme” Now I’m a ghost!;-)
• Souris! (Mouse!) – I’d just reprimanded a boy for talking too much in class and when he said this I did a double-take and was quite horrified. It turns out he was just trying to frenchify the word “Sorry” so instead of saying “Désolé” or simply “Pardon” he ended up called me a mouse!
• Talk about vain efforts to elucidate and illustrate without using English. The word in question was “incroyable” (incredible) and I decided to use an extremely unpunctual student as an example “ Ashwin est arrivé à l’heure? C’est incroyable!” A student’s immediate reaction – “Ah incroyable ça va dire la fiction” (“Incroyable” means fiction!)
• Je reader des nouvelles, player de la guitare et talker with mes friendsa – this one was a classic case of frenchifying english by converting all english verbs into the group of French verbs with the suffix –er. It shouldn’t be difficult to figure out what it means – here’s how it should have been said: Je lis des romans, joue de la guitare et parle avec mes amis.

And I saved the best for the last…

• J’aime fairer un serpent pour Noël. (I like to do a snake for Christmas) – I almost choked on hearing this one – what the student meant to say was J’aime décorer un sapin pour Noël. (I like to decorate the Christmas tree)

And on the same note,

• Vous avez fait qui ce weekend? (Who did you do this weekend?) – to say that I was horrified with this question would be an understatement; luckily the student realized the faux-pas and immediately replaced “qui” with “quoi” so that the question correctly said “Vous avez fait quoi ce weekend?” (What did you do this weekend?)

So what’s the verdict, people? Rib-tickling material isn’t it?

Current Book:- The Dream of Scipio - Iain Pears (it’s captured my attention and imagination completely. I wish I didn’t deal with words all day long and that I had more energy at the end of the day so I make faster progress with it…)
Current Music:- Naked and Sacred – Chhyna Phillips (from the erstwhile Wilson Phillips)
Current Mood:- Most content – after meeting best-friend over lunch and splurging money over the Robert-Collins Français-Anglais-Français dictionary for my translation work, a copy of Hotel Rwanda, so I can finally see it and this incredibly nice, red corduroy skirt…I was (and still am) looking for a short number and this is anything but short, but still very appealing and sexy! :-)

Blame Wandering Dervish for this one ;-)

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™