Unimorph

Hey guys. I have to submit a paper in my college about the 'effect of peer pressure on the student psyche' and I have written this article for it, which I feel quite justifies the topic. Most parts of the article are quite true. However a certain incident at the very end did NOT occur. I am sure most of you might have guessed which book series gave me the idea for the title.... I might add that I never actually read any book from the Animorph series.

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I had already changed approximately 8 schools now and all of you present here must think that for such a person the excitement generally arising with the change of another school must be numbed. However this was not the case with Delhi Public School RK Puram. I had made an attempt before to get through it and had been unsuccessful. Therefore the prospect of having got through it now, sent shivers of excitement as well as anxiety through my spine. I had heard a lot about this school from my cousins, the large part of them either studying or having passed out from it. In fact one of my cousins had fed my gullible 6thy brain with a glorified version of the whole atmosphere. I don’t remember too much of the description but it ranged from descriptions of the modern buildings to those of the large expanses of open spaces with profusion of grass and dotted by trees. All in all, a blend of modernity and natural beauty. What enhanced this eco friendly feeling was the uniform, which was an outfit in gray and green or white and green, both combinations representing the same phenomenon.

Such was the extent of my awe with the school (now called the ‘Factory’). When I finally reached my school, I was, as you all must expect, tremendously disappointed. But I must say – my schoolmates were certainly very friendly. Within the course of time I made quite a few friends. They all liked me immensely (as I imagined), however they had a problem with the way I handled my exterior form, which consisted of the Uniform. I shall elaborate on that. They somehow had this habit of presenting themselves in an extremely scruffy manner, which for some weird reason, they considered very cool. Their shirts used to hang out (and this was done in a very proper manner…. it had to be up to a particular length), their sleeves were folded high up (they were finicky about this too), and their socks hardly showed. In the beginning the disapproving hints were thrown in a subtle way. But as they were deliberately not quite registered, my friends’ line of attack became increasingly straightforward. They never got tired of reprimanding (I reckon it’s a very pleasurable activity. …Perhaps I shall only experience it when I become a mother ….if I do that is). They pulled my shirt out, calling it an ‘undipsitish’ appearance, told me day in and day out how hot it was and how claustrophobic it felt in these tucked-in school uniforms etc.

Initially I showed a lot of resistance but along with time I realized their efforts had hardly diminished and I slowly started giving in, just so that they would cease their nagging. My shirt came out slightly, sleeves never rolled up, but they were quite satisfied.

As the months flied by and I developed a better equation with my bus mates and class ones too, I started thinking of them as very cool people. My appearances and behavior (as I reflect upon it now), became almost a mirror image of theirs, and I too wanted to be cool. My earlier ideas of wearing the uniform properly in order to give it due respect and thinking of myself looking smart in my ‘different but right way’ was very easily forgotten. Or to be more correct, was just dumped into my hippocampus (I have studied 2 years of biology and consider it my right to bore you with a li’l bit of the subject…. Hippocampus is the part of the brain, which converts short-term memory into long-term …for later use). Nevertheless, the point I want to make is that I shamelessly began to ape my friends.

In class 11 people from various schools from across the country joined our school, to be branded as dipsites. They of-course were unaware of the dress code of our school and could be easily spotted by their ‘dowdy’ looks. They wore their uniforms quite properly. And this irked many of my colleagues, who avoided most of them who failed to recognize the tradition. Many were coerced into it, just like me. There was this particular new admission in my class who had been ‘undipsitish’ despite having now spent a year in our prestigious institution. And I thought I must directly point it out to her. And so I went to her and quite calmly told her how she did not looked nice in the fashion in which she presented herself and must make an attempt to look more like us. It looks smarter that ways you see, I explained. She gave a frank reply, voicing her opinions on how she preferred the way she looked …howsoever unsmart though her appearances may be. When I pressed upon her, she quite politely said sorry and turned away. I never got a chance to bully her again. Or to be more truthful, I never had the courage to do so

Sarkar

Moving frames, intense expressions, resounding background music, silence, murder with guns and Sabaa’s disturbing chatter; that was Sarkar. The story based on Godfather, yet so different, that not one moment one was reminded about the Don and his family. This is Ramu’s tribute to Mario Puzo’s famous book. And I have no doubt that it is nothing more than that. And nothing less.

It’s about Subhash Nagre, a gangster who believes that he has all the right to interfere in the ‘system’, go against it and help people out. If that means using guns, breaking bones, or making the elected government into a puppet show, so be it. He knows what he wants and what he desires. He knows that he shall achieve it and no one shall stand against him. When a certain someone does, he is eventually eliminated. Subhash Nagre spares no one – neither his foes nor his family; not if they are against what he believes.

Amitabh has just made a whole new Mumbaiya character, which is completely different from Don Corleone. Abhishek does remind you of the Don’s son and KK is a blend of the other two sons. In my opinion, Amitabh Bachchan and KK delivered the best performances. I have developed a new respect for Big B. He overshadows his much talked about role in Black. Abhishek was good too but nothing in comparison to KK and his father.

What was even more amazing was that there were hardly many dialogues. And just as the reviews said, there was not much need. A few new characters were added (if compared to the original). The plot was also morphed to suit the needs when and where required. There were a few killings, which made me squirm in my seat. O.k. now that’s an understatement. I closed my eyes and my ears to the amusement of Shaubhik who was having loads of fun looking at me (as much as he possibly could in the dark).

A good experience in all...yet left me quite baffled….

Throughout the movie were chants- Govinda Govinda Govinda…

So far I have not been able to figure out why. Puhleeeez tell me if you do…

Small Things Bright and Beautiful

You must have heard umpteen quotations on the importance of that simple facial expression called smile. Yeah, it’s the little facial expression that can change lives. Now now, don’t think I’m going to dish out that same old sentimental crap. But c’mon you all agree that a smile can proceed towards a long cherished friendship, a caring relationship or even a romance! I remember reading this amusing article by Jug Suraiya. The guy had arrived at the airport after a trip to America and the effect of the country had not worn off. He sported a smile on his face when he entered the Airport lounge and he realized that his smile was not quite being returned by anyone. People looked at him suspiciously …who was this strange guy who smiled at everyone? He glanced upon the hard stares and realized his mistake. Back came the Indian scowl. Ah! Now people were at ease…. he’s from amongst us. One might think that that Mr. Jugs was exaggerating. O.k. now shall I reduce that scowl to a tight grim expression? Is that not what we people constantly display to any unknown person? Oh we are one of those busy reserved people who don’t mix with everyone and everybody!

Have you thought how much effort it takes to smile to an unknown person? Yes you might think I’m twisting quotations here and there. However its true and smiling away at a bunch of grim serious people is almost intimidating. This morning I decided to do just that. Have you seen the beauty in the faces of those people who are at peace with them selves? They have the most attractive aura no matter how physically ‘unattractive’ they might be. It is the kind of thing possessed by few and perhaps I was one of them (ah well…there are times one is just so happy). Well well, let me describe to you the efforts of today morning. Mridu Chadha walking merrily down the park lane. Comes fat aunty. Mridu looks at her hard, fat aunty looks back, and Mridu tries to contort her face into the closest semblance to a smile. Aunty looks at her. Thinks her mad and walks ahead (without smiling of course), making Mridu Chadha feel silly. (Am I sounding like the ‘hero’ of The Ailment?) Now she has a new resolve in her nut-sized brain and decides to give a huge Julia Roberts smile to the next person who walks up from the opposite side. This turns out to be a dowdy uncle ji who has a huge bear belly. I can do it. Yes, I can do it. Well here, I did it. No return …yeah…a suspicious look alike to the one Mr. Jugs must have faced (oh I’m quite sure). And me is completely embarrassed. My god! What kind of people are they? Nah nah, I wont accept defeat. No ways. Next walks along a little aunty …sweet little aunty I must add. “Hello aunty”. “Hello beta” (with a divine smile on her round mukhda). Yeah that was the first one. Three followed! That dowdy uncle ji refused to return my smile despite repeated efforts and I’m sure he reckoned that I was a member of some teenage robber gang! Aye that sounds lovely. Anyone interested in actually forming one?

So the morning went pleasant, as I had intended it to be. I’m sure you all must agree what a difficult task I had accomplished. But I shall give you a piece of warning. Never overdo those smiles. I remember a guy in my coaching classes used to sit with his face more tending towards the opposite direction of the blackboard. He smiled at anyone who caught his eye and since he sat right in front of me I had to smile at least 10 times in one class …and this was rather painful. And finally I became so pissed off that I stopped smiling at him.

So lets just transcend from The City of Scowls to The City of Smiles! Oh man …that sounded like a Chief Minister’s speech!