old n mouldy

crumbly, infested with mould

is this story.. long untold

Udita tells me a story..

"If its doubtful, its dirty!"

Said his Mum, of his shirty

When he yelled to ask IF it was clean

She said "If you're not sure its washed or has not been

Its not clean, surely"

So this story makes you think clearly

That when in doubt

Rule it out

she is possessed

by the devil

she is obsessed

with things so trivial

she has transgressed

stepped into a terrain so evil

her life is messed

she lies, shrivelled

can't move

i feel caught in a dollop
of viscous, unmoving syrup

enchantment,

entanglement,

estrangement.

what a prollem

whats the prollem? oho... you got stuck up in the traffic? what to do na, its too too bad. this traffic prollem is not finishing only.

when the popcorn is too salty, and the hall is stuffy

when the fizzy drink is flat, and the actress's eyes are puffy

you know you're not enjoying the movie

the dark beckons, the unknown enchants

Id The Subber... Sdiff Sdiff

Height of irony... havig a cold in subber. (sdiff sdiff sdort... aaargh Ah-ah-Atishooooo)

I'm miserable. I'm just not able to DO anything. my throat aches,my head throbs and as for my nose... this nose is the root of all my sorrow. Its sheer size ensures unspeakble amounts of snot and phlegm in hideous colours and consistencies.

Grrrr...

Motley lot on bus nos. 721 or 853

A lady with a sack of chillies (yes, a SACK) - Pimply-faced pubescent lumpens - Aunty-jis with talcum powder, now a sweaty paste in the folds of their necks - Lecherous uncle-jis with offensive cologne - Grimy bus conductors who won't stop banging the bus frame/ slamming coins on the window panes - Giggly secretary types with earphones, gurgling and cooing to some idiot on the other end - a puny female counting the minutes left to reach D block

एक बेकार सा दोहा

छोटा हुआ तो क्या हुआ

जैसे बेल अंगूर

उसपे न बैठे चिड़िया

न बैठे लंगूर

Delhi

Well Delhi has to be it. The city that I'd call home. I was born here. Spent some of the most interesting years of my childhood here. Did most of my studies in places I never imagined I'd live (Gwalior, Ludhiana)... but am completing my studies in ... dear old Dilli.

Chandni puts the first few years so well. Reading her post brought back memories so vivid, that sitting right here in the children's room, (on the lower half of what was our bunk bed...) I can see a curly haired brat grinning mischievously and prancing about on the pouf (I ALWAYS thought it was poof), I can hear Amma calling out to us for our headbaths, and smell cloyingly sweet Lakme Satin Rinse shampoo (I loved the rounded cap of the shampoo bottle)... As these images and whiffs hit me, I remember more.... compasses and colour pencils, my jaundice days painted yellow, walks in Eucalyptus park, evening games in the compund with crazy kids , much awaited visits to CP.... (Nirula's), Golden Dragon....

Fast forward to the present. Three years at Pusa. The three years that taught me so much. The gigantic Arjan trees, my drab hostel... with a name I (for some odd reason )always hated to spell out in public - Mandakini and now rechristened a rather unimaginative Varsha..just to add to the kitty of seasons the boys' hostels are named after.. Hemant, Vasant, Shishir. NBPGR.. my days at Lab E 206 and the days at Lab E 202. I learnt, taught, laughed, and cried so much that looking back, I don't know which if them I did the most.

The current phase in my Delhi Diaries is pleasant. Fed up of my hostel life, the oily repetitive menu in the mess and general depression (which I'm sure would have acquired massive proportions, had I decided otherwise) drove me back home. So here I am, sitting on the lower half the bunk bed right where Chandni and I had this ridiculous discussion about how when I'd be 11 she'd be 7. (And how old she's be when I'd be 13. And how old I'd be when SHE'd be 13... ad infinitum).

Living with parents for the first time is a different experience after several years with grandparents, and nearly over a decade of hostel life. I'm sure they know me better now.

I love the metro, the fact that CNG has made such a difference to the air we breathe now. I love the malls, Dilli Haat, Connaught Place, District Centre and all the places we hang out. I love Inderpuri and Krishi Kunj.. Oh yes, I love Delhi.

PS
Delhi Daredevils lost. huh. What Daredevilry.

A.R.S.E.

This is NOT the humble aperture

That lies somewhere on your posterior

Its the Agriculture Research Service Examination

Taken by scores of agri post grads across the nation

Almost every year

And takers wait in fear

For the result, that comes out some time in October

Whatever that will be... atleast the worst is OVER

'twas a tryst

twixt silver and amethyst

More leaf samples have arrived

My time I need to divide

For one week, from the lab I must hide

yogi bear

wow... I managed to do Supta Vajrasana today. One month of feeling scared and awkward... it happened. I got the same feeling of elation I felt when I could do Chakrasana. yippeee

It is my earnest advice to the world to do yoga... it changed me for the better. People.. pick up your mats and join Yoga class. Today.

Gunter Blobel

Gunter Blobel

won the Nobel

for something that was by no means banal

back in nineteen ninety nine.

He found that proteins had signals that enabled

them to be transported, localized and variously aligned.

this dog of ours

dogs chase cars
and dogs chase cows
but this one dog of ours
just sleeps in the house

dogs chase cats
and dogs catch rats
but this dog of ours
just sleeps on his mat

dogs love to play
and dogs snap and bite
but this dog of ours
sleeps like a ball, curled tight

dogs are hairy
and dogs are furry
but this dog of ours
is just.. imaginary

spoilt brat at the breakfast table

she breakfasted on scrambled eggs and toast

tossed in a sausage for fun

the orange juice went so well, and she enjoyed it the most

she now eyed the cheese filled sweet bun

between gulps of the frothy banana shake

she nibbled a walnut or two

sprouts were there, she had to have them for "Mummy's sake"

and pomegranates were nothing new

and mangoes, apples and melons lovingly cut

into cubes of equal sizes

She chews and munches with her mouth shut

"What a spoilt brat I am" she realizes

Four golden lessons for a scientist

• No one knows everything. You don't have to.
• Aim for rough water.
• Forgive yourself for wasting time.
• Learn something about the history of science.

These four lessons were given by Steven Weinberg, a Nobel winning physicist. Read the Full essay.

Well, I believe in rule no. 3 whole heartedly, and am in that state of constant self forgiveness. Ahhh such glee

Three skinny girls

Three skinny girls sat at a coffee place

Giggling and chatting away

Three skinny girls discussed their current love-life phase

On a hot summery afternoon in May

Three skinny girls envied each other's waistlines

Teased one another, laughed and cried

Three skinny girls advised each other what to do about thinning hairlines

Ogled at passing hunks and sighed

Said one skinny to the others, "Sunday I get engaged"

Skinny 2 laughed it off, 'cos she didnt believe her

Skinny 3 flew into a rage

Skinny 1's life is in such a mess, to her it doesn't matter

The afternoon pulled along, with advice, warnings and more

They sipped mojitos and devoured tarts

Before they knew it it was dark, and time to go

As they left, they knew it was one of their meetings, last

my googlegangers

Don't we all run a google search of our own name often? Well I keep doing its a sick pastime.
Ok, the first few are some Sunaina Singhs on Facebook/ LinkedIn (I haven't signed up for these, but hey, thankfully Orkut pages don't show up!). Then there are these three to four year old scholarsip proclaiming sites, with names of successful candidates/ interviewees etc that refuse the leave cyberspace. I have won several schols, but THOSE don't show up here grrr. So, as of now, I am none of the Sunaina's on the first page, except as a member of SOGA (Scindia Old Girls Association)

There's a Sunaina Singh who has compared Margaret Atwood's and Anita Desai's feminist perspectives in their literature, or some such

Interspersed between several matrimonial sites advertising very Rajput brides is a porn star Sunaina Singh. YIKES.

Humph, I appear on the third page. My book chapter
Then there's some swimming champion, then there's
Uh Oh... page 5.... An ESCORT!!! She's some 5'4 Oriental Gem from Punjab. @#$%%
and below that #+**@ page is a news article about ME (PAU announces Thapar gold medals )

Some more old scholarship schemes ..."Stipend 2003 list of Meghalaya" ?? Why aren't such redundant pages REMOVED?

Huh, my paper appears on page 8 (my short communication)

Enough now. I need to be spending more time writing a high impact factor article. Or studying for my ARS exam. THAT would put me on the first page... lol

yay! me likes such stuffs

Last movie seen in a theatre: Juno

What book are you reading? : Do academic books count? Well, they better count. Biometrical Techniques in Plant Breeding (Singh and Narayanan). I actually finished all 24 chapters. Phew. Otherwise Bagchi's... Above Average

Favourite board game: Scrabble. and Chinese Checkers.

Favourite magazine: Dunno why... but glossy glam mags. Femina. Cosmopolitan. Elle.

Favourite smells: There are these smell amalgamations, I'd love to detail 'em
1. This smell I get when I enter villagey parts of western UP- suspended dust+fresh cowdung+cowdung cake smoke+freshly cut green fodder. Memories of Rasmai vacations
2(a). Temple smell: North India - hint of the above dusty-cowdungy + desi deciduous-petalled rose + tangy marigold+ hint of fresh milk
2(b). Temple smell: South India - sandalwood paste + jasmine flowers + coconut oil from teeming heads of thick black hair + Chandrika soap
3. Puppy mouth smell... specially after a milky belch
4. Cuticura powder (from a vintage orange coloured tin)
5. The first time the cooler is switched on, on a dry April day

(No guesses... I DO have a large nose)

Favourite sound: 1. All night sounds in Rasmai... A distant moo, a tubewell spweing water for a late night irrigation, the crickets, and random barks from random dogs

Worst feeling in the world: Feeling that I could have done a better job... about a job already done. YUCK

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up? : Snooze my alarm a coupla times

Favourite fast food place: City Square Mall (Rajouri)'s Food Court. Dunno why

Future child's name: Can I make that.....
Future pup's name? Ah well.... : Snippet (heard it somewhere... and I I love it)

Finish this statement, “If I had a lot of money I’d…” be THRILLED. It would get spent in no time

Do you drive fast? : On my scooterette.. yep

Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? No. I'd prefer a real furry creature (pun intended) eeps. hey, no, I can't sustain a cuddle for very long

Storms - Cool or Scary? Scary if alone. Otherwise... thrilling.

Do you eat the stems on broccoli? If well cooked, maybe I wouldn't mind 'em stems

If you could dye your hair any colour, what would be your choice? Streaks of purple and red. Provided I can undo it whenever I to!

Name all the different cities/towns you have lived in: Delhi, Ndola (Zambia), Riyadh, Gwalior, Rasmai (Mathura), Ludhiana, Thalassery, Kozhikode, Mussoorie, Radhakund (Mathura)

Favourite sports to watch: Sports, and me? I'd rather fiddle with the remote and count how many rotten sports channels exist

One nice thing about the person who sent this to you: My bumbling bee, mah lil sistah! She's so full of love! For all creatures, great and small.

What’s under your bed? My slippers maybe. I wish there were a dog, though :( sigh

Would you like to be born as yourself again? Thats my prayer

Morning person or night owl? Morning person

Over easy or sunny side up? Sunny side up. Gooey yolk going " jiggle jiggle"

Favourite place to relax: Home. "The cooler room" at present. I someimes miss my hostel room... which was kinda peaceful

Favourite pie: Broccoli... Mum makes this delightful cheesy broccoli pie

Favourite ice cream flavour: Mint Choco Chip

But then...I may keep updating this post.

And I'd like Periwinkle and Mr X Files to do this now