A Letter

Tomorrow she starts college. My little girl has grown up so fast, I can't believe it. Was it 17 years ago that my parents told me, I was going to have a tiny playmate soon? When I first saw her, she looked like a porcelain doll. So white and fair in my sunburned, coffee colored hands. And so very tiny, I was scared she'll just float away.

It feels like yesterday when she started kindergarten. She agreed to get into the van, because I was on it too. When we stopped at her school, she insisted I accompany her to the class. One day she got hurt and was sitting in the class after school. The teacher asked me to come and get her. All big - sisterly I strode in and picked up her bag and water bottle. "Big girls don't cry", I said and my angel stopped immediately.

I remember all this now, some fifteen years later. She's all grown up and is done with school. No more uniforms and cycle tests. Our baby of the house is suddenly a big girl! And I feel, I should have so much to say.

My mum asked me today, "Do you remember your first day in college?". Yup, I do. The 8th of August 2001. I walked in and said Hi to D, and sat next to M. The three of inseparable for the next 4 years. The best friends I've made in life, I made in the first 10 minutes of college.

Enjoy these years! They're the best. Be sure to make mistakes. College is like an alternative universe where even the funniest gaffes are forgotten in a week. Get outside the classroom and learn a bit about the real world. The best things I did in college were outside the classroom - I think most people would agree with me on this one.

Burn up a Transistor. I think no one gets their engineering degree without burning up atleast a few transistors over the years. If you ever want to learn anything in college - let it be in the lab. For most of us, it's the last time in life that we ever need/have to bias a circuit. Make it count.

Experiment. And not just in the lab. Try on different personalities until you find one that fits. College is an amazing time to "find" yourself. It's the last time that the world gives you that luxury. Try something new every few weeks. Do things that you're not comfortable with. The best actors, guitarists, playwrights and dancers were born out of an uncomfortable moment when will triumphed over nervousness.

Meet people. In school, everybody you knew had daddys who worked in software or were CAs, and everyone's mum drove a Santro or a Scooty. College has a more diverse set of folks. Get out and meet people. You'll never know who you'll end up bonding with over a shared love for Metallica or Calvin and Hobbes.

I know you hardly need any of this advice. Over the years, you've been the one who usually advises me. Calm and level headed to my tempests and drama. I'm proud of you baby, be good and remember to have a blast!

Dance Like a Man

"In a city like Chennai, every family has a dancer, or atleast knows one" - from the introduction to the script of Dance Like a Man

I think to be a child in Chennai, one must go through mandatory training in Bharatnatyam (if you are a girl), violin, mridangam (if you are a boy) and carnatic vocal music...

Even though I went through all the above phases, I never really learnt to dance. I performed once on stage, and then our one dance master moved away from Muscat - and That was That. This month, after about twelve years, I again wore ghungroos and practiced dance. What Fun!

Living by Lists

The past few weeks have, as usual, been crazy busy. First there were midterms. Even though I had only two, still had to study. And then there were not one, but two trips home - which are awesome fun but exhausting nonetheless.

T-nite soon followed. Apparently my juniors are pretty good at setting a stage on fire. Now I don't mean that literally of course. After my class's experience with diyas last year, all forms of fire are banned on stage. But between them, the Fachchas have a Michael Jackson, a Beyonce Knowles, a few drummers, and another Jackson called Janet. [She of the famous wadrobe malfunctions ;-)]

This Sunday, we put up our first play of the year - Dance Like a Man (written by Mahesh Dattani). If you're in Ahmedabad this weekend, do drop by!

And now, back to submissions and work. As I said, crazy busy. My desk is a veritable jungle of purple and yellow post-its with reminders of various kinds. Some are quite incomprehensible. It took me a good fifteen minutes to understand one particularly cryptic note scribbled to myself at 3.28 am.

"Pyal Play!!" - was apparently supposed to remind me to tell someone that we need ghungroos for the drama practice!

As an aside, don't believe everything you read in the papers. I can, for example, speak passable Hindi