Archive for the ‘Anecdote’ Category
Stuff of Memories: Parents’ Trip to the US
My parents went back to India last month after a two and a half month stay with us in the US. This was their first visit to the West and I am sure that there must have been several big-ticket highlights for them. But for me, the small little things that they did or experienced stand out. I am listing a randomly recalled 11 occasions that have all the potential of being the stuff of memories.
Alas, MJ
The famous guy who I shared (just) my initials with died last Thursday at 50. Michael Jackson enthralled the world for about 40 years before giving up the ghost. The death of any other singer of English songs would not have moved me so much – but MJ was a huge cultural cross-over. Outside of the US too, he was a childhood icon of many a non-English speaking people and a cool embodiment of all the razzle-dazzle that West represented for us.
My Frustrating Experience with Mentorship
I am en route to the year-end function being hosted by iMentor in Brooklyn. I am going there somewhat reluctantly: more out of a sense of obligation than a sense of excitement, especially when attending the event meant delaying the weekend visit to Middletown.
Thus Wrote the Murderer
‘Kill Johanna. She must die’, thus wrote the murderer. While the evidence suggested the deceased student had been targeted in the campus of Wesleyan University at Middletown this Wednesday, it caused widespread panic since the murderer also wrote – ‘I think it’s ok to kill Jews and go on a killing spree at this school.’
‘One of your students has been killed. His body is in the Honeymoon Garden’, thus wrote the murderer. While the evidence suggested that the deceased student had been targeted in the campus of Sainik School Ghorakhal at Nainital in 1994, it caused widespread panic since the murderer also wrote, ‘Murders like this will be repeated.’
Between ‘Pahad’ and ‘Terai’
My father hails from the village of Joshidhura (near Jalna, Lamgarha) in the district of Almora and my mother grew up in the village of Kande (part of Satraali, near Takula), also in Almora. Currently, they live in Kathgodam in the district of Nainital – which, like Almora, is also in the state of Uttaranchal, India. I am told I was born in Joshidhura but memories of first 4 years spent there are all but hazy. My parents shifted base to Bhavar, the foothills (between ‘Pahad‘ – the hills and ‘Terai‘ – the plains), when my sister and I were young and that’s where we grew up – first in Kashipur and then at Kathgodam. With his few savings and a huge loan, my father built a house in installments in the colony of Tulsinagar, Kathogodam in 1984. I know this because during a renovation, I was the one who wrote ’1984′ upon wet cement above the entrance, inspired more by George Orwell than the actual year of the construction, however I believe I kept the error of margin within plus/minus one.
Have I Been Spoilt by the US?
Last week, I completed 2 years of stay in the US. Before moving to the US, I had always lived an itinerant life – never staying in one place more than a couple of years (although always somewhere in India). Sometime in 2008, Nidhi and I decided that we will not apply for a Greencard and that we will eventually move to India. We resolved that we will never become too comfortable to move elsewhere. I lived with this faith until our return from a recent trip to Morocco. That you start thinking of a place as home is proven when you look forward to being back there. Undoubtedly, the trip to Morocco was spectacular in general but we faced a few incidents that shuddered us and perhaps increased the sense of belonging to the US. My apologies as I might be digging the dirty belly of Morocco in this post but there is no point in pretending some things never happened.
A Life-Defining Hurrah of An Adventure
I come across countless stories of adventure all the time however none moved me as much as something that was recently accomplished by my friend, Astrid. She (along with Alex, her brother) recently walked along the Himalayas on a ten-month trek (check out their wonderful blog here). They started their trek at Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) and then continued through the arc of Himalayas, passing through Uttarakhand (my home province) and Nepal (the full length from west to east), finally concluding their journey in Sikkim. They did not know the local languages, there is very limited travel infrastructure in this region and good reliable literature is scarce. I really admire the duo’s zest for adventure and their love of the mountains. I also felt a sense of loss as I felt left out of adventure – not theirs but in general.
Just What The Dentist Ordered!
I am not sure what came upon me when I visited a dentist recently for a check-up. It was meant to be preventive but it has ended up causing me exactly what it was meant to prevent: loads of pain, incessantly. I remember as a boy, we read a poem by Ogden Nash called ‘This is going to hurt just a little bit’ where the poet hilariously describes the experience of visiting a dentist. I remember this poem because it was the first time I learnt the expression ‘vicious cycle’. But today, while reading it again, I identified with each and every line.
