Recurring theme -- IB's new home.
What happens when you pluck a sheltered, spoilt (as most children are) Iyer boy from the confines of his Madras home and thrust him into the wear and tear of the real world? Smokebombs go off in the distance, and the boy, so used to everything on a platter, now has to fend for himself. I decided to sit back and watch it like a movie, along with some caramel popcorn, sometimes play a bit part in it, and enjoy the show.
Henceforth, Iyer Boy will be known simply by his initials IB. I am planning posts on IB's journey and one-year adventure in a foreign land and the experiences he collects, and the wisdom he accrues. I think it should enable IB to grow up and stand on his feet, become street-smart and become slightly less gullible (a very important trait in the real world, when everyone is out to get you). IB is soft-spoken and very polite. He doesn't understand why I need to yell at a car-driver on the mean roads of Delhi, or why I remonstrate the postman who delivered the mail later than usual. Or the courier boy who did not deliver the package because he was too lazy or tired to climb up the flights of stairs (my flat is on the third floor). IB would rather let everything pass by with a smile and a shrug. I am the polar opposite. If work isn't done on time, I will fret and fume. Official apathy totally raises my hackles. Once I screamed at length at a cop who cut a line at the Reliance Web World counter, causing an inconvenience to eight other people who had patiently lined up. Apparently his uniform gave him a reason to neglect all rules and do as he like. But I had none of it and asked him to get back into the line. IB simply could not understand why I would get worked up about something as trivial as this. Well, I told him, this was not trivial to me. I think he still hasn't grasped why I did what I did. He is just too laidback for it.
But I think IB will learn quite a few things during his stay in England. This may involve the loss of some articles and belongings (hopefully, those will be minor things and not something as important as his passport, something I am incredibly worried about), along with being pulled up for a host of other things. But I hope IB will learn the basic things in life -- how to cook scrambled eggs and survive on bread and non-existent vegetarian things, how to do laundry and wash his shirts, how to look after himself when he has a bad cold or fever and when there is no one around. I hope IB will learn to differentiate between true friends and those who are just there to make up the numbers in the crowd. And IB needs to stop being careless and absent-minded. He needs to remember his room key at all time and where he has placed it (without it, things could get extremely tough). He needs to remember things to do and appointments, schedules, exam dates, paper submissions, etc (I have already been reminded of my eternal duties as an alarm-clock, and promised presents in return. Sigh). Lastly, IB needs to enjoy his one-year stay and soak up everything he can -- the culture, how they work and study there, meet new people, develop new contacts and create some lasting bonds.
IB, I hope you are reading. This is the first post in a long line of many dedicated to you.
Henceforth, Iyer Boy will be known simply by his initials IB. I am planning posts on IB's journey and one-year adventure in a foreign land and the experiences he collects, and the wisdom he accrues. I think it should enable IB to grow up and stand on his feet, become street-smart and become slightly less gullible (a very important trait in the real world, when everyone is out to get you). IB is soft-spoken and very polite. He doesn't understand why I need to yell at a car-driver on the mean roads of Delhi, or why I remonstrate the postman who delivered the mail later than usual. Or the courier boy who did not deliver the package because he was too lazy or tired to climb up the flights of stairs (my flat is on the third floor). IB would rather let everything pass by with a smile and a shrug. I am the polar opposite. If work isn't done on time, I will fret and fume. Official apathy totally raises my hackles. Once I screamed at length at a cop who cut a line at the Reliance Web World counter, causing an inconvenience to eight other people who had patiently lined up. Apparently his uniform gave him a reason to neglect all rules and do as he like. But I had none of it and asked him to get back into the line. IB simply could not understand why I would get worked up about something as trivial as this. Well, I told him, this was not trivial to me. I think he still hasn't grasped why I did what I did. He is just too laidback for it.
But I think IB will learn quite a few things during his stay in England. This may involve the loss of some articles and belongings (hopefully, those will be minor things and not something as important as his passport, something I am incredibly worried about), along with being pulled up for a host of other things. But I hope IB will learn the basic things in life -- how to cook scrambled eggs and survive on bread and non-existent vegetarian things, how to do laundry and wash his shirts, how to look after himself when he has a bad cold or fever and when there is no one around. I hope IB will learn to differentiate between true friends and those who are just there to make up the numbers in the crowd. And IB needs to stop being careless and absent-minded. He needs to remember his room key at all time and where he has placed it (without it, things could get extremely tough). He needs to remember things to do and appointments, schedules, exam dates, paper submissions, etc (I have already been reminded of my eternal duties as an alarm-clock, and promised presents in return. Sigh). Lastly, IB needs to enjoy his one-year stay and soak up everything he can -- the culture, how they work and study there, meet new people, develop new contacts and create some lasting bonds.
IB, I hope you are reading. This is the first post in a long line of many dedicated to you.
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