Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Joblessness is being missed.A computer is suffering from negligence and indifference.A purple Scooty pep+ is craving for a jaunt. Waking up at 5 30 causes exasperation. Waiting in the bus stop, unaccompanied, hunting for someone to talk to drives someone mad. Bus conductors (90% of them) are the rudest people that that someone has ever met. Once, that someone gets into the bus, she finds some senior/junior/batchmate to talk to and she is so relieved (that helps her stay awake for about half an hour, during the bus journey). She loves Microbiology, Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry classes. She adores those three teachers. She wouldn't mind listening to their lectures for hours together. She loathes Math classes. She finds the Math Sir pretty good though. She has so much fun laughing out loudly in the Chemical Engineering class. She waits for that particular hour, when she can laugh her intestines out, without that poor little (!) teacher noticing her or any other classmate of hers, jeering at him. Currently, that girl is mumbling under her breath. Oh ! wait wait... she is taking a vow, not to make fun of him henceforth. But she laughs at the very thought of it and concentrates on blogging. She is so thankful that people like Swati exist(the two of them blink, whenever the words 'assignment' or 'tests' are mentioned and they utter the same old cliched statement "We are new admissions Sir/M'am"). She loves the new-found independence in the lab. She loves her new labcoat (that looks so totally different from the old one, that her mother mistook for a curtain :| ). She loves walking around the campus after lunch with Swati and meeting up with her old friends and seniors and spending a lot of time with them. She is looking forward to filling up her ELS(English Literary Society) recruitment form. She thanks god, every evening, for having created people like Vasuki, for giving her company during her boring evening bus rides. Now she looks at her watch. Lets out a loud "Oh My God ! It's 7 45 already !" .She realizes what being in a college is all about :)

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Ohkay ! Me is wissing someone a very very appy budday in advance :D That someone is An Idle Mind !!

Hey Idle Mind,
*croons Happy budday to you...happy budday to you...*
~ Music fades~
There you go, a l'il something for you :D
You are one year old now..Be a good baby...Eat well...Ask your master to feed you well and ask him not to let you putrefy, by keeping you idle for a long time (he would never do that I know...I wouldn't let him do that !). Noorandukaalam noi-nodi illamal vaazhga !! (Thanks a ton for this statement Amma ;))

Yours Inanely,
Isis :)

Namrata, clad in a turquoise blue sari, entered into the hall. As always, she was attracting people's attention. Every Tom, Dick and Harry turned to have a look at her. She looked stunningly beautiful, that day. Namrata's features usually revealed her confidence. Whenever she stood in front of the mirror, she saw a smart, young, modern woman looking back at her. But on that particular evening Namrata wore the look of apprehension. She was anxious. She had been dreading this moment. She knew she would meet him there. She did not want to confront him. For the first time in her life, she was scared on meeting Him, of all people.

Namrata was like any other Mumbai girl in the nineties. Namrata possessed both beauty and brains. The word 'extrovert' summed up her character in total. She radiated confidence and buoyancy, wherever she went.
Namrata's family, unlike many other Hindu families was very broad-minded. People at her place weren't conservative at all. All her other Tambrahm friends were envious of her as their parents never encouraged inter-gender friendship. Namrata's family did not have any problems with her socializing with people belonging to the opposite sex. But they ensured that they knew, who her friends were. Namrata was a clear-headed girl, with definite aims in life. She had always wanted to become a news reader.
Namrata belonged to the prestigious St Xavier's College, Mumbai. On the very first day of college, she noticed, that she knew absolutely nobody in her class. But securing friends had never been her problem. As months passed, she had formed her own small group in class. It comprised of 3 people - Namrata, Dhiraj and Bhavya. The 3 of them were inseparable. They were one among the finest students that St Xavier's could produce. All 3 of them ensured that they secured the top 3 positions in class. They attended every single inter-collegiate competition that came their way. They had always been there for each other. They created ruckus together, played pranks on people together, pulled each other's legs and bunked classes together. They met up on weekends, at each others' residences, watched a movie together, scribbled down assignments and played some board games. Namrata's parents and Bhavya's parents accepted Dhiraj as their own family member. Dhiraj, being an only child, considered Namrata and Bhavya his confidantes.



During their final year of education, Bhavya had fallen in love, with their classmate Vaibhav. But she never had the guts to let the cat out of the bag. It was then, that Namrata and Dhiraj became close to each other. Bhavya couldn't devote much of her time for her other 2 friends, as she had to entertain Vaibhav day in and day out. Namrata and Dhiraj pored over lessons together, discussed politics, poltergeists and payasam together. They, more or less spent a lot of time each other's company. They talked to each other over the phone, while not attending college. Once, when Namrata's sister had met with an accident and required blood transfusion, Dhiraj, willingly agreed to donate blood for her at 3 in the morning. The Brahmin neighbourhood gossiped incessantly about their relationship but Dhiraj and Namrata knew that the two of them did not share anything beyond friendship. Dhiraj knew Namrata's darkest secrets, her deepest fears and her untold worries. Namrata knew the names of Dhiraj's crushes, which were never constant. Every time he saw any pretty looking girl on the road, in a mall or in the train, he ensured that he discussed about her with Namrata. He offered her his shoulder, when she was despondent. The two of them knew, that they were there for each other, no matter what. Many a time, Dhiraj's parents asked him to ask Namrata's hand in marriage. He blatantly refused stating clearly that they were only friends and that they did not want to taint their relationship with any such thoughts.

The two of them went on to secure a masters degree in Mass Communication from the same college and they ended up working together for the same news channel. Their friendship blossomed, as days passed by. They fought a lot, whenever they were together. They abused each other verbally and buried the hatchet on the same day. They did not share the same interests at all. They proved Plato's "Friends have all things in common" proverb wrong. He was a hard-core rock enthusiast, while she preferred soothing bollywood oldies. She belonged to the talkative category, while he was an ambivert. She chided him for not keeping his room clean, for letting the music system blare 24*7, for not making an attempt to shave his goatee, for clandestinely eating non-vegetarian food, without informing a soul at home, for racing past people thoughtlessly on a motorbike, that John Abraham might have traded his Dhoom bike for and for chewing gum ceaselessly. While a lot of people were flirting with Namrata, Dhiraj went around saying that he had met many women, who looked more beautiful when compared to her and that Namrata wasn't worth falling for.

Everything happened so suddenly that Namrata and Dhiraj never realized that Namrata had gotten engaged to Murli and that she was about to be wedded in a month's time. The two of them unlike the other close friends, did not turn emotional on the day before Namrata's marriage. They were pragmatic. They knew that they would be able to stay in touch with each other after her marriage via telephone and the internet (Namrata was to get settled in Chennai after marriage). On the day of her marriage, Dhiraj ensured that he helped her cope with the pre-marital blues. In the evening, Dhiraj had arranged for a huge wedding cake, as a gift to Namrata and Murli. As soon as the couple cut a slice of cake, Dhiraj, as per their usual rule (that said : Smear the cream on 'the scapegoat's' face on 'the scapegoat's' birthday, wedding day or any other special day) smeared chocolate(Namrata's favourite flavour) cake on Namrata's face and it was only then Namrata turned very emotional. She broke down, but not in front of everybody. Dhiraj came to see her off at the airport. They exchanged parting gifts and bade goodbye to each other. Either of the two did not realize, that that would be the last time, they actually saw and spoke to each other.

After marriage, Namrata's life changed totally. She never knew much about her in-laws, as it was an arranged marriage. She loved Murli and her family with all her heart. She made sure that they stayed happy, whenever she was around. Her in-laws turned out to be very conservative. Her darkest fears manifested in the form of their behaviour towards her. She was not allowed to work after marriage. Murli, being a very passive person, did not have the guts to retaliate. Namrata tried persuading him to talk his mother into allowing her to work. But he wasn't willing to upset his mother. The worst blow struck her on the day, she, along with her family members, sat to watch the videotape of her marriage. Her mother-in-law made a spiteful remark about Dhiraj smearing cake on Namrata's face. Her mother-in-law loathed Dhiraj. She ensured that Namrata never spoke to him, after marriage. Murli became extremely sensitive, when the word "Dhiraj" was mentioned. Namrata loved everything else about her husband and her in-laws. They were the most helpful people on the earth, she felt. Her mother-in-law was very kind to her (as long as the word "Dhiraj" wasn't mentioned in the household). The thing that she couldn't bear was their conservativeness and their narrow-mindedness. Dhiraj tried contacting her for a long time, but all his attempts went down the drain. Once or twice, they got to speak to each other. Namrata did not have the nerve to tell him about her in-laws. Dhiraj felt neglected. He felt that Namrata was more inclined towards her family and that she did not have even a few minutes to spare for him. As days passed by the distance between the two grew wider, but that never alleviated their worries. It was at that time, the two of them, Dhiraj in Mumbai and Namrata in Chennai, received the news, that Bhavya was getting engaged to Vaibhav. Namrata and Murli left for Mumbai, to attend her engagement. Namrata was flanked by Murli (it was his mother's instructions to be by her side, always), wherever she went.The D-day dawned and the couple arrived at the venue together. Namrata, clad in a turquoise blue sari, entered into the hall. As always, she was attracting people's attention. Every Tom, Dick and Harry turned to have a look at her. She looked stunningly beautiful, that day. Namrata's features usually revealed her confidence. Whenever she stood in front of the mirror, she saw a smart, young, modern woman looking back at her. But on that particular evening Namrata wore the look of apprehension. She was anxious. She had been dreading this moment. She knew she would meet him there. She did not want to confront him. For the first time in her life, she was scared on meeting Him, of all people. He stood there, smiling at her, radiating innocence, acting as though nothing ever happened between them. She stood there, perplexed, her face shorn off its essence, thinking about everything that ever happened between them.

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P.S : Don't ask me why I called this piece of writing "Silence". I myself don't know why. A result of impulsiveness

"Have a great friend ? Write a testimonial about them"

This is the message I used to find in my Orkut homepage earlier. My dictionary says that the word testimonial stands for "a favorable report on the qualities and virtues of somebody or something" . But on orkut, the word testimonial bears a very different meaning. Why this post all on a sudden, you might ask. The answer for this , is in the form of a conversation that existed between Poornima (Pooch) and me on Wednesday.

P : Hey Nith ! Can you do a small favour for me di please ??
N : Sure thing...As long as it is not watching "Aap Ka Suroor" with you
P : Shut up di...Do you remember the times, when you used to fill people's slam books on behalf of me in school ? (umm well..Pooch is a very sluggish person, as far as writing things down are concerned. I used to love filling slam books and I still do :D..Whenever people approached Pooch, with a slam book in hand asking her to pen down her thoughts about them, this girl used to directly come to me, thrust that book in my hand and ask me to write some stuff, any stuff under the sun, for them, about them :D I used to readily accept that offer ;))
N : Yes I do..Do you want me to fill your senior's slam books for you now ?? Come over...Temme about your seniors and the slam book will be filled from top to bottom..10 minutes time max :D
P : Listen to me you Idiot..You know my so-called friend X na from college ? She was from our school too ?
N : Erm..That X who had sleepy eyes ??
P : Exactly...She wants me to write a testimonial for her yaar !
N : Copy and paste the 'plagiarized' testimonial, that you 'wrote' down for me, last week
P : No di..That didn't work out :( She wants me to write down stuff about our friendship
N : Are you close to her ? Is she your good friend ? I thought you people were just on smiling terms !
P : Umm..We aren't close or anything...I talk to her chumma for time-pass...I don't want to write a testimonial for her
N : Pooch, if you aren't close to her...if you don't exactly know what sort of a person she is, then why the hell do you have to write a testimonial for her ? Tell her, that you don't know her all that well and that writing a testimonial would be difficult...Also tell her that you definitely will write a good one, when you get to actually 'know' her
P : No re..she doesn't agree only...Can you please write down a testimonial for her on my behalf ? Chumma 5 lines or six lines will do...
N : What crap ! I don't even know her... She is way too sleepy to be my friend...
P : Please Nith....Blabber some stuff...She'll accept any damn thing that says "you are sweet...you are cute"...Please please...
N : Fine...This is going to be the very first time I am writing down a testimonial for someone, who is barely known by someone :| Tell me more about her...I'll jot down the points..Wait up..I'll bring a sheet of paper and a pen !



Firstly why do we write a testimonial ?
We write a testimonial for a 'good friend', inorder to show them, how special they are to us and how much they mean to us. We ensure that we make a person smile, by letting them know how important they are to us. At some point in time, a person has to be narcissistic. These sort of testimonials written down by friends gives the ego, the much required boost, that increases the self-esteem.

What should a testimonial contain ?
In a nutshell, testimonials should contain words, directly spoken from the heart, words that convey the truth about the person and words that can beautify the moments spent in that person's company. Testimonials should definitely not sound exaggerated. People tend to make a mountain out of a molehill, when they sit down to write a testimonial. There are a few other people, who on the contrary, use understatements, in testimonials.

I don't believe in the policy of penning down or rather pasting down adapted testimonials, that have a message in them already. Those sort of testimonials can be found, in every third profile. Testimonials are meant to be unique. They should be written down in such a way, that the person reading it, can never find an opportunity to associate it with some other testimonial in somebody else's profile. These computer-generated testimonials are so synthetic. There is no humane feel about it

I agree, every possible person, cannot write an effective testimonial. But he/she can make sure that atleast something delightful about that person, is mentioned. After all, you don't get to write testimonials often !

To whom should the testimonial be addressed ?
Obviously, somebody, whom you personally are close to. Everybody on Orkut expects a testimonial from their friends and foes alike, to ensure that the other people get to see, what sort of a friend he is and what sort of sibling he makes. I, while visiting people's profiles, make it a point to read their testimonial section. I have come across a lot of testimonials, that clearly indicate, that the 2 people involved, aren't close to each other/do not know each other too very well. I keep wondering how a person could write a testimonial for someone, whom he doesn't even know. On considering the case, that involves two friends, who link up together, on Orkut:
Day 1 : These 2 people A and B would've met on Orkut, through a common friend/by joining in the same community
Day 2 : Their scrapbooks will be saturated with details, involving them, their favourite food, their pet's name, their great grandmother's death date etc
Day 3 : A message on B's scrapbook : "Hey B ! Write a testimonial for me, will you? "
Day 3 (eve) : A message on A's scrapbook : "yes I will, only if you ensure that you will reciprocate the favour"

A testimonial is to be addressed to people, who occupy a special place in your heart, who are worth your friendship and whose friendship you cherish

Is it necessary to write down a testimonial for somebody, who has written one for you ?
Absolutely not ! Friendship or any other relationship becomes pure only when expectations vanish. Any relationship, involving expectations, cannot stay alive for long. These 'you write a testimonial for me, only then will I write one for you" dialogues are evidences of feeble relationships. You write a testimonial for a person, that person accepts it, you ensure that the person is happy for a short period of time because of that, then that's about it ! Your job is done. Waiting impatiently for a testimonial from the other side, sending 1000 scraps, asking "where is my testimonial ? I wrote one for you yesterday ! ", complaining to a third party about not receiving a testimonial, accusing the person of not taking active participation in the friendship involved are signs of an immature mind


To encapsulate things, IMHO, words (written and spoken ones) are unadulterated manifestations of a person's feelings. Words are meant to convey things that are pure. They aren't meant to be polluted by a person's feelings.