Rain Rain come again!

For the last three days it has been drizzling often and one gets into a perfect mood of relaxation. In my childhood whenever climate was like this.. power used to go and no body would ask you to study when there was a power cut.. It was such a blissful time watching rain most of the time and playing around with cousins and friends.. the narrow streets used to get flooded with rain water and the heart too would flood so much love and joy.

On Friday, Sampath came to Jena. He did his masters in Germany and is now doing an internship in a place near to Jena. He was feeling little home sick and I invited him to Jena. He met other Indian students and felt Jena was more homely than the place he was living in(given that there are more young beauties in Jena and more old people in his place this should be a natural feeling..haha!).

The Short- Long Weekend!

This was the longest weekend ..one of total relaxation interospection and deep sleep! Monday was a holiday and I decided not to work on this saturday and sunday. So I had three holidays in a row..I watched CNN extensively at home and also some very good movies: 'Schindler's List','Chicago Blues', .....were two of the best. I recommend both of them to anyone who has not seen them yet.

On saturday morning ..I went for the weekend shopping and brought almost all things that contribute as fuel to the engine of my body! Things I got included vegetables,fruits, some fruit juices, butter, ...... On saturday morning I had food with pickles that my grandmom gave, evening I made egg curry. I spoke to Mom and Dad on Internet and after long time I saw them on the webcam..I felt they were with me and the feeling was so beautiful.. I showed Mom my new bike on the cam and also the GHEE that I made from butter by indigenous methods!(Haha.. it tastes perfectly like the one that Mom makes). She was so glad to hear this..

I thought of studying on sunday when an intense desire to make fried rice overpowered me and I (was on a vacation in my own home) decided to feast myself with fried rice. I experimented.. mixed everything and luckily fried rice came into existence.. I spoke to Mom and Dad this day also and watched CNN extensively.. as it is the only English Channel (rest all Channels are GERMAN and now I am bugged of hearing the same old stories of CNN)

Monday was no different.. lot of time was spent relaxing my nerves that got tired eating and watching CNN. The best part was however watching 'Schindler's List'.. What a movie! My eyes got moist as the movie came to an end.. I loved 'Chicago Blues' and wished for a moment gambling glory was all mine!

I am here back in my office.. having cycled for 20 Mins in a drizzle ..

Mukti and Telugu Movies

I went to Mukti's home yesterday. Some friend sent him 3 DVDs through post. Trust me each DVD has 28 Telugu Movies.. how his friend could write 28 Movies on one DVD is still a mystery to me..3 more DVDs are coming to him next week..This means that Mukti now is a proud owner of a library of around 200 Movies( He already had some before also)! From Gundemma Kadha to Appula Apparao.. every one of them is there with Mukti now...

I think people watch more telugu films here than when there are in India and possibly I know precisely where I should head to have a FILMY weekend!

Old Indian Music!

I was born in a religious hindu family and much of my childhood was spent with my grand parents. I still remember going to watch movies like ramayanam, krishna arjunala yuddham, bhukailasam, maya bazar and many of those black and white movies which instills an impression in your heart that N T Rama Rao is Rama, Krishna and many other Indian gods!

I also used to hear lot of cartanic music at home thanks to my grand mother's interest in sangeetam..Now when I hear music from these films or some of those carnatic tunes of BalaMurali online, I know why she was so very interested in this music!

On Buying a BICYCLE

I am just wonder stuck at the prices of bicycles here. I and Torsten went to buy a bicycle for me. We first went to a second hand shop to see if any cheap bicycles are available.. Yes we found some and they were priced between 3 to 40 thousand Indian Rupees(these are just second hand cycles and not motor cycles).

I felt that we were not needed to go to a first hand shop. First hand ones, according to Torsten, which were cheap(somewhere around 10 thousand Indian Rupees) are not relaible and have bad parts! We did goto the supermarket and we did buy a new one(cheap as defined above) and I returned it in the evening as Torsten's words came true.. two of its nuts broke by the evening.

The German Public Transport!

The first day I was surprised when I saw the train coming exactly on time and the bus coming exactly at 7.11 AM to the local bus stop. It took me quite some time to digest this..Having come from a country where the public transport network knows everything other than punctuality and being hypnotised into thinking that public transport couldnot be any better any where in the world, getting surprised was normal. Even within small towns they have exact time of the bus/tram coming to each of the bus stops! I'm impressed!

Weekend Fun

Friday.. we had a dinner party at my flat. I invited all indians in this town. We had very nice time. The best part was when some ladies entered the kitchen..I could just get out and then the food was all ready!

Today..I JC Mukti Asim n Rajani went up the hill. It was a bright sunny day.. JC's Old German friend came with his Girl Friend. They both came with their respective children..His german friend had a daughter and his German friend's girl friend came with her son and daughter..Hahha! We had nice time up the hill..made some food..and came back by 5 PM..

On the Day before Saturday!

Friday.. is the most beloved of all the days..
She is like a virgin in my embrace!

I eagerly wait for her to come,
Bringin in so much fun
To go out happily into the Sun
Freedom in so many Tons!

In the Morning
Everyone knows this is the last day
Of work and and the week
And you see smiles as people pass by!

In the evening
Its a quick run into the Weekend FUN
A party, a meeting and many a sweet sound
Are joyous things that are pretty much abound..

Friday.. is the most beloved of all the days
She is like a sweet virgin in my embrace

Meaning of a Girlfriend..

The Indian Sense : A girl friend is someone who is a friend who also is a girl!

The German Sense: A girl who lives with you and loves you before marriage!

The American Sense: A girl or a guy who lives with you before or after marriage!.. Hahahah!

On Passwords!

Just imagine a world devoid of 'passwords'. You can see my mailboxes(and I can see yours).. You can write mails as me and I can as you.. You can use my bank accounts and I can use yours.. Wow.. doesnt that sound cool.. Cultivation of a real sense of sharing..!

However, your password is more like your girl friend. 'It is better to keep it safe, secret and well guarded .. '.

As I was wondering why there were no comments for the last four or five posts of mine, Adam came to my office and said that he is not able to post comments on my BLOG.. Trust me.. I just now found out: someone changed the settings of my blog!

Now I have secured my password and you can post once again... My password is no more like a girl friend ..it is like a wife now.. ABSOLUTELY SECURED!..:))

The Boundless!

One side of my office is completely glass. As, I look through it and let my mind wander into the unbound and limitless blue sky, even my joy gets boundless... There is some relation with this blue sky.. It is vast and it is comforting and takes me go beyond my own self and my daily routine.. It is dynamic and never looks the same ..

The more connected I am to this vastness the more fulfilled I feel in living!

The Wisdom Of The Heart

Lessons from From Saka's BLOG:

"Life is Not a Race. Take it Slower
Hear the Music before the song is Over"

"Life is Lived Forward and Understood Backwards" " The Greatest regrets in our life are the risks we didnot take. If you think something will make you happy Go for it.. Remember that we pass this way only once

"Somtimes I wish I could turn back time.. Impossible it may seem..but I wish I could..So badly..."

JC came to know about 'JC comes to Germany'

I was just wondering what would happen to me when JC reads 'JC comes to Germany..'. He found that something has been written about him on my site.. God SAVE me! Part II is yet to be written and hope he doesnt stop telling me his wonderful experiences. I met him just few minutes back and I feel that we all will miss him very much when he goes to Munich.

Something similar happend to both me and JC..

First let me tell what happened with JC .. He was already in Germany and doing a PhD here as a DAAD scholar. One day in Berlin some Indian met him and asked him.. 'Which restaurant you work in??'.. JC was shocked ..and before he could come out of his shock, the other guy told..'Hmmm..No problem .. I know, I know.. I know that you too dont have a visa. There are many of us who are illegal here..!!!'..HahahahHehehahhehehha

When I went to the German Embassy for collecting my Visa last year, the security gaurd at the Embassy's main gate asked me ..'Which restaurant?' I too was very shocked and I asked him to repeat his question.. He asked me again.. 'Are you not a COOK??'.. Unbelievable.. I was I imagining myself as a king but now I couldnot resist doubting my appearance; he then told me that usually more cooks come than students at this time for collecting the visa and so he questioned that way!

I should confess that I am a very good cook now.. it is all struggle for existence and one has no choice but to become a good cook for himself when he comes to a country like Germany! The girl who becomes my WIFE is certainly very very LUCKY!(.. like JC's.. Hahahahahah)

Friends and Bloggers!

I have successfully put the links of BLOGS of my friends on my site. We all studied together in Puttaparthy..

Saka was a 'Born Leader'. His duty was to enforce discipline and to make sure that we go in straight lines(which we seldom did).. Chax was a real academician. I admire him for being an inspiration. I consider PVSS a younger brother of mine. He grew very fast into a fine man. His hard work and intelligence earned him great regard and love of my fellow classmates. Jayadev is a Gold Medalist and so rest is understood!

I also introduce to you Adam. He is an american and is a colleague of mine at the Max Planck Institute. He has many interesting funny strories to tell as he looks at the German Life from an American Lens!

Free Coke

Just imagine being given a free Coke ..not just one but as much Coke as you drink!!

The University Canteen typically has three different meals each day. One is vegetarian the other two are non-vegetarian. The food is manageable and I cant tell you that it is exceptionally good(according to the Great Indian Standards). However, I do go there sometimes and I feel immensely satisfied on the day when Coke is given FREE at the entrance by the Coca Cola Promoters. Coke is naturally(obviously) my Lunch on such days!..

I love going to the 'Mensa'(the University Canteen) when it gives me such a cool FREE lunch.

Luxury

There is one thing that I always love to do and am sure that I will never get tired of doing this one thing! But for the huge contraints on my time, i would have indulged in this luxury for so many hours and let the world live in peace!

Sleep..

You and me, Oh darling Sleep...
Make such a fine team!

A terrace and a dark evening,
Stars in the sky so beautifully twinkling

Paradise it seems
Is no more just a sweet distant dream!

Heaven on earth it would seem,
As I hug you and fall asleep!

Its ME

Before Going to India(December 2004)

Someone ELSE??

After coming back(April 2005)

JC comes to Germany!

Last evening I went to Asim's home for dinner.. He invited me, mukti, JC and his wife and Rajani.. The best part of the evening was JC narrating his experiences with his life in Germany..

JC studied at IIT Madras and was awarded a special DAAD fellowship for doing his PhD in Germany in 2001. He is an excellent academician and is now going to join the University of Munich as an Asst. Professor. He finished his PhD in 2004. He is one of the most friendly Indians I met in Germany and has a wondeful sense of humour.

This was his first trip to Frankfurt from Chennai.. Around 8 am (according to his watch ) he woke up from his sleep, he was still in the flight and the flight was still in the sky. He was wondering why the Lufthansa flight which was supposed to land at Frankfurt at around 7.00 has not landed yet. A strange wierd thought crept into his mind that scared him, confused him and left him gasping for breath....'Possibly the flight landed at Frankfurt and then took off once again for some other destination when he was asleep..Nooooooo!' He went to the toilet..couldnot open the door.. appeared fused and confused when a hostess came by and asked him if he wanted a coffee.. He told that he wanted to goto Frankfurt.. She was a german hostess and didnt understand what he was talking. She called a colleague of hers' and she asked him his problem and if he would like to drink a cup of coffee.. JC said, 'NO.. I dont want coffee.. I want to goto Frankfurt!!.. Where is this flight going now?? We were supposed to reach at 7am and now it is 8 am..' . Apparently relaxed knowing that she can handle this, the Hostess told him that they were still over the Gulf and that they are heading to Frankfurt only and that he should change the time of his watch from IST to CST.

JC landed safely in Frankfurt. He had to goto Goettingen for doing a special German Language Course for few months before starting over with his PhD. He was desperately trying to buy a train ticket at the automatic machine.. He was pressing all possible combitions of buttons to see if he can buy the ticket to Goettingen. He was going up and down with his huge luggage..from one platform to another.. trying out at different machines for success. Ultimately someone took pity on him and helped him buy a ticket and he came to Goettingen. He baught a telephone card for 15 Marks(approximately 7.5 euros =400 Rupees) and called his friend in Goettingen to tell him that he has arrived. Now he was wondering how to use this card for calling.. He swiped it.. he swiped it again at a different place ..he did everything yet he couldnt.. someone came by and told him to insert the card inside and call.. In five minutes his card got exhausted .. JC put his hand in his pocket and counted the German Marks (the local currency in those years) ..and decided never to call again from the public telephone booth..

He went to the Goethe Institute and was given royal treatment as he was a DAAD fellow. He slept well and got up around 8 o clock in the morning. He went to the recpetion in his lungi and asked the lady if some Milk man would come to give the milk in the morning..hahahahaha hahahahah!!!

I shall narrate more of JC 's interesting experiences in Germany soon..

Weekend Parties

Last evening Anya invited all of us for her birthday party. She is a junior student researcher of our group. We went around 7 PM to her place. There were many friends of her. She is a charming localite and helped me very much in finding a room when I was new in Jena. She liked the long hair that I had before and didnt speak to me much after I returned from India, thanks to my short hair that i sport now.

Today, in the morning Mukti and Rajani came to my place as I invited them for lunch. We all had pickles which my Granny brought for me from Vishakapatnam before I returned to Germany. It was so loving of her to have come from such a long distance to see me. I am still love-stuck for my Granny.

We met Asim in the Supermarket near my home and we all had ice-cream sponsored by Asim in the city centre.This was the first time I was meeting Rajani and Asim. Both are PhD students in different scientific institutes in Jena. We parted just to meet after sometime at JC's house in the evening.

JC is a Post- Doctoral Fellow in Neuro Biology in Jena. JC and his wife gave a party as they were moving to Munich as he has got a Professorship at the University there. He is a Tamilian and his wife is from AP. Almost all Indians in Jena were at his home. We had lots of food. Many dranks many bottles of German Beer. THEY LOVE IT. I neither drank beer nor did I eat non-vegetarian(I decided I will not eat non-vegetarian food long back) and now after the party I am here back in my office hoping that I will still be able to do some work after finishing writing this.