Merry New Year!

It’s that time of the year again! Not making up lameass New Year resolutions that no one will follow, but looking at the past year and what it’s meant to me. It’s also been ages since I’ve written anything. Anyway, here it goes...

The past year has been full of new things. New people. New adventures!

I managed to graduate from that nonsensical college (I do miss it now though) and left behind probably the closest friends I’ll ever have. You five will always be my inspiration for whatever I do. Shru with her humour, Shree with her knowledge, Rekha and her wisdom, Pavi and her chirpiness, and Deni with her street smartness. Thank god for whatsapp and messaging! Rekha please get married soon! :P

I got into the best college for wildlife in India AND turned it down. Sometimes I wonder, ‘What was I thinking?. But when I look back, it was probably a smart decision. I wouldn’t have met so many people or done so many different things if I had gone.

I taught at a school for a while and met some awesome kids. Did some environmental stuff and went to a forest. Attended a conference and did loads of other things I’ve forgotten now. I interned in Bangalore for a month as well and met some fascinating people.

I met a person who’s changed me completely (for the better, I hope!). I’m not hug-phobic anymore ‘cause of you :P Here’s to last Kodai, all the ragging, gazillion texts and phone conversations that followed after, and to July 16th!:) <3

How could I forget Ultimate. This year has been full of practice sessions, throwing around on the beach, fighting to play on the ground, juice kadai kadalai! I still can’t believe we won Chennai Heat. The way in which we all came together, gave each and every game our best showed in the end! We did it and let’s do it again in Kodai!

Here’s to everyone in Stall7 (especially AP) for pushing me and making me get that MVP at Chennai Heat!

Here’s to HCUK and making Delhi an unforgettable experience. We braved those terrible rooms, the gooey food and the horrible dust in the air! :P And we won! Booyah. (I don’t think I’ll ever forget that guy who kept calling fouls and pissing us off!).

The last year has probably been one of the best in my life. I’ve learnt so much and have gained memories I’ll always cherish. Let’s hope the next year kicks this years ass and that we don’t die at the end of it. In AP’s words from last year, ‘Merry New Year’! :D

Unfound Hero

And then he lifted me off the ground,
in his strong arms I lay,
naked, cold ,scarlet from wounds,
my skin raw.

Swiftly, he moves my hair from my moist face,
Revealing the fear in my eyes,
Softly, he touches my lips and says
‘do not waste a breath’

The rogue is on the floor, bleeding from within,
His lifeless eyes open, cold and astonished,
We walk over him, to other side, where the sun is bright
And the air is warm.

Boo-llywood

When you’re in Mumbai, you’re surrounded by people who love Hindi cinema. Why people would want to sit through three hours of Akshay Kumar’s ‘hehehuhahahuhahaha’ laugh, is beyond me. Even newspapers spend more time covering Kareena Kapoor’s hickeys than the destitute in the city. Makes you think eh?

Speaking of thinking, heard of Katrina Kaif? How can you not? She’s that weird woman on TV, who gets seduced by mangoes, or is it the other way around? Really now, the things people do for money K Isn’t it unfair how a woman who can’t act, speak Hindi, dance or do anything useful for a Hindi film be cast in so many of them? Just because of her good looks? Is that all it takes to be an actor? Good genes? What about all those struggling actors who’ve studied theatre for years and genuinely love the art of acting?

And what is it with these grandpa men being paired with 20-something plastically endowed women? They wear shades that cost 50,000 bucks and move their pelvises to some awful wanna-be hip hop beats and think they’re the ‘kool dudes who get the hot ‘items’ and are so chilled out maaaan’. Then there’s the very famous actor, who’s shot a blackbuck and run over a man with his car. Everyone, being the saints that they are have forgiven him (nothing to do with his celebrity status, of course) and joined his efforts in ‘being human’. Irony much?

These movies are so damn long and point-less that if I really wanted to have ‘time-pass’, I’d rather have someone drill a hole through my cranium. That’d be less painful. Watching women in pounds of make-up, can-barely-breathe-through-these noses and i-starve-myself-to-get-paid-and-laid attitudes is hardly what I call ‘entertainment.

But I should admit that a few commercial Hindi movies did do justice: Chak de India, Wake up Sid etc. It was not just another ‘Pyaar ki ek Kahaani’. There was more to it-a bit of a Western influence perhaps? I believe that watching lovers run around a tree and wear brightly blinding clothes is not what makes good cinema, But statistics prove me wrong. Sigh.

Hopefully not R.I.P.

Dear Cookie Monster,
We seem to have died virtually. We need a revamp.
Yours sincerely,
A very lazy fellow blogger.

Time Heals All Wounds

When she was four,

she saw her father, a glass in one hand, a slap on the other,

A woman crying, the tears of a mother.

In frequent fits of rage, He abused her, he cursed her,

Intoxicated, yes, but never harmed his little daughter.

When she was five,

She saw her mother , a piece of paper in a tightly held fist,

Triumphant glee behind her lips with which she had kissed

her little girl for she had won

the battle was over but the war had just begun.

When she was six,

she saw her grandpa, a lighter in his hand, and a cigarette in the other,

He was a dignified man, loving and kind,

Her mother loved him, the only man in her heart and always on her mind.

The loss of a father figure crushed the little girl once again.

He died of cancer before she was ten.

Many a time did the drunk man come to see her,

Violently he claimed that her mother was the one who tried to deceive her,

Scared but strong the little girl held on,

the family moved out of the city and he was long gone.

When she was fourteen,

she saw a young man with a rose in his hand,

He promised to love her, with all his heart,

She looked forward to a new beginning, a fresh new start.

As the years went by, it seemed a bumpy rollercoaster ride,

Lots of love, lots of laughter overpowered by grief and strife.

The lies were too much to bear, the love blinded by doubt,

And once again, the young girl had lost a man she had loved.

She has never been deprived of love despite the odds,

She has been strong like her mother, thank the gods,

For now she looks forward to a life of happiness and laughter,

For Now, older and wiser, she can't wait for her happily ever after.

Sometimes you can’t make it on your own…

After a four month long hiatus and a lot of pestering by people, Anjana is back (hopefully with a bang!).I can’t believe it took so long to put down what I thought about 5 people. The 5 people who made my days at college so worth it. I’d have died (seriously!) if they weren’t a part of it! So, here it goes. This is in no particular order!

Sathya- The smart one.
A genius, witty, funny in a very sadistic way :P , you made my days at college so much more lively! With your Shrikutty laugh and your klutziness, that made me seem like a graceful ballerina, you made us all grow up! Both in terms of the truckload of info you provided during exams and other more ‘interesting’ stuff (hint-T positions :P )! You made us all get hooked to serial killers and gore. Never forget our arterial spray plan! You were the most level-headed amongst us, and you thought through things when none of us did!
Bike rides with you were so much fun! Remember when we sang so many Beatle’s songs on the way back from college once? I wonder what people on the road must have thought! I love your sense of humour, your intelligence (go get that Nobel Prize someday), the way you can play any percussion instrument, your optimism! I love you!

Pavi- The short one :P
Ex-wife cum mother (that sound so wrong!), you’ve been around whenever I needed you! Be it texting for advice, doubts before exams or randomly bugging you! We shared almost the same classes during the first two years and I got to know you so well! Especially Tamil classes, where I didn’t understand a word of what was being taught! You’re a genius (eidetic memory I’m sure!) and I have no idea how you study the morning before the exam and get such brilliant marks. Sometimes you should stop being such a saint and be rude to people (learn from me :P ). I still remember your bipolar days when you cried and laughed, and switched so quickly, and made us all go mad! Especially the one day where I didn’t talk to you and you started crying. Somehow I laugh whenever I think of that! =D
Also, the time when I hit you (by mistake, I’m sorry!), and you then went and got into an accident and got amnesia! Denise and I thought you were a gone case then. You called every two minutes and kept forgetting why you called, and what you wore that day. Weirdo =) You actually sat up all night before our final exam to make me that awesome turtle! So sweet! I love your crazy teeth, your voice, your fake hair (it’s a wig, I know!), and your independence! I love you!

Rekha- The sweetheart.
The first time I met you I thought you were a snob! You and Shruti stood at the back of the group, when we were taking a tour of college, and you kept talking! (Maybe I was just jealous because I didn’t know anyone, but hey you thought I was snooty too :P). I think you’re the only one in the group who I talk to on the phone (especially when I’m on the beach alone waiting for the others to land up! You’re my emergency rescue number! =) ). I don’t think you’ve ever been rude to anyone, or even can! And you put up with all our ragging too! I love the way you think, especially your crazy, one line philosophy! (You’ve been quoted the most on my facebook profile :P). I remember election time and everyone getting so worked up, for no reason. It all seems so dumb now. Also, us fighting over guys (hahaha not really, but I’ll never forget that one incident).I love your yellow bike, your super fun family, your moms awesome food. I love you!

Shruti- The funny one.
Haven’t I written enough about you in your slambook? =) Anyway, I think I got to know you best last! You’ve been my fellow blogger, husband/wife, facebooker and texter! Third year wouldn’t have been the same without you! You’re such a smart, funny, witty, person. You can make others laugh SO much with almost everything you do! Be it burping, farting or doing scandalous stuff in public , or just being your own loveable self , you made us all laugh more than we ever have! =) Your blogs are so insightful and I wonder how you come up with poems and cartoons so fast and so nicely! (Personally I’m jealous of the way you write!) You better continue blogging! I loved the trip to Cochin and your kickass family! I love the way you experiment with your hair, your openness about everything! I love you!

Denise- The talker.
Best for last :P Haha. I got to know you the best first! I did think you were one thayir sadham case when I first met you, but then you opened your mouth and WOW. I think I fell in love (in a very non-lesbian way, please) :P . Your onstage presence is a force to be reckoned with. You can dance, sing, talk your way through anything, I think! Sometimes your righteousness is quite flabbergasting. It’s also different(in a good way =) ). I’ll never forget your ‘Good morning Sister. A pleasant afternoon to you Sister!’ EVER. Also, elections (don’t forget your election manager!) and the confusion that came with it. You’ve also changed a lot over the past 3 years (for the better!). Hope you keep winning debates and singing competitions! Hope we land up in the same college too! I love your dressing sense, your grumpiness :P, your voice and eyes! I love you!

So, there. I wrote.!Hopefully one of you will write about my awesomeness too :P

I’ll miss the bike rides, the talks, the food. The moments where we laughed and when we cried. The arguments. The last minute studying. Sitting in the last bench and passing post-it notes to each other. Annoying our teachers. Practical classes. Projects. Birthdays. Sleepovers. Hanging out. Culturals. Wayanad trip. Cochin.

But, this isn’t the end ,fools! If any of you cry after reading this (I doubt I can bring out such emotions with my writing, but just saying :P), I will kick your ass. But I love you all and I’ll never get a bunch of friends like you. Keep in touch or you’ll face my wrath. =)

The Chennai Times

My exams have begun, and yes, I have decided to ramble on about how awesome my three years in Chennai have been, instead of studying for my vertebrate physiology exam tomorrow. Typical me.

When I first joined hostel I was apprehensive about meeting new people. I was the only 'new' person to join here where else everyone had already been friends( sorta :P) since school. But we instantly clicked thanks to their ability to accept all my lame 'appi' jokes, my obscene sense of humour and my retarded dancing and singing sessions. Likewise in college, thankfully I met people who could accept me for who I am.

I loved the honesty I shared with all my friends. We could be nasty to each other and still adore each other. Gossiping on the terrace, clubbing, playing rummy and pictionary ,begging the warden to let us out to have 'late-night' ice-cream, dressing up in each other's haute couture, taking pics of our retarded sleeping positions, trips, cricket matches, forcing my friends to come with me to rock gigs, bike rides,headbanging, crazy haircuts, blue cross (animal shelter) visits, doodling in class, being the attendance lack list 'topper', dissecting cockroaches and frogs,evading security guards, pain of freaking salvation,IIT,turtle walks, jewelery making, beaches, sugarcane juice/chili pineapple/sweet corn,bus rides and shady men,crazy auto-drivers and ludicrous bargaining, hawt machas and semma sexy bais okay-va?, the bipolar climate(okay, I doubt I'd miss this one!)...The list is endless..

My friends at hostel have helped me so much! Especially when it comes to personal grooming! :P How K begged me to get my upper lip and eyebrows plucked and A asked me to get rid of my 'flame' jeans! I don't know how I'd ever shop without them!Haha, hostel was so much of fun! We didn't have wi-fi for two years but kept ourselves entertained throughout! E and I with our 'skits' and dance sessions, contributed a lot! :P M, the jack of all trades, with her loooong stories about school life :P. H and her crazyyy stories and pre-exam convos and my little miss sunshine of a room-mate!

silsila ey, silsila!

My friends in class have helped me the most when it comes to scraping through exams! My gurus you guys are! I don't know how your enthusiasm and hard-work never rubbed off on me! I was like the black sheep of the family. Our discussions on serial-killers,animals,body-issues(:p),psychology,religion,food and even politics were so much of fun!! Our convos always left us in fits of laughter and gasping for breath.I've never had so much of vegetarian food in my life!

I've met some great people in Chennai who've made me believe in myself. They've brought me so much of happiness and lowe, I couldn't ask for more. You guys have made me realise best friends are there for you no matter what and will stick by you, rain or shine. I love you, kundi kutties so much!!

Keep in touch(else I'll haunt you foreverrrrrrrrr)

Muaaaaaaaah!

Loads of sneham,

Cookie Monster

P.S- only a week left! :'(

Bird Race 2011

It was dark all around and a fine mist creeped into my vision, as I drove down the road, attempting to reach Velachery station at 5 in the morning.It was Bird Race 2011 and we had just started.

My teammates were a mixed bunch. A guy studying Zoology in Loyola, Asiem. My bird race teammate from last year, Pritika, and of course our captain Hopeland, (yes there were a LOT of 'hope' related jokes that day =D ), a birdwatching God =D

We started from the station and walked till the Pallikaranai Marsh, all the while scanning the skies and surrounding trees/marsh for birds of any sort. The first birds we sighted were Little Cormorants flying in the sky, Cattle Egrets and Moorhens.We tried peering into a dumpsite to spot what we could, but we were rudely interrupted by a bunch of guys who apparently owned the land (how someone could own a bit of the marsh and also the garbage stumps me. I wanted to tell them that the garbage was probably ours, but decided not to when one particular man couldn't stop glaring at us.)

We then continued walking down the road along the Marsh and spent atleast an hour trying to spot various wading birds, especially the Plover which Hope spotted in a minute and I took ages to find (The face that he can identify birds just by glancing at them is amazing! He can do that even down to what precise species the bird is, based on a little ring around it's eye or some sort of thing).

We then went on to spot Godwits, Ruffs, Ibises, Kingfishers, Pelicans,Black Kites, Red-wattled Lapwings and Black winged Stilts galore!(all you non-bird watchers definitely missed something!) The marsh is such a beautiful place and only once you notice the variety of birds there,do you realize how sick humans must be to destroy such a place with all our garbage.

Back to the story. We went on to spot some 40-50 odd species of birds in that area. We spotted a Gull out there, far away from the sea, too!

After a few hours of walking around we decided to move on and caught a bus to Nanmangalam Forest. Located in Medavakkam, a little bit from Tambaram, this place has a relatively undisturbed forest.

We slyly entered the forest and trekked up a little hill. The climb was quite tough as we had to climb through thorny bushes and crawl on rocks, all the while looking out for birds and also making sure that we didn't step on a snake or anyother creature underfoot. When we finally reached the top the only bird we sighted was a Kestrel, a large bird of prey, and that too somewhere far off. We were all pretty dead by then, but with only a few more hours of the race left we had to trudge on.

We walked around a few more hills, went into a few
quarries and spotted a few dozen birds. Shrikes, Bulbuls, Koels, Crow Pheasants, Larks and Robins were some that we saw. (My memory is not brilliant enough to recall the precise species =P).

By that time we had walked around in the heat so much, that we had run out of water, and all of us had a few dozen thorn scratches all over our arms and faces.

We got out of the place and took a small break, re-hydrated ourselves and went to MCC located in Tambaram. That campus is so much cooler and shaded (phew) when compared to Nanmangalam.

The first bird we saw was a Shikra, perched right at the entrance to the college. We walked a bit and saw a Brainfever Bird (called so 'cause of it's call that sounds like 'brainfever'. Listen carefully next time). Hope spotted many birds that eluded us. No surprise there.

A few Pittas and Paradise Flycatchers later we had walked half the campus (maybe around 20 kms since morning) and we were DEAD! However, Hope gave us hope (lame I know) by pointing out a Black-naped Oriole that doesn't exist anywhere else in Chennai.The bright flash of yellow spurred us to move on and we did.

Hope and I also waded through the paddy fields, in the campus, looking for Snipes (the Greater Painted Snipe is another bird present only in this area).Just as I turned my head, a Snipe flew past my head and I missed it =( But luckily I spotted a few more just a bit later =)

We then headed back, and on the way, when we stopped at a water body, we saw a checkered keelback coiled on a branch that was halfway submerged in the water. Such a beauty!

Understanding that we couldn't do much more and that time was running out (we had till 6.30 pm to report back with our final bird count), we caught a train and then a bus and reached our final destination. Our bird count turned out to be 116 and we were optimistic about bagging some sort of prize. Unfortunately the winning team spotted 120 birds! We were a green team(meaning that we used only public transport for birding) and we thought that we might win a special mention for that, but THEN
we forgot to mention that we were a green team on our logbook and so,lost out.

But that's alright.The day was brilliant and I learnt so much! Compared to last year (where I had to captain a team and I know NOTHING about birding) this year was so much more fun, interesting and also so damn tiring. When I got home I didn't really care that I was a wreck after walking around so much, as I knew that Bird Race 2011 was memorable and always would be =)

Metamorphosis of thought

Lately, I've been given too much information on marriage, sex and childbirth.

Just like every other 'participant of dating' , after a heartbreaking encounter, I decided to mend my broken heart and bruised ego by becoming very cynical. I believed all men were pathological liars. I believed they were after only one thing, and we all know what THAT is. I believed that they did not respect women. They did not respect women with an opinion. That marriages were made in hell.They bring out the worst in people. People marry the wrong partners and crib about it throughout the marriage. It makes even the most rational of us, sit back and take the abuse. Men do not believe in fidelity. Their hormones do not give up on them like ours. Their penis has a better sense of direction than their minds. Quite literally.

Babies are a nightmare. They drool , they spit, they poop, they have runny noses, they poop some more. They keep you up all night and day. They grow up to resent you. They tell you they are right and you are wrong. They want to rebel. They want to defy everything you say. By the time they grow up and gain their common sense back, it's time to get rid of them by getting them married. :|

Studying developmental biology, general psychology ,animal behaviour AND attending value ed classes on marriage, it's difficult NOT to have a change of opinion!

We learnt how every cell in the embryo, if even slightly moved out of place can affect the foetus. How many couples suffering from infertility issues go through a roller coaster ride to get a baby. IVF is a very expensive procedure and even then, chances of getting a baby are very slim. Adoption is not a very easy option either. Then you think about so many women, who throw their fragile new-born babies in dumpsters, lay them on railroad tracks and the like. Whether they are suffering from Postpartum depression or the extremity of poverty, it is definitely chilling to know this happens almost every day. Female foeticide not only occurs in the rural areas but also in the so-called 'high class' society of the country. I do not understand how doctors who have the incredible power to save lives end up destroying them in exchange for some damned green paper they have enough of!

Then there are the cases of women having unprotected sex and becoming pregnant. Unsafe abortions performed by people who are not skilled enough can lead to complications. The likelihood of having babies with genetic disorders seems so high, but the human body is so marvelous! How the embryo undergoes different stages of development seems so miraculous and to have a healthy truly seems like a blessing!

Education really provides a platform for an individual to look at natural processes and traditional concepts through the light of rationality and sensitivity. Cynicism should be removed from our thoughts and replaced with optimism! If the key to success is hard work, then the key to happiness is definitely positivity!

so, stop telling yourself only delusional people in love get married and have babies! It may have it's up and downs, but everything else we can encounter isn't a piece-of-cake either, right?

You can be positive and still have your head on your shoulders!

Love,

Cookie monster( Exhibit A)

P.S- my opinion on men hasn't changed much though! =P