Changing Colors of the Fall...

Change is the only thing permanent in life ! This is the quote, that most of us must have read or heard at some point in our lives.But not everyone is observant enough to notice the everyday changes around them. I have been fortunate enough to belong to the category of the observant people. These days, I am busy noticing the changing colors of the Fall..the leaves on the trees are drying up and for the first time in all these years, I have realized that even decaying things can also be beautiful.This time of the season here is perfect for those who had gone crazy after seeing the scattered Maple Leaves all around the ground in Yash Raj Films

"Mohabbatein". Its the same scenic beauty around here, the only difference is that university students do not pick up and save these leaves in their books or write I Love You behind them to give to their beloveds'; instead they throw them away to clean off the garbage near their houses.

I had come to US in August(2007) when my university campus was lush green. I had seen the trees adorned with soft green leaves which exuded immense pride to be a part of the highest branch of that tree. Here is one of those beautiful trees, which I couldn't resist marveling at -

Three months passed pretty quickly here...but in this quick process, somewhere the leaves had started changing colors slowly. I saw a gamut of them - dark green, lighter shades of green, dark yellow, pale yellow, brown, red, purple and gray. Some of them were so spectacular that even the artists and painters would crave for these colors to be on their palette.

The sad part is that these beautiful and colorful leaves have started withering away. You can visualize disloyalty at its best ! The tree which provides protection to its leaves against strong winds by holding them close to its trunk, is now mercilessly being abandoned by the same leaves. The leaves are now swaying their way away from the same tree with the wind, only to discover that after a while, they are buried on the ground or are cramped in garbage bags. The hidden philosopher inside me shows up at such events automatically, without being called for. And then wonders and forces me to wonder as well, that aren't these changing forms of a tree - mere symbols of human life? Each one of us experience the same greenery in our youth, we come across the same color variations through changes in our relationships with family & friends,even we betray or are betrayed by our loved ones; either they leave us or we leave them and go away; we too get decayed as the leaves...**sigh** The only difference being that the leaves depart with a promise to be back again in Spring...

Tailor the Sailor !

"Love ke liye saala kuch bhi karega !" Yeah its a movie title, but can be easily adapted to all walks of life. My love for the dollar dreams exemplifies the true sense of the aforesaid line. The idea of falling in love with US of A was quite fantasizing, while I was still in India. I was consciously aware of how deep a hole this love interest of mine is gonna dig into my folks pockets, but I certainly miscalculated the magnitude of troublesome situations it had in store for me. Nevertheless, a commitment once made, has to be kept. And thats what I have been doing since last three months.

Sleeping at odd hours, waking up in the wee hours of the morning, cooking midnight dinner, doing laundry at 1:00 AM in the night and morning walks at 4:00 AM from college to home with temperature as low as 2 degrees are only few of the antics I have been upto in last few months, just to kindle my love for USA. October 29th, 2007 will be remembered as yet another day of my stay in US, when I did something so exceptional so as to make my mother proud of my creative, artistic and innovative capabilities. A city inspection in my apartment complex mandated that all the apartments should have their windows covered with blinds or curtains. The futile search for correct sized blinds, conducted by my roommates left us with no option but to hunt for curtains. Now, for those who have stayed in US or have spent a considerable time looking around for home apparels in the malls, would know that curtains are by no means an inexpensive possession. The price range might vary from as little as $30 to as humongous as few hundred dollars. As students, we usually operate on common minimum program, so spending even 30 bucks for satisfying some city inspectors tantrums is also a big deal for us.

Business school teaches us lots of fundas and expects that we make use of them in the real world whenever and where ever possible. One such rule taught to us was - "Leaders don't do different things, they do things differently". Fortunately, this funda struck both, my roommate and myself at the same time. So in the urge to do things differently in the real world, we decided to stitch the curtains outta a bedsheet and use it for our Hall. For the starters we decided to put up the whole bedsheet on the wooden plank surrounding our balcony window and tighten screws around it. So I quickly jumped on a chair with screwdrivers, nuts and bolts in my hands to display my carpentry skills. It was only after drilling a couple of holes in the wood, both my roomie and I realized that its not the smartest way to fulfill the need of curtains, because by doing so, we would permanently block our entrance door to the Balcony. So we decided to cut the bedsheet into two halves; run a string through the bedsheet in a desi style and then use it like curtains. The length of the curtains was sophisticatedly adjusted by using stapler and safety pins. The finishing of our innovation was so close to real curtains, that even a professional tailor might have suffered from an inferiority complex. I aint bragging, a picture speaks louder than words - you can view the masterpiece for yourself ! If some one wishes to dig deeper in the B School gyaan, he would marvel at the Cost-Benefit Curve which my roommate and I would someday come up with. For my mother these concepts would not hold any significance. All she would care about, is about my artistic contribution in the whole curtain making process. She would not only swell with pride, but would also be relieved to know that her only daughter, who never even bothered to have a glass of water herself, is now handling the household work so efficiently.

Although I would just say in a hushed up tone - " Nahi ma, U have no clue, ki yeh USA Love kya kya karvata hai !"

The joy of eating Parle G !

This might sound a little weird, but the satisfaction I experienced after eating Parle G in amreikaaa is unparalleled..I am so happy and satisfied after munching the whole pack of Parle G that my joy is beyond expression ! My roomie had been to NY and happened to visit the Indian store - Patel Brothers. She called me from NY to ask if I needed any Indian stuff. All I asked her to get for me were some Indian Biscuits if she could get any. And to my surprise she got me 6 packs of Parle G for a buck !!!! For past 3 months all I have got on the name of biscuits are firangi cookies filled with rich nuts and choco chips. I was terribly missing simpler things in life..and when I got hand on them, I was elated. Even after having a heavy dinner, I could not resist opening the pack of biscuits. Here is the picture -

Joy of simple things in life is sometimes difficult to put in words...

Yes, the car stops !

** Screeeeeeeech ** Honk** Abuse 1** Honk again ** Abuse 2** - are the unusual good morning and good evening salutations which mumbaites exchange with the rising and the settling sun everyday. Having endangered six most precious years of my life in a city like mumbai , I know how much courage it takes to step out of the house everyday and walk/drive on the roads. Every single soul wants to reach their destination with batting of an eyelid. The agility with which the cars, the bikes, the trucks, the cycles change the lanes would give a big time complex to the fastest reptile on the planet. I have not only witnessed, but have also been an active participant in violating the traffic rules in Mumbai. Not wearing the seat belt, rushing through the signal past 11PM, not waiting for the pedestrian's, bumper to bumper driving, impatient honking, changing lanes to get ahead in the traffic jam is something which every mumbaite identifies with. I too can !

Its been 3 months in the US of A..and there are certain things here, which are exceptionally brilliant. It would take years for India to compete on the same level. Amongst several things, what has impressed me the most here is the traffic sense and discipline of the junta on the roads. Honking is considered impolite. People honk only when you have violated some traffic rules. People who honk on the roads are considered to be unsophisticated drivers. Vehicles wait to give way to others on busy roads or blind turns. Pedestrian's command rights on the roads. There are push buttons on the poles by the road side, which allow them to indicate their intentions of crossing the road to the moving vehicles. Tell this to someone in Mumbai..and they will laugh it off. Push Buttons..eh? Even if you don't press these buttons and a distant driver sees you crossing the road, he will signal you to cross the road with a big broad smile. For some one like me who is used to growls and abuses, more than surprising, such acts of politeness are intimidating. Why would a car wait for you to cross the road safely? And on top of that they would smile and waive at you !! It took me a while, but now I have got used to this culture. Whenever the vehicle owner lets me cross the road, I waive back with a smile gesturing a Thank you ! It feels really good to receive an even bigger smile in reciprocation.
People are extra sweet here and at times it seems all fake and artificial. I am not doubtful of their genuineness, but i guess it would take me a while to get used to the yankee politeness.