I remember that sunny afternoon. He was in the 9th grade, reading his Science-II State board textbook. For the younger ones who are reading this post, we didnt have Physics, Chemistry and Biology separate those days. 'Those days', this sure sounds old!
So, on this sunny morning, there was this intelligent guy (with a thirst for knowledge) going through the periodic table... He was good. And he knew it. As he was going through the periodic table, something caught his eye.
Tungsten was represented with the letter 'W'. W? not T, not Tg, but W. Why? He got to the root of it...
Today, the same uber cool guy, today in an unknown land, on a very sleepy afternoon, was asked the same question
German Sir: I dont know the name of that metal... its called Wolfram in German...
Out of deep slumber woke our hero, our uber cool guy (UCG)...
UCG: Its Tungsten...
Sir: Tung.. what?
UCG: Tungsten...
Sir: How... what.. How do you know that? (true exclamation)
UCG: I dont know... I am just plain awesome...
Girls admired him with loving affection... Guys wanted to be like him...Yes, that plain awesome guy, that uber cool guy... is me... (obviously)
So now that I have established my utter supremacy over you mere mortals, let me continue with all the mundane stuff...
So, Its pretty awesome here in Berlin... The city is super systematic... Its kinda cold here, I expected better weather this time of the year... Everything is mostly on time. Even the buses have a time table to follow.
There are no traffic jams here. And potholes on the road are a matter of National crisis for the Germans.
Germany is great, no two ways about it... The roads, the cars, trains, buses (all in all the transport system) are awesome. Everything here is so damn systematic... I think thats all we Indians lack are systems. Ever since I have come here, I have never felt that something that can be done here, cant be done back home. Our people are good.. all we need are good systems to be put in place...
I have started liking Berlin's weather, which is quite different from the one at home. I have started making friends. Not just in class but also outside. Like the Falafel guy... (falafel is like a veg sandwich). This guy speaks only German, and I speak Chinese according to my Orkut profile.
But this guy is really nice, hes teaching me what to call vegetables in German. And the quick learner that I am, I am quite a joy to have as a student. But seriously, I am his most loyal customer, I eat 2 of my 3 meals in there. Sasta hai yaar...
Everything is so damn costly. Water is sometimes costlier than beer. (Believe it, its not a fable.) You dont get carry bags for free. Train and Bus tickets cost a bomb compared to Indian standards... So what if the doors of the train open and close automatically and the bus BENDS towards the footpath so that you can get down easily.. Yes.. it bends!!! like Sachin bends into his on-drive...
And yes, for all you German car fans at home, there are more BMWs here than we have marutis.. Buying a Chevy Matiz (Spark) must be a sign that you are really poor...
Till last week I was converting everything into rupees, so it sucked big time when you had to pay 80 rupees for a bottle of water.. Talking bout water, there is no system of water purifiers here. All water that comes through any tap is pure... My doctor mom is gonna be angry big time if she gets to know that I am drinking what is fondly called as "unfiltered" water in India.
I like my classmates. They come from like 20 nationalities. Most of them are pretty curious about India. There is this one guy who sings sanskrit mantras and stuff... Freaks me out I tell you.. sometimes I feel he knows more about my country than I do...
Then there guys who come to me and ask...
Curious foreign guy: Hey Aaarrrshat, how do you say 'Fuck' in Indian...
Uber cool Indian guy (me) : There is no language called - Indian...
The nice guy that I am, I almost always enlighten them... its fun I tell ya..
The best part is our calculation abilities... We solve calculations before you can say - Ich liebe Berlin...
There was this question, very simple question, and the professor was like, Have you brought your calculators, and I solved it in like 3 seconds... Between surprised chuckles and awe and respect, yours truly was surrounded...
Okay, now that I have made myself sound good (which is the whole point of this post and in greater sense, this blog) let me talk some (more) meaningful talks..
Germany and cool and everything, but the thought of staying here somehow doesnt come into my mind. Sometimes I dream about India, mostly about Mumbai, the warm humid weather, my friends and family, sometimes even Gurgaon and the college. I feel like I have left some part of me behind. Somehow, 100% Arshat isnt here.
They say - Home is where the Heart is...
They god damn right...
I wanna stay in Mumbai for most of my life... I have decided that... Cant stay anywhere but there. There is something bout the city I will never understand. You see it in the movies, you read about it, but you dont really know what is about that place that doesnt let you leave ever.
Or maybe everyone feels like that about their homeland. Maybe all of them leave behind a certain part of themselves which is so important that you always wanna come back to it... Ich liebe Berlin... But home is where the heart is...
Chalo, bahut senti maar liya... happens when you miss home...
Miss all you people back home (you know who you are)...
Will come back soon.. Till then..
Auf Weidersehen...
Editor in chief Arshat Chaudhary
Current Issues: berlin, escp, germany, mdi gurgaon, mumbai
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Urvashi said...
So true...home is where the heart is... But enjoy ur stay there fully... again a wonderful post by you... :)
TC :)
Harish said...
Hmm..Really those engineering brains can't get a simple calculation done??
And hows the taste of beer coming along now? Jyaada sento lage toh have lots of European beer and wine..u will never need another company :D
Anonymous said...
yeah mate, i share the same sentiments as yours.. Mumbai & nt Bo**** is freakin awesum...
Chaitanya Athalye
Aditya Kasavaraju said...
Wonderful post! Good that you are having fun there! :)
Paroma Bhattacharya said...
really, a nice post...especially the calculation part...lol funny how our educatuion system with all its faults still helps us in some ways!
Anonymous said...
Correctly your article helped me terribly much in my college assignment. Hats afar to you dispatch, will look forward in the direction of more interdependent articles without delay as its sole of my pet subject-matter to read.
Anonymous said...
I've been to Germany.. but you bet, nothing like Aamchi Mumbai! :)
mAnIaC! said...
The imperfect environment, here back home, makes it perfectly lieveable!
Was surprised to know, that the shops at this city I visited close down by 6pm!!! And @9pm evryone is in their beds! Isn't it the precise time, when Mumbai starts waking up, eh?