With The Fungus Gone.

Recently I read an article about the geisha which brought back memories of  the movie and  the book – ‘Memoirs of a geisha.’ The most poignant part of the movie is at the very end when she says ‘we are the wives of the dark for these are not the memoirs of a queen but that of a geisha ‘or something to that effect.I have my own little funny incident to tell.

Kyoto is one of the centers of japanese culture. Beautiful cherry blooms, hilly surroundings and marvellous temples give it an eternal feeling. the air of the city seems to imbibe in you a sense of wonder,calm and a willingness to lose yourself in it and yes,it is the city of the geisha.

When I visited Kyoto, the beautiful japanese city as part of a 10 day MOFA-Japan sponsored trip, my teacher accompanying us said she wanted to visit the tearooms where the japanese courtesans called the geisha entertain. The reason for that being she wanted to see the old japanese culture in those narrow bylanes of that historically poignant city, Kyoto.I was taken aback and disgusted even afterall the geishas and their lives resembled ritualised prostituition. And we did not make that trip.Instead we went around the temples and other places of interest.it was in one such temple that i saw two young girls wonderfully dressed with faces painted white. i thought they were kabuki actors for some wierd reason and then thought may be they were the equivalent of the kumaris of nepal for they were heavily guarded.with a camera in hand i kept running behind them around the tepmle and finally into the streets where a little crowd was gathering to see them. it was then that one of the girls, whom i now know was a geisha saw me and told her guards or whoever around her that it was alright and that i could be allowed to meet them. i shook their hands, and me and another friend of mine clicked pictures with them. Soon the little crowd requested pictures of the four of us and i was only too happy to pose for them .

I went back and told my teacher about my great encounter with kabuki actors with white painted faces. it was then after listening to my whole account that my teacher smiled and said they were the geisha and it was not she but i who had gone chased ,met and even shook hands and posed for pictures with them and let a bunch of touists click that spectacle and all this from a girl who was disgusted by the evry thought of meeting them!i was left a bit embarassed but could not help admitting that i was fascinated by the grace and beauty of the two geisha nevertheless, it was a moment for my teacher to laugh at me.I still do sometimes, thinking about my naivete.

The recent controversies surrounding Amir Khan’s and Amitabh’s blog once again reiterated what a powerful weapon blogging can be,especially if you have a large number of people following yours.Blogging has always been an effective means of communication as seen during the anti- reservation strikes,the justice for jessica/Matoo and other numerous such instances.But what these celebs have managed to achieve is to introduce a new word into every layman’s dictionary-blog wars.So after the numerous kinds of wars men have successfully invented and perfected during the process of evolution here is a latest addition .This sort of reminds me of our intra college wall magazine -The Newswagon and its not so friendly take on all campus happenings.I have always felt that its partly a misuse of power and a cowardly one at that.after all, the person whom you are pointing your finger at cant write back in the magazine.But then i am not a part of that editorial team and hence theres no telling what i would have done.

The past few days in my new paying guest accomodation has made me more sympathetic to such people.I have been so very stressed out that i have begun to think of  a life of sheer intellectual deprivation.Yea its nice to rant like this, what else can you do against people like Miss.Soapy especially when its illogical to talk to such people coupled with the fact you hardly get any time to . A typical conversation goes like this

Me: Errr..excuse me ,may i watch the match for some time(after having patiently waited for a chance to watch the t.v. for the whole day)?

Ms.Soapy:i am already wtaching this(with a wicked smile that spells gotchya  and its boogie woogie running,mind you)

Me:just three balls its the  last over

Ms.Soapy:Don’t make sudden changes like this.

Me:Thinking(What the.. is it supposed to mean?)

end results:No ipl matches, probably no roland garros and no euro 2008

Here’s another gem

Me: again,with the voice that sort of lets you down even before the battle has begun.Errr.excuse me can i watch the news for sometime?

reply to that is typical, No. because there is a movie in disney world she doesnt even know the name and probably cant figure out anyway .

this is a mean thing to do, but a highly satisfying one too.I have nothing against anyone but frustrated at my own inability to get my way.There are important lessons to be learnt, Dont expect the world to watch what you want.Be patient and diversification even if it means accomodating an unsatiable appetite for U2 channel,soaps,boogie woogie and nothing else, is the mother of all necessities.See and learn to smile in a way that wipes the smile off the person in front of you.Look back and remember any tiny incidents of disagreements you may have add with your room mate and say a quick prayer that you would be a good ,neat room mate henceforth. So no news,no movies(the decent ones that you can watch),no matches its only green and sticky boogie woogie all the way!

This year happens to mark the fifty years of existence of Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan ,the school I studied in, all my student life from pre kg to standard twelve.While its a moment of pride for all the people associated with it , for me the school shall always stand for certain set of moments, people and incidents.The branch I studied in is known as the main school and contrary to the name, its one small place.Yet I always liked it that way. you got to know a lot of people and most people knew you.

Mrs YGP

Each one has her own and often strongly biased opinion about her ranging across the spectrum.I have always seen her as a remarkable Lady  synonymous with the school with a highly appreciable vision and some one whom I have always held in high reverence.She started the scool as a challenge to the convents  and what she thought was a foreign erosion of indian values. Her fight with Karunanidhini and in later years Maran to save the school is highly admirable and almost legendary. Her achievement is a stupendous one for she succeeded against all odds: a brahmin middle class lady opening a school mirroring her background at the height of DK movement.celebration of fifty years is as much a tribute to the grand dean of the school .she has always been larger than life and will continue to remain so.

Life in psbb

sometime back I read a blog by one of my friends who had almost accused the school of robbing her the opportunity to mix with a wide cross section of people.the reason for that is,P.S.B.B. Main school has always been at the core, a middle to uppermiddle brahmin school.a character thats reflected in everything from the morning prayers,to the teachers to the students and right down to the canteen menu!Inspite of the inevitable changes across the years its retained that frame work intentionally or otherwise.

Now i study in a NIT, have an asamese for my room mate with whom i get along very well and also move with people from different parts of the country belonging to diffrent castes and religions. Yet i have always found a strong bonding with people who speak as i do, listen to the same music,enjoy thyagaraja,cant do without curd rice,think that south indian cinema means Mani Ratnam,prefer coffee to tea, frequent lit and tech clubs more than the other colourful ones and so on( the list is obvious).I dont grudge my school the environment I  grew up in ,but on the contrary I  am grateful.Its something that i have always suspected that made life in the school easire and more fun.

Extra Curricular activities

I  always thought the school danced .sung,quizzed,debated and celebrated every single festival on the drop of a hat than it studied.and felt very grateful for that.Thankfully my college has a very diverse student actvity cell and a myriad of clubs much like the school and i dont miss all the going around.

The inevitable lists.

10 things P.S.B.B

• 1.YGP
• 2.Canteen
• 3.shri gurubya namaha,sukhi bhava
• 4.Morning assemblies including the highly soporific TM.
• 5.general assemblies.
• 6.the uniforms ranging from blue to pink to yellow. makes me wonder what next?
• 7.SPL elections
• 8.Reverberations,Anniversary
• 9.Maargazhi mahotsav
• 10.Pattani sundal bonda bhajji

10 most favourite teachers

• Mrs Prema (math teacher std 7,6)
• Mrs Hema Latha Seshadri
• Mrs Subhashri
• Late Mrs.Charumathi
• Mrs Vasantha(std 1)
• Mrs Pushpa Bala Jagam
• Mrs Girija Krishnamurthy
• Mrs Vijayalakshmi(english teacher,Main)
• Mrs Padmini Balasubramaniam

I have always believed that the school I studied in to be the best in the south and one of the best in the country.It had its own faults but looking back the troughs seem insignificant.At the risk of sounding melodramatic , I have always been proud to be a PSBBian.The school has indeed given me a lot ,something I  am more concious of after I  left the school than while I was with it.