Slow down you crazy child.

And I'm finally home, ultimately crawled back to my favorite safe haven to tell you stories about the happenings around the life of yours truly.
HELLO, World! It's been a while we spoke, have I missed out on much? I've been getting all the lovely post updates from y'all, no worries, I shall bombard all of you over the week =)

Alright, so the past month has been QUICK alright. I can't even figure when it came and where is went, but it sure as hell was god darn exhausting and pretty much on the awesome side of the scale. We first had inhuman hours of theater practice for this huge ass competition, add in college freshers which was Pickles and my FIRST performance in college, and might I add, it was legendary; to say the least =D
And there were multiple chill scenes, one of the best being a random chill at Majnu Ka Tilla with the crazy buggers (if you haven't been, GO. Now. Shoooooo.) Oh, in the span of which Vanta, our beloved Saucy Jane managed to cook some dengue love within her. ^.^

Other than that, I had Durga Puja happiness all of last week. It's always the one time of the year when I feel like I'm on a sugar OD, it was awesome, a few people were missing, but hey, you can't have the cake and eat it too.
 (Or can you?... TA DA DA DAAAAAA!) OK, sorry. Nobody except my Nerd Boy gets the joke :*
 But yep. Pujo was super chilled out as always, and the crown was the Ashtami Aarti, Dhunochi naach (Go GOOGLE, people with a frown.) Yep, that's me being badass with the dhuno ------->
That was the highest point of Pujo, the crazy beats of the dhaki and us lost, completely in some other zone, dancing away to glory.
MAN. What a feeling.

And for all of you who haven't been lucky this year to see how gorgeous the idols looked, here's one picture for y'all. Mind you, this one's from Pishki's album, so ladies and gentlemen, Piyush Mukherjee Photography!

Beautiful, innit? =)

And now, all that another year's Pujo has come to an end and all the craziness is over, I have to face the music. Internals coming up this week and I do not know the first word of my readings.
So hey, good times ahead :|
Anyhoo, that's all for now readers. I shall now go, grumble for a bit and finally pull my imaginary socks up and get crackiiiin' with some Sociology of India.
Until then, enjoy the quiet winter chills that have began, finally. Cooooold evenings with coffee, sweaters and mufflers, coming right up :D

Good night, World.
Much lovin'
-Nil. 

I run away to 47*c.

I'm just about to start packing..for another runaway from Delhi. I did mention my 10 day long escape to Orissa for a cultural workshop right? Yeah, well, that starts tomorrow!
Although I'm going to get baked in the heat out there, trust me I'm looking forward to it like a greedy kid looking at candy. I'm going to wittness legendary artists like Pandit Birju Maharaj, Shree Ashwini Bhide, Girija Devi, Rajana Sajan Misra- and the list goes on. It's going to be insane, and I can feel it already.

This trip won't be a vacation- the first thing we were told. We are to get up everyday at 3:45am and start our day with Yoga. The whole day we will attend lectures, performances by these artists and regular three hours of intensives everyday (in my case- Odissi, Creative writing and Sufi music) .. The way we live will reflect that of a Gurukul style of living. No comforts and a lot of sweat and hard work through out the day. Lights will be off by 9:30pm and no cameras or phones allowed. The idea is to isolate us for these 10 days so we realize something greater than a materialistic idea of a comfort zone, and understand the gravity of the experience that we are practically being blessed with, to actually be in a program with artists of such mountainous levels.

These guys at SPIC MACAY are going to drill us. They are going to drill us for all these 10 days, but they've promised this to be the best experience of our bloody lives, and hell I'm on my toes to get on the train already! I'm going with my bunch of favorite ladies and I can't wait to meet the other 1500 students from around India who are going to be there :D

So, dear Earth people, say Goodbye to Ole Nil till the 31st of June... and I promise to be back with a bang! I'll be back with a million stories and I promise to rant for as long as your ears don't fall off : )

But till then, I walk into isolation with a smile,
and I hope this stay at the Undergrounds will be a legendary tale of my life, a tale to tell :-)

--Kites for the summer,
Nil.

Time. And it's rendevous.

Now playing- Layla, Eric Clapton.

After listening to this song, again after about a year, I figured how much I missed it. And I found a completely different newfound energy rushing its way through me, that ditto feeling I had when I heard it a year back. Some things never change :)
It's almost like I can see the person I used to be a year back when I hear this song, I wasn't anything drastically different, but I can see there were things missing then, which are nicely and accurately placed into my canvas of life, today.

The song made me happy. It made me celebrate. It made me sing. It made me find a friend. What more can I say? :)

Time travels pretty much at the speed of light..We travel faster, hence we never quite realize its speed :) When I saw this old oldddd album in a friend's Facebook profile today, I almost laughed at those good times, they truly were good good times!  I was euphoric when I realized that over time, I met people, I changed, the world around me changed, and yet at those moments when fate twists it, we sit in a rendevouz with it, we can clearly see what we left behind, yet- they complete our existance,and were somehow never actually left behind.

So many people were strangers, two years back- Now, they're friends - maybe closer :)
So many were trusted friends, two years back- Now, they're strangers- maybe worse.
So many places were unknown and foreign, back then- Now, they're almost home :)
So many places were home back then- Now, they're foreign.

Today seems to be a rendevouz. And I'm having a good time remembering those times and moments, when life seemed oh so perfect -that make life truly imperfect,today- And I'm happy :)

For old time's sake,
a rememberence,a picture- of a time that still is one of the bests of my lfe ;)

- Much much love and memories,
Nilanjana.
:)

A blissful celebration :)

Hi.

I'm sorry haven't updated in a while,but it's been busy. So, today I got my admit card for the Boards.. I might sound absolutely crazy when I say this,but to a normal student this day should be a doom day? If not more. Cause getting the Admit Card gives you the green signal to enter an alien school,sit in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable bench and write an exam that is one of the most valued-through out your life.

But somehow,my neurons didn't seem to register that. They royally ignored the fact that this coming exam would be like crossing a mile stone in my life, or that there are people out there waiting for me to do well..None of that. Instead,I felt happy.

[This is the part where you trigger the gun]

My class teacher--the very one I hate- made me sign the documents and gave me my admit card along with the Apeejay Badge. She stuffed in curd and a sweet into my mouth and recited the same dialogue that she recited to all the other 47 kids- "Do well haa beta? You'll do very well!" and then she added a "Keep up with the writing,haa,Nilanjana!" to me. 

I knew she was waiting to get into her car,get home and take a nice hot bath. And that she didn't care a damn to what I wrote,and yet, I smiled. I liked what she said. 

[This is the part where you shoot me.]

So after that,I went to the staff room,to get some Astronomy stuff from a teacher who apparently went maniacal looking for me through out [In my friend,Suvriti's lingo]. And when I went, there were teachers who called me and wished me luck, and 2 of the Bengali teachers looked like they'd kiss me if they could to wish me luck. Remya's mom was a sweetheart,to me. Even the man-looking lady teacher [New lady,I have no clue who she is] wished me luck with a hearty smile and a half hug.

And Thennnn,came one of the people who I actually bother school for- Suman Anand ma'am. 

If you're new to my blog,let me tell you that she is the teacher who discovered my writing in lesson answers and spelling punishments. You can read her contributions in my life by reading  this and then this  .

Few weeks back I had given her a poem to read.. So today,she starts with; "You know Nilanjana...At times I wonder,how some people can just reflect so much about their thoughts and the depth of the world at such a tender age..." and then another kind teacher,Mrs.Amita Jaisingh  said "She really does have a powerful flair of writing you know!" and then the two teachers started appreciating my poem with me melting in blushes. But you know guys,no matter how funny and embarrassing these things might be,today once again I've realized that I truly am blessed to have known such teachers in my life,who're silent most of the times,but speak up when you need encouragement the most. Suman Anand ma'am hugged me,and said; "no matter what you do,where you go,or where I am,I need you to keep in touch with me and keep writing...Keep writing because you're gifted and I might not be here next year,but keep in touch to let me read your writing!"

I feel blessed yous. I truly,truly feel blessed. 

Today,I celebrate my bliss and my gratitude to all those teachers and yes,my school which has helped me acquire heights that I could only dream off. These teachers have made me dream,realize,and execute.

Here's to you, Suman ma'am.

:)

With the pencil,you have not only taught me a subject...You've taught me love,compassion,music,art,the world,and myslef. Love to you,ma'am.

All my love

-The girl who had a terrible handwriting and made spelling mistakes :P

Words.

This post is dedicated to all those posts of you all which have made me think and realize more and more with every day passing and every blog update that a feeling can be reborn by words and a feeling can be burnt by words.. I have always passioned writing. Today,when I look back in time,I don't think I would have ever had the confidence to pen down my thoughts and scribble them in untidy handwriting and still having the courage to show it to my freinds/teachers and feeling confident about my ideas and innovations.

Poetry was always a bigger corner of my heart.. However,with time,I realized that wiritng stories have their own charm.. To morph myself in the alphabets of those lines and verses is a satisfaction in disguise to somehow know,I'm writing reality.



I'm in an extremely emotional mood right now,and hence maybe I feel so strongly about a casual post my friend Remya wrote. I have always considered her feelings deep and respected her thoughts on paper, but that post- however so causual and honest-lift me off my feet. I couldn't believe how the words captured my mind,and how it took me back the time line and reminded me of every minute expression during that particular conversation. The humor,the sarcasm,the wittiness,the melancholy-everything.I was in awe. People say "awe" is used for beauty, but indeed the beautiful way how she captured that episode of history left me in awe.
Kudos to you,friend.I'm so proud of you. You make me procrastinate on topics which require justice and hours,just the right amount. As a retard friend- Haha, but indeed you make me proud.

I would also like to thank my English Teacher; Mrs.Suman Anand without who I would have never smiled at my horizon and realized the extent and flite of my capacity. I would have never realized the my thoughts could be a ship which could carry so many voices,which could comfort so many hearts,to let them know,they're not alone.

This post is to all your guys, You guys do a wonderfull job on Blogger. With every day passing and every blog update,our spectrum of perceptions and opinions bridens.. Here's to each one of you who've made the tiniest or the biggest of difference in my life by their words.

Today's evening is your's,
Cheers to you.

Take care,
Nilanjana.

Scholastic Book Launch.

Yesterday, was a beggining to what my life is going to be.
The first Book Launch ever, that I was a part of.

Let me give you all a lil rewind of whatever happend, so you guys don't find yourself utterly lost !
;)

Well, every year, there is this National Scholastic Writing Awards Competetion by Scholastic, in which kids all over India send their entries, their stories, and their thinking.
In that comepetition, I came 5th position all over India.

So,
recently I was informed in school that my entry had also been selected for getting published in a book called "For Kids, By Kids" which was a compiplation of stories by children who've got a national level recognition in the field of writing.. I was invited to the book launch, as I was one of the authors.

Yesterday was the Book Launch.
I went... And the first thing I saw were more than thousand copies of the book being sold in the counter. Excited little kids, and smiling parents,and interviewers, and everybody else, everybody was just running around, buying copies of the book.
It still hadn't sunk in.

I went to the counter and picked up a copy, my parents were waiting for me to get the book.
I went through the content, I couldn't spot my name. Despair covered me like a tight black blanket, I felt complete dissapointment for whole 10 senconds. I came back in form, and gave it another try...
anishk, rhea, blah blah.. xyz.. abc... . blah....... Nilanjana Bhattacharjee- Breaking Free.
THERE IT WAS!!!!!!
My heart skipped atleast 3 beats! {Okay, maybe just one }
But.. I saw my name. My story, right there..I took a copy, and took it to my parents..
My mum and dad was talkin to someone else, dad introduced me to that person, saying "Yea, my daughter is one of the writers.." and this person leaped over me sayin "Congratulations dear!!!! Doesn't it feel great!?! Keep it up darl!!!" and went off.

Then, this lady came to me, and said "Hi, I'm the organisor of this event, your name ?"
I said " Nilanjana Bhattacharjee"
"Oh! You must be one of the authors then!! Welcome in! Please have a seat in the Author's seats, yea, right over there" she said, pointing towards a direction.
I stared at her blankly, "You must be one of the authors".
I was thinking to myself,
This lady said I was an author. I. Yes, I!!
What?!!!!
"No wait, Nilanjana, don't freak. Be a good girl, go sit."

I went, and sat. Trying to look through these people who were looking at me intently.
Finaly, the program began.
We were asked to read out little extracts from our stories.. i read my favourite part..
At the end of it, someone asked me
"What inspired you to write something on Breaking Rules , and Chandni Chawk together?"
I said
"I just wanted to send this msg accross, that today Breaking rules is considered a wrong thing to do.. but what people don't get is, breaking rules is a part of discovering yourself, who you really are, what are your limits, and where you start and stop... and as far as Chandni Chawk is concerened, people really need to discover where our real Delhi started from, from where New Delhi began.... "
And then there was this hugeee roar of applause for me!
FOR ME?!!
It sunk in. Finally. It did.
"Today, I am an author. "
It sunk in.


I saw someone's face without who this feeling wouldn't have been complete.
I was living my dream.

after few more questions, we were made to conclude the gathering,
we spoke our last few words, and it officialy ended... But not unoficially!
There were little kids, guys, girls, ladies [!!] coming upto ME and asking for autographs!!
This lady made me sign a couply of copies
"This is for my daughter"
"this is for my grand son"
"this is for myself! please sign it!"..

Never in my life had I signed autographs for someone, and today, so many kids and adults were asking for my autograph!

I had lost count of how many books I signed.. i could see the excitement in the other fellow authors with me too, when they signed..
we were all under 16, and this was our frst time, ever...

I got my gift hamper., and when I went into the bookshop , there were MORE people wanting to talk to me!
I gave some of them my email, and I made a friend "Meghavarshini". She was a book fanatic like me, and we had similar tastes. Also met this interesting person named Anirudh. He seemed to be extremely well read, and very polite.

My parents and family were too proud. Mom said "there was this lady who said, who knows? your daughter might be the next jhumpa Lahiri!"
I could tell she was proud. My dad too.


My night ended with a high, with a high of happyness.

This was my first step towards ambition.. I can see many more now.. Coming to me, and I am decending forward.. right towards them..

The nervous lady in Orange, the lil kid with Nerdy specs and the crappy Airhostess.

Okay, so the first person I spoke to once I sat down on the waiting chairs after the Security Check in was this nervous looking lady in Orange.
So unlike me, she failed to project that she was absolutely fine and confident about it flying alone.
I asked her is she was flying to Chennai as well, she replied me with a shrill "Yes!".
The kind of a shrill voice when people try to sound steady when they're extremely nervous and anxious about something.

I didn't want to make her any further tensed, So I looked away.

"Are you travelling in Flight No. E6 823?" She asked after 10 minutes.
Before I could manage a panic attack that I was the wrong terminal [!!]-- She quickly tallied her ticket to mine and said in extereme relief -- which she tried to disguise ofcourse-- that we were on the same flight.
After about 15 seconds of confused numbness and fear of missing my flight, I realized that she hadn't memorised her flight number and had said "Flight no. E6 823" intead of "Flight no. 6E 283" !

The lady recieved some phone call later -- Just about 5 mins before boarding-- and by the dialect in which she spoke- I could figure out she wasen't really very expreienced in English- Forget flying alone.

I noticed her asking the Indigo fellow twice if it was the right flight she was boarding, even though she was in the same terminal as me,in the same que and had already checked with me once.
Boy- She was nervous. And the cold sweat on her neck spoke in that case.

But, see that's how it is , right?
Some of us are capable of hiding our fears and acting confident and tall to the world. And some of us, even on trying with all our might fail to do so.
Doesn't matter if we have the same issues or not.

When I got into the aircraft, I saw the lady sitting on the very first seat of the aircraft -- with a window seat. [Not the best seat for a person travelling for the first time on air and to add it on; alone].

I wished her luck in my mind,
And moved ahead to get to my seat.

And here, her story ends.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE LITTLE BOY WITH THE NERDY SPECS was spotted by me just when I was super bored in the flight, and was desperate for it to take off.
This little fellow, saw the hot airhostess shutting the luggage cabins above us..
So with "jawaani ka josh" -- with quite difficulty and pretty much struggling on his seat [thanks to his height] tried reaching the cabinet above him and finaly managed to shut it close. After achieving such a tremendous goal [!] he flashed a dazzling proud smile at the airhostess- which sadly enough-- she did not even notice ; His smile or his efforts . . . :(
But the funny part was, that even after such an ignorance , the boy was pretty content and listened to the airhostess with big wondering eyes while she gave the instructions to the fellow passangers.

It's amazing how Lil kids are so free of ego and always let other people talk and gladly listen to them with rapt attention-- which is not really the case anymore once we grow up.
Well. Not always ofcourse.

Anyway, after listening to the airhostess he sat down and went back to his gaming machine. . Occasionaly smiling at the sky outside.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

THE CRAPPY AIRHOSTESS
"Hey can you please help me with my rucksack?" I asked cheerfully to her once I reached my seat.
"Nooo... I can't ma'am. They actually let you carry that as cabin baggage?!" She replied with the FAKEST and ANNOYING smile on the makeup dabbed face of her's.
"Yes, they do actually." I replied coldly.
"I'll manage it , Thank you. Just manage your makeup". Saying this I closed the case.

When I came to think of it, people like this chick are the people we negotiate with almost every 2nd day. And the weirdest part is, they are the ones that help us to actually build ourselves up-- Bold, upright and strong.

These girls [In other cases men] with dabbed makeup, cold smiles and even colder words teach us to face everything head on.

And after a lot of thinking ...
I'd say -- Thank you!!

;D

My moment of truth.

"Nilanjana, tomorrow I want a box of sweets. I don't eat chocolates".



That's what my English teacher told me before cracking the news.



"You've come 5th all over India for the Scholastic Writing Awards Competition", She said with a smile, which soon turned into a hug.


I was holding on to my breath eversince I saw that naughty smile on Remya's face..
I knew something was up .. I could tell by the way she said "Suman Anand ma'am wants to see you".





From the past few months, it's been crazy hectic ; Finals of 9th, and beginning of Xth.
I had pretty much forgotten wbout this competition. I never thought of myself deserving enough to even come in the top 200..
Top 5 was simply out of question.

But somehow, Deep [Really deep!] down, I held on to something..

Just something; a thin strand of hope, that somehow, my nqame would come in the top 10 of winners.

Now, when I recall that moment, it was a very weird feeling after I got to know what I had achieved.

The feeling was definately ecstatic.. But.. Unbelievable.

Too good to be true.

After about 5 minutes of complete suprise, Remya came and congratulated me with a complimentary hug:)

I could see she was happy for me. She was as excited as I was.

Which made me feel really great, cause no offence to anybody.. But.. It's become really hard to find people who actually WANT to be happy for you. And who actually acknowledge that "Dude, You desrved it".

In today's world, it's become more of a phoney ; "OMG! Im like, Sooooo happy for you sugar! Mwah mwah! Hugz!!".

And then, the moment you turn around, they roll their eyes and say "Whatever".

Im sorry incase Im being a pessimist, but that's reality buddy. Atleast what I've seen. I hope I'm wrong, I'd be more glad to be wrong than anyone at all ! Very few people actually are happy when you achieve something.

****************************************************

Then, I went to the Comp Lab to check my name in the Scholastic website. I pulled Atreyi along.

Another close friend with who I wanted to share this moment with.

It was an exhilerating feeling to see my name, right there in the Top Five list.

A moment I can never forget. Even when I'm 60:)

Atreyi said she was really really proud of me.

It was nice learning such a good news in the presence of my 2 very close friends. Sharing it with them doubled my happiness.

I went back home, and I was the star.

Hugs. Kisses. Pats on my back.

I was on the 9000000000th cloud :D

I felt euphoric.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day was pretty ironic ; In the good way!

Suman Anand ma'am asked Remya to announce my name in the school assembly.

There could be nothing better than having her announce my name. Nothing better than a friend smiling at you when you went to the podium to shake hands with the Director.

She smiled, and with pride took my name aloud and shared the news with the whole school.

It was crazy.

The 12thies clapping like mad even before she announced my name. It was great to walk till the podium; Realizing that every face was looking at you, thinking of you for that moment, and clapping for you.

Now, I felt that I really did achieve something.

~~*~~*~~~*~*~*~~*~*

Just as Twisted Elegance had one said ;

"You sure know how to make small things into big things!!".

And just as I replied ;

"Big things come and go. But small things are the ones that really matter, and should be celebrated to truly feel and see happiness And to live life Queen size" ;)

Gnite everybody:)

Sleep well,

Cause I will !

;)