Rajshri

For the last couple of weeks, I've been catching up on childhood and teenage memories - the overwhelmingly sweet productions of Rajshri films. So far, I've covered HAHK, HSSH and Vivaah. I'll probably watch MPK today. Its been great. I enjoy these films as much now as I did when they were first released. Maybe its the simplicity, innocence, whatever. It really doesn't matter. All that I care about is that, for a couple of hours, (maybe more :D), I'm transported into a colorful, musical world, where everyone constantly smiles at everyone. I may not like to live in such a world, but I definitely don't mind being a visitor for short periods of time.

My absolute favorite is Vivaah. How can anyone not like this movie? Its just incomprehensible to me. Every conversation that Prem and Poonam have is so meaningful and poignant. And the songs. Any mention of Vivaah is incomplete without recognition of the soundtrack. Mujhe Haq Hai - What a composition! I can hum it forever.

I'm really eager to start seeing MPK, so I'll stop now. Oh, before I do that, two of my friends deserve to be recognized on a public forum. First, Nikku, for being my companion-in-crime, especially for Vivaah. That was a real fun evening. And second, Ranj, who recognized the line that I put as my status on GTalk - you rock, Ranj! Absolutely brilliant. For the curious, the line was - "Jab Sardi Ho Toh Barf Ki Paani Nahin Peena Chahiye". Which, by the way, is a TRUE fact.

2/3 Satan * 100i

This semester has been really fun, so far. Don't know if it'll stay that way after the subjects of this blog read this post. Well, what's life without a few risks?

The title of this blog is my address, encoded in a very "creative" way. A few of the forthcoming blog entries is dedicated to my entertaining new room-mates - Wealth of Kingdom, Auspicious and Suitable, Everything and Song/Hymn.

I was bored, trying to come up with something original everytime. So I decided to interview Everything, a.k.a Nikku. Just so that you don't feel she's a stranger, here are a few MUST-KNOW facts about her - she's an amazing cook, she's obsessed with her curls, she's long, she's the boss and she's an amazing cook. I love her culinary skills so much that I had to write it twice. I am going to ask her to describe the rest of us in 3 words, or less. Here goes:

P: So Nikku, how does it feel to be interviewed today?
N: (Full 32 teeth showing) I feel like a Spanish model. Shall I get my flowers?

(Brief chuckle shared)

P:How did it feel walking the ramp yesterday?
N:It was great, so awesome. The best parts were my red shiny flowers, and people asking me for my autograph.

P: Moving on, describe Gai in three words or less..
N:(In splits) Gai, (thinking) ..."G for Gayathri, G for Genius", my love and dumb.

P: Ok, you took more than three words...
N: Let's make it three phrases...
P: That's a good idea.

P: Bhavya next..
N: Weird, Weird, Weird IT-ni..

P: I should have specified three different words. Never mind. How about Raj?
N: I have no words to describe her. She's always there with me. No no..I have a song - Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin Todenge..

(P: I wish I could record Nikku singing and post it in here)

P: Finally, me.
N: Pooooooooooooooojaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..
P: Is that it?
N: Yeah. That's like a lot. You're not seeing the love in that.

P: Now I see. Thank you. Is there anything else you want to add to anything?
N: Yes. We all rock - shop-a-holics.
P: That we do. Thank you for your valuable time. We'll see what the others have to say soon enough.

Signing off,

(Ace Reporter a.k.a Gossip Columnist) Pooja Kumar

Broken

In one of the episodes of Grey's last season, I heard this song. Googled it and found this. I just fell in love with the song. Following TV shows has introduced me to a few artists I wouldn't have come across otherwise - Roisin Murphy, OneRepublic, The Fray, Nellie McKay, Kate Havnevik, Snow Patrol, Daniel Powter......

Its Diwali time. I gave up the fireworks habit a long time ago, but being here in B'burg, I miss all the noise and confusion that abounds back home. I remember the little contests that all of us used to have back in the good old days - who has how many boxes of which brand of which type of crackers!!!!!!!

What's going to keep me focused through the next couple of months is the fact that I'm going to be going home for a few weeks through Dec-Jan. Yippee!!! I can't wait. I'm already planning every hour. And after that, if things go well, its off to San Diego. The old adages are usually true, you know - Things happen when you least expect them to.

I was reading my old posts yesterday, and I came across this one. I just wanted to let the world know that I have successfully completed No. 10. True, it was a reddish violet rather than a violet violet, but the latter would have necessitated the bleaching of my hair, which I definitely did not want. (Doesn't the previous sentence make me sound delightfully pompous?). Anyway, its only my opinion that counts, and I say that I can mark Item 10 as done. This means that I need a new Item 10. Any suggestions???

For Meh..

For the past month, Meh has been pestering me to write something in here. She's my most devoted fan. Ergo, this post is dedicated to her. In fact, its a letter to her.

Dear Meh,

How's life been in the last six hours since I spoke to you? I hope there haven't been any dramatic changes.

I was just thinking - Meh, you're my "person". Reference - Grey's. You know what I mean. Who's M and who's C, we'll decide later. :)

I just ran around to three apartments 'cos I had to scan this form to send to Appa so that a hold would be removed from my account so that I could access my transcripts. Its 2 degrees celsius outside. Brrrrrrrrrr!

What else? I had curd rice for dinner. And drank fresh lime soda. Am also sporadically studying. Played tennis on the Wii. FYI, I'm pretty great at it. Hey, did you hear about Dada's century? Isn't it great? I was so thrilled when Amma told me.

I can't think of anything else to write right now, and I'm really impatient to call you and tell you about this blog. :D

Best Regards,

Pooja Kumar
Graduate Student
Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Blacksburg, VA 24060

PS: I've written so many formal emails lately that signing this way has become a habit.

Matlab??????

Where would my life be without Matlab? I honestly don't know. My current favorite command is toeplitz. Yesterday it was awgn. I think tomorrow, it'll be rayleighchan. In fact, I can almost guarantee it. God, I need some sleep...............

A day of remembrance...

We are Virginia Tech...We will prevail...

Have a look...

Come Together

I like American Idol. Since Fantasia's season (what was the number?), I've been watching the show pretty regularly. Shetty and I used to discuss the performances, especially in the labs. (Or am I confusing this with Nach Baliye?) At any rate, we used to discuss it. Remember Ace?

This year, I'm in Blacksburg, a run-down graduate student, without a TV. But thanks to Youtube, I can catch the performances online pretty much the same night. I like most of the singers this season, but actually, this blog is not supposed to be about Idol. I was leading up to the fact that for the first two weeks, the contestants sang Beatles songs. And I've totally fallen for some of the songs that I heard.

My current fave is Come Together. Just love it. Can listen to it all day. John Lennon rocks. Eleanor Rigby is one of the saddest songs ever. And Yesterday, one of the most beautiful.

I totally intended this post to be long, and meaningful, and poignant, and whatnot. But my shoulder hurts too much for me to continue typing. So I bid you all a good night.