After an Eternity..

Hey. Please don’t hit me.

Well, Raeha is just busy and I am just lazy. Not anymore. Raeha would write soon, hopefully.

I called my dear friend Surbhi on the 21st to say Happy Birthday! She called me back on the 22nd to say Happy Birthday! We both are now Seventeen, by the way. She and I spoke for a little more while only because her mathematics exam was on the cards.

Sur is the kind of student, I always wish I could have been. She procrastinates! Her syllabi are never finished. She loves to sleep and can’t study through the night. Often the day before exam, she has a tall mountain of topics to cover. Yeah..all of that, like me. Whoo..but you should see her face after the paper…she really makes good out of it. The reason? Sur never breaks into sweat from the anxiety on the crucial moment ( As long as it is not a viva)when so much is to be done and the time limits are strangling. I start hyperventillating from panic attacks! She is excited, but never inconsolable. She gets things done like a champion on last moments.

During the phone call, I assured her that no matter how much she felt was undone, I knew she would rock the exam! What she said couldn’t have been more honest:

When I am over-stressed and desparate I just remind myself that unless I study and ace the exam, I might get stuck here, in Kota and in this house forever. So isn’t it better to try understanding a stupid mathematical concept instead of getting stuck in this stagnant, pathetic life I have been forced to live. I just want to get into a good college so that I can earn well and start living for myself, awayyy from this place. And whenever I recall this, there is a strong inner motivation which gets me studying away furiously.

Now that makes a lot of sense. And almost all the decent teens here echo the same feelings. We have yet to start living. 

Aischa

P.S. There are so many things that I want to say, about so many people I talk to . But it is not easy to be very frank when in the hindsight, you can well imagine them reading the blog and stepping upon posts about themselves. Not that I make too many negative observations. If I do, those people won’t know about my blog anyway.

Guitar

My Acoustic beauty

 

So what do you think?? A little late to upload the image. I know!

Aischa

Are you “Lurking” here?

Are you reading this? Do you like it enough to come back another day to see what’s new with us?

Have you told us that you are here, and whether you like/dislike, agree/disagree with what we say here?

Have you? Great!

Haven’t you? Why not?

Are you “Lurking” around? Why are you hesitating to show face?

Encore

I don’t know why I am suddenly motivated to do this.

Raeha didn’t ask me to. And we haven’t talked about this. But I want to quote here another poem of hers. How talented a poetess she is, shall be proved shortly. This one is, for me. Written with a realisation of the fact that we won’t be together for long. That we have created a friendship which amazes us, too. And we will miss everything we have shared in this limited time. Not to even mention, that we were forced by circumstances, in each other’s (initially, weird and annoying) company.

There are many things I want to say and share. And re-live and quote…as I make this post. But this one shall exclusively be for Raeha’s masterpiece ENCORE:

 

True, I can believe it never

That the best thing to happen in my life

Occurred in the worst place ever

But then as you always say

“All That Matters”

I read myself in your limerick

And in the footnote

You ask me to be the critic

But on a second go

It seems to me

As a good bye song

And now looking at it

I feel its just so much wrong

You know why?

Because Choose

One year’s just not enough for you and I

True, passed has a whole year

But I still have not got enough of you

I, for once again, want to enter into

The dim lit second hand classroom

To sit by your side

And try to decipher that Mona Lisa smile

I still haven’t got over those regular clichés

“ I talked to RJ today”

I want to hear it one another day

When you call me in mid afternoon

I wake up from my peaceful sleep

Knowing it could be only you

“Moron” “Idiot”

“Woke me up from such a blissful dream”

That’s exactly what

I determine myself to throw at you

But Choose, I know it is known to you

All the access to those assertive curses

Get denied when I hear to your

So-seemingly-patient-but so eager “hi”

On another exhausting afternoon

I need to hear it one another time

It’s not enough for me

For me one year’s just not fine

There are more secrets to be shared

Our friendship is yet to be aired

There are so many more things to chat about

Our first argument, our first fight

Yet to be led out

Numerous physics numericals

That we together have to sit and sum

So many more songs

That in the bio lab need to be sung

Tell me why these lovely things

Have to come to an end

When it has just started

It’s because of all these lovely things

And many more

That I write this poem

And label it ‘Encore’

Because one year’s just not enough

I want to live these moments

With you, once more

 

Thanks Raeha, for the honour bestowed upon me! I am proud to be somebody you could remember as your best friend.

 P.S. I wish I could sign my name in big, imposing letters here, just like I did in that first review after our rubbish Bio Practical final exam! Remember?

Aischa

A few thoughts on my mind. Part 3 (Raeha)

Aischa: This post is about me, by Raeha. And she has written a poem for me expressing her feelings. It was written in the end of June about things which happened, then. But couldn’t make its way here, due to several restraints she (or rather, we) had been facing.

In any case, she has written an explanation in the footnote, on the theme of this poem. I was moved by the crystal clarity of her words. Because they were so..accurate (for the lack of the sensational word) and I was flummoxed because I didn’t know that she could read me like a book. If I have anything else to say, I shall add

On with the post:

Raeha:

 Aischa jan……

     I know, you have so much hidden inside

     Which you need to betray

     So much masterly that evolves there everyday

     And thats why you call me, probably

     So all of it you could share

     But instead you hear some different, indifferent voice 

     Telling you that yet again I am ‘not there’

     You hang up the phone and you subside

     And probably momentarily you doubt it all,

     But it fades away

     And with another hope

     Another day, once again you call……..

 

      But Aischa, you are my intimate

      And expectations from me are being

      Questioned almost everyday, but mate

      All I need from you is to be patient and to wait

      Cause these are my trying times and

      I am trying to hold on tight

      Right now there is so much at stake

      That now, I can’t let emotions deceive my mind.

      But Believe me girl, times would come before long

      And that’s precisely why I ask you to hang on 

      Even though it might seem like eternity

      There would be days when sun would rise up high

      And everyday would end with unstrained smiles……….

 

After I returned from Delhi (dissappointed), I thought atleast I definitely had something to look forward to. Atleast those Aischa – Raeha sessions of ours was a consolation. But I guess I was mistaken. I thought, despite of the severed situation around me (which I ignored thinking it won’t affect us), our friendship wouldn’t be vulnerable. I was mistaken all the beautiful things are, I guess, the most vulnerable ones!! And obviously, the fountainhead of that abnormality was me. So I tried to express the ‘How and What’ to you. Sans reductions. Sans embellishments.

Raeha

“The Woman in Your Life”.. Beautifully expressed!

This is a lovely write-up, I found in one of my parents’ papers. This is written for the guys, but girls can take a look as well

Tomorrow you may get a working woman, but you must marry with these facts as well:

Here is a girl, who is as much educated as you are; who is earning as much as you do;

One, who has dreams and aspirations just as you have, because she is as human as you are;

One, who has never entered the kitchen in her life, just as you or your sister haven’t, as she was busy in studies and competing in a system that gives no special concessions to girls for their culinary achievements;

One, who has lived and loved her parents & brothers & sisters , almost as much as you do for 20-25 years of her life;

One, who has bravely agreed to leave behind all that, her home, people who love her, to adopt your home, your family, your ways and even your family name;

One, who is somehow expected to be a master-chef from day #1, while you sleep oblivious to her predicament in her new circumstances, environment and that kitchen;

One, who is expected to make tea, first thing in the morning and cook food in the end of the day, even if she is as tired as you are, maybe more, and yet never ever expected to complain; to be a servant, a cook, a mother and a wife, even when she doesn’t feel like; and is learning just like you are as to what you want from her; and is clumsy and sloppy at times and knows that you won’t like it is she is too demanding;

One, who has her own set of friends, and that includes boys, those, who she knows from school days; even men from her workplace and yet is willing to put all that on back-burners to avoid your irrational jealousy, unnecessary competition and inherent insecurities;

Yes she can drink and dance just as well as you can, but won’t, simply because you don’t like it even though you say otherwise;

One, who can be late from work once in a while when deadlines, just like yours, are to be met;

One, who is doing her level best and wants to make this most important relationship in her entire life, a grand success, if you just help her some and trust her;

One, who just wants one thing from you, as you are the only one she knows in your entire house – your unstinted support, your sensitivities and most importantly – your understanding, or love, if you may call it.

But not many guys understand this…..

Please appreciate HER

I hope you will!

By Dr Divya Sequeira (Mumbai)

Do not forget to leave your comments about how you found it.

Aischa

A few thoughts on my mind: Part 2

I have been interacting with my co-years for quite some time now. It is a lot of fun and it makes me appreciate the concept of UWC even more. Its a great feeling to know that I am (and will be) getting to know these 100+ unique people who come from far and wide, India and abroad.

A couple of days back, I was chatting with Alex for the first time. He’s my co-year from the States. I had been asking him about his selection procedure. Along the lines, he said that MUWCI had initially been his #6 choice of all the UWCs, which he later re-ranked to #1. Of course I asked him what made him change his mind in favour of the Indian UWC. And he said:

I thought about what I really want from UWC. Wales or Italy would have been nice, but they wouldn’t have been very different from what I am used to. I wanted to be in a culture that was really different from my own.

Needless to say that Yours Truly was extremely impressed with this independent and smart thinking of her soon-to-be classmate. Not many people are comfortable with the idea of completely stepping out of their comfort zone.

And that re-enforces a few facts: Indian families tend to be protective. And although I don’t feel anything like that at the moment, Indian teens also grow up to be homely and familiarity-loving, compared to many of their counterparts in other parts of the world . Because we haven’t been away from home, we don’t know how to adjust, away from home. As proven by RJ’s response to when I told him why my classmate chose MUWCI. He was like: I, here, am having enormous trouble adjusting away from home, in my own country and this guy is actually looking for an outlandish environment. Whoa!

I am also glad to announce that my guitar is on its way to me. Looks like tomorrow I should see one of the models which could be mine. And the second should turn up in another two or three days. This is really something I am looking forward to as it should initiate: more practice, more fun, more experiments and of course, improved finger movement. Raeha is also very excited to see it. Or rather, watch me play! (Even if I am just a beginner)

Raeha is back, by the way. And she should turn up soon with a brand new post. She isn’t in Bombay. 18ths are unlucky for her travels, it seems. This time it was a cancelled train, thanks to the Gurjars!

Let there be Peace!

Aischa

7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens

 

A couple of weeks back, I bought this baby.

Usually my dad is very encouraging about reading. But that does not involve buying expensive paperbacks. Libraries, free digital books, second hand books, cheaper reproductions are his way…And I respect that completely.

I liked this book since the time I first spotted it in a bookstore of a glittering mall (read: EXPENSIVE) in Bombay. And my cheaper resources failed in the intermediate time. Not that I have much benefit with libraries and second hand stores, here in Kota.

While in Jodhpur, I convinced my generous bhai to let me have it. Oh the joys of getting the long awaited!

Stories aside: I would recommend this book all my peers who are walking the line in their teens!

Author: Sean Covey

Introduction: A retired teen, Son of Stephen Covey (author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People)

The habits are the same:

1. Be Proactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
3. Put first things first
4. Think Win-Win
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the saw

The book is so much better than the father’s (Read: BORING) version. The author communicates with teens without any preachy sounding crap.

The 7 habits tag is misleading. It was a lot more than that. Its also so much about the delicate nature (and path-breaking consequences) of important decisions made in the roller coaster of teenage. The relationship bank account (RBA) and personal bank account (PBA) were good concepts.

Peppered with anecdotes, poetry, baby steps, cartoons and quotations: this is actually one self-help that I could read till the fin (eagerly and effortlessly!).

Now ofcourse, the only challenge is APPLICATION of what I have read.

Peace Out!

Aischa

Its not too late to apologise..

Raeha and I are really sorry for the indulging in the kind of indulgence not permitted to bloggers. Absence!

But on the other hand, you can’t blame school kids to bunk their blog because vacations are a must getaways for all poor souls. And even with access to some internet, there is never enough time out permitted by family for us to write in peace for ourselves and our wonderful, wonderful readers!

I remember being labeled as “Net addict” by my infamous cousin RJ, if (and always) he would find me on! I was even cut off from reading Ebooks.

Yet I can boast of having finished reading The Catcher in the Rye one fine day in Jodhpur.

In the end, I shamelessly admit that I have no regrets of having led a relatively internet free life in the last three weeks! The joys of real world over virtual world are something..

Raeha jan is another story. Although I have been in touch with her, I am incapable of explaining her irresponsibility towards the blog in the last couple of weeks. Hmmph!

Her most important task is yet unfulfilled. She has been in Delhi all this time. And a trip to Chor Baazaar hasn’t been materialised. You see, she has got this large heart with which she promised to get me something from Delhi. Later she clarified that glittering malls were not on her list, as far as my present was concerned. Uff! the compromises of being Raeha’s best friend.

But you can be happy for her because her plan to go to Bombay to meet her old friends (and locate her man A****) has taken a solid shape of departure on the 18th.

I hope 18th of June has better prospects for her than 18th of May which came as a disappointment of cancelled plans of her vacation in Bangalore. Do you know what it feels like to have a vacation you had set your heart to, get cancelled for the craziest of reasons?

Everything else aside, I am back! Can’t say the same about Raeha. But you know, she hasn’t had her due break as yet. So lets see if Her Majesty gets some time off to bless her blog one of these days.

Yours Truly

Aischa

From “Shaheed” to “Karim’s”

Hey

So yesterday when everyone was bored like hell in the evening, we decided to visit the India Gate (I guess its worth mentioning that although being a frequent visitor of Delhi, I hadn’t had a chance to behold it well). So all the same we decided to go there. The whole place was jam packed I must say, with families and the lovebirds (which were more common!).

But first things first: The India Gate: Simply built, graceful and definitely one of the most imposing, below which was burning the ever kindling Amar Jawan Jyoti (an ode to the shaheed jawans of the country).

What mesmerised me the most was the fact (which definitely was not known to me till yet) that on the bricks of its walls were carved the names of the ‘shaheed’ from the Second World War with their ranks preceding their names (from the generals, to the sepoys and the hawaldars). Each carved neatly on the fair bricks. It was strange! Strange to read the names of the hundreds and thousands of those people which we had simply crammed in numbers for our history tests. The aura restricted only till the aftermath of the exams. But now standing there and getting the real feel of all the casualities and deaths and the loss that once we only thought as mere burdens to memorize. We thought we could do without.

I was wrong! Standing there I reckon I got that in my head.

But soon the situation changed (actually the weather) and due to the downpour, we had to retreat to the car. We were starving too. It was then decided to browse through chandni chowk, which is the best market. We passed by the magnificent Jama Masjid and moved into some untraceable galis where we at last found our final destination - “The Karim’s” one of the most popular restaurants in the whole of Asia. I ordered mutton stew and butter chicken and seek kebab which were unquestionably yummy!! 

The burqa clad women were another site with their radiant beauty almost at middle of the night!

So all in all, it wasn’t as boring as the day was initially anticipated to be!!

Hey Aischa! You were definitely missed at every moment of it, especially at the Karim’s

Raeha