This is an e-mail I wrote to Dad a long time ago...
I found it today while digging my mailbox (since I am down with fever and have some time to stay back at home from office)
It reminded me of a lot of things.. would love to share it with you...
Hi Dad!
Sangathan(Sports meet) is going on in campus..so not much classes are on .
I could have stayed home a little longer than usual.
But then I wud have missed OASIS at Pilani..and it was FAB!
Worth the 6 hrs bus journey from Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT),Delhi.
The campus is so beautiful..no, that is not enough..beautifully calm n serene.
Students are not allowed to own bikes or cars..they can either rent or buy bicycles...this keeps the campus pollution free.
It is located in a remote area.. free of all sort of distractions. The attire n lifestyle of the students is so simple. I was sharing room with Samayitadi in Meera bhavan (with other 1200 inmates). And U wudn't believe..each building (9 blocks in meera bhavan) has only one mirror in the entrance!!
That is strange for me -for any AMITIAN or Delhiite as a matter of fact!
I had trouble with the food. And a dish of stuffed tomatoes made me doubt my own wit or the cook's..I concluded both were fools..me having expected stuffed tomatoes in the real sense of the way..the cook for having cooked it the BITSian way .
One thing that really made a dish for my eyes were the slogans on the T-shirts- these guys are really proud to be BITSians, no doubt about it. A specially popular one was- "Don't ask me who I am ..." written in the front n at the back the declaration-"...when the whole world knows I am a BITSian".
The first day on my journey to Pilani, I made friends with a guy from Hans Raj college, North campus, two girls from IP University n two guys from Arts college..till Bhiwani we were sitting seperately..then we gravitated towards each other, and soon the six of us were sitting together. We became very chirpy and were singing aloud. Specially the guy from Hans Raj had a good voice..but the conservative Hariyanwis had great trouble accepting the easy intermingling of two genders. Soon some elders complained to the conductor of our exuberance and that was an end to our having fun. If the noise was the only reason..I cud have digested it but!!! FREE MIXING!!! Ridiculous -Which century do we live in?
I got irritated when a guy of the voice of an ox (with due respect to the concerned ox) was singing a Hindi Filmi song-I think he was one of the younger chaps who had trouble with us...Thank God I was born in another part of the world-And I have parents who are far more liberal than average Indian parents .
That was the only unpleasant memory from the whole trip.
I wouldn't have believed..even after that tiresome trip..I managed to watch the whole of the dance competition.
We were a group of 8 : 4 guys n 4 gals..Ashish was a floating member. Quite a few interesting characters I got to meet. A funny chap who insisted "BHAIYA MAT KAHO NA!!"
We chatted in the lawn of Block S n the Nescafe cash counter was ringing happy.
It was not before 6 o'clock in the morning that I retired to bed.
The following day I watched FAS P(Fashion Parade). Unfotunately the costumes for Aryan College of Engineering and Khalsa college were stolen.
I couldn't help wondering if it was not a strategy of a rival team to eliminate competition.
Hans Raj really put up a good show-their theme was ZODIACS.
Then we had a JAM session.
And soon we were dancing like crazy. After a long time I enjoyed dancing in such a huge crowd.
Even discos have a very limited floorspace -dancing on grounds with a huge crowed is really crazy..especially the step that involves making human chain n synchronising.
3 other gals also joined in n another guy .. so 8+3+1=12..not a bad dozen either..
I surely got lot of compliments..but I enjoy more of trance..Punjabi numbers are not my type of leg-shaking.
The dust was getting irritating and I was the first one to bid everybody goodbye.
What a pity I cudn't stay back to play my favourite game"TRUTH OR DARE"-where u have to dare to bare everything..well in a way- good.
Coz Sam (that is whatI call Samayitadi) has strictly forbidden me to play it..seeing the things I used to do in 1st year being over spirited by the game!!!
I remembered that once when we were playing it in our campus canteen, I had passed a message to a seemingly harmless creature in a paper napkin-"Meet me at amphitheatre at 4 o'clock today -IT's URGENT" and inspite of the fact that we were playing it for quite a long time n by then everybody in the college canteen had understood we were upto no good..that guy actually came up to me and asked if it was really serious..coz he had a class to attend..
My friends laughed at him.
I felt sorry for having made him a subject of ridicule and swore not to play it again at somebody else's cost .
I opened the fold of the paper n showed him what was written inside-"SORRY-It is just a game of Truth or Dare" I really felt bad that day-and I haven't played ever since....
This..and a lot more...
Wait for the next episode of "From the torn pages of my diary"
Till Then...
Be Happy
Stay Beautiful....
I found it today while digging my mailbox (since I am down with fever and have some time to stay back at home from office)
It reminded me of a lot of things.. would love to share it with you...
Hi Dad!
Sangathan(Sports meet) is going on in campus..so not much classes are on .
I could have stayed home a little longer than usual.
But then I wud have missed OASIS at Pilani..and it was FAB!
Worth the 6 hrs bus journey from Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT),Delhi.
The campus is so beautiful..no, that is not enough..beautifully calm n serene.
Students are not allowed to own bikes or cars..they can either rent or buy bicycles...this keeps the campus pollution free.
It is located in a remote area.. free of all sort of distractions. The attire n lifestyle of the students is so simple. I was sharing room with Samayitadi in Meera bhavan (with other 1200 inmates). And U wudn't believe..each building (9 blocks in meera bhavan) has only one mirror in the entrance!!
That is strange for me -for any AMITIAN or Delhiite as a matter of fact!
I had trouble with the food. And a dish of stuffed tomatoes made me doubt my own wit or the cook's..I concluded both were fools..me having expected stuffed tomatoes in the real sense of the way..the cook for having cooked it the BITSian way .
One thing that really made a dish for my eyes were the slogans on the T-shirts- these guys are really proud to be BITSians, no doubt about it. A specially popular one was- "Don't ask me who I am ..." written in the front n at the back the declaration-"...when the whole world knows I am a BITSian".
The first day on my journey to Pilani, I made friends with a guy from Hans Raj college, North campus, two girls from IP University n two guys from Arts college..till Bhiwani we were sitting seperately..then we gravitated towards each other, and soon the six of us were sitting together. We became very chirpy and were singing aloud. Specially the guy from Hans Raj had a good voice..but the conservative Hariyanwis had great trouble accepting the easy intermingling of two genders. Soon some elders complained to the conductor of our exuberance and that was an end to our having fun. If the noise was the only reason..I cud have digested it but!!! FREE MIXING!!! Ridiculous -Which century do we live in?
I got irritated when a guy of the voice of an ox (with due respect to the concerned ox) was singing a Hindi Filmi song-I think he was one of the younger chaps who had trouble with us...Thank God I was born in another part of the world-And I have parents who are far more liberal than average Indian parents .
That was the only unpleasant memory from the whole trip.
I wouldn't have believed..even after that tiresome trip..I managed to watch the whole of the dance competition.
We were a group of 8 : 4 guys n 4 gals..Ashish was a floating member. Quite a few interesting characters I got to meet. A funny chap who insisted "BHAIYA MAT KAHO NA!!"
We chatted in the lawn of Block S n the Nescafe cash counter was ringing happy.
It was not before 6 o'clock in the morning that I retired to bed.
The following day I watched FAS P(Fashion Parade). Unfotunately the costumes for Aryan College of Engineering and Khalsa college were stolen.
I couldn't help wondering if it was not a strategy of a rival team to eliminate competition.
Hans Raj really put up a good show-their theme was ZODIACS.
Then we had a JAM session.
And soon we were dancing like crazy. After a long time I enjoyed dancing in such a huge crowd.
Even discos have a very limited floorspace -dancing on grounds with a huge crowed is really crazy..especially the step that involves making human chain n synchronising.
3 other gals also joined in n another guy .. so 8+3+1=12..not a bad dozen either..
I surely got lot of compliments..but I enjoy more of trance..Punjabi numbers are not my type of leg-shaking.
The dust was getting irritating and I was the first one to bid everybody goodbye.
What a pity I cudn't stay back to play my favourite game"TRUTH OR DARE"-where u have to dare to bare everything..well in a way- good.
Coz Sam (that is whatI call Samayitadi) has strictly forbidden me to play it..seeing the things I used to do in 1st year being over spirited by the game!!!
I remembered that once when we were playing it in our campus canteen, I had passed a message to a seemingly harmless creature in a paper napkin-"Meet me at amphitheatre at 4 o'clock today -IT's URGENT" and inspite of the fact that we were playing it for quite a long time n by then everybody in the college canteen had understood we were upto no good..that guy actually came up to me and asked if it was really serious..coz he had a class to attend..
My friends laughed at him.
I felt sorry for having made him a subject of ridicule and swore not to play it again at somebody else's cost .
I opened the fold of the paper n showed him what was written inside-"SORRY-It is just a game of Truth or Dare" I really felt bad that day-and I haven't played ever since....
This..and a lot more...
Wait for the next episode of "From the torn pages of my diary"
Till Then...
Be Happy
Stay Beautiful....
60 comments:
1. nice read. Grt to knw tht u wrote such long letters back home :p
For i have always been the phone guy.
2.y r the pages torn?try fixing them.
(understand a deeper meaning)
3.when do u plan to make some outta stn visit in near future :P
@ Ankur
1.I used to talk home everyday..and I do that even now..
But I used to indulge in the luxury of writing long mails too...
To people I cared for...
And fortunately most of them have been treasured greatly
2. Torn pages...
Fix ..fix ..fix...
that's what life is about..sometimes we think we can begin in a clean slate, in a fresh page..but ...
U know what I am talking about ..right?
3. No clue...
Not while office is on..
But some day..pretty soon...
nostalgia.. nostalgia and a girl growing up... needs to talk a lot...sweet chirping...
well over the years travaellign through villages i ve come to realise that people are not conservative out of choice but the macro structure of society and the conditions of prevailing norms makes it a forced choice... i have grown to pity those who believe in society then..
and have grown to learn that it pays to agree unless i can change it all. so no cribs only pity
enjyo life
well buddy nothing much 2 say.
That was a beautiful mail.
nomatter hw much sms n telephony makes our life easier,mail/letters will always hold a special position in every1's heart.
keep it up.
BTW i luvd d way u described everything,i felt like im readtng a book.
good job keep it up.
PS-waiting 4 d nxt torn page.He.He
tkcr.get well soon.
Hey Aparna,
A really nice thing to blog, esp the dare game stuff was.. eager to read the rest of the story.. ( Parthan )
No point saying anything,I lived every moment,while i was reading it
lovely mail... such vivid descriptions.. and relived the entire thing if only vicariously.
and considering the stunts u have pulled off, am sure the truth or dare thing is one of ur minor capers.. :-)
btw, hope ur fever improves. take care. and sorry
@zoxcleb
Yeah.. I have done worse things than that T or D game..
(To the uniniated, some of my confessions can be read here
http://thevariegatedsky.blogspot.com/2006/02/wackiest-things.html
)
Btw..that "minor caper" as u call it ,was important bcoz it taught me to respect other's feelings.
that was a lovely letter i have ever read...
I liked the last part where u made a confession to ur father
Explaining every tits and bits of your daily routine makes your letter warm and acceptable........
hi! ur dad here. in case u doubt that some cool dude is playing a prank, i will give u a clue. remember dat game of ‘telling lies’ we played on way to an eco park?
u had sent many lovely and lively e-mails to me, e-mails i treasured, and e-mails dat made me live a younger n renewed life. some letters were simply full of originality.
btw i appreciate saving all the letters in electronic form n will enjoy reading them again. u have only 2 promise me dat u will keep ur room free from voluminous papers, books, magazines and God knows what!
@ Dad
Hee Hee Dad..once a police officer..always a police officer..who asked for authentication?
:P
Anyways...
I remember that game..n a lie cost u much..remember?
Btw.. thanks for treasuring my e-mails so much..
And also a special thanks to Rai, Kutu da and I guess Subho too....
I know how u guys have always read and re read my mails ...
:)
Hmmm…….First of all u can try writing a book keeping urself in the central character but in a different name and location…..
Start the story in a very unconventional way…U r in a bus in front seat…. and u r something 40-45 yrs old……..some youth brigade singing and chirping making lots of noise behind…..some of ur co-passengers get irritated……one of them interferes……but u saved their day ……. and then go back to past and tell the story of ur life……about the dream u had…… u wanted them to be fulfilled……just be urself…u can try this out in near future if u get a big vacation.…:-)
And nostalgia is like an addiction…..it can grab us any time……though we think sometimes…no I should concentrate…..but a special moment….a special smile makes us nostalgic…….
And sometimes like in a rainy afternoon or in a rainy silent night….we just love to think of our past…..the days we left behind!
thx for the pilani memoirs - at times, i long for another OASIS!
keep all ur pages - torn n otherwise - sm place i can reach ... :)
[appreciation isn't my forte, but the smart usually get it :D]
@nudelephant
:)
The pages will be here...
Reach out to them whenever you want..
:)
@kishalay
Have been thinking about scripting a book..
but don't know when I will get that vacation!!
@rums
Don't know sweetie..
wish I knew... :)
@ushnish, nayan,thrivikraman, saurabh
Though I usually thank individually..sorry about this hurried reply..coz I am really unwell n wud like to have some rest
Thank u guys..That was really warm...
@v
I guess u r right..but that was a perception of a 19 yr old..
Now she is 22
We will discuss about it being a "forced choice" in length..later
my goodness.. twas an awesome mail... just can't imagine how good it would've been for your dad infact for any dad having recieveed such mails.. truly awesome - i'd salute you actually :)..
by the way, i too agree - bits campus is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l.. had been there just about 2 months back n enjoyed the lil time i spent there - those lawns close to the temple would give the best lawns in india a fight actually.. the c'not is a lively place n i cant imagine how it'd have been during oasis - my goodness, would've been fun !!
waise, infy mysore campus is more beautiful n i still feel like spending a day at college - the training is just like college life - we act professionally during the day n as night steps in, we have fun in a different professional way.. its dam n beautiful - just this !!!
@rums - i see someone watches good movies here :-) that's one of my all time favs... have u watched other tornatore movies? i loved malena too... trying to get hold of more..
@aparna - ur dad really seems to be a "cool dude"!
@v - it might be true that being conservative is a forced choice in many cases, but it's also true that there are plenty who actually force that choice on others.. it's hard for me to believe that they are just "agreeing"! and for some reasons such actions seem to be more prevalent in certain parts of the country -- just like a reverse skew in male-female ratios in those parts!
i was watching deepa mehta's water over the weekend -- it's kind of tricky to explain to people from other countries how the crew could be driven out of india (of course under the assumption of a working law and order system), and why the 'government' would ban the movie!
well, i think having a debate is something healthy one can do (other than soy)! and hence this comment, which might be bordering on a tad provocative :-)
Nice!
I HAVE ALWAYZ BELIEVED THAT U WILL PEN DOWN A NOVEL SOMEDAY... COZ U WRITE FROM THE HEART... UR WORDS SPEAKS... U HAVE THE ABILITY N GIFT TO PUT WORDS TO UR THOUGHTS.. CARRY ON 'LIL PRINCESS'
@prasoon
I am just lucky to have parents like them..
for whom I can feel only love and complete trust..
I guess there's no secret between us..
There was never the need to be any...
Trust me on that...
U will be surprised to know what my mom knows about me
:P
@Arnab
Corrrrrrrrrection
Dad is SUPER kewl!!
If you write your name on paper,
The paper will be torn.
If you write your name on stone,
The stone will wear away.
If you write your name on hearts,
The name will remain for ever.
You are not writing the torn pages of your diary,
You are writing your name in our hearts.
Hii...
simply great, awesome,extraordinary,mind blowing.
Carry on with ur good work. Looking forward to reading more such texts in future..
Cheers
Novel...
@rohitsahib
Thanks :)
keep visiting
@candid diary
One of the best compliments ever..
Thank you
I feel humbled by the generosity of the readers..
@anonymous
There are very few people in this world who call me their "Li'l Princess"
And one of them is who treasures my mails.
And even though u haven't signed Misti da.. I know it can be only u...
@Novel
Thank u old chum..
Haven't seen u since school..
But nice to see that after those essay reading episodes in Ma'm Sujata's class, u still take interest in what I wrote... :D
Keep visiting the page :)
Nice read chatterbox :P ..
Aparna, Impressive !! Your way of expressions made me your fan. Trust me you make others feel your moments......
yours Karan- Basicmemories [at] yahoo.com
..nice one.......love to read them...........
@praveen
I expect your comments in German :P
@Karan
Mucho Gratias :)
I Am still learning
@vikas
glad to know :)
Read ur blog after a long time.. felt good. I dont remember ever writing such a long mail, and I'm trying to imagine writing one to my dad!! lol.. I'd rather finish my thesis, TWICE! Fathers & daughters have that special connections which guys never get. My usual conversation with my dad (once in 6 months) "Hey dad, how are u? i'm ok, studies going on fine... where's mom?" :P well, not that I have a prob with him, he's really nice.. but we're a father & son u see..
@saurav
Ah !! I thot I wrote u long mails too :)
As a matter of fact I used to write really loong mails a loooooooooong time back...
Time doesn't permit me to indulge in that luxury anymore :(
Who can say no to a young girl?
; - )
Cheers, Rohit
hi , well i don know who u are... just bumped on this blog of urs by chance.... anywyas read ur blog.. gotta say.. m ur fan.. the way u have blend the happenings in words, is truly awesome... hats off
@rohitsahib
:)
@abhinesh
Am glad u think so..
Keep visiting :)
molto bene... bellissimo aparna...those torn pages..are floating everywhere on ur variegated sky..and u just made your own space, a space which can be never intruded..but will always be preserved within urself. the feelings that u bring forth..the unsullied beauty that springs up from those lines..will make ne reader feel good..it brings back those moments..that we occasionally try to scratch frm our memory trace...and here it is..its all there..somewhere or somehow..every line..has an analogue..the philosophy of existensialism shows a vivid display of colors in ur blog...take ur time to tear out more pages....nd fill ur sky ..untill the shadow falls upon us :)
take care...
~ sangram
hey hope u can visit my blog some time.......u blog is awesome
If u r posting torn pages of ur diary please don't leave us like cliff-hangers.
Pasting torn pages should not take much time, right?
hey.. this post seems to have more comments than the actual post itself ;-)
and ... u been tagged...
by actual post i meant.. that the torn page is now smaller than the comments!
hmm will write the 49th and the 50th comment..
hmmm..guess from pages torn from my diary would be a better won..
but few diaries never let the pages part..keep filling the diary..
Only if you are sent to some concentration camp and die a miserable death at a tender age would your diary get some critical acclaim.....otherwise i guess its the usual flirting...
remember Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl
@anonymous
(though I guess I know who u r)
I am not here to get "acclaims"
It's enough I have a space to call my own
with the occasional disturbing appearances of some dark elements...
But chalta hai...
Yeah Einstien...chalta hai...but believe me what I said had some meaning
It took me some time to comprehend that bellissimo means "gorgeous" in Italian:)
And talking of existentialism reminds me..
the fight within each of us when we are trying to take decisions in life, and subscribing to this school of thoughts is the easier way out (oh believe me..and the safer)
But at times, the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard scores better with his Absurdism than his predecessor existentialists .
***
The world is strange
and so are we..
God must have been really crazy to have created something like man.
The only creature that doesn't know what makes it happy, sad, jealous, or gives a sudden turn of altruism.
A burrowing rodent would be happy if it can save food for winter..have a safe home to come back to and have a mate to have kids with.
A human being needs much more than just this.
Atoms of desire to make one complex compound conceivable /inconceivable desire we spend most of our lives persuing...
In the meantime, we fall in love, out of love..
we cry, laugh, experience a plethora of emotions...
and fools like me wonder..what is it actually all about?
@lost
It really works..
dunno why you don't trust us..
Try once..
Dead ....
Are you loosing your charm....treading towards that middle aged unattractive female....not so radiant , nor interesting....dead at heart ....."So Happy" on surface....
Well you could "Dance till the end of love"
@Anonymous
Middle aged?
LOL!!
Don't u know somethings are like wine..they get better with age :D
Btw, cynicism is the surest trait that u r growing old mentally and tired of life..
I miserably fail to fulfill that criteria at 22 at least :)
but some one here surely does
And my dear friends..no points for guessing- WHO
:P
Hey I ll have to cut copy paste something for this reply...read its damn funny..
Aparna: but some one here surely does
And my dear friends..no points for guessing- WHO
:P,goodbye. (laughter)
Anon: Ha ha ha! Oh gosh that's funny! That's really funny! Do you write your own material? Do you? Because that is so fresh. "And my dear friends..no points for guessing- WHO :P", goodbye. You know, I've, I've never heard anyone make that joke before. Hmm. You're the first. I've never heard anyone reference, reference that outside the program before. Because that's what she says on the show right? Isn't it? "No point in guessing WHO he is,goodbye." And, and yet you've taken that and used it out of context to insult me in this everyday situation. God what a clever, smart girl you must be, to come up with a joke like that all by yourself. That's so fresh too. Any, any Titanic jokes you want to throw at me too as long as we're hitting these phenomena at the height of their popularity. God you're so funny!
May my tongue get tied, my hard disk crash and my fingers stop moving on the keyboard if I lie
U r definitely 21st century's best eternal critic..
I wouldn't be surprised if I get to know u have been getting the Critic circle's best critic's award for the past 100/ 150 years..
How old r u wise man..
YOU ARE THE IMMORTALIST
@ Aparna
LOL...But I dont have the energy to answer back your question , just substitute "You are the IMMORTALIST" instead of "And my friends no point guessing WHO :p"
Thanx for your compliment though.
??Where you being sarcastic, if you were its too subtle for me to understand...I guess its a sincere appreciation
this calls for another book.. love it
Post a Comment