Back in the UK

A day has passed since I returned to the UK. After a horridly delayed flight, I was almost completely drained out when I rang the calling bell. 30 hours. That is what it took me to reach my door in Reading. Arnab opened the door with the same old innocent smile. He had returned 9 days before me and seemed to have fixed himself into place. As far as I was concerned, things were still in IST. Jet lag is usual. One deep sleep is all it takes to get back.

Questions at the immigration is usually the most interesting part of an Indian's trip to the EU. I do understand why but they pose as if they don't trust anybody. As if everybody coming in about to rob them of their 10 quids in a bet. They shoot questions as if out of personal interest and actually pretend if they are asking a very genuine question. "So where is University of Reading", the guy at the immigration asked me. "At Reading", I replied. "Reading is not in London,right?",he asked again. "Could have saved on 15 pounds and one hour had it been in London", I responded. Just to let him know that I knew how much a RailAir bus ticket from London to Reading costed. "Alright, here is your passport and good luck.Cheers!", he said with a smile which said he was convinced.

As I entered my room, I gave a sigh. Not of relief completely, but a mixture of home-sickness and realization of the challenges lying ahead of me. It is my convocation on the 4th of July. Have worked really hard for one year for the scroll they hand over on that day. Big day. And if asked to summarize the experience over the past one and a half years, two words would be ample enough - "Life changing".

I dropped my bag onto my bed making sure my lap inside would turn on when I switch it on. I'm pretty sure my bag would have shouted "Thank you so much. Now for heaven sake go take a shower!!!" if it had a mouth. And I knew there wasn't much I could have responded with. ;). The Bhagavat Gita I carry along with me was the first thing I took out from my bag. There are few things that are constantly on the move with me. Mostly gifts from friends and relatives. The most recent addition to this collection is a novel. "COMA" by Robin Cook. The person who gifted me the book had written their name on the first page. Every time I miss this person, all I do is open this book and read the name. It somehow brings a smile on my face. Let me tell you...THERE IS MAGIC IN THIS WORLD!!!

A shower and a cup of coffee is all I wanted to end the day. The caffiene doesn't have much influence on my sleeping habits. It has been that ways since school days. Soon I plunged myself into the comforts of my bed. The next lap was about to commence.

Christmas eve

I had learned the act of picking up the key of my room from the three keys on my key-chain without having to look at it. As I stood outside the door I realized that it was the eve of Christmas. The corridor was empty. No surprises. It was six in the morning. And everybody at the hall had left five days ago. It was just me, myself and I in the whole of Sibly.

The sound made by the opening of the door seemed to echo through the narrow corridor. As the door shut behind me, I dropped my heavy bag on the coffee table and took a look around. Hmm...the room was not that dirty. I had cleaned up the mess and hoovered the carpet just two days ago. Few IET magazines were lying scattered on my bed however. Lyn had left them for me before he left for US. He was a Ph.d student at the university. He decided to discontinue with the program after his first year. I still don't know why he dropped out inspite of being successful and getting the best scholarship the university had on offer. It is true that money is not everything. But dousing away what was denied to many did n't seem to be a sensible decision to me. Above all Ph.D is about survival. And more than what is gained technically during the course, it is the attitude that is re-moulded. The troubled waters would have transformed ordinary crew to seasoned sailors. I felt there was no wonder in people being awarded a Doctor of "Philosophy" degree even after chasing secrets of "Science" for 3-5 years.

I picked up all the IETs lying on my bed and placed them on the chair. As I rested myself on the bed, the tiredness of the sleepless night caught my eyes. After setting the alarm to 1 p.m., I plunged myself in to the comfort of my bed. Hoping at least dreams could give me some success.

Bed seemed to be pulling me towards it with some sort of magnetic force. Even my hands seemed to stuck to the bed. I turned over pulling the bed-spread over my chest. My hand groped around for my watch which was supposed to be on the coffee-table nearby. Found it. I opened my eyes after I was sure the watch was right in front. 10 minutes to 1. Hmm...'m early. Deciding to wait till the alarm went off, I stretched my hands to draw the curtains. It does n't get very sunny in this part of the world. Can't even guess the time by looking outside the window. Things have changed since I came to the UK. It has been almost an year now. The experience has changed me. As an individual and as a person. Experiencing new culture and interacting with people from diverse socio-economic and cultural environment helped to explore unknown territories of diversiloquent and miscegenated lot. But there are things that still remain the same. Topping that list would be the basic character. I still love and hate people without reason. The list just got longer.

Laalaalallaallaallaa...the alarm went off. My alarm sounds like devil's kids singing a nursery rhyme with dracula saying "waaakeee upppp" in the background. Trust me, you won't feel like sleeping if you hear that alarm even if it is a freezing Sunday morning with snow falling heavily outside. Come on...nobody is going to wake up if the alarm is a seductive voice which says "time to get out of bed". Jabal always hated my alarm. Back during college days, he used to go to bed at 4 only to be woken up at 6 by the sound of my alarm. As soon as he finishes swearing at me and hid himself under the blanket, Ghosh's alarm would go off. The memory brought a wicked smile on my face.

I woke up and sat on my bed. After "morning" prayers, it was time start the "day". I looked at myself in the mirror. I'd definitely lost weight. My eyes looked drowsy but I was not feeling the same. The memory of the alarm had woken me up. I always believed in the power of memories. The impression they make on your brain can influence your very thoughts and ideologies abaout life. They have always given me an appraisal of mood. Same with music as well. I don't understand the complex notes of Karnatic or Hindustani music, but I know a beautiful rhythm can tranquilize the pains of the most troubled minds. A baby's smile can also serve the same purpose. It might be hard to find the analogy between the two, but as long as they remain true, things are fine on planet earth. Experience, memories and thoughts always seemed to be analogous to me. Experience become memories...thoughts evolve from experience...and the combined effect of both experience and memories give rise to more thoughts.

After all mundane activities i got ready to leave for the university. I never cared about the looks anymore. My hair deserved a hair cut more than any sheep on planet earth. Frameless glasses along with stubbly beard and shaggy hair gave me a nerdy look. To compliment that the weather always demanded me to wear my black sweater over my shirt. Black jacket and denim blue jeans with my white sports shoes compeleted my "attire". Yup...everything was set for another day's work. Bloody hell...it was Christmas eve and there I was...about to set out to celebrate Christmas in Active Robotics Laboratory, University of Reading, UK.

I grabbed my keys, bag, purse, mobile and access cards to the labs and halls. As I took a final look around I spotted my dead hp laptop right in the middle of my study table. And the story of this blog starts there. And how the "death" of my laptop reminded me of something I had forgotten completely. Never did I know that when my laptop went dead with all the work I had done for my final dissertation over the past many months, Life was trying to draw my attention to something else. And that something was life itself.

I stepped out of my room and shut the door behind me. I knew to pick the key to door without looking at my key chain...