Five years

I just sent a mail to my friends with the same text, but I can't help but repeat myself. It feels like yesterday that I stood outside that gate. Scared and excited at the same time.

I met quite a few people that day and never did I know I would make friends for life.
The early days in CMC, sitting with adi and trying to work out programs. Feeling jealous when someone scored more than us on a test. Making new friends. Bike rides with jyothi. Anu me and jyo forcing adi to eat pani puri. Making detours just to eat pani puri. My huge brick of a nokia phone. Parvez eating pani puri with a spoon (most of my memories revolve around panipuri). Pinki naveen and kakuls huge fight.

Kernex, first thing that comes to my mind as pavan said is the great food we had. We all used to sit on the floor , I used to save my sweets so that murthy could eat them. And when the heavy breeze would take away our chapatis and papads.. Sam would shout 'are murthy egiripotav jagratha.' Giving a 'hand' to Adi everyday after lunch. Sitting next to parvez and siraj in the first row and managing to talk throughout the day without the faculty noticing. Dressing up for dandiya night. The early edisanus of RAKtv. Bhupi telling me he'd donate some money so I could buy clothes which were not torn. Sandy's comments about me combing my hair. PRP!! Studying, failing, crying and studying more.

Then moving to work. The antakshari in QP, days(months) spent in freepool. The bus journeys on sundays.Sriram and bhaskar bribing sailu to shut up. Bhupi, Sandy, Mahi, Hari, Sriram, Bhaskar moving to blore. Bindu crying till the fountain was full. :)

And most of all how can I forget ' mr braganza!! ahhaaa!!'

Now five years have passed. We don't share the same equations with everybody. But somehow the bond remains. Add your memories here everybody. not just with me.. whatever you shared with We43. Add a comment.

FRIENDS

Staying away from home, from family, from friends, from your beloved city. A few special moments keep coming to your mind. So I decided to pen down those special moments when I first spoke to a few good friends. Or those few moments which helped us grow as friends. What I thought of them then, what I think of them now. I must mention that the people are mentioned in the order that I met them and not how important they are to me :P



The only kid my age in our colony, jayanthi. She was a couple of months younger than me and we were great friends. I used to go to her house to play every morning and she came to mine in the evening. So thick we were that everybody in family knew her.(atleast her name). She was my junior in school and I used to help her with homework and were friends from when we were 2 year olds to 14 year olds. And then we lost touch. Heard she got married. Not very sure.



My first friend in school on my first day at school. My mom left me at school and left for home because she was told to. I was 2.5 years old and stood a few inches tall :P (I mean seriously, if you think I'm short now , you should have seen me back then.) So they ended school early and all moms came to take their kids. I was told to go home , so I went. I walked to the road and then realised my home was not there :D and started crying. One of the teachers saw me and took me back to school. There I met kalyani. She was smarter than me and a year older too and was waiting for her parents (how intelligent). She even gave me a chocolate!!! And we were best friends that day. Later we 'performed' a school dance and went on to become good friends. Both of us moved to another school and from there I moved to another school and we lost touch. I do see her in the bus stop once in a while. But now that we are grown up , we act like we don't know each other and walk past.



There was Radhika, who simply adored me and took care of me all the time. She used to scoop out food into a spoon and then flip the spoon into her mouth. At that age I thought it was amazing :P. We lost touch later but we still smile at each other when we meet.



There were no special friends after that until I joined a new school when I was 10 years old. This girl and boy came with me to school on the bus. And we just spoke to each other. And we've been friends ever since. Kiran and I have been inseperable in school. Lost touch in between but got back again. I missed her wedding and her baby shower and still she wasn't mad at me. Praneeth and I have lost touch now. But back in school he was one of my closest buddies.



In tenth standard I joined another school and there were a few friends. One day we had a school excursion and none of the girls from my class turned up. That was when I met sowmya. She came upto me and said. Hey don't worry that you are alone. Join us. She is one of the most level headed and intelligent girls I know. We were not that thick in school but became real good friends while we were in college. Lost touch now. Her smile is the no 1 genuine smile in my list.



My first day in intermediate , I sat next to this real tall girl we smiled at each other and exchanged names and they sounded almost similar. She was yasmine and I am yamini. She said 'don't mind , I talk too much'. I said ' No problem, So do I' and we never stopped talking after that. Partners in crime , always upto some mischief. And strangely I never felt odd walking next to her. She was almost a foot taller than me. She used to talk to her boyfriend for hours on the phone and tell her mom she was talking to me. And her mom would always scold me whenever we met :) . yasmines married to her boyfriend now and has kids. Her number has changed and whenever she tries to call me I'm never at home. And my folks forget to note down her number. So we've lost touch.



Graduation days, BARDAASH, Almost all of us met during dance practice for the farewell party of our seniors and became really good friends. I went up to these girls and said 'I'm going to dance for the farewell will you join me? I'll teach you don't worry' and then we were all great friends.

Bhagya - tall and fun. She is cool and unassuming, boyish and I dont remember how I met her. Sorry dear missed ur wedding.

Aruna- Pretty! stunning! beautiful! intelligent! and very very sensitive. We were art partners. She was a lot into writing poetry and I too was bigtime into poetry back then. She calls me up after 2 years to tell me she got married :) . Lives near my place but never got to meet her yet.

Let me skip the R and the D.

Anitha- lovely long hair crazy about icecream and the most traditional among us.

Sharani- My darling! We used to go to college together every day. We gave our first job interview together and been together almost all the time for the better part of the three years. She is really sweet and cute. A little slow at times but that adds to her charm. We all used to crack up on some silly little jokes and after all of us stopped sharani would start laughing saying ' oh i got it now'.

Harika- The guy of the gang. Used to tease me about how little I ate. She'd be proud of me if she saw me eating now. I used to hate how loudly she spoke and she used to hate my hatred of loudness. Nevertheless we were great friends. I always used to say I would never wear a sari even to my wedding. I wore one to her wedding and fell in love with sarees. Now I own 25 :). She has a baby but I could not visit her due to work commitments.

And then I joined WASE and had an explosion of friends.



My first friend in WASE Ayisha. We stepped into this world together and ended up joining the same project. She was the serious kind while I was everything else. As they say opposites attract. Still in touch.

Then there was Dipti. Dips was always fascinated by my earrings and she used to ask me if my ears don't hurt wearing them. We then performed at an office event and there was no turning back. We have been really good friends ever since.

Naveen and I fought with each other during our early days in WASE over who gets to sit in the first row. But we became friends soon enough. He calls me akka coz I look like his sister. (He is older than me though). I must say I have never seen anybody more talented than naveen. This guy is good with almost anything. Except language. He is no good at any language :D



Parvez. Where do I start and what do I say! My bestestest buddy. We have been inseperable for a loooooooooooooong time now. He is almost like family now even to my parents. One day (2 days before my birthday)I came to class on my sunny and my hair was completely dishelved. He asked me if something was wrong with me. and told me he'd gift me a rubber band on my birthday. He actually gave me a rubber band on that day. don't remember whose band it was. We used to study together early on but after that we went on to know each other and became very good friends. He is the one who made me realise my potential in whatever I did. And he is the reason behind my addiction to non vegetarian food. We share a love for animated movies and KFC. Good or bad every moment shared has been wonderful

Pinki, she and I are so much similar, yet so different. Saw her first at the entrance exam for WASE. She seemed like a snob and I really hated her. over action chestadi.. that was my first impression of her.It was much later that I understood overaction is her birthright. 100% senti 120% mental. Again dance was the reason we became friends :) . We are crazy when we are together , but always in a logical and sensible way :P . Nobody but pinks and me can do that. What I like best about her is that she never tires praising me :P

Pavan , Jyo, Ajju, Anil, they were my busmates at different times and it was always a lot of fun being with them.

Rakesh and I first sat together in class because I had no place to sit that day. We found out we had a lot in common. The conversation that started that day lasted more than a year. People had to force us to stop talking. Ego , misunderstandings and mistakes on both sides led to the end of this friendship. We are changed people now and I don't expect the friendship to grow back anymore, but I cherish the loooooong conversations we've had.

Arindam dasgupta, how I hated him. Good looking in a careless sort of way and always upto nonsense. Dance and music were the foundation of our friendship. Later, he became a good friends boyfriend (soon to be husband) and I had no choice but to accept him as a friend. :)

Sourav, I was never comfortable talking to him. He always seemed so distant and aloof. I only knew him as the guy who was crazy about miss XXX. The number of friends I've made from dance shows, Sourav is also a part of that list. We never spoke much to each other for a very long time. I remember how he was dancing like crazy on a DJ nite and everyone thought he was drunk. He came upto me and said 'I swear achi, I'm not drunk'. That was funny and scary at the same time. Thanks to Gtalk we are really good friends now. And I know what he thinks about 'everybody'. :P

Bakka ravi, he and I used to travel on the same bus but never spoke to each other. One day I was sitting on the last seat depressed about work, he came out of nowhere and started talking to me and cheered me up considerably (he dint know I was depressed). And from that day we spent every bus journey speaking to each other. Right from Hariharan's silky smooth voice to how to flirt with gals (both of us don't know how :P ) , we spent our journeys talking and talking and talking. WASE ended and the bus journeys ended but we do make time once in 2-3 months to stand outside our ODC and chat.

Dave and kavita, Late entrants into my friends list. They both have always been so much fun. And I must say I'm a huge fan of kavita's poetry and the way she speaks. So much to learn!!!

And then there are Sofia, Shailaja, Kamala, Sunita, jyotsna, Y madhu, S srikanth, Vedavyas, Raghava, Pooja, Farida, Vandana, Shyamala, Shanthi, Ramu, Srikalyan, Indu, Sush, garima, shaifali, aarti, rajani, shailaja, sailu pinni, sailu potlakay, anu, adi, rohini,neetika, sujata, vidya, anil, mithul and Hanu. All of you have been very special and have played a part in moulding me into what I am today.

pics!!

I need the pics of these ppl.. i'm updating my wase album.. if you have them send em.. and if i missed out anybody else.. remind me.. and if you have the pics.. send em to me

bhupi (found)
sandeep G (f)
hari (f)
sriram
chirag (f)
sourav (f)
kishalay
kuldeep
deepika (f)
sudip
amit dutta
amit chakroborty
archana kodati
purnim
payel (f)
bharat
archana
ramya
raghu
vijay
lavanya
debarati
soumya
santosh
kishore
rhitwik
lavanya vunnava
jamal
heeresh
radha

Insatiable

I draw aside my window curtains to let in the bright morning light
One look at the clock tells me it's not morning, but night,

I take a look out of the window surprised at natures ways
oh what a pretty sight, isn't it like i dreamt always

Trees with no leaves ,neither shrivelled nor dried
With the promise of a full bloom, so they can show off with pride

The sea beyond seems asleep, so steady and calm like a lake
not like the one back home, rumbling, roaring and so awake

The birds seem to have the same chirp, the same way they twitter
They wake me up every morning, never have I seen so many together

The strangers on the roads are not very friendly,
but, they neither push nor jostle nor speak to you rudely

Peace is what I yearned for, yes that is true..
Happy and content, is the way I would seem to you

yet, satiety is just an arms length away
and as I reach, it seems to stray

I realise , insatiable is the human soul
how much ever it has, It always wants a little more

Not at that age!!

I came across an advertisement last week where a little 'bespectacled' girl asks her dad if she is not pretty. Dad replies 'of course beta' without even looking at the kid. and then she says 'but nobody looks at me' . they show her talking to a little guy and he does not even look at her. So dad gets a car and takes the girl on a ride and everybody starts looking at the car while the poor little one believes everybody is looking at her (every body's ogling at the car). And she goes 'Am I so pretty)

Normally I might've considered the AD cute.. but of late I've been subject to a lot of MCism and also a lot of prejudices regarding looks. I have come to terms with the fact that we cannot weed out these prejudices and women (of late men too) will be subject to such insults regarding their complexion or height or the lack of it. I am dead against criticizing or putting down people because of their physical deformities (except overweight coz that is most of the time due to carelessness and needs to be checked) . And considering bespectacled people ugly is one thing I simply cannot tolerate. Excuse the narcissism, but I wear glasses and I think I look equally pretty with or without them.

We have always considered teenagers impressionable and have come across endless discussions on how one should not pressurize them about how they look. I have read hundreds of articles about how such prejudices should not be created and how it creates pressure among adults.

And now these guys decide to regress and create pressure among kids. They have enough things to worry about already (homework growing tall, which cartoon channel to watch). Do we have to create complexes among them about how they look. And also that people will look ONLY if you go around in a car. puhleez!!give them a break.

India me aisich hota

I was at the delhi airport last week, I noticed an old man arguing with the officer at the security check. Here's how their coversation was.

"Officer I am travelling all the way from USA. No one stopped this item till now. How can u say you wont allow this? "

Officer replies "Sorry sir, We can't allow this. In India this is sharp Item"

:O

My sunshine

Written on request by MNK- who is currently composing a tune for this song.
Naveen , copy right petta choodu
© MNK

i'm feeling good in a special way
ur smile takes my breath away
you are the sunshine that makes my day

My heart soars in the cloudless sky,
like a bird i'm gonna fly
let me soak up all the morning rays
i'm feeling good in a special way
you are the sunshine that makes my day

your smile lights up the skies
when the sunlight twinkles thru ur sparkly eyes
I long to watch that special sunrise
i'm feeling good in a special way
you are the sunshine that makes my day

my pain has gone with yesterday
life seems pristine today
a special gift from the new day
i'm feeling good in a special way
you are the sunshine that makes my day

No entry

Sign in a temple "No entry for slippers!!"

I'd want a pair that could enter on it's own!

Happy memories in WASE

Such wonderful days they were
I had to study no more
Tired of having so much fun
I went to visit a friend of mine

She said there was an interview
Please accompany me.. will you?
I went coz i had nothing better to do
was surprised as she did not, but I got through

Confident yet scared I stood in line
Telling myself everything would be fine
Saw a lady pushing everyone as she walked
came to know later, she holds ur hand when she talks

A quiet looking girl came over
and said let us go in together
we ended up sitting together for more than a year
She did DCI, I did KM, but we were still near

A fair, cute girl told me we were destined to meet
we missed meeting earlier, that we meet is fate.
A dimpled girl rode on my bike and we were quite a pair
from pani puris to bus rides we had a lot to share

The curly haired brat was such a pain
I swore I'd trip her if I'd meet her again
Slowly she danced her way into my heart
Now, only a mirror can tell us apart.

The lanky girl asked if my body doesn't ache
thanks to my heavy earrings and long drives on my bike
She dances with gusto and her song is loud and clear
She is so much fun to be with and is such a dear

The bright eyed girl wanted to know if i wore lipstick
A laugh riot I tell you, she's one funny chic
I fought with the short boy coz he wanted to sit in the front
I did not know back then that he was stuffed with talent

The wild haired boy wondered if i lost my hair band
He was the right seasoning in a life which was bland
Exams, movies, lunches, dinners and bike rides too
Together all the time, ppl joked that we were stuck with glue

The chubby boy was interesting so we chatted
'sir, ma'am will u please listen?' The faculty requested
The fair boy's baby I stole, coz it looked underfed
He probably thinks I'm a bitch and fame is all I wanted

The long haired girl gave everything an artistic touch
To wear a saree she does not need a reason as such
The fair skinned girl and the talkative boys took the same bus
Journeys to work were never boring for us

The two skinny boys taught me how to dance
the lanky girl got one in a trance
I chat with the other one almost everyday
I wonder why he's not online today

Fifteen hundred days and a hundred new faces
Each with a different Mindset, all from different places
I wouldn't really say they were wonderful days
But these are a few happy memories from WASE

Someone could be jealous of you!

This is something my buddy pinki wrote.. and I love it



I was waiting for the office bus to arrive, with my face clutched in a tight frown

In a minute the bus would be here and I will reach my desk even before the crack of dawn.

Cursing my inabilities for being stuck with this worthless job,

I glared at my watch in anguish. . . Bus should have been here by now!!



Someone tapped on my shoulder, taking no notice of my angry gaze

I turned around with reluctance; and there stood my friend with a sparkling smile on her face

With her vision locked on my ID card, she enquired all about my unworthy job

It was so apparent she was looking for one such post, it made no sense that I started whining to her about my ill-fated course

I was in no mood to talk… thankfully she left soon. I guess she sensed my hesitance.

A loud horn creaked into my ears … it was my office bus that braked through my thought process,

I looked at my watch again, today it is Five minutes late…!!



I grinned slightly as a little something popped in my mind,

May be there really is nothing to worry about, happiness could be within me only if I try to find

I suddenly started to feel creditable for my worthy job

Coz while I was mourning my life, Somebody envied me and my ID card!!