My dearest dreams come true
Alright, although this might seem a little too juvenile, maybe my fortune cookie wasn't so wrong.
Here's something that could get SOME of you jealous: I got a hard-bound copy of 'The Satanic Verses' from the library. And oh! Shalimar the Clown too. :D
Now I can read ALL the books I want.. If only I could OWN all those books, have them leather-bound and stock them in a rose-wood panelled library! 8->
I remember reading this article in our college magazine (fondly or rather,
de rigueur-ly named '
Belles Lettres' - and in the bargain, massacring another of the 'Romantic' [to those who understand what romantic with the capital
R means. :P] languages), written by an alumni member - do I also qualify as one now, btw? It certainly sounds like a HUGE onus anyway!
So, this article was about how each of us 'evolves', and correspondigly, encounters 'advancements' in our identities. How we're just individuals in school, and are recognised and stereo-typed by our own personal traits. Then we move on to college, where almost everything you do is characterised by WHERE you come from - which I think is unfair. So you're now representing your town/city/state. You know what is now coming - you move out of the country, and you now represent INDIA!! Although this might not be a very rigid rule, you WILL agree that each of us has undergone one or more of these transitions already.
Having to 'behave' Indian has now put me on a more ponderous track... and in almost everything I do, I "compare" notes with life in India. And I still would go back to India. For the pani puri AND for all the sentiments that 'Swades' stands up for - I figured citing a movie for an example would prove more effective. :P
My fortune cookie yesterday said "Your dearest dreams are coming true". Whatever that means!!
Another 'encounter'
Well, this happened today, a few hours ago... so it's all too fresh in my mind, and I just cant keep myself from posting it. I dont know if it's gonna smack of vanity/whatever.. but well... Because my friends are hungrily waiting for some 'drama' at my end, I gotta post it.
So, I tag along with a bunch of girls, window-shopping in some shops along our school's lane... Of course we were doing the currency conversions and gasping at the prices. Of course we stopped at the books section and picked up the astrology book to check on the sign of our ideal 'partner' for 2007. Of course we sized up everyone else that was buying the BYOOTIPHUL UPenn jerseys and sweatshirts that were EXORBITANTLY priced. Of course we carefully peeked at the finely-printed price stickers under the Maggi-shelf at the Indian store [Oh, btw.. they only cost about twice as much as they do in India... so I'm now Maggi-happy]. Of course we bought the samosas for 60 cents, swallowed them down with a dollop of ketchup; after which we mentally did the conversion again.
Of course all that happens like everyday. But what ALSO happened to me, was what I'd generally put down as a scene out of a cheesy thriller.. like a Chase maybe? No, maybe a Jackie Collins or Danielle Steel.
I'm standing in an aisle of this grocery store, totally oblivious of blocking human traffic.. so this guy wants to pass. Of course he excuses himself, and of course I apologised and moved out of the way. So he laughs it off with an "Oh! You dont have to apologise!"... So I make a mental note to keep clear of narrow aisles. Then, I'm just loitering around, AGAIN doing some quick math and mentally making a weekly grocery list. Stuff like plain, sugar-frosted cereal, whole milk, wheat bread [remember NOT to buy the 'organic' brown bread], etc.
The guy who's way I was in, earlier comes back and asks "So where you guys from?". I was like "Timbuctu!!" (ok.. that was an aside actually).. so obviously we are beaming "India!!". So he's like.. "Which school are you going to... blah blah.." And then, out of sheer courtesy, I'm like "You?". So he's very casually saying "I'm gonna teach at Wharton" or some such thing. I'm close to popping my eyes out... so I try and maintain a normal conversation.. and he says "How about dinner tonight?". So I'm like... Huh!! Of course I'm politely refusing and he just wont give up... He asks my name, and I wouldnt give it. So he proffers his hand and says "Jim." I shake it. It's like PUTTY!! That's a BAD BAD sign you know. So I quickly say mine. Surprisingly, most of these guys get it RIGHT!!
He wants my number, I dont have one. So he wants me to take his number. I pretend not to have paper on me. So he writes it for me on my palm. 8-| Now HOW cheesy is THAT!!
Gack!! That's pretty much it... And of course, I'm not gonna call him. He's not even one of the
bhai-jis, for those who'd be interested...
I still have the number on my palm though. :P
How is America?
Yeah, me dahling
Blur.. if you're reading this: You were right about being haunted/taunted/plagued/whatever by that question after I got here. I've been asked THAT so many times so far, that I've started to see stars (and stripes) each time I answer it.
But since I can't shrug off the curious cats that are my friends (who also make the handful of my blog-readers), and because they know who "Bhai-jis" out here are, and will also eventually figure out who the "others" are, I can nonchalantly write away, without screaming out a disclaimer for the benefit of the 'characters' that are/will be a part of my narration.
Well.. First of all, to answer the question... so far, so good. Everyone still looks 'human', the weather can't get any hotter than it is now (I guess we're hitting 90!) - so I can still refuse to use sunscreen and crib about my tan, money can STILL buy and I'm still a 'clumsy' idiot.
But what about my life here? I guess I can't say much. I've been in Philly for about ten hours now, to be precise.. and I've got like ten thousand things to talk about. But calls are friggin' expensive, and I couldn't "rave" about things on mail.. And I think I'm slowly tuning into the 'self-denial' mode. I cant help but do it, as long as I do the notorious dollar-rupee conversions. Oh, by the way, the dollar's been on the decline. Yay! But JOY never lasts too long. :-<
Most things that happened today, happened while I was alone. Yeah, I was on my own for the most part... and I'm not exactly gifted with a mind for directions. But heck.. I managed not to get myself too lost. How I wish we had our cities as well-planned as this!
To start off with, I've started to feel puny. No, not because I'm err.. a wee bit diminutive, but because I've landed myself in an apartment with some super-smart people. People that do PhDs: at Wharton (!!), at the Penn Medical School and what not. I guess it's pretty much what I felt when I got to my campus at Warangal. So I'm sure it'll pass.
And to finish with (I'm too tired right now, to keep a long story... long?), I met ALL kinds of people today. I had an interview with an Associate Prof. AND a brief 'encounter' with one of my beloved 'bhai-jis'. I guess I won't go into the details of it, but anyway, after all that, I make a mental note NOT to take the same route the next time. So I'm walking around, trying NOT to get lost, and I run into the SAME guy again, on the SAME street.
That's about my life so far....
The thread that binds
I get kinda' depressed when I
don't: smear colours on Holi, light crackers on Diwali, decorate the doors of our house with flowers for Sankranti or eat cross-legged out of banana leaves for Ganesh Chaturthi. It's worse still, when you can't tie a rakhi, only because distance makes brothers dearer.
It's miserable that I couldn't go haggling for rakhis this year! Which means there won't be gifts/chocolates either. Sigh!
But well.. I think this is gonna make me feel better:
Happy Rakshabandhan, to my DEAREST brother...
Ten Things I'd HATE to be doing after getting back from the US of A
- Drink bottled water.
- Wear thick cotton socks even with Kolhapuri chappal.
- Listen to people advising me against driving, cuz I'll have to drive to the left side of the road now.
- Answer people when they ask me if I'd STILL want to come back to India for good.
- Say "Hyderabad hasn't changed one bit!!" - it makes for superficial conversation.
- Hear relatives argue over how "I" have changed.
- Convert the rates on price tags to dollars, and complain about how expensive it is "over there".
- Advise kid-cousins what area they should specialise in, to make pots of money: I get to do it already, anyway. 8-|
- Spell colour as 'color'.
- Forget that I'd NOT want to do the above.
