Freak o' Nature...

After having witnessed my first (n in all probability, last) hailstorm at Delhi.. I didn't expect to observe anything related to nature that wud be quite as spectacular.. until today. It was just another day, except dat it was raining pretty hard. My grandmom informed me that water had seeped thru the compound walls n entered our bldng. So I rushed to d balcony to check n was distracted by d sea. Now, having stayed at seaface for 22 yrs, I am used to d furious monster dat plays havoc wid all creatures, living and otherwise, within some metres of its reach, every monsoon.. namely, d beach. And its never a boring sight; it can keep u mesmerised for hours. the difference dis time was, I had a digi! lolz.. so I set out wid dat, my windcheater n my cell, to d beach, once d rains had stopped.

I went 2 d lane adjacent 2 mine, aftr hearin frm some1 on d road dat it was totally waterlogged. Made my way thru d 1 foot footpath, d remaining 3 feet of wich plus d road was under water.

Have u evr seen flooding NOT due to rains in Mumbai? I did today. Neways I reached d end of the lane.. wich was bordered by othr curious souls, some like me, takin pics of d fascinating sights. Just dat some things cant be captured in text or photos.. the howling wind, d crashing n ebbing of d waves on d rocks, d myriad shades of blue and grey that seemed to stretch from d sea to d skies, d mist of froth n foam dat wud engulf u if u stood close enuf 2 d waves.. wich i did, for a while.. it was safe coz i was standing at a height.. below me wer rocks n d waves wer hitting that.. just d gentle spray was hitting me. Aftr some time I went back 2 d end of d lane from d shore.. or watever little der was remaining of d shore. I stood atop a bench thnking I cud capture d waves from a different angle. Now I have a knack of not noticing fast moving objects coming towards me.. even if its right in fronta my eyes.. so whilst i moved d digi from left 2 right, i got soaked. DRENCHED from head to toe. It happened in an instant, d effect was equivalent 2 some one emptyin a bucket of water on you. Wen I opened my eyes, I realised wat had hpnd.. d wave had climbed over d 2 feet of rocks, lunged over d shore, n planted itself onto d bench at d end of d road.. wer I was standin. FREAK!! Thank God I wasnt actually on d shore..

Der wer a lot of "ohhh"s and "aahh"s frm d handful of spectators arnd.. and some" madam aap neeche aa jao" wen dis hpnd. I askd a guy 2 take a pic of me in dis bedraggled state.. wich he did, wid some advice.. "wen u hear sound of d waves becomin a large roar, u must step back". Right.

This experience left a thrill dat cant be put down in words.. its all in d moment.. i still feel d unexpected impact of salt n water on me.. n it feels gr8! Had actually planned 2 write a poem a coupla weeks back.. jst wasnt gettin d right words.. abt a painter who goes 2 d sea durin a storm 2 capture its beauty first hand.. n never returned back.. kinda had a deja-vu wid dis.. Mother Nature sure can be beautiful and dangerous at d same time..

A Learning Experience...

<P.S---Blog under construction--->

When a 96.89 in CAT didnt get me a call frm d elite B-schools.. something else abt me, apparently, was gud enuf for me 2 get a call.. frm Teach India. If u remember it was an initiative undertaken by TOI arnd July last year.. wer u cud collaborate wid an NGO n teach d underprivileged kids.. well i was called 4 an orientation, but i cudn make it as 7th Sem Msts wer on.. however i called up d NGO later n dey put me on d waiting list. In Jan dey got bak 2 me as der was a slot available at a municipal school in Worli.. unfortunately not Dadar.. wich i had given as first preference in d form. Still, i tuk it up.. n now my Saturday mornings r spent in travelling 2 d beautiful Worli side of town (i love dat area).. n transforming in2 a Std 1 teacher!

Its not as formal as it appears.. i dress like im goin 2 coll.. i dun hav 2 giv homework or act like Hitler.. jst spend one hour wid d children.. read out stories in English, translate in Hindi n make dem understand, teach nursery rhymes.. u cud say Im an English Prof :D the kids r arnd 5 yrs old.. belong 2 d worli village slum area.. n r well taken care of by d NGO.. jst like d school.. dat goes by d name "LoveGrove".. b4 u get ne ideas.. LoveGrove is a sewage pumping plant next 2 Atria!

I wasnt nervous coz Im pretty gud wid kids.. my usual restless persona takes a backseat n a more subdued 'me' takes over wen Im arnd dem.. but i hadnt envisaged a grp of 25 even more restless tots.. rushing n moving all over d room like a swarm of bees! Ders another volunteer who takes one cls while i teach d rest.. a guy workin wid Future Grp.. must be in his 30s.. yet one of my girl students asked me on d 1st day.. wid a beaming smile.. "Kya woh aapke husband hain?" Yeesh :))

Its heartening 2 find a Christina, Gayatri, Venkat, Vivek and Osama (yes der is a kid by dat name.. hes one of d most sincere n cute ones in d batch!) togethr, bending over a jigsaw puzzle or pointing out d odd man out frm a grp of pictures.. d innocence at dat age is sumthing, Im sure we all miss. Its not without a dab of 'nottyness' though; 1 time, a few boys undressed a doll : .. n wen d kids hav had enuf of 'studies'.. d boys show me der little finger n a toothy grin.. d girls sit in d corner n pretend 2 cry.. riight! Its been 3 months since dis started.. its still a lotta fun.. my sis sure gets J if i talk abt wat hpnd 'at cls'!.. i jst hope dat des cuteheart Slumkids get a chance 2 be Millionares some day..

Signing off

Flashes of 4 years gone by...

All things VJTI

As the end of r 'stint' wid VJTI approaches.. here's a look at some things exclusive 2 r coll dat we're gonna miss.. n a tongue-in-cheek description for each :D

The Labs: Kuch Nahi Hota Hai

The Grading System: Kuch Bhi Hota Hai!

Boys Hostel: Kya Kuch Hota Hai!!

Nirmal Aarti Chandan Mhatre: ^:)^

Shanti Caterers.. for causing ashanti in my stomach evry now n then.

Mtech Profs: They come in all shapes and sizes and varieties.. ranging frm d 'dont piss me off' types to d 'copy all u want' ones.

DJ nites: d grass is greener on the other side (of d rope) ??

Linkups.. dat change parties as d sem changes!

Politics: Amongst d staff, amongst ourselves.. hushed up in public, rambled on about wid r close frnds!

Billa: he never taught us, yet we indirectly learnt a whole new language from him!

Hold ur horses.. sorry, noses: The 'Smelly Staircase'!

The Ladies Room (LR): Essentially a washroom, 'certain ppl' frm my cls go der 2 write assignments n watch movies!

The Fauna: the canteen cat; the dogs dat adorn d main gate, not 2 4get d ones in d quad dat 'shock' us wid der acrobatic poses! :P

Security Guards: for not letting us talk/walk/stand/sit in peace.

Traditional day: more appropriately framed "Colours of India", for its d only time u get 2 c Munnabhais, Mughal emperors and Bhagat Singhs together, strutting arnd in..

The Quadrangle! ultimate meeting place. Frequently spotted: Quiz Club, a long line outside d stationary store, above mentioned dogs n security guards n ofc, civil ppl wid der telescope like field work apparatus!

Tanks in d garden: I still dont knw how dey came 2 be der.. plz enlighten me!!

The MDHs n ELRs.. you made us walk (climb) that extra mile!

'Orkut Lab': arguably d most 'infected' place in coll

Not having a clsroom in d final yr! Beat dat!

The Terrace: heavenly abode atop Mount Everest.. not a single soul in sight.. wait.. is dat a guard comin 2 shoo me away..?

'Shot' Wars: The New Menace

Exam Section: I cud tell u why dis made d list, if ur willing 2 wait a day.. no.. 2 days.. no 5 days.. heck i dunno how long u gotta wait.. but dats not my problem is it?

Mass walkout frm an MST clsroom coz d questns were out of syllabus. Hurray!