I kind of took a one year break from blogging. not that i had no time... so much was happening I din't know wat to write about. WIthout much stress n hardwork I finished my undergrad successfully. Then had to undergo two months of stress over what will happen next. as a day dreamer who is never decided i obviously dint have a sloid plan or should i say I had too many plans.
I finished college and all I had was bunch of extra curricular certificates and a job offer in CTS BPO. by virtue of my degree at under graduate level no one would give me a lucrative job. I had no plans so i spent the two months break slogging over the inter school meet my school alumni organises. By the time the meet was over i had secured admission in MSE. When you can't decide for yourself its easier to rely on what others say. Thus i came here. I was in for a rude shock! I was again back to square one. Before I could even realise one semester was over and again I have started wondering if this is all i want...
I completely stopped writing, reading, music, the social work i was so involved in... In my second semester, thanks to my micro classes I ve started writing and reading again. I started with small fb updates, few private blogs, and now am back in the saddle. I learnt the biggest lesson, do what keeps you happy and for ur sake have noo illusions about it, saying I dont have time is the biggest lie I have uttered...
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Thursday, February 4, 2010
my academic revelations.
i wonder if this is one of those nerdy days of my life..well here it goes. for the first time in my life i experienced this...
i have this paper, development of economic ideas. (for non economic students,google it for details) and this is my favorite paper this semester.(handled by Dr.Suganda and Dr.Jeyanthi).
its all about evolution of thought process in economics. i have always wondered how ideas shift from one to another. like from materialistic development to human welfare and now to economics of happiness. well after this paper i realized we don't actually think anything that s new. right from Plato there has been the same ideas and these are only being modified to the current situations. and this revelation is important.
for us to really understand what is happening and to an extent predict what would happen the study of history is important. and by history, i don't mean mugging up dates. i mean undersatnding the old culture to appreciate the indigenous value of each race; understanding the reasons for a war, and believe me, this is huge. the reasons have always been the same.. the only thing that s new is the warfare. more recent the wars, deadlier the weapons.
it is a pity that students in a country like ours don't give importance to history. we were one of the biggest civilizations with a well developed economy and trade practices (when our supposedly world power was still nomadic. we did the greatest invention ever, ie., number '0'. we have had such great economic thoughts and ideas with trade flourishing (a favorable BOP too). for the little indian kids out there, we have to be teaching them all these..not just to make them proud and patriotic but to teach them tat they should continue the tradition of prodigy.
and if u are jus rolling your eyes now and having this "yeah right" expression written all over your face post in ur comments (i ll help u in following the instructions given above for the indian kids)
i have this paper, development of economic ideas. (for non economic students,google it for details) and this is my favorite paper this semester.(handled by Dr.Suganda and Dr.Jeyanthi).
its all about evolution of thought process in economics. i have always wondered how ideas shift from one to another. like from materialistic development to human welfare and now to economics of happiness. well after this paper i realized we don't actually think anything that s new. right from Plato there has been the same ideas and these are only being modified to the current situations. and this revelation is important.
for us to really understand what is happening and to an extent predict what would happen the study of history is important. and by history, i don't mean mugging up dates. i mean undersatnding the old culture to appreciate the indigenous value of each race; understanding the reasons for a war, and believe me, this is huge. the reasons have always been the same.. the only thing that s new is the warfare. more recent the wars, deadlier the weapons.
it is a pity that students in a country like ours don't give importance to history. we were one of the biggest civilizations with a well developed economy and trade practices (when our supposedly world power was still nomadic. we did the greatest invention ever, ie., number '0'. we have had such great economic thoughts and ideas with trade flourishing (a favorable BOP too). for the little indian kids out there, we have to be teaching them all these..not just to make them proud and patriotic but to teach them tat they should continue the tradition of prodigy.
and if u are jus rolling your eyes now and having this "yeah right" expression written all over your face post in ur comments (i ll help u in following the instructions given above for the indian kids)
Monday, November 16, 2009
i'll be there for you.... the friends
It's like you're always stuck in second gear,
Well, it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year.
i ll be there for you, i ll be there for u, cos u r there for me too..."
When few people tease you, you can never get angry however horrible it is. He is one of that kind.. he ll tease me to tears. Not jus tease but humiliate me to the point of hopelessness but at the end he ll see to it that no word has hurt me and in the process he ll only make me feel so special. he has such deep caring for all of us but on the surface nothing is shown…
I practically grew up with this girl.ppl also say v look alike. Yet she s so different from me. She s everything am not. Only one thing s common between us, v are both lazy. But everyone in my group is, to some extent. We never agree on a point but the wonderful thing is we both always stand up for each other…
And then is this most strict friend of mine. He is lik the warden. Has strict rules and lines that shouldn’t be broken.(by us, those rules are not for him.) but he s the most protective and sweetest friend in the gang. Always caring and feels a concern for everyone in this earth. He can make me laugh and also get under my skin at the same time. He gave me a sweet greeting card with beautiful words and also a feeding bottle (cos of my height he calls me kid) for birthday.
With her I spent most of my time hanging around in the streets of madurai. We both are always bored and we go out “walking” in the bye-pass almost all week ends. Eating pani puri in the road. Though she s capable of eating only half burger at times. (Once she actually told me she was full after eating half burger) We went to all the temples on our way to school during our 12th exams with our last minute prayer for a miracle, we talk for hours over something very insignificant.(we argued over the colours used in a display board we could see very vaguely from my terrace while “studying for 10th geography) she s always been ready to help, talk, listen, anything u want anytime, she s there…
We met unexpectedly thru a mutual friend. And we became very close acquaintances over a period of time then v became best friends. and its almost an year since we met. He is one of those handsome boys who knows that he is very handsome and quiet confident about himself.. We talk for hours and still never run short of topics. he shows a deep care for all his friends, never forgets to say, “I ll make it up to you” wen he s wrong, gets easily riled up and cools down jus as fast… I always find it hard to figure out wen he s serious yet i can trust him always…
She is one of the sweetest girls I have ever met. She is concerned about the people around her, empathetic towards every living soul. In her world, everyone are good until proven guilty (I talk to her for 10 mins and make her feel otherwise abt ppl but still) she s careful not to hurt anyone and has a passion for english. Lazy and careless to the core. And she s so generous that she always keeps her purse full of cash in a bench where any needy person can “take”. (if u know wat I mean) you can actually maintain records for all the things she s lost. She s always ready to listen to people, understand their feelings and be a comfort.
he is my source of comfort, always a shoulder to cry on, a person to laugh with, a secret keeper wen u want one. Even wen I feel everything s down and there s no hope left he would make me see the sun. has the gift of talking sense into people. Whatever may b the topic he can talk on it for hours. (don’t indulge him in conversation on award winning movies tho) wen he has grave problems he would listen to all my meaningless complaints without a word of complaint. Jus thru a msg he can sense my mood and make me laugh at any time of the day… he has no demands no complaints.
wen I was the secretary, she was the president in the coll council. Big eyes and a cute smile, she would flatter anyone. She carries herself with an aura of confidence that is almost contagious. We became so close in a very short time that I miss her terribly in the coll. She s so talkative and smart tat even in an isd call she could go on n on… never tells me what I should do or what I shouldn’t, but listens to all tat I have to say yet blast me wen am being utterly stupid… she s one of the coolest girls I ve met.. my best mate in college..
its already too long so I ll end it here while I am still humming I’ ll be there for you…
and get back with the rest later…
Well, it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year.
i ll be there for you, i ll be there for u, cos u r there for me too..."
When few people tease you, you can never get angry however horrible it is. He is one of that kind.. he ll tease me to tears. Not jus tease but humiliate me to the point of hopelessness but at the end he ll see to it that no word has hurt me and in the process he ll only make me feel so special. he has such deep caring for all of us but on the surface nothing is shown…
I practically grew up with this girl.ppl also say v look alike. Yet she s so different from me. She s everything am not. Only one thing s common between us, v are both lazy. But everyone in my group is, to some extent. We never agree on a point but the wonderful thing is we both always stand up for each other…
And then is this most strict friend of mine. He is lik the warden. Has strict rules and lines that shouldn’t be broken.(by us, those rules are not for him.) but he s the most protective and sweetest friend in the gang. Always caring and feels a concern for everyone in this earth. He can make me laugh and also get under my skin at the same time. He gave me a sweet greeting card with beautiful words and also a feeding bottle (cos of my height he calls me kid) for birthday.
With her I spent most of my time hanging around in the streets of madurai. We both are always bored and we go out “walking” in the bye-pass almost all week ends. Eating pani puri in the road. Though she s capable of eating only half burger at times. (Once she actually told me she was full after eating half burger) We went to all the temples on our way to school during our 12th exams with our last minute prayer for a miracle, we talk for hours over something very insignificant.(we argued over the colours used in a display board we could see very vaguely from my terrace while “studying for 10th geography) she s always been ready to help, talk, listen, anything u want anytime, she s there…
We met unexpectedly thru a mutual friend. And we became very close acquaintances over a period of time then v became best friends. and its almost an year since we met. He is one of those handsome boys who knows that he is very handsome and quiet confident about himself.. We talk for hours and still never run short of topics. he shows a deep care for all his friends, never forgets to say, “I ll make it up to you” wen he s wrong, gets easily riled up and cools down jus as fast… I always find it hard to figure out wen he s serious yet i can trust him always…
She is one of the sweetest girls I have ever met. She is concerned about the people around her, empathetic towards every living soul. In her world, everyone are good until proven guilty (I talk to her for 10 mins and make her feel otherwise abt ppl but still) she s careful not to hurt anyone and has a passion for english. Lazy and careless to the core. And she s so generous that she always keeps her purse full of cash in a bench where any needy person can “take”. (if u know wat I mean) you can actually maintain records for all the things she s lost. She s always ready to listen to people, understand their feelings and be a comfort.
he is my source of comfort, always a shoulder to cry on, a person to laugh with, a secret keeper wen u want one. Even wen I feel everything s down and there s no hope left he would make me see the sun. has the gift of talking sense into people. Whatever may b the topic he can talk on it for hours. (don’t indulge him in conversation on award winning movies tho) wen he has grave problems he would listen to all my meaningless complaints without a word of complaint. Jus thru a msg he can sense my mood and make me laugh at any time of the day… he has no demands no complaints.
wen I was the secretary, she was the president in the coll council. Big eyes and a cute smile, she would flatter anyone. She carries herself with an aura of confidence that is almost contagious. We became so close in a very short time that I miss her terribly in the coll. She s so talkative and smart tat even in an isd call she could go on n on… never tells me what I should do or what I shouldn’t, but listens to all tat I have to say yet blast me wen am being utterly stupid… she s one of the coolest girls I ve met.. my best mate in college..
its already too long so I ll end it here while I am still humming I’ ll be there for you…
and get back with the rest later…
Saturday, November 14, 2009
footprints of ppl...
I was reading a write up about socialising and that made start this blog. Everyone have certain principles and values that are consciously or unconsciously influenced by the people around. And there are many people who influenced mine. And I thought I d dedicate this blog to all those people…
We were first living in the housing board apartments. And in the whole street there were around five girls I guess. we were there till I was 13 years old. One of the five girls, durga, she was my best friend then. But coming to think about, she was the only friend I had in my old neighbourhood. She was very sick and she couldn’t attend school. But her wisdom and maturity s beyond wat any education could give. Never once has she demanded or complained, silently bearing all her problems, yet standing up to what she feels is right, criticising me whenever I had to be criticised, praised me whenever I deserved. Such open criticisms and praises, I ve never got from anyone. If I am so straight forward and considerate it is because of her… I sincerely hope she gets well soon cos she never updates me on her health and never shows that she s sick. Well, that s another thing I learnt from her. Never fuss.
And then we moved from that house to another apartment. For the first time I was with a group of people my own age. It was so exciting. With so many friends in my apartments I learnt to be a part of a group, to socialise with people. And I found myself having a big group of friends in school too. May be I was old enough but still.. the fine refinements and tuning cant be ignored. Till then I never had the interest to dress up nicely. But with so many girls in my floor it almost became a necessity that now I am so obsessed at times… started reading books and I even started studying seriously. And slowly everyone moved out of that place but the change is almost tangible.
And by that time I had written my 12th and I was awaiting my results. (my cousin’s wedding on the day of the result) so I was in kerala. I was all worked up and tensed so I was outside, in the lobby. (our weddings are very long and tat day I dint even realise wat was happening) my parents were busy with the functions and so were everybody. My mum all tensed but still had to take part in the function. My uncle’s friend who was there was talking to me soothing my nerves. Now i can hardly remember his face (but still remember his mush) n of course I remember his light sense of humour. And wen I got my results he was so happy for me. He took my bro and me to the shop to get cake for the couple. And secretly he gave money to bro to get me a cake and he threw surprise party for me! It was the first time I actually celebrated my success!!! And then I decided that I would take up economics and write my civil services exam. He was probably the first person not to laugh at my decision n took me so seriously and give me three books on preparing for civil services.(all 3 were in Tamil n I dint read them yet!) but the gesture itself was such a motivating factor. At times we get the push to dream big from people u don’t even know. U succeed in ur dreams or not u will always remember them…
My uncle, a source of constant inspiration to me. We often hear about old people having a great interest for further knowledge, people with skills in various fields. Well he is one such person. He sings, appreciates music and movies, so well read. He is constantly pushing his horizon, welcoming changes, travelling and willing to learn. He s also writing few stories now. Jus started. He worked in Gulf and now retired and settled in a village. there he s teaching English, communication skills and conducting programs for the kids all free of cost. He is my inspiration to help the people around you without expecting returns out of it. I have such a wavering mind and he s so patient in listening to all my carrier plans and advicing me and at the same time treating me lik an adult. His opinions are so straight forward and to the point tat u will never feel like he s advising (a gift I would say)
My college lecturers, Dr.Chris, Ms.Betty, Dr.suganda. its because of them that I have an interest in teaching. Betty ma’am, she always has a smile for every person, a kind word for every student. Chris ma’am, (my advisor in the final year) maintains a clear difference between fun and responsibility. They treat the students lik adults giving us the freedom and responsibility. And the best part is they don’t treat students lik a bunch of ignorant adolescents but lik people who have ideas and knowledge that only needs to be fine tuned. They don’t believe in lecturing but they believe in sharing ideas, moving from known to the unknown world. U can always find them in the campus among the girls, having a good chat. they are always loved by all the girls and admired by all. I am glad to have been their student...
For all that I have got I owe a great deal to my family! My mum, balancing the office and work load, she constantly makes me feel that all the pressure that I am having now s nothing and I never get stressed. My dad, he s the personification of patience and kindness. I have never seen him shout at anyone. He has a laugh for everyone and a joke even at the worst situations. My bro who is always sweet enough to run errands, giving up things for me… takes pride in every competition that I win and proudly tells everyone about all that I win and do. Its still hard for me to believe that he s so innocent. Cos I don’t remember being such an angel wen I was 13.
and my gran, she s my role model. Even at this age she s capable of cooking a three round meals for the entire family. (she would even scub the floor if v let her) she was born in a very rich family, a big house with plantations in front of her house.(the likes I ve seen in movies only) after marriage she gladly accepted the change. From a big house in kerala she came to a small house in Tamil nadu. She dint know the language or the place yet she successfully ran the household, with the minimum education.
And finally, all my frnds in school. Janu, sai, apee,verti,Vicky, giri, ajay. My group of friends. we are jus like any other group of friends you would see. Full of fun and laugh. Teasing each other and helping each other. They were and they are still with me everyday. Scolding me when I was wrong, teasing me when I behave lik a fool, happy for me even for the smallest success. and so many things I could add on to their list, I don’t know where to begin (I know its so clichéd but still…)
I know I have a long way to go and many more ppl to meet and learn from, but all these ppl have made an everlasting impression in my mind…
We were first living in the housing board apartments. And in the whole street there were around five girls I guess. we were there till I was 13 years old. One of the five girls, durga, she was my best friend then. But coming to think about, she was the only friend I had in my old neighbourhood. She was very sick and she couldn’t attend school. But her wisdom and maturity s beyond wat any education could give. Never once has she demanded or complained, silently bearing all her problems, yet standing up to what she feels is right, criticising me whenever I had to be criticised, praised me whenever I deserved. Such open criticisms and praises, I ve never got from anyone. If I am so straight forward and considerate it is because of her… I sincerely hope she gets well soon cos she never updates me on her health and never shows that she s sick. Well, that s another thing I learnt from her. Never fuss.
And then we moved from that house to another apartment. For the first time I was with a group of people my own age. It was so exciting. With so many friends in my apartments I learnt to be a part of a group, to socialise with people. And I found myself having a big group of friends in school too. May be I was old enough but still.. the fine refinements and tuning cant be ignored. Till then I never had the interest to dress up nicely. But with so many girls in my floor it almost became a necessity that now I am so obsessed at times… started reading books and I even started studying seriously. And slowly everyone moved out of that place but the change is almost tangible.
And by that time I had written my 12th and I was awaiting my results. (my cousin’s wedding on the day of the result) so I was in kerala. I was all worked up and tensed so I was outside, in the lobby. (our weddings are very long and tat day I dint even realise wat was happening) my parents were busy with the functions and so were everybody. My mum all tensed but still had to take part in the function. My uncle’s friend who was there was talking to me soothing my nerves. Now i can hardly remember his face (but still remember his mush) n of course I remember his light sense of humour. And wen I got my results he was so happy for me. He took my bro and me to the shop to get cake for the couple. And secretly he gave money to bro to get me a cake and he threw surprise party for me! It was the first time I actually celebrated my success!!! And then I decided that I would take up economics and write my civil services exam. He was probably the first person not to laugh at my decision n took me so seriously and give me three books on preparing for civil services.(all 3 were in Tamil n I dint read them yet!) but the gesture itself was such a motivating factor. At times we get the push to dream big from people u don’t even know. U succeed in ur dreams or not u will always remember them…
My uncle, a source of constant inspiration to me. We often hear about old people having a great interest for further knowledge, people with skills in various fields. Well he is one such person. He sings, appreciates music and movies, so well read. He is constantly pushing his horizon, welcoming changes, travelling and willing to learn. He s also writing few stories now. Jus started. He worked in Gulf and now retired and settled in a village. there he s teaching English, communication skills and conducting programs for the kids all free of cost. He is my inspiration to help the people around you without expecting returns out of it. I have such a wavering mind and he s so patient in listening to all my carrier plans and advicing me and at the same time treating me lik an adult. His opinions are so straight forward and to the point tat u will never feel like he s advising (a gift I would say)
My college lecturers, Dr.Chris, Ms.Betty, Dr.suganda. its because of them that I have an interest in teaching. Betty ma’am, she always has a smile for every person, a kind word for every student. Chris ma’am, (my advisor in the final year) maintains a clear difference between fun and responsibility. They treat the students lik adults giving us the freedom and responsibility. And the best part is they don’t treat students lik a bunch of ignorant adolescents but lik people who have ideas and knowledge that only needs to be fine tuned. They don’t believe in lecturing but they believe in sharing ideas, moving from known to the unknown world. U can always find them in the campus among the girls, having a good chat. they are always loved by all the girls and admired by all. I am glad to have been their student...
For all that I have got I owe a great deal to my family! My mum, balancing the office and work load, she constantly makes me feel that all the pressure that I am having now s nothing and I never get stressed. My dad, he s the personification of patience and kindness. I have never seen him shout at anyone. He has a laugh for everyone and a joke even at the worst situations. My bro who is always sweet enough to run errands, giving up things for me… takes pride in every competition that I win and proudly tells everyone about all that I win and do. Its still hard for me to believe that he s so innocent. Cos I don’t remember being such an angel wen I was 13.
and my gran, she s my role model. Even at this age she s capable of cooking a three round meals for the entire family. (she would even scub the floor if v let her) she was born in a very rich family, a big house with plantations in front of her house.(the likes I ve seen in movies only) after marriage she gladly accepted the change. From a big house in kerala she came to a small house in Tamil nadu. She dint know the language or the place yet she successfully ran the household, with the minimum education.
And finally, all my frnds in school. Janu, sai, apee,verti,Vicky, giri, ajay. My group of friends. we are jus like any other group of friends you would see. Full of fun and laugh. Teasing each other and helping each other. They were and they are still with me everyday. Scolding me when I was wrong, teasing me when I behave lik a fool, happy for me even for the smallest success. and so many things I could add on to their list, I don’t know where to begin (I know its so clichéd but still…)
I know I have a long way to go and many more ppl to meet and learn from, but all these ppl have made an everlasting impression in my mind…
Monday, October 5, 2009
Antha 7 natkal…
Well, this one is not above the movie. It is about the 7 days nss camp to thondemanpatti, a small village near Madurai. Completing this camp is mandatory for every NSS student. So we were all set and curious to attend this camp. Some of us took NSS keeping in mind the ten days camp and we all thought it would be so much fun when all of us go to the same village for ten full days. But the first disappointment was our group was split and we were put in different villages. But I knew few girls who were coming with me so I was disappointed only a bit. We were set to leave right after New Year.
Finally the day came and we had to start after our Christmas vacations. You can imagine… I was so out of mood. You know, at times we have this fluttery feeling in the pit of the stomach, a heavy burden in the chest and we would feel something terrible is going to happen… well, I was feeling all this a ten times over! My dad dropped me in college and all the 2nd year NSS girls were there. Some looked excited and some definitely looked lik me. During our long wait we got the news that the ten days camp was shortened to 7 days. Since then I also looked excited.
Then we all boarded the bus and left for our village. It was quite near madurai. We were totally 100 girls and four lecturers. We were first taken to the place where we had to stay. It was a huge hall with a dais in the front and a small room near the entrance, a tiled roof and cemented flooring. Well, for a girl who started the camp with such a feeling this room was all the more welcoming. Then the bathroom and the toilet facility, we had a few. I don’t want to comment. And our camp thus started. And we had few surprises. The place where we were staying was in the middle of nowhere. We had to walk few kilometres to go to the village. We met the villagers and announced our arrival and we walked back. It was so exciting to walk in a forest like area, in the dark…
Then we were served our dinner. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting great food. But no kidding, the food was so delicious. We all had a very good dinner and we forgot about the other inconveniences. The trouble started after the dinner. Everyone hurried for a place to sleep. Since it was a hall it was hard to reserve a place for yourself. As usual I was one of the last few and I got the most inconvenient place. But nevertheless I had a sound sleep and I also over slept. The day started and we were divided into groups to form committees. Some of my friends and I joined into one group (obviously). There were seven committees and each group had a committee each day. So everyone had to work in all the committees. On the first day our group was in the implements committee I think. I don’t remember. We had to distribute all the tools, (spade and stuff). In a matter of few hours we made friends with another few girls and ours became the largest and the loudest gang!!! Dancing and playing music in the night… it was fun.( fun for us and a nuisance for others…)
Our work in the morning was to clear the grounds there, remove the weeds with the spade.(I will tell more about it in my next blog.) We did that till lunch. Came back to our hall, had lunch and then attended a guest lecture. In the evening we went to the village again. Went to each house and called the kids out and taught them their subjects. It was such a wonderful experience. to teach the kids. There were times when we didn’t have anyone to teach. But we had to compulsorily teach someone and we couldn’t afford to be caught doing nothing. So we kept walking. At times few had to run away from the teachers. We had to sit on the streets and teach the kids. It was a wonderful thing, to teach. That was when I discovered that I like teaching. But I couldn’t be of much help b’cos their lessons were in Tamil and I am not an expert in it. I only taught them English. (Even math was hard to teach in Tamil). In a few days time we got our own students. Like, few girls regularly wanted to learn from us!!! So we no longer had to hurry up and catch hold of the pupils before they were taken by others. The girls for whom I took class gave me a rose from their plant everyday. And one thing that really touched me was all those girls were half my age but they did twice the work that I do. After school they had to do all the household work (more than half of which I don’t even know!!!)
And on the last day everyone gave a farewell party for the villagers. We danced, performed skit and all that stuff. But I couldn’t attend the last day function cos I had to attend an exam (which I dint clear)… well anyways, it was one camp that I really enjoyed. Hopefully I ll attend another similar one soon…
Finally the day came and we had to start after our Christmas vacations. You can imagine… I was so out of mood. You know, at times we have this fluttery feeling in the pit of the stomach, a heavy burden in the chest and we would feel something terrible is going to happen… well, I was feeling all this a ten times over! My dad dropped me in college and all the 2nd year NSS girls were there. Some looked excited and some definitely looked lik me. During our long wait we got the news that the ten days camp was shortened to 7 days. Since then I also looked excited.
Then we all boarded the bus and left for our village. It was quite near madurai. We were totally 100 girls and four lecturers. We were first taken to the place where we had to stay. It was a huge hall with a dais in the front and a small room near the entrance, a tiled roof and cemented flooring. Well, for a girl who started the camp with such a feeling this room was all the more welcoming. Then the bathroom and the toilet facility, we had a few. I don’t want to comment. And our camp thus started. And we had few surprises. The place where we were staying was in the middle of nowhere. We had to walk few kilometres to go to the village. We met the villagers and announced our arrival and we walked back. It was so exciting to walk in a forest like area, in the dark…
Then we were served our dinner. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting great food. But no kidding, the food was so delicious. We all had a very good dinner and we forgot about the other inconveniences. The trouble started after the dinner. Everyone hurried for a place to sleep. Since it was a hall it was hard to reserve a place for yourself. As usual I was one of the last few and I got the most inconvenient place. But nevertheless I had a sound sleep and I also over slept. The day started and we were divided into groups to form committees. Some of my friends and I joined into one group (obviously). There were seven committees and each group had a committee each day. So everyone had to work in all the committees. On the first day our group was in the implements committee I think. I don’t remember. We had to distribute all the tools, (spade and stuff). In a matter of few hours we made friends with another few girls and ours became the largest and the loudest gang!!! Dancing and playing music in the night… it was fun.( fun for us and a nuisance for others…)
Our work in the morning was to clear the grounds there, remove the weeds with the spade.(I will tell more about it in my next blog.) We did that till lunch. Came back to our hall, had lunch and then attended a guest lecture. In the evening we went to the village again. Went to each house and called the kids out and taught them their subjects. It was such a wonderful experience. to teach the kids. There were times when we didn’t have anyone to teach. But we had to compulsorily teach someone and we couldn’t afford to be caught doing nothing. So we kept walking. At times few had to run away from the teachers. We had to sit on the streets and teach the kids. It was a wonderful thing, to teach. That was when I discovered that I like teaching. But I couldn’t be of much help b’cos their lessons were in Tamil and I am not an expert in it. I only taught them English. (Even math was hard to teach in Tamil). In a few days time we got our own students. Like, few girls regularly wanted to learn from us!!! So we no longer had to hurry up and catch hold of the pupils before they were taken by others. The girls for whom I took class gave me a rose from their plant everyday. And one thing that really touched me was all those girls were half my age but they did twice the work that I do. After school they had to do all the household work (more than half of which I don’t even know!!!)
And on the last day everyone gave a farewell party for the villagers. We danced, performed skit and all that stuff. But I couldn’t attend the last day function cos I had to attend an exam (which I dint clear)… well anyways, it was one camp that I really enjoyed. Hopefully I ll attend another similar one soon…
Friday, September 25, 2009
Different people whom I met
As a girl who has never had a chance to live away from parents (except for my vacations to my grad mother’s house) living on my own for a month was a big deal. Living with three girls from three different countries, in a foreign land, in a stranger’s house with a family with whom I couldn’t have any form of verbal communication was strange for me. The way they eat, the items they eat (though it was only rice, noodles, egg, boiled vegetables for all 3 meals) their living style was all so different.
Before I get into all stories I will say about my house there, the people of the house, the participants whom I lived with. I lived in one Mr.Sukhir’s house. His parents, his younger sister, a young guy and a little boy and I still don’t know how he is related to that family. 3 participants lived with me, Melissa the Indonesian, I Ching, from
So-Jin was the most grown up kid I have ever met. So innocent and pure at heart. She was the eldest among us. If she had class if the school we all woke her up in the morning. On her days off we woke her up for each meal. But I don’t know what it was about her that no one felt it bothersome. She was princess #2. (oh yeah we had many princess and queens in our group and I was princess #3) and everyday during our meeting So-Jin used to draw cartoon faces of everyone. My job was to guess who it was.
Coming to the next person in my room, I Ching, she is the most matured 20 year girl I have ever met. Her clarity of thoughts, respect for culture, taking up responsibility for her faults were so deep within her that it would take sometime for a person to appreciate her. She was very meticulous and planned. I haven’t met anyone so planned about their future.
Finally, Melissa the girl from
So, there I was, with three girls who were so different from each other. Yet trying to somehow understand each other… it was interesting to live with people so different. It was more interesting to notice that we still tried to be nice to each other and had respect for the other’s feelings.
Mr.Sukhir was my host. (The name of the villager whose house we stayed in). And we called the lady of the house, house mother. He spoke very little English but we never spoke much. He had stores. We usually asked him to put credit (top up) in our sim card. The maximum conversation I had with him was, I used to give him the money and show my number, he would do the recharge and look at me questioningly and I used to smile and say, thank you I got the credit and I usually got a smile for a reply. One day, after two week of stay there, I managed to speak to my host family somehow without our translator. (Melissa, the Indonesian in our house translated for us). I bought an English to Indonesian book, it was similar to our “learn to speak Indonesian in 30 days”. So you can imagine. We somehow managed to have a conversation. And to my surprise I found out that the young girl in my house was married to that young guy. And like two typical teenage girls we both once argued about those two. She told me they were married and I wouldn’t agree.
The father of my house owner always tried to have conversations with us. And that day he told us to go back home safely and to take good care of ourselves. And he asked to study well. He said few other things that I couldn’t translate. I felt so bad that I couldn’t understand him. Getting such love and care from a complete stranger was the last thing I expected there. And I was so glad that we weren’t strangers anymore. At that point I Ching and I felt that language should never have been a problem. We should have tried more that one month to talk to him… well, am glad I at least learnt it now.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
The unexpected turn of events:
In continuation of my previous blog on what I did there, I thought I’d also add something about few things that gave me a thrill.
That was my first trip abroad and more importantly, first trip without a chaperon of any age, gender, relation. The taste of freedom was very sweet. But it came along with a price tag- being responsible. Just after ten minutes after landing we were about to be deported. We were made to wait there in the immigrations office when they decided how to “deal with our case”. They were talking about contacting Indian embassy. I should say I was so excited about it. All images of my name appearing in the Indian newspapers flashed across my head.
I still don’t remember how long we waited to be picked up (or to be deported at least!) I hadn’t eaten for a long time. I always have a good appetite and I don’t remember any other time when I actually lost my appetite (even for chocolates). I was wondering how I would face my friends if were deported back to
I kept looking at every person who crossed us hoping someone would come and say something. It was too frustrating to sit there without knowing what was about to happen. I was always a bit happy that I could speak fluent English and always said I will manage wherever I go. But that day it was of no use. I was surrounded by people who weren’t good at it. To my disappointment none of them understood what I spoke and they decided not to communicate anything to us!!! What a waste it was. I had to break the sentences into pieces and then destroy the grammar so that they’d be able to understand what I spoke but still I got no replies from the officials. I got a curt nod for all the efforts that I put in and they “gestured” us to sit down and wait (for what, they never disclosed).
Then after what seemed to be ages one of our co-ordinators came. He went inside and they spoke few technical stuff and the co-ordinator was probably so good at talking that the immigrations officer called us in (and even smiled) and “told us” he was leaving us under warning and thus we got our visa stamped for 30 days! The catch here is our stay there was scheduled for 34 days!!!
As if all these were not enough, we also had few surprises with our luggage. We didn’t get them. It was nowhere to be found in any of the rooms in the airport. (since we were held up with the immigrations we had to search for our luggage in the room where unclaimed luggage were kept). Our luggage was not there so we lodged a complaint with the air lines people and then left for the resort.
So after all these not too welcoming events I went to exchange my currency. I exchanged a 100$ bill for the Indonesian Rupiah (INR 1=200 IDR approx.) so for my 100$ I got around one million!!! After all those catastrophic events holding such huge amount of currency was a great treat. The millionaire me was then dropped in a warm, nice resort.
Then my first meal there was with few boys from
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