The market that was

Well now that I am back in Delhi, suddenly there is so much work that needs to be done that I am unable to find time to write. I have my Visa Interview on 8th July and the prep is a big pain. If I list the documents that I need to carry to the American Consulate, it goes on to three pages... And they have their own specification of photographs etc. too. Pain!!

Shopping generally comes after you get your Visa and in my case I should seriously wait and not throw away all my money into new clothes and tit-bits till VI. I am not really sure of finances and it will only be prudent to wait. But you see all reasoning fails when you have money in your account and that too of own earning. So, two days back I dragged my mom to Lajpat Nagar. Its my favorite place to shop(and feast on lip-smacking chats!). Last time I came to this market was six months back, probably before I left for Bangalore, and it turned out to be really long time! And this time I was greeted by a crowd consisting mainly of small shop owners who put there stuff out on the roads and offer some really good value for money, and bargains. You see, Delhi government has set its goal to clean up the markets by removing these roadside shops. and police officers were busy implementing the orders in Lajpat Nagar. A good step to ensure citizen safety!


The market looks barren and unattractive for a shopper like me. All the roadside stalls have been removed. I know the drive to clean the market place is to make the shopping experience more orderly, easy and less chaotic, but I am a true blue lover of this 'chaos' in Delhi markets... Without these roadside shops, it just doesnt feel the same, it has become a desert and quite truly it lacks a lot of bargains, which I guess girls will appreciate more than boys ;)

Its over folks...

Its my last day as BITS student, last day in Bangalore, last day at HP Labs...

There was a nice farewell organised for the interns here. Very sweetly, we were told the important role that BITSians play in the research setup here. Importance of BITS and BITSians is obvious when you sit with 20 people out of which 9 are BITSians and rest are interns. I don't know if this is good or bad- the loss of individuality.

But BITS has given me a lot, and for that I am thankful. The thing about BITS is that it has shown me the path. It has been the guiding torch and the stepping stone. This is why it will continue to hold a special place irrespective of what the future holds for me. It has made me what I am today. I have learnt from my teachers and from my peers. I have made relationships I will cherish for the rest of my life. I have met some brilliant people. As I graduate, I carry with me a part of BITS. Right now, there are mixed feelings. I am proud to have BITS as my alma mater. But I will miss it a lot, at least in the near future.

PS: I am gonna be an Engineer, and a graduate from BITS Pilani - still can't believe it!!

Peace

Not calling me often, forgetting my birthday, taking away my favorite ice cream, making me wait for an hour in the scorching summer of Delhi, interrupting me mid-sentence, bitching about a friend of mine, being rude unnecessarily, disagreeing with me etc. are the various reasons I have picked up a fight. On almost all these occasions I have felt that my anger is justified. But then two hours later, after I have had the time to think things over, I realize the stupidity in fighting over these issues. In almost all the cases, the other person has a valid explanation. There are always two sides to a coin and in the moment of anger I forget to look at the other one.

Result: unnecessary unpleasantness

Thus, this whole exercise is a waste of energy and unnecessary rise in my blood pressure. Great health risk if you ask me! For a short tempered person like me its even worse- it happens so often! There is a lingering feeling of anger till five minutes after the fight. Five hours later, the whole episode leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I cool down soon enough. The underlying reason for these fights are generally not worth it - rarely justifying missing out on the good times. And with so much at stake I am left with no option but to apologize. The kind hearted people that I fight with, forgive me most of the times. Well sometimes others apologize too, and then I forgive them :) So I have decided to avoid these episodes altogether. It might get boring like the too-good-to-be-true happy families from Sooraj Barjatya's movies, but I am trying to get there nevertheless. Forgive and forget is the new rule

Happy Birthday

I have been a bit busy with the final presentation and the report. And because of my busy schedule May 23rd turned out to be Just Another Day for the url http://laughsohardyoursidesache.blogspot.com when it should have been a busy day with its first birthday celebrations. Poor thing, when it should have been busy receiving hits and wishes from the readers, it had to lie quietly in the corner muttering wishes to itself. No cake, no candles and no celebrations- and all because I couldn't take out time for my favorite space on the web!

Anyways no more delays...Here is wishing Just Another Day a very happy birthday! May you get thousands of readers, worldwide and may you score tons one after the other. I pray your friends always love you the same- your talks remain exciting, you be the center of attraction in a group. May you express your opinion freely and succeed in bringing to notice the small and big things of life. I wish you lead others in the right direction and provide much necessary food for thought to people. And ya don't forget to have fun along the way...


PS: Its Tanaya and Sandy's birthday today. So a very happy birthday to you guys too :)

Still Wondering...

दो पल मिलते हैं साथ -साथ चलते हैं
जब मोड़ आये तो बचके निकलते हैं
कितने अजीब रिश्ते हैं यहाँ पे...

यहाँ सभी अपनी ही धुन में दीवाने हैं
करें वोही जो अपना दिल ठीक माने है|
कौन किसको पूछे? कौन किसको बोले?
सबके लबों पर अपने तराने हैं|
ले जाए नसीब किसको कहाँ पे
कितने अजीब रिश्ते हैं यहाँ पे...

खाबों की ये दुनिया है खाबों में ही रहना है
राहें ले जायें जहाँ संग- संग चलना है|
वक्त ने हमेशा यहाँ नए खेल खेले
कुछ भी हो जाए यहाँ बस खुश रहना है|
मंजिल लगे करीब सबको यहाँ पे
कितने अजीब रिश्ते हैं यहाँ पे...

This song was written by Sandeep Nath and Ajay Jhingran for Madhur Bhandarkar's movie Page 3. Lata Mangeshkar's rendering of the song strikes a cord. But I wonder about the veracity of these lines. Sometimes they appear as the rantings of a cynic and sometimes true. I have not been to make up my mind though...