New York, New York!

New York, New York

New York...a city of dreams. Sounds like something Fitzgerald would say. Actually, something he would precisely say: "The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in it's first wild promise of all the mystery and beauty in the world." - F. Scott Fitzgerald on New York City.

New York City is a place that you would like to give time and patience to explore. There's just so much to do and so much to see. Taking a tour bus would be ideal if you are staying a short while. But if you have the time (and energy), I suggest you just walk most of the city and make use of the trains. Walking would be the best option as you'd see a lot!

There's lots to do in New York City. There's the mainstream tourism - The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, The Photography Museum, Times Square, Broadway, Empire State, Freedom Tower, Central Park, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Wall St and many more things. However, here's a list of things that I personally enjoyed:

1. The Photography Museum: is conveniently located at 43rd street, busy ends. It looks pretty small, and it is. But it has millions worth of information. The photographs clicked are beyond amazing. There are creative displays such as tiny photographs made to look like windows of buildings. The place does not allow you to click photographs, but that's alright! Who wants to create art by clicking pictures of other art? Art is for appreciation.

The museum is under the International Center of Photography, so if you are interested, you could sign up to become a member.

Phantom of the Opera

2. The Museum of Modern Art: most commonly known as MoMA; one can easily spend a whole day at this museum. The place is filled with works by famous artists like Ansel Adams, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse, Salvador Dal, and many more. MoMA is a huge place to explore. There are different floors, categories and genres.

Times Square

3. Broadway: If you're in New York, please do try to go for a Broadway show! It's one of the best experiences ever. The show that we went for was The Phantom of the Opera. The show is magnificent, the acting is brilliant and the music is grand as ever. An interesting fact is the music is performed by music students from New York University some nights. Also, remember to dress up all fancy!

4. Times Square: Busy central! Times Square is a photographer's dream...sometimes. The place is always so busy, it's unbelievable! There are people dressed up as characters walking about, there's ten different genres of music playing about everywhere, there are street artists performing or painting, and there are the group of tourists clicking pictures from all sorts of angles. If you're the kind that likes to observe crowds, Times Square is the place for you. Grab a cup of coffee or a bowl of Cold Stone ice cream and just sit there, observing people. It's not the weirdest thing that can happen there, trust me!

View from the Empire State Building

5. Empire State Building: Catch the best view of New York City from the top of the Empire State Building. The best time to go is during the night, when the city is lit up and you photographers can capture some breathtaking pictures. It gets quite crowded, but everyone gets a chance to enjoy the view.

These are my top five "to do" things in New York. Comment below on what you would like to do or have done during your visit to the world's busiest city, New York!

All Photographs taken by Author.

2014

A little too late, so obviously my New Year's Resolution has nothing to do with my time management. Meh. What the hell?

Which is why I say, the whole "new year, new me" concept never works. You cannot change just because it's the start of a new year. You change when you feel like. When you think you need to start exercising, start! Don't wait for the new year.

New Year Resolutions are nothing but a back up...something that makes us feel better. Something that makes us feel like we've been given another chance. A new start.

Nope. I'm still same old me. I eat chocolates. I watch Friends (the TV show). I procrastinate. Oh but I did give up coffee...but on 28th December! So HAH!

Anyway. Point is, it's a new year. But we have exams okay? I have an issue with that by the way. How can we go home, where tis all warm and nice and stuff, and then come back to this depressing weather, and on top of that, write exams?! (<-- such a long sentence that hardly makes sense in terms of grammar and/or syntax but pfft!)

Having ranted it all out, HAPPY NEW YEAR folks! I shall be doing some new things this year. But I'll blog about all that later on...after exams, that is.

Peace be with you.

Gravity?

I haven’t blogged for a while now. Mainly because I’ve been on another holiday. And the semester stared. Busy busy. Some recent conversations have led to this post. This post is going to talk about the most random thing you can think about. Because being random, spontaneous, weird, etc. is the new cool. Yo.

"Anti-Gravity Trees"
Saint George Church, Cappadocia
Photograph by Anupama Subramaniyam

So I was on holiday in Turkey (post to follow soon) with a few friends: Ketan, Pari, Suniel and Varun. It was a good holiday. Good bonding session, got to see new places, ate good food, bought new stuff…you know, normal holiday-y things. However, we came across these rather weird trees. We didn’t know what to call them! They looked like they had gone through an electric shock and a huge argument with gravity. We called them “anti-gravity trees”

This brings me to my next point. Can anything really be anti-gravity? Think about it. Trees grow upwards, not downwards. We grow taller, not shorter. Or maybe because I am not a science student, my theory is stupid? Don’t blame me. We art students think about very profound and mind-boggling things that this thought of gravity is just the tip of the ice berg!

Anyway, having said all that, I've to get back to my world of literature. This thought just hit me and I had nothing to blog about so being random it was. If anyone has any crazy ideas, thoughts or anything, please do share them in your comments. I’m all ears for crazy news! Peace. 

Express Yourself

So I haven’t blogged in a while. I was on holiday. And then exams came in the way (they still are in the way but it’s a good stress buster to blog. There are other ways too but for that you can refer to my other blogpost, 10 Things I did Last Night Instead of Studying).

First of all, Happy New Year! It’s 2013 and we can finally get over the whole “The world is ending” crap. The world will never end. Period.

So this post is an inspiration from the recent trip to Zambia. It was a rather short one but it was eventful. Lots of ups and downs, realisations, responsibilities, advice sprees, catching up with old friends, realising who your friends really are, hanging out with kids and realising they’re not kids anymore and so on.

But the most important lesson I learned when I was there is that priorities change. Yes. They do. As you mature, so do your priorities. 4 years back, my priority was to make the guy that I am in love with realise that I am in love with him. And for some reason, I wanted him to love me back. Today, I look back at that 16 year old and laugh. What kind of shitty priority is that for a 16 year old girl? I didn’t even understand what love was at that age.

Today, my priority is to do well in my exams. I have to do well. Why? Because I finally realise the amount of efforts my parents are putting in to educate me. I mean, some people out there do not even have the opportunity to be educated. Why should I throw my opportunity down the drain? Plus, my second (and main) reason is that I LOVE MY COURSE. I know what I want to do when I am done. Which is why I cannot wait till I am done!

But who knows, tomorrow my priority could change. I may be married and my priority would be to make breakfast for my husband. Gosh. To even think of that is not a good feeling. No. My husband shall make his own breakfast.

Anyway, point being, even though your priorities do change, just remember that you shouldn’t change. If you want to do well in your exams, do well – study hard, work hard but keep time for some relaxation too. Let the information sink in. Remember, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” On the same lines, if you get married or get a girlfriend/boyfriend, spend time with them – make them feel special, treat them like they deserve to be treated; but keep time for your family and friends too…your parents, siblings, good friends, etc.

Life is too short to sit and prioritise all the time. Don’t let maturity or age affect your priorities. Sometimes, let go, live life and be spontaneous. Friends come and go, girlfriends come and go, boyfriends come and go, exams come and go, jobs come and go but relationships? Family? Good friends? They’re here to stay forever. If you’re reading this, take out our phone or open Facebook. Message your mom or dad or best friend and just tell them that you love them. Life is too short to wait. Express yourself. 

CEP '13: 2 Epic Years

And I’ve moved out of Bangalore; Out of India. I’ve waited 2 years for this moment and it’s finally happened. Only difference is when I first moved to India, I was eagerly waiting for the 2 years to come to an end. At that time, I never realised that I can make the best of friends in 2 years. When the end finally approached, I dreaded saying good bye to people who made my stay in Bangalore totally worth it.

I am not the type of person who is good with testimonials and emotional jazz (that’s Seni, got me started on using your typical phrases ‘and all that jazz’ or ‘aney’). But this post is dedicated to each and every individual who made Bangalore and Christ University worth it and excuse me for saying this (and am sure you’ll all agree), bearable. 

I cannot ramble on and on about each individual from CEP ’13 but the class on a whole is freaking awesome! Sure we had our own groups within the class, but the fact that I got to interact with most of you individually, even if it was for 2 or 3 minutes, makes me consider myself to be lucky. 

I remember the first day of college, I met Abhineeta. When I first met her, I didn’t realise she’s weird. Until one day, when she, Arundhati and I had a discussion about lesbian vibes. Yes. Like I said. Weird. But don’t we all have some element of “weirdness” in us?

I also remember the first few weeks of college I used to sit right at the front. No I am not a nerd. It was just convenient for me to get out of class quickly and not get caught in the large student population of our block. Anyway, I used to sit next to the brothers (Bipin, Sebadas, Shijo and Pradeep) and I remember telling them that I was born in Kerala and don’t know any Malayalam; and they promised they would teach me. So sweet. :’)

As the weeks progressed, so did my seating arrangement. I moved further and further away from the front of the classroom and soon I was one of the back benchers. This is where I met Alice, Rachika, Vishrutha, Kathleen, Prena and Debbie. Oh fun days! We hardly used to pay attention and usually used to secretly take pictures. Or sleep. And if we had a test, copy from each other. And the amount of time we spent on our phones, am surprised we never got caught. :P

I remember a few other people who used to sit at the back; Sumit, Abhishek, Sidharth, Hemali, Aastha and a few others. We never spoke much but had a few moments here and there thanks to Vishrutha. :P

I always broke our class into 3 rows and I had names for some groups. There was Garima, Revathi, Shiny, Adarsh and all you other guys who used to sit to my left somewhere near the front. You guys always used to say hi to me, which I thought was very sweet of you all. Then there were the people in front of me; Shruthi, Aditi, Kamna, Ananya AG, Kumaran, Kartika and a few visitors who were asked to come in front for making noise or whatever else :P We usually had discussions about class; exams, timetables and what not. But I’ve also had my Japanese classes with Aditi, the funny Hindi moments with Kamna and Ananya, and endless discussions about the end of the world (or a new beginning) with Kartika. :P Good times.

Then to my right I had the more active part of the class; always asking questions or always making noise :D :P Joseph, you are awesome. *poke* I shall never forget your oh so funny texts during our one act play; and how excited you were when you had 1000 tweets! :P Rhea, I will take you to prom and we shall go for soup after that :D Mehek, Happy Birthday on every Thursday! You are an amazingly funny and weird person. Additional English was fun. :P Salome, Your random dancing sessions were amusing to watch. I shall miss them. I shall especially miss your Johnny Bravo dance (that was it right? :P)   

Ashwin, you will be blessed with a future filled with dark chocolate every day :P Our rare but serious yet fun talks will always be remembered. Samiksha, I still don’t like you for going off BBM. I am glad we kinda sorta started talking :P We’ve never hung out (except laser tag but that was the most random yet epic group :P) but our exam panics and random advice sessions have made me find a good friend in you.  Manognya, You are crazy and shall always be :P But you are also adorable and one of the most amazing dancers I have ever known!  Abhishek, I know we never hung out but laser tag (again) was fun! And I still remember you used to advise me about my future plans and the whole moving to UK. Just the fact that you told me your point of view meant a lot, so thank you for that. Ashutosh, Talking about movies, series, music and anything entertainment based, it was the best with you! And of course, my collection of snaps of you sleeping in class :P Sonia, You and I have a lot in common...you know the whole thinking of something then suddenly going blank and all that :P And I'll miss our RR Nagar travel times :P Shriya, thank you so much for the chocolate on my birthday. It was really sweet of you. We never talked that much but you were always so nice to me. Rahul, You are uniquely annoying…but nice :P Internship days will be remembered; from your healthy talks to cracking my cell phone password (respect). You are a nice fellow. :P Kishore, keep clicking! Your photography is amazing!! :D

Vidya, Gautham, Soumya, Maitri, Sanya, Vaishali, Sana, Bhavya, Swetha, Prerna, Naaila, Anuj, Pooja, Manasi, Jose, Manisha, Suhas,  and Poorna; Although we may have never talked as often, or hung out often, you guys added on to the awesome CEP experience. And I sincerely thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. <3

Bettina, I remember you came late. And I also remember thinking that you were a nerd considering you asked me for notes and things on the first day you arrived :P But then we got to talking and am glad we became really good friends. The amounts of memories we have are not enough to jot down this post. The CCD dates almost every day, your random KFC cravings, the sleepovers, the exam panic…the list could go on. All I can say is I am glad I found a friend in you, a good one at that :P <3

When it came to organisation, one name popped in mind, Senashia. Oh where do I start? How I envied that black organiser of yours. You had little notes that said “Study” and that made me laugh :P We clicked easily thanks to the non-Indian background, both geographically and educationally :P You taught me the art of being organised and the art of time management and the art of using big words…uh I mean the “skill of expending gigantic verses”  :P You’ve been a good Sri Lankan friend throughout these 2 years and I cherish all the moments we’ve had together from the random gossip sessions to the ride on the metro to window shopping to talking about ambiguity (Yes Bettina, I had to say it :P)

Vikash, I don’t know how it happened but we became amazingly close friends. You were always there for me (literally thanks to BBM :P) so thank you for that! I will never forget your random singing moments. :P I will cherish our virtual dates :P And I will never forget our long advice sessions and career talks. You will reach great heights. Remember that <3

Aswathy, Sneha, Sandhya, Sharvaani, Ananya M, Jonny and Akhil, I don’t know if you guys ever realised it, but you guys were there for me when I needed it most; and I mean this literally. It was my birthday and for the first time ever in my life, I was alone on my birthday. You guys were the sweetest ever to have organised the movie and the surprise birthday donuts :P It was one of the best birthday experiences ever and I shall never forget it! <3  

Achu, Sneha, Sandy, Shar, Betty, Seni and Ananya, you guys have always been there for me and that means a lot. We’ve had our mixture of memories from all the eat outs to Sky Bar to sleepovers to the most ridiculous photo sessions and gossip sessions :P I love you all so much! <3

If I have left out anyone, it was not intentional.  We had a huge class :P Which is why it should be understandable for the department as to why we are so noisy :P Seriously, you guys have been an amazing group of people. I am glad the past 2 years of my life’s journey have been with such ridiculously awesome people! I will always remember each and every one of you, whether we talked or not. A big hug to each and every one of you and every one of you and lots of love!! You guys rock! \m/ :D

Special Mention:

Pavani, I know we just got close. And you are not in CEP :P But you have been an inspiration. You may not know or may have not realised it, but you have advised me when I needed it and taught me how to smile about everything and accept life the way it comes. Big hug to you! <3

I am sorry if I mispelled anyone's name(s).