Friday, April 27, 2007

About ISB..on second thoughts no..

"Says it feels right this time
Turn around, found new high lights
Good day to be alive sir
Good day to be alive, he said.....
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
Is just a freight train coming your way"-Metallica , No leaf Clover

Well almost..not quite so fast though...but a glance at the first week in ISB..and the word which comes to mind in speed..or rather rush, an urgency.There is a motion picture quality to everything, the screens zipping across really fast..and slightly unreal at that.It is unreal since everyone is unsure, everyone is guarded. "A sea of humanity" would be a very very apt term for what I am feeling right now, and its a very restless sea at that!!!But the campus is sprawling, the people are friendly and the facilities are awesome.But moving on to other things..ok before I digress, we do have a lot of parties here..they are loadz of fun and everything , but can someone PLEASE stop playing the "Summer of '69" like an anthem at every meet!!Its become like the background score to my life..
Ok I am sounding cynical..its the fossilization..age n wisdom creeping up kinds:D
Umm ok will try to be sunshiney and summery(the 69ish ones at least)
So on to Terry Pratchett..he ROCKS..thats it..that says it all..
So world changing activities have been happening while I hv been secluded.Ash finally "unentwined " herself from the arms of the banyan(or was it neem tree?) and said I do..in a highly sensational ceremony marked by literally swooning maidens( on account of slashing wrists..read ur papers) .And Richard Gere did some calisthenics with our very own , self proclaimed desi Angeline Jolie..why is this news??yawn..give me rakhi savant any days..she has set standards that one..everything else seems lukewarm..."overshadowed" as it is by the bulging Mika Singh.
Anyhow saw "The Namesake".Liked the film much better than the book..the book was frankly a disappointment..the usual Indian(read Bengali) diaspora feeling unsettled. Jhumpa Lahiri had already explored this theme exhaustively in her Interpreter of maladies, where we had a story about a confused mom, grandmom, daughter..the entire kyunki saas bhi clan.But the performances were touching.
At ISB we were told on the very first day of orientation, that they work on the maxim "Trauma Transforms".If these words struck a chill in our tender hearts there was more to come. they have a scary 10 commandments kinda document called the HONOR CODE. You are supposed to drop your voice to a reverential whisper when uttering these hallowed syllables. Since not too many of us are of a religious persuasion they have a system in place to detect honor code violations.So for all those who digress from this Middle Path, we have a committee which conducts investigations, hearings..u name it!! We are just short of the electric chair, but if u suggest it, it would be a good "initiative".
But all said n done..this place is cool,..and I really hope I get what I came looking for.
Till then sing for the moment
" I wish I may
I wish I might
Have this wish I wish tonight
I want that star
I want it now
I want it all and I don't care how"-Metallica, King Nothing

12 comments:

Stargazer said...

Pratchett is good. Neil Gaiman is better, The two together are a force to be reckoned with.

Gunjan Shukla said...

Loved your disapproval of Summer of 69 as the "National Anthem" :)...one of my American friends was so bemused about the Bryan Adams cult phenomenon in Indian colleges...ironic but true that I danced on this number countless times in college( sometimes I ponder, is it really a dance number though? :) )

I am on the other end of opinion, when you talk about Namesake.
I cherished the performances, direction and the whole production design but the book projects Gogol’s emotional turbulence in resolving the relationship matrix better than the movie does.

I am sure you must be enjoying ISB, as I can decipher from my friends’ ramblings.

Unknown said...

umm... right. ISB and all that doesn't make much sense to me as i dont have any back story here. What i can comment on is what stargazer said; Gaiman and Pratchett better be separate. Good Omens; was very very good. But it had this whole plethora of characters that made the whole book a giant... huh?
too many characters; too may brilliant ideas;
i prefer reading sandman and disc world and not mix the two...

And what is this about 69 being an anthem? It is one; for 13 year olds!

Namrata Mishra said...

I haven't read Neil Gaiman..just his blog in fact..so really cant comment much:(:(..n abt the anthem..I totally agree with the 13 yr old part!!!!!!!but too many ppl dont...n gunjan I really liked the film myself..but the book was not really different..

Unknown said...

Good to have you back Miss Pandora.

Books are always good at projecting feelings...one can't think out loud in movies (not much anyway, I never liked it when characters suddenly started talking to their reflections in the mirror).

Being acquainted with the Sandman universe, and the Discworld, just thinking about the two being mixed makes my head swim S-(

But it's good to run into other sci-fi lovers. I was starting to believe I was the only deviant one in this country. Now on the other hand, I'm starting to believe I've been living in a cave :(

Gunjan Shukla said...

Hmmm...I guess for some strange reason I felt a better connection while reading the book...Neil Gaiman...Shakespeare worshiper, even makes Shakespeare appear in The Sandman stories :-)...let me know if you abhor or love his writings...

Keep writing...like your style...will keep landing in your blog's territory...
Adios

Gunjan Shukla said...

Hmmm...I guess for some strange reason I felt a better connection while reading the book...Neil Gaiman...Shakespeare worshiper, even makes Shakespeare appear in The Sandman stories :)...let me know if you abhor or love his writings...

Keep writing...like your style...will keep landing in your blog's territory...

Adios,
GUNjan

Lavnish said...

happen to be there for training .. before coming there i had -ve thoughts about MBA ( on personal front ) but after seeing the campus and facilities and the environment i am not +ve but yes -ve feeling has gone ...
a rare opportunity ..
sure hope n pray u find what you came looking for ..
moreover i think ISB and disappointment are antonyms !!

Arjun Raj said...

ahh. someone's back..

Anonymous said...

hi!
begining and ending with Metallica, humm.. not so usual.. :) good going Namrata!

As far as 'summer of 69' is concerned.. i would differ with the lable of 'anthem' tagged onto it... tough too much played and still.. played again :).. it depicts the energy and do-it attitude of young guns.. thus i like that song..

ISB.. humm.. first of all my congratulations! ISB is a really wonderful place, if i baseline my views on whatever my friends there have expressed.. words/things like "Trauma Transforms" and "honor code" would surface more frequently as you are in ISB :) .. but keep you thoughts flowing .. warna hum kya phadhenge :)

What Me Worry!!! said...

I wouldn't venture to compare two amazing writers/artists with distinct style .While Terry popularised it, Neil certainly gave his version comic fantasy a Shakespearean touch.

The only connection I can recollect is their graphics covers were/are done by guys whose last name happens to be Kirby.Though the legendary Josh is no more...

Neverthless good to see your blog.

shine on
~nix

Kau said...

This made so much sense to me ..especially the signoff bit about the wish..keep writing babe !
Kau