Long Time No Post

I was in a library and the book I wanted for reference wasn't on the shelves. I spotted it lying next to a guy who was busy studying from another. I asked him if he was using it and he, unfortunately, replied in the affirmative. I picked up some other books and began studyng from them. Two minutes later, the same guy hands over the book to me saying that he won't be needing it for another hour. Lucky me.


An hour and a half later:

"Excuse me".
I turned to see the same guy standing behind me. "Oh! U need the book?", I asked. "No. You can use it for another hour." He just needed me to move my chair so he could reach his. I gladly obliged.

Another hour later:

It was time for me to leave. I turned to return the book to the kind fellow and found him sleeping on his book. Woke him up, returned the book and thanked him while he smiled sheepishly.

The point of posting all this? Nothing. Just been long since I posted last. :)

Aisa Hi Hota Hai

I went for a movie recently and laughed till I had tears in my eyes. The fun began even before the movie started. The row in front of mine was occupied by a group of guys. Only two seats, the ones directly in front of me and my sister, were vacant. The seat next to the vacant seat was the first to be filled with the enthusiastic guy shooing away all his friends who tried to sit in the vacant seats, informing them that these were not their seats. Grudgingly, his friends moved on. Enthu guy's neighbour told him that they will swap seats during the interval.

And then the occupants of the empty seats arrived. I saw them move towards the row and I laughed imagining the enthu guy's reaction. They were an old couple. The lady was quite fat and proceeded to occupy the seat next to mister enthu. He turned. He saw her. And then...he stood up and cried out in exasperation while his friends laughed at his plight. Some girl was saved rude staring and I got some bonus laughs. Not a bad deal!!

Ruskin Bond

A dear friend gifted me an amazing book recently. It is "Friends in Small Places- Ruskin Bond's Unforgettable People". [Thank you.] My exposure to Bond had been very limited . Apart from a stray short story in my english curriculum, I hadn't read much of him. My sister, who usually tells me about the good books to read, once discouraged me from picking up a Ruskin Bond book in a library. I don't recall the reason. She probably wanted me to read more complex work at that time.

This book is a delightful collection of extracts from Bond's various books and short stories. It feels like a crash course in his writing. The thing that prompted this post was the following line which I read in the story "Bhabhiji and Her Family":

"Life is so very dull for middle-class teenagers in Delhi that it is only natural that they should lean so heavily on escapist entertainment."

It refers to a teenage girl's love for movies in 1960s. I think the statement still holds true.

Your Neighborhood Weirdo

I have this weird habit of talking to myself. Most people do that but what makes mine unique is that I am mouthing the words and I do it all the time. Several people have caught me doing this and explanations have been demanded of what I was muttering. Occasionally I tell the truth but mostly I lie. The weirdness is not limited to mouthing words. I smile. I roll my eyes. I even laugh like crazy.

Today I was surrounded by women with grim faces doing what they were doing with serious expressions on their face. I couldn't stand it. I started imagining funny things and grinning. Whenever I made eye contact with any of them, I smiled or made funny faces. People take life too seriously sometimes.