I am going through an intellectual crisis. I would not have been here if I did not receive a triplet of prods from three readers. That obviously made me happy as I don't want to lose my readers, and hence this intellect-less post about (don't try to guess) pronunciations.
This is more about a personal battle about a habit I am trying to overcome rather than a general post. The said nasty habit happens to be laughing at fellow Bengalees if they make the unforgivable mistake of getting the pronunciation of an English word wrong!
Not just Bengalees, Indians usually have this tendency to find something weird about any different accent of English used by their fellow countrymen. Colonial hangover? :) I shall not go into discussing hangovers because not only are they clichéd but I think we are way beyond blaming anything on hangovers.
Here's a scene to support my claim. This, in fact, happened to a friend of mine while he was conversing with a woman from southern India.
woman: You have a wonderful English pronunciation for a Bengalee.
friend: Thanks! (aside) You don't have that Southie streak in your English either!
I guess the aside was not spoken because something important to my friend was in the hands of the lady.
I find the whole sequence extremely funny, and initially I, of course, took my friend's side. But after growing up by several months and giving the whole thing much afterthought, I felt that both were in the wrong. Not only were they mocking each other (assuming the woman's comment to be less of a compliment and more of a racist comment and my friend's unsaid reaction the same), but they were fighting about the correct pronunciation of a language that is grossly distorted by innumerable foreigners, whom we pardon in the blink of an eye.
The hangover theory falls into shreds here itself, because if we were still faithful to our British lords and ladies, we would at least show the courtesy of mocking not only our fellow countrymen, but also the non-British foreign population, who each day strip and dissect the poor language giving it exquisite forms in terms of pronunciations and spellings.
We therefore, worship not the British, but the foreigners (I am not saying whites, because we do not seem to mind the black populace use its own versions of English either).
The Australians say "today" and I hear "to die"...
The Italians say "t" and i hear a much softened thing that weirdly resembles the Bengalee taw!
And let me not start about the section of English-speakers who say "my" and I hear an agonizing call for mummy (pardon "mah" ears)!
But we do not laugh at foreigners. It does not occur to us that English is as much our language as it is theirs. We perhaps give non-Indians the privilege to own the language and we humbly listen on as they speak in their flawlessly inaccurate versions of the British original. (Oh! but they are from America, or Italy or Australia or god-knows-what-ia, and they, of course have their own mannerisms.)
The scene now shifts to home. I have laughed at innumerable near and dear (and not so near and dear) ones behind their backs when I have heard them speak English.
"Pillar" often became "peeler" and "Shakespeare" "Sexpear". The latter, especially, infuriated me. But then I forced myself to notice how people call our dear old Robindronaath - Ravindranaath/Robindronaath/Rabindranath (and sometimes oh-the-horror Ravindronath). Even his surname is not spared as it constantly shuttles between the Bengalee and the non-Bengalee versions! What are Indians anyway? Multifaced monsters to suit different cultures? And on top of that, we get angry when we pronounce some foreign word wrong!!!
Hence began my battle and I am only halfway there. So when the girl next to me says "sale" instead of "sell", I have to remind myself that she is not uneducated. She is just guilty of the same crime as any white Italian or Black American and so on and so forth. To be fair, if I choose to laugh, I must laugh at anyone who messes up the standard- Indian or not. But it is, of course, polite to not laugh at all, as long as pronunciation does not hinder communication.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
time schemes in the city
Its midnight
in my room
Yet i don't feel alone
You're sleeping
somewhere
Is it midnight too there?
I'm dying to tell you
the things that i forgot
You smile in your sleep
like you know I'm there
I hear your breathing
yet you do not wake
My loud and sharp voices
could wake you by mistake
It's morning
outside
I just need to call
You're waking
slowly
Is it morning there at all?
I see you typing
those blurred lines that pay
I'm trying to tell you
please start my new day
Its twilight
here and there
Tell me its the same
I'm going to tell you
to play our little game
You look at me arms open
Your eyes close with mine
You're sleeping
with me
The time seems divine
I breathe slow
and deeper
Nothing breaks the spell
We're breathing
together
Through heaven and through hell
Its daytime
in our room
We both can see the rays
I'm holding
you closer
The room is ablaze
I'm trying to find out
what I left unsaid
The light is shining like gold
Proving nothing's been untold.
in my room
Yet i don't feel alone
You're sleeping
somewhere
Is it midnight too there?
I'm dying to tell you
the things that i forgot
You smile in your sleep
like you know I'm there
I hear your breathing
yet you do not wake
My loud and sharp voices
could wake you by mistake
It's morning
outside
I just need to call
You're waking
slowly
Is it morning there at all?
I see you typing
those blurred lines that pay
I'm trying to tell you
please start my new day
Its twilight
here and there
Tell me its the same
I'm going to tell you
to play our little game
You look at me arms open
Your eyes close with mine
You're sleeping
with me
The time seems divine
I breathe slow
and deeper
Nothing breaks the spell
We're breathing
together
Through heaven and through hell
Its daytime
in our room
We both can see the rays
I'm holding
you closer
The room is ablaze
I'm trying to find out
what I left unsaid
The light is shining like gold
Proving nothing's been untold.
Friday, July 24, 2009
indoor and outdoor peeks
Its been a while. I have had many subjects to write about, but I let go of them one by one and right now I am left with the ghosts of all of them lurking in my mind..
Personal issues that deserved some attention were long forgotten.. but I shall not let them disappear this way so here they are
1. A voter ID - something I should have owned 4 years back. I am 22 and still without one. Thankfully I have the relics of my birth certificate and other stupid IDs here and there that helped me open a bank account. One of these days I may have to hop to the nearest municipal whatever and beg the extremely (un)helpful officials to tell me when when when they are taking down new names. I may ask my parents to go too, but they may say I am 22 and should learn how to get my own jobs done without help. :P
2. My house - I love my house though it could have done with a tiny balcony and an elevator (I am perched on the 4th floor for god's sake. But yeah, taking the stairs helps burn the extra fat I acquire from my daily dose of payesh :P It will continue helping Maa burn hers till her last day :P). Other pressing problems include the alien people (with due respect to travellers and tourists) who live on our first floor. The first floor doesn't exactly belong to me, but then again, isn't it a custom to let the other people of your apartment know before you are letting your flat out as a PG? These weirdos have rented the first floor god knows according to what law, cause I know for a fact that the government has nothing to do with it. Outsiders using the terrace and staircase and corridors sure irritate me big time. But nothing doing here as well. I gotta remember I have my flat all to myself.. mwahaha
3. A piece of good news now. I graduated with a first class and have joined MA classes in the same lovely University. Life rocks. :)
4. My PC and I - Ice Age3, The Pink Panther2, Taken, The boy in the Striped Pyjamas and a few more... I LOVE movies and I LOVE my supplier ;)
I should have elaborated on the movies, but that'll require a new post.
Now the outdoor scenario...
1. the Intellectual problem - A few days (or fortnights) back, this group of intellectuals visited some rural area in West Bengal where there was some political unrest etc etc (I WONT be your umpteenth newspaper. So, for details, hunt down your old newspaper archives :P). Now a friend of my dad's turned up and the two men happily debated whether it is right to call them intellectuals. Being men from a strong academic background they absolutely hated the word when it was applied to the likes of college dropouts who have appeared in a few films or amateur directors. I kind of agree. Some artists ARE intellectuals. But surely they cannot represent the entire intellectual community by themselves. Where are the professors and the doctors and the engineers and the entrepreneurs? And why is it that only people from the film and drama world are the only ones who flock to these sites before you can say "uprising"? Are they looking for movie plots?
2. Its some sort of a transport strike today. No buses or cabs... no college although its a cakewalk for me... the auto-rickshaws are still on the prowl. I can't say I do not like extended weekends, although I do not like strikes. So only books, movies and food are to accompany me till Monday, when college is going to join the merry list ;) OH that reminds me, this girl is going to turn up tomorrow morning for her English tuition. I always tell her to arrive between 8:20 and 8:30,but the silly creature turns up at 8!! Well, I don't mind cause I let her go 15 minutes early, but I am made to leave the pleasures of my bed earlier than I would like to ;) Well, I guess they are prices to pay when you are getting paid well ;)
So that's it for now. Purged my mind of all its lurking ghosts. Will be back sometime (soon) ;) tata
Personal issues that deserved some attention were long forgotten.. but I shall not let them disappear this way so here they are
1. A voter ID - something I should have owned 4 years back. I am 22 and still without one. Thankfully I have the relics of my birth certificate and other stupid IDs here and there that helped me open a bank account. One of these days I may have to hop to the nearest municipal whatever and beg the extremely (un)helpful officials to tell me when when when they are taking down new names. I may ask my parents to go too, but they may say I am 22 and should learn how to get my own jobs done without help. :P
2. My house - I love my house though it could have done with a tiny balcony and an elevator (I am perched on the 4th floor for god's sake. But yeah, taking the stairs helps burn the extra fat I acquire from my daily dose of payesh :P It will continue helping Maa burn hers till her last day :P). Other pressing problems include the alien people (with due respect to travellers and tourists) who live on our first floor. The first floor doesn't exactly belong to me, but then again, isn't it a custom to let the other people of your apartment know before you are letting your flat out as a PG? These weirdos have rented the first floor god knows according to what law, cause I know for a fact that the government has nothing to do with it. Outsiders using the terrace and staircase and corridors sure irritate me big time. But nothing doing here as well. I gotta remember I have my flat all to myself.. mwahaha
3. A piece of good news now. I graduated with a first class and have joined MA classes in the same lovely University. Life rocks. :)
4. My PC and I - Ice Age3, The Pink Panther2, Taken, The boy in the Striped Pyjamas and a few more... I LOVE movies and I LOVE my supplier ;)
I should have elaborated on the movies, but that'll require a new post.
Now the outdoor scenario...
1. the Intellectual problem - A few days (or fortnights) back, this group of intellectuals visited some rural area in West Bengal where there was some political unrest etc etc (I WONT be your umpteenth newspaper. So, for details, hunt down your old newspaper archives :P). Now a friend of my dad's turned up and the two men happily debated whether it is right to call them intellectuals. Being men from a strong academic background they absolutely hated the word when it was applied to the likes of college dropouts who have appeared in a few films or amateur directors. I kind of agree. Some artists ARE intellectuals. But surely they cannot represent the entire intellectual community by themselves. Where are the professors and the doctors and the engineers and the entrepreneurs? And why is it that only people from the film and drama world are the only ones who flock to these sites before you can say "uprising"? Are they looking for movie plots?
2. Its some sort of a transport strike today. No buses or cabs... no college although its a cakewalk for me... the auto-rickshaws are still on the prowl. I can't say I do not like extended weekends, although I do not like strikes. So only books, movies and food are to accompany me till Monday, when college is going to join the merry list ;) OH that reminds me, this girl is going to turn up tomorrow morning for her English tuition. I always tell her to arrive between 8:20 and 8:30,but the silly creature turns up at 8!! Well, I don't mind cause I let her go 15 minutes early, but I am made to leave the pleasures of my bed earlier than I would like to ;) Well, I guess they are prices to pay when you are getting paid well ;)
So that's it for now. Purged my mind of all its lurking ghosts. Will be back sometime (soon) ;) tata
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
the 15 books tag..
i get to do a brand new tag after a long time thanx to tangerine... here i have to name 15 books i loved and i cannot take more than 15 minutes to think up the titles... here i go
1. An Autobiography - Lee Iacocca (found this one extremely interesting and motivating.. its the perfect success story)
2. Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell (don't think this one needs an explanation. I went on to read it thrice, and watched the movie almost every day at one point)
3. The Complete Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (this has influenced my mail IDs, Blog name etc etc)
4. The Famous Five Series - Enid Blyton (I grew up with Blyton books, and loved these best)
5. The da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (Was mesmerized after the first read, although later realized that I might have overreacted)
6. Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling (they won't write books like these in the next 100 years!!)
7. Tintin Collection - Herge (the lovely lovely books :) )
1. An Autobiography - Lee Iacocca (found this one extremely interesting and motivating.. its the perfect success story)
2. Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell (don't think this one needs an explanation. I went on to read it thrice, and watched the movie almost every day at one point)
3. The Complete Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (this has influenced my mail IDs, Blog name etc etc)
4. The Famous Five Series - Enid Blyton (I grew up with Blyton books, and loved these best)
5. The da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (Was mesmerized after the first read, although later realized that I might have overreacted)
6. Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling (they won't write books like these in the next 100 years!!)
7. Tintin Collection - Herge (the lovely lovely books :) )
8. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (a brilliant classic.. read it in school and became a Bronte fan)
9. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (I simply love the Bronte sisters)
10. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (I made the mistake to reading Emma after this one and was extremely disappointed.. nothing parallels Pride and Prejudice)
11. The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway (typical Hemingway - brilliant storytelling)
12. What Katy Did series - Susan Coolidge (thanx to these books, Katy became my childhood friend.. i still read parts from the books.. )
13. Uponyash Shomogro - Sharatchandra Chattopadhayay (i loved almost all the novels in this collection... brilliant descriptions of middle class Bengali rural life)
14. Abol Tabol - Sukumar Ray (I am not much of a poetry person, but these were just awesome)
15. Gora - Rabindranath Tagore (my favourite among his novels I've read)
there you are.. am done.. in a hurry to go to college now, so I wont sit and choose 15 random people for this tag.. i tag anyone who reads this tag :D.. now if u r a reader, please be honest and go do the tag.. :)
9. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (I simply love the Bronte sisters)
10. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (I made the mistake to reading Emma after this one and was extremely disappointed.. nothing parallels Pride and Prejudice)
11. The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway (typical Hemingway - brilliant storytelling)
12. What Katy Did series - Susan Coolidge (thanx to these books, Katy became my childhood friend.. i still read parts from the books.. )
13. Uponyash Shomogro - Sharatchandra Chattopadhayay (i loved almost all the novels in this collection... brilliant descriptions of middle class Bengali rural life)
14. Abol Tabol - Sukumar Ray (I am not much of a poetry person, but these were just awesome)
15. Gora - Rabindranath Tagore (my favourite among his novels I've read)
there you are.. am done.. in a hurry to go to college now, so I wont sit and choose 15 random people for this tag.. i tag anyone who reads this tag :D.. now if u r a reader, please be honest and go do the tag.. :)
Friday, June 12, 2009
vacation vignettes
I do not remember when I last wrote something here... I can easily check the date of course , but that's not a way to remember is that? So, after a LONG time and a few pricks and prods from certain entities (which includes a silly little voice inside my head) , I have decided to post here.. but I haven't decided what to post about. This shouldn't be the case however, because I am enjoying the break after my final sem, and I should be having plenty to say about how college has been so far and what it feels like to be a graduate (I am not one yet, but I have high hopes about this one ;) ).
College has been nice - JU is a very different place from the ones I had been to earlier with its population as diverse and colourful as the Indian nation (which a very old history pamphlet claimed). I am happy to be part of such good institutions... it has given me a weird taste for them. Hence leaving JU without securing a position on a similar pedestal will be kind of difficult. But that has been taken care of. I quite love the MA course-list :).
I shall not discuss academics in this post anymore, because my future plans are still under a state of contemplation and consideration inside my head... I shall come back to discuss them once I carry them out... Now its time to look at the rosy aspects associated with vacations-
the movies I watched at home were mostly nice (Tinkerbell, Little Mermaid and more... I personally recommend both ..and from other genres I ask you to watch The Recruit if you can. I loved it). I went to watch Angels and Demons.. and was muttering about its shortcomings to my poor friend's ear. Its a bad thing if you have read a story before watching it on screen .. its even worse if the on-screen version is a twisted version of the written one with special effects going beyond the scope of cinematic reality and sometimes even touching Bollywood-like dream-visions. I hated how they changed so much in the movie.. or maybe I'm just a more tolerant reader and a less tolerant viewer. But my friend found the movie as weird as I did, which was a consolation because he doesn't read much...
Another movie that deserve special mention is Pushpak. Brilliantly done with no dialogue and a mixture of dreams and jarring reality- I would say its one of the best among the Indian art films.
As for books, I got plenty on my birthday... This birthday also brought me a nice big pink teddy bear (courtesy maa :D) ... I have been reading Code Name God ... the start was really interesting.. then I had to toss to decide which one to start first - The Kite Runner or The God of Small Things. Started The Kite Runner yesterday and only one-third of it it is left for me to finish today. "Brilliant" is one adjective i would like to describe it with... I have never been a good book reviewer, because I feel like telling the whole story in the process. Holding back the desire to say all, while trying to convey how the book is, seems rather difficult. I shall try to sum up how I liked the books once I finish them all. That also reminds me that I have Lady Chatterley's Lover lying peacefully on my shelf. I read up a bit on the story (and of course its author ;) ) and I can't wait to begin with that either.
Enough said in one post... the vacation has been nice so far. A few more days and I shall have to get back to planning and work. And maybe I shall return to this blog sooner this time :)
College has been nice - JU is a very different place from the ones I had been to earlier with its population as diverse and colourful as the Indian nation (which a very old history pamphlet claimed). I am happy to be part of such good institutions... it has given me a weird taste for them. Hence leaving JU without securing a position on a similar pedestal will be kind of difficult. But that has been taken care of. I quite love the MA course-list :).
I shall not discuss academics in this post anymore, because my future plans are still under a state of contemplation and consideration inside my head... I shall come back to discuss them once I carry them out... Now its time to look at the rosy aspects associated with vacations-
the movies I watched at home were mostly nice (Tinkerbell, Little Mermaid and more... I personally recommend both ..and from other genres I ask you to watch The Recruit if you can. I loved it). I went to watch Angels and Demons.. and was muttering about its shortcomings to my poor friend's ear. Its a bad thing if you have read a story before watching it on screen .. its even worse if the on-screen version is a twisted version of the written one with special effects going beyond the scope of cinematic reality and sometimes even touching Bollywood-like dream-visions. I hated how they changed so much in the movie.. or maybe I'm just a more tolerant reader and a less tolerant viewer. But my friend found the movie as weird as I did, which was a consolation because he doesn't read much...
Another movie that deserve special mention is Pushpak. Brilliantly done with no dialogue and a mixture of dreams and jarring reality- I would say its one of the best among the Indian art films.
As for books, I got plenty on my birthday... This birthday also brought me a nice big pink teddy bear (courtesy maa :D) ... I have been reading Code Name God ... the start was really interesting.. then I had to toss to decide which one to start first - The Kite Runner or The God of Small Things. Started The Kite Runner yesterday and only one-third of it it is left for me to finish today. "Brilliant" is one adjective i would like to describe it with... I have never been a good book reviewer, because I feel like telling the whole story in the process. Holding back the desire to say all, while trying to convey how the book is, seems rather difficult. I shall try to sum up how I liked the books once I finish them all. That also reminds me that I have Lady Chatterley's Lover lying peacefully on my shelf. I read up a bit on the story (and of course its author ;) ) and I can't wait to begin with that either.
Enough said in one post... the vacation has been nice so far. A few more days and I shall have to get back to planning and work. And maybe I shall return to this blog sooner this time :)
Sunday, May 3, 2009
summer, you have your gifts...
That's how the Kolkata sky looked at least for an hour this afternoon, and I loved it. The above pic is one of the five I clicked fast with dad's cellphone-cam.
We sure needed a lowering of temperatures... Its raining as I type this post, and my heart flutters with joy as I hear the rain land on the city streets, wetting all its dirt and muck and cooling us down... The breeze is making my hair fly all around my face, as bits of spray hit my back. It was fun to watch maa closing the windows to keep the raindrops from wetting the beds, but I opened them again. Am sure the beds would have loved to get wet too, if they were alive :)
These are the times when I feel that there's no evil in this world, everything is as beautiful and serene as the pure raindrops, and everything is as beautifully transient and repetitive as the different phases of nature...
These are the times when I don't need angry or speculative poetry...
Nature is what it is, and one just needs one's straight simple words to describe it...
I love nor'westers, they are as beautiful as anything that brings a welcome change - just like the first flowers of spring, the first warm ray after winter, or the first droplets that signal the arrival of the monsoons...
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Beautiful Lady...
Beautiful lady
You're just amazing !
Since I saw you the first time...
It was like I could jump into your shadow
And become a part of it...
Stuttering my way through...
Feel the melancholy around me
Take me out...
With your weapons and smiles
We don't have much time !
Little do I know you
Beyond the mirror...
You are untouchable... pure !
Let my impure hands plunge into the glass
Let the skin bleed as I go...
All that matters is getting to you
I fall... and I rise with you
Its like my life exists to make me run on and on...
Beautiful lady
you're still amazing...
P.S. wrote this while listening to Chris Brown's Forever. Have been listening to it for the last one hour. I can safely say it inspired this post.
You're just amazing !
Since I saw you the first time...
It was like I could jump into your shadow
And become a part of it...
Stuttering my way through...
Feel the melancholy around me
Take me out...
With your weapons and smiles
We don't have much time !
Little do I know you
Beyond the mirror...
You are untouchable... pure !
Let my impure hands plunge into the glass
Let the skin bleed as I go...
All that matters is getting to you
I fall... and I rise with you
Its like my life exists to make me run on and on...
Beautiful lady
you're still amazing...
P.S. wrote this while listening to Chris Brown's Forever. Have been listening to it for the last one hour. I can safely say it inspired this post.
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