Investments

Those of you who know Rohit, well, good for you. Those of you who don’t, please “go and f#$% a pole” to use his own words. Although why either you or anyone in this world would want to do that to the pole or yourself is beyond my understanding. But then that’s Rohit. However, why this introduction about him? Is this post a testimonial to his wonderful wit, or warmth? Naah! Although he is all this and more. This post is instead about a decision Rohit and I took some months back, and one that we would like to tell the whole world about. So read on, enlightenment (and a ticket to paradise) is just a few sentences away.

After much thought and deliberation, Rohit and I have decided to get ourselves a country. We are not sure what we are going to call it. Any suggestions in terms of names are welcome, of course. But we are not letting everyone we love force entry into this country and claim citizenship. There are going to be rules, and strict ones at that. You will have to either fulfill Rohit’s conditions or mine in order to gain entry. If you are particularly well-behaved, by which we mean that if you happen to fulfill both our conditions, you will be entitled to dual citizenship...that of our country and of anywhere else that you might want to preserve, such as India.

So, Rohit’s rules:
1. You must loudly profess and practice a liking for beer and good music (No Himesh)
2. You must be technologically sound, by that we mean proficiency in Google Talk to start with
3. You must be honest and sincere

My rules:
1. You shall not have any regional, religious or such inane bias
2. You shall dabble in at least something creative be it art, photography, architecture, music, writing. Our fellow blogger friend Amiya is creative when it comes to crossing roads. That counts.
3. You shall not be a boring academic genius. You could have won every significant academic prize in your life, but if we don’t discover a passion for life in you, you’re disqualified.

Common rules:
1. You shall have a sense of humor
2. You must be a raving insomniac (although post America, my insomnia is usually under control. For utterly selfish reasons, I want to thank heavens that Rohit’s isn’t.)
3. You must have caffeine (and not blood) flowing in your body

And what rewards await those that decide to come to us and join our country? Lots of laughter, good food and drink, and unpredictability.

The year 2006 has by far been the most incredibly dramatic year of my life. In so many ways, it has come closest to the kind of time I would ideally design for myself. The decision to come to USA was perfect. At the risk of sounding selfish, this entire exercise showed how much everyone in my life adopted my dream as their own. (Forgive me for being shallow enough to think only about my life here, but there is something about the 31st of December that makes you want to do that, doesn't it?) So thanks to everyone who listened while I ranted or sobbed my heart out, who researched something that I couldn’t find time for, who got me freelance jobs just so I could earn some extra money, who answered every dull and dumb question that I found it in myself to ask, who put in comforting words, encouraging hugs, regular phone calls, and quirky smses. At the same time, there were some letdowns. But today, that’s fine too...it’s after all the eternal battle between having expectations and meeting them. All is good right now, the year is ending on a positive note, and that’s all that matters.

What else did I do this year? I traveled; got some fabulous gifts; discovered a lucky shirt; made new friends; taught history, English and world religions; wrote and rewrote extensively; sampled a humongous variety of food; learnt new crafts like fishing and making coffee using a percolator; had conversations with people from countries as varied as Peru, Japan, Zimbabwe, Thailand, Germany, Mexico, China, Togo, Kenya, St Vincent, Spain, and France; and relearnt my life's priorities.

Before I sign off, let me request you all to read this blog. Do pay attention to the url because that will tell you so much about the writer in question, but most importantly read the post titled Looking Back at 2006. It is the worldview of my fourteen-year-old cousin, Sinjini Sengupta, an incredibly bright, focused, and ambitious kid, and now an avid blogger as well. Do leave your comments there, encouragement does wonders for all of us after all. And I have my sights set on her. I know she is going to make our family proud.

Happy New Year everyone!
May 2007 be absolutely delicious for each one of you!