'Mess'y fooooood !

They say 'there is always a first time for everything in life' .. and so it is.. 14th July was D Day for me.. This date will always be etched in 'bold' n 'underlined' in my personal calender. The day my hostel life began. . .

Being the only daughter to my dear parents, all my whims and fancies were fulfilled. Like a princess i was pampered and cared for throughout my life. Though there were equal instances of restrictions and limitations(grr...which is real frustrating, i don't deny!). In the 20 years of life I spent on this planet, never did i have to part from my parents.

But there came a time when i had to leave them. For the first time - to the Hostel :: my HOME for the next two years!! Home away from home! Most of us think hostel to be synonymous to freedom and independence. Unlimited freedom with no limits and restrictions. My thoughts were no different. Excited and eager i was for the new life that was waiting for me, never realising on what i was going to lose - mom's lovely home-made food topping the list ;)!!

Today i am nearing the stipulated end of these two years. Thinking back to the time i came here, i wonder how i survived. Surrounded by strangers in a totally new place miles n miles away from the support systems(family and friends).

A typical day starts with the disturbing noise made by the fellow hostel mates like banging of doors and buckets, loudspeaker announcements for the day, giggles of laughter (now come on ya.. can they not give consideration to the innocent sleeping souls!!). Sleepy i look at the clock and the time is 7:30! "Oh no!! Not again.. M late today also!!" I jump out of bed and dash towards the washroom only to find them already full. Having breakfast is totally out of question.

Oh yea, breakfast reminds me... lemme explain in detail the 'mess'y food that we are provided with. Like i said having breakfast and getting to college on time is far fetched dream.

The day starts with a dosa or idli. Now its a huge discount offer that one can avail. Just take one and get three free with it (its all stuck together)!!

Lunch and dinner is a date with rice and chapattis (choose the best from the worst!!). I actually have a conversation with the 'onnakakolli' chapattis. They snarl at me saying 'Hey m stronger than u.. Dare Not mess with me!'
Most of the time, i end up having a date with rice coz the snarling and fighting with chapattis do not seem to work out. Tamarind rice, lemon rice, tomato rice, ghee rice, pudina rice... it all tastes the same with just the colour changing from yellow to red to green!

Pickles are a special treat. One forgets to relish d exact tastes of pickles. We can find a variety of pickles varying from beetroot to friems.. N many a times its a 'mix n match' of the pickle gravy and the pieces. Its not shocking to find lemon pieces in gooseberry gravy. Most of the time i take thinking to be gooseberry pickle but end up finding lemon pieces in it .. Goshhh..!!

'Allu' was my favourite till the time i came here. 'Allu sabji' served here is literally like ice bergs floating in the ocean!! The pieces are so....oo huge man (wokayy the cook must be lazy just like moi.. so benefit of doubt given)!! And the soya curry is had thinking to be chicken. But... errrghhh!.... Your brain and heart can be fooled not the tastebuds..!

So this is one of the reasons i miss home n mommy ;). N m sure this will also become one of the things i will miss once i leave this place (hey do not mistake me.. m not talking of the food.. m talking of the times i spend with ViVaCiOuS complaining about the food!!) ;)

This is the menu for the day!!! SiR/MadaM how can i help you!! ;) :)

A Million Dollar Smile

‘Welcome to the world of the young’ is precisely what this book conveys. It brings back the memories of the youth and instances of our early life while reading it. The five Dollar Smile and other stories published in 1990 by Shashi Tharoor is a collection of short stories and an act. Most of his books be it the award-winning ‘The Great Indian Novel’ or “Show Business’ or ‘India: From Midnight to the Millennium’ encompasses common feature of having India as its backdrop helping the reader to attain a superior outlook of India, its people and culture.

Shashi Tharoor is a well known author of numerous articles, short stories, novels and also a renowned columnist in newspapers. The short stories were written during his late teens and also published in several magazines and newspapers. Each of these short stories starts with a note by the author telling the reader about his mindset and age while the story was written. This helps in providing a better insight and understanding to the readers. This book is a collection of 14 short stories each of them being very simple, subtle and diverse in nature.

The Five Dollar Smile is the most mature piece of all sensitively portraying the feelings of a young orphan who becomes the poster boy for the organization trying to raise money. He develops an urge to visit America where his foster parents reside and deliberately writes touching letters resulting on a 3 week trip. Later on the flight he experiences pang of loneliness surrounded by strangers “suffused with a loneliness more intense, more bewildering………………He was alone, lost somewhere between a crumpled magazine clipping and the glossy brightness of a colour photograph.”

The Boutique is another touching account of explaining how a son witnesses the humiliation of his mother by a group of sophisticated urban upper class people. It brings about the impact it has on the young boy when he says “We’ll walk to the bus-stop. As usual.”

The Simple Man is very unique in its style and imagination. The first line of the story “Have you ever received a letter from someone who is dead?” is interesting and attention-grabbing. It revolves around the life of two friends where one falls in love with a woman while the second ends up cheating his friend. The story unveils itself very well, hooking the readers to the book till presented with an unexpected ending.

This is a book recommended for all ages with very simple, easy to understand language. All the stories are skillfully woven with dashes of humour, pinches of love bonded together with joys and sorrows of friendship and family in a neat package.

Loneliness !

I walked down a lane,
Lonely, dark and cold.
No one to hear me out,
No shoulder to cry on.

I sat in a corner,
Dejected, sad and cried.

There came a pat on my shoulder,
Friendly, pleasant and warm.
Turning to see its owner,
Was invited by a lovely smile.

I got a mate, I got a companion.
Someone to share my sorrows,
Someone to look for support,
My world was full of smiles.

There came a day for us to part.
I wanted to bid goodbye,
But my hands would not move,
My lips would not talk.

As swift as it came, it left.
Again I became lonely,
Left with nothing,
Only sweet memory,
Always to cherish.