Monday, December 31, 2007

oh happy new year!

In less than half an hour now, it will be curtains for the James Bond year(as oink observes). But save the sporadic sounds of crackers, a few whistles at the bus-stop earlier this evening, wishes from all callers now, new calendars from parents' offices waiting to be hung, it's the same as any other day to me. New Year has never really held a festive something for me, like, say Diwali. A few resolutions now and then, and even those not very well-thought-out. For as long as I can remember, the one thing about New Year that would make me curiously happy, was getting used to the new 4-digits in the date, everyday at school. In the first week of Jan, I would beam every time I opened a notebook and wrote the date. The memory of that childish wonder makes me smile (and the grown-up-ness of that last sentence makes me raise an eyebrow in amusement).

The cracker bursting seems to have completely stopped. Funny, you'd think it would get all the more frenzied now.

Resolutions for this year are vague at best. Don't much feel like sitting and fine-tuning them now. There's time till I get to campus, anyway.

I like to think each year gets better than the previous. So I'll drink to that trend, and hope it continues. Cheers!

So long, 2k7! Wotcher, 2k8!

Friday, December 28, 2007

&$#(^*^@!%

Swearing. Second nature for some, highly distasteful for others, but for the broad majority of us, no big deal. None of us being chaste angels, I’m sure we all toss out a few choice words every now and then, depending on the situation.

Frankly, I’m no great fan of the 4-letter vocabulary. Wait, I didn’t say I abhor them like some puritan, or cringe every time I hear them being thrown about flippantly. Far from it. I myself have used a number of ‘ineffable expletives’ (as my English teacher would say), some very much a part of my everyday jargon. The argument against swearing, I know, is that it betrays sound culture, and nice manners. But what is the point of sounding as hoity-toity as that if it doesn’t express how you feel? I’m no drunken sailor when it comes to swearing, but if you are, I wouldn’t hold it against you.
That said, I must admit it’s a tad annoying when an entire conversation revolves around a few words; when every second word you hear is the same swear-word. Far from being offensive, one just comes across as being inarticulate.

As for swearing in writing, it strongly smacks of poor vocabulary more than anything else. Agreed, sometimes, it’s more fitting to use a single ‘unparliamentary’ word than a whole para of ranting. And it’s perfectly justified to vent occasionally by peppering your writing with some colorful words. But mostly, a passage full of the same few words inserted every-which way makes for pretty dull reading. Unimaginative at best, and offensive at worst. Guess it all boils down to context, and being able to express yourself.

And what is it with ‘swear words’ anyway?? They’re just as normal as any other words; they’re only as popular as they are cos of the taboo. Forbidden-fruit-tastes-sweetest all over again. Half the reason why cussing feels as good as it does when you’re in a rage is cos u know its taboo. Most people don’t even think about their meanings when they use them(forget the priceless gems who curse at the drop of a hat without knowing what they just said). In fact, if we were to simply make up some words, and taught them to kids and told them never to use them, why, we’d have a whole new swear dictionary! As far as I’m concerned, they are simply expressions of dissent, and nothing more. Their meanings only serve to give them the blessed tag of curse words. It is precisely for this reason that I can’t stand how some people find ‘thu’ particularly objectionable. I don’t see how it’s any worse than any other swear-word.

Perhaps the reason we no longer find so many of these swear words offensive is their overusage – they’ve become so commonplace that we treat them the same as any other word. Like they say, fuck aint a word, it’s a punctuation. And how normal it is to hear people(ok, I guess here, and everywhere else in this post, people = young people, say high school – college crowd, mostly) greet one another with these so-called curses. We simply respond without batting an eyelid, it’s that normal. So what does that say of us? Just that we think no more of the words than any other greeting, as simple as that.

Personally, I think ‘why the devil’ sounds a lot more creative than the so much more common ‘ytf’, but knowing that both intend to convey the same meaning, why object to either? And doesn’t ‘ a barmy old codger’ or ‘a worthless pile of bat droppings’ sound infinitely more innovative than, oh let’s say, ‘fucking sonavabitch’ ? (jkr \m/) And Captain Haddock, the drunkest sailor I know of, did have a large abuse-vocab, even if he was partial to a few choice expressions.

Ah well, to each their own, I guess. All said and done, filth-mouthed sailors will remain as they are, and really, why the f*** not?

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Face off

What would the world be like if everyone said exactly what was on their minds all the time, if the internal censors disappeared? If we stopped filtering out the uncharitabe thoughts and blurted it all out without a care? If we throw caution to the winds and went around calling people the names we’ve always longed to instead of pretending they don’t get on our nerves when they so do? I’m reminded of a poem we had in 12th, Once upon a time by a Gabriel Okara, about people wearing masks all the time, saying things they don’t mean and pretending to be nice simply because society expects it of them. But yes, what if it werent so? Sounds good? I dunno. Agreed, it would be a huge relief not to have to plaster phony smiles on our faces, and act pleased to meet people we wish lived light years away. And how liberating it would be to give some prize jerks the much-talked-about piece of our minds, and be done with it.
But that’s precisely the point – would we be done with it? The world would then be a much more open and honest place, certainly, but more unpleasant too, surely? Because it’s just not possible to do away with less-than-perfect interactions and exchanges. Like it or not, we will continue to have to live with playground bullies, know-it-all classmates, annoying team-mates, nosy relatives, grouchy colleagues, unsympathetic bosses. That being the case, which is better – open hostility or fake pleasantry?

I’m not trying to sell an opinion here – heck, I don’t even really have one. All I know is, I’m quite a many-faced person myself (yech, that sounds truly horrible, like I’m some mythical monster and a big hypocrite as well). Honestly, it’s not a trait of mine I’m too crazy about. People have such diverse, even contrasting opinions about me, that sometimes make me wonder just what I really am like.

Maybe we’re just programmed to come up with reassuring answers to disconcerting questions about ourselves, or maybe it’s just me, but I’ve temporarily managed to keep the nagging doubts at bay. Same system, different input --> different output, right? So same situation, new person would still classify as a new situation, wouldn’t it? Little wonder, then, that I react differently to different people, that they carry different impressions about me.

As for the real me, that’s still a tough one. I wonder if I’ll ever be able to answer that. Maybe Staind had it right, and inside we’re all just the same, ugly.

I realise I’ve digressed quite a bit, and that no real conclusions have been drawn, but who cares. This is not Section B.

It’s okay, after all. I’m okay, you’re okay, we’re all okay. (repeat)

Monday, December 17, 2007

AGLA SAWAL

They say you always go crazy in your first comp sem,when you first open your eyes to the joys(?) of dc.There is always something to keep you distracted – movies, countless sitcoms, gaming, and for some, mainchat, whether merely watching or participating. For some reason I happen to have major starting trouble with movies and tv shows, and can never get myself to download them and then sit and watch(although once I start its difficult to stop, prison break taught me that much). Nah, for me dc obsession has never really been any of this.

What began as a mild fascination with trivia(Latin, useless knowledge) rapidly progressed into an all-out addiction– question after trivial question about anything and everything under the sun. From hellishly long acronyms and anagrams to baseball team names, from capitals to goddamned lyrics of unheard (of) songs to movies, and ridiculous phobias and some truly nice word connects, there’s sure to be something for everyone- provided they can type like the devil. More than half the questions will be skipped before you can say ‘pass’, and all the answers will be followed by 0.0, ‘ckf’, ‘arggghhhh’, some colourful language nobody even stops to think about, and more commonly, the nfdlvnfvb fed.bvglbhrglb rgtb kjcsvbfsbv flbv of the less articulate. Throw in a bunch of veteran spammers, and you have a scene of total, un//ed chaos ;)

The endless hours spent answering a bot spewing question after trivial question at you do not come without a price, ob. The immediate casualty was, duh, acads – somehow trivia-ing was never as enticing as it was during tests. Be it T1, T2 or the not-so-grand finale, Compres, you could always count on the regulars to keep ws mainchat alive and moving(down). Not that they don’t occasionally try to knock it off – such topics as ‘padh lo saalon, kal paper mein trivia nahi aayega’ can be seen right in between the ‘all play trivia and bring down avg’ variety.
Also, you suddenly end up having a lot more virtual conversations than real ones, looking at a buncha yellow smileys rather than some real faces with less-than-perfect grins(who grins like :B anyway??), and lol more than you laugh out loud. Hmmm. Maybe it’s all a phase, and we just go with the flow.

On the bright side, you finally acquire some new knowledge in coll, and can even see your (nik)name on the Top10 list of something, and feel smarter than you ever have since you left school. And you make a coupla efriends in the bargain. Good enough, I say.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

Yoyoyoyoyoyoyo, home sweet home at last!!!!!!!!!!!!(agreed, i cant really complain about missing it that much, having come home not once, but twice in the last 6 months :D )

Another sem has flown past, and quite a different one at that. Although thus far I've been inclined to put it down as the worst one yet, now, looking back, it seems quite alright. A sem filled with activity like never before in this campus – placements, guest lectures, dance, music & drama nights, Quark notices alll over the place and pre-Quark workshops(phase-I), quizzes, new clubs, farewell parties and yearbook signings, … There is a new dimension to any talk to do with the future - now that it looms larger and more real than ever before. The forgotten scenario of entrance exams, what-next, fork-in-the-road situation is back, albeit vicariously, through our seniors, the first batch of outgoing BPGC students.

I, however, feel like I’ve either been writing tests or going home, and all other activities have been crammed in between. And how. Elections. Super-fun Deutsch classes that left us wanting more, not least because they were so irregular (blame it on tests, zephyr, diwali, dussehra, yadda yadda…). Winning the Zephyr trophy. \m/ . Trivia mania - (I began typing about it, but decided to dedicate a whole post later to this newfound addiction). A wonderfully on-the-spot Shaastra trip. Meetings and more Waves meetings – nothing compared to what it is to come, though. Thankfully, the time for discussions(read quarrels and standoffs) is past and there will be more action and less squabbling in the months to come. Deco labs and copied assignments. Legendary power cut in campus – bestest times ever; the lib lawns have never accommodated so many students, not to mention their frisbees, footballs, chess boards, and packs of uno and playing cards. Diwali in B’lore – Happy Days on the big screen and not feeling the need for translators. Dratted CDCs that seemed destined to result in Cs and Ds. Unfailingly being awed by every new Quark poster on the notice board. Sleeping after breakfast and getting up for snacks, if that. Project rush, and finally landing one, so now can look forward to an even tighter next sem. Compre bdays, such awesome stress(?)-busters, a blessed break in the midst of all the mindless cramming( unless of course its your bday – cleaning up the muck is hardly the kinda break one hopes for in those dark times). Packing. Leaving.

And finally, the world’s stopped spinning so madly. 3 weeks away from dc, bloody paper distribution(why does it stand out so much in my head???), stocking up on Tiger, waiting in line for food and cribbing about forgetting coupons, nightly-coffee-followed-by-walk, and all the rest of it.

Not for long, though.


ps - for those who couldnt decode the topic ----> Long time, no C!!! muhahahahahhahahaha