Monthly Archive for April, 2007

The Calicut Experience

Published on April 9, 2007 in Favourite posts, memoirs and REC Calicut. 5 Comments Tags: , .

A period of my life stands unmistakably lucid in my memory. It was the summer of 1997 that I enrolled in REC Calicut for four years of harrowingly memorable college. To be fair enough, there were good things and there were an equal number of bad things. Good or bad, all one could do at that point of time was take things in one’s stride and face it with a grin.

First came the language factor. Its not a pleasant experience being the only North Eastern girl in a bunch of malayalis in the hostel and not understanding a word being jabbered about. The endless streams of Malayalam got exchanged back and forth, while we poor minorities from the northern part of the country looked at each other’s faces and rolled our eyes! But all that became history when I met my best friend Anju. She’s the sweetest girl in the whole wide world, my teacher through 4 years of college to whom I truly owe my degree. She taught me the basics of the language. Then came much needed help in the form of mess chechis. (Chechi = elder sister) Slowly and steadily, I learnt the language and was soon the newest sensation in the hostel, the college and pretty much the town. I became this chinky female from God only knows where, who suddenly understands Malayalam and speaks it too. It was truly one of the finest moments of my life…

The college was just like any other semi-urban one, boys dominating the population and fighting over which girl would have the good fortune to be their girlfriend. Evening trips to the Happy Valley and Sorrow Valley (a.k.a. the Couples Valley) ensured constant romance in full bloom. Rumours spread faster even than wildfire and sometimes I think the general populace got wind of probable link ups even faster than the two main people concerned!

The problem with these romances was that unfortunately the profs’ houses used to line the Valley to Hostel route. Those dirty old geezers used to give us even dirtier looks as if to say wait- till-the-sessionals-come, you-people-are-in-hot-soup. But being the typical rebel, I usually gave a damn. Looking back makes me wonder how it was I ever passed their tests, esp that horrid, cranky old Fluid Mechanics prof who had made me his pet peeve.

I almost wish I didnt have to mention the grossest part of the 4 years… But like life, Calicut also has its dark side, without which the story shall remain incomplete. The college was a good one hour bus journey from the city. A mere 7 bucks was the fare, although the crowded buses rarely were empty. An interesting concept prevalent down south is the “ladies seat” at the front of the bus. Even then, some male would invariably have parked his butt there and it was always a pleasure to see sharp ladies deliver their comeuppance and eject them out from the privileged seat!

More often than not, these buses used to commute perverts and creeps, who’se fave pass time was to feel up girls. This trait was not only isolated to buses but the main city, walking amidst crowded frustated men… still sends a shiver up my spine. I recollect a belligerent moment of slapping a creep in a crowded bus plus delivering the choicest of Malli gaalis I could possibly think of, that I’m sure left him wondering if he’d felt up the wrong girl… I’d also like to take this moment to publicly enlighten the Kerala government that your ladies seat still doesnt guarantee safety of the women occupying them!

Calicut was my home for 4 years. In this short duration, I inculcated a love for malayali food, some of which I still make in my home and I must say have a new found respect for the multi-talented coconut. I love the beautiful backwaters, the spectacular beaches and also learnt to live with the hot, humid weather. It was a 4 years well spent and all my learning experiences has made me what I am today. So no regrets whatsoever….never did that, never will either. Since I’m all grown up now, I’m truly less in denial now than before. I’d say it was a time well spent, a life lived to the fullest and will blessedly continue till I live. Cheers!

A bitter sweet thing called friendship

Published on April 5, 2007 in Good things and memoirs. 3 Comments Tags: , .

Sometimes the past comes back with a vengance to bite you in the you-know-where. Im 27 years old and its indeed been a decade since I was a gawky, akward, all-knowing teenager, roaming fearlessly around the streets with my friends. What friendships we had around that time. We thought we were invincible and everything we did showcased that… Be it taunting the tution teacher to defiantly walking out of the class just to show that we dont need no education! I experimented with my first lipstick around the same time, bleached my hair to a ghastly bright yellow, wore what I thought were fashionable rags, only now to realize that they were not really fashionable but merely rags and now that I think about it, makes me want to crawl under a rock everytime I meet old acquaintances.

Fast forward to the present. I met up with my best bud this week who had come home for the holidays. Two of us went for a long drive up the hills, singing old Manila Sotang songs. When we reached our destination, the cold winds were raising a havoc already and we took a lotta pics with our hair flying awry and all. The day got over in a few minutes and it was already time to go back home. How I wished that time would never pass…

These days, when I talk to my old friends about days gone by, I’m filled with a strange sense of bittersweet emotions…maybe its the feeling that those good old days are gone and wont come back, maybe its the incredible sense of If Only I could have those moments once again. Reliving all those memories is a painful tug of the heart, a stab of missing the golden years.

But then again, something tells me that we just think and long for something cause its already gone by. What we dont realize is that even the present going on right now will be a past some day and I’d better live it up and make it as memorable as possible! Thats when a light goes on in my head and I start feeling better about everything and concentrate on living a better life, even if its just for the sake of having better memories, who knows?

Then slowly the bittersweet emotions subside and there emerges a new never-say-die attitude that tells me to live like there’s no tomorrow….and thats what I hope to do.

P.S. Shaliya, my love….a thousand thanks for inducting me into this blog thing. Cant tell you how stress-busting this is turning out to be!

The fan speaks

Published on April 5, 2007 in memoirs. 0 Comments Tags: , .

There’s something about the music of Alanis Morissette that I may not be able to word it exactly, still it feels like this is what I’d like to write about in my first precious blog; heard her album Jagged Little Pill when I was in school and I was struck clean by the fact that she could sing long sentences stringed together in what could not possibly have been music, yet it was. Very meaningful, beautiful music.

A decade later, I’m still a fan. Still love her music. Still listen to Jagged Little Pill and more recently, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie and Under Rug Swept. Havent had the good fortune of listening to all her albums, no matter how big a fan I may declare myself to be but I love her music unconditionally.

Her earlier songs earmarked my various transitory phases in life. I still remember my first crush, I was head over feet in myself but when it went up in a smoke, I realized that you live and you indeed end up learning. Along the way, I realized that its an ironic life we all lead. Sometimes all I really ever wanted was deliverance, so consumed by the chill of solitary… but then eventually, I wisened up and got my act together. I understood that what it all boils down to is that no one’s really got it figured out just yet….that I’ve got one hand in my pocket and the other one is giving a high five!

 

Related Posts with Thumbnails