Chandigarh Railway Station (yeah those sculptures are interesting)

It was my first trip to Chandigarh/Panchkula city area.

That too not for any fun and frolic, but for an exam. Yeah another one of those competitive exams. (I’m getting used to it now, LOL)

Therefore, the trip was not supposed to be fun or exciting. But I have a habit of making mundane things exciting for my own pleasure. Yet, this time, even the higher power helped.

SATURDAY

We(me and my dad) boarded the Shatabdi Express in the evening, and made ourselves comfortable in the cramped seats of our chair-car coach(AC).

The train began its journey on the scheduled time, and after an hour or so, we were served tea with sandwiches and samosas(odd combo LOL). My dad is a finicky man, so he decided not to each sandwiches, and instead only ate samosas and had his tea, thinking that soon enough dinner would be served. Now we were assuming that they serve dinner on this route, which was an Assumption only, and not a fact. After waiting for the dinner for about 2 hours, we suddenly discovered that Chandigarh not far. We had passed the station which comes just before Chandigarh, and still no dinner. My dad was worried now, because his was still hungry, so he went to the pantry to inquire about the dinner. Turned out that they don’t serve dinner on this route, only tea is served. We both felt cheated, but couldn’t do much about it. So we waited for Chandigarh, thinking about dinner prospects.

But another funny incident happened just before our arrival at Chandigarh. There was a young lady sitting across the aisle from our seat. She was….well strange. Constantly chatting on the cellphone, covering her face with the window curtains as if to hide something, constantly shuffling around the place, dropping things, etc. She certainly had this aura of strangeness around her, with goofy smiles playing across her face. Her baggage was kept above our seats, so she came there to procure it. We were a bit bothered, because it was right above our heads. She saw my our faces, and said “ohh! Don’t worry! I’m not gonna drop it, hehe”, and after putting it down safely, she bent down and said this into my dad’s ear, “although I’m intoxicated, hehehe”.

Now, before she uttered that last sentence, we already knew she was drunk, because of her breath. But to top it all, she openly exclaimed it. (it well be a very normal thing to get drunk while travelling in the western world, but in a country like India, its just not ‘okay’ or normal, and not safe either).

My dad, the old fashioned guy he is, didn’t know what to say, or how to react. He just kept silent, and looked at her with a straight face. It was hilarious! After she went away, he turned towards me and said “WOW! We are lagging behind, the world is changing fast”. I just giggled, because I couldn’t manage to say anything else, the whole scene was just too funny. My dad was totally dumbfounded.

We reached Chandigarh on time and started hunting for food immediately. The station is located far away from the main city area, so not many places where we could have found something to eat. Moreover, it was an unknown place, we had no idea about anything. So we got some alloo patties from the refreshment room, and gobbled them up with a cup of tea.

I studied late in the night, and dad went to sleep induced by sheer boredom(LOL).

SUNDAY

The dreaded day of my exam.

I couldn’t wake up in time to revise anything. So I just quickly had my breakfast, took a shower and got ready for the challenge. We didn’t know anything about the examination centre, so in the Driver we trusted. We reached before time, about half an hour before reporting time. So I finally got some time take a quick look at my notes.

The place had been turned into a fortress! Policemen were all over, barricades had been put up on the connecting roads, and gunmen had been installed outside the exam rooms (ohh with real big guns, LOL).

my exam centre(i didnt risk taking pics of the polcemen LOL)

police barricades were installed on all the connecting roads to the exam centre

It looked as though we were going into a war zone, and not for an exam. It tickled a funny bone in me, although I didn’t dare to laugh.(that certainly was not a wise thing to do, was it? LOL)

After my exam, I suddenly felt very light, as if a load was removed from my shoulders. I was free to study other subjects now, and I was happy, as I had been struggling with it till now.

It was lunchtime, and we again set out to search for a place to eat. Out the corner of his eyes, my dad had spotted a restaurant like place near the station only, so he asked the driver about it. He said it was a fine place to eat. So we went in.

That was an understatement actually, it was a beautiful place.

the cow looked so real, lol. but its not a real cow haha

beware of the guards!

i still cant figure out what it is, but looks interesting nonetheless

water buffalo! looked as real as the cow

pretty wall hangings decorated the staircase passage

view from the roof-top restaurant

areas to relax

the beautiful ornate walls of the village

It was more like a pic nic place, made on the village concept. Everywhere, you could find scenes depicting the rural life. The food was also nice, and I enjoyed my time there, taking random pics and roaming around. It was a good place to relax myself.

After having our fill, we set out for a road tour of Chandigarh. We saw the Hgih Court building(its huge),the other administrative buildings, houses allotted to the governors,CMs, Punjab Uni campus area, etc. blah blah LOL all the boring places otherwise. We saw man made lake also-Sukhna.

It was not the ‘places’ as much that had my interest, but the sights and sounds of the city life. As an student of urban planning, I was interested in the way the city was laid out. It was awesome.









Pure beauty of planning. Wide roads, simple ways and routes, cleanliness, greenery surrounding the roads, with well pruned parks here and there.

Another thing that always piques my interest is the Auto-Rickshaws. Every city, yes every city in India has a different breed of auto-rickshaws. It amuses me actually, to see the different colours and shapes of these vehicles in different cities.

the bright blue autos

the weird looking black or yellow autos

As far as I have seen it, no two autos are the same, which belong to different cities. Chandigarh has 2 types, the blue ones and the grotesque looking yellow/black ones. (I really wish to travel the whole of India and make a documentary on this subject. LOL)

We returned to Delhi the same day.

It was an interesting trip. I never expected it to be remotely interesting, but I enjoyed myself immensely. (but I think my dad got pretty bored LOL)

Failure makes you miserable...

...but it is up to the individual as to how he or she channels that misery.
I am facing such a situation right now. I prepared hard in the limited given time, but i lost out nonetheless. Not making it through in a competitive exam is something which almost all people of my age may have experienced at some point or the other in their life. It leaves one broken hearted for some time. but extending this time, will only work in a negative way.

I say...be broken hearted, like i am right now, but don't stay broken hearted. I feel terrible about it. the questions were not that tough, in fact the GK part and the English part was a like a cakewalk. I know I did well in those parts, but faltered in the crucial part of law. I was grossly under prepared, and almost scampered through with my preparation for the exam. I had not even taken coaching for it. but still, I know, if I had like a month or two more, it would not have been like this. but talking in retro is useless. I know that, so I am not going to turn it into a vicious circle of self pity.

I shall think about the future and work for it in the present...

That is how I am going to achieve something, else I'll always be stuck in the past, reminiscing about the lost chances and silly mistakes i made over the course of time. yes, I'll always keep in mind the Mistakes I made, but I wont dwell on them. Cos that would endanger my future seriously.

But humans are emotional creatures. so it will take some time for me to get over myself and not be so pissed at the lost chance. there will be chances in the future. and they are coming fast. so I better get my act together.

Another thing is- Expectations. Its a tricky issue. knowingly or unknowingly, the people who know me, or the ones who care for me, do have these expectations from me. that I will do something brilliant in life, and achieve something mammoth sized. It weighs me down sometimes, but I know, its all in a very well meaning vein. but when I see shoulders drooping, and hear the sighs of my loved ones at my loss, I feel double dejected. again, humans are emotional, I am a human, so..... :/

but I know, if I let these things bog me down. I will never be able to do anything substantial in life. so that would be the ultimate blow to them and to me (the most). so I have not stopped working/studying in order to be nearer to success.

it was tough. i had a bad headache last evening, and I could not sleep properly last night. but as said by Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam -
"Dreams are not what you have when you sleep, dreams are those that don’t let you sleep"

so my dreams and aspirations were not letting me sleep. now that's not a bad sign at all. is it? LOL

Documentaries i want to own

OH GOD for the record of it, I WANT IT!! Everytime I see it, I feel so proud of my country’s history. I am talking about THE STORY OF INDIA series by MICHAEL WOOD. It’s the best documentary I have ever seen on the history of India. Discovery is running a re telecast of it these days I think. I am not able to catch hold of it again, as I have no time for TV. But man, i am fan of this man now. For sure.

I am thinking of buying it in future. Oh yes!!

Another series I am really fond of is PLANET EARTH. Such beautiful cinematography, its awe inspiring. I believe it got several awards also. Justified I say. If anyone has not seen it, then I’d say at least once, do see it. Totally worth it.

tis the earthen whiff of the first drizzle,

the saccharine flavour that makes you tingle

tis the yore of an angel’s first breath,

flowers of heart’s garden turned into a wreath,

flying on the wings of a parsimonious Dove,

not everyone is given a chance to love…

tis the peal of laughter emanating from a cherub,

it feels like a thousand bells tinkling en concert,

it glows like the moon in its utmost splendour,

tis the sensual embrace like petals so tender,

akin to thunderstorms that make desert skies mauve,

not everyone is given a chance to love…

very unlike me to write something so emotive on here. but just felt like throwing my emotions around for a bit. i dont like display my emotions freely, they are kept under wraps. the only thing feels like a bit of a sigh of relief is that my blog is not read much, i guess few can venture here. so i can sefely unwind it here for now. been feeling strangely overwhelmed these days, and moody as hell (but i am notorious for it). still cant point from where all this crap is coming. LOL
but the good part is that a nice poem gets created whenever i feel weird or intensely emotional. haha

The Bombs that could be diffused

"The 13 September 2008 Delhi bombings that took place within a span of few minutes on were a series of five synchronized bomb blastsSeptember 13, 2008 at various locations in Delhi, India. The first bomb exploded at 6:10 pm IST , and four other blasts followed in succession, with at least 30 people killed and over 100 injured."

Delhi bombings this time round were closer to my home this time. Last time, we heard the blast, and doors and windows of my home were shaken. This time also, we heard the twin bombs which went off at CP.
It was a very chilling experience to say the least. Hearing bombs near by and that too for the second time! All of us went silent for a few seconds, everyone knew that this sound didn’t come from a tire burst or a cracker, it was something more sinister.
Again, a lot of people lost their life…their relatives, friends, in short lost very precious pieces of their life. CP fell into a lull, it was so quiet, that it felt eerie and haunted. We are so used to hearing the sound of traffic, that when all of it stopped, we couldn’t adjust to the silence.
The bigger question remained that, how come? So many blasts in prime Indian cities, in such a short span of time, so much so that sometimes I tend to mix up the dates of the blasts, as if in a daze. The same old story keeps on getting repeated. Why? I kept asking the same question in my mind, as I couldn’t sleep that night.
Then the Batla House Encounter incident happened. A celebrated and dedicated cop(Inspector M.C.Sharma) was killed in that encounter, yet he managed to get some of those suspects arrested as a result. Still the most shocking part came later, that many politicians and Muslim orgs are calling the encounter a fake! A cop lost his life damnit! And even his wounds stand as a testimony that he was really killed in an encounter. He suffered wounds from two sides, which corroborate with the pattern of attacks he suffered from the suspects, from the front and from the side. Some people alleged that there was not much blood found on Sharma’s shirt where the bullets hit him. Those silly jackasses don’t know that when a bullet hits a person on the front and exits from the rear of his body, then the blood flows out of the exit wounds(the ones created when the bullet gets out of the body), and not from the initial wound in the front! Body science!!
Any way, who am I trying to explain this to? Even if I shouted this thing into their ears, they would surely turn deaf. And none of them are going to check out my blog for that matter.
So back to the bombings. We all have this ultra irritating habit of passing the blame on to the administration and the law enforcement, like it was confectionery. Although I am not saying that they are always slow to act, but there is something called a responsible citizen attitude, which most of us lack. I am pretty sure that most people, when giving their place on rent, don’t check the tracks of the tenant, and gladly chuck the rent money into their coffers. Or that how many people would actually report something, when they see some wrong being committed or something worthy of suspicions from law enforcement point of view. I haven’t done a survey, but the attitudes always seep through the society, and I can see it. Most even ignore it, others try to avoid it. Even after so many killings in Delhi alone by domestic helps, people hardly ever get the verification done. You obviously cant trust a person on face value these days, its like entering the cage of a tiger, and assuming that it wont attack. Now sometimes the tiger may not attack, for his own reasons(tummy full?) but it doesn’t mean that it wont attack everytime you dare. Simple analogy, but so damn difficult to drill it into the heads of those losers who don’t give a damn about all this.
Any way, my rantings can continue about the suspects and their ideologies, but I wont discuss them here, the maniacs are all over the net these days! In fact they have gone pretty tech-savvy, more than an average person, which is the most shrill alarm bell that can ever ring in my mind.
Any way, due to all this, I don’t know when the next batch tries to do something similar, but I can only hope that people will wake up from their apparently morphine-induced state of mind, and prop their heads up from the soil (even an ostrich is clever enough to do that after some time!).
Okay rant over!

Finally a legum baccalaureus!!!

having completed the academics, i feel much relieved now. now i can fully concentrate on my goal of clearing the competitive exams, the ones leading me to my goal of getting a job a desire.
Now the coaching will start, so nothing very different to look forward to, same as college--classes and all. but this will be more like the concentrated version of the academic classes(think concentrated acid, oh and im not into chemistry for the love of god! lolz). The schedules will be tight, each lecture will be important, and it will need high concentration levels from me too, lest i drift off into some alien land of imagination.
the only dampener here is that the classes will be held at a place which is quite far from my home, so i'll be travelling 1 hour to reach the place everyday, and then 1 hour in coming back. its easier for the ones who have taken a room on rent in that area. Thats not a choice for me, considering my limitations. gah!!!
nor do i have a zip zap zoom bike, which i can drive like a badass biker, cutting through the traffic and reaching the place in record time! heck let alone driving one, i didnt even sit/ride on a bike ever(i know, that should be registered as a world record of sorts). I dont exactly get hibbi jibbies of fear from rising one, just that i didnt get a chance. check that, i travel by car! LOLz
but yeah, this whole zipping past the traffic thing makes a bit envious of the guys who have a nice bike. well what ever!
so i am looking forward to get a headstart in my preparation from the coaching, it should be good.

also, less blogging from now on, i shall be married(figuratively of course!) to my books and notes from now on. will keep writing, but infrequently. i am not a blog-a-holic per se, and cant really imagine writing in everyday for that matter. but i like to write something that has been bubbling in my mind for a few days, that way i can keep my blog turning into some soap opera of sorts!
i run the blog, not the other way round, so chao for now blogy-buddy! haha

Eye of the Student

after having spent almost 6 years in college life, i have seen the other students closely and have been watching their actions minutely. college life drills into you certain traits,which when looked upon in isolation look pretty nutty.

like take the case of the sharp eye of a studious collegian. we who delve into the darkest corners of the stack hall of library,who treat books which are out of print like treasures,all this to find the right book to read from, when studying. Our eyes become so damn sharp that we can guess a book's name and edition just by seeing it in another student's hand! LOL that!
It is something similar to Darwin's theory of evolution. Survival of the fittest, as he said, leads to the natural selection of the most competitive organisms of a specie, or even species. So the student specie, tries hard to survive, in a chaotic world called "higher education". trying to survive is sometimes very difficult, as competition is pretty high, and resources pretty low(i wont even go there right now). lack of books in library is one such issue a student has to deal with. So we learn to grab the opportunity that comes to us with both hands!
like this one fine day, i was searching this really fine book on Taxation laws in our library. not very surprising that i could not find a copy of it in the stack hall, as all the copies were already taken(issued). i charted up and down the entire library to search for this baby, but no luck.
then i saw one copy of that book lying on a desk in the library. i was obviously thrilled to even get a glimpse of it!(mind you, i spotted it from 10metres, now i know India lost out on a real talent for target shooting :P)
so i was checking on it, thinking it must be an already taken copy. but when i opened it, i found that it had not been issued in anyone's name yet. now here came the issue of morals, of deviant tendencies(i almost started recalling the criminology classes, where identifying myself as a potentially deviant individual. now that was not sitting well with me). i looked here and there, clutching the book in my hands, as if it was some magical book of charms, almost hoping that the person who has kept it here will come and take it, before my deviant tandencies got the better of me.
then came my friend, and saw me holding the book, lost in a trance. he said "you found it na? then why not get it issued?". i said,"well, someone must have left it here, to come back and take it, its not right to just take it away like this". So he told me that if a person was so damn foolish to leave such a precious book here unattended, then he or she probably deserves this repercussion.
and so, i got that book issued in my name, and told myself that i am actually doing a good deed, of teaching a lesson to that naive student, who was nutty enough to leave the book there.
all's well that ends well, at least for it did :D.