Before I forget ..

Hottie of the month : Lena Headey

If looks could kill ...

Just in case they don't ...

She was the best thing about 300. Recently I found her again in The Red Baron (terrible film) ...and there she was, leaving me breathless again. Pictures from here and here.

BIHAR SUPER 30

The Hindu today reported of a coaching centre called Super 30, founded by Mr. Anand Kumar of Patna, that coaches and trains 30 kids hailing from poor households each year and helps them crack the IIT-JEE test. The coaching is free and Mr. Kumar further provides accommodation and food depending upon the student's needs. There is an entrance test to get in and be a part of Super 30 itself.

This year all 30 students of the Super 30 cracked the said entrance. Wooah!

When I was younger, we had what we called the "TIIT" types in every class. The "Trying for IIT" types. Basically our version of geeks. In other words the bespectacled, unshaven sideburns fading away into skin near the jawline, I.E. Irodov is GOD!! and never use deodorant types. They made for good laughs occasionally. And they still do. (But we were never cruel to them. I swear. In fact my good friend TJ Eckleberg was a cheerleader of sorts amongst the TIITs in our batch!)

But endevours like that of the Super 30 leave me in awe. Its almost like that one entrance test is the only purpose in the lives of a bunch of 17-19 year olds. Its like a matter of life and death to them. The only way out of their poverty and the baggage that it brings with itself. These kids have 16 hour study days for 2 years before appearing for the exam. That leaves 8 hours in a day to eat, sleep, shit and shag. Fuck.

The thought of hedging one's existence to a single academic test is something I find terribly disturbing. Especially since I've never really worked hard for one. No wonder I've failed many. But then again I've been fortunate on many counts and have never needed to clear an exam but for the sake of promotion. But I wonder what its like to have so much pinned on one goddamn test. And after 5 years of college armed with the knowledge that at least 80% of the people doing the corrections are bloody idiots themselves, the same thought is scary as well. Very scary.

Here's wishing the Bihar Super 30 the best in all their years to come and hoping they turn out as good people as they are students of science.

Son of a bitch

Sometime this morning 13 year old Jordan Romero became the youngest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He achieved the feat alongside his father and his father's girlfriend.

My father laughs at me when I ask him for a samurai sword.

Gyan Capsule ingested : Life ain't fair.

The Sky is Crying..

wailing in fact.

Finally!!

I'm getting this sudden urge to get naked and run out of office.

Someday, one day ...

Its the weather today. It is killing me to be indoors, and I still got 3-4 hours to go. But no one said I've got to spend them being productive, hence....

In the winter light

make me a picture, of me

in a boat floating out to the sea.

Rile up a storm

for me to fight, to be

what I am and what I’m meant to be.

Soak me wet in

the cold tyrant waves, so I

may feel alive for a little while.

Do not be shy

to not throw me a line, for I

cannot dream of another way to die.

Pardon my trespasses for I am no poet.

Also today is a friend's birthday. So Happy Birthday L! Get chained and live free.

Miss you

I miss the red tiles. The ones that made up the dusty terrace. I miss sitting upon an angle. And the wind. Blowing through my entire being as if I weren't there. Pushing me down on my back as I climbed higher. With friends in cheap boxers, often torn at wrong places. I miss the clarity. And the feeling. That there was no other place I'd rather be.

Now there's always a place that I'd rather be. Always people I'd rather be with. But the place isn't mine, never was. And the people ..

I miss the todays. The overcast ones. The days when nothing else came to mind but flying and the blues.

I miss me. Damn.

Of the MARWARI

Kolkata has long ceased to be a Bengali city. This is a city which many communities share in a lazy harmony, the Bengali being one such community. However, Kolkata is essentially a Marwari city, the Marwaris being the economic pillars upon which the city rests. And it is not quaint.

Some of my closest friends hailing from the Maroo community shall testify to the fact that there is nothing quaint about being a Marwari. Which leads me to the obvious joke, "what do you call a Maroo who hates himself??"

Answer : "A Maroo with BRAINS!"

Anyway, that being said, I believe I did chance upon a truly marvelous and quaint Marwari today. In fact it is also called The Marwari!! It is the Marwari horse. Wooohooo!!

The Marwari is a rare breed of horses, that were bred by the Rathores of Marwar, well known for their peculiar inward curving ears. They are said to have descended from cross breeding between local ponies and Arabian horses and are usually used for agricultural purposes, as well as riding and packing.

They say you learn something new everyday. Wnndrrr ..