Window Seat Scribbles

Scanning the papers over the last 48 hours or so, I have seen the same pictures of proud parents and beaming candidates over and over again beneath headlines screaming "22 year old tops UPSC exam". And since we are in the age of overinformation and social media, I am also told who stood 2nd, 3rd...with page long interviews for us to peruse so that we come to know how they worked hard to achieve this feat. Similar stories feature on front pages of newspapers every year when the CBSE/ISCE/ISC Class 10 and Class 12 boards results come out (although these days, the topper does get royally trolled online as well). The IIT or PMT exams are no different and the toppers are usually found giving tips and interviews so that others benefit from their experience and methods. I respect these students. Not because they cracked super difficult examinations, but for their sheer perseverance and hard work. Being a doctor myself, I know how hard I worked to get in here and yet, I was among...

In a country where your name (more importantly, your surname) is more or less a reflection of your identity- from where you belong down to your caste and religion- imagine having a name that doesn't pin you down to a certain state or territory or region, even. Given that situation, I have now come to simply laugh off the surprised reactions I get when people realise I am Assamese. I have had colleagues who simply assumed I was Bengali for years,friends of friends enquiring which part of Delhi or Punjab I am from and even random aunties at weddings judging me for gorging on chicken because apparently, I am a Marwari! I usually laugh the whole thing off, sometimes even playing a guessing game with the people who seem hellbent on decoding where I actually am from. But somewhere at the back of my mind, over the years, a nagging question has kept building up in my mind--a question I have tried to answer very many times, although not very satisfactorily--- What does being an Assamese...

No. I am not Salman Khan. And this is not about a footpath and the " driverless" car that ran over it. It is, though, about being simply human, despite the world expecting you to be otherwise. A white coat and a stethoscope does not make me a Saint, and definitely not Satan. I remain, at my core, a person, trying to figure out life just like a million others out there. Does my job get to me? On some days, yes it does. When I haven't been home for the better part of the year, when I see people of my age discover new experiences, when my friends and family get married or have kids and I can't make it and all I do is spend hours among the sick and miserable, its hard not to get demotivated. Infact, its impossible not to. But I am not even allowed to voice this, since I am told I apparently signed up "to serve humanity." While that particular claim still remains debatable, let me tell you what I DID sign up for. I signed up for the adrenaline rush I get whe...

For about a week or so now, there has been a huge outrage in the Assamese community concerning a particular "news item" shown on a regional channel which passed moral judgement on women based on what they were wearing. The said piece went from being riduculously stupid to simply bizarre ....comparing girls dressed in short skirts and shorts to monkeys! As expected, the channel had to withdraw the video and issue an apology. The outrage still continues though. My facebook newsfeed is full of satirical memes featuring the so called journalist and I have seen flyers of lectures and discussions being planned in colleges to protest the moral policing. As a person who swore off watching Assamese news channels years back for its regressive content, this kind of "reporting" didn't really come as a surprise to me. In fact, it was a similar segment I saw in another one of these channels a couple of years back which actually made me skip watching these channels in the f...

Vanity has a new name...and a new face...and all it takes is a click on the front camera of your phone to be deemed "cool". One of the biggest internet fads of recent times, the "Selfie" has amassed quite a number of followers for itself. Who would have thought that clumsily taken self-clicked pictures of yourself from your phone could tell the world how tuned in you were to the latest trends? Lets face it...its really not so simple to take a decent selfie! To start with, its confusing where to look...you may be staring at the screen of your phone and smiling stupidly at it, and your selfie may just turn out to be a cock-eyed version of yourself. Group selfies are even tougher, getting all of them in one frame requires creativity for sure, as on most occassions, you would be left with a ear or half a face in the picture. Full kudos to Ellen DeGeneres for being able to accomodate all those hollywood biggies in one frame, but I'm guessing not many of us look all ...

The word Vacation has such a lovely ring to it, don't you agree? It brings with it visions of cavorting on sunny beaches and relaxing in seafacing resorts...or for the adventurous amongst us, it urges them to pick up their backpacks for yet another trekking trip. Hill stations with their waterfalls and mountain cafés beckon us in summers, and sandy beaches or the houseboats in backwaters lure us in winters. Either way, its always fun to go on a vacation, and the way I see it, planning the trip is no less fun than going on the promised holiday itself. My family loves taking holidays. I have fond memories of looking forward to summer or winter vacations at school as they simply translated to family holidays for me. It is small wonder then, that the idea of taking a holiday even now fills me with childlike excitement! Much has changed about planning a holiday back then and now. My father loved planning our trips back then, but now, the reins of planning have been passed on to me. Of...

There is something about observing random strangers that I really enjoy...I can't exactly put my finger on what it is, but I could spend an entire day at an Airport lounge just looking at people. A certain consuming interest in these people in transit grips me, as I draw my imaginary conclusions and build a fictional story around them. The nervous middle aged woman travelling alone, the confident teenager with neon coloured headphones plugged in her ear, the toddler glued to his fathers cellphone games, the young man speaking in a low tone on his phone, the elderly couple clutching at their bags...all of these and many many more have served as protagonists in my make believe world. But sometimes, a few of these faces just tend to stay with you. I find it difficult to shake off the memory of few faces, and I can't help but wonder about the real stories these people's lives hold. One such face was that of an elderly man who lived across the street from me in Delhi. It would...