8/06/2006

Most guilty period

The most guilty period of the week is Sunday evening. You get up from sleeping 3 hours in the afternoon and then count what all you had planned for the weekend and what all you've ended up doing. Its a gone chance, the next hectic week is staring at you. What all you'd have to do extra to cover up for things that related to office, what all things on personal front shall have to wait one more weekend. Then you get up, wash your face and call a friend who'd be doing the same thing. Things do improve a bit after that, collective guilt is consoling.

One thing I have a good feeling about during this weekend is watching Omkara. Its a movie worth watching. People who would be able to relate to western UP (I belong to East UP but have done college in West) will enjoy the language more. I haven't read Othello, but to those who are going to see the movie, let me warn you its a tragic story, someone told me the most tragic play of Shakespeare.

After watching the songs I've become like one of the truck drivers of UP who listen to songs like 'beedi jalaile' and 'Namak isk ka'. These songs are good.

Identity crisis

Well I don't know whether I've been made out of a all so common Indian mould or that I change shapes to look similar to people. Nothing that I've been able to give scientific explanation to (Engineers are supposed to give scientific explanation only)

The recurrence of it makes me laugh and pained at time (you'll come to know later when) but its consoling to know that I am not the only party to be faced with this situation. There are always two party involved in the confusion right.

Also it does not start from the near past, this is since the days of my childhood. My younger bro who's just about 2 years younger to me started looking very similar to me by the time I was 10 and since then hardly things changed. We used to wear the same set of clothes (tons of savings for parents). Built, face cut, voice is distinctly different for me but must be same for others as its not one who got confused. One of the incident was when I went to my brother's parent teacher meetings with mom and met his English teacher. Here is how it went:

Mom: What's the report on Manaswi, does he study, does he (all mom concerns)
Teacher (Staring with 'bastard I kill you' looks towards me): When do you study English.
And I was : Abe!! I study English, don't study English or study Hebrew, who are you to ask me. I am not at my school and you have no damn right to ask this question. Obviously this was in my brain only and somehow me and my English teachers (English language too) don't go very well. Having been through it many times I said perhaps you're getting confused with my brother, me and mom both got the sentiment she was conveying.

One time a friend of mine who I met in one of the crowded coachings I used to go turned up at my home when I was not there. He met my brother and without introduction started over on pehchaana!!! And I can imagine how fun it would have been. He said yaar coaching main mile the, arre Gaurav!!!!!! and still he would have been turned down. Finally my bro had to suggest if he was looking for me :).

There are numerous such incidents, surprisingly I haven't found any twins nor any similar looking people for me to be confused thus. Ok now the next mishtake used to happen with Anshul and me. Anshul and I joined Jaipuria in 1993. Don't know how we looked similar (Main kahan itna smart aur woh kahan :)) but still people used to get confused. Once I had asked an English teacher for my workbook she had lost and so she said she'd give me a new one. So I was waiting for her to give it and had asked me to remind it. One fine day when I reminded her she turned back and said. Now you want a workbook? I don't have anymore. It was kind of rude, and remember me and English teachers never went well and so I did not bother to argue. Cursed these English blabbering teachers who never keep their word and left it. One fine day Anshul tells me about a workbook that was gifted to him by that teacher. Then it clicked, that she gave it to him thinking it was me. I know Anshul should not have taken it but he could not help resisting free stuff :).

At college things went worse, rather tragic. I gave an exam and was coming out of the examination hall. One of the last person to leave and when I was at the door almost a girl shouted "Apurva" and I stopped, looked back at the girl. Incidentally the girl was looking in slightly different angle and rushing that way(For a second I thought dhirri hai). What turned out as she shouted again that she was going for Anshul and shouting my name. Well even though angered by the wrong usage, I did not intervene in the private time of the two people to clarify who was who, guess Anshul would have done that. The scores were leveled recently when, the thing that prompts me to write this post, a girl wrote on my scrap book asking how are you "Anshul"? Interestingly you have photos there, loads of profile crap and still people can get confused. Using Aps instead of Apurva should not confuse I felt.

I just hope that these lessons are made very clear to my future wife if any. I guess keeping a password between us should not hurt.