Life's Onward Journey...

Hyderabad. The moment I inhaled in this air, the never-ending sneezes began and within 24 hrs I was down with cough, cold and fever. This is the worst time to fall sick. Lot of time and money has been invested in this experiment. Cetrizine…drowsiness…struggle to stay awake…RNA prep…Oh! I am about to sneeze…run out of the lab…Aaaaachhhoooo… Scene 1 : Enter guest house. The room is quite good. It even has a television. I have not seen TV for the past one week (which includes one weekend) as my hostel room is getting re-wired. While shutting the door and thanking the attendant I notice that the room cannot be latched from inside. I tried asking the man (who neither understands Hindi nor English) why is the latch broken. He is clueless and gave me a look which said, “Sorry Madam, we do not provide this facility.” Ok. I made a satisfactory security arrangement which I won’t disclose here. Scene 2 : A well equipped lab. Few people around. Silence. Nobody is asking me questions. On the o...

I think I should say that "I am in love with south bombay." I have hardly seen (or stayed in) other parts of the city. I am sure there are areas in bombay which are not this comfortable and beautiful. Compared to Delhi, I never found it difficult moving around in Bombay. BEST buses and the general public seemed so different than the DTC buses and the accompanied rowdiness. The only bus I could take in Delhi, without being anxious was 615- Minto Road to Purvanchal Hostel. On the other hand I hardly ever felt uncomfortable in the local trains in Bombay (there are a few instances though). "New in Bombay?" "You should go around and see the city." I remember my advisor telling this to one of my batchmates and me. We didn't know what was coming next. We were given a task of going to Mumbai University (Kalina campus) for collecting the degrees of 4 of our seniors (TIFR did not have deemed university status then). Good job. Just that both of us had no idea wh...

When I got selected at Dept of Biological Sciences, TIFR I was not very happy. I was more keen at studying at NCBS, Bangalore as I thought it had a better environment and better research options related to my area of interest. Today I am glad I didn't get through the NCBS final interview. I had to join TIFR on 1st August 2003. It was my first visit to Bombay. My dad and me got down the train at Bombay Central Station. The first thing I noticed on the platform was the coolies with their characteristic white cap. As we came out of the station my father showed me Maratha Mandir and I immediately remembered that this is the place where DDLJ has been running since the day it was released and then the thought struck me that I am in the city of the film industry. :-) I had copied the "how to reach" instructions given on the TIFR website, so it was very convenient. Hostel room allotment, Registration, Health Check-up, Bank Account, Orientation around TIFR took the first few day...

I was pushed to go for painting classes by my mother when I was around 14. I was good at sketching and equally bad at colouring and shading. The idea of mixing colours to make new shades never occured to me. That was how I was years back---scared to experiment and take a risk. Once you mix two-colours, you cannot separate them. The colours lose their identity. I remember trying to make a particular shade of lilac and not succeeding. My art teacher (I owe a lot to you aunty) taught me to experiment with colours. She used to give us or make us choose from a box full of cards and miniature paintings by other artists and asked us to try and imitate them. Often she used to point at one corner of the sky and tell one of us "Look carefully, this bit of sky has a little more crimson than the adjoining areas. Mix and shade. Use feather touch". Sometime no matter how carefully i peered into the picture I never saw the correct shade. At such times I just sat and looked at her instructin...

"Grow up Akash". That's what Sid says to Akash when he casually jokes about the woman Sid has fallen in love with. As a part of movie show in the institute I happened to watch Dil Chahta Hai 'nth' time. I came to know during those 2 hrs that there are many not-yet-grown-up Akashs around. I could hear a giggle or two at the most inappropriate moments in the movie. But who defines what is inappropriate? It is so subjective... Forget it. There are so many situations in the movie which I love. Then there are some which are so trite (e.g. Shalini marrying the son of her Uncle who brought her up). Then there was the 'opera' scene when Akash closes his eyes and realizes that he has special feelings for Shalini. It was just too dramatic. I wish things could get clear that easily. However, I really love two scenes from the movie. Sid calls his best friends Akash and Sameer to come and celebrate Tara's birthday with them. It was an attempt to bring together the ...

With the world on our fingertips, finding a life partner has become a lot more easier. There are a huge number of marriage portals where you can register and fill-in the relevant details about you and your prospective partner. If lucky, you will get 'the one you were looking for' . If not, then keep looking. I am addicted to reading the bio-data of 'grooms' for a different reason---the fun attached to it. You have to read it to believe it. Here are some of the most hilarious ones out of the huge lot. None of these are fabricated. I have just deleted a few words/lines which might reveal their identity 1. He is a g8 (great?) person who understand filling's (Are people available in different fillings? I want chocolate) of others and care of team (which team? I am confused) . he live and think simply. he is so nice guy who can do any things for friends family. i don't have word's to right (Right said!!!) about him... that what he is and which type of person is...