Udan Choo

I've just returned from a birthday 'bash', where obviously, the person who got 'bashed' was none other than the birthday boy himself. And since the birthday boy happened to be 'the sardar', or, "Surdy" as he is popularly known (and also as he calls himself on Orkut), the countdown to his birthday bumps began from 12 instead of the usual 10. :D

There were quite a few people who had congregated on the 3rd floor of the Nirma Boys Hostel for the celebrations. True enough, the "bashing" had its required impact and Surdy got his due:

Kaun maar sakta hai mujhe ??

As far as I'm concerned, I'm listening to 'Tu hi meri shab hai' from Gangster after what seems like ages. And know what, the song sounds absolutely AWESOME !! Can listen to it again and again...and again.....

Today was also the first day of the HR Conclave at the Institute. And yes, I had to finally compere the proceedings for a session. Ever since last year, people in the college were telling me that I must compere the proceedings for events since they tell me I have a nice voice (ahem!! a bit of self-praise, although subtly put, never hurt anyone, did it? ;) ). And so, for the third time this year, after doing the 'Awaaz-e-Hind' voiceover for the junior batch's Talent Nite and the compering for the inaugural session of MANLIBNET, I was once again on stage. It was a nice experience, what with all the on-stage changes that we had to make, first since there was a last minute change in the professor who would chair the session, and then when the distinguished speaker unexpectedly came over to the dias when he was supposed to sweetly await the good looking girl who would offer him a bouquet of flowers. Hmm...must say, our managerial effectiveness was put to a good test backstage.

And for those who're wondering why the title of this post is what it is...here's the deal. I'm off to Dhari, my native village, tomorrow evening. I'll be taking a bus tomorrow night at 11 and shall reach Dhari by 5 the next morning. Mom and Dad had been asking me to go for quite some time now, and it was only proper for me to visit the place I worship so much. Obviously, Mom and Dad, back in Calcutta, have no idea of the kind of time-management skills and games that we must play here at a B-school, which explains why they were slightly disappointed last weekend when I couldn't find the time to plan the trip. I've spoken to them this evening, and they sound pleased about the trip tomorrow evening.

It is surprising how sometimes things work out for the best by themselves, even when we as individuals are not actively involved in giving shape to such plans. I somehow couldn't find the time during the week-long PPV break to go to Dhari, and then, when it seemed I would only be able to go there after I came back from my proposed trip to Cal in October, the opportunity to go this weekend itself neatly landed in my lap.

Let me also add why I 'worship' the place called Dhari. Dhari is not only my native village, but is also the place where my forefathers have built a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. There's an interesting tale behind why my grand-Uncle built the temple, but that shall be the subject matter for another post. For now, let me just say that it involves a number of dreams in which Lord Shiva 'visited' my grand-Uncle and instructed him to "unearth" him.

It is nice to know that I'll be once again going back to my roots, and not only the roots of a certain family but also, in a way, the roots of India. Dhari is a village with a radius of (I think) 1-1.5 kms. Electricity and constant water-supply can still be called visitors to this dusty village and I didn't get any network coverage on my Reliance mobile phone the last time I was there (which is the reason why I'm leaving my cell-phone behind. Ahh !! Nirvana). Of course, one can forget about Internet connections and cyber cafes. Cable television is a recent addition to the village, but still subscribed to by the well-to-do families. Perfect backdrop for cricket matches...occupants of neighbouring houses still gather in the silk-trader's house to watch Sachin bat, while the housewives prepare hot Gujarati delicacies like 'gaathiya' and 'chevdo' and pass it around.

(Clink) To a 'Swades' like return to my soil...

Gandhi-giri pe lage raho

This isn't another review of the (apparently) hugely successful Hindi film 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai'. I guess, that would allow the world to breathe easy...what with the heaps and heaps of praise that has been piled up on the film already. Must say, I guess I will watch the film one day out of sheer curiosity rather than as an avenue to kill time.

Now those who are interested in the idea of how relevant Gandhiji's teachings are in today's day and time (I know there are regular essay/debate contests held in school on the topic) might want to check out a brilliant Hindi film called 'Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara'*1 which was released last year. The film starred Anupam Kher and Urmila Matondkar. I felt that Ms. Matondkar went overboard in a couple of scenes, but did exceptionally well for most of the film. Anupam Kher, in his role as a retired college professor, was brilliant. The role demanded him to put across in a silent way the frustrations and anger of a generation past its prime, and Mr. Kher did it with absolute elan. In my opinion, he has only done better in Daddy (this was an era when Mahesh Bhatt did make sensible films) and his debut film, Saaransh.

Anyway, back to the post. Like I said, I was a part of the VIIIth MANLIBNET (Management Librarians Network) Convention sometime back. Mr. Thyagarajan of Nirma Labs also made a presentation there, and he ended by showing this extremely sweet picture:


What I liked even more was the manner in which Tyagi Sir described the pic, "...this is a picture which shows the past (Gandhiji) being led by the future (the kid, his grandson Tushar Gandhi) while the present (the lady standing beside Gandhiji) is a bemused spectator".

*1: 'Maine Gandhi Ko is a masterpiece', Sukanya Verma on rediff.com

Shh...

CAUTION: This post, begun at 2 AM, was written after an unsuccessful attempt to sleep. You have been warned. Let only the brave continue. ;)

----

Silence, as Gratiano reminds us in Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice', is but the garb, and perhaps only refuge, of the fool. Indeed, not only would the world be a less noisy place but it would also benefit by escaping from the cacophonous voices of poor intellect.

Does that advocate no voice to be raised which is concerned atheistic or heterotypic? Separate issue and, of course, highly debatable.

Returning to the matter at hand, Gratiano's suggestion reminded me of Lao Tzu's quote: "Silence is a source of great strength". We've all observed and heard or read of great personalities who are reticent in their day to day dealings.

And why even go to China? We've got our very own Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, who regulary (once a week, if I'm not mistaken) used to observe 'Maun Vrat'. [Of course, these days, even Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of the Art of Living propagates the idea of 'maun vrat'.]

Silence is also the sound of love. The closest that I've heard any song come to expressing this particular moment is Ronan Keating's 'You say it best (when you say nothing at all)' [...all day long I can hear people talking out loud, but when you hold me near..you drown out the crowd...]. It is that one moment of silence, that meeting of the eyes that conveys a million messages of love that tells you that Cupid has indeed struck with his sweet arrow.

Silence, however, is also the sound of anger. Ever noticed the person who never shouts at the top of his voice when angry? Personal experience and counsel of wiser people warn me that these are the ones who're more 'dangerous' or likely to cause harm. They are like mountains which though appear silent, carry the the hot lava of anger and destruction just beneath the surface, waiting to explode....at the appropriate moment.

Silence is grief. Grief of having lost a loved one, of having lost after putting everything at stake, of failing in an exam, of losing a war, of......

However, Silence is also a moment of strength. A moment to reflect. A moment to introspect. Silence is like the great ocean, which though appears to be quiet above, is the source of life and activity beneath.

A final word...

Silence reminds me of a moment from (here we go again) The Bhagavad Gita. After putting forth his views on the imminent war and the hopelessness of the situation (as he sees it), Arjuna throws down his weapons and sits down despondent at the back of his chariot. I'm not certain if Lord Krishna smiles at this moment, but that certainly was the image that flashed across my mind's eye when I'd read the English translation of The Gita by Dr. Radhakrishnan. However, Dr. Radhakrishnan mentions, that this is a moment of truth. The moment of silence separates the despairing Arjuna's grievings and Krishna's friendly help in the form of the 'Divine Song'. Was it mere coincidence that there was a moment of silence here, or did Vasudeva deliberately allow it to separate the question and the subsequent explanation? Perhaps, as the author mentions, the moment of silence existed since 'great thoughts arise from a quiet mind'.

Heterodoxy

The world over, the men and women who have the courage to fight the odds and come out trumps are the ones that are respected. Often, as is the case, they must sound anti-establishment or must "go against the grain", to use two very cliched terms, to make their case. However, it isn't for the joy of being anti-establishment or going-against-the-grain that these people do or say what they say; it is because they firmly believe in what they say, feel or do.

It is here that i would like to introduce a few names much more well known than mine and highly respected worldwide.

To quote from the first chapter from Amartya Sen's "The Argumentative Indian" (which, as the top-right corner of this page proudly announces, I'm currently reading): "It is not hard to see that the possibility of scientific advance is closely connected with the role of heterodoxy, since new ideas and discoveries have to emerge initially as heterodox views, which differ from, and may be in conflict with, established understanding. The history of scientific contributions across the world - the experiences of Copernicus, or Galileo, or Newton, or Darwin - shows many examples of the part that resolute heterodoxy has to play, in scrutinizing, and when necessary rejecting, the views that are standardly accepted." (Sigh, I wish I could write like him.)

Sen continues later: "...a methodological point that Francis Bacon would make with compelling clarity in 1605 in his treatise The Advancement of Learning. 'The registering and proposing of doubts has a double use,' Bacon said. One use is straightforward: it guards us 'against errors'. The second use, Bacon argued, involved the role of doubts in initiating and furthering a process of enquiry, which has the effect of enriching our investigations. Issues that 'would have been passed by lightly without intervention', Bacon noted, end up being 'attentively and carefully observed' precisely because of the 'intervention of doubts'."

A few weeks ago, fired up by the words of Swami Vivekananda, I collected all the quotes that I personally found very motivating. I then put them on different slides and converted the Powerpoint presentation thus created, into individual JPEG images. Having saved these images in a particular folder, I selected the folder from which these images are now shown as my screensaver.

One of Vivekananda's quotes, which I was reminded of while reading the quoted text from The Argumentative Indian was this:


I am also reminded of Ayn Rand's classic The Fountainhead. Although I completely disagree with some aspects of the book, there are excerpts of the classic court scene, where Howard Roark speaks, which are dipped in truth. Here is what I was reminded of:

"Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. Their goals differed, but they all had this in common: that the step was first, the road new, the vision unborrowed, and the response they received--hatred. The great creators--the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors--stood alone against the men of their time. Every great new thought was opposed. Every great new invention was denounced. The first motor was considered foolish. The airplane was considered impossible. The power loom was considered vicious. Anesthesia was considered sinful. But the men of unborrowed vision went ahead. They fought, they suffered and they paid. But they won."

The break

All right, so the Pre-Placement Visit (PPV) time is here and most of the folks have gone back home. That leaves only a handful of guys back at the hostel. There are only 4 guys from the senior batch here, so things are kinda lonely and quiet. But, nobody's complaining because all the four are as mad as they come.

Anyway, Monday was the opening day of the VIIIth MANLIBNET (Management Librarian's Network) convention, which was hosted by our institute. And since Anil Sir, our librarian, was the organiser, he had asked me to be around and make myself useful. So, make myself useful I did. I was the compere for the inaugural session and also made a 20 minute presentation that evening on 'Blogging for Librarians'. :D

My recommendation was that each library under the MANLIBNET should start an official blog of their own where a personal touch and contact could be established with the end user. My understanding of the libraries prompted me to believe that there are 4 essential categories of 'customers' to a management library: a) Students of the Institute, b) Faculty, c) Alumni & d) Industry

To cut a long story short, the whole idea was to provide librarians with another 'touch-point' where they could easily communicate new happenings and efforts of the library to the end-user. In fact, my personal belief is that a blog by librarians could become a force in changing the way new books and events are added to a library's repertoire. Makes more sense than blindly subscribing to really expensive databases of research journals.

I was dog-tired by the end of the day and since I'd had very little sleep (1 1/2 hours, to be precise) the previous night, I slept like a log from 10 pm on Monday night to 1 o' clock the following afternoon. Went straight for lunch and came back to play some Age of Empires and Max Payne on the comp. :))

We were disappointed at the dinner yesterday when we saw that there was 'khichdi' on the menu. Now, khichdi back at home is another affair; it is wonderful to have with lots of dahi and achaar, but at a hostel where the khichdi has been prepared for 100 odd people, you'd better know what to expect. So, Kota and I straight went to Paratha Point on Judges' Bungalow Road and treated ourselves to some yum aloo parathas and lassi. (I could almost feel my tummy smiling.) We got paneer parathas back for Tushar, which the pig gulped down with generous helpings of butter that he'd asked us to bring too.

I'm kinda feeling terrible for two things right now. A) My room is in a MESS to say the least. It looks like I've gone back to the glory days of the caveman, where every aspect of the shelter represented the barbaric and mindless tossing of stuff here and there. B) I haven't done a bit of studies since Saturday, and that ain't too good for my conscience. Hmm.. I guess I'd better get working now. C ya folks.

Broodings of a midnight soul

It happens to the best of us, they say. We all have our 'up' days and our 'down' days. I guess today was one of my 'down' days...

I dunno, but I seem to have lost direction in the last 24-48 hours. It is as if the mind is saying "Hey there, smart guy, look...this is what you must be doing"...but it is as if some overwhelming force takes over me completely and makes me do stupid stuff which only causes trouble later.

And then there are some moments when I literally feel like kicking myself. Or wish that I could drown myself, sink to the bottom of an ice cold pool of water...just so that I can 'hear' the silence. Don't get me wrong, no suicidal tendencies here mate; I guess its just the "lonely warrior" within me who is craving for his own space.

Okay...here goes. It is quarter to 2 in the morning, I have a mild headache, I'd dare not have tea, or else my classes tomorrow morning will suffer, and YET, I feel as if I must blog because one feels that if the voices within are not coherently heard in the mind, one must be flirting with the line of insanity.

So, folks, brace yourself for a...I dunno...'heavy' (?) post. A warning after full 4 paragraphs ?? Treat it as a trailer, will ya ?

To start the proceedings, let me show you an image which has been flashing itself in my mind's eye for some days now:


The image shows Arjuna, the ultimate warrior, at the feet of Lord Krishna. Krishna has just shown all his forms to Arjuna. Of course, the Bhagavad Gita starts with Arjuna voicing his internal turmoil to the Lord. He (Arjuna) is stranded between the powerful call of duty (karma) and his personal emotions. It is then that Krishna calls Arjuna a coward and goads him onto his duty.

Another image which I often see is that of a warrior (like I said earlier, I call him the "lonely warrior") sitting in a meditating pose and concentrating all his thoughts, powers and energies on a single thought. And although the warrior looks calm and peaceful from outside, one can clearly see the great power manifested within, the power which must be carefully kept in control for it can create and destroy, all with one look.

Somewhere, I feel, all human beings are like Arjuna in the first imagery and like the warrior in the second. We all have our personal battles to fight, and the journey of life turns into nothing but a huge battlefield which we must travel through. We must control our emotions (remember the horses which lead Arjuna's chariot hither and thither?), and the best hands to leave them in are that of 'Madhusudan', the one who knows all and is the giver of perfect knowledge.

Of course, it ain't easy to follow all his directions, brother.

One, and I repeat, ONE of the many reasons why my mind is in a more active state of turmoil is because I recently broke up with my girlfriend of 2 and a half years. Life was, and continues to be, tough. But, I've survived the storm, and though the ship hasn't yet sighted daylight and though the dark, murky waters continue to swell threateningly all around, I somehow know that the ship shall weather the upcoming storm too; and emerge stronger out of it.

Then there are questions regarding my professional life. (sigh)

Whenever I am in trouble, or feel suffocated (like right now) and feel like tearing myself apart what with all the questions and doubts that I have in my mind about myself, I read the works of Swami Vivekananda. Whenever I read his essays, I feel as if I am humbly at the feet of the master himself and can almost hear him shouting out the words I read, urging me to action...in much the same way that Krishna beckoned Arjuna. I guess this is just the figment of a hyper-imaginative guy, whose conscience is projected in the form of Vivekananda. No issues... helps me know whether what I'm doing is correct or otherwise.

However, there is one particular quote: "Do not look back on what has been done. Go ahead!" This again, is an extremely powerful quote; one that I often quote to myself reminding myself that moving ahead should always be the goal. And if you've made a mistake, learn from it, rub it into your system so well that you never ever make the mistake again...and move on. The world is an unforgiving one, and shall definitely not wait for he who ponders for longer than is necessary.

But, dear master, it is so difficult to move away from the bondage of the past !! One meekly struggles to free himself from the chains of the past whereas what is required is a full blooded powerful thrust of an individual who has the intellectual might to throw away the shackles and take fearless steps towards his destiny.

Hairy Instinct

The Haircut

Like I've already told to whoever's been interested enough to patiently hear me out, I've received everything from condolence messages to leaps of joy congratulating me at my haircut. Just for the record, I called up Dad on my way to the barber's and the following is an excerpt:

Dad: Hello ?

Me: Dad, how many months has it been since I came home?

Dad: Umm..six months, son...why ?

Me: 'Coz I'm feeling real sad..

Dad: Why ? Missing us, eh ??

I wouldn't be too off the mark when I conjecture that at this point the paternal instinct must have risen to an all time high in the senior Ruparelia's chest and must have filled his heart with high emotions towards his son...

Me: Errr...no...Actually, I'm on my way to the barber's and the last time I had a haircut was when I was in Cal...so that means that I'm having a haircut after 6 months, and that's why I'm sad...

I wouldn't be too off the mark here either to conjecture that emotions of a rather different sort must have filled the senior Ruparelia's chest

[PLEASE NOTE: The remainder of this telephonic interview is not recorded here for security purposes of the undersigned.]


A Personality Course...(Ha Ha !!)

Ok..so the 5th term has officially started and I'm back to my criticising ways about the goings-on in a b-school. (I almost sound like a perennial nay-sayer to the b-school system....but BOY is this fun !! :D )

Now, one of the courses that the students can opt for here is called Personality Development and Business Etiquette. I really do not have much clue as to which books these warriors of good personality are about to subscribe to, but a few of the 'rules' of these classes are:

1. Hair must be in 'proper' (not my personal definition) shape

2. Student must be in formal attire during the lecture

3. Nails must be cut

4. Shoes must be polished; and

5. (This is the latest fad as per tonight's behaviour in the mess) Stuff like 'Good morning/evening', 'Thank you' and 'Please' must be mentioned

Before I fall off my chair, let me pause for a bit and add that in my 'personal' opinion, the faculty who is conducting the course is one of the BEST faculty members in this institute. I do not say this since I must be 'diplomatically correct'; I've been saying this and respecting her the most since she took one of the first classes after we'd joined Nirma.

However, what I do not agree with is the whole idea that Personality can be 'taught' in a classroom environment...but then, what the hell, neither can business. And one more thought, I doubt whether M/s. Vijay Mallya and Co. would EVER pass this particular course. ;)

A crazy week

The crazy phone call:

"Hiiiiiii", came Riddhi's childish voice singing over the phone. "Kaisa hai, bidu?"

'Bidu ??' I told myself. 'Ise kya ho gaya ?'

'"Bol na," she persisted, "kaisa hai?"

"Main to mast hoon...bas padhai-shadai chal rahi hai..Monday se exams hai."

"Oh cool, my exams are getting over tomorrow, and I'm leaving for Cal in the evening. Aur bataa, pics kaise lage?"

She was referring to the pics that she'd sent me by mail, where she could be seen standing on the first floor railing, about to take a plunge and land on the pile of mattresses that were ready to soften the blow. Apparently, this is the newest form of enjoying life at IIM-K; that's where Riddhi is currently pursuing her MBA.

"Hey kid, you'd better take care. I know you wanna enjoy yourself like hell when you're away from adult supervision...lekin yeh kya hai...take care of yourself, please," I begged.

"Arre, don't worry," was her nonchalant reply, "I just wanted to do something wild; and it wasn't that I was the only one doing it...my friends were there alongwith me. Anyway, I wanted to tell you how excited I am. I've been learning how to ride a bike !!! And though the Pulsar is really heavy for me, I'm learning on the other bikes as of now. Ain't that cool ?"

Silence at my end.

"By the way, tu kya kar raha hai ?" continued the non-stop jabberer.

"Err....nothing.."

"Shekhar....chalo, sach-sach batao," came the warning, in a typical Mummy style.

"Errr....(gulp)...kuch nahin yaar, just having some milk....Bournvita daal ke," I confessed.

"KYAAAAA ??????? You and milk....woh bhi with Bournvita !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HA HA HA HA HA.....!!"

However, that's the truth, dear reader. The boys hostel seems to have been caught in some sort of milk-mania. Every evening now, post 11 o' clock, you can see boys roaming around with a 1/2 litre packet of milk in their hands, asking the few proud owners of kettles whether their honourable machines are available. And sometime last week, even I got bitten by the milk-bug.

Of course, only those who've known me for long (such as Riddhi, who has known me since my MBA preparatory days) can imagine the sea-change that has occured.


The crazy exam:

The first examination that I had was Consumer Behavior, and it is a terrible thing to prepare for an exam seeing that your roommate has no exam the following day. "Ha ha..I'm gonna watch a movie tonight and sleep till noon tomorrow...happy studying," my roomie gloated.

I had promised Munnu maharaj on Orkut that on the morning of the exam, I would get up early, bow to the Almighty, sing the Hanuman Chalisa, and attack the examination hall. Munnu Maharaj, perhaps having an inkling of the forthcoming doom, told me that I should also include Kali Maa in my prayers.

As destiny had planned...I woke up late for the exam.

WOKE UP LATE FOR THE EXAM !! Do you understand what that means ???

Terror !!! Disaster !!!!

And not because you know that you could've answered the paper better, in a calm fashion; but because the whole college knows about it and greets you with a smile wherever they bump into you, whether at the mess, the classroom or at Chotu's.

But, I am digressing.

The series of events went something like this....

Invigilator: (In a strict, businesslike tone) There's a student missing... (turning to Basanti, who sits right next to me) any idea where he is...

Basanti: No sir, but he must be coming in some time...

Invigilator: Hmm...ok.

5 minutes into the exam

Basanti turns and looks at Mini, Mini returns the concerned look...both thinking 'Is gadhe Shekhar ka kuch nahin ho sakta...'

10 minutes into the exam

Basanti: Sir..I'm calling him up...he might have overslept.

Invigilator: Oh well...ok..fine.

On hearing this, the rest of the class, which has been awaiting the news of their hero, much like the crowd in Julius Ceaser, chants 'Tushar...Tushar' (that's my roomie) in unanimous acknowledgement of the fact that there was very little chance that a Kumbhakaran like me would wake up at the polite request of a cell phone ring.

Basanti (screaming into the phone at Tushar): Where's Shekhar ???!!!!!!!

Tushar: SHEKHAR !!!!! (...and conveniently chucks the phone at me)

Your's truly (YT): Huhhh ??

Basanti: Shekhar...EXAM HAI !!!!! Jaldi aao...

I scrambled to the exam hall, thanking the Lord for having the premonition that this was bound to happen one day and making me run the 2 kms that I do everyday.

When I entered the exam hall, the invigilator pushed the answer sheet in my direction with a sinister Gabbar Singh like smile that said, "Aaao Thakur...aaao."

Sheesh....what a way to begin the exams !!

Comments

Have you ever read one of those blogs which are so wildly popular that they get hundreds, and I mean HUNDREDS, of responses?? Well, I know my friend Sayesha has a great fan following (and why not ?? She writes well).

But there's also this one particular gentleman who goes by the name of Scott Adams, and you can read his blog here.

However, I've not been paid by M/s. Adams & Co. to promote his blog (not that I'd mind), but what got me interested were the comments on his most recent post, which speaks about his lack of sleep.

Now, I've never ever read through ALL of the comments on a post on the Dilbert blog. But this one was interesting. And as proof, I'm just reproducing some interesting comments that I came across:

# Check out Warren Zevon's song, "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead."

By the way, he's sleeping now.

# Clayism #3 " the amount that you suffer is directly related to the anount of attention you have focused upon yourself"

# Clayism #14 "you have plenty of time to sleep when you're dead"

# Get up, have a cup of coffee, surf the internet for a while, and go back to bed.

# Maybe its my Scott Adams voodoo doll.


...and the clincher

# I had a snoring problem once but I removed him from my bedroom and he now sleeps on the couch.

Trapped !!

Ok..so I'd run the regular 2 kms yesterday evening and YET, wasn't really sleepy at around 2 in the morning today. So, I conveniently chucked any more thoughts of sleep and got around to doing something that I've been longing to do for a long time now - meditation.

However, my meditation isn't the sort where I would just think about one subject, or where I focus all my energies on a particular picture or thought. Of course, there are times when I've focussed on a religious idol or picture for hours, but then there are times when you just want to let your mind wander around freely, almost like a young colt who's been allowed to run at full gallop in the meadows of thougts, recollections and introspection.

One such thought which came to me yesterday was that I guess people at times are too harsh with themselves, leave alone others. The reason why I say this is because sometimes, I just don't hear people praising themselves in a humble manner. I add 'in a humble manner' because it is not the false, self-fulfilling sense in which I meant the word praise. When I say 'praise yourself', it stands for something as simple as telling yourself that although you might have had to take a difficult decision (like I recently did), you feel completely honest taking that decision and standing by what you said or did. Its a simple, yet extremely powerful feeling to know that you've done what is morally and pragmatically correct. There will always be people telling you that perhaps you did the wrong thing (fortunately, I haven't had to be an audience to that argument) and then there will be people who will say that 'perhaps it is the right thing to happen'. However, what matters most is when you, in moments of solitude and divine silence, tell yourself 'I've done the right thing.'

Having thus lifted myself from a few confusing thoughts and emotions, I drifted off to sleep at around half past 3, only to wake up at 8:15. Well, it was a beautiful morning, and I couldn't resist myself...so off I went for a 2 km jog again !! :)) [Come to think of it, I'd let the mind do all the running around barely 4 1/2 hours ago !!]

That, however, was the end of navigations outside the hostel building for the day. Have been trapped in my room all day long. Had no lectures today...aur yeh besharam IPM peeche padi hai. So, dedicated most of the day to a chapter understanding Bond markets...uffff !! Ultimately got bugged, and have now switched over to Consumer Behavior.

And yes, when I say end of navigations beyond the boundaries of the hostel building, I also mean that I didn't venture out for lunch. Just stepped down to Chotu's on the first floor to treat myself to a puff, a packet of chips and a bottle of cold coffee. And the room-mate returned just in time to put the 'icing on the cake' by bringing back a chocolate pastry that he got from Upper Crust. Ahh !! Nirvana !!!!

Before I sign off, here's a hillarious post that a friend wrote. Unfortunately, the author of the blog, Moti [:P], caused an earthquake (by her own admission) when she fell from the stairs of the institute building yesterday and has gotten her leg wrapped in a crepe bandage. What a pity !!! The folks at the girls' hostel will have to skip this golden opportunity to give Moti Birthday Bumps tonight !!! :)))))))))

Happy B'day Aneesha !!