NYC Dogs - Part II

Everyone has a dog. It's pretty weird actually. You wander down the street just after dinner time, and you invariably see more people with dogs than without. I think I've seen more types of dogs in 3 weeks here, than I ever saw back home. Today (or was it yesterday?) I saw the most adorable pug ever. Short, stout and a tad on the grumpy side, he was adorable.

It amazes me that people would keep dogs in their tiny one bedroom places. I barely have space for myself in this studio of mine, let alone a s***ting and smelling dog. I can't bathe it every day, and this city is so frigging dirty that it would probably be horribly in need of a bathe after every walk! I feel like I need one after I go out - and I wear clothes and shoes! Sigh.

Apart from the spatial and nasal issues of dog rearing and handling in this city, I've wondered for a while just why so many people feel the need for the 4-legged creatures. The only plausible, and somewhat sensical, explanation I have come up with is this:

People here are so lonely, that they need the added comfort in their lives that 'man's-best-friends' give. They'd have babies, but they're too busy trying to live and make money to spend 9-months gestating or helping gestate...

The End of Everything?

Come-on Shelly, not everything is dying is it? First you write Death of Sanskrit (fascinating by the way), and now your most recent article is on the Death of Philology. Sigh.

I really hope you're not depressing. I guess we'll see tomorrow. You're really cool - everyone who's done any Sanskrit (myself included) thinks so. I really hope you're cool.

But, I'm sorry.

The Tyra show is much more interesting at this point than the article.

(ps - I really haven't had a break for a while, so it's also an excuse to relax)

Academic Heaven

So today, I went to a lecture hosted by Nobel Laureate Jagdish Bhagwati, and featuring the Indian Minister of State for the Environment - Jairam Ramesh.

I'm in love with Indian politics (if you hadn't noticed yet). And the lecture was fascinating! It was great to see how the type of people in Indian politics has changed over the past few years. Ramesh was eloquent, impeccably dressed in a white kurta and blue vest (and with the coolest hair!), and quite funny as well. I also wanted to appropriate his accent - sometimes my 'eh' tinged Canadian accent sounds so boring. Sigh.

Anyway. Ramesh spoke about India's road to Copenhagen and the various processes that have been put into place, and are being put into place, for the upcoming climate change summit. What was fascinating though, apart from the numbers and the action being undertaken by the ministry, was how much India has started to assert itself on the world stage. India's desire to be at the top of the world, in terms of power and influence, was apparent - nay, tangible - in every sentence.

I'm not going to post the notes I took, but will leave you with my favourite quote of the afternoon - from Jairam Ramesh, of course...

And I'm paraphrasing here..

"Why is climate change such an important issue for India? It's because India is completely dependent on climate - economically, socially, culturally. Think about it - what would Bollywood do if the rains stopped coming?"

Hilarious.

NYC Dogs - Part I

Part I because this post was supposed to be about them and is now about something completely unrelated that came up in a conversation with BKScope.

Here it is:

It's like he's become a part of you and you don't really know why or how you let him do that. And you'd like him to leave you alone, but he kinda gives you solace by being there. But it hurts...and oh it's so complicated. And then you can't decide whether you're happy or sad that you miss him...

Men.

*shakes head*

Tear you apart and don't even know it.

A Night with the Angels

Tonight was, for Isma'ilis anyway, Laylat-ul-Qadr - the night of power, the night on which it is believed that the Prophet Muhammad (saww) first received the Qur'an's verses. I have family in town (yay!) for the US Open, and so, we decided to meet up for dinner tonight. It got cancelled this morning, and then because the rain kept on coming down incessantly, was rescheduled (for the same night, of course). Excited about being with family and of getting out of the house, I got ready really quickly and got into a cab.

As you may know already (I can't remember if I've written about the many random and odd conversations I've had with cab drivers - but I've had quite a few, including one where I was so scared I almost thought of getting out of the cab immediately), I speak to cab drivers. So when this one opened his mouth, I thought he sounded Italian - so I asked him if he was from Italy. Turns out, he was from Ecuador, but had Italian parents (score! I'm awesome - teehee) who had emigrated to South America. Anyway, we started chatting about this and that and it was quite amusing. He found out I was studying South Asian politics and then went on about how it was religion that was tearing the world apart (which - I agree with) and how he couldn't understand how Partition ever occurred.

He asked me what my religion was. And remembering the last time I'd discussed my religious views with a cab driver (a year ago - I was between agnostic and atheist, and had received a 20 minute lecture on how I needed to believe in Allah and His messengers - my views have actually changed since then - not on account of that lecture of course), I decided to tell him I didn't believe in God. Given his already-affirmed semi-negative views on religion, I figured that it was the safest option and, thankfully - because I was in no mood to discuss my own religious views - it was. Anyway, so we also discussed men and how apparently, with my new hair, I look like Cleopatra or Isis and how I'm a very shy person and perhaps conservative with a mix of Wild Western thrown in, and how I shouldn't go out with a Desi guy because they're all really boring (FYI - I opposed this statement of his vehemently!) etc. and then he dropped me off at the restaurant with a 'goodbye senorina'.

So I got out of the cab, and went up to my aunt who was standing outside, talking on the phone. And - dinner plans had just gotten cancelled because my uncles had JUST received a call from the USTA, telling them that the tennis matches were about to resume. Having spent a lot of money and having travelled across the continent for the matches, they sped away to Flushing Meadows, and we 3 women were left dinner date-less.

My aunt and her friend are quite the religious people and had come from JK (Isma'ili version of a mosque) just for dinner. I hadn't eaten, and they offered to take me out for dinner. But I could see that they wanted to get back to JK for the various prayers. Anyway, then my aunt had an idea - she said, why don't you just come to JK with us, there's food there (Gujarati food - yummy!) and then you can sit and pray if you want. We'll leave after the 12am prayer and you can go home.

Now, being quite lonely and hungry, and not particularly excited about going back home, watching tv, reading this article I still haven't finished, and ordering-in Thai food, I acquiesced (*collective gasp*). For those of you that know me, I'm quite the un-Ismaili. I went to Alma Mater for 5 years and never figured out where the campus JK was, let alone went to it. I've been here 5 days (not counting the days my parents were here), and about to go into JK. Helloooo!!!!

When I got into JK though, it was an amazing feeling. No No. Not the spiritual kind, but the one where you feel completely comfortable. Having been in places and situations that are completely and utterly new and different, it felt amazing being somewhere where I didn't have to constantly wonder or worry about what was going to happen or how to act or what to do. And when I had that pilaf. OhEmJee. I almost cried. It made me miss my mommy's food even more because it tasted exactly like it (except the salt content was perfect - my mother comes from a family that uses very little salt).

As far as the praying part goes, I'm more Muslim than Isma'ili (no - not the same thing), and so it wasn't too fulfilling spiritually. It was ironic though, for sure, given that I'd just denied the existence of any religiousness within myself an hour or so before stepping foot into JK and then had partaken in a ceremony that only 'the very faithful' go to.

Oh So Funny.

Right. It's now 2am, and my sleep angels are waiting for me to fall asleep. But first, the tooth fairy wants me to go brush and floss my teeth - so sleep will have to wait a little while longer.

Night ya'll and remember...to be born again, first you must die.

9/11/9 - Where It All Started

So, a couple posts ago, I mentioned the fact that I'd be in NYC on the 9th anniversary of 9/11. I wondered how I'd feel, what I'd do, and promised to write about my 9/11/NYC experience(s).

I slept through it. I honestly did. I woke up at around 11:30am, and proceeded with my various morning rituals (sans tea this morning because I slept well - *gasp* - and didn't feel like I needed it).

Recognizing the danger of sounding like a complete fool, I must say that I even forgot about 9/11, until I was flipping through the tv and came across a documentary about that particular event.

Sigh.

Back to Premchand.

Today = September 7, 2004

Today was my first day of school. Grad school. I woke up this morning having barely slept the night before and anxious about how the day would go. It felt almost exactly like that day I first went to my now-Alma Mater for Orientation, without the comfort of driving to campus with two other friends from high-school. I remember that anxiety well. Even though I didn't have to pick the colour of my t-shirt (it was purple because that was my faculty's colour), it was still nerve-wracking figuring out the other details. What pants to wear, whether to wear a sweater or not, what to bring in my backpack, whether to take a smaller bag instead, whether I'd actually talk to anyone throughout the day, whether they'd have a vegetarian option for lunch, whether I'd have fun etc etc. Intense and insane.

That first day was ok. Nothing special. My second time at Orientation (as a volunteer/MUG leader) was much better. I was more confident and enjoyed the festivities much more than I had as a freshie. Plus, not having an insanely weird group leader (who sent us some email about houses burning down and cars getting crashed) helped - although, it is highly possible that my freshies saw me in the same light. My first day of real classes was definitely better than Orientation. I felt much more in my element (even though I started off horribly - and my marks dropped about 25% that first term), and actually got to know a bunch of the people in my class.

Today, was interesting. I was completely freaked out this morning. I set my alarm for 6am, and ended up getting out of bed at 7:30am. Thankfully, I'm a 15 minute walk away from campus, so I was on time (well - early) for my 9am class. I'd planned ahead, knowing that I wouldn't be in the best state of mind this morning, and had already decided what to wear and had put it out on the chair. All I had to do this morning was to iron my top and put on my clothes. So easy. Then, I decided not to take my carry-mug of tea with me (that'll depend on whether or not tea-drinking during class is a common occurrence here - the coffee/tea mug is almost ubiquitous back in YVR) and started walking towards campus.

I got into my class about 5 minutes before it was supposed to start, and saw a bunch of students there. Now, I'm really bad at telling who's a grad student and who's not, so I figured they were grad students. Ends up they weren't - but were undergrads who had already studied the language for a couple of years. My prof walked in, and class started.

During the routine intros, my prof and I started talking - about a common professor we'd both had (at Alma Mater incidentally). It broke the ice, and after she said she'd gone through my file, it made me realize how lucky I was to have had some awesome experiences during my undergrad. Example of how awesome they were - I didn't have to take this language placement exam the others had had to, and was asked whether I wanted to work for this certain prof. Not sure how things will play out, but fingers crossed.

Haha. So afterwards, I went to this awesome bookstore and picked up a translation of the Yoga Sutras, and then got my NYPL library card. Then, I had to use the washroom. Now, over the course of 5 years, I'd figured out where the cleanest washrooms were on campus. Being new to Columbia, I had no idea where to go, and so (because I had 1.5 hours until the department orientation), I walked back home. I found it hilarious. During my undergrad, I went home to eat and sleep. Here, I can go home whenever I want/need to. Lol.

The Department orientation was also cool. The craziness of the PhD program (i.e. how difficult it is) made me want to do my PhD (I'm weird - I know), but I feel as if I need to go out into the real world. Who knows. Maybe I'll end up sticking around for another 6 years. Maybe I'll be gone by February 2011.

Right. So I'm going to finish watching this Monfils/Nadal match. Rooting for Nadal so I can see a Fed/Rafa final on Sunday. I'm going to the final! Woot!