just having tea

its been long i wrote here. but today i just felt like it.
we make tea at our studio these days after the chaiwala at the corner stopped his services. now that tea had become such an integral part of us, we bought a water heater. and since m the youngest at the studio and m in the ' experimenting with food' phase, i was the first to try and make it with milk powder, sugar and tea bags, trying different proportions every time. and today i made yet another nibbling cup of tea. my tea kick starts by day here.
i dont miss a single chance of making it. its a nice art. i enjoy it. every body loves the tea i make. every time we have clients coming over, anagha goes, 'suju, chai please!'
and i thought i was better off making (and drinking) only coffee!
no doubt, its my new addiction :) call it the cropmarx culture!
ok, having had the last sip, i'll wrap it here.

as it continues to rain..

it was the day of november rain today.
little sleepy very reluctant me, finally mohini said 'zopun ja parat, khup paus padtoy, solid gaar zalay' thats when i sprang up. with my back and waist hurting very bad (cause of playing football with sidd) i managed to reach the bathroom not realizing i had carried my blanket with me! it was that cold.
nothing beats a shower under just the perfect temperature of water. wrapped in my warm red sweater, 40 minutes on the bike took me to college. i couldn't exceed 30 km/hr.
it was shady whole day. i was in a rocking mood after college for no specific reason, just wanted to chill. so i pataoed sumit to exchange bikes! poor thing hates my pep. i rode on the slippery roads and undertaking very puddle on the way, reached studio. it was raining all the way. sumit on pep was a scene just as happening as me on the bike ;)
finally completed the storyboard for our big book. it was time for lunch and we called up a new eatery called 'buddy chef' .i gave him the order and explained the address. in 2 minutes i got a call from the same number saying, 'is this miss jijay jyoti?' i burst out laughing!!!! 'vijay jyot' is the name of the building in whose outhouse you need to send the parcel' and everyone in the studio laughed out calling me vijay jyoti!
2.30pm, the power cut off! now, normally, people or even i would curse it but not today! i introduced sumit and prachi to the game of 'pen fight'.
needless to say, they enjoyed it. sumit to begin with became the ultimate master of suicide by ending up dropping is pen off the table while trying to push down ours. prachi followed suit and me influenced by their stupidness, ended up doing it too, but once :)
it was tea time and no signs of electricity yet. we continued!
after tea, ma'm got sumit and prachi (who both hate and cant draw) to draw hairstyles for some characters for the next book and i on the other hand went into a super graphic mode. started off with some random typography while listening to songs and went on to go out and sketch, not realistic, but graphics inspired by realistic elements. and this mode always works! coz i dont care about anything then.
it ended with the electricity coming back and i was back to arranging papers and files and making lists for 'tomorrow's target..'
5pm. we packed up for the day. our shoes were dirty and wet. the next thing i did actually inspired sumit to do the same! i put my shoes in a plastic bag, dumped them in the bike and rode bare foot, getting hit by raindrops until i was all wet.
if the day hadn't, how could my rain spirit end! sidd was home. we had a fantastic football blast in the balcony. (i always get these ideas of playing rugby in the mud when it rains, so smashing!)
and now, back to college assignments :) (as it still continues to rain...)

cant get enough of it huh?!

almost one year ago, 15th july, was my first day of the 3rd academic year. and i was hanging out in south bombay with yash n isaac. 2day is that one day before the 4th academic year begins 2moro. and 2day was no less memorable as last year. its a sunday so we planned to go to talegaon- me, pran and mohi. after lot of discussions and chats all thru saturday evening, we kicked off at 7.30 am from my place. 2 pep+ bikes, three chirpy monkeys all covered with appropriate sun, rain and wind protections!
so, we rode about 30 kms from the city and came across this interesting place where we saw it was possible to climb. in no time we were up the hill and needless to say, the talegaon plan was no where in the scene. tho from up there we cud see talegaon. it was a slippery yet cool climb. goats, cattle, colourful insects were all there. we discovered theres a shiva temple on the top. it was awesome, a beautiful metallic idol in a cave! it started raining as we climbed down but as we reached half it was sunny again. we sat there for about an hour, chatting and laughing away about random things...we finally reached the foot of the hill , all sweaty and hungry. we had misal pav at a dhaba near by and began our way back at noon. it was all going well until we reached kothrud. me and pran we talking about eating ice-cream somewhere and BANG!!!
all i saw was a mini tempo in front of me that was too close to avoid. i dashed, pran who was sitting behind me hurt her tooth by banging on my head as we both dramatically fell down on the road. ppl around ran for us, picked up the bike and we managed to get up . mohini who saw his happening from behind was at her peak of panic! ofcourse. we parked the bikes aside and scanned ourselves for bruises. pran was fine except the tooth and her lip has swollen now. i hurt my legs in some places and i felt the mirror was pressed against my stomach.
the best part was when we were ready to leave for home. i cudnt find the bike keys. we looked around on the road, nothing. i was lost again and just put my hand in the pocket and there! it was in my own pocket. in the whole accident situation, i dint remember i had put it there after parking as usual. habits. everyone laughed at me including me!
the whole thing was my mistake in the first place also coz m so susceptible to running into vehicles! its crazy.

generations

normally, when elder siblings grow up, their stuff like books, toys etc. are used second hand by their younger sibling. like sidd used some of my fav toys. he also uses two of my old bags. and its always a funny feeling to see him carry my bag with his books to his class, the same bag that once stuffed with my material i carried to my class. i still love that bag! but 'de diya', chhota bhai..!
now, i never thought such a situation would reverse. from 2day, m gonna use sidd's old bicycle coz he got a new one! yes. and like a sweetheart he was trying to lower down the seat height coz its way too high for me. but its rusted so we gonna need a mechanic to get it done. but the point is, i feel cool. i mean i never used anyone's things like that before coz m the elder one! and now i am coz sidd is like half a foot taller than me and goes around being like my elder brother just coz hes taller and stronger!! i cant do taigiri anymore! its all bhai giri.

m in a fix

theres something i seriously want to get rid off. but its like m quite deep in the shit. but still i shud be out of it. i want to. yes, i was taken away by the thought of it and began working on it. but i realized m not made for this. kinda like, i can do it but i want to do things other than that which i feel are more important. so m gonna take a deep breath and tell the concerned person that i want to be out of it no matter what, coz at this time in my life i really dont have to take it on me. a very essential part of you, is to be able to say a NO. that actually gives u a satisfaction of being stood by yourself irrespective of people trying to impose things on you in how so ever nice ways. m gonna be true to myself and tell them that. if i just go on with it, i will lose myself. i definitely dont want that 'me-ness' to go :) i've had it once, no more!

teach india

the teach india group in pimpri has started a new season of hobby class on weekends.
sumit has been a part of the first season, and wanted me to become a part of the movement, but i cudnt then. so this time i dint wanna miss. i rode 22 kms to pimpri to hang around with these kids from the near by slums. we were 10 volunteers and about 50 kids. we taught them paper bags, photo frame, paper basket and flowers. it was cool.
last montth i volunteered for a similar worshop for kids. only these kids being from a higher middle class. what difference did i feel? NOTHING. children are children, no matter what class, what background! all are equally creative and willing to do new stuff. its just that teach india is a soial service, so no pay. but i felt the slum children needed us more than the ones from settled familes. they can afford art classes or special coaching if they are talented while the slum kids just need exposure. and if something strikes, its gonna be of a great help to them. they need to know more than washing cars, selling flowers or dropping newspapers...

its that time of the year again!

when the sun is too lazy to show up. its breezy, its cool and its all wet!!!
getting drenched in rain is like a tradition for the first 2-3 weeks of monsoon coz u really need to beat the heat thats burning your skin for the last 3 months. so m in that phase right now. and i dont mind having cold yet again :) one more reason to chill- exam khatam!!!
day before was the first day it rained. the evening was deep yellow with fresh greens. i went to almost every window and balcony in the house enjoying the wind and the rain. i was so happy that i actually started painting on a 15x 20 ' canvas!
thanks to my one month leave from studio. i can do things i really want to. like it feels really nice to be painting after a lot of digital work. and so in that excitement i finished the wash before it was dark. I'll complete it next time it rains ;)

In the spirit of Maya Day!

Why will we celebrate this day?!
coz, it was our Maya exam 2day.
i have never been tensed or nervous before any exam ever, not even board exams.
my friends have been helping me with the software, i love them for that.
in tension, i pooped like 3 times in the morning, dont know how my body cud produce so much of it considering i had not eaten anything since last night. m so convinced, health problems are not only bad state of the body but a worse state of mind.
isaac and mohini cracked most stupid jokes to chill me.
when i finally saw the test, magic happened!
i cud see the given photo in wire frames and further back in polygons.
thanks again for the tutorials - pranav, mohini and pranjali.
back to the lab, the power cut off within half hour. yes, thanks to thursdays in pune.
we got like 3 hours off to wander around, have medu wada and kala-khatta flavored pepsi cola!
imagine what an exam!
we played dumb charade in the lab. nothing like it.
we practiced for the given image on laptop back up, like full into it!
sir tricked us and changed that image.
power went off yet again!
we all looked at each other and laughed like mad.
power back, and sir gave us an easy one to wind up in 2 hours.
our epic exam- 12 to 6pm (supposed to be 12-3) ended with tasty toast sandwiches and kulfi :P

commitment

when u gotta do it, u gotta do it..no matter what!
even if u have spent one whole day completely wet in rain and u come home at midnight with a high temperature and cold, u have to go to work next morning because the client has embossed a dead line on your work. so what if half the time u are busy sneezing or using up paper napkins to clean your nose. so what if u have to sit under a thunder fan when u have a head ache just because your colleagues need it, and u cant move from your place. but u do it coz its your work and u love it. u come home with a more intense cold and dry throat. u crash on your bed, but then u know u're having guests for dinner and your mum sends you out to buy some food stuff. u walk with pain but u walk managing three bags, and suddenly u meet a friend on the way. that helps u to cheer up. but u realize u are getting late and rush home. at the end of the day, your body feels sick but u are happy u were of some help to people who love you and count on you.

chappal stealer

it was all going good, tiring but good, at the studio till 7.30. ma'm was about to leave and noticed that one of the chappals kept outside had gone missing. wow, it was dark, she saw a dog, i was working and the best part, it was my chappal :) i had to finish work asap coz we had to send the files to print the next day. so i cudnt move. so ma'm asked me to continue working and finish it while she goes around looking for my 'one of the favorite' black leather slip-ons. she told the landlord to turn on the lights in the building. but disappointed, she asked me to take a round. so i did, but no luck. my chappal was gone. and i came home wearing the rubber chappals that we use in the bathroom at the studio!
we had high hopes of finding it 2day in the day light in the adjoining plot where i had last found one such missing chappal. oh, that incident was a quickie. the landlord's daughter saw a dog(the same dog) carrying the chappal (the same one) in his mouth. so she ran down to inform us. we had rescued it in that plot and it was intact.
anyways, its gone now. i got the other lonely chappal home 2day :(

finally watched happy days

its a telagu movie. sumit wanted me to see it for the last 5 months almost. we watched it on my b'day. its very close to whats happening around me. all the movie says is 'you dont to go college to achieve anything, you are there to build your personality'. and its so true.
i've given up abusing my college and the crowd. when u actually approach people with a positivity they respond exactly the same way. i talk to people i never talked in the last 2 years. i can spend a fruitful day in college even if my immediate friends dont turn up or leave early. i just mingle with almost any kinda people. living with isaac taught me that one thing, adaptation. tho m quite back to myself at myself with myself, now that hes finally moved out. another lil lessen, share your space with a person who might not know everything on the world but knows when u leave u alone. because of his stickyness, i wud mostly lose my mind and go mad at anyone who comes in my sight. duh..! past is gone..back to present.

i have been taking up new, not mine kinda projects. and i think theres a lot of scope. patience and struggle is full on. i want to do things that i and anyone else for that matter wudnt expect me to do. like i've started sketching faces which i never did and i want to improve it. i want to make a portfolio 'jaan todke, sar phodke' as me and isaac say when we are happily working together on our respective interests.

so sumit, thanks for the movie! i think i saw it at the right time, i wudnt have enjoyed it 5 months ago. plus the b'day thing and group watching was a big thumbs up!

power cuts..nahhh!!!!!!

once a day for 2 hours, fine, accepted..india is progressing! but twice, thrice a day for 2-3 hours is too much. duh, i get really pissed in the afternoon. i mean kab tak yaar!? its hot already plus u cant work. and 2day toh has been a super sleeping day. i slept at 9 last night. woke up at like 7, brushed my teeth..went back to sleep. got up at 8, had coffee, worked till nine and then off to the studio.
came home for lunch and the power went off. great. i went to sleep for another half an hour. it was back in an hour i guess and without fail went off again for another 2 hours! :( so irritating. as soon as the summer started, they began load shedding. i slept for yet another half an hour. things were so happening that i was really bugged with everyone. and going to bed was like the only thing i cud think of doing. i did some designs before i realised i was lying down.

bed tea?!

i was busy dreaming, wrapped in the warmth of my blue quilt. it was 7:00am. mum knocked my door and said there was no gas and that shes going for a walk. she'd got the milk boiled from the neighbour. i hmmed and went back to sleep. wierd, but my dream actually continued from where it had been interrupted. i dont want to get into details but it was very expressive and stimulating.

ting tong! i was interrupted yet again. it took me a while to open my eyes and orient myself in the room. i walked out and looked throw the eye hole and saw an unfamiliar face. i opened the door slowly. i cunt see clearlly..it was a lady holding a tray. she was our neighbour and had got tea for us. i really appreciated that, and though i dont have tea in the morning..i cudnt say no to her. i thanked her, but returned one cup as mum wasnt there. i kept the tea cup on my table and washed my face. made sure i was seeing what i was seeing and it was not a part of that dream. it was impossible to forget the visuals from the dream..so i made a sketch. a fast one. and since it was fresh and i cud easily relate to it, i coloured it too. thats what i meant, when i said stimulating. it had real characters but unreal happenings.

anyways, the tea was really nice. she'd put ginger in it which, and again even though i dont like ginger, i liked the tea.. and now m gonna rush to the gas shop to exchange the cylinder.

curls are so 'me'

i had this thing on my mind for quite sometime. and i got it done last week! a super cool (in my opinion) hair cut. yes, m back to short hair, not as short as before, but shorter than what it was recently. oh, cant explain how nice n light it feels. it also feels original, like its my thing to have the curls, only curls. confessions... i was attracted to staright hair..but i have learnt my lesson!

sidd was the first one to see it when i came home. he went- tai!!!!!!!!! tu he kay kelays?! i gave him the widest of my grins and said, sahi na? geee..and shook my hair. eee..i love the way they move! everyone loves it now. they say i look cuter and younger. some people actually touch them and say..wow! ma'm asked me yesterday, what cut is it? n i said its a 'getting rid of straight hair cut'. heh, it totally is. so now m gonna grow the curls and pamper them! i have some ideas of how m gonna keep them too..for now, just nourishment.

short silent conversations

at the bus stop 2day, it was sitting on a bench beside the stop. it was scared to jump down. it sniffed a little, peeped down and finally landed on the ground. it wasn't very healthy i wud say, looked thinner than healthy. though m not an expert at it, i could make out i was scared and looking for help. i was sitting under the shade at the stop. it approached me and tried to tell me something in its language. it said, "meeeyaaaw" i looked at it. i was shiverring a little. it was only the two of us at the stop. i knew i had to do something. i lent out my hand. it sniffed and licked it. i smiled. it felt secured. i gently rubbed by its neck and back. it liked to be pampered. i took my hand back and it instantly said a mew, and i continued pampering. we both were happy. i dont remember myself touching a cat on the road before. it was nice. after a while, i sat back. it settled near me. i was looking at the end of the road for trace of the bus. as i glanced back, the kitten was on the road trying to cross it. my heart sank. few vehicles gathered around. i ran to bring it back. got it on the side and guided it near a fence. a car driver said, leave her on the other side of the fence. but i was too scared to pick it up. i have never picked up kittens or puppies (i had once picked a lil rabbit and cudnt handle it well). but i had to make sure the kitten was safe. the fence were crossed wires and i thought the kitten can make it across through the gap. by that time my bus arrived and i got on it. till two next stops i felt the guilt to not have been able to lift it and put it in a secured place. i prayed it must have crossed the fence. i hope it did. life finds survival.

..

i slept too early last night, around 9pm i guess! so i was up at 5. but i was lazying in the bed till 6.30 when the alarm started shouting. i got up with a back pain. i think the driving did the thing. i drove almost 300 kms to and fro. yes, i was super tired. m feeling fresh now. since its too sunny, i dont want to go to college 2day. i'll just sit and paint at home. some visuals from yesterday are still hovering in my head. the blackness, the drive... i also saw three road hit dogs on the way.

what the heck!

i was in a good mood 2day. and actually normal unlike the times i come home and hide in my room.
but the happiness dint last for long.

isaac was home. me, him and mum were talking about college and the crowd. now, its quite an established fact that my college sucks. we talked about ghasu and all the other hopeless creatures who only know to sit and warm up their seats. then we got into the whole partiality thing. like some students get all the privileges and special treatment and ofcourse good marks. somehow, i have totally given up on college. like officially officially given up! i dont bother to participate in any college activities like i did for the last 2 years.

m not an enthu in college anymore. the subjects i am interested in dont have good faculties, and 3d is not my cup of tea. m more into print media. thats probably why isaac is doing my 3d asgnt. its like a returning favour kinda thing. i did his flash and dreamweaver asgnts in 2nd year. i think we settled for a good barter :)

november rain

..hm..lovely song - guns and roses.
as the title suggests, it rained 2day. i was working late. it was 7.30 and finally we packed up. and in the darkest blues of the evening as we walked out, we heard lightnings and thunders! wow! in no time the rain showers hit us. obviously, i wasn't carrying a raincoat. so i had this chance of getting wet and biking in that climate. it was windy....and very cool. on the bike, all i thot of was , what if i was on a hill at this time or at a sea shore.. or how about the lovely times me and mohini wud go out in the rain, or how yash wud take me out and be glued to the camera to take pictures of the lightning instead of actually being with me.. :)

i was all drenched by the time i reached home. i was super hungry. hadnt had anything after lunch and a cutting chai at 3.30. dad got this new stove that works on coal and 2day had to be the day to experiment! sadly, after letting the dal cook in that twice, it hadnt! mum had to put it in the cooker and make it the usual way. dad bhi na! he just gets creative and excited about eco-friendly living. like how hes used solar energy at manavli..thats awesome! sometimes it works, but sometimes(like the coal stove-like thingy)..!

keep up the spirit dad! i mean we are already facing nature, getting back at us after all that mankind has done to it mercilessly. the unseasonal rain, the sudden changes of climate is all a proof of it. so i always appreciate eco-friendly approach. i hope more ppl take it seriously.
go green dah-lings!!! oh that reminds me of some wall paintings in pune that read- see green, see life. in a city that breathes in pollution, its like a 'must read' and a 'must think about it' situation.

blissful climate

i am reluctant to get out from under my blanket early morning... how wish the whole day was like one winter dawn! and guess what....today was! not exactly dawn..but there was no sun!
i reached college a lil late 2day, all wrapped in sweater, socks, and scraf. lecture had already begun. we had texturing class 2day..it was fine..the prof has actually got better after the vacs. hm..looks like he did some homework! at the end, he declared he wanted the submission on Wednesday, YES!!! 2 more days :)
left college and came home for lunch. cudnt believe i was wearing a sweater at noon! it was breezy too.. and the best part...it began drizzling! mild water drops on cold skin feel so wow!
walked to the studio after lunch. worked till 5.30 and coming back home was a good brisk walk since mum called up on the way and i had to rush. so burnt a lot of calories 2day! ah, feels good.

max is max enough!

ok. so m working really hard on the book illustrations. things are going good. eating more fruits than eating out or junk. walking everyday for about an hour. so reducing weight is going the right way. patiently working at a slim fit. isaac teases i shud be size 0 like kareena did! i only give him the 'shut up and let me be' look. dad is home for 2 days. we talk! also me n sidd have found out yet another common interest- table tennis! so, we play tt when m back from work.

and in the middle of all this gaga going...comes 3d max! duh, submission on monday... i havent started on my assignment. i know, sucks! m affraid i'd fail if i dont start working on it. aur sir ke saath toh apni jamti nahi. hes anyways asking me sarcastically- so, have u started? and i only smile.

no, serioulsy, i dont feel like turning to 3d now. i love 2d. but i 'have to' slog for 3d max, i cant be picky, its the syllabus! rest other lectures are toh totally cool...teachers dont turn up! mohini is in her ' i dont care a damn what u guys are upto, i only wanna focus on my work' phase. m more with sumit and onkar these days. and ofcourse, mr.newton! hes gonna learn 3d from smone and teach me. hope it goes well and hope i end up with something worthy to submit till monday.
days are going so fast..its mid november! i mean, its like close to year end! once i want to just sit and think about how the year has passed.. days, events, phases, changes, lessons, experiences....wow..aww..year end!?