They say it’s never 2 late. May be...
The thought of writing a blog crossed my mind few times too many during the past 6 years. But there were two things stopping me. One, I believe once started a blog needs to be maintained. Second I was waiting for that one good start, one good occasion, one moving moment. Yes, that one moving moment.
I had some during my Undergrad years but never one to encourage me to pen it down (or may be I was too lazy to do it). There was one which encouraged and I did start to write (Blog) as well but then something so happened that I stopped(Hopefully I’ll get to it sometime later). I remember the time when I got call from Carnegie Mellon University that I thought this is the overwhelming moment for me to start again because this was something I had pursued since long and I had so many thoughts of the journey(GRE Prep to Final US prep) but may be it was still not to be. The days later I did write a lot like some reviews of meets (with Delhittes going with me to CMU) we had, the feelings I was having while leaving India, friends, family, specific people. It was as if everything needed to be wrapped up and as if I won’t ever come back. But none of those write-ups got converted to a blog. I know people who came with me here and cried one day before leaving (names withheld). It’s sometimes too difficult to pen down your feelings even though you are pretty aware of what they are. I always felt I would cry the day I leave but somehow I withheld myself. Then when I landed here there were times I felt so alone even with friends all around, there were times when I was laughing but that unknown feeling still lurking behind somewhere .I won’t ever be able to pen down that feeling.EVER. I did write some words during those times but then I shied away from putting them online on a blog for everyone to read . That time I had so much to write that now that I think back I should have captured the essence of those moments because I am not sure I will be able to capture those feelings again. Those sad feelings and not knowing why am I sad. Those happy feelings and not knowing why am I happy. Those feelings of touching the U.S. soil for the first time. Those times of adjusting to the new air. I find it hard to get it back. It’s been like …..what …just 8 months. But yeah I don’t recall.(May be I will now that this has started)
The opening days of settling from one country to another can be really moving for some.(As I said I know strongest of people cry, though I should say I am not trying to make something out of this just trying to portray the feelings). Times went ahead. College started. Rigorous routines and you kinda get involved and forget all those feelings for a while and they come back once in a while and luckily for me I had friends around to work them away. Then something happened which not directly but indirectly nudged me finally to pen it down to finally blog it down. I will come to that later. During September I started reading one of my favorite novel “The Inscrutable Americans” (again). The protagonist Gopal also coming here to do his Chemical Engineering has nothing do with me liking the novel(:P). It is actually one of the good novels I have read over a period of time. It is about the experiences of a "Bumpkin" Indian student in America. Humorous in intention, it concentrates on the mishaps and misadventures and many true observations which are humorously told.Sad Anurag Mathur couldn’t follow the feat. Not everyone can be a Sidney Sheldon, Paul Coehlo or Chetan Bhagat or for that matter Jhumpa Lahiri. Yeah Jhumpa Lahiri -ever heard that name. She is a writer of a book called “The Namesake”. (Yes this is the reason of this blog…as I said more on that later). Born and brought up in England (actually Rhode Island). Her debut collection, Interpreter of Maladies (again one of my favorites), won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It was translated into twenty-nine languages and became a bestseller both in the United States and abroad. The Namesake was Jhumpa Lahiri's first novel. She lives in New York with her husband and son. The novel can have on you a very moving effect. It stirs you by the root. The day I finished it I wanted to write the blog then and there and may be would have been the best time to but somehow it was not to be. The classes, the 2-3 hr avg. sleep, the presentations, the assignments left little time for anything else leave aside writing a blog and there again those feelings got rumbled somewhere in the grind we call “Graduate Life @ Carnegie”. Ha ha ha ….So the wait again began for a date with my blog, a moment that will mark the beginning of the journey of my blog to the acme of fame and recognition..:P
But as they say it’s never 2 late and what has to happen has to happen(someone said on hearing this….So clichéd Sarthak!!..:P). One person read the blog before everyone. Oops !!
Anyways, the motivation was now there. I knew I won’t break my first condition and keep it updated. But yeah I was looking for that one moment which was again gone. But it came again. It came with “The Namesake” only. No I didn’t read the Novel again. This time I saw the movie and there it came all rolling back. The landing from the plane, touching the US soil for first time, the feeling of loneliness even when I m around people, the innumerous adjustments. Yes I missed India yes I missed Delhi yes I missed something I didn’t knew but I knew I was missing something…. someone.
More on Namesake in my next post. Its 3:06 AM and I better sleep as there is damn 7:30 Meeting with Prof.Gellman and Prof. David Sholl.(oh yeah both of them will be a part of this blog soon).
P.S:: Why do I have a feeling of not posting this now ??.Does every blogger has it before his first post ??
Ahhh...WTH...Now its done.Lemme just press the Red button "PUBLISH".Yes its out now.
