Carrying Forward the Family Name

One of the most hard-hitting advertisements I came across in recent times:

Happy and Gay

Its weird seeing how much of thought and effort the government is willing to put into the Gay Debate. Sexual orientation and preferences are something personal and should be left to the prerogative of the individuals alone. But these dimwits find it more compelling to treat gays as criminals than punish the actual criminals. They actually do consider homosexuality a greater threat to society than rapes and murders. Bless them, Lord, with some brains, pray.

The Inconvenience Caused is Regretted

Waiting at the domestic departures terminal of the IGI Airport. My flight, SG 309, to Chennai was scheduled to have taken off an hour back. There have been continuous announcements , each shifting the departure time only further. Am bored and irritated, even more so considering the fact that I could have spent these last two hours more productively at my best friend's home, where I had spent a rather happy part of the day (embarrassing photo albums topped by his mom's delightful cooking). Sitting here, listening to "May I have your attention please. SpiceJet flight 309 to Chennai has been delayed. The flight would now depart at 2030 hours. Inconvenience caused is regretted", isnt really what I had in mind.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S: TOW which was the favorite one

Dont know if its because I seem to be needing some means of relaxation for the past few days or because I am simply too fond of the series, I just embarked on a zillionth re-run of Friends.And apparently it isnt just me, everyone who has followed the series has loved repeating it. There are some particular episodes that are especially fun to watch all over again

• TOW the Football, the not-so-thanksgivingy fight for the Gellar Cup
• TOW the Embryos, the episode with the embryos being transplanted into Phoebe, more memorable for the who-knows-whom-better quiz
• TOW the Flashback, where Janice asks which of the 6 of them had almost...
• TOW that could have been, if Ross was still married to Carol, Rachel married Barry, Joey a TV star, Monica still fat, Chandler out of work and Phoebe a stock trader
• TOW where everybody finds out, about Monica and Chandler, they dont know that we know they know we know
• And, of course, TOW All the Other Ones

Anyone wants to add any more here...

Back to School

Nostalgia is actually a good thing. It helps you draw energy from your secret energy source, the good times. School was real fun. Teachers were heaven sent caricatures and classmates better at one-liners than the man Chandler Bing himself (and that is seriously some level). There are some things I can never forget and they make me roll onto the floor laughing even today

• Our Class 7 class teacher's classic statement: Some are over ambitious, uttered with a typical nasal twang
• Aditi's mimicking her Psuedo means false and poda means legs
  
• Trying to convince our Principal Sr Reji to free the school's pet pigeons (with Mangala madam's support, on a different note, her perfume was something though..the bell around the cat)
  
• Putting N fight to prepare dances and skits for the Bhopal Central Jail inmates as part of Dharam Bharti in Class 8
• The slightly bordering on adult commentary we used to rattle off during Buddha Charita and Mahabharat class readings
• Our homegrown Celine Dion's "We are working on it" when she was telling students about how her daughter has been pestering for a sibling
  
• The whole class punished to write lines "I shall be disciplined in class" a 100 times by Tresiamma mam and everyone competing for who finishes first
• The totally arbit prayer service on Dussehra with the Ramlila skit and Akanksha Tiwari's convincing Hanuman act
• Using orange pens to underline keywords for Bhattu's geography paper
  
• The various Venu-omous fiascos (She-who-must-not-be-named) in Class 10

I guess the list can go on...Miss those days, fighting with Jasmine over any and everything, Ritika squealing over Rahul Dravid (she still does that), Pragya's laughs accompanied by her really powerful pats that hurt, Abhisaar and her mimicries, Misha's chidiya fad fad karke udti hai, Aditi with her kali-kali songs, Aakansha's really really high pitched screams.. All of it..love you gals..

Womens' Bill: The rose paved road to the abyss

It might come as a surprise for many, but I , being a woman, do see the idea of introducing a Womens' Bill as being preposterously ridiculous. This is because I am a woman and not in spite of. Any proponent who argues that the Bill seeks to bring about empowerment of women in the country is only kidding himself. The Bill shall make women dependent on its crutches and turn them handicapped for ever. True empowerment will happen when the nation shall willingly give deserving women their due without attributing their success to reservations and excuses. Merely incorporating more number of women in the Parliament does not translate to the uplifting of the status of women. Which is why no woman sang or cheered when Ms Pratibha Patil became the first woman President of the nation. Moreover the Bill might just became a weapon of installing puppets controlled by powerful males and shall further hinder the rising of the deserving females, since males can only stand a maximum number of women in positions of power. Having a Rabri Devi for a CM did not do much for the status of the women of Bihar. The Bill shall just remain a mere notion of women empowerment.
No self-respecting woman would like her rise to success being attributed to crutches the State wants to supply. She wants to be there on the basis of her merit and not her gender. She needs support from her family, especially from her father, her brothers, her husband, and from colleagues at the workplace. That is all she needs to help claim what is rightfully hers. If the State really wishes to help, it should provide incentives and facilities to help educate more girls, help create a safe environment for them to grow and prosper.

Re-emergence

Well..back from a long period of dormancy..thanks to Aniket. For insulting me repeatedly.. And as promised, I am acknowledging it here..
aniket: ek kaam karo

delete your blog

Taunting reminder mails..with chat excerpts

Shruti: yaar bahut saare blog likhne hain

aaj raat mein likhti hoon

Aniket: chod do, tumse nahi hoga

Shruti: oh ho

we will see!

Aniket: dekhte hain

And the others too

me: thinking of blogging

srikanth: rehne do

tum sirf bolti ho

So..Here I go

Well, a brief round up of whatever could not get its share of the limelight here so far:

• The Sem- mixed bag, Mtech courses with ultimate boring content, and even more boring profs
• The Parties- Hostel Nites saw how guys can cry like human hosepipes and how girls can act, when high..On a serious note, also began to accept that I too am going to miss this place a year later , despite my repeated vehement refusal to accept the fact
• The Partings- Btech friends started leaving for home, traditional bidai scenes witnessed
• The Wedding- attended my best friend's sister's wedding in Hyd, first South Indian wedding I have been to, Snow World being the cherry on the cake (or ice cream)
• The Internship- @iDiscoveri as part of the E4SI fellowships immersion programme, still on. more on that to follow

Here's to Verity Season II

XOXO