PSBB- A WAY OF LIFE

It's been a year since I left the portals of my school PSBB; a name oft heard being discussed by people for various reasons. As the adage goes, time and tide indeed wait for none. I'm amazed to find that a whole year in college is done and dusted and I have but two more years to go before I have to shed my 'carefree and irresponsible ways' and become an 'adult' in the true meaning of the word. College is truckloads of fun. Being typical human beings, we always have grudges about anything and everything. It is only when we are away from it do we realize how much we miss it. Same is the case with me with respect to my Alma mater PSBB. While at school, I always had grudges against small things. Now being in college a whole year has brought me a lot of fun albeit, there are times when I miss PSBB terribly.

The inevitable list:

A FEW THINGS P.S.B.B:
1) Shri gurubhyo namaha, sukhi bhava: the typical P.S.B.B way of students greeting teachers and teachers blessing them in return. It has a very unique ring to it.

2) Morning assemblies with TM which never failed to induce its soporific effect on us.

3) Elections : the clichéd yet delightful period in school where every section of the 12th would be actively involved in ensuring that their candidate would be a shoo-in for the post of school prefect. The school would be transformed into a colorful canvass …. The banners, the posters et al...

4) YGP- YGP

5) Anniversaries – truly unforgettable.

6) Reverberations- the 11th and 12th would enjoy it while the 9th and 10th wished that they were in the 11th or 12th.

7) Maargazhi Mahotsav- the school would come alive in December with religious sayings, shlokas and upanyasas by Velukudi Krishnan and many others. Mellifluous renditions of popular carnatic songs in the kutcheris, dance performances were the order of the day.

8) G.As- was, is and will always be synonymous with FUN. The enthusiasm from the students has always been overwhelming.

9) The canteen

10) Pattani Sundal Bonda Bajji

11) A few teachers and friends who are instrumental in making my memories in P.S.B.B immortal:
Mrs. Girija Krishnamurthy, Mrs.Girija Dilip (L.kg), Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Raman (if at first I loved English, as time lapsed, she made me feel immensely passionate about it), Mrs. Hemalatha Seshadri, Mrs. Rama Arunachalam, Mrs.Mahalakshmi Ramjee and Mrs.Pushpa Vijayaraghavan.
As for my friends, Sruthi more popularly known as SVR, Kirthika, better still as Kirukkuthika, Pavi (though for a very short time), Janani, Radhika (my partner in crime for many years), Jane, Priya, Aishwarya and Dhanya.

Over the years, I have always been unhappy with certain things at school. Like any other school, it has its own flaws. However, at the risk of being called melodramatic, I'm proud to be a PSBBian. PSBB has not been just a school to me; it has been a way of life. The school has indeed given me a lot, something I am more conscious of after passing out of it than while I was with it.

YOU KNOW THAT YOUR EXAMS ARE AROUND THE CORNER WHEN :

1. You are rummaging desperately through a heaped up mess in your room trying to find a book- your TEXTBOOK.

2) You start thinking more kindly about the gal in the first row and her notes.


3) You drink coffee four times a day – a tad surprising as you abhor coffee.

4) The clock strikes 9 and you begin to feel sleepy.

5) You promise yourself that you will study well in advance the next time around.(are you nuts??)

6) You find the courage, patience and resolve to finally open your Xeroxed notes and you start yawning your head off.

7) Your parents tell you to take a break from studying.

8) It takes half an hour for one sentence to sink into your head.

9) You take a 1 hour break for half an hour of studying

10) You start telling yourself off for bunking 9 out of 10 classes.

11) Your friend finds you at her doorstep on Friday evening b’cos you want to take a copy of the exam notes from her as opposed to your normal reason which happens to be partying.

12) It’s a Friday and you are desperately studying without welcoming the weekend.

13) You remember for the first time after coming to college that pens and pencils exist and decide to grace the stationery shop with your exalted presence.

14) You start dreaming about a blank answer sheet and a red spotted report card- and you never, ever dream.

15) You promise yourself (very idiotically) that you will start studying for the very next exam during your semester holidays.

16) You read this post and groan cos you know that you agree with what you’re reading

REAL(?)ity SHOWS
How far does the ‘Real’ quotient hold good?


Reality shows have perpetually been popular and since the last few years, a number of reality shows have come up, prominent ones being Indian Idol and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, the American idol, etc . New age reality shows bring in staggering amounts of ratings by placing people in intimidating circumstances. Lot of laughs can be generated from installments of comical segments. Interest in the show by the viewers is sustained by showing the behind-the-scenes- activities of the participants. As mentioned afore, how far does the ‘real’ quotient hold good?

Majority of these shows emphatically state that they solely aim at ‘bringing out the best people in the country and unleashing their talent in the respective fields.’ How far is this true? Of late, these shows have been focusing chiefly on bringing up the TRP ratings rather than on their professed aim. This can be elucidated through the popular show Indian idol aired on Sony twice a week, hosted by Hussein and Chang, the latter being a contestant in the previous season of Indian idol and judged by Anu Mallik, Javed Akhtar, Kailash Kher and Sonali Bendre.

The show starts off with the contestants doing their act and the judges either unanimously stating that he or she is the best or fighting tooth and nail with conflicting decisions. Having seen this season of Indian Idol so far, one can note that Sonali Bendre, right from the start of the show has been rooting for a girl winner. At any given point of time, she can be seen openly supporting the female contestants over the males. Well, it isn’t a bad thing. After all, it would definitely do some good for a girl to win the Indian Idol after three seasons of guys winning it. But do they deserve it?? The last episode’s verdict has shocked many keen viewers of the show . The contestants who form the Top 3 are Sourabhee Deb Verma, Torsha Sarkar and Kapil Thapa .The shocking part is that Rajdeep Chatterjee, the ever smiling 17 year old from Kolkatta has been eliminated. On following the show right from the commencement of the season, it is obvious that Rajdeep, despite being the youngest is one of the most competent contestants on the show. Indeed, he can belt out songs from any genre. Be it a melody of Rafi’s or one of the current day numbers, this boy can sing it flawlessly, mellifluously and carry off his performance with great élan. He has neither compromised on his performance nor on his singing. The same can be said of some of the other contestants like Prasenjit , Bhavya and Shini, all of whom have been eliminated from the show. Few can forget the heartfelt rendering of Ajahun Aaye Balamaa by Prasenjit which gained him an entry into the galas with a wild card or 17 year old Bhavya’s beautiful rendering of nigahen milaneko jee chahta hai which warmed the hearts of the audience. Or so it was thought. Alas, both were prematurely eliminated in the same fashion. We are now left with Torsha, Sourabhee and Kapil as the Top 3 contestants. It can very truthfully be said that contestants like Bhavya, Shini, Rajdeep and Prasenjit can sing what Kapil, Torsha and Sourabhee can , however, undeniably, it cannot happen the other way around.

The focus of this article is mainly on Indian idol 4, but, same is the case with other reality shows like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa where talented Kaushik Deshpande, Naina Saxsena and Debojit Dutta were eliminated and the likes of Asma Mohammad Rafi stayed on.

Promotional events, advertising, behind the scenes activities, the fierce competition combined with the camaraderie between the contestants, their efforts, the reactions of the judges, the talent of the contestants etc have all been shown and yet, at the close of the day, the best doesn’t make it. It is heartbreaking to see the actual talent being underplayed.

Is it the maker’s fault or is it just that the audience is tone deaf? Is it because the less deserving singers make up for their lack of singing by dancing and performance or is it because the really good ones are not liked . Is the voting just messed up or completely rigged up?




One may never know…….

TO CLEAN OR NOT TO CLEAN.....

‘’Impossible is nothing, nothing is impossible.’’ Whoever said that wasn’t really thinking straight or, they weren’t thinking at all. In all probability, the rate of thought process would have been below 0.5% to say the least. If there is one thing that is impossible, it is cleaning my room. Let me make things clearer- it is impossible for ME to clean MY room.
Many moms all over the world , after reading this would probably gnash their teeth and mutter in disgust, cursing me and dubbing me as the Grinch who stole the joys of cleaning. Oh well, the world is after all made up of many Don Quixotes.

To begin with, I'm very, very, very lazy (read indolent, lackadaisical, apathetic, don‘t-carish,)when it comes to cleaning. I really don’t care if I’m submerged by my books or clothes. In fact, only in this messy state does my room ever give me the feeling of being ’my room.’ Most normal kids would clean their room everyday or once in awhile because of that driving force called MOM . Some others, strange weirdos that they are, are clean freaks themselves and cannot sleep a wink if their room resembles a tornado-cum-earthquake hit area.

Mom indefatigably goes on about how I should tidy up messes as and when I make them and as far as possible, try not to make them at all. Alas and alack, that piece of counsel mulishly refuses to stay put in my head. However, miracles never cease, and once in a blue moon, I find myself surrendering to my mom’s entreaties (or are they coercions camouflaged as patient entreaties ? :P ) and decide very virtuously to clean my room. I assume the air of a warrior bravely approaching the deadly battlefield as I enter my room.

Cleaning my room is a Herculean task to me, which explicates why, I so wisely dedicated my life to not cleaning it in all these 18 years. Cleaning my room would mean tidying every nook and corner and no-leaving-the-corners-unclean crap. This means I have to follow the adage ‘ A place for everything and everything in its place.‘ Sounds easy?? IT IS NOT. When you have a zillion things out of place, you don't really know what or where that right place is!!!!


Now, the task entails me picking up an arbitrary article in my room and finding its correct place. Then I realize that it is not going to work, so, I embark on my mission of torture by cleaning out my clothes and book cupboards. I throw all the clothes carelessly onto the floor and place my precious books on the bed. Half heartedly, I start folding the clothes when I unearth a book that I haven’t read in ages. I steal a quick glance at the clock. I’ve been working hard at folding my clothes for the last five minutes and allow myself a well deserved (?) break. I pick up the book and promise myself that after the first chapter I shall resume folding my wretched clothes. Before I realize it, one and a half hours have passed and I have officially cleaned my room for five minutes consistently. I hastily push all the other things into place haphazardly and get to making the room look fallaciously tidy to save myself from further admonitions . Over the years however, I have come to realize, that this is not the best of ideas , especially considering the fact that my mom (like every other mom in this world) has a pair of eyes that could put a hawk to shame.


"Why is this book lying here?"

"Make space for your college books here and put the other books elsewhere.’’

"You missed a spot - not that spot, this one here.’’

‘’ Clean your room on a daily basis and do both of us a favor.’’

‘’Don’t forget to clean under the bed …………………………….......’’


For the first time in my life, I stare at mom dumbfounded and no words come out as she fires
ahead. I fumble, mumble and curse under my breath. Then, I assure her that the room will be clean, just as she wants it to be, and hurriedly clean the room, while casting surreptitious peeks from the corner of my eye to see if she's left the room. When i'm completely certain that she has, I rush to the door and slam it shut. Now I'm back to my book. When over five hours have passed, my room is eventually clean, and I look worn-out, exhausted, beat, pooped, done in, etc. I'm also sneezing incessantly , as a result of the truckloads of dust that have been uncovered in the process of cleaning. Eyes watering, befuddled, peeved, annoyed, teed off, irritated and terribly sleepy, i flop onto my now clean bed pull the blanket over my head as if to shut out everything and anything even remotely connected to cleaning in particular.


I wake up from my nap and go for supper. Mom comes into my room, nods approvingly and says ‘’ see, now you’ll be able to breathe easy and be more organized,’’ as I look at her in a resigned manner. I wake up the next day and am late for college. I am unable to find a dupatta to match my churidhar. I am unable to find my project file. One sweep of the things on my table, a good tensed forty minutes and a profusely sweating me later, I find my file. I sigh in relief and look up My eyes widen in shock and disbelief.
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MY ROOM IS BACK TO ITS MESSY STATE!!!!!!!

I am back after a long hiatus :). For some reason, i decided to go ahead with this :


BirthDAZE OVER THE YEARS

I realized rather gloomily that my nineteenth birthday is not far off. It means that next year, I will cease to be a teen. Here’s something that makes me feel less gloomy because, some of these events are etched in my mind forever and always have a smile emanating from my lips whenever I think of them.

The first 5 years - Everyone made a big ado. Relatives from all walks of the world, landed at our place for the ‘big event.’ It was razzmatazz personified. I was one of the youngest on both sides and one can only imagine the heights to which I was petted and pampered.

5-12 years-Everyone continued to make a huge fuss. Any bratty tantrums I threw were borne with a smile that might have well been an inward grimace. Lots of presents from everyone. I received money as gift from many members of my considerably large family .I took chocolates to school and was the pivot of attraction.

13-15 years- Teenage mutiny. people tried to make a huge fuss- I thought it was "uncool" and rebelled .Looked forward to gifts from friends. Grandparents , uncles and aunts called. Reasonable number of cards and gifts from friends . Felt special back then though, not as much as I had felt for the first 13 years, before the transformation from brat to a bigger brat.

16-18 years - Spent my 16th and 18th b’days among horrifyingly nightmarish days of my board exams, learning, teaching, breaking my head over math and accounts and watching my friends break their heads over math and accounts and inwardly rejoicing that I was not the only one breaking my head. My 17th b’day was a tad better - I was in my 11th std and my finals were around the corner. It was still officially not yet ‘exam week’ . However, the apprehensions regarding the exams had made themselves quite at home.

Now, my 19th b’day is around the corner. Nothing much will change. I will still have college on my b’day. Exams will either be in progress or round the corner(Damn them! They never ever seem to give me any respite, despite it being my b‘day), friends will ask for a treat, I will happily give in, return home and mourn the fact that I am into my last year as a teenager .

Drat, the next time I throw a tantrum, I will have to bear in mind the unpleasant fact that I can no more blame it on me being a teenager going through a rebellious phase. Time to think up a new excuse :)