Decibel drivers!

When I walked into bus no. 18 on my way to work today, I was a bit startled. The driver was yelling something and I unconsciously fought an urge to say "wasn't me!!". After some abstract filtering, I realised that this jolly guy was actually saying HI, HOW ARE YOU DOING TODAY?! in an obnoxiously loud voice with a goofy grin! After an "err..fine thanks and yourself?" I settled down in my seat and observed this cheerful driver greet every single person who entered the bus in the same way! It was fun seeing them go through the same, Startle-err - who?-me?-oh-hi, to you too jig!!

Watching this exceptionally loud driver reminded me of a bus journey I had made a few years ago with my dad from a small town in Tamil Nadu called Gingee to an obscure little village. It was a shiny new bus; and when I say shiny, I MEAN IT! Multiple mirrors, glossy Rajinikanth standing near glossier autos, oh sheesh! The works! My eyes began hurting after a while! All was well, well, almost well, because this driver was so DAMN loud that along with my eyes- my ears were hurting too. Apart from obscenities aimed at fellow drivers and supposedly funny remarks meant for the audience (thats us, the passengers) he was humming the slickiest, sauciest, s@*&$~#iest songs composed in tamil film history!!

I knew it was coming - the irritation. I tried, I seriously did, to stop feeling that absolute rage which stems from some unknown eternal pit in the tummy(I was young and restless then!). And then as if he could read my mind, he went quiet. Dead quiet. The bus just ricketed down the typical kaccha roads we have studied about in geography. As the irritation slowly ebbed out, I actually found myself relaxing and enjoying the green rural scenery.

I should have known that this was just the 'calm before the storm'.

The damn driver didnt even give a warning so I could mentally prepare myself for it. A swish and a click. And in a voice as loud as his (accompanied by the driver's) the tape player bellowed" NA READYYYY, NEENGA READY AA??" OH MY GOD!! I was so absolutely shaken and shocked! You know what the best part was? The driver played that song over and over and over again till we reached our destination.

I was too exhausted to fight back. I just slumped in my seat and allowed that damn song, reveberating through the damn speakers, to smother the left life out of me. Come to think of it, the entire bus was a bit zombied off after that! Sheesh!

Oh India, India!

The view from the top!

Yay!!! I finished my exams, at last! Every single time, I mean, like EVERY SINGLE TIME, I come out of the exam hall appreciating and nodding my head at the wisdom of "oh! thats a weight off my shoulders!" More like, mountains off the shoulders!


Euphoric as I am at the moment, celebrating the end of my exams with a 14 hour flat rendevouz with Morpheus, its been quite an uphill climb! Huurrmmpphh...pant...pant! Phew!

Ok, first of all, my concentration span is as good as a goldfish's..! Absolutely pathetic! So, I had to give myself doggie biscuits! Ranged from 'ok doggy, study without wagging your tail for 5 minutes (ok, not always that bad! 10 minutes sometimes..hehe!) you can go out for a walk/listen to a song/dream about someone/get yourself a bite. Worked most of the time! No wonder, dogs are so trainable! Its the doggie bikkis!

Oh, and my appearance!! Scary! Total disregard for anything even remotely connected to aesthetics (even the occasional missed shower! heheeee)!! And how can I forget to mention my messy room..ok ok, I'll fess it up, its not like its always impeccably clean, but you know, extra bits of paper and books along with the usual mess - NOT a pretty sight!

Oh sigh! The war's over, a couple of more to go in August and December! And that would be the battle won! After all that climb -sleepless nights, scary dreams, sandwich, sandwich and more sandwich on the menu, its a great view from up here! Feels good to be back to normal.

If thats possible.