Finally.....

Going by the rate at which I was blogging, this hiatus seems like eternity. Part of the reason being, my desperate search for funding for the summer and beyond. Now that it has been secured, I can legitimately waste time doing this. But the uncertainty about the future was good, made me think a lot about what I really wanted to do.

One of the comments I received was that my writing was effeminate. Now, I didn't know whether to take it as a compliment or a criticism. My iota of male-chauvinism doesn't allow me to take it as a complement and I don't want to believe that the hours I spend on Bastardly haven't influenced me in anyway. What amused me the most was that we all want to believe in a stereotypic image of the world. We are comfortable in compartmentalizing things, makes us feel in control. Even science works that way, maybe because its a mortal creation after all. We could go on and on about this, but the philosophical insights under alcohol will eventually be sorely missed. Its a pity internet cannot serve us alcohol, as it serves the other so-called vices. So will have to get back to lesser interesting things.

Recently I finished "Love in the time of cholera" by Marquez. Its like a bible for die-hard romantics. At the end of it, I didn't know whether to cry for the protagonist's search for unrequited love or feel happy at the compensatory poetic justice in the end. As usual, the tragedy has an effect of exalting the passion of the lovers. It becomes a bit painful to read good fiction books especially by very good writers. One, my vocabulary is peanuts compared to their everyday conversations, so end up using the dictionary, a lot in the beginning and then finally, just guessing the meanings out of laziness. Two, and more importantly, they make you realize the banality of our lives, concerns and pursuits. I guess good films too have the same effect, but books last much longer. But then there is the pseud quotient of having read a Nobel laureate [:P].

On another note, have never loved summer so much. I have no idea if its the winter or the short skirts that is causing this sudden liking for the sun. Mini skirts and ankle length skirts are no doubt very sexy, but the knee length ones are the biggest tease. Its as if they have a sinister mind of their own, mocking you to beg for more [:)].

On another random digression, Chomu and Dada had come to Boston over the long weekend in mid April. Met Dada after two years, Chomu after one. Talked a lot of things over a big bottle of JD. Chomu was his usual pessimistic, dont-expect-too-much-out-of-life self, but sometimes made a lot of sense with a Marlboro between his fingers :). I had a midterm, so Chomu had to roam about Boston for two days on his own, the only contact with him being through exchange of emails on his pseud investment-bankerly blackberry. I feel guilty for letting him do that, but will make it up to him when he comes to Chapel-Hill. At least, thats what I have promised him! Dada has changed a lot, with his uber-cool Gucci-ish glasses. But his love for classical music is still intact, and he managed to impart some of that to me. So, am on a relentless dose of Bhimsen Joshi and Amjad Ali Khan. And by the look of things, this will go on for quite some time. So the next blog would quite likely be on Darbari or yaman kalyan or brindabani saarang [:P].

Here's to a summer full of sunshine! Cheers!