College life = Oru Kalooriyin Kadhai?

Haven’t we all heard that famous line “movies are a reflection of real life”? Ever wondered why such an idea exists? It does because we tend to equate most of the things that happen in our lives with particular scenes or, at times, the name of a movie. This happens with more frequency while in college, where movies tend to invariably become an unforgettable part of the memories we all carry with us through life. When asked to give a movie name that came instantly to my mind while thinking about some of the common terms that are always heard in college, I got quite creative :p :D

Read and laugh out loud!

Bus to college = 12B

Classes = Satham Podadhey

Lecturer = Evano Oruvan

Canteen = Vattaram

Gang Leader= Sivaaji the Boss

Friend’s B’day treat = Vettaiyadu Vilayadu

Friend’s girlfriend = Kalvanin Kaadhali

New girl on campus = Yaaradi Nee Mohini

Ragging = Anjathe

Principal on rounds = Oram Po

Industrials visits = Honeymoon Travels (PVT) LTD

Exam = Kalyug

Week before exams = Andha 7 Naatkal

Viva = Encounter

Paper Out = Plan

Examination Hall = Chamber of Secrets

Examiner = Imsai arasan 23M Pulikesi /Polladhavan

Question Paper = Arindhum Ariyamalum

Answer Paper = Kora Kagaz

Caught copying = Naan Avan Illai/ Unnale Unnale

Last Exam = Independence Day

Paper Correction = Andha Kanoon

Marks = Ashambhav

Result = Pattiyal

Pass = Mayajaalam/ Vazhthukal

Fail = Devdas

No. of arrears = Aaru

Vacations = Pirivom Sandhipom

Qualification= Tamizh M.A.

Pseudo-nerd laughed too!!

Chennaiites don't forget their past!!!

Cities all over the world have had their roots, in some way or the other, associated with the names of their busiest roads and Chennai is no different! Try these names- First Line Beach Road, Mowbrays Road, Edward Elliott’s Road, - remember them? These are the old names of what are now Dr. Rajaji Salai, TTK Road, and Radhakrishnan Salai. The post-independence Indian governments made it their business to replace the street names from the British era with Indian names and nobody is complaining!

However, it can’t be denied either that there are certain names that have proves quite difficult in getting replaced- they simply refuse to go away, even though the change has officially occurred. The most renowned example would be that of Mount Road which technically is Anna Salai now. Even though the name in name took place decades ago, many Chennaiites still swear by the original name, ‘Mount Road’. My mom, who has lived in this city for the better half of her life told me one day that she thought she’ll never get over calling Mount road Mount road, because that was how it was introduced to her and first impressions are hard to get over!!!

Lattice Bridge Road in Adyar (LB Road) is now Kalki Krishnamoorthy Road,while the famous Chamiers Road is Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar Salai- both failures as far as name change is concerned. But topping this list would be Nungambakkam High Road which was rechristened to Uthamar Gandhi Salai, a name that never made any impact at all. Bharthi, my closest friend from school, had this to say when I casually asked about Nungambakkam High Road’s ‘official’ name: “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call Nungambakkam High Road with its official name! If I asked an auto driver to take me to that road, he would probably get confused and ask me which area I wanted to go to!”

If you thought the city’s residents were touchy about forgetting the old names of their roads then think once more! When the Tamilnadu government decided to abolish caste names from all road names, some famous ones like,Vellayan (Chettiar) Road, Beemanna (Mudali) Garden, ,Dr.Renga(chari?) Road and many more, became curiously mutilated. Of course, there were exceptions to this too, in the name of a road in T.Nagar called Dr.Nair Road- making that ‘Dr. Road’ would have been very confusing and comical to me (don't ask y...I find not comical stuff comical most o the time!! :D). Also, this abolition of caste names was not implemented in North Chennai where you can still find roads being called Linghi Chetty Street, ‘Thambu Chetty Street, Errabulu Chetty Street and so on.

And so, Chennai is the city of a splendid mix between the old and the new, for its people definitely don’t forget their ‘past’ easily! I rest my case! :)

Pseudo-nerd loves her city!!! :))

What Will I Be...?

"When I was just a little girl...
I asked my mother what will I be...
Will I be pretty...will I be rich...?
Here's what my mother said:
Que Sera Sera...whatever will be will be...
The future's not ours to see
Que Sera Sera...what will be will be..."

"Final year vandhutiya ma..? Enna panna pora idhuku apparam?" (You have come into your final year [of college :p] ? What do you plan to do after this?) This is almost like the only line of conversation people around me seem to be interested in nowadays...So what do I plan to do?? This is something upon which I ve spent enough time (thinking) over the past few months...there are 2 obvious options open to me at this point: A, I decide to go ahead with my higher education; B, I work for a year in the print medium before I pursue my Masters. It's only after a lot of deliberation that I decided upon the second option: Work.

My decision to work comes from 3 major points:
i) Print medium is where I can lay a strong foundation for my career as a political journalist and I don't want to miss out on it
ii) it will be better to have experience on my CV when I finally go for my job interview in the electronic media
iii) since my UG education in Journalism has more or less been associated with the print medium, I don't want to take the risk of doing a Masters course in Broadcast Journalism/ Masscom and then going for a job with the print medium...I might probably have lost touch with the field by that time.

Decision made, I waited for the Placements Cell in my college to start talking to those students who maybe interested in working after their third year...an abysmal 14 in a class of 49 showed interest...of which how many are truly interested is yet to be seen...this small number made me falter for a minute with my decision to work..."How can so many people think working is not a good option?", my head began to wonder....but, all said and done, I think I would like to look back at my life and feel happy that wherever I am today it is because I made a conscious choice...in this regard I completely agree with what the character Geet in the movie Jab We Met said!! I am now back to that old and tested plan for my future according to which I will work before stepping into an entirely new and vast field, the Electronic media.

Besides these serious reasons behind me wanting to work lies this other reason....financial independence...what could it possibly mean....? It is not like I come from a family that has to strive hard to make ends meet...it's the idea that I can now posses that freedom of choice to do and get whatever I want, without having to think twice. I'm not talking about frivolous spending here, though that too is definitely included!!! :D I'm talking about the freedom to save or spend the money I know I ve worked my ass off for!!! I can now join that gym I ve been wanting to join for ages....or I can go to Bounce and get a "new look"...or get the best of clothes and accessories...after all gurls will be gurls!! But there' s a flipside to this freedom where I can save up all the money I earn and fund at least a part of my higher studies...or get an education loan upon my bank credit...which'll come only when I save up...
With such thoughts I registered,yesterday, with the Placements Cell in the college...hoping for a better future to come in its wake... Pseudo-nerd really did wonder!!!