Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Please take note

There are little things that happen to us every day. Things that I refer to as "Pata hai kya hua?" ("Guess what happened?") events. Things that I come back and tell the flatmate.

"Pata hai kya hua? One of my Maths authors wrote a question featuring a watermelon that apparently weighs 14 grams."

"Pata hai kya hua? One of my editors sent an email to an image library with the words 'I love your picture of the underside of Natasha. We would like to feature it in our magazine. It will be for educational puposes only.' without mentioning explicitly that Natasha is a spider. I almost fell off my chair laughing imagining the expression of the guy who read it. He must have thought Playboy sent him an email!"

"Pata hai kya hua? XYZ has tendered her resignation! I really like her, she's one of my lunch buddies!"

"Pata hai kya hua? Dad sent me a forward! Sheesh! A forward!"

"Pata hai kya hua? The new issue of the magazine came out and my copy went missing even before it reached me!"

"Pata hai kya hua? The editor I hired last month is leaving for the US to pursue a business degree."

"Pata hai kya hua? I discovered a paper-thin dead lizard in the old reference books cupboard in the office!"

"Pata hai kya hua? I accidentally drank hot milo using a straw and lost a layer from the roof of my mouth."

"Pata hai kya hua? They gave me a raise and a promotion!"

"Pata hai kya hua? The crazy author who's been calling me every day for the last two weeks called AGAIN!"

"Pata hai kya hua? An author referred to me in an email as 'the sweet, young and pleasant emcee at the Book Launch'."

"Pata hai kya hua? This morning the bus driver loudly abused a cab driver in mandarin for a full five minutes!"

In other words, every single day has a "Pata hai aaj kya hua?" event.

So it was really strange that it was 6:25 pm, I had gone through a full day of work, and was now at university for my class and no "Pata hai kya hua?" event had occurred. It was really odd because something or the other is bound to happen.

So as I sat there waiting for the class to start, looking at the people and the things. Half my classmates were already in, the rest were probably on the way, rushing from work. My project mate Patricia and I were sitting there wondering where our other project mate Cindy was. She was supposed to bring the printout of the report that we'd been slogging on for weeks, to submit to the professor. Some of my classmates were gobbling down their dinner in the class. Some were looking through their powerpoint slides, preparing for their presentation later. Some were discussing clothes and movies. Some were wondering if the professor would give out exam tips. Others were planning on how to escape from the class during the break.

Soon it was 6.30 pm and the class started. Patricia scurried over to one of the chairs at the back as usual, while like any good nerdy girl, I seated myself in my usual place, the first row, right under the professor's nose. Suddenly, in the middle of the class, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, muttering under my breath, and this guy sitting behind me passed me a note.

A NOTE??!!!

I could not believe my eyes. I am freakin' 26. 26-year-olds don't get notes in the classroom. 16-year-olds too. At least that's how old I was when I last got a note. A note to make fun of what the teacher was wearing. A note to point out the guy dozing on the last bench. A note to request the class nerd (okay fine, that would be be!) not to remind the teacher about the homework that was due. A note to tell you that someone in the class liked you. Yeah, those were the days. Of random notes being passed around in the class.


But there it was, right in the middle of a Master's class, a note folded in half, with my name scribbled on top. I gave the guy who'd passed the note to me a questioning glance, and he gestured to say that the girl behind him had passed it to him. I looked at her and she motioned towards another girl, who pointed at another guy. Soon I lost track of the origin of the note but I did realise that it had travelled quite a bit before reaching me.

Who the hell had sent me a note?? And why?? There aren't even any cute guys in my class. But like it mattered. Who cared about who it was? The important thing was - someone in my class had passed me a note. Awww... I was 16 all over again! Awwww!! :D

So I deftly dropped the note into my lap, and making sure that the professor was not looking at me, excitedly opened it, thinking of what a great "Pata hai kya hua?" event it was to tell the flatmate.

I do not have words to describe the expression I had on my face when I read what I read.

This is what the note said:

"Sayesha,
Cindy has already passed the report to the professor.
If you wanna take a look, ask for it back for a minute just before the break.
Patricia."

Sheesh. So much for my 'note'.

Not exactly the "Pata hai kya hua?" event I had in mind, but I guess this would do. :|




40 comments:

Bivas said...

pata hai kya hua...this time I got here first :D...seems like schumi winning from the back of the race ;-)
lol...neway...u really got me der with the Natasha thing...for a moment was really imagining what kind of educational purpose cud dat serve in a children's magazine of all things!!!...Hilarious.

Sakshi said...

SILVER..........
Pata hai kya hua.. I do that all the time. Except I don't have a roomie so it is online with another friend(s) through out the day. A lot of them read your blog so they will understand.

Iday said...

Aah - passing notes. Such a wonderful experience ;)

Pata hai kya hua - apun almost recover ho gaya.
Kal se office :)

Aashun said...

pata hai kya hone wala hai?
Your exams are coming and ...
By the way, It needs some courage to confess that your are 26.[ Assuming that you are not actually 34! ]

TMaYaD said...

shouldn't it be 'pata hein kya na hua' :P

Tarun said...

Pata hai kya hua?
Post read karne ke bad comment likha ...

lol

PizzaDude said...

I thought patricia was sitting next to you :-?

Ajj Kaim Singh said...

pataah hai kya hua...after such a promising start, Sayesha Kaur could'nt close the post that well...

dharmu said...

pata hai kya hua? when i first open ur blog [age, u have 2 comments, i read the post, refreshed it after 3 mins, it had 8 comments. i sat giggling for reasons unknown!

Anonymous said...

Pata hai kya hua??

Ladki.

(Okk! I know that is not at all funny, except that really is funny!:D)

Sayesha said...

#Bivas,
Hahahaha! Hey Schumi ke baare mein kuchh mat bolna, my flatmate will kill you! :P

Yeah, we laughed for days over the Natasha thing! :D

#Sakshi,
:)

#Iday,
Yeah man... the days of notes with Bollywood song lines scribbled on them :P
ps: Off to office? Great! :)

#Aashun,
Sheesh. What confession?? My age has been on my blog profile page for ages now.

#TMaYaD,
:P

#Light-House,
Sheesh! :D

#Pizzadude,
Before the class started, she was. After that, she ran to the back benches for cover. Story of my life :)

#PSV,
The event was related as it happened. What to do? My life is not as happening as yours na. Some events are just plain drab.

#Dharmu,
Peeyeli hai kya dada? :P

#Satish,
Worst joke of the century, Sattu! :D

qsg said...

hehehe - anti-climax! Hate it when that happens...!!! Good post though!:)

shub said...

hahaha anti-climax! :D

kaise ho? long time no hear! Good luck with your exams ...your last ones :D Yay!

Anonymous said...

pata hai kya hua? sorry can't tell. :p

Bivas said...

hey Schumi's just gr8...ur roomie can't complain :-)

Aashun said...

//My age has been on my blog profile page for ages now.

That's what! mine gets changed every year.
Hey, study for the exams! Close the bar for sometime.

Sayesha said...

#QSG,
Haan re... dil ke armaaaaan aaaaaansuonnn mein beh gaye! :P

#Shub,
Yeah man... last ones I hope! :) Thanks! :)
Let's got for a crappy hindi movie after my exams, okie? :P

#TGFI,
I know what you did last summer. And winter. And monsoon. :|

#Bivas,
Hehehe... now you're talkin'! ;)

#Aashun,
Hahahahahhaah! OMG hahahahaha! You really got me there! I have nothing to say! Except that I am indeed 26, and that mine changes every year too :P

Sayesha said...

#Aashun,
//Close the bar for sometime.

:O :O :O :O :O

Anonymous said...

Hahaha... loved the "pata hai kya" concept. I need to write stuff down like this, for all the miscellaneous thoughts swirling in my head!

Loved the post too. Telling a facinating story is mundane. Making the mundane, facinating...that is art!

Cheers
Kais

Sneha Acharya said...

ha ha ha sooo sad tht u din get a good one for the 'pata hai kya hua' event ;-)

Strider said...

pata hai kya nahi hua?
mujhe gold nahi mila :(

par pata hai kya hua?
ur post reminded me of a friend from coll, who works in a diff company now... :-)

are aap ke study leave shuru nahi hue kya??

shub said...

"Last ones I hope" bole toh ? ooOOOOoooh aap Ph.D bhi karengi, Dr.... :D

movie after exams??!! tu pehle emails ka reply kar bacchi (aka Miss Busybee)! x(

Anonymous said...

hey there...i noted a typo on ur blog...thot u might be interested to know being an editor urself....

Di said...

i thought i was the only one who kept tellin people "patha hain kya hua?" at regular intervals..... ;)incidentally my blog post begins in a similar way! :O people are more similar than different after all..:)

Sayesha said...

#Kais,
//I need to write stuff down like this, for all the miscellaneous thoughts swirling in my head!

Sheesh! Remember the girl who asked you to get a blog?? :/

#Sneha,
Hota hai hota hai
Ab hum jaake rota hai :P

#Strider,
Arre kaahe ka study leave... I'll even be working on the days I have my exams! :/

#Shub,
Bole toh... pass hona mangta na? :P

#Avs,
//thot u might be interested to know being an editor urself....

Actually I'm not interested (see this post):)
But if you really want to, go ahead and tell me, and I'll amend it :)

#Di,
Yep :)

RP said...

ha ha ha.... what an anti-climax. ditcher. :-)

Anonymous said...

I discovered a paper-thin dead lizard in the old reference books cupboard in the office

EEWWW!!! EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

I never recieved any notes in class! :-( Nobody ever passed a note to me! There were these girls who would always complain whenever somebody "passed a note".. sigh..

And yes, get back to studies!

Anonymous said...

it was more of a 'PATA HAI..YEH HUA!!!" :)

-Anjaan ladka

Anonymous said...

pata kya hua, you wanted to tell others that how cool you are...and in your language...sheeesh!

Aashun said...

Find kids your own age to play with, will ya?

Aashun said...

read the last comment with your editor-eye. and do ctrl+f in your blog.

Sayesha said...

#RP,
:)

#Basanti,
Arre if no one passed you a note, you pass them a note na! :P

#Anjaan Ladka,
Doesn't quite sound right eh? :)

#Anonymous,
Okay. Whatever you say, bro :)

#Aashun,
I don't read my blog (or anything outside of my work) with my editor eye.

Aashun said...

I did not mean that way, chill! There are practially no errors on your blog, even though you read your post just once! Anonymous comment on your editing skill irked me... that's all. I, in fact, liked you to delete my comments. It's always what your write, not how...

Anonymous said...

>>Sheesh! Remember the girl who >>asked you to get a blog?? :/

Nahin yaar..writing comments in your blog ka comment space is more fun! Watch out..all my 'pata kai kyas' are going to be put here from now on...whether they are relevant to the post or not!! :O

Cheers
Kais

Anonymous said...

How do u know I am a bro? I could be a sis :)

Sayesha said...

#Aashun,
Oh, you mean your 'Find kids your own age to play with, will ya?' was for the anon chap? I thought it was for me. :)

//Anonymous comment on your editing skill irked me... that's all.

Don't worry about 'em. I've seen worse :)

//I, in fact, liked you to delete my comments.

I have never deleted any of your comments.

#Kais,
//Watch out..all my 'pata kai kyas' are going to be put here from now on...whether they are relevant to the post or not!!

I look forward to them. I think it will be fun, ESPECIALLY if they're not relevant to the post! :D

#Anonymous,
You see? I couldn't care less. :)

Anonymous said...

Nice post again.

Tapori Adi

Sayesha said...

#Adi,
Thanks :)

chanakya said...

when are ur exams ?

Sayesha said...

#Chanakya,
They start this week! :'(