Sunday, as it went by...

The time is 3 a.m and its not a very happy Monday morning for reasons more than one. I have lectures to attend. Around 150(!) pages to copy mindlessly. My exams are coming up in fifteen days. Oh! Make that ten. Four extremely (and unjustifiably) complicated papers which go by the names of International Law, Taxation Law, Jurisprudence and Intellectual (hardly!) Property Law. And most importantly, I just finished wasting an entire Sunday CRIMINALLY. Someone kill me. Please. The entire thought of it has clogged my mind. How could I be so shameless? Why so lazy? From where have I picked up the art of procrastinating (so smoothly that is)? In which decade am I going to realize the need to work? Who would tolerate this when I am not able to do it myself! Well. There are a million such questions that I can ask myself but where is it heading? Ok. Loosen it. Lets analyze the Sunday to see if some hints peek out!

I woke up at eight with the happy news that mom has reached Madras. It is really comforting to be woken up by one's mother, even if its just by a phone call, after a long long time. When I finished the call, it took me just five seconds to convince myself about the 16 hours ahead of me to toil and as to how I deserve (as a matter of some sort of a right?) to sleep for a few more minutes. Thereby, promptly dozed off! Again my phone screamed! But the time was 9:30 then and that shook me out of the bed! Made coffee (which certainly needs no reminder). Set my bed table to write notes. Opened my laptop (now this is where the tragedy kicks in) and started to check my mail. For about two hours, I did nothing but check mail, orkut, facebook, blog page, etc. The time rushed to twelve when I was dragged out to print out tickets and collect reading materials. Lunch. Returned to the room. Time was two and my eyes automatically shut out. Yes! They protest if made to work beyond two in the afternoon. Afternoon nap in an odd position (basically pillow on the floor, my head hanging out, legs up against the wall and hands cuffed under my neck)! And when I woke up, the time was nearly four. I quickly set them up again and started writing tax notes...nearly ten pages and I took three hours! In order to appreciate this immensely satisfying accomplishment of mine, I decided to play a game. And I did for two hours. That's when dinner was served in the mess and I feasted on some surprisingly nice food. I then started writing notes. Just started. Which means writing a few words. Gtalk and an ebook held me back for nearly six hours, with a few conversations with roommates in the middle.

So precisely I was doing all that till this moment! And now obviously, I am terribly sleepy. I cant believe I spent it this way. Utterly forlorn! I do all this even if my eyes burn and stomach growls in hunger. But academic work? No. Hmm... Sundays are precious. And I have realized its worth only after its departure. Now even if I wait for another Sunday, its not going to be the same. Its not going to be 14th September. Its not going to be eleven days to exams anymore. Its ten now. Okay. That's enough. I know I don't need to be getting so emotional about it but you know what I mean... I am just hopeless! This happens with me every time and I never never learn! Let it be! Lets overwork this week. Or may be to begin with, lets just try to sit down in one place and work...

MMKR. A Recall.

"...sundari neeyum sundaran n(y)anum sendhirundhal thiruonam..."

I am sure anyone of us with an ounce of interest in watching good tamil flicks would know this song, this movie and of course, about Kamal's stunning performance. MMKR- Michael Madana Kama Rajan. It is one hell of a movie. I was watching some of the scenes of MMKR on youtube today (yes! the movie is available on youtube) and couldnt resist it. Mention it somewhere. I had to blog about it. I had a big bellylaugh over watching Oorvashi and Kamal romance, man! They were stunning!




So here I go. Pen down things I liked about the characters in the movie-

• Kamal as Kameshwara- The Palakhadu accent was a step above perfect. And the character was so accurately structured to match a clear blend of an innoncent and an orthodox know-all. Without the need for any repetition or emphasis, it was smoothly fused in the plot continuously making us crack-up.
• Urvasi as Thirupurasundari- Effortlessly funny. Her method of telling Kamal of her pati's petty thefts was unmatched.
  
• Urvasi's Pati- How did they make this character? So cute! Yet irritating! Literally makes you talk to the screen! :(
  
• Kamal as Rajan- Slapstick so well adapted. The jokes flowed from conversations with other charachters. You didnt have to wait to hear him speak actually. His expressions were so GOOD!
  
• Beemboy- So goofy and adorable! The height and abnormal physique! And the way he would just listen to Michael, his boss.

A few picks... (Sorry I have just put in Kamal-Urvashi bits because they were just overwhelmingly funny!)

Kamal: Yarukku kalyanam? (And as Urvashi points a finger at him) Naeka? (And as she turns the finger to point it at herself) Noaka? (And as she does both together again) Naekum Noakum-a?...

Another. Urvasi: Enadhu idhu... katindrukom? Kamal: Katindrukom-a? (Pause and then realizes what he is doing) Oh... Aamam... Aana venumnu pannala kettiya... Pechuvakkula theriyalai...Nan poitu varen... (And he opens the cupboard) Urvashi: Ayayo ha ha he he ha ha... Kamal: Ha ha ha vashal-nu nenachu beerwa-va thorandhuten (!) Ha ha ha he he he hi hi hi...

Kamal: Propaer Palakhadu illa...oru kuk-gramam Urvashi: Gramamum cook-a, neengalum cook-u (!) Ha ha he he hi hi...

As he catches her red-handed with chella-petti, Kamal: Nee thirupura sundari illa, thiruttu sundari... :)

And then what? I just remember spotting myself under the bed in tears of laughter!!! I love these agraharam types comedies!! :)

Seven Reasons NOT to Possess an IBM Laptop

Let me be of some use.

1. The battery SUCKS. For most of my friends, in a year, the battery life went down to 20 minutes or less than that which means you have to hang the charger around your neck 24/7.
2. Its keypad is fragile as an eggshell. So you have to be extremely careful while using them.
3. The volume intensity of the speakers is very bad. You either have to use earphones or external speakers for the normal volume.
4. The screen of your monitor will have lines of different colours, lengths and thicknesses running across. And this makes it look extra ugly and extra inconvenient.
   
5. Features. Whats that? That is how anyone who has had only an IBM laptop would react. Its got only the basic basic features making it the most boring gadget in this world!
   
6. It has the most unattractive look ever. Its black and looks like a government register. And is quite heavy compared to its counterparts.
7. Their service is pathetic. First, you have wait for ages to get your laptop back. Second, you will definitely go back again with the same problem. Third, this is a vicious cycle. Fourth, going to IBM office is like visiting NASA. Access system is so complicated. People are worse. Thanks to the three year warranty, though. However, they don't have provisions to extend your warranty.

These are the seven reasons from my experience. I am sure there are more than a hundred reasons not to buy an IBM Laptop. In the three years I have had it, I have felt like breaking it into a million pieces at least a million times. So for God's sake, don't commit the sin. Or you will be doomed for the rest of your fellowship with that stupid thing!

Blahs!

Rise and shine. Projects again.

Dude! I am in fourth year now! Why on earthy am I still asked to write research papers?! SICK AND TIRED of this humdrum exercise! Its so boring! This is the fortieth paper I am working on in a span of three years and three months. Its beyond me. Not only because of the pressure and fatigue. There is more to it. Its FUTILE. I can assure I haven't learned much from it! I mean its not even funny anymore. Such a mechanical drill. You pick your topic. Stand in the queue and consult the teacher. Sometimes you also have to come for a second one to suck up. Most of what happens in the consultation can never be considered even remotely helpful. Then with those awful thoughts about fear of plagiarism, lack of originality and need for analysis, you drag yourself to the library only to find 10000 others like you there! With much difficulty, you find a few articles here and there, a few pages of books and priceless advice from friends (and rarely a senior's project!). Spend at least 500 bucks (as if!) on photocopy ing the research as you are not allowed to issue more than one book or issue certain other expensive books. Whats more interesting here is now we have just one photocopy machine handled by a useless dork (who hates me as much as I hate him!) and I have to stand a queue for hours together (not to forget carry FAT books) to get a few pages photocopied. As this gets over, the most amazing (oooh ooh oooh!) part comes in. Read them, analyze the inputs, form research questions (wow! how exciting!), arrive at your opinions (which I am usually good at but not when it comes to law!) and suggest effective changes to our legal system (like they are all waiting for me to publish it)! During the process of doing your projects, you have to wait for extensions as well. You wait wait wait and wait to get a two-day extension which is clearly not enough considering the constraints on campus- network failure and when it works, it is slowest wireless network possible, library will be shut when we need it the most, power cuts, etc. With all this you make a somewhat okay project. Mail the softcopy (a bandwagon introduced by teachers one after the other in an attempt to check for plagiarism) to the teacher. Oh you know what? It doesn't end here! We then have a stimulating interactive event called presentation followed by viva in which you will be reminded of how hopeless your existence is. Sigh. After this, the marks range from 19-24/35 for me (after the deduction of marks for late submission). Is this even worth it?!

At this point, I only feel used. Used by this system. And I'll make sure Bar Council of India (and the other intellects responsible for this wretched system) learns how it has killed all my peace! Bah!

Madras Kalangal!

When memories decided to visit me.

This morning when I was heating water to make coffee for myself (and of course, dreading the idea of working on projects), memories of my childhood in Madras suddenly flashed by for a second... Don't know if their intention was to remind me of how pathetic it is to stay away from home or to just make me smile for at least those few seconds. So I thought I'll put down a few words about the lovely days in Madras. My typical morning, then, was something like this...

Wake up at four forty five after amma reminds you the time (oh yeah, I turn deaf when I am sleeping- so alarm clocks don’t work. I need a person to literally shake me from the slumber) only to feel so stupid to have woken up so late(!) (interestingly, I do yoga immediately after I wake up not consciously but the way I stretch and turn looks like some sort of an abnormal unstructured yoga)… And then I sluggishly walk into the kitchen for a quick review of the day's menu (which is usually dosa and sambhar, kootu-sadham, paruppu thoghaiyal or the likes) with amma and tell her what I dreamed of the previous night (mostly about how I was honoured as the Chief Justice of India or how the entire Chennai is praising me about my thoughtful arguments in a happening case(!) or how I bought a stylish black Ford Ikon)... Then obviously as anybody would expect, brush my teeth but for five minutes humming my favourite kollywood hit not realizing that five minutes have passed until anna queues up behind there with a evlavu-thechalum-pallu-onnum-vellaya-minna-pordhu-illa-look on his face...By then anna playing loud English music (as opposed to any normal form of suprabatham or adityahrudayam) and with a Kumbakonam degree kaapi (something you shouldn't miss- the best way coffee beans and chicory can be combined) and a fight with anna about how I should be allowed to check my mail first because I have Maths tuition (which is the fate of every Board-class student of Chennai) at five thirty, my day actually begins... One round of Gmail and Yahoo after which at five, my heart beat races as I realize I have not done my math homework (which invariably is a worksheet of 100 odd questions) and so I quickly sit down to see what damage-control I can do in the given twenty minutes... Two questions here, two questions there. Then after telling amma varen (and being corrected for the nth time to say poitu varen and not just varen), I run out of the house to see my TVS-Excel ready to gear me up for the day...

After ninety minutes of mindless rambling at Math tuition, I get back home at seven fifteen and park my bike under a tree outside my house... look up at the veranda (mine is a first floor apartment) to see appa reading the newspaper (we only read The Hindu)... and then get indoors to see Rajam cleaning the house religiously... I quickly go to the kitchen to peek into what amma is doing and usually grab raw ingredients (such as chapathi maavu, vadam, maggi noodles, etc) as I switch over to a coversation with appa to learn what the CM's plans(!) about Tamil Nadu are... And then iron my yellow-grey uniform to get ready to go...

At seven forty five, appa, anna and me sit for breakfast in the hall before the TV (appa waiting eagerly for the Sun News Channel update) as amma gets hot-hot dosas and chinna vengayam/vendakka sambhar (or with ghee :D)... Appa then questions me about how far I have reached in Accountancy (In the fifteen years of schooling, this is the only subject he was ever interested in for obvious reasons- he is an Accounts Manager himself)….And when I tell him Sir has reached company accounts, he starts recollecting his reminiscences about company accounts (Yes, I know people grow weirder as years pass. How else can you justify somebody reacting so positively about company accounts?!) Then its time for listening to the usual things from amma and appa such as "pocket-la kaasu irukka?, fast-a otadha vandiya, lunch michham vaikama sapdu, paathu poitu va, saingalam oor suthhama veedu vandhu seru"...

With that, I rush to school at eight ten... obviously not realizing then that they were going to be the best days of my life! :)