Heeding to the wishes of my friend, here I relate the story(!!) of the "Big Mom"..
Who is "Big Mom"..? That is... yours truly! My BITSian name is supposedly Big Mom, but I can assure you no one actually called me by that name except in the first few weeks!
It all began in the first semester. We were about 11 girls from the same class in school at Pilani. At one point of time, we were badly ragged by some seniors..(Who will not if 45 people land from the same school..including the boys?). After that session, I believe I spoke some encouraging and sensible words(Well.. I never cried.. thats all. I don't remember saying anything ;)). So, the gang of girls decided to name me "Big Mom". I was Ok.. I mean Big Mom is not too bad a name... is it?
Then came the misery.. The friends(??) felt it was too long and decided to shorten it. Some of them called me "Big" and some "Mom". Since the latter was confusing, they decided "Big" was the best bet... and it stuck on. All of them :( , except of course the Professors and the boys(!!) called me "Big" at BITS. There were other forms used as well.. Bada, Badi, B..
I was Ok.. as long as it was confined to the walls of the hostel. But more often than not, I had somebody shouting at me at the top of the voice in the corridor... "Biggggggggg.. Hi!". I felt more irritated that anything else responding to whoever that was!
Even now, after so many years... when I bump into a BITSian girl from my batch, they have a confused look as to how to address me :|, and the first thing I tell them is my name! So much for having studied at the same place!!
Now, its an old story and not many people call me so but I must admit, I am relieved! I won't say I am missing too much of my name... but I do miss some of the folks who called me so :). Anyway, its a small world and I will surely catch up with them all!
So, thats it for now. Signing off!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Books
Since my posts are so far and few in between.. I am gonna stop making excuses. This is my next post ;).
I wanted to talk about Books this time and the habit of reading. Ironically, I never read fiction when I was young, my reading was restricted to Text books(:|), Comics and Magazines! I started off in my college second year with the Sidney Sheldon thriller - "If Tomorrow comes". Then came a group of Sidney Sheldon books and loads of M & B's. In the hostel, you got a M & B from almost anybody! When taking it, I used to ask.. "How is it?"!! :) To be fair to the authors, I think most of them had/have similar plots ;).Strange!!
And then I got the reading bug, so to say. Shifted to John Grisham after that. I liked his court room related stuff. I actually had two of his books gifted for my Birthday one year. My friends not sure which book of his was good consulted our Batch topper for the title. I must admit, my friend looked more excited at talking to him rather than celebrating my birthday :D.
Anyway, I continued with this habit in Hyderabad as well. There, I grabbed my first copy of Harry Potter and the rest is history. Refer to my earlier post which talks about my obsession for the Harry Potter series! I also managed to read Ayn Rand's master pieces - Atlas Shrugged and The Fountain Head. Besides all of this, I have also read my share of Self Help books ;).
So what kinda book fascinates me..thats a question I have no clear answer. I like books which stimulate me. Until now, I have enjoyed books that have had humour, have discussed some strong ideas or have been informative.
I intend to carry on.. Next on my list is P.G.Wodehouse, Management books and Autobiographies..
I wanted to talk about Books this time and the habit of reading. Ironically, I never read fiction when I was young, my reading was restricted to Text books(:|), Comics and Magazines! I started off in my college second year with the Sidney Sheldon thriller - "If Tomorrow comes". Then came a group of Sidney Sheldon books and loads of M & B's. In the hostel, you got a M & B from almost anybody! When taking it, I used to ask.. "How is it?"!! :) To be fair to the authors, I think most of them had/have similar plots ;).Strange!!
And then I got the reading bug, so to say. Shifted to John Grisham after that. I liked his court room related stuff. I actually had two of his books gifted for my Birthday one year. My friends not sure which book of his was good consulted our Batch topper for the title. I must admit, my friend looked more excited at talking to him rather than celebrating my birthday :D.
Anyway, I continued with this habit in Hyderabad as well. There, I grabbed my first copy of Harry Potter and the rest is history. Refer to my earlier post which talks about my obsession for the Harry Potter series! I also managed to read Ayn Rand's master pieces - Atlas Shrugged and The Fountain Head. Besides all of this, I have also read my share of Self Help books ;).
So what kinda book fascinates me..thats a question I have no clear answer. I like books which stimulate me. Until now, I have enjoyed books that have had humour, have discussed some strong ideas or have been informative.
I intend to carry on.. Next on my list is P.G.Wodehouse, Management books and Autobiographies..
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Book Mom
These breaks between posts is not helping. Today's post is an attempt to actually post something rather than having something incredible to say! Still, moving on..
I'd relate an incident which, in hindsight, I reckon has changed my life! I was a timid school student, who by virtue of the school I studied in and my Mom scored good in my higher secondary examinations and got an admission to BITS, Pilani. I was sent there primarily due to Appa's wish.. I still remember his statement - "I will send you even for a sweeping course at BITS. You need to grow up and be independent, you need to get out of this house, you must go to BITS". It helped that about a dozen folks were coming from my class in school... so I was not alone. We reached Pilani, I got a few shocks, met a couple of seniors and tried to decipher the registration process and the time table book and stuff.
Then, the inevitable happened. My parents left for Chennai leaving me to fend for myself. I was devastated, to say the least. To add to the misery, I was ragged by a senior during lunch, I spoke a little and got back more and was branded as "thadi" [arrogant in BITSian parlance]. I was perhaps breaking down, did not want to stay there any longer..:|
My ego or my self esteem did not allow me to cry in front of others, so I was there crying my heart out all alone in the night on the bed and trying to fall asleep. At around 11:15 p.m, I had somebody calling out my name in the corridor. It was a second year student whom I had met earlier and from who I was to buy my text books[We call them Book Mom/Pop in BITS ;)]. I don't know what went through her mind, she said that she had come to take me to her room to give away the books. I was shocked :-(, her wing was notorious for ragging and I was wearing a night suit at that point.. a strict no-no for a fresher. She insisted and I had to go...
I think it was pretty obvious that I was crying, many folks noticed :-( and have told me as well! To her credit, my Book Mom did not once ask why I was crying. She went about and gave me all the books, told me how I should read them and the books that I can use for reference etc etc. So at about 12:15 in the night, I walked off from her wing with a huge pile of books and went back to my room. I kept them all on the chair and looked at them. It struck me then, I have come to Pilani to study and have no business to think about anything else. I have the books that I need to study and that should be my focus. My mind cleared and I decided to complete my education come whatsoever.
Its a fact that those 4 years at Pilani were some of the best years of my life! I changed from a timid naive person to a confident person. And I must thank my Book Mom for this! Good Bless her with the best in life!
I strongly believe that the Divine power sent her to me that night. There was no need for her to come to my wing that night, she could have told somebody to pass on the message. There was no need for her to take me to her wing and give all the books, she could have just decided that I was not keeping well and so should collect the books later. There was no need for her to behave normally and talk about the course work, she could have tried to sympathize and help me out. But, fortunately, she did none of these, but showed me the focus of my life in her own way.
My faith is that when we are down and giving up, we usually find people who talk/ behave in a manner that gives us hope and focus in life. Its happened to me a couple of times with friends, relations and my Mom (especially) dishing out nuggets that have change my outlook and mood in life. So, I just want to thank them all and the Divine for it! :).
I'd relate an incident which, in hindsight, I reckon has changed my life! I was a timid school student, who by virtue of the school I studied in and my Mom scored good in my higher secondary examinations and got an admission to BITS, Pilani. I was sent there primarily due to Appa's wish.. I still remember his statement - "I will send you even for a sweeping course at BITS. You need to grow up and be independent, you need to get out of this house, you must go to BITS". It helped that about a dozen folks were coming from my class in school... so I was not alone. We reached Pilani, I got a few shocks, met a couple of seniors and tried to decipher the registration process and the time table book and stuff.
Then, the inevitable happened. My parents left for Chennai leaving me to fend for myself. I was devastated, to say the least. To add to the misery, I was ragged by a senior during lunch, I spoke a little and got back more and was branded as "thadi" [arrogant in BITSian parlance]. I was perhaps breaking down, did not want to stay there any longer..:|
My ego or my self esteem did not allow me to cry in front of others, so I was there crying my heart out all alone in the night on the bed and trying to fall asleep. At around 11:15 p.m, I had somebody calling out my name in the corridor. It was a second year student whom I had met earlier and from who I was to buy my text books[We call them Book Mom/Pop in BITS ;)]. I don't know what went through her mind, she said that she had come to take me to her room to give away the books. I was shocked :-(, her wing was notorious for ragging and I was wearing a night suit at that point.. a strict no-no for a fresher. She insisted and I had to go...
I think it was pretty obvious that I was crying, many folks noticed :-( and have told me as well! To her credit, my Book Mom did not once ask why I was crying. She went about and gave me all the books, told me how I should read them and the books that I can use for reference etc etc. So at about 12:15 in the night, I walked off from her wing with a huge pile of books and went back to my room. I kept them all on the chair and looked at them. It struck me then, I have come to Pilani to study and have no business to think about anything else. I have the books that I need to study and that should be my focus. My mind cleared and I decided to complete my education come whatsoever.
Its a fact that those 4 years at Pilani were some of the best years of my life! I changed from a timid naive person to a confident person. And I must thank my Book Mom for this! Good Bless her with the best in life!
I strongly believe that the Divine power sent her to me that night. There was no need for her to come to my wing that night, she could have told somebody to pass on the message. There was no need for her to take me to her wing and give all the books, she could have just decided that I was not keeping well and so should collect the books later. There was no need for her to behave normally and talk about the course work, she could have tried to sympathize and help me out. But, fortunately, she did none of these, but showed me the focus of my life in her own way.
My faith is that when we are down and giving up, we usually find people who talk/ behave in a manner that gives us hope and focus in life. Its happened to me a couple of times with friends, relations and my Mom (especially) dishing out nuggets that have change my outlook and mood in life. So, I just want to thank them all and the Divine for it! :).
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Me Back
Ok. I am back blogging after some.... time. Many things have happened during this time. I shifted back home to Bangalore. Its been a pleasant experience until now ;-), and I hope it stays that way!
I am missing Hyderabad :-( ! I used to grumble if I spent more than 20 minutes travelling to work and now my travel takes close to 1 1/2 hours :-(. I am told thats normal here! God, I don't wish to spend my life in any city.. I'd rather be in a two-tier city or a campus like Pilani where you don't waste time on the road! Otherwise, things have been smooth..
Missing folks at work. Its rather strange to sit and work on your own. I am generally taciturn, but with the team and known folks, I can be rather bositerous :D. I am soon going to have sore hands with all that typing ;-) at work!
So, thats about it for now.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Accounts!
I am finally done. I am tired of this "kanakku" business. Having avoided it for four long years.. I was forced to do it today.. and I did it. Rounded it off with a bite of good ol Dairy Milk celebrating the momentous occasion!
To add in, I sent my stuff to Chennai and Bangalore today. Its slowly sinking in.. I am finally quitting Hyderabad, feeling rather psenti. I love this place :)
To add in, I sent my stuff to Chennai and Bangalore today. Its slowly sinking in.. I am finally quitting Hyderabad, feeling rather psenti. I love this place :)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Chennai
Currently, am at Chennai to attend my friend's wedding.
If I am currently at Chennai, where do I actually belong to ;-). My family is basically from Chennai, now settled at Bangalore.. and I am currently working at Hyderabad :D. Soon I am taking a transfer to Bangalore and settling at home(finally!!).
The thought of going home is giving me the jitters inspite of all the excitement :. I have to "unlearn" a lot of things that I have learnt over these years away from home.. at hostel and at work. I hope its not too painful :-(
If I am currently at Chennai, where do I actually belong to ;-). My family is basically from Chennai, now settled at Bangalore.. and I am currently working at Hyderabad :D. Soon I am taking a transfer to Bangalore and settling at home(finally!!).
The thought of going home is giving me the jitters inspite of all the excitement :. I have to "unlearn" a lot of things that I have learnt over these years away from home.. at hostel and at work. I hope its not too painful :-(
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Through the day
My mood is not any better now than it was in the afternoon. There is a difference between a conscious decision and a conscious effort, I made the former but did not do the latter! But how does one pep your mood at work :-/. But I am coping and hope I cool off soon. I am tired of this, it looks like I am mourning something!
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