The past few months

It's the end of the year and time to look at all the things i didn't write about. That's almost everything! The advent of November signaled the beginning of the 'This decides where I'm gonna end up' period. The first week, I began in earnest with the MS applications (how late can one be!). It reminds me of the movie 'Run Lola Run!' (or 'Lola Rennt!'). It was nerve-wracking - zeroing in on Universities and finding out if they insisted on online recommendation letters, running after professors to get the paper letters signed and the forms filled, sealing transcripts in the microprocessors lab as the clock struck 5 pm; I thought it was going to take forever. Professor Daruwala even said 'Yeh bas karo abhi! Tumko exam mein fail honeka hai kya?'.

The end semester test started on the 13th of November. I had appeared for the last AIMCAT (Time's mock CAT series) clutching a tome called 'Handbook of Biomedical Instrumentation', written by R.S.Khandpur, and people were wondering if this was more important for me than the CAT. The endsems were certainly a more daunting prospect than the CAT. I ended up completing about 80% of the paper on an average, usually getting fed up with the incessant writing, midway through the paper. The result was an abyssmal 6 point something (my GPA graph is a triangular waveform; this is the lowest point ever!)

In the middle of the carnage was the CAT- the holy grail of engineers in their final year. I did well, just as I was sure I would do. If only the endsems were about darkening ovals! More about the CAT in a later post. Fast forward to December first week. I started with the actual online applications for MS; I wrote the Statement of Purpose and reworked it for each university. The work had consumed me - I was oblivious to the time of the day, having dinner at 3 am and staying up as late as 6 am! But I loved it nonetheless; I got to know about all the current research being done at the American Universities. For a moment I was there- on a campus in California, soaking in the historical buildings and looking forward to all that I was about to discover. So, is MS the way to go for me? Time will tell. In the meantime, I got placed again. A bigger pay-packet, an investment banking firm, and my sister's 'wow!'. This presents an alternate path, and it's very attractive for a reason I cannot mention here.

I'm also taking driving lessons. I have not mowed down someone yet, though I still fumble with the gear changes. It's now that I understand that a lack of coordination between hands, legs and the mind can pose a challenge in activities other than dancing. I'm wondering when we'll have auto-transmission in all our cars.

January too promises a lot of action and I am all geared up (no pun intended) for the new year. Hope it will see me blogging regularly.

Musical Greats

A Sunday afternoon - 1.30 pm. I was back from German class, all set to gulp something down and hit the bed. Everyone was glued to ETV Marathi. I thought to myself 'It's the usual". A moment later I was sporting a wide grin. I had just realized what the next programme was. It was the beginning of a wonderful afternoon.

I was glued to Vasantotsav - a celebration of the music and life of Pt. Vasantrao Deshpande, one of the finest vocalists and thespians ever. Rahul Deshpande, his grandson, rendered some of Vasantrao's most delectable songs - thumris, ghazals, natyageeta et al. Rahul's voice and style of rendition closely resemble those of his grandfather's. What a legacy!

As I listened to the lilting notes I wondered again, as I had before, what it would have been like to listen to someone like Pt. Vasantrao Deshpande live. The presence, the aura and the absolute mastery of their craft that such people possess - it must be overwhelming to be there, being entranced by the magic called music. I have been to a few concerts myself, notably one by Ghulam Ali. It is a spellbinding experience. Incidently, both Ghulam Ali and Pt. Vasantrao hail from the Patiala gharana.

I will always be envious of my parents. They had the great fortune of witnessing greats like Pt.Vasantrao Deshpande, Pt. Kumar Gandharva, Begum Akhtar and many more perform in their prime. And now that I have begun to appreciate classical music, I yearn for the good ol' times. I just wish I were born a generation or two earlier - to live the golden era of music.

Meanwhile, I woke up. The mellifluous tunes had lulled me to sleep. The programme had long ended, but the music had still played in my dreams. I smiled to myself. Rahul had weaved the same magic as his grandfather. The greats have left us a vast treasure-trove of sublime music and are inspiring a whole new generation of artistes like Rahul Deshpande. And so I hope for a new golden age - one that I'll be a part of.

Starters!

And so I have finally overcome my writer's block. I know 'lack of inspiration' is a poor excuse for my laziness. But I have now decided to record the 'little things' in my life, so that i can look back upon these "Eureka!" moments later in life. Somewhat like Dumbledore storing his thoughts in the pensieve. Maybe these very thoughts would help me solve a dilemma in the distant or the near future.So, here it goes!