I *heart* Bombay (and well..Boston)

I'm urban..in the way other people are mountain-people or tunafish junkies. I love city life...something about dreary concrete blocks and grumpy people totally gets my juices flowing. Ergo, this will be a blog about me, my two favourite cities (Bombay and Boston), my addiction to Vietnamese coffee and my views on Gregorian chant and it's efficacy in curing some types of tympannic membrane rupture. Enjoy!

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Ahmedabad blues..(Or lack thereof)

Back in Bombay after a weekend off from the pressures of the job. "Where in the world was Matt Lauer...I mean.. Vikster?" I hear the cry go forth..Well, he (again with the third-person referral! One would think one believed himself to be Julius Caeser or something..He had a prediliction for the same vices one has..wine, men and the need to talk in the third person singular) was in the land of milk, communal riots and Gandhi. Ahmedabad to be precise, MICA to be even more precise.

MICA is the Mudra Institute for Communication, Ahmedabad. A sorta tony place where you go to study adverting, strategic marketing, communication and the lot. Stuff that a lot of very cool people like to study. Not like engineering where one of the primary qualifications is the level of unattractiveness. (Full disclosure: I'm an engineer). Over the weekend, I met tons of very cool, well-adjusted and intelligent people in the age group of 23 to 26. As you can tell, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. That breed exists somewhere in India? You mean I can actually meet intelligent and motivated youth who're also quite hot? Wow!

I met up with and stayed with a regular reader of this blog. Which was amazing in more ways than one. I mean, what are the odds that you meet someone through something (this blog) that's not an online dating site or an online hook-up site and actually get along with the person and his friends? I met some very awesome and friendly people at MICA and had an absolute blast. It was MICAnvas, the yearly MICA college festival and it was so much fun to be able to actually do and take part in all the fun stuff I remember from when *I* was in college (YES! We had colleges in the Jurassic era!). Quizzing, JAM, Dumb Charades, Pictionary, Photography..so much fun stuff. One of my pictures even made it to the top 10 list..I won JAM and came second in Dumb Charades (Made it outta MICA Rs. 1500 richer!). As usual topped the quizzing prelims and crashed and burned in the finals (Is this a metaphor for my life? Awesome first dates and disasterous relationships?).

Being there this weekend made me realize just how much I miss the *fun* part of being in college. I had a blast my 4 years in Engg. School but I sorely miss the absolute lukkhagiri and timepassness of my life then. Hanging out at the college canteen making fun of the badly dressed people (To their face of course! What do you think I talk behind anyone's back? Hmmph!), bunking classes to go watch the latest English film at Sterling (These were the days BEFORE multiplexes and malls), sharing the one Thums-up or Energee we would limit ourselves to per day (Cause we had NO money unlike the rich kids of today). Man, the more I think about it the more I feel I'm from a different generation from most of the people I tend to meet.

I was talking about this very thing with V. How we tend to look at things in a pre-liberalization, pre-cable TV, pre-cellphone, pre-mall, pre-multiplex way...while everyone we meet has no idea what life was like when you had to wait for 6 months to see Titanic because the only 2 theatres screening them in Bombay were booked for months ahead, while no one remembers "Tree of Unity" and "Sooraj ek, chanda ek", no one hums "Mile Sur mera tumahara" anymore, no one replies to "This K-soap opera stuff is insane" with "But you have no idea what we had before", the words "Krishi Darshan" and "Aapan Hyaana Pahilat Ka?" makes no sense to today's generation...I could go on for hours just on the whole pop-culture differences alone..

Excuse me while I go off and feel nostalgic..and pop in one of the pirated Pakistani plays that we used to wait for for weeks...(Tanhaiyaan, Bakra Kiston Pe...)

Current Music:
Punjab - Karunesh

OK. So I absolutely love this song. Lay down stoned outta my mind this weekend listening to this song on repeat on my Ipod. It's the best.

32 Comments:

  • At 3:10 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    which of the three quizzes; and I thought I ll never meet another gay quizzer.

     
  • At 3:16 AM, Blogger Unknown said…

    Spare a kind thought for those that grew up on Radio Ceylon.

    Do certainly miss the "sterling matine habit". It's the only thing that made Jaihind College bearable.

     
  • At 3:42 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hazards of Excessive Reading

    Nothing to do with this blog, but a general viewpoint.

    Excessive reading leads to an “I know it all” attitude; the byproducts of which are:
    --Cannot relate to anybody else.
    --Feel everybody who does not read is a lesser mortal.
    --You become poor listeners which hinders growth in life.
    --Due to ur extra gyaan, u luv to complicate simple things.
    --U become greedy, coz the more u read u realize how little u know.
    --U become a Loner, coz books r Oxygen for u bypassing friends, relatives & society.

    All of the above leads to just one thing….FRUSTRATION.

    Medical science says “Eyes see only what the brain knows”. So, don’t gobble ur brain with so much gyaan that the eyes stop seeing anything else.
    Live life the way it is meant to be.

     
  • At 3:43 AM, Blogger Vikster said…

    *smack*

    The Vikster has been bitch-slapped.

     
  • At 4:14 AM, Blogger Vijayeta said…

    Hazards of Little or No Knowledge:
    - Cannot relate to anybody else (Anybody else who's read a considerable amount!). Wouldn't wanna relate to those who u can.
    - Feel everybody who reads is a superior mortal and a highly enlightened one at that!
    - You stop listening, 'cos you dont know/cant comprehend what the Superior Mortals are talking about. This hinders life. Forget growth!
    - Due to the Unbearable Lightness of Gyaan-lessness, you cant tell simple things from complicated ones. Everything appears like a strange, warped jumble of sounds!
    - You become so uninformed, you forget your own name and think Anonymous is as acceptable as any!
    - U become a loner, cos u miss out on all the exciting, stimulating, thought-provoking conversations you could have had with your friends, relatives and society!

    All of the above leads to just one thing...FRUSTRATION!

    Medical science says “Eyes see only what the brain knows”. So, dont deprive your brain of all the knowledge and intelligence it has the potential for.
    (And i also wonder, what is it that your eyes really SEE in this state of Gyaan-lessness!)
    Treat your mind the way its supposed to be treated!
    *Hugs Vikster*

     
  • At 4:18 AM, Blogger Vikster said…

    *rubs eyes and crawls back out from under the bed*

    MAKE IT STOP! Make the anonymous comments stop!

    (P.S. There are reasons I keep the anony comment option enabled on my blog...)

     
  • At 5:32 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I remember those days :) I used to love Bakra Kiston Pe and Tanhaiyaan.

     
  • At 6:34 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I think i have a Crush on you!

     
  • At 6:36 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Sorry Vijayeta...but all that extraa gyaan could not help u generate an authentic comment!!!

    Learn something from VIK.Though being so well read than any of us,he is open to criticism.

     
  • At 6:38 AM, Blogger kate said…

    Hey..sounds like you had a great weekend..did you meet a Abhishek Hariharan by any chance?

     
  • At 7:14 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Mine was the first anon comment up there, pliss to reply

     
  • At 8:20 AM, Blogger Hob Gadling said…

    "Ek shunya shunya" and of course "Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello Inspector!"

     
  • At 8:57 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Let me guess why you keep the anon comments on. You believe in that masked raajkumar who will come and sweep you off your feet. Of course it is an absolute must that you do not know, until the last moment, who it is. The not-knowing is part of the fantasy. He will be very witty in his comments. He will force you to fall in love with him by the way he writes. He will tease you with the suspense before he reveals himself. And one fine day, he will actually visit one the places you keep mentioning and abduct you.

    Oh wait, This is actually *my* fantasy! Now if only I had a blog where I could keep the anon comments on...

    Sanjay

     
  • At 8:59 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Wanted to add, I have the "ek chidiya, anek chidiya" video if any one is interested...

    Sanjay

    Those were days...

     
  • At 9:35 AM, Blogger karuna said…

    un-spoilt, un-rich brat of today still watches movies at sterling. C'mon now its really not that different.
    But i know how you could miss it, i'm not out and already dread leaving.
    Sigh.

     
  • At 11:28 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Sure Support you on this Vijayeta.... way to go Girl..

    I belive people should read .... its makes things intresting! what say Vik?

     
  • At 10:16 PM, Blogger Parth Anand said…

    You seemed to have had a wonderful time at MICA..Visited another blog by someone who was at MICA too..but he apparently didnt enjoy it that much...LOL...
    Getting nostalgic about "those days" reminded me of the tales my grandparents and parents narrate about how things were when they were young...
    Geez..you are not OLD...or is it as someone said..its too much gyaan...hahaha...

     
  • At 10:29 PM, Blogger Vikster said…

    ad: Do you remember watching the plays on crappy video cassettes?

    Anony1: So now I have 3 anonymous crushes. Sigh.

    Anony2: Vik open for criticism? What makes you think that? *looks at swollen red eyes in mirror and cries again*

    Kate: Of course I did! He was my Dumb C's partner and the JAMMaster as well! You know him eh? (He is the right height for you..)

    Anony3(1): All 3 quizzes. Made it to the finals of the GQ one and organized the Lone Wolf one with my colleague. Were you there as well?

    Hob: Of course! And Qile ka rahasya!

    Sanjay: Oh mere sapnon ke saudagar, mujhe aisi jagah le ja...

    Karuna: But yeah! Then the stairs at Sterling was THE place to be seen at..sorta like the escalator at In Orbit today.

    Anony4: I agree. More peopel should read. Wanna be part of a book club anyone?

    Parth: Trust me..it's a WHOLE new world out there compared to when I was growing up.

     
  • At 11:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    ** Krishi Darshan is not over. It still come on TV. its just that WE dont watch it as process of our mutating brains....

    I also read your blog and u can come and stay with me if u come to DELHI:)...Delhi aint that bad now...U will be surprised sometimes that "chandigarh hotties" in delhi speaks well and listens to bjork if not Amr Diab.... Ch Hottie is almost a myth!!!

     
  • At 12:57 AM, Blogger Dumaketu said…

    Well, well, isn’t Vikster a photographer! The disembodied legs are magnifique!

    “…Stuff that a lot of very cool people like to study. Not like engineering where one of the primary qualifications is the level of unattractiveness. (Full disclosure: I'm an engineer)…”

    Tell me about it! Its quite the same in ‘pure’ sciences; on the extremes, there are either really brainy guys who are obsessed with their work and interact very little about other things (useful in some ways, but not a turn-on, if you know what I mean) and dumbos who are constantly cribbing about their profs and nothing else…sigh…but there are a whole lot of in-between guys who can at times be fun to talk to, but not many of them are well read outside their fields…sigh…but hope stays in the form of the occasional cute, intelligent guy who can interact with you and have fun in doing things that you love to do…

    “How we tend to look at things in a pre-...I could go on for hours just on the whole pop-culture differences alone”

    I have to agree about the sharp distinctions one comes across in today’s mall-multiplex-K soap-etc culture - they are increasingly like geological subduction zones, constantly rubbing it in!! Unfortunately, I had been globe trotting most of the time when this ‘boom’ occurred and nowadays find it difficult at times to catch the changing fundas in language…but hey, I’m not complaining as long as there are hot guys that my boyfriend & I can ogle at in malls or elsewhere…

     
  • At 12:58 AM, Blogger Dumaketu said…

    Well…’anon’ seems to have a certain grudge against a certain type of people…hmmm…one of the raisons d’être for ‘intelligent’ people is probably to articulate in different media and fora about something they are passionate about. If ‘anon’ has a grudge about it, I suppose we have to just endure something that we can’t cure - there cannot be and should not be any more defence. It would be good if ‘anon’ can make sense of these self-explanatory lines by Lewis Carroll from Through the Looking Glass and What Alice found there, in context of what he writes:
    "The time has come," the Walrus said,
    "To talk of many things:
    Of shoes, and ships, and sealing-wax
    Of cabbages, and kings
    And why the sea is boiling hot
    And whether pigs have wings."

     
  • At 2:23 AM, Blogger ruchi said…

    A part of this post just reminds me of 'I remember' thread. And sweetie, we all remember those things! Atleast the few of us.

    ps, I miss college festivals. :( Sorely. That used to be my life. Boo hoo hoo.

     
  • At 6:48 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    taporigiri karayla 'Aamchi maati aamchi mansa' kinwa 'ek shoonya ek shoonya' cha title song gaycha (local/bus madhe)... people are dumbstuck and will think you are time travellers!

    This year I was at Malhar (st Xaviers) for the classical music session which I've been attending (and participating) ever since i was a baccha. This time however I felt like a veteran. I thought the overall 'quality' of boys there was improving, (or perhaps I was turning older too fast??). I dunno if I'll go next year! (i will go anyway, music transcends 'earthly' desires .. hehe!)

    That old video "didi, anek chidiyon waali kahani sunao na.." should be what today's children watch on TV. Remember the excitement to sneak a glance at late night movies on 'englis' channels ? Now voilence and nude girls are so easily available that its value stands diminished. Gawd Vikster you rekindled lovely memories.

    -Priyank

     
  • At 11:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    No, I wasn't there, but people I know were. In closet, Dear. Will shoot you a mail instead.
    Anony(1/3)

     
  • At 2:08 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I have a confession to make:
    I'm starting to enjoy the comments more than the blog itself! And I *do* enjoy your writing!!!

    Please don't be cuttie with me, ok?

    Yay for the anonymous posters!

    Mohammed Ali Road sometime next week? I might be going tomorrow with other friends..

     
  • At 6:09 AM, Blogger oook said…

    I miss college fests too! :(

    Not to mention the the timepass done when we weren't sitting a classroom or a lab. Different city though... :D

     
  • At 1:23 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Hello

    I am new to Blogs and I searched for Ahmedabad! I came across your Blog and was nice reading about MICA!!

    Thanks
    Viv
    asmartguyhere @ yahoo . com

     
  • At 10:09 PM, Blogger Aishwarya Kandpal said…

    This is crazy!

     
  • At 10:10 PM, Blogger Aishwarya Kandpal said…

    And i can't believe this was written in 2005! O.o

    I'm shooting at mica tomorrow. My brother's a graduate of this college so i pretty much know what you mean.

    Such loaded sentiments! Sigh.

     
  • At 10:11 PM, Blogger Aishwarya Kandpal said…

    And i can't believe this was written in 2005! O.o

    I'm shooting at mica tomorrow. My brother's a graduate of this college so i pretty much know what you mean.

    Such loaded sentiments! Sigh.

     
  • At 10:11 PM, Blogger Aishwarya Kandpal said…

    This is crazy!

     
  • At 1:06 AM, Blogger Unknown said…


    This is really awesome and beautiful.
    Thank for this sharing.
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