A Midsummer Day's nightmare!!

Another summer day! The only good thing is that the climate seems to be a bit more relaxed, compared to the past few days of scorching heat, when the temperature shot up more than a hundred Fahrenheit. A gush of pleasing breeze blows through my hair as i stand in my patio now. I look at the people on the street,.. some girls seem to be chilling out, with shopping bags in their hands, and their skin hardly covered . The UTD bus makes its everyday tour across the campus, carrying students to and from various places in the university and a small distance outside of it. I continue standing in my balcony, thinking of plans for the day. First thing that flashes in my mind is my lab work.. I need to code.. the errors in my Android program are calling me out aloud, to come and fix them. I then and there make a decision, that by tonight i should have the working code.

As i go back to the living room, my laptop awaits, with gmail, facebook and youtube being logged in. I try hard to look at some technical forums and make my code work, but hear a ping. Ah, a two minute break i think, which extends to half an hour!! Then lunch time.. Awww..got to cook :(. Delay that also, any constructive work is to be postponed! I stop doing everything for a moment and observe the show of things going on.

I feel like talking to someone..nobody seems to be free.. Its a weekday after all!
I am the only person who is so jobless.. or am i? No.. reality gnaws back at me.. i have so many things to do.. I work full time in this summer, and have two jobs to manage.. My part time dining job starts at 6 am the next morning. For the day to go on smoothly, i need a good nights' sleep so as to wake up at 5 in the morning, else the whole time goes in sleeping after being back from work. And before going to bed early, i have to stick to my decision of making my code work, which means i need to plunge into action right away instead of whiling away any more time. But I groan as the thought of works comes to my mind again. Why the heck am i so lethargic? Not cooking, not eating, not working! Any other thought of enjoyment, like going to a movie, watching videos, or even sleeping makes me feel guilty! But at the same time, am not working either! So hard to describe this situation! I bring the picture of my professor into my inner eye, who eagerly comes to the lab to see the progress on my project. I dont want to tell him anymore, that am still working on it, and i need some more time.. So many days have passed by..and am tired of telling the same thing over and over again. Yet, am so disgustingly stubborn to lift my buttocks, go to the lab and start working.

Some days are so packed.. Go directly from dining hall to the lab, with no time to even eat. I remember promising myself then, that given some more time, i shall make the best use of it..by finishing all my work, and then chilling out. But the work's still undone, how do i manage to even think of other enjoyment. Its bizzare.. I dont really while away time by either sleeping, or watching movies, or going out..but i do nothing constructive at home too. Sometimes, it gives me a feeling that i could have actually enjoyed and then only got back to work, instead of cribbing about guilt.

I finally decide i need to talk to someone to drift myself from this occasional feeling. Who else cares for you both through thick and thin? Parents of course. Ready to hear you whine..Give several alternatives although you dont listen to them, talk about how nothing can be achieved on an empty stomach, and hence advise you to give importance to eating well, staying healthy.. and the story goes on and on. One alternative caught my thought though. "Try going out somewhere with some friends...", my mom said.."You have never gone out of campus since months".. True, it was.. i had never stepped out of campus except for the barest minimum necessities of my existence here,(meaning grocery shopping.. to the same Walmart and Tom Thumb stores!!!). I try to recollect the last time i even took a train to go out a little further from the routine route that 883 takes! God, i dont even remember!

I then and there make a decision, that i will work whole of today, attend my dining job tomo, which would get over at 10:00 am and then be off to some place where i can find some change and comfort! The thought of going places excites me, given to the nature of being a go-getter. I start hunting for places of visit online. All these days, i was under the impression that Dallas is not a tourist place and there is nothing worth seeing. But Whoa!.. As i explore, i witness wonderful search results like Ripley's Believe it or not, Oklahoma's Turner Falls, Camping site at Arkansas, San Antonio's Sea world, ..all at a distance of a maximum of 3 to 4 hours by road.

I then and there make a decision again, that this being a long weekend(coz of July 4 celebrations), i must make it a worthy one by visiting some beautiful place and enjoying to the fullest. The thought of how most Americans enjoy their weekends, by working hard all week and relaxing completely on Saturday and Sunday fascinates me! I too want a change.. and this is the perfect time. Place can be decided, one out of the many i just saw..Car can be rented, to drive on .. But whom do i go with?Awwww.... Most fellow students of mine were in India, on vacation! Other people here are not that close to me. The ultimate goal of going on a trip should be enjoying in return to the money that we spend! Ah..I desperately wanted some good company now! Its might sound stupid, but i browse through my Facebook and GTalk friends' list,to look for people who can accompany me. No ideal candidate who is here and who would want to come could be found. Aaaaahhhhh! When there are no people to enjoy with, whats the use of planning!

I then and there make a decision not to while anymore time on this idea of going places and think about getting back to work again. Reality hits harder on my face this time. I can visualize Dr.Naurani's face when i fail to show him the output again! I sulk.., crib.., and whine.. again for having spent so much time planning something which ultimately ended up with no successful achievement. Its a biting real personification of Much ado about nothing! :( Why are there no friends around when i need them? Why am i so lethargic? Why is the day so boring? Why is it that i dont do anything inspite of having so much to do? Insane.. Eccentric.. Thats what i call myself as i step out to the kitchen with a final decision to feed myself and then start off with my lab work. Before i enter the kitchen, i urge to write this down since this is the only way i can communicate myself out and gain satisfaction thereof. I dont really know if this was also another half an hour of time spent worthlessly, but blogs are my method of giving way to pent up expressions held tightly within.

I strive now immediately to do something constructive for the remaining part of the day. Hoping to cook some delicious food, eat and run to the lab and get rid of all bugs in my code! As for the weekend..Back to square one..no plans! Will take it as it comes, or leave it for the Almighty to decide it for me :)

16th May 2010 - Akshaya Truthiya

Exactly a year back, it was the day of house warming ceremony of one of our neighbours. The house was beautiful, beyond words to describe it. The owner had used all kinds of artistic designs to make it look marvellous both from inside and outside. Added to this was the house warming ceremony decorations that included the traditional serial set lighting, the banana leaves "Chappra"and the eye catching Rangolis that made it look just perfect. And it was a sight to see the aesthetic tastes of the ladies dressed in their best silk sarees and the small kids running all over the house taking pictures in the newly built mansion.

I stood in our patio with my evening cup of tea, witnessing the happiness that lingered in the people on that occasion. What a joyous moment it was! Soon, my thoughts drifted away to our own house, that would one day have a similar occasion, at Rajeshwarinagar. Named aptly as "Sannidhi", it is now indeed a peaceful shrine for us, an abode with wonderful scenic beauty around, which makes it feel like Heaven on Earth! A better visualization for all those who have not seen it is provided through some pictures attached below.

Like every other house, ours also started from a barren piece of land to what now can be called as a bungalow with the most equipped amenities. Sannidhi stands out from others not by the number of floors or the costliest of marbles used to build it, but by the amount of effort each of us put in making our dream come true. This blog is a special dedication to dad, who spared no pains to visit the site twice each day, stand in the hot sun without caring for hunger or thirst and took all measures to supervise the workers. Secondly, although physically far from family, it was because of Chaitra that our dream is actually a reality now. It was because of her working day and night and helping us secure a financial debt that assisted in the first step to go ahead with the plan. And needless to mention, we are indebted to dear mom, who is the mistress behind all the managerial work of carrying out everything so successfully.

Sannidhi, as mentioned earlier is located in one of the most beautiful areas of Bangalore. As calm as a meditation hall of any ashram, our terrace is my favourite place where on one side, we can see the picturesque view of coconut trees of the adjacent Kala farm, and on the opposite end is the view of Omkar hills. There is a proposal to construct the Jyothir Lingas on top of that hill, which, I guess, would then make it even more famous. The Omkar Hills has a huge clock which strikes every hour, reminding me of the fact that time is so precious. Also worth quoting is the fabulous Shakthi hill resort, which i bet is an awesome retreat for everyone. It has in it the Aarmugam temple depicting the six faces of the Lord in different directions. This view is visible from "Happy Valley", along with the ISKCON temple that is under construction at Vasanthpur.

Added to this is the cultural paraphernalia of Rajeshwarinagar that includes the Rangamandira

and its adjoining mango groves. Even more beautiful is the breathtaking Nimishamba Temple whose Goddess Durga is believed to grant our desires each minute (Kannada word, nimisha, meaning minute). And how i could i even forget to mention the legendary RajaRajeshwari Temple which is the main reason behind Rajeshwari Nagar getting its name. This temple is one of the oldest in Bangalore, and the gold plated idol of the Goddess sits in Her holy shrine, looking wonderfully beautiful , and blessing all her devotees. People say that this is one of the biggest temples and effort is being made to make it one of the richest in the near future.

Rajeshwari Nagar also has in its vicinity, numerous engineering colleges like RNSIT (where I did my undergrad), JSSATE, SJBIT, RVCE, GATE, VIT etc. The parks at different stages of BEML Nagar are a definite reliever of stress for all the hostel students residing there. Not to disappoint the foodies are the mouth watering food joints like Delhi Chats, Cool Joint, Aman Rasoi, and Bansuri Sweets. Walking in the mango groves enjoying the marvellous breeze

and then a plate of Masala Mandakki or a special Bengali sweet or chat at Bansuri Sweets would make a perfect evening.

Overall, I can say that am proud to be a resident of such an awesome place. R R Nagar totally rocks !!!!