Urgh.

I woke up yesterday morning on a blue mattress in the bedroom of Ani's flat. Turned to see Ani fast asleep next to me. How'd I get there? Last I remembered was the living room.....

Ani's surprise 21st birthday party was something we'd been planning for a while. It didn't end up exactly as we'd hoped it would...mainly because she had no idea and had invited everyone for a sleepover the next day. Silly girl.

But yeah, when she showed up, there were 7 of us there, and 21 gifts arranged in the middle of the room. And yeah, she was pretty surprised. And happy. And a wee bit sentimental.


More people showed up later....After she'd inspected all her gifts, and hugged everyone, and been sentimental. We had music, we had people, and we had champagne. And later, rum. And a LOT of biriyani.

It was a good party, yeah. We played 'I never'. And laughed a lot.

And I woke up yesterday morning with the worst headache ever. Staggered out into the living room to see the others who'd slept over....And I was told the stories of the night before.

Conclusion: Myst will stick to two drinks. No more. I don't think anyone who was there is ever gonna let me have ANY anyway.

Many hours later, most of which I slept through, I was relatively better. I will hopefully never be in that state again, because it does NOT feel nice. At all.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annie Sharma, I love you very very much indeed. Also, Jai, Nikhil, Aaku, thanks.

Full Circle

With this, my blog has travelled a full circle from where I started. I started......in a fit of sheer boredom the day after my 10th board exams. I'd wanted to get out of the house, my friends had wanted to sleep. I needed somewhere to vent. So I started this place. Didn't know what I was getting into.
Ever since then, this blog has been like....a platform, an escape. I've vented here about countless exams, friends, love, and stuff that irritates. I've tried to actually write, to be funny. I've put up photos and a bit of artwork. I've made friends. Quite good ones. And, as you'll see if you've been jobless enough to read this right from the beginning, I've kind of grown as a writer...and a person. I'm pretty sure I feel less like a stupid kid than I did back then.
My life has practically turned around ever since I started writing here. Back in 11th, I was depressed because my friends had moved away...back in 11E we nudged into a mishmash gang of sorts, but we weren't really that close until 12th. We were the proverbial backbenchers who loved physics, struggled through chem, sailed through math and slept through English. (our teacher was soporific. Most classes sleep in class when they're bored, when we were bored in English we did the assignments.) Sneh, Sriya, S, Anki, RoshKesh, Snoopy, TT and me. We were the original "8 of us, you know, our gang" at the beginning of the year. Since then, this has expanded to include the Kashmiri, Jo, Jan and Vagi. Friends indeed.
The last year of school. I was captain. And I can truly say it was a year I'll never forget. Stressful, yes, very. But I still enjoyed every moment and I don't think I'll ever regret anything I've done these past two years.
Till now, yes, it's been predicted. I stayed here and did science and gave my 12th boards. From here, who knows? The circle has been drawn, now my life will go off on a tangent.... I think my destiny will lead me to Bombay.....I just have a very good feeling about that place, and I know that living there will change me forever and actually give me that sense of responsibility and independence, and help me be who i really want to be.
Till then...I have a lot of stuff swirling in my head, it's all gonna pour out here.
So cheers to me! Long life ahead and all that.... Love you all.
-Myst.

FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHM

That was the compulsory yell. For an actual version, feel free to call.
MY BOARDS ARE OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have a lot to say, a lot to write, lots of ideas, etc....but all that starts tomorrow. Today, today is just the sheer joy and scream of boeing out of High school and science for-fucking-ever.

Two Down

Yup.
I have officially Fatto-ed physics from my life.
*wild whoops of joy*

Farewell to a new beginning??

"That doesn't make sense!" S said as he looked up from my farewell invitation card during board-prac-week. "I mean, what the hell??"
No, we told him, it's like, Farewell *cheers* to a new beginning!! Like a toast.
Aah.

After two-or-more-weeks of roaming around with the Farewell on the brain, it was finally here. Yay and all that. Saris were draped, hair was combed, fingers were crossed, I even went very out of character and bought blue eyeliner! And we just prayed that the 11th graders would give us a better farewell than what we gave our seniors.

So I get to school to find that out of our girl-gang, only Snoopy's turned up, looking all 80's style diva fab in a black sheer sari with big hair. Then I find Vagi (short for Vagina, that's my nickname for her, how it started is another -entirely clean- story*) in pale blue chiffon, and she's actually listened to us and let her hair down. And Jan, in pink. With a haircut. After the usual eye-sweep pver the crowd, who's wearing what, etc, we made our way into the hall and found our seats. Sneh etc finally turn up and we proceed to enjoy the great show the 11ths put on for us.
There were the usual songs, dances, and a special dance by two of the council guys to an 'emotional song'....tu cheez badi hai mast mast.....which has us, well, me, rolling in laughter.
We were uncharacteristically effervescent, excited, obviously, at being together again after so long......Basically we went mad, cracking bad jokes, passing comments, screaming our throats out.....

I didn't tear up. I didn't get nostalgic. I didn't get all emo. And now, I really wonder why. I mean, I've been in the same school for 12 years, and it's made me who I am now.......I guess it hasn't really sunk in yet...

Then the school awards........pretty cool, really, Snoopy won Miss Genius, I won Miss talented, so all happy-happy.
Unfortunately the pic they flashed on screen for the nominations, that was the passport photo i took two years ago. Where I looked like a guy. Not even androgynous. Shit. I got a lot of ribbing about that.

All too soon, it was over and it was picture time, clickclick!!!
And then we split, sneh snoopy anki subin went bowling, I went to the Farewell after-party woth Jan, Vagi, S and Rak.
And then when we get there I found out that two of the girls I went with are suddenly part of a couple. And plan to spend the night cozying up the the other half of their respective couples. And Jan wasn't in a dancy mood. And I was.
So I danced. Under the neon lights (which made anyone wearing bright colours look like a traffic signal) and the psychedelic-y posters, I danced. I danced alone, then I danced with the girls from 12 A, I danced with RK, and then when my feet hurt, I watched the couples on the floor, not bothering with the music or the beat, just happy to be with each other. Got a bit lonely (so what's new...), went and sat with Jan, had a little heart to heart about her situation and all, laughed at the glo-in-the-dark-couple (Vagi was wearing white, so was the other.) then did the wise thing and spent credit international messaging a friend in Bombay. Who was mercifully awake at that time. Thanks luv, you made my night. Well, a quarter of it anyway.
And then I danced again, alone, with my eyes closed, clowing, fluorescent, letting the music and the lights wash over me, I danced like no one was watching.

And now it's all over. Now there is truly nothing left for me this year. Except for those pesky exams. And the study study.
So as usual I say, My presence here will be erratic.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* the Vagina story, you say? well, she addresses me as 'Bum', so one day I went one step further and nicknamed her Vagina. So now she's my Vagina. See, even my vagina has a vagina!
ok that was a little too much.

WOot. Yet again, I woot.
Possibly the best (or the worst, depends on how you see it) way to prepare for the SAT is to go for a rock concert.
And so, four months after the idea was concieved, we present Fulfilling Dreams, featuring.........

PARIKRAMA!!!

Woot. So yeah, I was volunteer, so i got there REAL early, early enough to watch (and hear, obv) the band do sound checks...

And of course, plaster myself against the ginormous speakers, spread-eagled, and the drums boomed in my heart and my veins....
The music.....it's alive.....

I went off into the mosh pit, which was actually pathetically empty in the beginning, sat around as we waited for the comperes to finish and to introduce........PARIKRAMA!!!

Imagine....
A press of bodies, hands upraised, animal screams...
the sound, it lives, it moves...
the mosh pit throbs...
Best place ever, right against the stage, thump with the bass, the beats in your head, your heart, your soul....it's gonna getcha...
Guitars scream with pleasure as loving fingers by no means gentle tickle them, caress them, hit all the right spots till the instrument moans and finally reaches a beautiful screaming orgasmic peak....
And we out there live the climax.

They started with a fun Rhythm n Blues...which was good, and then they announced Iron Maiden's greatest....
And with the opening chords of Fear of the Dark the crowd went wild.
Right in the front, the crowd pulsates....I clambered onto the shoulders of the unfortunate D.M (thanks buddy....Anyway, i was the first to do that, i actually wanted to crowd-surf but looked like that wasn't happening......some press photographer out there has a photo of an elevated Myst goin wild, I suspect) and started my not-so-good version of headbanging, while trying hard to maintain balance....I swear it felt like I was riding an elephant....
The crowd continued to go ballistic, heads bouncing, sweat dripping, hair flying, all the way through Purple Haze, But it Rained and Another Brick in the Wall, and suddenly a long forgotten tune is struck up and the crowd starts singin Saare Jahaan se Accha...Hindustan Hamara Hamara....

Bounce push heave all the way through Sweet Child of Mine, Paradise City, Trooper, Whiskey blues, Smoke on the Water and finally back on D.M's shoulders for Highway to Hell.....
And then it was over....

(wild screaming here)

My shirts (the purple one and the Parikrama volunteer shirt on top) and my scribbled-on jeans and my hair, all drenched with sweat....

My throat is still sore, and my head feels like a ball on a stick...

But by all the Gods of Rock and everything else.....................it was worth it.