Convocation series - Kiran, Pavan, Mousumi & Mahesh

Another post in the series.

Kiran

Where do I start with Kiran? We were always cordial to each other, but never really great friends especially in the first semester. He was also quite busy with some interesting women at that point of time. I guess his hospitalization during DCC bought a lot of us together, especially Sanjeev, Divya and me. There is a lot about him that I don’t know, and can’t think of asking as well (some rumors, some facts and some outright lies). Anyway, by the time we finished our final semester on campus, he had become one of my best friends, if not the closest. He gives a lot to a relationship and that puts him par with a lot of people. I can easily depend on him and ask him for favors (something I hate to do otherwise).

Pavan

The first time I saw him, all I wished for was that he shouldn’t be my room-mate! And bingo, I find him in my room a few days later. Mahesh and me were already there and had taken the side beds. However, things changed dramatically over the next few months and we became much closer, quite literally and publicly as well! Hahaha! I remember getting phone calls about heavy weight championships in my common room between Mahesh and Pavan and that kept a lot of fun in our listless lives! Pavan is one tough looking guy, with a very soft heart. He is one person who would really go out of his way to help you out!

Mousumi

She is the first girl on campus I tried hitting on, and this was during the Studio tests. I got no bhaav and went back to Bangalore dejected. But we immediately became friends after college started, even took walks in the back-field back then and had long talks. Got to know a lot about Auroville and its night life from her during this phase. I was also a witness to the blossoming young romance between Mosh and Lov in the months to follow, again in the back-fields. We used to pull her leg a lot over her habit of collecting things and keeping them in her room, which she shared with Snehal and Muz. Guwahati and North-East Yatra (partially with her) was one of the most satisfying trips for me. I made her life difficult by insisting on eating vegetarian food at her place! However, it was the daaru we (mosh, muz and me) had in my room after 4th semester jury that I would remember the most (Bhavana actually caught us drunk also). We still remember and laugh about it. But with Mosh there is lots which is gray, things we don’t know.

Mahesh

Well well well! I always found it impossible to handle Mahesh! We always argued and argued over the smallest of the things, over almost everything. I think it was sometimes just for the sake for arguments, rather unfortunate I would say. I remember the argument we had in the last semester about India’s history when we argued for hours without food or water (missed tea, dinner and so on), it was so comical that Pavan also recorded it on his camera (or was it his phone?). Anyway, Mahesh is one person who is obsessed, about work, about love, about friends and this is the most amazing quality about him, something that I don’t see amongst anyone of us. He loves what he does and it shows. Maybe sometimes he takes just too much strain, but I admire him for that. He is an Aquarian like me, and I always felt a bond between us. Always ready to help, his innocence also makes him rather gullible.

Read about Vijay, Snehal & Vivek, Abhishek, Divya & Bhavin and Sanjeev, Shweta & Devesh.

Flamingo dance/ Weddings/ Disaster

One of the most challenging things about attending an Indian marriage is the dance that precedes the actually marriage ceremony, especially if you belong to the groom's side. One requires special training in a sort of dance, which curiously reminds one of desperate flamingos dancing to attract the females and failing badly. This usually happens in the baraat and no one is generally spared, most of the times not even the groom.

Men and sometimes women look not only funny (and of course 'wannabe flamingos'), but also become the centre of attraction for the onlookers. A very entertaining site indeed, if you are not a part of the flamingo pack!

Of course there are varieties of birdies running and jumping around on the road ahead of the poor ghodi! There are some trained ones, Abhishek Singh and Vivek Bangde types, who dance confidently and lead the flamingo pack. Pro marriage dancers like them are needed to save the pack. Then there are some like Mahesh, who dance in their own world. They don't care even if the female flamingo doesn't look at them, they are like sufis...aiming for direct connection with the almighty with their flamingo dance (though its rather difficult to explain why the do this in a baraat). Then there is another type which dances for a second and then goes back in the background (clicking snaps, screaming to make conversations with fellow dancers, messaging on phone and so on); Vivek Amberkar falls in this category. And then there are some really stupid ones, who insist on dancing all through the baraat, without any idea of what they are doing, jumping around like ducks let loose on a beach trying to fly off, when chased by beach dragons - I am a certified member of this gang, maybe Bhavin also comes close. We are the funniest to watch but still insist on dancing - aankhir yaar ki shaadi hai!

There is nothing more embarrassing than looking at your own video dancing in a baraat. The only way to avoid this is by avoiding the baraat itself, a monumental task by itself! Of course one also has to then bear the wrath of the groom/ friends/ family etc.

I am looking for suggestions on how to make the most of this flamingo dance in the next wedding I attend. Are there coaching classes for something like this? In Ahmedbaad, maybe? I am willing to go to Mumbai also to master this art, provided someone is willing to help a log of wood like me. Any suggestions?

Muzayun the Cook :)

Cooked food
Pressure cooker
Bhavin
Floor mat
Jeera; well actually Saunf :)
Curd
Dum aalo
Rice for us and all our future generations...
Tasty
Muzayun
Tomoato
Heeng
Toor dal
Gas
Missing dessert :)
Pyaaz
Siddhartha
Home
Oil
Pots and Pans
Dhaniya
Latest addition - "Lots and lots of Love"

Loved every bit of it!

p.s. found this old from Bhavin's birthday last year showing our footwear, taken at exactly at the same place where we had our dinner :)

Convocation series - Convocation 2008!

We were already in the twilight zone, and looking up I could see huge wings flying towards their homes, making a lot of noise. That beautiful noise, it could always tingle our senses in the endless evenings in NID. I could look at myself quite unlike those birds, not flying towards home but getting convocated to leave the home and go outside...

Anyway enough philosophy. I just got back after a jiggling a leg or two at the mess party (yes a 'mess party' after a long time) and saying a goodbye to an almost drunk, dancing Mosh. In fact dancing on the small collection of tables was rather challenging...with Vijay and Mahesh jumping on both the sides! I could remember dancing in the first mess party and I wanted to finish NID with one last dance, and am extremely glad that I could. In fact everything I did today was a profound act...even peeing in the loo near the thinking tree. Ah...that brings me back (is it?) to the actual event...Convocation 2008!

I could never imagine how wonderful it would feel to be sit there in those red cushioned chairs in front of everyone. All the ceremony that I earlier found fanciful, made quite an impact on me (well..lets just ignore the speeches for now) and I felt damn important (despite the absence of a Chief Guest or our own ED). No matter how much I try, I will never ever able to describe it.

Of course, it feels great to be a certified (hahahahaha) designer...and who wouldn't want to be a 'young' designer at 28!

Its late and my office starts early, so I got to sleep now! Will write much more tomorrow...

The series shall continue for a while in retrospect...

some more pics here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=52799&l=6b99c&id=649116157

Convocation series - Alias

Well this was the first and the only 3D learning software taught in NID to us, and all we did was this. Pavan broke numerous chairs, Rani's phone got stolen (aha) and people faught over the silliest of things :) Truly a perfect PD course!

The video quality is terrible and movements abrupt and uncomfortable to the eye...completely my style :)

Convocation series - My roommates!

I am really tempted to write about a few more of my classmates, but I will rein in the temptation and write about something else today. It’s about my hostel room in first year and more so about its occupants – Pavan, Mahesh and me.

Well let’s just say that our friendship as a threesome was always on the edge. I was, very reluctantly, the moderator to these two very aggressive roomies! Not that they didn’t have their shared moments together…well there were actually many such occasions. Anyway one of the most talked about stories about the three of us was Pavan’s habit of stretching out on the beds (his and mine) while sleeping at nights. One such famous incident happened, when Pavan was sleeping in his famous yellow T-shirt and without warning for some reason decided that I was Neha (Pavan is now happily married to her though). My cries woke Mahesh up and he came to my rescue and helped move Pavan. However, this whole exercise failed to rouse Pavan still and he continued to dream about Neha. Mahesh still remembers and recounts this incident with much happiness (I should be happy too, as he saved me that night), though somehow I wish he didn’t.

This picture was taken near the end of Second semester and we are happy as ever! Hahaha…maybe the joy was also because it was almost the end of our stay together!

The room, however, had many more memories. Our room was directly below the Mousumi, Snehal and Muzayun’s and I had taken the habit of waking up Muzayun almost regularly in the most insane way possible, and I guess that was also the beginning of attempted flirting sessions with her back then. Once I woke Japneet up instead and got a major dressing down from her (she, of course, still remained a good friend). I guess everyone in A hostel knew about this almost daily hungama and am convinced that secretly even Muzayun enjoyed my calls to her!

There are so many more things, but they are more about the hostel so will jot them down later. It would be really great to have Pavan’s and Mahesh’s take on this. I am sure they will also have many stories on me, especially Pavan!

The video is close to my heart! One of the few surving ones from those days. You can see Pavan stretched out on both the beds in his famous 'yellow' T-shirt!

This video is the last that I made in my room, we are almost done with the packing and the room looks stormed (though even otherwise it hardly looked different). Mahes and pavan blabbering along with me in the background!