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Hun. Who's the Idiot now?




While the world is going on about the brilliancy and excellence of 3 Idiots, here's what Sagarika Ghose has to say.

"The film (3 Idiots) tells us that India's system of higher education is idiotic, teachers are lisping semi-insane brutes who drive students to suicide, rote learning is always bad and the IIT's produce nothing but Lamborghini-chasing mercenaries who are only waiting to land corporate jobs in the US.
....Of course, the film is a fictionalized version of the IIT's, and perhaps a better reflection of the vast number of engineering colleges mushrooming across India, which are indeed soul-less factories where real education is substituted for cramming. And, of course, we are not meant to take 3 Idiots too seriously, as it is after all just about having an escapist laugh and not thinking too much. After all, if you think too much, you may discover that 3 Idiots is a dangerous, preachy and sanctimonious film that disdains all forms of hard work; that subliminally condemns studying as a pathetic exercise in rote learning and scorns the sadhna of higher education.
The film establishes that unless you are naturally gifted scientific genius like Ranchordas Chanchad, there's no point wasting time with your books. Then you're better off singing songs or becoming a wildlife photographer. As if becoming a 'wildlife photographer' is a sweet, extracurricular hobby that doesn't require hard work and determination and an equal amount of sadhna.
....The incredible popularity of the film shows that as a nation we are in no mood to study and are delighted that idiocy is at last legitimate.' - Sagarika Ghose

Popcorn, anyone?

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Ghost in the Pink Fur Coat

January 9th, around 7:30 Pm

Its dark. Very dark. I'm hiding behind the Cycling Machine in Rita Aunty's balcony. Chonu and Nishant are behind the chair and Partho's somewhere too. Its still very dark. The garden in front of the balcony is rumored to habituate hundreds of varieties of insects, worms, an occasional monkey and even snakes. Chonu and Nishant are fighting, and the scene, the place, the sounds make me nostalgic.
We're all in Rita Aunty's balcony.
We're playing Hide and Seek.
We're waiting for the 'seekers'.
Suddenly, the door in her balcony, adjacent to the Cycling Machine, which opens into the house...creaks open. Slowly. We all freeze. I remain very still. A figure steps out, hooded.
Its very dark and I can't see who it is.
But one thing drives the fear out of my mind.
The figure's wearing a pink fur coat. Its definitely not a ghost. Ghosts don't wear pink fur coats.
Its Rita Aunty. Dressed for her evening walk.
I can recognize her coat anywhere, anytime.
But I'm again scared. What if she gets mad finding the four of us in her house without her permission? What if she bans us from playing in that area? She didn't know we were here. Yet.
And suddenly,
There's a quick tick and the balcony is illuminated, all sign of darkness gone.
There's light all around- to reveal four not-so-small-people crouching behind chairs and Cycling Machines in her balcony.
"Arre!", she exclaims loudly, very, very astonished, as she took a step back. Even after her exclamation, we all remain hiding, hoping against hope that it wasn't us that she saw.
It was.
But none of us move an inch. She stands there, shocked to the core, unable to move. My hand flies to my mouth so the sound of laughter is muffled. I'm about to tip the Cycling Machine over, I'm laughing so hard. But I don't want her to hear.

One Minute Later (during which, all four of us are trying to cover our laughter, STILL CROUCHING, HIDDEN, while she's plain shocked, speechless)
"Wha-wha-what...?", she finally manages. I can understand. There have been a lot of thefts lately. And crouching there in her balcony, I bet we didn't look any less than thieves.
"Playing Hide and Seek, Aunty! Hide and Seek?", Nishant calls out jovially.
We all come out. She gapes at us.
"Sorry, "I say.
"No, no, its perfectly alright, I was just very surprised..." Understatement of the year.
She walks back inside, all thoughts of evening walk forgotten.
We somehow stumble out of there, and as soon as we're out of her earshot, burst into laughter.

Oh yes. Saturday, we were out playing in the biting cold and this happened.


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Shooting the Moon

There's something about The Pogues which makes you want to throw off your shoes and dance on the table.



Which reminds me of my favorite scene from Titanic.


I'm against choosing favorite movies because you can't have one favorite movie, you have a bunch of favorite movies. But Titanic is an exception to that rule. Titanic is the awesomest movie ever known to humankind on Earth.


Its so cold that my nose has turned into an abnormal shade of pink.
There's so much fog that I can't see whats five meters ahead of me at eight in the morning.
Smoke, or whatever that thing is, comes out of my mouth even at noon.
I haven't seen the sun for days. Okay not days, hours whatever.

Lesson of the day: Do not walk with your shoelaces untied because you're too lazy to bend down and tie them.

It always hurts more in the cold.

Also, a haircut and a blow-dry are a lot more effective than I gave them credit for.







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01/01/10

This is it.


2010's here. I have a feeling its gonna be something special.

Yesterday, I was in the suckiest of moods and I wished, and I really, really wished, that I wanted to be someone else. I didn't wanna be me anymore.
I actually thought that if I wished hard enough, I would wake up and find myself in someone else's body. Someone who wasn't me.
Someone self-actualized.
Someone totally in touch with themselves.
Someone less confused.
Someone less so-easily-influenced-by-anyone.
Someone, when they're shelling peanuts, the shells break up into two perfect pieces.
Someone who always has more time than things to do.
Someone who's a good planner and a good time manager.
Someone who can please everyone and Someone who, when goes to bed at night, can sleep a good night's sleep because they've done whatever they should've done that day.
Someone who doesn't go, 'CRAP!' because they haven't been able to stick to their deadlines.
In other words, Someone...Perfect.

I don't know if anyone like that exists, and if they do, I'm so ready for soul-swapping.
I'm sure there are people in whose life, everything just goes right all the time. Like they're a walking contradiction to Murphy's Law.
I'm nowhere NEAR that.

But after a long night of thinking, I've realized that even if I'm not all that, I could be. In a much lesser degree, but still.

Last night, I got this text:

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to make it right.
Happy Sparkling Twenty Ten.

Another chance for us to make it right.

And I'll take that chance. I have to.

Yesterday, I asked Ess, 'What are you gonna do tonight?'
'We're going out,' he had replied.
'Where?', I had asked again.
'Wherever destiny takes us,' And although he was obviously being dramatic, and joking, this phrase has been repeating itself over and over in my head since midnight.
Wherever destiny takes us.

I really feel something special's in store for this year. I really do.

The first three months, there's nothing but study planned. After that, I'll be free. Not only free, I'll have three months off.
To do whatever I like.
The thought makes me dizzy.

Happy New Year to all.

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