still riding high on the giddiness of the chicago acceptance. given my research interests, it's probably the best school for me. but i am not entirely sold on the prospect of living in chicago for the next five plus years yet. i still have a pretty tepid memory of the city and it took me almost two whole years just to get to that level. well, i ( Read more... )

i got bumped to first class on the plane from hyd to amsterdam. it was amazing, i've never flown first class before. truffles every hour, good wine, and reclining sleepers. i listened to fergie's glamorous to celebrate the good times. the party came to its inevitable, though nevertheless brutal, ending when i finally arrived in zero-below ( Read more... )

i have just one week left in india. my parents arrived a few days ago and i moved out of my bachelor to stay with them at a family friend's house. it's very jarring to be on this side of the city. i had forgotten what it was like to walk on italian marble and have six different dishes at dinner. and i didn't realize that hyderabad had so many ( Read more... )

i am really tired of how indian people think it is totally okay to just gawk at you. unabashedly. at first i thought it was just me they were looking at, but i've noticed that they do it to each other too. constantly and intensely. is there ever a private moment in india? i was looking forward to coming back and enjoying the anonymity of ( Read more... )

i've submitted all my applications and finished my coursework with v. last week i went to see the ruins at hampi and they were, as per their reputation, mindblowingly amazing. currently i am helping v translate one of her own philosophical works into english, though that's more for fun than class ( Read more... )

benazir bhutto was assasinated yesterday. i am still pretty shocked. and by the fact that modi was re-elected.

india is slowly turning into a nightmare. of course i've had some good, perhaps surreal, experiences during my stay. i'm not complaining. i've sipped cold coffee with a deposed rajah, perused an impoverished nawab's priceless art collection, and had access to a mobster's private manuscript hoard. i've seen a goat give birth, picked cotton, and ( Read more... )

i wrote this all down really fast, so forgive any spelling or logical inconsistencies. just getting this out of my system.

things which i find maddening about the english language indian media1. the consistent reference by numerous editorialists and journalists to thomas freidman. as if he was some sort of great intellectual authority or ( Read more... )

the language i speak
becomes mine, its distortions, its queerness
all mine, mine alone. it is half english, half
indian, funny perhaps, but it is honest,
it is as human as i am human...

being force-fed sweet limes by my aunt ( Read more... )