aloque

Ever try to tell a well known story in a language you aren't totally familiar with? I've lived here in Hyderabad all my childhood and know enough Hindi/Urdu mixture to get by without any hassles but when I have to tell Snow White and the seven dwarves, i knew I was going to have to stretch my limitations. 

It was quite an out of body experience for me. You can see how jadooi aainas, zeher bhare sebs, and chhote safed dhaadi waale aadmiaren't a part of my everday conversations with the Hyderabadi autowallahs (had a book with pictures, so the five year old wasn't utterly confused but even he knew I could have done a better job).  I kept wondering how to say evil witch or ways to effectively translate 'mirror, mirror, on the wall'. In the end buree rani and jadooi ainaa had to do (brothers Grimm turning over and over in their graves). And just before I had to end, 'raja ne snow white ko puppy diya aur uske gale mein atka hua seb nikal gaya aur woh uth gayee' had me laughing even before I finished the sentence.

However, seeing him smile after two days of total listlessness make my pathetic story- telling skills worth improving. Any suggestions for easier stories to translate?

I know i shouldn't sell people short. I should never judge a book by its cover or a guy by his purple shirt and yellow pants. No, wait a minute, that dude needs help. But, you see where i am going.

I had that blasted night duty again and went there fearing the worst but ended up having a great conversation with a guy double my age. Life never ceases to amaze. This man was the doctor in charge and he had a life of misfortune. No one can even begin to guess what he'd been through when they look at the funny smirk he wears on his face all the time.

We talked about magic, card tricks, paranormal phenomena, yoga, mind control, tantric sex, god, fate, luck and a few other issues. The man lost about 3 years of his practice recovering from a fractured hip, fractured leg, fractured arm and a fractured skull that happened on SEPARATE occassions in the space of a few years. He was told he'd never walk again twice. One fine day, he spontaneously lost his eyesight to a rare disease that we haven't much information about, nor have any idea of how to treat. His eyes were injected with drugs for 6 months which he spent in total darkness, and he was told he'd never see again. Today, he swims, does yoga and has 20/20 vision. That doesn't say much about us doctors when it comes to prognosis, but it does say a lot about the human spirit and its endurance against all odds.

Before we finally went to sleep, he just wished me luck with my life and when I wished him the same, he said that he'd been lucky all his life. Optimism is an amazing healer.

The bus rattled and bumped across the narrow lanes lining the slums and we were bounced around mercilessly as I tried to crane my head out of the window to catch a glimpse of the place that I was to call home for the next five years. I had chosen a college during counseling without even bothering to look at it just because the other colleges I had as options were not in the city. My mind made every building that was moderately sized become the run down shack that it was going to be my misfortune to be a part of. As the college building eventually drew near and grew in stature as I approached it, I heaved a sigh of relief. Actually I think it was a big whoop of relief. The building was big. There was a campus. There were other students. I was going to be ok!

The first few days were amazing, in a new city, no parents, new classmates, new WOMEN!! Even looked forward to ragging.

After the first few days of settling in and my first and last strip tease for drunken guys, measuring rooms with match sticks, learning crude initiation songs, and learning to call everybody regardless of gender, caste, creed, species "sir", women who had their noses in their books all the time, and guys who preferred speaking the local language to English, I was rattled. Also led to the realization that man is a hardy animal and will adapt to anything given the time and appropriate doses of boredom.

The next 4 and a half years passed in record time bringing and taking with them a mixture of happiness, friendship, fun and games, muddled romances, a fair share of sadness, missing home and losing friends. And in the back ground without doing anything spectacular other than break a few records for minimum attendance possible, I managed to finish my subjects and before I knew it transferred back home.

I realized I had been waiting to come back but I realize now that I am here that I was glad to have been there as well. My college wasn't the best in the world and I didn't have the social life I had dreamed of, but 5 years turned me form a boy into a man and I will always cherish them dearly.

The college itself had its fair share or more than of problems. Management that served their own selves before the institution, indifferent students and teachers, stuff I am told is more common than it should be. Now this institution is broke and fighting derecognizing from the centre and everyone who is associated with the college is on an internal strike with no signs of an immediate solutions. Its heart breaking for me to think of all my friends who are still there and all the teachers I had admired (very few!!).

Our graduation is coming up this month, and a celebration, though in order for getting through a grueling course, could have probably come under better circumstances. To make the most of a bad situation, we are hoping to gather and remember what our college meant to us and pray for a new lease of life for it remains a part of our identities for the rest of our lives .