Fifty

I have crossed 50 posts - slow and in a stuggling manner. But as they say in Test Cricket - what really matters is that I am still hanging in there.

Dark Side 1; Shiny Star 0

Many weeks ago I published a post regarding the Dark Lord's loss to the Dark Side. Now allow me to educate you about the Shiny Star's loss to the Dark Side. The Shiny star in question is our very own Dhingra - another stalwart of H-Mezz who also has succumbed to the Dark Side. When he got married he was carrying this ecstatic expression. Little was he to know that he was now about to fall to the Dark Side.

This is a true incident which occurred in the state/city of Delhi in the presence of the one and only 123 Kid (Well he insists that he be called Sid - one never knows why - but for all practical purposes we shall refer to him as the Kid or sometimes merely as Kid). So there was this time when I was in Delhi hawking some tea (again) and we decided that the 3 of us would meet for dinner - an event that was planned three days in advance and confirmed 2 hours before the decided meeting time. But it was then that the Dark Side struck! Dhingra in all his naivety committed to meeting us without actually seeking permission from the Dark Side. And then about 30 mins to the rendezvous time - he had to pull out because he was not feeling well. One could have believed that had he not used the excuse of having an "headache". What actually clinched the deal is that he actually then decided to visit us for 15 minutes at the restaurant - obviously in a tearing hurry because he had been allowed the 15 mins with a curfew imposed.

So Dhingra came - he smiled - he talked and then he ran off citing ill health and the headache no doubt! But it was clear that we had sadly lost him to the Dark Side!

With 2 H-Mezz stalwarts having been lost to the Dark Side, one wonder what the result would be when Kid gets married eventually (well the child marriage laws might just be ammended - you never know!

Sigh! Life can throw so many twists that its actually scary.

Dark Side 1 : Dark Lord 0

To those from IIMB, there needs to be no introduction to the Dark Lord. For those who dont know him, he spouts his depressing stuff here.
For those confused about what the Dark Side means - all you need to know is that he got married last month.

So I couldnt attend his marriage on account of hawking tea in the Desert and could only meet him on my return. I had unexpectedly landed in Bandra and gave him a call - asked him if he was free to meet - a moments thought and he agreed. We met - over a cup of coffee. We talked for a while. There was that slight embarrased smile on his face as he answered all questions about the newness in his life. It was like the old times - except till that time when he received a call. The expressions changed from confident and suave to worried and petrified. Then he started glancing at his watch and towards the door. I asked the obvious question - was it your wife, are u required home immediately. He mumbled. Then loudly said that not to worry we could sit. I took it at face value - the glancing at the watch became staring at the watch.

Soon he asked if we should leave. Without mentioning a drink or an evening session (For context everytime we met, he would ask if we should go drink and I would refuse). Then he got up - a spring in his step, a marked hurry. And then he was gone, sucumbed to the all pervasive phone call.

And thus was one lost to the dark side

One year on

Wuhooo! This blog celebrates its first birthday today. For a blog that promised to die and fizzle out, this is more than what I bargained for. Ofcourse the blog is a resounding failure but that can not be a detterent. So what if there are no readers or commentators - we shall live on and perhaps some day even celebrate our Independence day.

Ah well! Its all pointless! Happy BDay Blog!

Nostalgia.

This month of February has seen me have bouts of Nostalgia a lot of times. First it was that trip back to campus for Unmaad. 3 days back on campus - with a lot of people from the senior batch, a lot of people from my batch and ofcourse all the juniors. Its impossible not to be nostalgic - especially when u sit at H-Bar with two other fellow H-Mezzers and chat. We almost expected one of the others to suddenly pop out of their erstwhile rooms and it would all start again - the random conversations, the TAS ball cricket, the usual banter and poking-fun-at-others.
There were the L^2 parties - with the same familiar junta - the same faces - the same memories. The same chants, the same jokes - the familiarity and warmth of the campus we were so used to for 2 years.

Unmaad 2006 was one of the hugest things for me - Unmaad 2007 was yet another trip down that old memory lane. Standing there ahead of the barricades with Lucky Ali-Indian Ocean- Junoon playing, dancing with friends there and talking about how that time last year - it was Ian Anderson with Tull out there.

It was all great fun but I always knew I was going to return to campus in a week's time for a company ppt. It was in that visit when it finally struck - that would be my last visit to the campus as a "senior" with my juniors still on campus. The next visit (if and when) would be as an "alumnus". It doesnt need many reasons to start missing campus and the life there.

Then while in Delhi - with my batchmates, it was nostalgia time all over again, so much so that we all simultaneously missed L^2 when some popular L^2 song started playing in the background.

Many months back i had posted this. I guess almost a year out of campus, things still havent changed. I still miss all those things.

I guess its funny - while in the first year, we all long to see the end of the 4 terms and want things to hurry. By term 6 we are hoping that time would slow down and at the same time looking forward to making money. Post placements one hopes that "that" particular time would never have ended.

But to use the cliche - all good things come to an end and its only when they have ended that you really appreciate how good they really were.

An Irish saying "May the best times of your life become the worst times of your life". All I can say is that it will take some doing for the future moments to demote those moments but I hope it happens