Whattup?

Friends are those rare people who ask how you are and then wait for the answer.

Social Anxiety

If you don't get it, you ain't got it.

And vice-versa.


Peace...

Pup-Talk: A Conversation with a Dog

Image Source: Tikki Tikkiri Tik

A Dog's Life

So there I was, on the streets, roaming around. Chased, sometimes. No reasons, I could think of, for them to bully me. But I got chased, still. Finally found a quiet place for myself.

I wasn't of the shiny ones, the strong ones. Never got picked. They'd walk around me, and go "Tut-Tut". And go on. Which was fine, now that I think of it.

And then came along a lady. A girl really. But she didn't say "Tut..Tut". Not audibly, at least. And she played with me for a while. And she said she'd take me home.

She was beautiful. Oh yes! And smelled real nice. And looked at me with those eyes. Ahh… those eyes!

Take me home for a while she did. And it came upon me, that this is where I shall live. This is how I can spend my life. She just wanted to make me happy. Teased me. But also made up for it. And I was happy.

And then a day came, and the door went shut. All of a sudden, no excuse, no warning. And I found myself wandering again.

And then there was someone else. Who played a while. And went along. And another. And then another. And I said, to me, perhaps this is how it is to be.

And I saw the lady again. And she tried to pick me up once more. And I wouldn't budge. Not this time. But of course, I melted, after a while. And she petted me. I had never been pet before. I knew it wouldn't last long. But enjoyed it while it did, while I could. And back she went, and all I had were memories, to revisit time and again.

And a new one came. And saw my pain. And couldn't see it no more. And picked me up, and gave me room. And cared and loved and strode along. And then shut me down again, just like that lady had (that girl, I mean), but told me the door was open. It was, but no one was in. And once back, I was told I asked for too much. Perhaps I did.

And they all moved along, and I was left far behind. And the streets were always there, as they had been, so kind. And I walked along, and met strangers. And a few saw the pain in me, and said they'd let me in. Not this time, I said, I shall not to be moved. My pain is no amusement park. And walked along, and now I've met you.

So this was me. How about you, pup?

Very similar, I must say. But yet there's a kinder end to me, so I'll admit. They'd enjoy my antics too, and my faith would take a leap. But at least they'd take me to the vet, and put me to sweet sleep.

You lucky dog…

lama sabachthani

In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

-- Martin Luther King Jr.


Peace...

Nobody knows..

Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.

-- Albert Camus


Peace...

2*011

I just turned 22.

Similar posts: Twenty, 21.

Awkward Silences

The difficulty with this conversation is that it's very different from most of the ones I've had of late. Which, as I explained, have mostly been with trees.

-- Douglas Adams


Peace...

...and neither was the milkshake...

All through the evening, you were as calm and composed as ever, something I remember mimicking. I must have tried too hard, and more than once during the short stroll from Dolcezza, our host for the peanut-butter-ice-cream fest (and thank you for that!), to the Healy Gates, did you look at me and immediately turn your face away. It now amazes me how you restrained yourself and kept continuing casual conversation before finally breaking into a huge laugh at the Darnall Hall pillars. I'll admit, I was a bit embarrassed initially, and wondered what the situation called for me to do. I was hoping you'd guide me through, but you just kept laughing.

"Oh Shrey!", and you ruffled my hair. Phew! You saw my face and ruffled my hair a bit more. Did I just blush?

- "It's a pity that the only week you're here is when our Hall's famed Café is closed."

- "Now isn't that what every hall here says?"

- "Say what you will mister, but there are many who cross the bridge just for a sip of old Darny's."

"Someday!" I said to myself. That, of course, never happened, and it was less than a year afterwards when you had that little setback when the place closed down. A few years later, a fancy 'Epicurean' restaurant with a valet service would come up, and people would move on. Most.

- "Now here's a campus map, and *this* is where you need to go. I'll see you the day after; Sleep tight soldier!"

Brief half-hug.

- "..."

- "?"

- "Thank you!"

- "hmm... I'd rather not ask what for. Accepted. Thank you too!"

...

  "There! Now we're done for a lifetime. No more thanking, ever."

Smile! Goodbye...

I knew I had a sleepless night to look forward to, as did you I suppose. As did you know, I mean. Every small soundbite, every little detail, every little strand of red hair that fell over your eye... every bit recounted, recapped.

As dawn broke, I realised my folly (not that I had had a choice to make), and hoped to get through the registration in time. Being pretty much the first person to register, I had a key to my new room in minutes. Now it was just a leisurely wait for the others. And wondering when we'd be meeting next.

Our Honduran friend was the first of the three to arrive, and like all good international roommates, our first hour went appreciating each others' passports, visas, and memorising the choicest of expressions for proposing love and damnation in each others' tongues. And the unlikely coincidence that the two of us shared our birthday, only that:

- "Dude! It says 1989! You're like... FIFTEEN!"
- "Yup! Exactly three years after you came in. I mean out."
- "Holy Fucking Hay-soos!!! FIFTEEN!?!"

Oh damn it! I didn't even know your birthday! I didn't even know your age! I couldn't even guess!!

I usually made sure it crept in during my first conversations with people, but that conversation already had way too many firsts for me. How easy life would become after social networking would arrive. As for now, I'll just ensure I slip-it-in the next time...

Next to arrive was the tall, lanky fellow from the States, and for once in life (as of then), I was not the quietest one in the group. Not much later, we discovered we had a Biblical scholar amongst us, and half an hour of an intense conversation later, I knew we had many a memorable conversations to go.

Finally, he arrived. I was in the loo. All I heard were murmurs, followed by "FIFTEEN!?!"


Peace...

Now is the winter of our discontent. Made glorious summer...

Perhaps it's true that things can change in a day. That a few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes. And that when they do, those few dozen hours, like the salvaged remains of a burned house---the charred clock, the signed photograph, the scorched furniture---must be resurrected from the ruins and examined. Preserved. Accounted for. Little events, ordinary things, smashed and reconstituted. Imbued with new meaning. Suddenly they become the bleached bones of a story.

 — Arundhati Roy (The God of Small Things)

Never been truer.

For me. For friends. For some special ones. For acquaintances. For some around me. For so many people. And for, and due to, things too many to count. Large, and small.

Things. Can change. In a day.



Peace...

The double-double that wasn't

"Well, they aren't the most useful creatures around."

That surprised me. I wouldn't say shocked, especially given the nature of our preceding conversations, but I was expecting (hoping) you'd be in agreement with me on that one.

- "Define useful."

- "They don't really do much. Lay around, eat, sleep. Cute, yeah! But useful?"

- "As opposed to dogs who'll fetch twigs, bark noisily, lick and feed on a steady diet of turds."

- "You mean cats don't slobber?"

- "They do, but are courteous enough to spread it discretely all over themselves, where it vanishes, except for adding that subtle gloss..."

- "Look at you go there again! I meant useful work. Dogs guard, sniff bombs, lead the blind, retrieve, and where I came from..."

- "You mean come from!"

Cutting you off without losing a moment, it was around a quarter of a second before I noticed your right eyebrow rise up, and the tiniest fold develop above your other eyelid. It was within the next second by four that I realised what that meant, and wiped that smug wise ass smile off me in a hurry.

- "Oh! Sorry! You meant.." Difficult following up such an action packed semi-second.

- "Yes keener boy, where I came from; I am not a natural. Forgot that already, eh?"

Sorry! No more Grammar Nazism.

- "So, where I came from, dogs hauled around luggage, you know, supplies, postal bags and all."

- "hmm... Extrapolating the route your train of thought is chugging along, the next station has to be you telling me why one should be a cow-person."

- "I just meant dogs are more active, mankind's best friend, if you will..."

- "'Mankind's'. You sound like a perfect left winger, and yet you..."

- "Hey! Hey! It's called libertarian!"

- "Ok.. I mean when I think of dogs, what comes to mind is an emotionally insecure person with a need for constant, interminable, unremitting, unconditional affection; not exactly the most Li-ber-tay-rian type around.. hard to imagine someone like that rolling a joint, really..."

Oops! Had I said too much? You just had your eyebrows raised, and the most perfect poker face I had seen on you. Double oops! I just saw you see me seeing you intently; too late for a poker face now!

- "Go on..."

- "Uh! Yeah.. So, cats don't make good slaves, don't wag their tails, and don't slobber you with affection. And the closest they come to sports is when someone makes racquet strings out of one. They're just so placid. Self-contained. They do what they want. Don't listen to you. Moody. Expect you to cater to them. Persuasive, but with dignity. Walk away if you still don't give in. Wish to be alone when you feel like playing with them. Drive you nuts. And yet, they make us fawn over them..."

This time, I turn my gaze from the moon towards you, casually. Yes, just revving in the collect-your-thoughts pause. Not watching you. And... there you go. Saw me see you. Again. Why do I even try?

- "You think I'd make a good cat?"

- "I think you would. Not a great cat though, but still, a very good cat."

- "hmm... You're not doing too bad yourself!"

Huge smile. Won't hide it.

- "It's almost time; They won't let us back in after another hour. What do you propose?"

- "A coffee would do well."

- "So it is then, two double doubles!"

- "!?!"

- "Oh! No double doubles here, my bad! hmm... I know just the place. Let's get something that gies well with the java... why're you looking at me like that?"

I was expecting you to follow up with something of an if-you-know-what-I-mean... perhaps a double double wasn't what I supposed it was. Best not to ask you now. Mental note: urban dictionary, first thing when I get back. Minutes later,

- "So what do you call yours? Figaro, Tom, Pixie..."

- "I don't have a cat, if that's what you meant."

- "You don't?"

- "My folks uprooted a touch-me-not plant I had been tending to since years, you know, the one that folds in when you touch it. Supposed to be inauspicious. Wouldn't count on them getting a cat. But there are several in the neighbourhood whom I spend time around."

You squealed with joy as your eyes stopped somewhere on the menu. But I had noticed the dimples getting deeper as we had stepped in, the smile leaking away even before you picked up the catalogue, and the impatient delay trying to stop the flood gates from gushing out before you read the name in your mind. You knew what we were having all along, but the experience just seemed incomplete without this "à la carte" ritual.

- "They seem a bit selfish though. After a few weeks, you'd think they love you. And then they'll go away. Won't recognise you if they saw you."

- "I think it's usually us who go away. They're not heartless. They probably just move on. They must be great actors. Punishing us with their indifference. And yet also, redeeming us, of our guilt, by appearing heartless."

Wow! It WAS good, the best ice-cream, ever. You agree, but still seem to lament the double double from the corner of your eye. Someday!

- "They don't carry luggage though."

- "Nope. Just baggage."

Peace...

Oh ye of higher CGP... (Haiku)

Last time too,
you took my breadth away...
Damn it!



Peace...

Stuff-I-Like: #4 That Cheesy Feeling

For connoisseurs, it isn't really that difficult. I know a few who could accurately plot how salty, smooth, pungent, tangy, sharp, piquant, milky, dry, mild, ripe or wheyed a lump of Camembert feels in the month of August, depending on its ageing.

However, trying to describe the taste of cheese to someone who hasn't tried it at all is like describing the difference between dark cyan and teal to someone who's been blind all their life. Far more difficult than describing a cat's eyes or coffee's fragrance. Cheese orgasm, on the other hand, has seen the most choicest of metaphors and similes seeking affiliation. A few come to mind as I go back a couple of days in time, Diwali eve, the last time we (me + the usual suspects) took a dip into this pond of cheese-bursty-white-sauced-penne-like-pasta-tubes... (Gomito, to be specific: it's like penne with an elbow)

Wipe the drool off your keyboard already...

A cheese explosion in the mouth, a burst of taste, a sudden hot lava-like spread embracing the tongue, a warm fountain filling the corners, a bedsheet of flavour, a river of sinful ecstasy forming deltas of deliciousness, an éclairs of cheesy delight, melting glaciers of awesomeness... And before the moans and groans could cease, lo and behold! Lasagne Varuno was there! (Or was that Varuno alla Tuscany?)

Making a ceremonial offering to Aristaeus, the Greek God of cheese (true that!), shortly before eyeing it and saying, "Oh Fuck it! Let's dive!"

Layer upon layer, baked spaghetti with the delicious combination of tomatoes mixed with the yeasty goodness of soft bread perfectly seasoned with softened onions with just the right amount of grated cheese, all mixed perfectly together with hot, cheesy cheese topped with a garnishing of coriander... And all finished before you could say Dhaniya! And again the Cheese bursts... The explosiveness of the dish could easily put Guy Fawkes to shame on his own night (Remember, remember, the fifth of November?).

Besides the man of the hour, Varun "Mr.Cheesus Christ" Singh (my companion from DADT) himself, joining in were Aamod "Call-me-Mod" Shanker, Aditya "Awwn..." Sriram, Satyabrata "aka-Bunty" Mohanty, Naveen K. Sharma (Best roomy ever :P), Praveen K. Sharma (Bhaiya!), Aditi "Arre!" Gupta, Divya "What-can-be-said!" Tak, and Palkush "Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar" RaiChawla (Mera!), all those who made the evening so very special, and without whose presence, well, frankly, I could've have had some more!

What followed is best left for diaries and journals, accounts to be read at farewells, wedding receptions and eulogies in years to come.


Title Credits, Photo Courtesy and Culinary Orgasm Credits: Varun Singh (Top Chef, IIT Kharagpur)


Ulti-Peace...

Farewell

Anwar Khan played host, to a host
of Kgpians,
who cherished his inedibles,
and christened his place
after the hole
in his nose.

Most time now spent, instead
at an eatery with an exotic, accented name,
though lacking that acute subtleness –
Café Coffee Day!
Identical to the ones in Connaught Place
and Whitefield and Richmond Road.
Well, at least similar to them.

And just peek out of the Coffee House
there you have it:
"Heritage AC Restaurant"
stands majestically
as Veggies glares from a distance.

Yes, we have an AC Restaurant now,
trying its best to make us forget
the backwater town embracing it;
though to be fair,
they do serve 'Motor Paneer.'

Deepak Da's taken it to the streets;
JCB Canteen has ceased to be,
as have 3 am meals.
No more paranthas with cheese flowing,
no more cheese curry to match.

And it’s all so alien now
at these places not seen before,
for I see faces new,
faces, not seen before,
or again!
And just too many of 'em.

The utter loneliness
in this swarming mess
makes me sick in my stomach at times.
Now don't get me wrong there;
I love a coffee had in solitude,
just that I prefer being alone
only with familiar people around.

Hundreds and hundreds of freshmen
over a thousand in all
and sophomores and juniors
crawl the halls of residence,
the messes, the wings,
faces unseen, unknown
except a few perhaps:
the quizzers, the math olympians,...
the mental-masturbators basically.

Only a few recognizable clans remain:
batchmates - seniors, super-seniors, some beyond...
who now talk in tongues bizarre,
saying TIME took away most of theirs,
and speak of "apping" and GRE.
(and those speak in REALLY creepy tongues)

And of CATs and Barks (or was it Barc's)
and CFAs and MBAs
and PPTs and T&Ps
and PPOs and P&Gs
and Schlums and Siemens
(Spellings double checked)
and so on and so forth…

So most meals now had
are by myself
most interactions online
most chats, on IMs.

Except the train journeys,
the 2.2 run-ins,
other such inavoidables.
Social media, bringing the far nearer
taking the near, much farther...
Oh! Don’t get me started on that one!

So, as I sip my beverage,
not at Anwar Khan's shack,
or Cheddi's as they call it,
but at the aforementioned CCD,
amidst the aforementioned crowd,

and think of times well spent
over leaky cheese paranthas
at a place which did not know
of coffee bars with accents in their names;
I can't help but ask,
even though graduation is far,
and another semester is in sight:

Is it just me,
or has Farewell,
already arrived?

Peace...

Stuff-I-Like: #2 Walking

If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.
--Raymond Inmon

Walking is good for solving problems - it's like the feet are little psychiatrists.
--Terri Guillemets

I think I've always liked walking, and my interest in this activity has grown rapidly since I took it up nearly two decades ago. On the contrary, the rest of mankind, after 1.5 million years of rambling along, has very recently (since just a millennium or two) nearly given up strolling on horses, bullock carts, cycles, cars, trains and aeroplanes. But then, striding along is more than just a form of biped locomotion or an exercise (that is, if you count reduction of cancer, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, anxiety, depression, obesity, high BP and LDL (bad) cholestrol; and increase in life expectancy, bone health, and HDL (good) cholesterol; as health benefits, minus any chances of pulling a muscle or spraining your back).

There are the environmental, economic and social concerns of course, with "walkability" now considered a significant parameter to measure liveability in urban design. More the footsteps, lesser the carbon footprint - building sustainable cities IS a walk in the park!

But walking is about more than these mundane considerations. Just peep into the details of evolutionary and philosophical progression of man, and we see that gait has been vital to our cerebral growth, with millennia of human development firmly based upon this connection in walking and thinking. Just imagine, a street in Greece, and an old, grey, wise-looking, bare-footed man in his sixties striding along with a young man in mature manhood, handsome, well-shod and dressed with gold, discussing ethics, politics, morality and other ideas. The logical flow of thought smoothly permeates into words with each step, and the plinth of western philosophy is laid on the walks of Athens.

The elder one is Plato, walking with his favorite disciple Aristotle, who created the Peripatetic school of philosophy modeled on the walks he took with his students in the natural environs of his academy. Plato himself considered his learning a product of his walks with Socrates.

Closer home, we see hiking as the mainstay of spiritual enlightenment, with devotees from all walks of life trekking along pilgrimages to meet their favourite imaginary friends. Mahatma Gandhi really walked the talk on civil disobedience, bringing about a socio-political revolution rambling his way to Dandi.

Be it a balader sur les Champs-Élysées, a stroll around downtown Toronto, or even circumambulations of our humble "2.2" at the institute, one just needs to recall a few steps to rush in a flood of memories of times well spent. Oh, and how many of you noticed the banner on this blog?

Keep Walking!

Peace...

A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world.
--Paul Dudley White

Stuff-I-Like: #1 Coffee

Coffee, unlike life itself, should be taken very seriously. A good cup of coffee is like sex, magic and love. It’s a feeling one can’t really define.

(Source)

In my opinion, the only reason coffee hasn't seen as widespread regulation or taboo as alcohol or tobacco is because caffeine is far more addictive and loved than nicotine/ alcohol. I love coffee, but would defer from making this a forum for discussing its positive/ negative health effects. Because, frankly now, which true coffee lover really gives a damn! I am an insomniac all by myself anyway; I don't NEED caffeine for that. And drinking coffee because it reduces the risk of colon cancer, is like getting down to it solely to boost immunity.

What person of substance wouldn't love Coffee... the smell, the taste, the look, and also, the culture - the cafe culture. The filter coffee, the latte, the au lait, the Irish brew, the one from the anals of South-East Asia (no spelling mistakes there), the frappe, the liqueur, the frappuccino... and above all muggle brews, the BLACK ! Oh how I missed it, my only regret of living in this backwater town full of chaiwallahs, who not only kill the taste of coffee, but follow it up dark alleys, beat it up and rifle through its pockets (Thankfully, we have a Cafe Coffee Day outlet now, which works OK to my needs). So many would just call it a beverage, putting in obscene quantities of milk and sugar to take away the "bitterness". But then there are those who believe it should be respected and revered for its own sake...

Everybody should believe in something. I believe I'll have another coffee.

Peace...

21

Once again, it's the 7th of January, and besides the 21st death anniversary of Emperor Hirohito of Japan and another Eastern Orthodox Christmas... some friends and family are also celebrating the fact that I was born, celebrating for the 21st time (22nd if you count the time I was actually born). All this while I pace alone at the midnight hour on the 2.2 kilometre long circular stretch around the campus, very creatively named "the 2.2".

So basically, I'm congratulated for not dying for another 12 months ... But then, I guess there may be more to it.

As a child, one sees elders running around fulfilling elderly social obligations, acting all mature and responsible, and then there is all the excitement about it. I'll be 18 someday, and then 20, and then 21, and suddenly I'll stop eating chocolates, and realise that I've matured. As if a moment will come and go, and I'll stop (or rather start) talking funny, and start about career and meaning of life stuff, and worrying about my Provident Fund, and that'll be it. Now that I'm 21, I know that's not true. Just because other 21 year olds have started pretending to be mature, for they're expected to be, doesn't mean I have to. There, I said it. Not only do I have Peter Pan's syndrome, I'm actually proud of it. And like last time, I must ask you to bear with me, it's my Birthday!

And frankly, I have always talked funny stuff. Meaning of life. The Universe. Indian Mentality. Politics. The I-am-God attitude (of the IITian who simultaneously has the I've-got-no-balls-on-me mentality). Education System. Ever since I can remember. So what does this 21st Birthday bring to me.

It gives me harder questions to answer, decisions to make. It gives me a chance to observe how much I've changed, how much the way I look at things has changed, and another opportunity for "stock-taking" of my life (Just an extension of the New Year's dawn, in my case). To acknowledge that I only have so many days on this earth. To see how much more can I enjoy the passage of time, how much can I be closer to the state of ultimate Peace...

A Birthday is one day of the year one gets to themselves. To really enjoy all that's going on around oneself, and to ignore some of it too. For everyone they know to deceive them and to make them feel like the most special person in the world. For them to celebrate, sleep in, take the day off of class or work, watch movies, party, do something... anything but ignore it. Come on, it's just one day, one whole day that belongs to the person, and they only get one per year. And today, is mine.

So - quoting Clint Eastwood (as Harry Callahan) from Sudden Impact - Go ahead, make my day!

And a bit of maturity at the end of it all, with my experiences in the past year summed up beautifully, by the great philosopher Jagger, in one song:



Peace...

Behind everyone successful... The Girl Effect

After 19 hours of one hell of a train journey with Aditi, Divya, Anubha, Swaty, Nikky and Ram, otherwise referred to as the 'Freaks n Geeks' of IIT-Kgp, I am back in Delhi for the Summer of '09. Let's see what I end up doing this time.

Oh, and about the effect:



This video by the Nike Foundation and NoVo is about the cycle of poverty in rural regions, and the impact one person can create by breaking it. Behind every successful economy, is a prosperous Girl. Just felt like sharing it.

As for my plans for the summer, I'm looking forward to learn a lot, blog a lot, live a lot... While I do have some stuff on my plate, I'm somewhat jobless for the couple of months to come. And an internship's not just about the only thing I am looking for(the title could be a clue).

Either ways, the only thing for me to do is to keep looking. In case anyone reading this has an opportunity to suggest, pleaaazze do, and I say this with reference to either of my requests.

Happy Holidays everyone!



Peace...

Me in MENSA

What connects Isaac Asimov (Author), Asia Carrera (Pornographic actress), Scott Adams (Cartoonist), Buckminster Fuller (Architect, inventor, futurist... Polymath!), Geena Davis (Oscar-winning actress), Martin Cooper (Inventor of the cell phone), Julie Peterson (Playboy Playmate), Alfred Hinds (Criminal/Prison escape artist) and Bobby Czyz (Boxer).

If you're already confused, add to the list Derek Barbosa (Rapper), Cyril Burt (Psychologist), Rolf Gindolf (Sexologist), Jeremy Hanley (Politician), Maurice Kanbar (Inventor of SKYY Vodka), Richard Lederer (Punster), Andrzej Majewski (Writer, photographer and director), Steve Martin (Emmy Award-winning actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer), Adam Osborne (Created first commercially available portable computer, the Osborne 1), Gareth Penn (Private Investigator), Sir Jimmy Savile (DJ, actor and television/radio personality) and so on...

Well, the connection here is that all the personalities described above (kindly prefix "celebrated" or "famous" to their descriptions in the parentheses) are, or have been, members of Mensa .

And yes, do add to the list, me.

Actually not yet, the membership formalities are yet to be fulfilled. But I have qualified the test, falling within the 99th percentile of the standardized IQ test, the Cattell Culture Fair Intelligence Test if I remember(the actual score is yet to be confirmed) and its just a couple of weeks before I get my Mensa Card. But let me tell you about Mensa first.

Mensa is the largest, oldest, and best known high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardized, supervised intelligence test.

Mensa's constitution lists three purposes: to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity; to encourage research into the nature, characteristics, and uses of intelligence; and to provide a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members.

Mensans come from all walks of life and almost every job and profession, representing almost every age group. There are many famous and prominent members (As you might've seen above...), which deserve further detailing.

Isaac Asimov, perhaps the most prolific author of all time, wrote/co-authored more than 500 books, and has been published in nine of the ten categories of the Dewey Decimal System. This Novelist/ Short-story Writer/ Essayist/ Historian/ Biochemist/ Textbook Writer/ Humorist was a long time member and Vice-President of Mensa International.

Asia Carrera is an AVN-award winning actress, who frequently describes herself as "the nerd of porn".

Scott Adams is the creator of the Dilbert comic strip (Please don't tell me you haven't heard of it...) and the author of several business commentaries, social satires and experimental philosophy books.

Buckminster Fuller, an American architect, author, designer, futurist, inventor, and visionary, who lends his name to a family of complex carbon structures called Buckminsterfullerenes or "Bucky Balls.", was the second president of Mensa.

Geena Davis is an Academy Award-, Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated American actress, film producer, writer and fashion model, known better as the Thelma of Thelma and Louise.

Inventor/Entrepreneur Martin Cooper is considered the father of the mobile phone.

Julie Peterson, or should I say Doctor Julie Peterson, is an American model and actress who was chosen as Playboy's Playmate of the Month in February, 1987. Dr. Peterson graduated from Life University as a chiropractor.

Alfred Hinds was a British criminal and escape artist who, while serving a 12 year prison sentence for robbery, successfully broke out of three high security prisons. Despite the dismissal of thirteen of his appeals to higher courts, he was eventually able to gain a pardon using his knowledge of the British legal system.

Bobby Czyz, a retired American Boxer, who is both a former world light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion, once even wore a shirt with "MENSA" on it while walking to the ring for a match.

And the list goes on and on with other prominent authors, cartoonists, film/television/other media personalities, scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs, politicians, sportspersons, lawyers...

And me...

Peace...

Twenty

Ouch!
As blogger publishes this post at the time and date specified, which would be 0001 hrs on the 7th of January 2009, my batchmates here at IIT Kharagpur are probably fulfilling the ancient rituals associated with the anniversary of one’s birth. Yes, 7th of January is indeed a special day, it’s Eastern Orthodox Christmas... and it’s my Birthday.

So here I am, two decades old, all of a sudden. Well, not quite all of a sudden you’d say... But so it seems.

Everybody loves their birthday, and that should be especially true for a self-centred narcissist like me. But it turns out my previous few Birthdays have not been that special for me, as much as this one is. It’s not just the fact that the most-significant-digit of my age changes today. It also so happens that I “take stock” of my life on my birthday. [I know it’s getting boring... just bear with me... it’s my Birthday]

So to wrap it up, I think I’ve grown up and matured much more in this past one year, than any one-year period. To quote something I mentioned to a friend this morning, I was surprised last year on my birthday to observe I’ll be 20 next year. Now I no longer am... Of course, not really THAT mature. In fact, as I was writing this and went outside leaving my laptop on, some of my other “mature” friends showed up and played a prank on my G-Talk status message. Some of those on my G-Talk must’ve noticed. I would’ve mentioned the exact message, but my blog might just get flagged adult. I guess I always will remain a kid at heart. [Which, I guess, is the most oldy thing to say] :D

OK, enough of my Birthday mumbo-jumbo. A Birthday is one day of the year one gets to have all for themselves. One day that the world deceives them to think that they are the most special people there are. And today’s mine.

Go ahead, make my day.

And of course, a merry Eastern Orthodox Christmas to you!

Peace...

The Doodle Bug

The day I started this blog, I knew this entry was coming. And thank Palkush for that. He turned my word upside down for the first time at a sleepy "Introduction to Physics Laboratory" Class, and there's been no looking back (only upside down). Yes, that was the first time I saw an ambigram. 

For the uninitiated, an ambigram (short for "ambiguous anagram") is a design which may be read as the same word/phrase (or sometimes two different words/ phrases) when oriented in two different ways. The other orientation may be obtained by 180 degree rotation, or sometimes by lateral inversion (taking the mirror image). Here is my latest creation:

Try reading the following "from the left" as well as "from the right":

Albeit a very primitive form of ambigram, lacking any "artistic" feel the first time one sees it, being a full name ambigram makes it a bit special. But of course, a full name ambigram is not for everyone, or so claims Protik Roychowdhuri.

Ambigramming (Did I just invent the word?) is a very creative use of your doodle time. Not only does it give your head a spin, it forms a great gift, and may serve some other useful purposes as well.

Peace...