My Affair With Sankey

We have grown up together. Sankey and I. We have changed with the passing time; sometimes for the better, sometimes not. But what remains intact, even after all these years, is my love for Sankey, and Sankey's acceptance of me.

As a primary school kid, my brother once took us to Sankey. Having not ventured out much on my own then, this 'trek' to sankey, crossing the deserted temple and climbing up to reach the road was my own Enid Blyton fantasy in the city. Looking back, I wonder, was my life so sheltered, considering I have lived on the same road all my life and Sankey is but 5 minutes away and that was adventurous for me!! Well, I was excited to be so close to the water then, kid that I was, and surprisingly, that kid in me has never bid goodbye and I feel the same excitement each time I go to Sankey.

Other early memories of sankey are boating. Boating was the only way we could reach out to sankey. And of course, the viewpoints that were on the road: I would love cycling on the empty Sankey Road on summer afternoons, stand and watch the water for endless hours. I still remember the bougonvilla flowers adorning these viewpoints. I remember taking morning walks with Swetch on Sankey Road, discussing the weirdest dreams we dreamt the night before.

Adolescence arrives. Sankey still stays. I still remember, cycling around Sankey one cool summer evening, wearing shorts and for that reason not wanting to spot anyone i know en-route. And I remember better, bumping into not just my crush, but also his three sisters!! All the times I accidently wanted to bump into him, and it had to be the time I least wanted it! Walks around Sankey have also been special bonding times for me with my closest friends. Talks about life, love, ambitions, dreams and everything else under the sun. Talks about other people. Catching up. Craziness. Running(Walking actually!) away from home in anger, and taking refuge in Sankey. Sitting alone for hours together watching the insects on the surface of water. Singing to myself in happiness. Singing to myself in sadness. Crying and getting comforted in(by) Sankey. Morning walks and familiar faces. Crushes on unseen faces, just coz they looked good , observed from behind. Reading a book. Commenting on people. Immersing Lord Ganesh's idol after ganesh chaturthi. Standing outside the gates of Sankey, late in the night, and half wishing to climb over the gates and enter in. Seeing a dead body in the water. Analysing the behaviour of couples , watching live specimens in Sankey. Memorable one to ones with very dear friends. Messaging countless friends about how beautiful the sunset looks when viewed from Sankey. Giving advice. Receiving advice. Done it all. But Sankey still remains. Also remain countless other things I will do in Sankey.

The affair with sankey has lasted this long and this affair will never end, because here, I am myself and because this is the only place in the world where I do not feel lonely when I am alone. I always have Sankey with me :)

Why CTR Rocks

Today, I had the fortune of visting, what is probably CTR's longest standing rival, The Vidhyarthi Bhavan in Basavan Gudi. My 'very loyal to CTR' friends, were more favorable in going to CTR. But hell, we were so close to Vidyarthi Bhavan, I coundn't resist putting my taste buds to test and more importantly, see which is better.

What I thought was an Urban Legend, that people stand next to your table and stare down like "bakhapakshis", was really not!! The waiting space that this place offers, is next to a table. You have the liberty to choose your own table, stand next to it and wait for its occupants to finish eating and leave. Well, why??? It causes for an unnecessary lot of spiteful looks from either parties, no space for the waiters to move about, and a waste of the 'angala' outside the hotel where you can stand in the cool air smelling the lovely jasmines!! They ought to think about it. And also , in cases like ours, aunties who love eavesdropping on our interesting conversations, just don't want to give up their seats for us and leave!!! 

The place itself!! Why did they have to renovate it? The old building charm is entirely gone with an attempt of modernization. I love the old walls of CTR. The enter one room to enter another room to enter yet another room concept, like in Janata and MTR.  The old wooden windows painted a shade of dull blue or green. The very 'Old bangalore feeling'!! I love them all!! I'd never trade this CTR for a fresher look!! 

Then the most important part. The Dosa itself. The Dosa, I agree was good. But no comparison to CTR. CTR dosas are bigger and better. And yes, they do not POUR chutney onto your dosa and plate in CTR! A place that serves Dosa with 2 types and chutneys AND sambar, beats a place that makes it's own Dosas soggy, any day!

Today, once again, I realized, there is no place like home, and there are no Dosas like they make 'em in our CTR! :)

TRANSIENCE

It is a feeling one encounters whenever a new phase begins, when we meet new people. It is a stronger feeling one encounters when these people judge you to be what you are actually not, when you have not changed one bit, but just their perception is entirely different. It is, yet again, just a phase. 

It is a sense of Deja-Vu!

I have surpassed these kinda blues

In an other time I cannot recall

I had risen from this pitfall.

Am I so bad being so me?

Or is it just me that is so bad?

Have I lived long in ignorance,

Of all I am, as seen to them!

Perceptions wild, they drive me crazy.

Signs I give, are they so hazy?

I am the same I have always been

All depends on the eyse with which I'm seen.

All my virtues , here, are vice

Also naive and not very wise

Quick and fast, the tongue lets loose

Words and actions, think not before I choose.

Care and share, it is also me

But, not where I cannot just be

Judged, misjudged and misunderstood

Will I ever be perceived here as good?

Reins of control, they spring to life

To tame a spirit that runs too wild

But wouldn't this drain the life itself?

The twinkle, the song and the smile itself!

It has hardly been a month and it feels like the corporate life has been sucking me in already! Balance i thought cannot be a problem for me since, well, I am me!! But turns out it is not as easy as that.
Life has been good. Life has been a party. Weekdays are full with training(read fun, in my class at least). Time just flies by after you return home on weekdays. And weekends have been one huge party. Every weekend I've been going out. Movies, treks, trips, dinners, lunches, hanging out and catching up with friends, visiting relatives, using my first salary very effectively by shopping. Life can't be more perfect than this, can it?
Well, here is the problem. Where has my time for ME gone? I hardly seem to be finding time for me, for me to do what i love to do, what i want to do and sometimes what i need to do! More than anything, i wonder if my passion has weaned down, if all that was once part of my life then seems a thing of the past now!
The problem with this work cycle is that weekends are not drab either. They are fun. What we used to do all week long has now been shifted out on weekends and weekends are no longer relaxation. No longer getting up at 10 in the morn, read the newspaper leisurely and then watch an old flick on tv or maybe wash the car. No more just staying at home, doing nothing, wanting to do nothing. Because even if you want to do nothing, others want to do something and you get dragged along. Just ends up getting tiring. Oh, hope next weekend is not as packed as this one with lunches and dinners and i can just sleep at home!

soooooooper bored :((((((

Republic Day

From all the kids, the ones i vividly remembered were Seetha and Krishna[Kisna];maybe because these little angels were the tiniest of the lot. My second visit to Indira Gandhi International Academy was just as memorable as the first. I was on the lookout for familiar faces,and many a familiar faces did I find! It was only the names that i could not recollect, but i remembered each kid i had interacted with earlier when i saw their faces...Deborah, Richard, Kokila to name a few.

It is this personal interaction with the kids and the warmth you feel with the unadulterated affection these kids shower on you that makes your day. It is the smile on their faces, the twinkle in their eyes, the excitement in their voice that urges you to go back, that makes you feel what you are doing is worthwhile. It is a beautiful experience where you learn each moment you teach. And this republic day, we tried to experience just that!

Conducting games for the kids such as passing the parcel and running race and competitions like drawing and singing were no easy feat by themselves. Kids are by far the same everywhere, you see some leaders, you see some retractors. You find many shy kids, some who cease to be shy when they find company, very few bold ones! You see naughty kids, you see moody kids...you see happiness in their faces when they win, you see resentment and disappointment when they lose. To coax and urge and provide confidence and console and be a kid with them once again gives immense pleasure.

What touched me the most was that so many of the kids remembered me and quite a few of us and also the way the small kids told us to study well and do well at our workplaces! They see we are lot more privileged than them, and just their heartfelt selfless wish for us to succeed makes me want to reach out to them all the more in all ways i can!

Also memorable was the candle light vigil held in the IGIA campus in order to salute the unsung heroes of our nation, the jawans. The candle light pervading in the darkness, like light always does,brought hope to the darkened minds again, bringing the evening to a perfect ending!

UgLy

Now after 3 years in college without particularly caring, i have been wondering for the past one week where Ugly is! I heard that he has gotten fatter etc, but though i have been in college for long hours this entire last week, i never did spot him, and how i will miss him too after college. He has attended classes when we have all mass bunked them. he has disrupted classes too when we were too bored. He has learned theater along with us, he has kept us going during Udbhav preparations, he has just been there...all the time! Now I wonder why i have been so scared of him all through, though he has done nothing once to bug us, he has not even barked at us once. Not that me pondering about it will change reality, i still will be scared , hopefully lesser! Hmmm i defenitely must take a picture of him before leaving college, before i leave i mean, i don't think he ever will!! :)