Sunday, July 06, 2008

■ But Pappu Can't Dance Saala!

I am undoubtedly, a multi-talented soul! I have watched 4th, 5th, and 6th seasons of F.R.I.E.N.D.S in a single day! Scrubs, Prison Break, Heroes, Wonder Years have been completed by seasons in a single sitting too! Back home, I could watch 45 channels simultaneously, every channel having their fair share. The pattern would repeat in a round-robin fashion till my mother begged for remote, so that she could find out what new sarees the Bahus and Saases had put on, in the latest episode of Kabhi Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi! I have survived without a shower for 5 days. I know that there are plenty of surmas who have already challenged this limit. I wanted to stretch it for a week, but my exams started so did not dare to piss-off the prof and be thrown out of the exam hall. I also have the quality of listening to the same song repeatedly for days. Mariah Carey's 'Touch My Body' number, singly ruled my music player for 12 days until my roomie pleaded for mercy. Its only the 4th day for 'Aahista-Aahista' track from "Bachna Ae Haseeno" and he is already in tears!

The skill I find interesting and ironically lacking in me is dancing. Watching dance in any form excites me. My happiness knew no bounds when I got selected for a group dance in my 3rd grade for the School Annual day function! It was a tribal dance from Sikkim. The event started and soon it was our turn to perform. The folk dance was going great until the knot of my dhoti went loose and the red boxer underneath,with prints of Mickey Mouse all over it made its public appearance. Now, who would wear a red boxer under a white dhoti! Certainly at that age, I was not deciding the color of my boxers to be worn for the day! Given a choice, I would have certainly gone for 'He-Man' instead of Mickey Mouse. I still haven't got a valid explanation from my mom!. I heard girls giggling but in the spirit of a true performer, I continued the performance in my boxer, sans the unfaithful dhoti! After this incident I developed a phobia of wearing Dhotis. Apparently, the custom of wearing dhoti is mandatory during wedding ceremonies in my region!(*mental note* double check the dhoti knot, wear a belt as a safety measure and strict no no to red boxers!). Despite the wardrobe malfunction, I have fond memories of that day.

Eighth grade, studies were cool, so thought of giving dancing a try. After a week of devoting some quality time in practice, it was time to give a demo to my mom. It was the time when Prabhu Deva and Michael Jackson defined dance. To my surprise, I was cut short midway.

maa: *shocked* what was that?
me: *puzzled* which one? (i did the steps again! I tried my best but, couldn't convince that pelvic thrusts of Prabhu Deva and crotch grab of MJ was considered cool and was the in thing!).
maa: *chee-chee* where did u learn this? no more of those! Is it from school? I will have to meet your teacher tomorrow.
me: but maa the teacher did not....
maa: no more TV..
me: but..
maa: learn something productive!
me: *hmph*

That was the ruthless end to one more cool passion of mine!

I think I look like Hrithik Roshan. Feed that macho with Mcdonald's Double Cheese burger for breakfast, Hyderabadi Chicken Biriyani for lunch and gajar ka halwa, made generously with Amul's pure ghee for desert. Give him a job in a S/W company so that he is forced to spend most of his time glued to his seat and have no time for a workout. Strap him to a chair and make him watch RGV ki Aag twice a day. A week later he would have gained enough weight and would have gone considerably out-of-proportion to have a striking resemblance with me (there might be a slight difference in height but trust me, its kinda negligible!). About the RGV movie, I read somewhere that mental trauma can have serious affect on sound physical growth and development! The only reason why "yours truely" is an Aam aadmi while Roshan Jr. is a heart-throb of millions is coz of his flawless skill to tap his feet and shake his bum to the tunes of dhoom machale. I suck there big time.

The last time when I tried to dance on our college annual day, turned out to be a disaster! It left the girls around me in total shock. One of the girls thought that I was under the attack of seizure and called for an ambulance. This upset the college ka Bhai ( Bhai had a soft corner for the benevolent girl and this made him jealous). This freaked his faithful followers and they went on a rampage. The dean issued me a notice for creating public nuisance. That was not the end. I was also out casted from the "boys-who-suck-at-dance-fraternity" for breaking the code of conduct. The rule of 'Thou shall not dance in public' strictly forbade dancing at social gatherings to save the member and his fellow sucker brothers from embarrassment. However, the fraternity did permit showing ones talent (read: making a complete fool of oneself) in secret meetings.

Its high time to admit the fact that this Pappu just can't dance!


The Fraternity in Action:
identity withheld on request

Friday, June 27, 2008

■ Pappu Chala Amreeka (I)

"I believe graduate study will refine my knowledge and also serve to give direction to my goal of a career as a research professional at an academic or commercial, research-oriented organization. I intend to pursue an MS degree in order to reach that goal.." *phew* - I sounded all passionate with energy. The words echoed! I was as dynamic as Shahrukh Khan when he was delivering the 'Sattar minute' waala dialouge in 'Chak de India'. The visa officer at the consulate was convinced and granted me visa. One of my English main proficient friend had drafted that SOP for me in exchange of a dinner at pizza hut and a bottle of johnny walker (aaj kal Jai-Veeru waali dosti to rahi nahin!).

I fall in the category of people who got motivated by their Project Managers to give up their job and go for Higher studies! I always wanted to pursue masters but lacked the drive. After a month long monotonous data entry when he sent me some more excel sheets, I knew it was high time!

A week left for my scheduled flight, my near and dear had their piece of advice:

papa:Concentrate on your career! Work hard and study sincerely. Don't let yourself get distracted. (translation: don't run after chicks! study! )
do you have your documents ready?

Let me help you pack your bag!
His 'Help' made sure that I took bare minimum clothes and didn't miss any of the books. Later that day,when he was not around, I removed the books and stuffed back my clothes *evil smile on my face* After I landed here, I opened my bag and found that the books had mysteriously made their way back, the clothes were gone and a small note read 'study well - love papa!'

ma:
She was worried .You should have learnt some cooking. Do u remember the Khichdi recipe I taught you y'day? It's very easy. Don't be careless with the gas. I have packed pickles, medicines in your bag. Don't use all the clothes at a time. Wash them regularly. Take shower every day! Brush your teeth twice a day.. cut your hair regularly and no piercing  or tattoo!

I think I should have accompanied you and stayed there for some time till u get settled!


You remember Mrs Sengupta's son naa?? .. (her son got married to an Amru girl) She is having trouble communicating with the girl. There is a culture clash. You study properly, don't worry about anything else. Once your MS is over, I will search for a good Indian girl for you.


my neighbour, Bannerjee Aunty:
Don't get influenced by the Western culture. I have seen their life style on TV *chee chee* (probably she was either talking about 'bold and the beautiful' or 'sex and the city' ). Don't go to pubs and stay away from girls!

my College friends:
Saale, ab teri to aish hai! I heard that they party hard. Keep us posted and haan detail main report chahiye! Don't forget to take the digicam when u go to the beach.

my S/W engg friends:
S,G and R have already gone to onsite, my H1 is in process. Once I am there, we will plan for a trip to Vegas on a long weekend!

the Newspaper boy:
bhaiya, he came close and whispered, suna hai wahan Cabaret hota hai! Yahan to Dance bar band kar diya! Yeh minister log bhi naa. He was dissapointed!


to be continued..

Thursday, May 08, 2008

■ sketch: Pappu ka sketch Runner up


my sketch was the runner up (category: pencil/charcoal) in the art competition organized by ARTCLUB.
feels good :)

details:
http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=30495915&tid=2597623163122506637

other winners:

http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=30495915&tid=2597623163122506637&na=3&nst=11&nid=30495915-2597623163122506637-2597628334150706677


judges:

http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=30495915&tid=2597598602352024461&start=1




 

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