Yay! The weekly online literary journal Poor Mojo’s Almanac(k) has featured my poem as this week’s poetry piece ! You can check it out here
Poem up on Poor Mojo’s Almanac(k)
Posted in Poetry, Writing with tags online literary journal, Poetry, poor mojo's almanac(k) on July 2, 2009 by GeetanjaliOther writing
Posted in Site News, Writing with tags articles, Misc, print, Writing on June 30, 2009 by GeetanjaliIf this were Facebook..
Posted in Books, Education, Family, Life, Loves, friends with tags book, Facebook, friends, hiatus, high school, megan mccafferty, slopy firsts, vacation on June 10, 2009 by Geetanjali..this would say :
Geetanjali Chitnis is back from her blogging hiatus.
Let me say that a) the hiatus was totally unplanned for and b) I have no idea why I’m blabbing about the hiatus but then c) I’ve always wanted to make one of these hello-I-am-back-from-my-hiatus-did-you-miss-me-oh-say-you-did-please kind of posts.
ANYWAY. Lately, I’ve been feeling kind of..old. It might have something to do with the fact that I was a “working” woman for a month, since I interned at one of the city’s newspapers. I wrote for the tabloid, got about 16 by lines, and I’m happy. Like someone put it, it was soul training in a sense. The point is, I’m suddenly realizing heck, I’m not going to be able to say I’m somethingteen for much longer (never mind the fact that my birthday is in March). The tween-teen-twen jump is not looking good.
I went off on a four day vacation with my friends from school, where I got to act totally ditzy and blonde and serious all at the same time, and well, I don’t seem to be like that in real life any more. The time away from parents, boyfriend (there was no mobile network coverage), and life in general was great and I meant it when I messaged my dad to say I really didn’t want to come home! But as I sat there listening to all the girly conversations, it hit me (and the rest, I think) that in a year, none of us had really changed all that much. Apart from a one major break up, all of us were still US. And I don’t know whether thats a good thing or bad.
I devoured Megan McCafferty’s Sloppy Firsts – it made me miss high school. Boys, bitchy friends and bathroom drama.
The Textbook
Posted in Education, Life, People with tags elections, political science, questions, textbook, voting on April 23, 2009 by GeetanjaliAbout a week ago, I was looking for a book in my (rather dusty) cupboard when I found myself staring at a thick blue book. Pulling it out, I realised it was a Political Science text book I had bought in the 11th grade.
I didn’t need to flip through it to remember what I learnt. Political Science was quite simply one of my favourite subjects in school, one that I looked forward to quite eagerly. Initially, it was a bit draggish with learning about Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau (the “project” which divided the class into three groups – we still look at each other and say “hey, where you Hobbes or Rousseau?”), but then once I reached 12th grade, it was the subject that got me thinking about an issue throughout the day.
When I was younger, I sincerely believed all politicians studied Political Science before they became politicians. I imagined them all going to Politician College, their uniform being white kurta-dhoti, carrying thick politician text books. I believed they studied how to run the my country.
Today, I know better. I know that there is no Politician College. There are no thick politician books, and there definitely is no studying going on. Yet, today I went out and voted. Why?
Well there’s the usual argument – if you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to complain about the government. Also, what if I didn’t live in a democratic country? What if I lived somewhere where I had no *option* to vote for someone?
It’s a sad thought when I think about the number of eligible voters who have left the country to study/live somewhere else. Some of these people will never have the opportunity to vote in India, some might. But the point is, when I’m here, why shouldn’t I vote? Sure, getting hold of my Voters ID card was an exercise on its own, and it’s filled with mistakes (something I hope to get rectified before the next election) but after that, all I needed to do was walk over to the next street, show my ID, get my finger dabbed with ink and press a blue button.
Back to the Political Science book. I remember thinking this book was a god send during the boards, as it pretty much listed out everything I need from the exam point of view. But now I realise, those exam questions aren’t just exam questions do deal with once and forget about later. They reappear again and again, as questions voiced all over the country – What is democracy, why is it important? What are the basic duties of a political representative? What is a party manifesto, why is it necessary? What is secularism? What are vote bank politics?
I answered these questions on paper, and I learnt about fair and unfair election practices in a classroom, but I still see unfair practices around. I still see people asking for schools, electricity, employment oppurtunites, good roads and a decent sanitation system – things that I, and the rest of the world, deem as important to a citizen. So since I have one vote, and the opportunity to cast it independently, I vote in favour of these things.
The Betches and I
Posted in Life, Loves, People, friends with tags catching up, classmates, girls, lunch, the book on April 13, 2009 by GeetanjaliA relaxed afternoon, six girls in an almost empty restaurant, and literal pages of memories. Catching up has never been more fun. Did I ever imagine I would be where I am today, a year ago? It’s been a year since I finished school, a year since those dreaded board exams, and a year of college.
Woah.
The Missed Train
Posted in Poetry, Writing with tags missed, Poetry, train on April 9, 2009 by Geetanjalithere is this version for him and
another, and the other will
be this version, for her
the insurgence of now
no matter, the fire where it
burned, the embers remain
of a long pause and now
breathe.
wisdom, I laugh
no pain, no gain
and I lie here when I say
there is a another train to catch
I will never reach
the same place
I will never know the place again
when it is bathed in us
Drainage
Posted in Poetry, Writing with tags drains, heartbreak, poem on April 2, 2009 by GeetanjaliWere there promises of love?
Of children, and houses
“Just come with me”
Did he say it, or plead?
Shall I believe them, she asks
what can I say, but look
a watery smile :
“He’s the One”
And then she’s gone,
Swept away, sunshine
and then
torrents
here they come,
wailing and sobbing
“All wrong, all wrong!”
Those dreams, they gurgle down
the dirty drains where soggy
tossed out fantasies go
washed down by downpours
of Heartbreak and Sadness
(always in season)
Flying, in a sense
Posted in Life, People, Random, Uncategorized with tags airports, arrival, bial, creepy on March 27, 2009 by GeetanjaliI love airports. It might have to do with the fact that I love flying, but I really do love airports.
I love sitting outside the ‘Arrival’ area, watching people. I know it’s creepy, in fact a lot of people could be wondering ‘Ok who is this creepy girl and why is she watching me’, but I really can’t help myself. I smile when I watch the two little hyper boys run towards their grinning grandparents, each little boy attempting to push the heavy baggage carts. I tear up (just a little) as I watch aging parents embrace the son they probably haven’t seen for while as he walks out, probably just off a flight from the US. I scoff at the all white netas, the ones nobody knows, as they walk out with folded hands looking for the garlands that wont greet them, hoping that somebody will notice the useless posse of harried looking PA’s around them, and maybe give them some importance.
But of all the things the scene that I love most to watch are the ones which involve the shy married/engaged couple, probably a husband returning from a business trip, as he catches sight of his wife, the self-conscious smiles, the words of greeting, and then surprising both of them, the arm slung across her shoulders pulling her into his embrace, as they make their way home.
C : Commentary
Posted in Cricket with tags Annoying Commentators, Commentary, IPL on April 26, 2009 by GeetanjaliThe art of telling the viewers what they can already see, but doing it loudly, and with disorienting persistence, whilst mentioning as many sponsors as scientifically possible using a human voice-box. Aimed to assault rather than inform, to overwhelm rather than illuminate. In the old days of televised Test cricket, an entire 20 overs could pass without any commentator saying anything (in fact, during some lulls in play, the only discernible sign that the BBC commentary box was still populated was the gentle snoring of Tom Graveney). In the IPL, two seconds of dead air will result in multiple sackings.
(From Andy’s A to Z at Cricinfo)
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