Treasure hunt!

All of you know that I am majoring in biochemistry, which is very closely related to our body and how things can be all good with the body; thus closely related to food.

So, our annual fest is nothing but a food festival! Appetisers!

And as a ‘sincere’ final year student, I am actively involved in it. As in I have a stall to handle, setta juniors to bully, lotta planning to do, and make the fest successful.

My stall is called “Goodness of apple”. Basically all I and my team does is talk about how healthy apple is and how you should drink the juice that we are serving :-D
And it is prolly the only ‘drink’. So, we ought to sell :-P

Only one condition though, IF WE HAVE THE JUICE!

So options!
1. Make the juice.
FAILED. Because apples are expensive, juice from one apple is too little, waste is too much which cannot be used, and too much work for almost no profit.

2. Get concentrate, dilute and sell.
FAILED. Because there is no concentrate available in the market!
Haila! Oh my god! ‘This’ didn’t strike us!!! But this is true!
We have carefully scanned every possible shop of all wholesale, grocery, super, markets of Mumbai. Crawford, “no squash” ; APMC, “some brand called gold coin shut down 3 years ago..” [yea, I ll go get that opened again]; Thane, “Apple squash exists?”

And these very shops sell every other fruit-juice that you might not have even heard of!
Mango – yes; Pineapple – yes; Orange – YES; Lemon – YES; Guava – yes; Amla – yes; Khus – yes; Peach - yes; Strawberry – yes; Apricot – yes; Kesar – yes; kokum – yes; Black currants – yes; Pinacolada – yes; Kiwi – one full row of brands, yes yes yes; DRY FRUITS - YES!!!!
How? You can remove juice outta DRY fruits and sell that and one popular harmless apple has no market.
Sick, tired and bored; I give up. Change topic, hell no Ms. Incharge; Charts are already made!!!

So, option 3. Get ready made juice dilute and sell!
And that’s what I shall be doing. Got a brand that has buy one get one free offer on :-P. Buy in bulk and sell! Keeping fingers crossed so that no other hurdles come my way.

I know I have been busy, lots of things going on in my life and currently the food festival is the most prominent. This is to be held 12th and 13th, 9 am onwards in the Jr. College Reading Hall of Ramnarain Ruia College, Matunga, Mumbai. All of you are cordially invited with friends and family :-P

Learning lessons, Turning pages

Scars of the past, in my head
Dissatisfied, yet fulfilling
Alone, without a breach
I gush to another destination.

2008.
A year full of surprises and shocks, utmost highs and deepest lows, so much planning and organizing.
And now, 2009, time to implement, time to act to achieve what I planned for.

Is it what I want? I do not know.
But should I not achieve, I shall let hearts down.
Which is not what I want. Thus the chase. My name has already been enrolled for the rat-race; all I have to do now is run the race, because if I don’t run, there is no-way I shall win.

So, I shall be the rat.
I shall chase my cheese
So that I feed my tummy later
And don’t have to beg or please.

The year where I shall graduate, 2009 shall be full of some more sweet sour memories. Leaving Ruia college will hurt, but finally having a degree and be called a graduate at the age of 19 should be unusual.

So, there you go, I am ready.

With me there is sufficient facility
Within me there is infinite capability
Before me there is endless possibility
Around me is boundless opportunity
Why should I fear?

7 Random things again

I have done this one, actually this was my first tag ever.

But Disguise tagged me and I love her so much that I couldn't say no. So, here it is girl.
7 random facts about me.

1. I am going to the beach with my parents and some other families tomorrow! It should be a helluva experience! I can't wait to make a sand-castle. [that is why I am going :-D ]

2. My last annual festival in my college got done on 24th. I did not cry when it ended, because it did not sink in, but now even if I think of it, I feel all low :-( I don't want to leave Ruia :-(

3. People who read me are all lovely people, but it so sad to know that so many don't comment! My college friends come up here and message me their feed-back and do not click on that comment button! Why, I do not know. This is one chance to tell me. Also, I am not comment hungry, even if I get none, I shall be equally happy.

4. I hate treating blogger like a social networking site. I will be frank enough to tell that. There are just a few people with whom I socialise because we share that kind of bond. period.

5. I don't want 2009 to come. It is going to be decisive n difficult and I am not sure if I am ready.

6. I am a phone-keeda! I talk and talk and even if I wanna stop, continue talking! I just made a new record, maximum time on phone with a girl on STD, 1 hour 44 minutes with Sachi. I <3 you ladki! :-)

7. I don't like the number seven. And like I confessed in Diu's blog, I find 6 and 9 absolutely cute! My lucky number is 2 though.

So, there is it. I tag anyone who has not done this one or wants to do it again.

P.S. To know what women want, read what I wrote here.

:-(

The celebrations of the arrival of lord in our world are very thanda this year. We can see people skipping the midnight mass and staying put, which is both good and bad as I see. Good, coz they are spending much time with family and valuing each others company. Bad, coz somehow it gives a feeling of surrendering to fear. Anyway, the events that happened in the country lately have had an effect on every celebration.

My annual college fest almost got called off. We had to plead to the princi so much for not losing out on it in our last year. Plus, we organized a peace concert instead of the usual gig; which was just what it should be, peaceful :-)

St. Paul’s cathedral, kolkata, had its usual mass yes, but they distributed black wrist bands to all devotees as a mark of protest against terrorism.

My own city has probably been worst hit, Christmas parties canceled, carols not sung, churches empty :-( city after 8pm empty, suspicion in everyone’s eyes, no Santa on the road, no massive list of Christmas shopping, no eating vodka cake coz Joe uncle called off his party :-(

We canceled our New Year party, coz it didn’t feel like celebrating and dancing all night.

Country mourning, we protesting, attending rallies, skipping parties, all our lives definitely affected.

And yet,

A software engineer was beaten to death because he refused to financially contribute in Mayawati’s birthday celebrations.

My question
Why do politicians exist in any state?
To introduce, reform, direct, re-direct, to voice ‘our’ opinions in the parliament, to represent us.

Very sad that it has reduced to birthday celebrations and election rallying with some disoriented young volunteers.

Almighty,
May peace be conferred upon this land
And
Please give sadh-buddhi to my country-men.

Praise the lord!

Disappointment

I don’t usually deal with much document work. But today I had to collect my passport from the post-office. Postman uncle had come home twice and on both occasions left notes. No-one is home from 9-4, thus the non-availability. But, it was high time I went and collected my govt. authorized document that would enable me to fly overseas.

So, I left home at 9 and then began my hunt of the post-office. Weird how we college-goers ignore places of general importance. Anyway, I asked shopkeepers and random people on the road and everyone seemed pretty amused at the fact that a localite was lost :P Nevertheless, found it in one corner of the CIDCO office and walked in.

I spoke to the post-master, he called the man responsible for my area and then after some random formalities there it was the document for which I had waited for about a year, my belonging, my very own, passport! But something stood in middle of me and it,
Chai-paani.

My parents had warned me about this. And they had actually said that if there are any signals from the man; give up some-money; “because we don’t wanna lose out on important letters.”
“But why bribe? We are doing it all legally and have made all the payments!”
“They shouldn’t ask you because you are a student, but, you never know”
“What if I refuse to pay? He will still have to give my passport.”
“Don’t be stupid. Do as I say”
“But I don’t want to give money; that is his duty!”
“I know and I agree with what you are trying to say beta, but its our documents or other notifications that are on stake. Apart, it is hardly some money.”
“But is it about the amount?”
“Do you always have to argue?”
*grumpy face*
“See girl, this has happened to us before. Because we refused to give them diwali [reward money on a hindu festival] at our old house, they didn’t deliver something and because of that, some delay led to us paying a very heavy amount as fine. So, listen to me, give him this” said daddy slipping a note in my hands.

I stayed mum then. All those arguments came rushing back to me now. And as I stood across that table, I was reminded of my dad’s words. Postman's guilty eyes were penetrating me and my conscious just didn’t want to encourage something I have spoken so strongly against at various occasions.

There was a huge line behind me, of people wanting to talk to the post-master. Commotion was building up; everyone was looking at me and the postman. All I could think about was the gateway peace rally and how we had talked about being good citizens. It was cold and my palms were sweating.

I lost. I chose to be a good daughter.
Papa, are you happy now?