Hibernation!!

Dedicated to my bodily tantrums!

The whole of july has been a lull on the blog:(...Its been nearly 2 months now since engineering finished!...The last day was so sudden ....that though i had known all through the last few days we might never come together like a class again.... as soon as the last paper finished...i wanted to freeze that moment forever....didn’t want a single soul to leave ..:P...i guess i was in denial ....which brings me to yesterday!....

Yesterday i met BOB,:P....its my college group :D(the full form shall be revealed when the time is right)....after about a month o so....and i felt so alive ...a feeling that i had almost forgotten in a state of hibernation...Again the denial of seeing every1 together and a dear friend probably the last time for a long time to come.. set in....never the less i was happy i made it!:D....y so?..well ..u will c....the past month started of something like this.....

For days after my exams....Idly looking at my fb page...and watching sitcoms was surprisingly enough to get me through the day!....Then a friend of mine said she had this wonderful day teaching the most eager students in an ngo...i couldn’t thank her more for the long forgotten thought....i searched for ngos in my area and luckily found Sunbeam where i would have to teach little junior/senior kg kids. Also what had kept me away from this all along was that volunteering for less than 3 weeks is hard to find...yet this ngo turned out perfect as they said i could leave in 2 weeks....for my job...but it would be difficult for me ...rather than them to do so......Indeed it was...the first day i expected to be greeted by the cute little faces....instead i entered a class full of the most attentive, eager parents ....I was asked to fill their bio-data...their income..jobs etc. and suddenly realized how gr8 a job sunbeam was doing by giving free education to the little minds who so needed it to flourish...

The first day with the little angles was....exciting .....except for 1 or 2 who threw all the tantrums in the world to not sit in the class...after about 15 mins i had managed to get them all seated ...and paying attention to me?...ah no ....that would take time....So to get them all involved i started with the most basic of all rhymes...each one of them knew twinkle twinkle and sang it with nice enthusiasm...which lasted for about a minute...thanks to only 4 lines that it is....and the very next moment....they are jumping on top of each other....one kid is pouring water just for fun...another one playing with mud in a little pit in the ground...while five of them want to take a pee break...so we sang more rhymes.....Jhony little..teddy bear..baba black sheep...oh...n all their suggestions...while some kids knew it all...others seem to just love not paying attention...always in their own world...wanting to be left undisturbed ..:D...But gradually as everyone sang with actions ...the others din want to lose out on the fun!...This lasted for about 15 minutes...and now its time for some ABC...so we sing it....and kids hurried through the song...messing up the LMNO.....Then its time to check the numbers...Then recognizing the letters randomly....while all of this is going on...the toughest job was to make sure every1 is listening....and they only listen when you shout at the top of your lungs...and when they answer...its a whisper..the difference in decibels nearly turned me deaf!...i mean literally...i had this little ear problem and i could hear almost half the things...so 1 week down i had had to take a break for a couple of days....little did i know the break would go on for weeks together..:(

Which brings us to the topic of this post....a little after the ear problem subdued...i caught the most fierce cough...and in two days i had a fever of 2 degrees which went to 3 and nearly 4...and lasted for about a week...All i did was sleep...or occasionally get up in a state of complete haze...my mom had to stay home...sponging me with super cold water to get the fever down...it felt like 1 whole day which lasted for about a 100 hrs...and i slept for 90 of those...The worst was the fact that i suddenly became aware how this sickness was long overdue....how it was all my fault...how i had stretched my body to its limits with the most irregular sleeping habits .....and with the odd metabolic rates at which it operated nothing seemed to be running smoothly...i had lost over 7 kgs over a year ...not a astounding fact ....but still something which now categorized me as underweight...Obviously the realization dint come naturally to me...it followed after frequent lectures from aae on how “health is wealth”.....and how was I going to take care of myself in Pune(where i have to shift for my job) if i kept falling sick so frequently...and how my stamina was zero...(compared to my mom ...who i often wonder is super-woman.... it’s in negatives.....i mean seriously ...if i could confront god..that would be my first question)

So while still in fever I did one more thing besides sleeping...i promised mom ...around a thousand times that i shall sleep before 12 at night and get up at 6am...do pranayama and eat ...GET FAT!...More than a moto for me...it was a moto for everyone in the house...Eat bananas....”one chapati...nahi chalega”...”eggs eggs eggs”....”oh don’t eat too much at once...eat every one hour”. Dad comes home from office...and the ‘kashi ahes?’(how are u?) is replaced with “wazan kiti zala?”...(what is your weight now?)...mission 50 he called it!....His favourite taunt was...go meet schools friends...go get wet in the rains....go travel for 2 hrs to kandivali to meet jinali...all sarcasm...but if you become fat and weigh 50kg...you are a free bird!...obviously i was obedient ..anything for that freedom...i slept early...it’s tough when sleeping at 3am is routine....got up at 6.While i was on the most boring mission...my friends saw amazingg movies...went for picnics...in the midst of the most awesome weather in the heart of lush greenery in the middle of this concrete jungle....I couldn’t say adios to my best friend as she left for her job in pune...So after all the sacrifice ...I was hoping to be on my to fatness! When suddenly my body complains again....its time for some dehydration and vomiting...soo all the gained weight...gone in a jiffy..:(...I recover from that too....I wait eagerly to meet my friends on the day when ‘cube of death’ leaves for US of A ....the day arrives...i still look tired...and breath heavily after a long conversation on the phone....i haven’t stepped out of my house much....but its time to breath the fresh air...Its been Pouring cats n dogs since days...The sun is on a sabbatical ....the winds blow thunderously....(one thing which kept me happy about staying indoors)But not this day...today i shall c the sun...i shall make it till santacruz...
All seems to be on the track...permission from mom and dad-check....weight above 50-naah...but i convinced myself its permanently altered..:(... so i get up early...which keeps mom in a good mood...weather-I spot the sun...and suddenly...out of the bloom...my neck sprains...a muscle gets pulled...This isn’t unfamiliar ...i am reminded of the days before my exams...when i had to lie on the bed for hours and days at a stretch....lying on bed doing nothing...oh no...i had enough of it!!!!...i hoped for it to pass...knowing only better...yet i slept for a couple of hours...i somehow managed to get out of the bed...with a ‘wakdi maan’ i could hardly sit straight ....and was off for what felt like a very strenuous journey to my friends place...
So i met my friends after a month...after spending 1 hr at the bus stop and one hr in the bumpy bus ride...It wasn’t the best way to be meeting some1 for the last time:P.....pretty week ...with lost weight ...n a broken neck...my state was pathetic ...as my friends saw it!...Glad every1 could laugh it out...and no 1 attempted a lecture to become fat...as i had enough of that already.!!!....We even played mafia wars...which on a normal day would have seen me all heated up in arguments....yesterday i was just...well a little handicapped..:(...

Now i hope...my body has succumbed...and the sprained neck is its last tantrum....(i don’t want a cavity in my tooth next...with by 1 minute brushing...its a big possibility ...)I wish to see those little faces again. When i joined sunbeam..Thankfully the Ngo was on the look out for permanent teachers...as i was just volunteering ...evaluating the kids...and making it fun...till the text books and portions were brought in...my absence was no trouble...as the permanent teachers were brought in...still in those few days....i taught so many little minds...and revised my rhymes from pre-school days....that i can’t wait to see Lucky singh again...(the one who dropped water for fun...he tested my patience....n with his cute little bun....and the most cute pleading manners to make him do nothing....it was extremely difficult....he did at last learn to differentiate between A,B and C....a feat which took atleast half an hour to accomplish)...cute little ashwariya(She was the sweetest and smartest kid....most amiable....always helpful...with the most innocent smile ever..touch wood!)....aryan(he loved telling stories...if i drew a icecream on the board...and ask the kids to guess what it was...and he would start of with...”maine kal kahya icecream...cake bhi khaya...mere bhaika na birthday tha....”).....aditya(This guy was The actor..before the class he haddd to cry...get all the attention he wanted...once the class started...crying all forgotten..its play time..very naughty)....pari(indeed a little angel who drew A upside down...but never gave up....tried to draw it correct for straight 1 hr...i hope she has learnt it by now...she was Ashwariya’s kid sister...and only time she cried was when her big sister couldn’t stay with her for class)....I taught about 60 students on various days.....managed to remember their names for one class...(a herculean task for one who forgets the names of her aunts and uncles....and has her sis by her side always to help her out with the guessing...at wedding and family functions:P)....Now i have forgotten most of the names...but the faces are still fresh in my memory...:).....Hope i get fit enough to go and sing a rhyme ‘with action’ and play ringa ringa roses...one last time..before i have to leave for job!!
Next blog shall come only after Mission 50 is accomplished ..:P..cya soooon!

31 Jalad!!!!

”Its jalad....gotta go...bye”...Im in middle of this convesation sitting at our favourite spot in the college canteen:”Okay so how do u explain threads vs LWPs? ;)”...and it suddenly changes to “oh crap...thats the last jalad....”....”rickshaw!!!..follow that bus”.....no i ain’t following some lame cute crush...its My bus 31 jalad...im rather extra possessive about it...wont let it leave without me...I have missed this bus only once...and what followed was close to a Hollywood car chase...

About a year back the long awaited ..rather long due worli bandra sealink finally opened its gates...All the while we worlites were very sceptical about the whole traffic diversion , increase in pollution levels-noise and air....worli seaface would never be the same...:(..But i was foolishly hoping that on the other side the sealink would make things nicer...like maybe have a pedestrian walk..As expected things changed... and some for good...though i dint get my pedestrian walk(how cool it would have been to walk over the Arabian sea).....i got a bus which made for better and worse ....my commutation to college and back faster.

Journey to Vileparle : 1 and a half hrs of turmoil, wait, sweat, exhaustion, ohh and sleeping. Over the 4yrs i have skipped from being a hard core railway traveller to A BEST fan!...Western railway: the most reliable mode of transport in the city....things like- when the train fast approaches the station...you feel the Mumbai heart beat..u feel connected!....the local compartment: nothing short of a daily soap and chalta phirta shop...the 100 odd steps which help maintain my figure..(which btw i hate)...all which i eventually grew nauseatic of. It turned out to be a little troublesome too..i skipped my station while still sleeping ...too often:P.Thats when i decided to skip all the switching( between a rickshaw to the station ..then the train...to a bus from the station to home)......and wait at the bus stop a nice 20 mins...to hop a bus straight to home..:D....then doze of to the most sound sleep ever....which lasted through the 1 and half hrs of bouncy roads..traffic snarls..BEST TV (“chandan pan masala...chandan!:P”expecting a comment session on this..:P)...Astonishingly I never missed my busstop...though really irritated that it interrupted my sleep.(trust me that 1 hr of sleep is the best i get...oops got....still used to speaking in present tense)But this eventually lead to neck sprains and left me completely drained...The distance got to me!

Then suddenly one fine day..my mom got me a pamphlet about this new bus over the sealink..right upto my college..Like an eager child waiting to see its new school bus...I was at the bus stop at sharp 8:30....n with this began the unpredictable waits for the bus...everyday i fought with the torturous sun...and never lost...1 hrs..2hrs...i was there to be the sole waiting passenger of my Jalad.With every addiction comes the sweet temporary pleasures...n obviously the non healthy side effects...so here it goes..


Flicker se dhapa!..:P

The PROs:
Remember the 90 mins it took me to reach college ...now it was cut down to a straight 40mins..:D.The breath of fresh air-When the bus starts crusading along the sealink...the cool air from the waters below...the spectacular cityscape... which does surprise me...the 70km/hr speed....way to much for a BEST to handle...is the best way to start or end my journey..I especially remember once when it was full moon....and as the bus started from the toll naka...all lights of the bus where turned off...the sealink sparkled with a row of fluorescent yellow lights...the water glistened with the moons reflection ...and for some minutes it was hard to believe i was still in Mumbai... No traffic signals,no horns....the same place lakhs were scrambling up locals...at its peak hours the extact same moment. Thats what the bus did...it was like ecstasy for an addict...a escape from all the hustle and chaos .I had become an addict.

The CONS:
1.Love is blind.I had given up travelling via the normal route...which meant leaving my regular 33s or 83s...atleast a dozen of them ...n wait for jalad for more than an hr.
2.Rickshaw chase after the bus...was now soo common that even my friends backed me up(“go catch a rick...u can still beat it and hop in at the next stop”)..:P...one such incident ended with me missing the bus...which left me with no choice but to amend things with an old friend..:P..as i had called it back then(i.e.catch a 83).
So 31 jalad was not just another bus...It revolutionised things...I started calling inanimate things my friends.....chasing buses...in rickshaws..not to capable of it...:P...changing everything i did according to the bus timing...from waiting in college as long as i dint miss the last bus....to spending 20 mins more in the canteen....so that i can get the next 31....walking upto mithibai ...coz the bus dint stop at my college bus stop...and paying an extra fare for the sealink privileges..


From my 2 MEGAPIXEL camera phone

So a about a week back when i had to come to college to meet my friends..:)...i was more than eager...The experience over the sealink in my favourite bus...was just as expected...spectacular...all the more in the rains...The mist covered the air....the sky over the city looked dramatic.... the thick dark clouds cast a shadow over it...the worli end of the link...was getting battered by the humongous hightide waves...its famous for...a sudden nostalgia set in...the thought of not travelling on this route for days to come...saddened me...:(...I will miss my jalad..sorely!

The first rains....

The first rains....

(3:30 am here in Mumbai ,my face is all wet...the experience....it needs to be jotted down..)

May.The hottest month in Mumbai.Its here to test ur love for the city.Can u take it-The earth boiling up like molten lava jus beneath the surface...the sun blazing down with all its wrath...the smog...choking all the pollutants ..plus the humidity ...like one big gas chamber....N u perspire...dehydrate...tan...get sun stroked...catch the summer cold...the pre-monsoon diseases. The whole city prays to the rain gods..so do i....

Over the years i have waited for the monsoon each june...more eager for it than for my exams to get over. Tracking the forecasts in the newspaper....knowing that they r almost always wrong...asking my granddad if he can tell me -from the direction of the wind(if any)...or the bird calls....or maybe the height of the high tide waves...how much longer do i have to wait....it seems like an eternity..

Then comes ...all effects underplayed...the pre-monsoon showers....a passing cloud....a couple of drizzles.....or a 5 min pouring...which makes me go yeaaa!!!...n then....oh but wait....this cant be the curtain raiser ...wherez all the thundering...this glimmer of hope...makes me even more quenched...

It gets worse.......the weather-muggier...the calm before the storm......i look outside my balcony...the skies turned all purple...with a thick overcast...n suddenly the clouds light up...a glimse of heaven was that?...pure white light...a flash..n one more...ohh ..n it just thundered...it roars n rumbles.....the air starts stiring...the trees swaying..their silhouettes just perfect ....the cool breez blowing....n bringing along with it d sweet smell of distant wet lands....The night sky is preparing itself for the performance.. Its show time.:D.My windows start shuddering....the thundering gets louder....the heavy raindrops performing the perfect symphony. As the droplets blow over my face..i feel blissful ... cant stop smiling. The trees look happier...dancing...n getting drenched inch by inch...old branches go down...car covers fly off....the drops sparkling in the street lights...the wind forming patterns....a pool gets created on the uneven cemented ground...n the million little drops create the most beautiful pattern.....The clouds crackup again.....And at that moment that crackling sound is not scary....i love this sound....its the first rain...the real deal!...The monsoon...has finally arrived up from kerela..to goa..over the western ghats and kokan...to Mumbai...The city which gets drenched...bigtime!!