It's dark and windy, the moon is shining high. The time is a couple of hours after the 7pm curfew at hostel B5... A bunch of girls and the freedom of a late night movie show- the only thing that lies between them is a wall topped with barbed wire. Did they scale it and discover rebellion? Or was the stunt confined to their imagination?
They finished their dinner, gathered near the lowest part of the wall, checked if anybody was around. No one. One by one they jumped out from between the wall and the barb wire, braving bruises and nervousness. They landed on a heap of garbage and made their way out onto the road across mounds of red red mud. The dogs howled in celebration of rebellion and the girls enjoyed a really crappy movie, a midnight coffee and the moment's freedom.
The end.
P.S. Undergrad at Andhra University.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Spring
Staring across a barren brown scape,
With bated breath I waited for you;
Solitary musings sand prints as I walked-
Nothing but sandstorms filling the view.
Wanting for the sand to blow away,
Unearthing a new life of spring,
The desert, my soul parched, waiting
For the elixir the rain could bring.
I opened my eyes to the gentle breeze;
Desolate brown had turned to green;
I looked around for you, in vain,
All faded away- a dream it had been!
Then the flowers bloomed again, fragrances ecstatic;
Not just in my mind's eye, for real was my heart free;
Birds chirping, butterflies fluttering, branches waving,
Bliss everywhere- my prince charming had come for me :-)
P.S. Poetry makes my prince charming sleepy.
With bated breath I waited for you;
Solitary musings sand prints as I walked-
Nothing but sandstorms filling the view.
Wanting for the sand to blow away,
Unearthing a new life of spring,
The desert, my soul parched, waiting
For the elixir the rain could bring.
I opened my eyes to the gentle breeze;
Desolate brown had turned to green;
I looked around for you, in vain,
All faded away- a dream it had been!
Then the flowers bloomed again, fragrances ecstatic;
Not just in my mind's eye, for real was my heart free;
Birds chirping, butterflies fluttering, branches waving,
Bliss everywhere- my prince charming had come for me :-)
P.S. Poetry makes my prince charming sleepy.
The Borra Expedition
It was vacation time- we were a group of six girls planning a picnic to Borra Caves located four hours from campus. So we set out in a little train, early in the morning, eager to explore. Our train with tiny box-like carriages snaked its way through hills and flowery valleys. Thirty tunnels later we feasted our eyes on the caves magnificently lit with mercury, halogen and sodium vapor lamps.
The guided tour lasted a couple of hours and we were still restless. One of us hit upon the idea of trekking the hills through which the Gosthani flowed. I started dreaming of a siesta along the cool river bank. It was hardly steep and fairly grassy where we got off the road. As we descended further down the hill vegetation became denser and we could hardly see beyond 300 yards or so. All my excitement waned after walking barefoot for about ninety minutes (trust my friend to borrow my only pair of shoes at the wrong time and send me off to visit caves in high heels), which was when we realized we were lost. We looked back- no road; we looked ahead- all trees. We ‘trekked’ some more and heard the flow of the river. It was a pleasant change from the high traffic honks or the ceiling fan. We kept going towards the sound of the river.
Bye bye siesta…We reached the river only to find out it had no bank but was lined by rocks at some places and thorny bush at others. We still hoped to find some place that was nice and shady so we walked along the river. There were times when there was no way to walk beside the river, we had to trot from one rock to another on a river riddled with whirlpools, till we found a ‘walk-able’ stretch of land along it. Soon we were missing home very badly and wanted to get on the road as soon as possible. We walked and climbed and crawled away from the river and were desperate for signs of humankind. After about five hours it was not-so-steep again and the trees started clearing a little bit. And lo! There was a huge pile of dung right in the middle of a clearing (I’d never imagined a pile of dung would make us so happy); at that moment it meant there were cattle around and PEOPLE minding the cattle.
We yelled for help at the top of our voices and soon came face to face with the cattle herders. We managed to cut through the language barrier and communicate to them that we wanted to get back on the road. Thankfully, our two kiddo guides, barely 4 feet tall, led us back to safety. A jeep going downhill gave us a ride. We thanked the driver for giving us a ride to the bus stop and a sound scolding. “Do you realize how dangerous the river is- so many people have drowned in the past”, “What if it had rained- you never know when it rains around here and the steeper parts would’ve been impossible to climb”, “There are dangerous snakes down there; all of you are out of your minds” are some quotes from Suresh the life-saver-Jeep-driver. At least he could get his point across to us very easily- there was no language problem with this guy.
We thought long and hard about the day on the way back (except for two who were very nauseated from the drive on the hilly winding roads). We thought it was a little irresponsible to venture off like that without knowing how safe or dangerous it was. On the other hand it was a welcome change from the dull, boring classes and industry tours. It was an exciting day for those of us who had never before gone beyond the safety of the city into the wilderness. Yeah yeah, we did get a little lost and worried at places, but the little ‘adventure’ was worth it all.
P.S. Undergrad at Andhra University.
The guided tour lasted a couple of hours and we were still restless. One of us hit upon the idea of trekking the hills through which the Gosthani flowed. I started dreaming of a siesta along the cool river bank. It was hardly steep and fairly grassy where we got off the road. As we descended further down the hill vegetation became denser and we could hardly see beyond 300 yards or so. All my excitement waned after walking barefoot for about ninety minutes (trust my friend to borrow my only pair of shoes at the wrong time and send me off to visit caves in high heels), which was when we realized we were lost. We looked back- no road; we looked ahead- all trees. We ‘trekked’ some more and heard the flow of the river. It was a pleasant change from the high traffic honks or the ceiling fan. We kept going towards the sound of the river.
Bye bye siesta…We reached the river only to find out it had no bank but was lined by rocks at some places and thorny bush at others. We still hoped to find some place that was nice and shady so we walked along the river. There were times when there was no way to walk beside the river, we had to trot from one rock to another on a river riddled with whirlpools, till we found a ‘walk-able’ stretch of land along it. Soon we were missing home very badly and wanted to get on the road as soon as possible. We walked and climbed and crawled away from the river and were desperate for signs of humankind. After about five hours it was not-so-steep again and the trees started clearing a little bit. And lo! There was a huge pile of dung right in the middle of a clearing (I’d never imagined a pile of dung would make us so happy); at that moment it meant there were cattle around and PEOPLE minding the cattle.
We yelled for help at the top of our voices and soon came face to face with the cattle herders. We managed to cut through the language barrier and communicate to them that we wanted to get back on the road. Thankfully, our two kiddo guides, barely 4 feet tall, led us back to safety. A jeep going downhill gave us a ride. We thanked the driver for giving us a ride to the bus stop and a sound scolding. “Do you realize how dangerous the river is- so many people have drowned in the past”, “What if it had rained- you never know when it rains around here and the steeper parts would’ve been impossible to climb”, “There are dangerous snakes down there; all of you are out of your minds” are some quotes from Suresh the life-saver-Jeep-driver. At least he could get his point across to us very easily- there was no language problem with this guy.
We thought long and hard about the day on the way back (except for two who were very nauseated from the drive on the hilly winding roads). We thought it was a little irresponsible to venture off like that without knowing how safe or dangerous it was. On the other hand it was a welcome change from the dull, boring classes and industry tours. It was an exciting day for those of us who had never before gone beyond the safety of the city into the wilderness. Yeah yeah, we did get a little lost and worried at places, but the little ‘adventure’ was worth it all.
P.S. Undergrad at Andhra University.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Joie De Vivre
Chatting by the hours,
even those mindless tales;
has given way to moments-
special moments I cherish,
special moments I relish...
All the time that we shared-
whether eloquent conversations
or petty nuances; all told me,
I'm so glad that I know you,
so glad to be there for you.
P.S. This explains my phone bill during high school.
even those mindless tales;
has given way to moments-
special moments I cherish,
special moments I relish...
All the time that we shared-
whether eloquent conversations
or petty nuances; all told me,
I'm so glad that I know you,
so glad to be there for you.
P.S. This explains my phone bill during high school.
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