This week that year

A cautionary fore statement would be that this post is in no way related to Valentine’s day or the likes. (The author believes the whole concept of Valentine’s day blah is nothing more than overrated celluloid induced kitsch, but well! That’s just the author’s opinion and a completely different story reserved for another day)

Anyway, I just sit here wondering what was going through my head and life at this time of the year over the last many years. I am surprised with a realization that I  am mildly victimized by a selective memory phenomenon. In other words, I don’t really remember what I was doing during the Valentine’s day week pre-2006. Honestly, I really don’t  😉

In 2006, I remember being on a roll. I had just lost some weight, feeling very good. IIIT-H (my alma mater) was having her annual fest , felicity. It was fun though I spent my moments wondering

1. if I should get a girl friend (haha! As if they grow on trees!)  or continue to live a free life ( Khula saand if I am allowed to use the partial profanity :p)
2. if I should seriously give CAT a shot or have a happy workless life working in some small time company

2007   V-day week was a little more eventful. I had to prepare hard for two things  … the IIM interviews  and trying to finish more than 4 laps at the Gachibowli stadium’s  swimming pool (never managed to 😦 )  And of course, life was taking quite a beating on the emotional side due to my sheer lack of emotions (or rather no opportunity to display them)  in life around that point of time. (dead inside ?! What a loser … :P)

2008 V-day week was at Joka (God bless Joka!! ) , the IIM-Calcutta campus. Academically, it was the worst period of my life. No dont get me wrong . Life was awesome … but my scores were low  that term. So thats why the previous statement.

Anyway, it was also the time when I carried out some self inflicted fradulent romanticism. For instance, since most of my pals were blaming me for the highest levels of insensitivity, I went to the jetty on the night of 14th Feb, took a chocolate , said *happy valentine’s day* and  threw it into the lake. The jolly good batchmates of mine actually thought I was treating the campus lake like a wishing well for future romantic opportunities . Lol …  how sweet of them ! little did they know that I did it only because I was a tad drunk and was trying to get rid of the chocolate because a caterpillar crawled on it … voila !

2009 and 2010 V-day weeks were  killers … I wouldn’t talk too much about personal stuff 🙂

2011 V-day week …. started off with Lalla getting married  😀  and I was so happy for him…see! So much for fellows blaming me on the insensitivity factor. Now I have to go someday to London to party with Lalla and Lalli 😉

Well ! Right now … I am sitting here with my bags packed and would be on a flight to  Palolem, (Goa) in another couple of hours . Well I am not exactly a romantic… more like a party fella who enjoys the dark paradoxes of life a little too well …need I say more ! 🙂

– Ghost Runner

The one on irony, clapping and ‘happy’ness

FOREWORD: A true story ….

It was a boring session on a boring Wednesday afternoon at school for the 9 yr old in 5th grade / 5th standard .

The kid looked up at the wall clock in the classroom. It was almost time for the growth period (or GP in short). It was his favourite period. He hardly played sports, being a tad weaker physically than the other kids (He would, in later years take to the gym ,but thats a different story 😉 ) . He found the academic sessions, the pottery classes, the drawing period, the music classes very much sleep-inducing. Since he found them all obligations thrown at him  exactly when he was not in the mood for them.

But the GP was the good one. He had basically nothing to do but just  random things which were quite different every week.

That time around, there was this weird guru coming in as a guest and the topic was ‘exercises of happiness‘. Since it was an external special guest, the headmistress would be there too along with the class teacher.

So it started. The guru started singing …

If you are happy and you know it clap your hands …

(everyone claps twice in rythm)

If you are happy and you know it clap your hands ….

(everyone claps twice in rythm again)

if you are happy and you know it and you really want to join, if you are happy and you know it clap your hands

(the claps get louder)

The kid was enjoying it! Just one difference from the rest. The random dual-clapping reminded him of what hijras in India  do as a trademark act.Mind you! He never had anything of a derogatory opinion about the hijras, but he just found that particular GP exercise ridiculously funny.

So everytime the other kids clapped, he just  laughed his a** off . Just because it was funny.

After the GP, he was called to the principal’s office . What followed was the principal thrashing his  a** off for laughing his a** off !

To this day I wonder! In that clapping moment, the 9 year old ( who you might have guessed was yours truly)  was actually happier  laughing than the other kids clapping …

Well ! A complete objective mismatch from the principal and headmistress’ side! Such was the irony that day 😦

😛