Marriage invitations and what they really mean

The Invitation:

With the blessings of our Parents,
And the support and wishes from our Family and Friends,
my sister is stepping into a new life
with new hopes, dreams and aspirations.

I Invite you with great pleasure to her Wedding
On Friday, the 13th of this month.

What it really means:

With the constant nagging of our Parents,
And the emotional blackmail from our Family and Friends,

my sister is forced to step into a new life
with a new husband, added tension, responsibilities
and the loss of any individual space she had what so ever.

I invite you with great regret to her wedding
where you will see her bid a tearful farewell to her spinsterhood and single lifestyle
On Friday, the 13th of this month.

Infatuated

All it took is one look, just one smile.
I felt Jittery. Stupid. Uncoordinated. Shy.
Ah! It has definitely been a while.

Same old butterflies back in my stomach.
If only I was a naive young teenager.
But here I am; in between, not completely a grown up (either).

About few things I’m absolutely sure.
There will be no “us”.
We will not have any future.

It may sound a little insane.
But I will still enjoy every bit of it.
Because I am Infatuated. Again.

Recipe to make cold coffee

Step1: Call friends for a sleepover at your cousin’s place in Mumbai.
Step2: Make sure the AC doesn’t work.
Step 3: Also, make sure that the house is on the last floor of the building so the heat from the whole day disseminates down during the night (or something like that).
Step 4: Wait until everyone starts feeling super hot.
Step 5: Offer to make cold coffee (even though one has never attempted this daring feat).
Step 6: Bring the milk out of the fridge.
Step 7: Realise there is no sugar or coffee powder in the house.
Step 8: Buy the ingredients at a local store.
Step 9: Put all the 3 ingredients into a 500 ml EMPTY Bisleri bottle.
Step 10: Close the cap of the bottle firmly.
Step 11: I repeat, CLOSE THE CAP.
Step 12: Shake the bottle vigorously.
Step 13: If you have not closed the cap as instructed (twice), please wipe the mess and start all over again. (A handy hint: Try to clean thoroughly so cousin doesn’t suspect anything when she returns). Finally, enjoy the coffee.

(A)Typical morning @ MICA

(Any day of the week)

8:00 AM: Alarm rings. Hit snooze.
8:05 AM: Alarm rings again. Therefore, hit snooze again.
8:10 AM: Alarm rings faithfully for the third time.
Damn! Is it morning already??
Open eyes unwillingly.
8:12 AM: Check messages.
Screen displays ‘Two new messages’.
First message from Manu: “Please, please please wake me up at 8:45.
Otherwise I will get a grade cut. I have already bunked classes.”
Second message from Neelanjan: “Wake me up before the class.”
Short and definitely not sweet.
Why o why do I agree to do this every morning?
Curse myself.
8:14 AM: Fall asleep again.
8:15 AM: Some one knocks on the door.
Nammy mutters some thing in her sleep.
Knocking continues.
I reluctantly get up, open the door.
Sayantika is standing outside (who else?:D).
She has come to collect the MICAVAANI key.
She is not only fully awake but has already bathed, dressed and ready to
attend the class.
How the hell does she manage to do this every single morning without fail?
8:16 AM: I give her the key.
She starts saying some thing about MICAVAANI.
All I hear is, “Yesterday XYZ did not come…blah blah..and some more blah”
Seeing me fall asleep while standing upright; she smiles, says bye and leaves.
8:20 AM: I head towards the washroom grudgingly.
8:35 AM: I return to my room. Realize I have to wake Nammy up.
8:40 AM: Me: “Nammy, time for class. Get up!”
Nammy: “Hmmm…..”
Me: “Nams, we’ll be late and we may not get attendance.”
Nammy: “Mmmmm….”
(Trying once more, a different tactic may be??)
Me: Hey Nams, don’t you want breakfast?
Nammy: (no response)
8:45 AM: Get ready myself and check the time.
Wonder how to wake this Neel-and-Manas-dragged-me-to-Chota-and-I-slept-
at-three girl sleeping oh-so-soundly.
8:48 AM: A flash of a bulb! There it is! An epiphany!
8 49 AM: Me: “Nammy, don’t you want to write in your new green book?”
Nammy: “Mmmm…Yaaa…”
She gets up!
High-five!
Different incentives for different people – as simple as that.
Me: “Will you wake Kirthana up?”
Nammy: (Nods her head and leaves)
8:50 AM: I call Neel. He doesn’t pick up.
Call him again, no answer.
I call Manu. He thankfully picks up.
Me: “Manu, get up. You will get a grade cut otherwise.”
Manu: (mumbles something, I cannot comprehend it)
Me: “If you leave now, you can get breakfast too”
Manu: “Ya ya…coming”
(As I said, different incentives for different people ;))
Me: “Wake Neel too.”
8:52 AM: Lock my room.
Go to Ankita’s room, knowing the fact that Madhu would have woken her a few
minutes ago, yet, she will be sound asleep.
Wake Ankita and Guneet up.
8:55 AM: Eat poha, a bowl of papaya and drink coffee in the mess at breakneck-speed.
Don’t they give awards for doing this?
8:59 AM: Run to class.
9:00 AM: Made it on time!
Mission accomplished!!
Answer roll call.
Time to sleep again.

Cravings for South Indian Food

This was the first time I was leaving home and all its comforts for what I assumed would be an exciting hostel life, I was right on all accounts except for one - the "FOOD". Having grown up in a typical South Indian house where the first thing to be consumed early morning is a hot cup of filter kaapi, I assumed that I wouldn't miss the food too much. After all, I did survive in Jaipur for three whole years!!( Of course,that was during my 3rd to 5th std where my mom cooked everyday but I'm sure you understand how insignificant that detail is :D). My attention, which was initially captured by the campus and my batch mates, was forcefully directed towards MM 101 and FA (Marketing Management and Financial Accounting for the uninitiated). The mess food which was initially interesting, became mundane after a month and downright boring after two months. They did try though, to give us Masala Dosa and Idli, but it just wasn't the same. A Tamilian batch mate of mine who is also a localite invited us over for lunch where we reveled at the sight, smell and taste of Rasam, Maddur Vada, Kesari Bath and the much-missed Curd Rice with Pickle. All in all it goes to show you never know what you have until its missing from your life. For all those who still complain about eating @ home, please refrain from it. There are far worse situations in life like paying Rs105 for a Masala Dosa and Rs45 for a Filter Coffee in DASPRAKASH!

Happiness

Life. Awesome. More coffee. Less tea.
Friends. Studies. Happy happy me.
Single. Superb. Sweet. Lack of sleep.

Enter. Him. Promises. Lies.
Hugs. Kisses. Part of life.
Dreams. Future. Husband and wife.

Fights. Tears. Unspoken words.
Constricted space. Voice unheard.
Worlds apart. Broken heart.

Break up. Hurt. Shock. Grief.
Smile outside. Inside. Weep.
Build. Life. Piece by piece.

Days. Weeks. Months later.
Sunshine again. Absent pain.
Alone. Me. Happy again.

Ecstacy

Watching the trees sway,
Feeling the wind on my face;
It’s a new world where I’ve gone away,
hoping never to return, my heart says.
I’m soaring high above in the sky,
With ease I’ve never known;
No fear whether I’ll live or die,
enjoying this moment all alone.
Imagination has no bounds,
It takes you places you can’t see;
Where there’s no life, no sound,
Where all you can feel is ecstasy.