__________________! Aargh!!! Or should it be *sigh*

Graduate no robes

I saw the latest lot of varsity grads doing their usual parade around Wlg CBD during lunch time today. Lovely, with lots of pretty young things and tired old things, wearing the traditional graduate robes.

Was that how I’d looked like when I graduated too? In those robes?

Then I remembered. For some strange reason, me and my good friend S, who both graduated at the same time and in the same subjects, decided we wouldn’t dress up in those mouldy old robes and have our photos taken. While the rest of our batchmates took centrestage and received certs awarded by Madras University, we sat on the sidelines (and sulked?) and picked up our certs later.

You ask me why we did that? For the life of me, I cannot remember what that reason was!!!

One year on...

Fudge was a little darling, for sure. Very good-looking too, and completely aware of it. And the red eyes are from the camera, his were black.

The one-word tag

Another tag, but they’re mostly no-brainers, so here goes. Oh, I got this from Shyam’s blog.

The rules are:

1. After reading my answers, copy and paste the list into your blog.

2. Change my one-word responses with yours (but I have used two words, you’re not allowed to!).

3. Publish your blog post.

4. Send me a link on my comments box.

If you get something out of a vending machine, it's most likely to be: chocolate/chips;-)
A word you sometimes catch yourself misspelling: focused
You least want people to see you as: dumb
You're a little scared of: creepy-crawlies (that counts as one word, hopefully)
The least attractive thing you do in your sleep: Snore
The number of contacts in your cell phone: Heaps
How many of them are restaurants: None
You lose your cool when someone: shouts
When you go to the drugstore, you often can't leave without buying: something
Your dance moves can best be described as: graceless
The majority of your underwear is: ewwwwwwwww
Something you eat even though you hate how bad it is for you: sweets
You think you're really not a great: teacher
How much cash is in your wallet right now: $1
The majority of your shoes are this color: Black
You don't think you'll ever be able to get rid of your: accent
If your breath is bad, it's most likely because you had: garlic/milk
You feel embarrassed when you: stammer
The last public place where you used the restroom: railway station?
Something you don't like to debate in mixed company: religion
You don't think you can pull off wearing: evening dresses
Something you own entirely too much of:clothes
Someone you would love to see in concert who might bring down your street cred: Dunno
The last thing that you spilled on yourself: rasam
If you were on a reality show, the producers would likely portray/characterise you as the: nerd (yay, nerds are cool)

Nostalgia

Yesterday evening, I was belting along the motorway at 100k+, listening to an old tape that was playing in the car – ARR’s Vande Mataram (the original version). And suddenly, out of the blue, I was swept away by a wave of nostalgia and longing so strong, it brought tears to my eyes.

Was I homesick, now, more than eight years away from India? And if that was indeed homesickness, what was I pining for? Family, friends, food, faves? Or was I merely being nostalgic because I associated that Vande Mataram with happy childhood memories of All India Radio playing the same tune? Or was it just the effect of impending winter on an already-tired person? Or maybe it is just that the the tune of Vande Mataram is quite poignant?

I did some soul-searching but just couldn’t come up with any satisfactory answers. Whatever it was (and it lasted a few minutes), it was so unexpected. And it convinced me that you can take the Indian out of India, but you can’t take the India out of the Indian.

I don’t expect everyone and anyone who reads this to agree, but I do wonder: have any of you experienced a similar feeling brought on by some such incident/happening? And what was the explanation you were able to come up for this happening? Do share and enlighten me.