Stolen from Chamu's Diary

Chamu’s Memory Mania

Chamu at 12yrs: Scored 18/25 after hard work;



Her prayers to God:



“I wish you could increase my memory power so that I get more marks”



Chamu at 22yrs: Broke up with her boy friend;



Her prayers to God:



“I wish you could decrease my memory power so that I’ll forget him”



My moral of the Story:



Few things are matters of mind and few are matters of heart; but both involves only one thing and that's "TIME".



& Time is the best healer, always :) !!!

Assiduous Vatti

Preface:


1. Vatti is Vathsalya, my younger sister. If I start adding adjectives to "describe her" then, this post will just turn into a "good words" post.


2. Keeping it simple, I'll say she is a good (not-so-normal) girl, and she is in her 12th std now.


3. She goes to Maths tuitions *only, 3 days a week, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.


4. Every Saturdays there will be a test in this tuition classes that she goes and Vatti doesn’t like missing tests.


Now you all have sufficient knowledge, lemme start the scene...


A trip was arranged in the college for Innovative Film City recently. Yea that's good news I know but it was scheduled on a Saturday. That's bad news for Vatti coz that's when she has tests at her maths tuitions.


She protested; that she won’t go on this trip (now you know why she is not normal). Normally it’s the other way with kids, they would not want to go to the tuitions and miss the tests. But, anyways, so I and mom had to rush to the tuitions, talk to the lecturer to schedule a re-test on some other day. The lecturer being very nice and knowing that Vatti was not like normal kids, agreed and said she can take a re-test when a different batch takes it, and that was on a Monday.


The trip was over and also the re-test. The conversation after the re-test went something like this...


Mom: How did you do in the test?


Vatti: Yea, very well. Full baruthe (normal answer).


Mom: Wasn’t the test paper different? I mean your batch already wrote the test right, so you must have already got the questions.


Vatti: No I donno what questions he gave to my batch. I did not ask anyone.


Mom: I am sure he would have changed the questions; else you can arram se do well na?


Vatti: No he did not change the questions. It was the same paper.


Mom: If you donno what the questions were, how come you're so confident that it was the same paper?


Vatti: There were no extra question papers so sir gave me some other batch ka answer sheet.


*shocking* right..??? Hold on... there is more...


Mom: OHHH MYYYY GODDDDD; so did you copy from the answer sheet?


Vatti: Errr?? What??? Copy? From that one? Whoever wrote that won’t even get a mark, everything was wrong!!!!


Mom (din't stop here): If you did not see the answers then how come you know they were wrong...?


Vatti: I finished the paper soon. Also revised twice. Still had time and hence saw the answers.





We all Love you Vatti :)

Say Cheezeeeeeee

We, "The birthday committee", formed from a team of 43, make sure that everyone’s birthday is celebrated. It was one such birthday yesterday. I came across an instance during the party and that immediately got me into a thinking process (guess not having the cake is showing positive results, I have started to THINK).


~At the Party~


I saw 3 of my colleagues smiling for a photo. *Click*. These colleagues who posed for the photo shoot reached the colleague who took the snap and almost snatched the camera from him. Next thing they did was hitting the "Preview" button, while two of them agreed that the photo looked neat (they meant they looked good), but the third person refused to agree. He looked a little dark, than his usual complexion was his argument. Even before the other two debated on that, he hit the "Delete" button. The image vanished in seconds.


Thanks to Steven J. Sasson, the digicam that I got on my birthday last year, underwent all the above tortures without a single complaint.


~Lost in thoughts~


Gone are the days where one had to visit the studio to get a pic. I can recall my mom deciding on the colors and the costumes that would look good for the photo, weeks before the D'day. It would be regarded lucky if the picture came well and the result pitched in only after the photo was developed. How can I forget how furious mom was when in a family photo that we took, I had ended up closing my eyes.


Then came the era where dad bought a camera home; our own camera. The one that was regarded small (in size) those days. But actually was so huge that I managed to hold only the lenses. This particular camera had 4 kinds of lenses; all of them being for different distance photo take.


There were so many blunders people (about 8 families) who used the camera did. Sometimes they forgot to switch on the flash; fewer times the battery would be low, most of the times the reel would be put in a wrong way hence got stuck, the clicking trigger did not work on few occasions. Many of my memorable trips though are in mind but were not captured due to such small mistakes now, but big blunders then.


The amount of reels that were bought always depended on how big the event or the trip was. The event used just 24 snaps and that would expect us to wait for the next event so that the remaining unused snaps would be used, and then we get entire set developed together. Being born in a family where in all are photogenic, it was very rare that we would get into the wait phase. Many a times we used to have a day dedicated for the “photo shoot”, just to use the remaining snaps and in return the reel could go for the developing.


Going by experience, we clicked away the initial 2 and the last 2 pictures out of 36 randomly i.e. without focus. My major excitement were those moments, when myself and my cousin waited for dad to get the photos after washing (call it developing) to check out how we both have featured. Dad would carefully view each and every negative so that none money was wasted on bad snaps and their developing, also most of the times the studio person himself denied developing the bad photos.


~Back to reality when someone clicked my pic~


Coming to the digiworld, where even mobile phones have camera, the enthusiasm factor has obvious vanished. Are you dark? Short? Plump? All your problems can be solved. You can look the way you want (immediately in the pic) if in case the reality is not possible or will take time.


Before I sign off all would like to say is, the technology has never asked us to waste resources, isn't it?


O btw Check out this new avtaar of mine, of course shot in a 3mp mobile cam at the birthday party :)

One Veracity of Life

You see two individuals, their behaviors, the way they project themselves practically.



You like one and not the other. But astrologer tells that things will work fine only with someone whom you dint like practically.



Irony of life is, people around believe non-reality and not the reality; and most of the times make you agree that reality is wrong.



Tsk Tsk… Ultimately you start to feel that reality is not bliss I guess!

Chamu’s 1st interview

Hey readers, it’s been long time I wrote something; thanks to my internet which stopped working for various reasons. Anyways now that I am back, let me tell you something nice. About chamu who has just taken up her 1st interview. Read on…



Nope. It was not her 1st job interview. You know those matrimonial interviews that happens in India, yea the bringing the tray types. I am bringing you the exclusive conversations that happened including the fluctuations in experiences of pre, post and what happens in such interviews and how our chamu handled and is still handling it.


Pre-interview day:



“Uncles and Athe will come on Saturday itself” declared chamu’s mom. But why trouble them thought chamu. “Did you iron the saree?” she asked again. Chamu wanted to wear salwar but dad would not agree. “Saree and that’s it” he told chamu. “Yes amma, saree is ironed and ready. Also the blouse is ironed. The small jewels are ready and kept at one place. Please tell me if there is anything else I should do” yelled chamu. Thanks to the rainy weather her voice was gone. “You had to fall sick at this time only huh?” almost scolded chamu’s athe. Now how can she take control on that? “What will you do if they ask you to sing?” athe wouldn’t stop. “Is that a prelim round for Indian Idol version 4?” chamu thought but dare she utter that. She giggled all by herself.


That night her cell was bombarded by messages by cousins and best friends wishing her best of luck and to be herself, the confident and chirpy gal that she is all the time.


By the time she opened her eyes it was already Sunday.


Million $ question of the day: “what if they ask you to sing?”


The D-Day:


“Chamu, get up on your right. Make sure you do a Namaste to lord Ganesha” instructed uncle. “Yes uncle” chamu said.


Saree was draped. Jewels were put. No make-up was the mantra. After all this chamu sat by the window waiting for them to arrive, it was 10:45am and they were scheduled to arrive by 11:15am. The only advantage the girl gets here is to watch the madhumaga first than him watch her. Thanks to the window she thought.


The car arrived. She could recognize the aunty who was playing the common friend role here. So many people but the madhumaga still wasn’t to be seen. Finally chamu saw him. He is wearing jeans and a nice shade. He will surely not like the saree look chamu confirmed the pallu again in the mirror now. Wasting no time she ran to the kitchen. All of them came inside but he dint athe said. “Why?” was chamu’s question. “He is over the phone, must be he is very busy. Work et el” exclaimed athe. “Busy? On a Sunday? well ok” chamu kept quiet because there was nothing she could tell and nothing would be understood even if she did.


All the introductions happened and the situation was still now. “Take the tray” athe said. “Huh, tray? Please not that. That would be very formal. Aunty has told me to behave as if some friend has come to visit me” chamu almost cried. “That’s the custom. Now do not argue, take the tray of water and keep it on the table. Do not talk anything else” athe again instructed.


“Aunty is below the switch board, next to her is a kid, next is your to-be athe, after her is your to-be maava, then his chikappa and then the madhumaga, finally his chikamma. Your dad has left his king chair for you magale. Oh my god you’re sweating. Don’t be tensed. It’s just a phase of life” said uncle. That added some amount of confidence. Indeed she was sweating. The girl who was sometime an RJ and loves the stage was sweating. That’s the hard reality of life.


Chamu reluctantly took the tray and reached the living hall. Her eyes were on the tray and the 6 glasses of water. She kept the tray and looked to her right. She saw the aunty and all she could think of was “How are you aunty?” thank god aunty eased the situation by telling “I am fine, please sit down”


That was a sigh of relief for poor chamu. She sat and wiped that last trace of sweat from her face. Aunt said that she will introduce all of them starting from the person who was adjacent to her. She started off with chikamma and her name which chamu could hardly remember. “This is ***********” chamu did not understand what the madhumaga said and while she was telling hello to him, she realized that she had forgotten to greet the chikamma well.


For the next set of people she greeted with folded hands along with a Namaste. All what followed next was talks about the educations of the uncles and aunties, thats is when they finished their education, and not to forget about Obama & his outsourcing. “Hello what about us?” thought chamu. As if aunty heard that she asked chamu what was the branch she studied and next question was for the madhumaga.


"Elec and Comm"!!! "Computer Science"



Again it was uncles and aunties who stole the show. The girl and the boy had to just listen and thats it.



Chamu observed lot of things. That the madhumaga is very close to his chikamma. He would not even get up and keep the plate and glass on the table. Was he very lazy? who knows. His chikappa has a great sense of humour. His mom loved kids and his dad very silent.


Chamu’s sister came from her tuitions and it looked liked every one was waiting for her. Poor kid wondered if people had come to see her akka or her.


Time just ticked away like that and finally it was over.


Million $ question of the day: “chamu jasti mathadalla ansute?”


Post- interview phase:


Everyone liked the madhumaga and his family. Mom asked chamu and she said “More than him I liked the family especially his chikamma and his mom” The only question in chamu’s mind is “Will he say yes?”


And every time she asks that question she remembers what her CEO told her few months back “you have such great personal skills, you will get a great life partner” and she smiled.


Million $ question of the day or let’s say days: “Is it a success?”.


Positive or Negative, madhumaga will always be remembered!!


 End of story part 1 –


Once the results are out I shall share the story part 2.