Gaanv ki chori! :)

The early morning alarm sounded by a cock,the chirping of the birds,the sweet smell of the wet earth(which in this case is due to water being splashed on the patch of land at the front door instead of the rains),the 'muggu'(a rangoli kind of a thing drawn only in white chalk powder on the wet earth every morning as a ritual),my grandmom's voice waking me up with a hot cuppa tea with cardamom in it......these li'l memories were enough to lure me to take a train to my native village,Eluru,the very second day of me landing in India.

Did i forget to mention that Eluru is situated in the state of Andhra Pradesh?It is the headquarters of West Godavari district and has a population of 189,772.anyways,enough of the facts and figures about it...let me go back to boring u with the fresh memory of my trip to my roots.As it was quite cold when i left in the train to Eluru from Bhubaneswar,i made sure to wear a sweater,expecting the same kinda weather there too.But then if it is as humid with a temperature of 34 degrees celcius,one would look like either a fool or a malaria patient with that sweater still on won't he/she? he he! not to mention i had taken very few cool summer clothes and had packed around 7-8 woollen pairs for a 4 day trip!cursing myself for acting too intelligent,i started searching for an auto at the station which could gimme a ride home.Finally after managing to grab one while struggling my way through the horrenduous crowd,i got myself involved in a verbal brawl with the rickshaw puller for the injustice he's threw in my face by asking me to pay Rs.30 for a short distance!well, i will not lie here by saying that i managed to win the fight.yes, i resigned to the injustice as i was devoid of any energy to continue the fight any longer than the 15 minutes that it had already managed to last.

Needless to say i had a stupid smile on my face when we started riding home....everything around me was making me smile-the ubiquitous tea stalls,the yellowed walls,the torn up film posters,the billboards carrying jewellery ads by South Indian "Mega Stars", the kids sitting with a 'lota' on the roadside,the buffaloes and cows blocking our way,the smell of cowdung...everything!it didn't matter how i looked anymore or what anyone thought about the stupid smile on my face....is why i named this post-'it whispers it does not shriek'.village life is way different from the hustle bustle of the city life which always seems to scream....and what mattered most to me was that i was back to where i belonged and was about to meet my family after what seemed like eons!

I was broken outta my reverie when io felt the rickshaw slowing down n realised i was close to home.i got out of the rickshaw when it came to a halt and was about to take out my wallet to pay the fare,i heard squeals of laughter behind me and turned to see my 6 cousins of all shapes and sizes rushing to meet me with broad grins on their faces.The fight for the unfair rate demanded by the rickshaw guy was continued by my cousin who was enraged when he heard how much i was being charged...letting the other cousins take care of my luggage,i proceeded toenter the house into the welcoming arms of my other waiting family members who hugged me tight n kissed my forehead wet(even though i was all sweaty from the trip) and snatched the remaining handbad and airbag out of my hands to instantly replace them with my newly born nephew...awwww he was damn cute man!Life had never felt better...it's a bliss...to be loved so deeply by so many people :)

Thus allowing my family members to hover around me worrying and wondering over my shabby stae and as to why i had put on so much weight inspite of staying away from home and that i should take better care of my skin(all the things that a girl living in a city would get to hear once she goes back to the village...only here the 'weighty issue' is different.tee hee!),i continued my smiling session and decided to enjoy this vacation even though my staying there longer meant long lectures on my weight ;).

On A nOsTaLgIc NoTe.........(continuation)

   ...but fate has other plans for me..i hear Sr.Ananda call out for Riddhi and realise that i have no chances of getting a green signal in that attendance sheet under the nose of the modern hitler handling it(christ!)and thus i decide to sneak into the class without her noticing me so she doesn't get the chance to appreciate my presence in her class.i somehow manage entering the class and duck behind Nidhi to avoid giving Sr.Ananda the pleasure of verbally murdering me.I was preparing a nice pillow outta my bag to sleep on in the last bench when suddenly the amongst the soft murmuring in the class rings a loud Michael Jackson number!gasp! i forgot switching my cell to the 'silent' mode....what next?i lift my head up to see the personification of detention hovering over me with gritted teeth and a malicious look on the face ready for the 'aakraman'.could i just curl and die?no.....not allowed!!! The next thing i know,i am blabbering utter rubbish,fishing for excuses as to why i haven't yet submitted my assignment,a 1000 word essay on any one of the female authors that we had in our course this year,"ummm...ma'am i couldn't get sufficient matter on teh subject"oops!wrong one....."well, Ms.Rao,i am sure if you shower the library with ur benevolent love and presence once in a while,say....once or twice a year atleast,you will find enough matter to fill the walls of atleast 5 lecture rooms!!!"

I try hard to act deaf and concentrate on the 'samosa pav' i am chewing on,sitting on my fave bench in the canteen,with Rumpa and Tejaswini hammering me with their lectures of how i should get my life in Order to avoid any such encounters that i had to face earlier in the day.And since my mouth is so full.....i have no other option but to listen :(. I manage mumbling a defeated "fine guys" and console myself saying"they will stop now......they will not say anything after this..."."But why were you late?you moron,you could do so much better only if u listen to us once in a while"frowns Rumpa.i decide to retort now and face her...but then suddenly it strikes me how beautiful she managed looking even with that frown of hers.i start smiling,"what?why are you smiling shameless woman?!i am telling you...i will pour chilled water on you tomorrow morning...blah blah blah....." i am no longer paying attention to what she is saying...instead i start wondering what life would be like after graduation,without these sweethearts of mine around.Pragya's constant nagging[i deserve it of course ;)],Jayashree's crazy singing and teasing,Monika's sick jokes,Rumpa's practical arguements,Saumya's crazy laughter,Teja's Shocked expressions...awwww how will i live without all of this? sniff ! sob! "oye! are u even listening to what i am saying?where the hell are you lost? get up now,time for Psychology lec...chalo".i shake my head still lost in thought...when my Junior Jasman exclaims-"aaarrgghhhh!!! no!!!" is when i pay attention that she and me are wearing the same 'westside'kurta,which matches not just in design but the colour too!! you must be wondering the significance of such exaggerated exchanges of gasps that escaped our mouths..well,in a girls college,especially one that is so 'fashion conscious',it is a cardinal sin to be wearing the same kinda clothes!!! "you or me?"i ask Jas..hoping she would say "me" like a sweet junior should(this is regarding the matter as to who would stop wearing the garment to college anymore)but instead she gives a puppy look expression and says "you"....i am about to refuse when it strikes me..i have faded this kurta out quite a bit..i could do with a li'l bit of a change in my wardrobe..and with this new ray of hope..of shopping of course! i proceed for the lecture with a wide grin thinkiing of ways to manipulate my father to send me some extra cash for the new wardrobe! :D

On A nOsTaLgIc NoTe.........

'Ding! Dong!'....the 7:15 am's breakfast bell."let's rush pradz,we've got to catch the 7:40 bus!else we'll be 10 mins late for our first lecture..."comes my roomie and best friend Pragya's voice."huh?it's 7:15 already??....(i wonder).But prags,i ain't even ready yet,when the hell will i have breakfast?"At this,Prags turns around in anger and shock at the same time...."i woke u up at 6:15 baby,what were you doing instead of getting ready for college?oh i am sure...u musta put ur mobile on the 'snooze' mode as soon as i went into the bathroom to have my bath!!that's what u did,din't u?i could kill you for this now,but we have no time for that.come downstairs in 5 mins...i'll get your breakfast plate to the mess.....but hey!5 means 5 and not 10!".....what is she so fussy about....why can't she be carefree like me...big deal if we miss the bus...we'll take the next one i smile to myself,and then suddenly realise...gosh!It's a Thursday today....Sr.Ananda's class....omg...i won't get attendance if i am not there on time.hell......why don't i listen to my roomie at times...and with this early morning ritual of cursing myself and my fate for being the way it is...i put on my clothes in a hurry,grab my bag and rush down the stairs for breakfast.Right when i am about to enter the mess....i hear someone clearing their throat in a warning manner..and my shoes screech as i suddenly halt at the entrance,closing my eyes in a way which reads-why does it always have to be me?!i then straighten my expression and with a fake smile turn around to see Rose Ma'am standing there with a not so happy expression first looking at me and then dramatically and slowly turning her eyes to her watch and then saying-"late again".I walk towards her,and try my stunts of making a genuine sounding excuse..."Rose ma'am!what a lovely morning isn't it?trust me,i'd got up on time....but you know how these other girls in my wing are...tch tch!so much time they take up in the bathroom....lordy knows what they do inside!! if only they understood that it's because of them that i am late for college everyday.huh!"I can see a smile forming on Rose Ma'am's lips(btw...i forgot introducing her.....she's the food warden of MSUW,my abode for the 3 yrs of graduate life)....and then decide to take advantage of it..and say while giving her a bear hug,"please lemme go...i'll miss my bus.."she gives her watch one last dramatic look...gives out a sigh and comments"what do i do about you girl?you don't even let me get angry or scold you...."as soon as she's done saying this....i hug her once more..yell out a thanks and rush inside the mess to find a fuming Pragya throwing dirty glances at me for being so lethargic.I act like an ignoramus and grab the pieces of toast in the plate and hurry her.."c'mmon prags...we'll be late"she rolls her eyes"look who's talking".poor her has to run for the cab with me since me being me,missed even the last bus which coul have made us reach on time for the lecture.I huff and puff running up the stairs of my college to get to Room No. 9 for the lecture.and while doing so,as is my habit,i do not forget cursing the architect,thanks to whom i have to climb those stairs when i am already late for the lecture!! i halt at the entrance of the class and wait for Sr.Ananda to look up from the attendance sheet hoping against hope that my name hasn't yet been taken(o lord pls pls plssssssssssss)..............[contd...]