SVR AND PAVI- TWO OF THE BEST FRIENDS I COULD EVER HAVE

At the age of six, we met in grade one, clueless perhaps that we would probably remain best friends over the next twelve years and more to come. I remember the first day I saw her. I thought she was a tomboy in the making until I saw her cry like the typical girl that she was :) . Before I knew it, we had soon become thick friends, thicker than one could ever envisage. Sruthi’s practically family- it would be unfair to put it any other way. And indeed, she is known by more than half my family. I tell mom that Sruthi’s coming home and pat comes the reply ‘’I’ll cook fried rice for lunch, she loves it.’’ That’s how closely related she is to me and my family.

Over the years, we have shared lots of things in common- our love for sanskrit, having fun at girija ma’am’s house during bhagawadh gita classes, us knowing each other more than anybody else could possibly know of us, crazy about books, hanging out together with our other very close friend pavithra, raiding oxford, going to the beach, pigging out at cakes ’n’ bakes(her favorite place) and the chaat corner at Spencer’s Daily(my favorite place) … the list is endless.

In all these years, we never once thought of the grim prospect of studying in different places after our 12th- it was something that just did not cross our minds. Until, one sordid day, pavi and I came to know that Sruthi would be leaving for sastra in tanjore for further studies. Today was that fated day .Pavi and I went to the station to see her off … it is unimaginable to think that this lass wil be gone for 4 years. Hard to think of it too. Here’s a small poem which popped up when I thought of her :).


Paramount friends we always are ,
Best friends we'll always be,
For eternity and evermore,
You and Moi!

Longer than the shortest sms,
Deeper than the deepest ocean,
All the fun we’ve ever had,
You and moi.

Till life goes on,
We go on too, till the very end.
Friends may come and friends may go
But we’ll remain close forever.

It does feel bad to think that one of my close friends will be gone for a long time. But then again, life goes on. Pavi and I miss you, SVR. Better get back here soon :).

enTRANCE Examinations
I have jus finished my entrance exams and have been admitted into the college I wanted. Having come out of all these entrance exams unscathed(luckily), it is only fair that I dedicate a small(a very small) part of my blog to it.

Cometh the beginning of April and it's that time of the year again when all students (except those, gifted few who fall into the unsavory category of nerds and geniuses) across the country are tearing the hair out of their heads, frantically(also read frenetically, hysterically and anxiously) preparing for various entrance examinations. These white papered, pencil shading exams are looked upon as more terrifying than the board exams as they can ’make or mar your future’ if you happen to mess ’em up.

For those of you people out there who are cogitating over where you can spend your holidays after your boards, save yourself the trouble. The end of your board exams marks the beginning of a new period of torture with more sleepless nights and increased hair fall due to the building tension- the enTRANCE exams. The board exams are really not the end, especially for those in the 12th stds, they are just the beginning. The board exam fever soon gives way to entrance exam fever where all thoughts of holidays are soon forgotten. Students across the globe, especially those belonging to the science streams will attempt a few HUNDRED entrance exams in order to make it to ONE of the top institutes for their higher education.

Attempting entrance examinations is a Herculean task . It is a period in which students have to brush up their basic vocabulary, as they have forgotten the existence of words like ‘fun’, ‘easy’, ‘leisure’, etc. They(exams) require sizeable efforts by the already jaded and weary students.
The training for the entrance exams encompasses 10 hours of studying at the various coaching centers, another 5 hours at home in the morning, 3 hours in the evening, a few hours of traveling to these classes and a big hole in the pocket, as the coaching fee for these exams are definitely not small sums.

Once D-Day arrives and the exams are over, fun time still doesn’t arrive cos the results are yet to be announced and this in turn entails a nerve wracking period for us poor students who have reached the end of our tether. The long wait is a period of intense turmoil and anxiety for the students . After the results are announced, counseling begins ,and after the counseling ….the wait never ends….

There was a time when entrance exams did hold value and were of some use as they segregated the best students form the mediocre ones . Now however, entrance exams in most places have become a farce as , students who have not done well still pay lakhs of money and somehow manage to get into the coveted institutions despite pathetic and abominable grades.

As Chetan Bhagat says, exams are the reasons that may have led to the decline in the number of trees due to the increased usage of paper. So, why not do away with them?? You may agree to it, and so will I, but what about others?(the teaching community)

However, once you get into the college of your choice, the burden of these exams are forgotten in the sweet goings-on of college life. But don’t forget it completely as you know what you have been through to get into your dream college.So, the next time someone condescendingly says ‘’ah, entrance exams are a cakewalk long as you prepare for them’’ feel free to stick you tongue out at them and say’ brraacck .’ It is definitely not rude :) .

RANGANATHAN STREET
A few weeks ago, my aunt had come down from the USA after 8 long years. Being an energetic person with a penchant for shopping, she asked my mother to accompany her. The duo set off to ranganathan street. A couple of hours and 3 aspirins later my mom and an extremely weary aunt devoid of energy came back home. On making inquiries, I learnt that they had been to ranganathan street. No wonder my aunt looked so frazzled. She had entered the portals of Ranganathan street, t.nagar!!

Since time immemorial, it has been thronged by people, dogs, cats, people, malls, retail outlets, people, small offices, and more people, clichéd though it may sound.
Some call it the perfect haven for shopaholics. Some term it the dingiest and most inhabited place on this phase of the earth. I, for one, believe in calling it ranganathan street, t.nagar, Chennai 17.

We often hear lovers dramatically proclaiming that they would travel to any part of the earth to get goodies which will make their soon-to-be partners giddy with ecstasy. Not needed. All they have to do is to enter into ranganathan street and they’d find every kind of gift ranging cheap from five rupee earrings to extravagant Rs.5000 dresses and more.

One cannot drive through the place without wishing for a broomstick like the ones in the Harry Potter series.’ I seriously wonder whether even the broomstick with the rider hovering several feet in the air, would survive the continuous throng of people who dominate the area and the plethora of things it has to offer.

Another fact that is synonymous with Ranganathan street is the ruckus and cacophony of the small time hawkers and vendors who walk the by-lanes of this street and it is of little wonder that the E.N.T specialists are laughing all the way to the bank.

The area seems to be well equipped with a highly well organized network of secret undercover agents with efficient ’homo sapien’ detectors in and around the vicinity, which seem to attack any driver with a vengeance. Surreal though it may seem, the moment the administrative body gets wind of the fact that a motor vehicle is rolling in a carelessly effortless manner, they make the shoppers walk even more carelessly along the same path of the vehicle and right there, on the middle of the road, meet long lost friends and new acquaintances even to the extent of them forgetting the main purpose of their visit- shopping. The auto drivers make it the order of the day to hone their already well polished bargaining skills and woe betide any newcomer in the city who unknowingly ends up in their midst. The ultimate result is that, the poor car driver is invariably left cursing fluently under his breath for the next few hours or even worse- till as long as it takes him to draw up enough energy to overcome the never ending flow of humanity that dominate the streets of t.nagar.

If you are one who doesn’t believe in being a spendthrift, then, you're looking for, Ranganathan Street which sells you everything- from 'pirated’ VCDs' to pirated books, fashionable hand-me-downs, gold, gold plated and…………..the list never seems to end.
‘LEISURE” and ‘RANGANATHAN STREET’ are two words that cannot possibly be used in the same sentence.
A few hundred million years ago would have probably been the best time to actually think of a shopping spree here. In fact, ranganathan street has given a whole new meaning to the word ’crowded.’

To put it in a nutshell, if you ever get bored, drop into Ranganathan street and see your boredom vanish along with every ounce of energy you possess. Experience the ultimate shopping experience and see your energy levels go from 10 to 0 in just a second. Nonetheless, trust me, it’s definitely worth it.

IT'S NOT THE MONEY,IT IS THE PRINCIPLE OF THE THING!!

Below, is an sms that was circulated among my peers a few days before the 12th board exams results were announced. Having received the same sms from about fifteen odd friends of mine made me more interested in the message and has culminated in this article.

New exam pattern by the government:
FC: answer all the questions
BC: answer any 5 out of 20 questions
MBC: answer any question you like
SC: 'read only' questions
ST: thanks for coming.

Education of late, has become more of a ‘business deal, especially in this modern era. The covenant goes thus: Marks are not a measure of man’s intelligence. So, an individual who pays 20 lakhs for a Rs.20,000 merit seat has a better chance of getting it, as opposed to a person who has scored 99.99%. I may sound mordant, even acerbic. But that’s how the truth is- extremely acerbic.

What is with people these days?? We have reached a state when we pay more importance to money rather than veracity and principles. The government has brought about a few drastic changes, making life better for various sections of the society, especially the backward classes. Nothing to write home about. The question however is, how many of these allegedly ‘deserving people’ actually deserve and merit the seats they get in various colleges? At first, I didn’t take much notice of this razzmatazz . I had to go to one of the colleges to take up an entrance exam for my admission into the literature group- a group which has fascinated me since time immemorial . The invigilator in charge asked us to ‘give’ our attendance and a voice quipped ‘’if I give it (attendance) to you, what will I do without it?’’(I am not joking, this horrifying incident actually took place!!) .I was shocked and for the first time in my life at a loss for words.(no, I wasn‘t neurasthetic, just plain shocked.) Here was a girl who didn’t have a clue about English and there she was, writing the admission test for the literature group. The next day, the results were out and this girl actually made it into the college with her coveted group. Yes, she had desired the group and had got it too. But did she in actuality deserve it? These things are not common to one group alone. Such incidents are also commonly associated with the medicine and engineering seats as well.

Bizarre though it may seem, people with top marks are not granted admission into a few colleges for the simple fact that these students ‘lack recommendations by influential people.’(I can almost picture that look of incredulity on all your faces…). A commonly asked query is why recommendation when the student has scored top results?? That sadly, is a question to which we may never know the answer. The government has made life easier for the backward sections of society by raising the number of seats for them in various institutions. There are a few of these people who actually work hard and get into these institutions despite being from the backward sections of the society. But, what about the rest? The SMS at the beginning of this article should give people a fair idea as to what we are actually headed for.

Einstein once said ‘The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.’ Indeed, the more the amount of money given, better are the chances of a person receiving a ticket to their’ dream college’ , irrespective of the marks obtained. But Einstein sure did not mean it this way!!
When Darwin said ‘survival of the fittest’ he for one wild moment wouldn’t have thought that people would have taken it in the sense that more the bucks they pay, better the seats. Sadly, that is what people are doing. They have forgotten what conscience, values and integrity are . These words have been unceremoniously replaced by words like’ money, big bucks, bribes etc.’ ‘Honesty is the best policy’ has been shown the door and has been replaced with phrases like ‘money talks honey’ and their ugly likes. Money seems to be ubiquitous, but what about our values and principles? Money seems to have lost its values along with education. Unfortunately, ‘values’ seem to have lost their value too- a very sad state of affairs.

Like I said, ‘it’s not the money. It’s the principle of the thing.

IF JUNE COMES, CAN MISERY BE FAR BEHIND???
Is june as bad as it seems?? Read on to find out.

It is 11:00 AM in the morning, I am still in bed, deliberating on whether or not it is early enough for me to wake up, or just escape the harsh realities of life and go back to sleep. Now that I have woken up, it is hard. Basking lazily in the vast expanse of oblivion, I am rudely interrupted by the sight I see on my calendar. My stomach starts to churn, my face becomes clammy and I break into a sweat that has nothing to do with fever. You may ask why. It is the last week of my vacation. As may slips away into june, I will be in college- a world of ragging , teasing and definitely fun, though after a very long time of the former aspects, the protected world of school where 12th graders ruled the roost, quite forgotten.

The thought of June fills me with dread. Apart from the worry of how I would cope in an entirely new vicinity called ‘COLLEGE,’ a part of me also realizes that my two month long period of fun encompassing hours of aimlessly lolling around are about to screech to an abrupt and unceremonious halt. The inexorability and the unavoidability of June strikes me as inopportune and unjust. Being a commerce student, going to college feels like going back to school as it starts in june. Fie on Juno, the Roman goddess. But for her, june would have been omitted from our almanac- undeniably no great loss as far as the student population is concerned.

Gone are the afternoons when aimlessly watching the idiot box or hanging out with friends had a smile emanating from our lips, the worries of studies for the interim, forgotten in the sweet and indolent moments of pure fun and frolic . Then cometh, the start of college.

The first week of college is always a nerve wracking one as you are uneasily aware of the fact that you are no longer the senior most . In a way, it is surprising as, you fall from the pedestal of being one of the oldest in school to being the most bullied lot when you enter the portals of college for the first time within just a matter of two months.

Apart from combating the merciless ragging in college, it also dawns on us that the faculty too are a different set from the ones we faced at school. A myriad of thoughts will engulf us regarding the new set of teachers who are to teach us. Finding out the distinctiveness of different teachers is usually the most daunting of tasks. There are the friendly ones who always have a sweet smile on their lips, ever ready to hand out pleasant advice to the students and have a demeanor that is extremely pleasing, thereby endearing themselves to even the spoiled brats in college . Then of course, there is always the stricter, albeit kind hearted variety, with a stiff upper lip and not a hair out of place. They are the teachers who belong to the genre of making even the bullies and dadas of any college quail with fear. Woe betide any student who misbehaves, and they are sure to be caught in the vortex of a storm, thus confirming the strictness levels in a teacher.

As time lapses we eventually manage to settle down in our respective colleges . We are soon caught in the never ending web of time. The next summer vacations seem far, far away. True, vacation time will soon come again, along with another new batch of juniors who will face the same apprehensions we faced . We will cease to be the bullied lot, soon looked-up to by our juniors.
After all, as Percy Shelley puts it in his beautiful poem ‘Ode To The West Wind,’
‘if winter comes, can spring be far behind?’

FAIR WEATHER FRIENDS
'The kind of friends you ought to avoid at all costs if you don’t want to end up bankrupt.'

1) GENEROUS SPENDERS :

They generously spend YOUR money.
When we have generous spenders as friends in our midst, beware. It’s ironic how the word GENEROUS can sound so ominous.
‘Generous’ spenders are those who are unbelievably generous- with your food, with your clothing, with your belongings… and when you go out to restaurants with them, they are at their generous best- generously offer food to people and eat well themselves, and finally turn to you and say, ‘hey mate, I’m low on cash. Could you pay up, for old times sake?’Like I said, beware of ‘generous’ spenders or bewail later.

2) ‘LOO’ny ARTISTS:

LOO’ny ARTISTS don’t have any control over their bowels. The minute they sense a bill coming their direction, they just have to dash off to the loo at all costs, even if they are cleanliness freaks who can’t bear smelly loos and the loo at the restaurant stinks like hell.

3) ‘I’LL DEFINITELY PAY YOU BACK LATER- in 30-or-so-years- friends :

These are friends who have zero credit worthiness- you are doomed to irrecoverable bad debts if you have such people for friends. If by chance you happen to be a person who often goes abroad, you are on your way to a zero bank balance if you have such friends in your midst. For instance:
Hey, I heard you are going to the US of A soon. Could you get me the diamond crusted pen from there? It’s only around Rs.20000. No formalities between us. Will pay you back sometime.
STATUTORY WARNING: The ‘SOMETIME‘, like tomorrow, never comes

4) FRIENDS WITH SELECTIVE AMNESIA:
These are friends who remember every single thing- right from the red dress you own which they like and like to borrow from you, what you ate for breakfast last Friday, what they ate for breakfast last Wednesday, the swear words Mrs.Next Door used on the butcher due to his delay etc,etc,
I know, there is no sign of any kind of amnesia here. But watch out now.
You are at a posh restaurant, you have had your fill with your friends. You turn to ask him to pay his share of he bill and pat comes the reply : ‘Dude, can you pay for me as well, I forget to bring my wallet’
The underlined words here are ‘FORGOT’ and ‘WALLET’ They will remember everything in this world except their wallets.
Next time you are saddled with such friends, make sure you too have selective amnesia. In simpler terms you address him/her thus:
‘hey, do I know you?’