The surreal joy we get when we ring people's doorbells and fly down the stairs as if Satan's chasing us never dies out. My friend and I found that out today as our memories of doing the exact same thing a few years ago flashed right back the minute we saw those twin buildings. Not only did we trick the watchman into believing that a certain Mr. Arvind lived in the building but also got this scapegoat's door number from him! Well, I don't want to mention all the giggling that ensued. Ooops! I guess I'm just a 12 year old girl, with two pigtails in bright red ribbons, inside!
Monday, August 15, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Pandi-land times
(Pandi - what the Mallus like calling the Tamilians. Pronunciation: (I'm quoting a friend here) Pan as in what you chew after food and not the utensil. And di which (apparently) is the feminine version of 'da')
I'd heard a lot about the Chennai Central Station but had never been there before. It really does not have any foot-over bridges! You'd think thats cool. And being a lover of the Victorian era, I simply adore the structure (not as much as Bombay VT though). The Pandis even boast of it being completely WiFi enabled. Downside? The entire place stinks. No amount of free internet or fine architecture would make you want to linger.
Well, to back up a little, I was in Chennai to attend a month long course on how to get through CLAT. (Yes, for the second time). After the painful accident back in Feb, I wanted to say my life changed. But honestly the only major alteration was that I'd become lazier (Ha! Mom, you din't think that was possible!). I'd just lie in bed all day (on the doctor's advice, of course) and watch movies. Friends visited sometimes with chocolates and the occasional parcelled Gol-Gappa! (I owe you one Pipsqueak!) Ah.. Happy, happy times...
So, basically, I knew I wouldn't study a word, left to myself and that I had to get back on my feet (literally). Also, there was the undying hunger to get out of home for a while. And hence, Chennai happened.
Being notoriously bad at learning languages, speaking Tamil wasn't on my 'to do' list. But the Pandis always have their way. They will not rest till they're sure you've got every word of what they've said in TAMIL! Don't ask me how. Even the guys from Sikkim in my class managed to learn enough Tamil to drive a bargain with the demented auto drivers. And trust me, the auto drivers are so cuckoo that one of them actually thought I'd pay him a hundred bucks for a 3km ride! Not to forget, they drive on the wrong side on a one way FLYOVER! Ha, I miss those buggers! Keeping with the "When in Rome" philosophy, I did all I could to fit in. Only much later did I figure out that all I had to do was tell them my name is Rajani!
Well, it wasn't as bad as I'd expected it to be. For starters, during my homestay, the Gramma there cooked some truly amazing food. How amazing? She made ME gain weight! A ludicrous feat my family considered absurd. Then there were my roommates who were so thoroughly entertaining that I'll need to write a whole new entry to cover it all!
And talking about absurdities, here's a photo of a signpost in one of the bigger malls in the city.
Not to forget, Biker Dogs!
A thoroughly memorably roller-coaster of a month and a half also contained events of a personal nature which sure are worthy of pondering. My on and off relationship with the sea is just too taxing to write about here though. But I have to mention the guy who 'peed' on the beach in front of a zillion people and I'm pretty convinced he had a real good time doing it.
When it is about the weather, we Bangaloreans can get really fussy. Sorry world, but this city has spoiled us for you. Having never lived in a place where the temperature rises above 35 degrees, you can imagine the variety of skin and stomach disorders that I had to go through.
But notwithstanding that, We had joy, We had fun, We had seasons in the sun.
Of Sambar, Pongal, Guys with mommy issues and Blistering heat. It happens only in Chennai!
Also, Marry Brown rocks!
I'd heard a lot about the Chennai Central Station but had never been there before. It really does not have any foot-over bridges! You'd think thats cool. And being a lover of the Victorian era, I simply adore the structure (not as much as Bombay VT though). The Pandis even boast of it being completely WiFi enabled. Downside? The entire place stinks. No amount of free internet or fine architecture would make you want to linger.
Well, to back up a little, I was in Chennai to attend a month long course on how to get through CLAT. (Yes, for the second time). After the painful accident back in Feb, I wanted to say my life changed. But honestly the only major alteration was that I'd become lazier (Ha! Mom, you din't think that was possible!). I'd just lie in bed all day (on the doctor's advice, of course) and watch movies. Friends visited sometimes with chocolates and the occasional parcelled Gol-Gappa! (I owe you one Pipsqueak!) Ah.. Happy, happy times...
So, basically, I knew I wouldn't study a word, left to myself and that I had to get back on my feet (literally). Also, there was the undying hunger to get out of home for a while. And hence, Chennai happened.
Being notoriously bad at learning languages, speaking Tamil wasn't on my 'to do' list. But the Pandis always have their way. They will not rest till they're sure you've got every word of what they've said in TAMIL! Don't ask me how. Even the guys from Sikkim in my class managed to learn enough Tamil to drive a bargain with the demented auto drivers. And trust me, the auto drivers are so cuckoo that one of them actually thought I'd pay him a hundred bucks for a 3km ride! Not to forget, they drive on the wrong side on a one way FLYOVER! Ha, I miss those buggers! Keeping with the "When in Rome" philosophy, I did all I could to fit in. Only much later did I figure out that all I had to do was tell them my name is Rajani!
Well, it wasn't as bad as I'd expected it to be. For starters, during my homestay, the Gramma there cooked some truly amazing food. How amazing? She made ME gain weight! A ludicrous feat my family considered absurd. Then there were my roommates who were so thoroughly entertaining that I'll need to write a whole new entry to cover it all!
And talking about absurdities, here's a photo of a signpost in one of the bigger malls in the city.
Not to forget, Biker Dogs!
A thoroughly memorably roller-coaster of a month and a half also contained events of a personal nature which sure are worthy of pondering. My on and off relationship with the sea is just too taxing to write about here though. But I have to mention the guy who 'peed' on the beach in front of a zillion people and I'm pretty convinced he had a real good time doing it.
When it is about the weather, we Bangaloreans can get really fussy. Sorry world, but this city has spoiled us for you. Having never lived in a place where the temperature rises above 35 degrees, you can imagine the variety of skin and stomach disorders that I had to go through.
But notwithstanding that, We had joy, We had fun, We had seasons in the sun.
Of Sambar, Pongal, Guys with mommy issues and Blistering heat. It happens only in Chennai!
Also, Marry Brown rocks!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
My First Blog
I have been meaning to start a blog for over 5 years now. Yea, yea it sounds ridiculous but ho, its true. My only excuse i guess is (which is also mankind's hot favorite), "oops! no time".
But on the 30th of July, 2010, i was finally inspired enough to start this one. First things first, I've called it 'Ponder Personage' because of a particular 'yob' who decided to rechristen me as 'ponder' cos, well, (who'd guess), i ponder a lot!
But on the 30th of July, 2010, i was finally inspired enough to start this one. First things first, I've called it 'Ponder Personage' because of a particular 'yob' who decided to rechristen me as 'ponder' cos, well, (who'd guess), i ponder a lot!
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