Have mercy!

So it's that time of the year again,

When I typically mislay my rein,

I fumble and tumble in the horrid rain,

I do plead, receiving nothing in gain.

I blame it on the source,

The life, the giver of gifts of course,

No, not the man all believe, hidden in the cloud,

The one beyond who is wrapped in a shroud.

Indeed the sun; why does he hide?

Doesn't he know that he is my guide,

I'm lost under the clouds with no time to bide,

Darkness soaks me like a ruthless giant tide.

How can I think when -

a single thought doesn't stick,

Millions of them fired with every passing tick,

In what earthly conscience do I pick?

How can I breathe when-

the air is so slick and,

rushing in all directions;

I may as well be hit by a brick.

Come out of the shadows, oh dear sun,

Let my words of yesterday be undone,

Brighten my soul and warm up my skin,

The light around is really too thin.

Toying with my mind,

are things not so kind.

I need you not to turn blind,

In my moment of need-

-don't leave me behind.

Force the dark clouds away from the crowds,

For I tend to linger amongst the trouts,

Lifeless and mindless, I stagger in my strut,

Have mercy, before my dreams are forced shut.

Stir me tight and steer me right,

With those sorcerous, warm rays of might,

Have you no compassion towards my plight?

What must I slay to win this fight?

aeroyogi

17/10/2016

The broken arrow

The mind wandered like a broken arrow,

Desire crept in with its tendrils narrow,

Twining with the present and pulling me away

far, far from the still winds of May.

Away from the sun, close to the haze,

There laid out, was a deathly maze

of traps so brazen, I shuddered to enter,

Unwilling to meet again, the tormentor.

The breath intensified as the heart pounded,

The transgressed arrow deliriously floundered,

Picking up the pieces, I find myself thick

in the garden of snares and fences that trick.

I edged past an exploding shell,

Dodged a bullet running through hell,

While from a distance, I hear an alluring call,

Unaware, I scarper in hope towards my fall.

The oasis I sought was an illusion of dew,

Glamored by the melody and the pitch so new,

The psyche unknown had staggered through,

Reviving the foolish old wounds, not so few.

The broken arrow never finds the mark,

Or so I'm reminded by the tormentor very stark,

The mirror, the light, the shadows and sense,

together sing the insistent tale sans pretense.

I try to patch the arrow in time,

Before the dew disappears amidst the chimes

of a clock that sprints but never bends,

Only to realize that a broken arrow never mends.

aeroyogi

11/10/2016

The mighty fools

The broken bead of crimson blob,

Recites a twisted tale of a mob,

Of chaos, of dissent, of contempt and malice,

Of poison served in a covetous chalice.

They trust their thought in matters not bare,

Citing a title or an accolade not rare,

Heads in the clouds, trampling the ground,

Walk they do, with stupidity profound.

They scream, they cry, of wars very wry,

Hailing a slayer who painted the sky-

In red, in horror, in repulsion and dismay,

Dispirited are the kin of those who were slayed.

Entitled they feel, certain as a rock,

Imbecilic minds that gather amok,

Mocked are the crusades of the selfless guardians,

Those protectors of the land, those carriers of order.

They cry foul, when logic prevails,

Leaving no room for truth or details,

Spewing disarray like venomous snakes,

Are the others who join with vested stakes.

They accomplish their goal at the cost of the land,

For money, for power, for the thrills so bland,

Creating anarchy, dividing households,

Fare they do like roofs and moulds.

I stand far and watch alarmed,

Lost, alone and feeling disarmed,

With the mighty fools skittering about,

What can I do but pen this with a doubt.

aeroyogi

18-2-2016

To kill or not to kill

We humans definitely think more of ourselves than we ought to. I would like to believe that it is ingrained in us in order to protect our species from extinction, but given that we are an “intelligent” species that is self-aware and there is no immediate threat posed by other species to our dwindling existence, I am forced to think that self protection is not the primary goal here.

I am talking about the eonian debate taking place across the world about death penalty... for humans. I am not referring to any particular case here although the most recent one in India forced me to pen down what has been a big question forever in my head. There are many who opposed the verdict for reasons all too well publicized in the media. One of which was that opposition of death penalty on principle. Some of the justifications given are- every person has a right to live no matter what, we do not have the right to take someone's life because he/she committed a crime, death penalty is totalitarian, barbaric, uncivilized, does not deter crime, an expensive process where innocent can be victimized etc.. All are plausible reasons, I agree. Is awarding death as punishment to humans justified? Well, it depends on the individual case and there are qualified people to argue and decide over it. But those who cry about death penalty being a major hindrance to the “fundamental right to live”, quit the double standards. Innocent lives are being seized on a daily basis by us humans and not many even think of it.

Whether we like it or not, we are a part of the species which collectively hands out unwritten death sentences as we please to innocent or otherwise. It is strange to me that there are several voices against taking the life of another human while all along humans are doing exactly the same to flora, fauna and water bodies brimming with life all around us. The only difference is that these species and resources are defenseless - in a human legal sense. They do not have a written constitution proclaiming their right to live and they never fight back in a way that wakes us up to our uncivilized, barbaric actions. They do not have defense attorneys weaving mercy petitions or supportive media sensationalizing the whole sordid affair. Personally, I am not going to show a holier-than-thou attitude and say I will never hurt another life. If I felt endangered in any small way, I would use all means available to get out alive and unhurt. Self-preservation is key. But that's not what's going around here.

We are there, in a remote corner of a tiny galaxy!*

This attitude basically lies on the premise that human life is somehow more valuable than that of other species. Human comfort is top priority, which, in an evolutionary sense is understandable. But being more capable of understanding the cons of this model better than a garden rat, one would expect a little more caution and forethought from the side of humans. This tiny little planet of ours is the size of a sand grain in a mighty big universe. For some unknown reason, 'life' as we call it has evolved on this planet. Every species that could comb out its competition has thrived on this diminutive blue speck. If they have survived by themselves for so many millennia, even prior to humans, they can't be any less inferior now, can they? Just because one does not know the purpose of a bumblebee's existence, doesn't imply that it has none. Where does this arrogance of being powerful come from? All it takes is one minor cosmic malfunction that sends a decent sized meteorite hurling down upon us and we are essentially sitting ducks. How is it that we as one of the species cohabiting this planet with the others, and in reality will not be able to live without their help, decide the fate of everything around us without facing dire moral dilemma?

We cut down trees by the dozen just to be able to print narcoleptic teenage vampire drama or build that aesthetic wooden floor that we can boast of to our colleagues. We rear animals in our backyard, only to sell their meat for an extra TV in the guest bedroom. And even in our own species, we discriminate and allow a few weaker beings to die in poverty and hunger while being completely capable of creating equal opportunities for everyone. Just because somebody doesn't hit the gavel and send one to the gallows, it doesn't make it any more justifiable. And yet when it comes to weeding out an established threat amongst our own species, the whole roof comes down with the condescending moral and rights flag fluttering on top. This double standard is what I don't get.

I cannot deny or exclude myself from the horrific actions of my species. I am a part of it and in some way a contributor too. Forget fighting for the rights of laboratory animals or the dolphins that we choked by spilling oil into their habitat, I haven't been able to convince my family to opt out of using wooden doors for their new house. I am a mute spectator to all of it without much power to change the ways of 7 billion beings in my species, each who possess a free will. But I do believe that what we do to other species is equivalent to death penalty and I am, as they would like to phrase it, on principle against it. If I cannot change it, I will, at the very least, not be a hypocrite crying for a guy who raped or mass-murdered innocent people and then go home to a slow cooked lamb that was meanwhile slaughtered for dinner without a second thought. I am not going to demand clemency for a brain-washed, revengeful terrorist who killed innocent, hard-working and productive members of our species while I empty my trash can full of plastics in the nearby river. The whole concept is irrational on so many levels that it is plain ridiculous. Every time these compassionate activists take issue with death penalty is only when it is about to be implemented on a criminal, otherwise little attempt is made to change the laws pertaining to it. Humans are hypocritical by nature. I wonder if the same people would show up in protest if they lost their loving pets in a shoot-out.

Why are some in our species so sympathetic to terrorists and eager to grant life to sociopaths but hit the like button on our neighbour’s hunting escapades? Why are we willing to spend a fortune on keeping a serial killer alive but behind locked gates, where he has nothing to lose nor has the inclination to really atone for his sins? The ones asking for abolishing death penalty as a punishment are those who will never face the scum of our species in person in an endangering situation. If taking a life is heinous, it has to be heinous in all senses. Where do a few of us who agitate get off by being selectively ethical?

“This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper”

                                                                         -T.S.Elliot

If there is something that will prove Elliot's verse true, it is by turning a blind eye to our crimes against other species and the ignorance driven feeling of superiority we harbour in us.

aeroyogi

2/8/15

!* Thanks Google images

Allegory- Distorted...

To all those suffering from cognitive distortions and its after-effects. Realise. Repair. Redeem.

The door creaked as it slowly swayed to the winds of the fruiting autumn. The broken glass on the window echoed the final rays of an evening sun and the droplets of rain that had turned brown on the rooftop, trickled down imperceptibly along the sodden brick walls. She gazed across the far slopes of the Alpine sierra that had already pocketed snow in several of its hollows. The shepherds' kids, who still had the light in them, chased the piglets close to the stream that trickled away from her condominium. Looking along the horizon, she saw the towering framework of opulence, disdain and greed that once was a fragment of her socially decorous life. A life not too far in the past that had confounded her into the oblivion. She saw the lights, she heard the noises, all far away, but the stench of a life long lost still followed her much like a shadow of the day.

She dragged long and deep from between her fingers. The smell of her muddy hands combined with the unearthly taste of the reefer lifted her to a trance where she skipped to the beat of the drums beyond the sphere. Her eyes so glazed, reflected the dark of all eternity and flashes of her childhood bounced around . Ridiculed by a mother who only wanted her to be the best and untrusted by her father who only wanted her safe, often were her frolics held on the slippery edge of disappointment and ire. Learning to please her creators, she had checked herself strictly into submission to the point of foolishness. Through her loneliness, she discovered the joy of imagination. She meticulously built an empire of fantasies that filled every dry void in her soul. A place where she changed skin, lived a life so antithetic and prospered like no human could humanely do.  She never recognised that her abyssal craving for compliance had consumed her wholly from within her skull. Every moment she spent in reality begged her to go to that one place where she could reign over, where life wouldn't be so strenuous, where the elements danced to her wishes and where she remained unbeatable. Her fondness for her alternate lives thrived. She eventually detached from the bubble of reality and floated far into a place she deemed better.

The sad part about reality for her was that it never realised her worth. Every time she was pulled back into tangibility, she felt the inadequacies of a mundane life. Nothing could ever be perfect as in her exquisite mind. Not even her. Seeking acceptance from every one became her impetus. As she grew older, she nurtured the giant mirror that always lied.  Every time it spat an image so cruel, that she lost her song in the layers of the shiny silver. Her cognition was tampered with and her view was so braided that she found million shredded pieces of herself in every pixel of a seemingly antagonistic world.

She erred on this earth while she knew not why. She failed a thousand times unwittingly and the count only grew. Her friends called her a fighter but only she saw the rocks burying her beneath. Her guardians were finally pleased with her but she wondered how that ever came to be. People applauded and drew carpets for her while she only saw masked pity. Opportunities she grabbed seemed like a clear case of charity. How could the world elude logic and try to pacify her? She was nowhere near perfection that she was known for, in her other worlds, in those true places. Her brows formed a permanent gorge on her forehead and she had let the insanities of this world flow through it. No matter how many told her otherwise, she imagined that she was the reason for all the wrong in this world. She fell short of her own measure in a far better place and she could not live with it. The guilt of being contemptible could only hold her in reins so long. Her every imagined flaw had turned into an obsessive hound set to kill. She fled from this world to a place where one couldn't bother bringing her back any more.

!*

She slowly blinked in the haze of her present. Her intoxications had given her, her world within the world of apparent chaos, a world devoid of trials to pull her away. The bud had nearly faded in her fingers while her sight cleared from the past. The noises she hated grew louder and the lights brighter. They seemed much closer than she had perceived.The space seemed to have shrunk, with her view now over the mould-ridden walls of her neighbour. She looked around her house that never was a home. She couldn't care less about the loose door or the roof that leaked. Her accolades, all stood there mocking  aloud about the life she had misconceived.  The winds that picked up intensity grazed her bones as her leg slipped into thin air. She peered down the window sill of the urban tower that she was perched upon, to see the little playful piglets beckoning her. The meadows formed behind them and the stream trickled again. The busy metropolitan streets had paled into those green moulds of the south she yearned for, her happy place. She clutched the window and swung her other leg out facing the golden hue of the evening sky.

Her feet danced to the rhythm of the drums that continued to play from beyond. Everything else muted, she could hear herself breathe in tandem with the beats. The breeze whisked those stray locks away from her face and set them free. Her lips parted in a smile as distorted as her view was in the moment she let go of the plank. She sailed across and beyond, nescient of her tumult, gliding towards her one true love, her one true home...

aeroyogi

26/3/2014

!* Courtesy: Google Images

Daisy

Look what you just did to me Sniggy! 


Like the forces of the universe,
Gentle as a breeze,
With a twist no terse,
She dances with ease..

Much like a raindrop,
A touch too soft,
Playful like a top,
Are her steps so aloft.

The curve of her arm,
And the spring in her feet,
They twinkle, those eyes;
Just to the beat.

A million daisies fly,
When her lips part to smile,
As the stars pass by,
It races a heart a mile.

She swooshes across,
Her gait no trick,
Like the waves on a shore,
With elegance galore.

Who is she? a fairy, an angel?
Agile but strong, she keeps me dim,
Beguiled, I gaze at that grace in trance,
Reason eludes and am I so lost...

aeroyogi
5/1/2014

Allegory- Insurrection...

To a mirror image, to an inspiration, to a wonderful, wilful woman I know... 

The howling winds only made her strong.. She couldn't stop smiling as she gasped for breath.. Intense and heavy as was the recent past, she was just glad it was all over.. Not feeling the pain, not feeling that pinch of guilt any more, and not surrendering to all her fantasies made her feel powerful.. even amidst that fire shooting through her skull.. She felt her flesh being cut open with a blunt knife and yet all that she sensed was intense relief.. The feeling of self and the feeling of being..

The cosmos had played tricks with her.. She had been taken on a mammoth ride..She had tried hard not to throw up and be embarrassed.. unsuccessfully of course! With twists that shattered her body and tugs that ruined her soul, she was bruised beyond repair.. Harder as her grit got, stronger were the forces that sheared it apart until she had flowed all over the place.. One couldn't blame the coldness that eventually cast in and the hardness that followed setting her flesh in stone.. She had found it hard to forgive, a trait that she prided on long before the circumstances.. Her grin had turned lopsided and it seemed like it could never change..
 

What more could a stone turn into? She sensed one day.. The forces weren't enough to break her any more and the whips of misfortune couldn't maim her henceforth.. They kept striking like similar waves on a shore to no sensational effect.. She knew the end was no where near but a certain numbness erased any evidence of worry in her. The realization embodied as a dim but strong light in her.

She toppled onto the top and stood glaringly against the elements that mocked her.. That had, had her in their reins and then beaten into a swarm of blazing lava..That which tricked her into building trust on a mantle brick by brick only to shake its very foundation cruelly.. But acceptance had become her friend.. her strength.. the source that breathed life through her at her worst.. Her fortitude had remained a humble servant and her new found love for patience and nonchalance rejuvenated her..

She stood there with rooted feet as the winds nearly tore her skin, as the fire charred her bloody black and as gales of fumes swallowed her lungs. She stood there with the broadest smile one could have and the peace innate felt golden to her. The forces shrunk with every quarter of her widening mirth..and she felt her strength return.. The bliss of letting go of her hatred, doubts and complaints had been the key.. She let them all go in exchange for apathy and she felt radiant. Closure was what she had needed and bruised beyond relief was what helped her.. The act of an ending was marked by the start of a new beginning.. A beginning that promised nothing in return for all that she went through. The field wide open and blank, was becoming her favourite playground. Oh! what a feeling not to feel a thing! She knew that eventually this had to stop. There was not enough strength in the universe to bring her down. She now knew she could handle it. Letting go of sand that slipped by, of bricks taken down by force, of pillars that were never hers and of a domicile that never would be was becoming easier by the second. Her fortification of rebellion was growing strong and she stood mutinous within. She wouldn't beg for a change. Her pride of all wasn't lost. The forces would drop their guard. Her rebirth would well be spectacular and when it ensued, she would be prepared to strike with vengeance. For now, she shrunk so small within that familiar, safe, diffident inferno of her insurrection that she could breathe nothing but the abhorrent present off her heated hulk. Peace vested her, her eyes closed and all that was left was a wise, radiant smile...

aeroyogi
16/9/2013

All I have...

Out that window, I watch them so pretty

Little flakes of snow, so flossy and naughty,

Woolen socks and nasty boots I adorn,

Gone with the wind were those thoughts forlorn.

I spring to the streets with a song so mush

But merry tiny blobs, I see, masquerades in slush

I slip and I grip that twig I thought was a brick,

Fallen and bruised….. Am I the nature’s trick?

I stand upright though pickled and grime,

The tot down the lane finds mirth in mime,

Admonition from the guardian echoes so shrill,

My song is lost amidst the needles of chill.

It was a song, a lyric of dreams,

That penned beside those lovely streams,

Day and night had I buried as one,

Those flakes I thought, would deliver me from the run.

As much as I flaunt a soul so callous,

Daunting is the current that unfolds so brumous,

A crowded desert is no place to find that one twin,

A domicile less overt is no trail to trace in the din.

I flounder in that slush with that song in the core,

Straining to hear the clucks of hooves and more,

Those dreams are all I have with me willed,

A hit or I miss; the lyrics are regardless spilled…

aeroyogi

10/12/12

Life in Netherlands- Part 9 - Met vriendelijke groet...

It was 2 am on a slightly wet Sunday. I was on top of the library dome as I had been on several occassions. I had returned from one of my midnight strolls around the campus. Those familiar routes that I took during the day always seemed so different, so warm and welcoming when the lights had faded.

Like more often than never, the slope was deserted at that hour. I climbed up top and stared at the horizon. The lights from the green houses far east reflected in the sky making it look golden even at that hour of night. Many students of science still ensured that the EWI and 3ME facades shone brighter than the stars. A bunch of clouds heading from the south-west were setting out to blanket the few constellations that were visible from up there. The grass was as soft as ever and the night couldn’t  be more silent. I loved it, as always. I laid down on that amazingly well manicured grass. Perfect time and place to let out my thoughts and get some answers from the cosmos.

That one friendly slope..

But as I lay on the green bed of solitude, peace and unspoken acquaintance, I realized that it was probably the last time, in a while atleast, that I was going to be up there. Earlier that week, I defended my thesis and hibernated for two straight days. I had crossed the finish line, something that was just a dream and a doubt for a long time and it hadn’t even sunk in yet. It had been a long, incredible journey. A tiresome one, in more than one way. Unlike most, I had a lot more to account myself for than just exams and grades. Just about 45 days short of a 3 year stint in this resplendent country was coming to an end. And what an experience it had been!

Many vivid memories, good, bad and the ugly ones flashed by. Those rebellions, the countless arguments, that unmeasured amounts of blood, sweat and tears that had been shed in the past 4 years were all coming back. And as if to compensate, there was the pure joy when I realized I was finally doing what I wanted to. The brilliant opportunities I got, the fantastic friends that I made, the wonderous sights I saw, the incredible lessons I learnt both in and outside class, those many experiments-some that succeeded and most which failed...Wow! It was in this country that I learned what life was all about.. A place where I felt more like an engineer...A place where I could break from the shackles of blind theism that had only lead me downhill.. Most importantly this is where I made peace with my inner self and I cannot do justice in describing that one feeling here.

That one canal..

As these thoughts gathered, I saw a satellite cross above me. I loved following them as long as my gaze could hold. That globe of dark clouds was engulfing a lot quicker and the satellite prompltly disappeared behind it. My thoughts went back to all the places I‘d miss around there. Through out my studies, I often heard complaints from people about Delft. Facts like it is very small and uneventful compared to bigger cities of Holland cannot be disgraced. Nevertheless, it remains a beautiful little city especially once you know it well. Some spots of this historic city would always remain with me for the sheer support it lent with its beauty. The Oostport, the library rooftop, the canals that ran throughout the city are all sublime designs to calm a rampant mind. It would be impossible to forget the destressing late night walks and the jogs around these places, especially after hectic lab hours during the last few months.

I was shaken from this riviera by Holland’s trademark drizzle. Enough to send your lazy bottom in search of a roof but not enough that you’d have to change into warmer clothes! I smiled realizing it had stopped bothering me over the years and in fact, I slightly enjoyed it. I sat up straight and just soaked in that scene for a while longer. I did not want to get down that slope that night. TU Delft’s library (by the way, ranked as the 4th coolest library in the world ;)) had been a friend of sorts to me. It had played host to a lot of birthdays, coffees, exam preparations, a few beers, sun-sets, star gazing, philosophical and scientific debates, heart-to-heart conversations, snow-fights, yoga and meditation on warm mornings and so much more! It had seen me blunder, heard my musings, responded to my ruminations in ways I can’t describe and at the end always elevated my senses! I’d miss that place most of all.

I eventually headed downward letting gravity do most of the work. TU Delft logo caught my eye from across the street and I realized how incredibly lucky I was to have been under that umbrella. I wouldn’t choose another place for studying! I wished I had only done my bachelors there as well. Time and again I have envied those who have been able to finish their entire studies in Delft. That night was no different. I remembered the remarkably awe-inspiring minds I met there, things I learnt from them, the ideas I exchanged all of which transformed me into something I wished for when I left home. I had gotten what I asked for- An experience of a lifetime and knowledge transcending mere coursework. And I wished I could have stuck around for longer but then it reminded me of something I read a while ago- If you begin to get too comfortable with a place, you know its time to move. It was better to do so while I still could. As I had learnt in Holland, life is very short and the world is too damn big and exciting for a human to be holding on to one impression.

Holland had shown its varied facets to me over these years. For an oddball that somehow managed to hop out of the well, it had been kind sometimes and not so much the others. But each time, it only made me stronger. And for that I will be ever grateful. And now, even as I type this sitting about a few hours away from the place that had become my second home, I cannot help but feel distant and desolated.

I kept postponing this article because I wanted to give this series a grand ending but nothing seems to harmonize with the spirit inward from a long time. Evincing a myriad of emotions pertaining to this journey has been harder than I thought and I do not want to conclude this series. I shall pause for now.. May be there is another life here... May be there is more, or may be some day I will unearth that psyche unknown who can verbalize better...

For now dear Holland, Tot Ziens!

Oostport

aeroyogi

13/10/2012

Life in Netherlands- Part 8- Dutched...

Life in the past 3 years in this country has taught a lot...Including adapting to new cultures and places...Being in a completely different cultural setting proved to be scary, exciting, enriching and rewarding. From wondering how I’d live here for 2+ years by just smelling pancakes at the airport to enjoying them in their entirety has been such a revelation on various levels. It is nearly impossible to jot down all experiences here in detail. So here I note, just some random musings, pointers, observations, experiences of nearly 3 years in the country of windmills (which, by the way, is such a cliché!) - all bundled in that little part of the brain that handles memories. Systematic, chronological extraction from source not guaranteed.

(Blogspot is giving me a hard time getting the photo locations right. Will upload some to this barren article as soon as I can fix it.)

• It is gonna be hard to appreciate any internet speed less than 30 mbps after living in Holland.
• Love the endless miles of cycle and pedestrian paths in this country.
• I couldn’t have asked for a better Aerospace faculty anywhere! The facilities, student teams, the opportunities, getting to learn from some of the great minds of today….I bow down…
• I will forever remember the day I sat in an aircraft cockpit for the first time… and it was a real F-16! J Even though the engine is stripped down for studies, it is the most striking thing on the campus.
• But the new mementos of scientific innovation across the campus with description are pretty damn cool too!
• Talking about cool places, the Fellowship is an awesome concept.
• The structures lab hosting every single part of an aircraft for individual studies- Wow!
• The magnificent horse drawn carriage carted by a beautiful Dutch woman, which passed in front of the faculty every Sunday morning with rays of summer light penetrating through the long line of trees - The most beautiful scene ever on a very mundane day! Watched this every week from across the street…
• I first look to the left and then my right before crossing a road as opposed to what I followed for nearly 2 years since I came here. It was a habit that wouldn't die soon given the years of training in school and home to survive Indian roads. “Look to the right, look to the left and then cross the road….” Well, it was a hard change, but I got there.
• Barbecuing seems like a natural thing to do even if the tiniest bit of sun rays creep in. Yes, despite the fact that I stay away from meat, the concept, the people, the spirit....I love it all...
• The only response I got for “Which meat goes into a Kroket?” was “I don’t know..I actually don’t wanna know!”… Every single time I asked!
• A veggie Kroket in between a bun with mustard sauce + milk was my lunch on many afternoons. I made some of my Dutch friends really proud! 
•  I finally got the Dutch ‘G’ sound right! J
• My Turkish friends will wince at this but I still thank them for the Falafals. However bad you think the taste has been compromised in this country, the Doner stalls have been my safe haven. I could not have imagined my life without them here!
• Japanese wok, Vietnamese loempia, German Schnitzel, Italian coffee, Turkish pizzas, Dutch Pancakes and Oliebollen dipped in ground sugar- I have devoured you all time and again and you have pleased me much beyond my expectations. Thank you. 
• It floors me that a country which sells French fries by the kilos manage to look like atheletes.. Yes, the entire country!
• After being protected by parents, TU Delft international office for a long time, I did understand the difficulty of finding a house and furnishing it.
• I do know the existence of a thing called TV… We had one in the “common room”. We switched it on, on the day we got it (for ‘gratis’ by the way) and then again on….… well, that’s about it.
• Despite the fact that I will forever beat me up around this episode for some memories; I did learn how to fix a flat tyre!
• Speaking of bikes, I will never forget the day I saw this really old couple cycling hand in hand across the canal with such happy, old, toothless, wrinkly smiles on their faces that definitely glowed brighter than Holland’s sun!
• And talking about unforgettable strangers, the guy in the train from Arnhem who travelled on my OV discount card, the old lady at Dominos one evening-talking about all the amazing things she had done in her life, the potters in Delftse Hout, the nomadic hippie couple that gave away free tickets, a stroopwaffel and some awesome stories at the dead of night waiting for the trains, the falafel guy who made my dinners at reduced prices on most evenings… You will all be remembered for inspiring me in your own way..
• Heineken is overrated!
• Douwe Egberts coffee in the machines sucks!
• Multivlaai is a must-try!
• Magnificent French Chardonnay + long walk to the lab + music = A walk I will remember.
• That one night I couldn’t stop smiling, cycled back in air and guttled paratas+channa like never before in my life- I shall remember. ;)
• All the amazing food, drinks and company in those tens of potlucks, pub-crawls and shindigs: Strangely, I cannot remember all the details!
• Amsterdam doesn’t mean “Eurotrip” experience only. It is quite a vibrant, culturally and technologically advanced city otherwise too.
• And the Dutch are not stoned most of the time contrary to the popularly thought. In fact amongst all the people I knew here, the Dutch were the least number of smokers.
• Netherlands has the highest population density but visibly lesser number of people at any given point in space and time.
• Those bridges that go vertical always cracked me up! Don't ask why!
• A calm country with no potentially harmful idiosyncrasies that threaten its security or image. You will find it to be a technology and research oriented country with a rich set of highly educated/ qualified individuals.
• One does start feeling the spirit of 'Orange' as time goes by. One will not mind wearing the bright florescent Orange gear out on streets! One has to witness Queen's day-that is when you see how crazy the Dutch can be! It is like one day of the year they are allowed to be who they actually want to be as opposed to who they should be!
• Constant rain will be the only companion you can trust completely to be there with you irrespective of your desire.
• Finally, Oh, dear Holland! Thy be Blessed! For I shall cherish the impeccable sculptures that your sons are...Tall, blond, blue-eyed, those torsos and legs born out of constant cycling…Sigh…Many of your sons have sent my friends and me giggling away happily on several occasions. You have raised them well.  Your daughters too, but you would understand if I spoke more about your sons now, wouldn’t you? 

aeroyogi

10/08/2012