Learning uphill

4 months already in here ... seems too quick to me. Was pondering over how well me has got adjusted to the change in place\culture etc etc . Although I can give myself sufficiently gud credit, there are quite a few more things me has to get adept at.....with time ofcourse...

Here goes my to-learn list:

• Walk on the right side of footpath(is it called sidewalk here??? watever)
• Respond to Hi's and Hello's from strangers on the road - got to still get over the fake feeling it (maybe wrongly) projects.
• Pronounce "Z" as "Zee"..... tat used to be a TV channel bak home. "Zed" goes pretty well with me...BUT .... be a roman wen in rome.
• Say "Oh" and not "Zero". But y??? dunno .......sounds more fashionable tho' :)
• Talk 'bout distances in miles and not kilometers\metres.....this is tough for me .... cause my mind is tuned to the indian metrics still ..... and i cant even remember the conversion factor ... cheee
• DO NOT convert the prices displayed in dollars to rupees......makes u feel u've dug a bigger hole in pocket for every trivial trinket u purchase :(
• DO NOT stare at couples smooching in public places ...... trust me - its very embarassing wen they stare bak at u :D
• Learn decent Hindi to survive among the desi crowd here. For me Hindi was all 'bout "Kabir ke dohe" or "Angulimal ki kahani" in my third language classes at school ....... never tht it wud be required for survival here ....
• Be on time ..... the IST habit needs to be kicked out of my system still ..... although must admit tat me is much much better than the lazier one 4 months bak.

Well, hope me does not tranform into another hybrid breed (the confused desi lots here) in the process of changing. Naah .... doesnt seem plausible - knowing myself....me will remain the same old duffer it seems. Cheers!!!

The not-so-nice experience :(

Scene: Route 5, frm Wal-Mart to Transit centre.
ME - the lone passenger with bags overflowing with goodies to last me for rest of semester…cause I’m supposedly busy with no time for shopping for the remaining couple of weeks.
Mood: Exhilarating - Enjoying the lovely weather outside…rains ….its bliss.

And then ….

Bus stops at some stop …... and in walks an old ogre …. Greets the driver like he was his kin … and then the ugly green eyes looks at the lone passenger aboard and mutters “Huh …. BLACKS”….. sits behind and repeats the insinuating words yet again, with a higher decibel level, so that I do not miss those sound signals at any cost.
WAT the #$%#$%#$........I was shocked for a few seconds…. Agony engulfed me, and I like to believe it was natural. I am an individual and hav other characters to be associated with rather than caste, creed and color. And I’m dam proud of my origins. I love my country to no end and I’m happy to be black, if tats my color. But tats not the point here….. I was wondering why I was targeted to those racist words when all I was doin in there was be to myself. I fail to understand how poor me could have irritated this sophisticated “gentleman” to force him to hurl those words at me. The worst part was I just let him go …. I just ignored him…maybe I had no guts to start a duel thr… SHAME ON ME :(
It made me realize … yet again… that I don’t belong here… my home beckons me to return …. Will I \wont I?? I dunno…..there are so many other obstacles and reasonings that go behind tat decision…... nevertheless, in those minutes of jouney bak home on the bus, I recollected all my cherished memories – parents, sis, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, ….. I was adored, pampered and most of all loved back there …..I was not a stranger….. I walked on the roads as if they belonged to me…..I talked, laughed and cried without qualms …. as I knew my dear ones were with me- rite next to me…. Was I a fool to give it all up and come here ….
This reflecting mood lasted as long as I landed home. And then I remembered I was hungry…. so I let the old blot die a condemned death in my thoughts…and got set to prepare dinner…
Now, as I write this, I feel it was not a big deal…. There are many more nice people I have met out here, so why shd some silly old(probably drunk) idiot make me lose focus on wat I’ve come here for!!! Oh come on, I’m made of stronger and sterner stuff….and will face all odds .. no matter wat. Yes I will and god help me in tat [-o< ... Amen.

Wats happening???

Annavaru is no more… and the entire front page of local newspaper is dedicated to that. Actually, may be all newspapers in Karnataka are now focused only on that. Folks bak home also mentioned that television had nothing else to show but life\death of annavaru. And not to forget the chaos and complete disharmony wreaked by his death. Why so?? I hav no clue. And am sure ppl who started the riots hav no clue either. Was it frustration over his death, or the huge crowd which prevented them from having a glimpse of their idol or was is just some inane excuse to gain cheap pleasure by troubling others, infact killing killing several others??? … dunno. But, me thinks its more to do with the cheap pleasure of harming others.
Whatever it may hav been, I cant say how much I missed being at home at this time. Not that I enjoy the scuffle and commotion…..but I wanted to be home when there was something unusual happening out thr.. to feel the tension, to see how insane your own people can get, to rush bak home in whatever is left of the transportation system, and moreover if alive to discuss it with friends later :D The adrenalin rush would hav been quite amazing I’m sure….. The same happened during the kidnap period, and we were ferried bak to our safe nests by parents….making me miss the commotion bak then. And I missed it yet again now after years. Well, going at the rate of riots occurring, maybe I need not complain. Anarchy is widespread now it seems. So another rampage should not be a surprise :-<
But the good side of me (which surprisingly does exist)…..hopes that I don’t live to see another such day. I understand that Indias population is exploding, but killing each other is not the best way to alleviate the problem …..(alrite – bad joke) ….
Hey ppl, plz be sensible. We cant afford to destroy ourselves. We hav better things to do, WAKE UP!!!