Communication Breakdown

In the modern world of quick and technologically advanced modes of communication like sms, skype, msn, facebook, orkut and google chat, I find we communicate less and less.

I prefer phone calls from phone booths.
And letters in the mailbox.
There's a real effort there. To communicate.

Facebook will never be as personal, Orkut never that intimate, an sms never long enough, msn never real enough...

I suppose Emails are an answer to all the orkuts, and facebooks, and gazzags...but even those are too tedious to write because the orkuts and facebooks and gazzags are quicker. Soon couples will be fighting over facebook, and making up on orkut. What has the world come to??

Letters have a charm that msn and orkut will NEVER have. Have you ever opened an envelope and smelt a letter? You can't smell someone's words in the virtual world. And you can't read someone's words either. Here, you can only read letters of the alphabet, not someone's words in their handwriting.

I think I'm hopelessly old fashioned in some ways.

Cold and Miserable...and I miss loved ones..

That's what it's like here...Walking back from LIPA today, I thought to myself..it's only going to get colder, and more miserable. Yesterday when I was walking to class at 8 in the morning, I was repeatedly pinpricked by the rain which was freezing on its way down into little hail stones..

It's probably going to snow this year. That will be nice. I'd love to see some snow. It would make the cold worthwhile.

This afternoon, as I was walking back, drenched from head to toe, trying to fit under Georgia's umbrella with her, I was thinking about my friends back home, and here. After hugging her goodbye, I walked back to my flat - my eyes vacant, mind blank.

Then suddenly people's faces started flashing up...

Ganesh's laughing face..I thought about how he was laughing at me this morning while watching me on the webcam. I thought of how he playfully proposed a difficulty to me morning, only to see me look so confused and troubled...And then to see me look sheepish as he laughed, while I smiled in bewilderment. His laugh was full of love. The thought of it made me smile to myself.

Hari's face fleeted across. I thought of his health and hoped he was feeling better. I thought of what I'd say to him when I mail him...Nothing serious, just thoughts...

Anupam's goofy smile distracted me from thoughts of Hari. Anupam, my stupid best guy friend back home, who's been there for me no matter what. Not like sometimes there, sometimes not. Whether I've been bored, upset, confused, terrified...he's always been there. Sometimes he's not even known why he needs to be there, but he's stood by me, not asking questions or seeking answers. Just by my side.

Then Mayanka's white round face came up. Mayanka who rather endearingly lets me know every now and then that she misses me. That much sought after email that I open with desperate happiness, comes from her every now and then. And I thought of how sweet it was of her to call. Her gruff voice saying "Dude, I miss you too much ya! Enough is enough! Now you come back! I haven't been to Chonas since you've left yaaa! It's just not the same without you! I can't wait for you to come back so we can go partyyyy together!" I thought of how all these sentences were said so quickly that I didn't even have time to put a word in!

I thought of my Guru, Leela Samson. I wondered about the recent exchange we'd had on email, and whether that misunderstanding had spread to the rest of the dance troupe. I decided not to care. But I do. Anyway...

I thought of Vanya, and how much fun we're going to have when we see eachother next. I can't wait to see her. I'll have lots to say about that a few days from now.

I shoved the key into the keyhole and pushed open the door to my apartment...Noisily and clumsily, I came and plonked on the bed, and looked around. I sat on the computer and started typing..

And now suddenly, my eyes fell upon my list of things to do today - Buy bread, practice Paul's choreography for tomorrow, do laundry, learn lines from the play "Miss Julie" for friday, go see doctor...

Ooooops! I have to go to the doctor! Thoughts disrupted, poof! My mind goes into fast forward...so much to do, and it's going to get dark soon!

How did Jaco die?

It's strange how so many celebrities have died in weird and unusual ways. And moreover, the deaths of musicians has been by far the strangest...Here's a short list of some unusual deaths.

Cleopatra killed herself by taking poison from a venemous snake in 30 BC
Attila the Hun bled to death on his wedding night because of a nosebleed in 453 BC
Isadora Duncan, one of the world's most legendary dancers, died by strangulation because her scarf accidentally got caught in the wheel of her lover's convertible in 1927.
Conor Clapton, little 5 year old offspring of Eric Clapton, fell out of the 53rd floor of a building in 1991.
Charlotte Bronte died of dehydration during pneumonia in 1855.
Ernest Hemingway committed suicide by shooting himself with a shotgun in 1961.

What about our famous musicians?
Marvin Gaye died in 1984. He was murdered by his father on his birthday!
John Glasscock died in 1979 because of a heart infection caused by an abcsessed tooth!!
Kurt Cobain killed himself in 1994.
Jimi Hendrix died of a drug overdose in 1970.
Ian Stewart and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones died due to a premature heart attack and drowning respectively.
Elvis Prestley died of a drug overdose in 1977.
Bon Scott of AC/DC died in 1980. Cause of death - Alcohol.
Hillel Slovak of RHCP died in 1988 due to a drug overdose.
John Lennon was murdered outside his apartment in New York by a fanatic in 1980.
Janis Joplin was yet another one of those who died due to a drug overdose in 1970.
Jim Morrison slipped away in his bathtub in 1971, while having a hot tub bath!! His heart failed.
Stevie Ray Vaughan died in 1990. His helicopter crashed!!

Richard, Luis and I were watching a DVD on the box set of "Weather Report" with much excitement one evening. When Jaco Pastorius came on, we all listened intently to the "world's greatest bass player"...

Suddenly I asked myself aloud, "How did Jaco die?"

Luis turned to me and said, "You don't know?"

I then learnt of his death. It's a well known fact that in the 80s, Jaco began to go mad. He showed symptoms of manic depression. He was basically clinically insane. And this was obviously worsened because of heavy drug and alcohol abuse. He suffered, his musical performances suffered.

On the 11th of September 1987, he sneaked onto stage during a Carlos Santana concert, and from what Luis tells me, started messing about on stage and was ejected from the venue of the concert. He then went to a pub where he wasn't let in. Some say he created a scene by smashing the glass doors, others say he did absolutely nothing.

But it was there that he came face to face with Luc Havan, the bouncer. This man was a hefty guy trained in the martial arts.

My eyes widened as I heard this. Could he, the world's greatest bass player, have actually been beaten to death by a bouncer outside a pub?!!?

Jaco Pastorius was hospitalised with multiple facial fractures, disfigurement of his face, probable loss of his right eye, and sustained irreversible brain damage. He slipped into a coma and was put on life support. When he showed increasing signs of "brain death", his family removed him from life support. Apparently, after the plug was pulled, his heart continued to beat for THREE HOURS!!!

Havan was charged with second degree murder and went to trial, but ended up serving only 4 months for the crime.

So that's how Jaco died.

Us: The tip of the iceberg...

"But without you, I can't breathe!
You're the air to me!"

I can never really know why fate brought us together. It works in mysterious ways. But if I may be presumptious enough to know my own fate, I believe it brought us together for a reason. It's simple, repeated indefinitely since the beginning of time, etched into existence forever by writers and poets alike, and it's cliched...but it's true - We complete each other. Without each other, we can't breathe freely!

"Touching your face, I feel the heat
Of your heartbeat echo in my head like a scream"

From the moment he spoke his first word to me on the phone, I felt different. We'd never met, and yet I felt drawn to him inexplicably. We only talked for a few seconds. But I felt we connected. Beyond description, beyond explanation, beyond reason even. And over the coming days, we felt more and more connected to each other. A connection we couldn't explain even to ourselves, let alone each other, or the rest of the world...And now, two years later..we can feel eachother's heartbeats even though we're miles apart. I know from his first word to me everyday, how he feels. I feel it instantly. And he knows, from the moment I say "hello" on the phone, if I am happy, or sad. His heart beats within my chest. I know when he's happy, and I feel ecstatic. I know when he's sad, and I feel depressed. That's just how it is.

"Everytime I cry your name at night,
You pull close and say it's alright."

He's stood by me, unconditionally. Through everything. And I hope I have, too. We make eachother feel better, whenever we're feeling down. We've seen eachother through the best and worst times. I know my day becomes better instantly, the minute I speak to him. And when I'm with him, I'm never sad. Sure, once in a blue moon, we might've gotten a bit miffed with eachother (angry is too strong a word), but it's always ended either in laughter or in a serious talk followed by laughter. He's sat up nights with me when I've cried. And when we do cry, we cry to eachother. Long ago, I once cried from 3 am to 8 am, a bit intoxicated and terribly upset, and I know in retrospect that he must've been dying to sleep, but he stayed awake with me, talking to me, telling me it's going to be alright, until I fell asleep. When he says "It's going to be alright" or "I won't let anything happen to you", it's the first time I've actually believed someone. We try with all that we've got, to make eachother feel safe, and comforted, and protected. I want to protect him from anything bad that comes his way. And for me, the safest place in the world is the space between his chest and his outstretched interlocked arms, where I so perfectly seem to fit. When I'm with him, everything really does seem alright. I don't see any ugliness, I don't feel anything but happiness, and I feel like I can cope with anything.

"Whenever I'm alone I'm thinking,
there's a part missing from my life.
Wonder where I'd be without your love,
Holding me together..."

When I'm without him, I do feel incomplete. I feel like there's a part of me missing. As for contentment...I believe the time that I really really feel it, is when I can see him, feel him, touch him, talk to him face to face, sit on his lap, slip my hand into his. I would be a different person without his love, today. And I don't really think he'd be the same, either. Without his love holding me together, I'd have fallen apart a long time ago. Or at the very least, I'd never have known what it is to feel true, solid love. I would never have really loved. And never really have lived. We would've been just another two humans "depriving the others of their oxygen".

"Waited so long, I can't wait another day without you!"

We don't see as much of each other as we should, I don't think we'll ever get enough of eachother.We feel like we've waited too long and that we just can't wait another day, just can't go on without eachother...but something keeps us going..I guess it's the anticipation of the absolute comfort, safety and security we feel when we're together. But there are days when I feel like I'm going to explode. There are times when I feel like I'll suffocate if I don't see him now. And I know there are times when he's pulling his hair out, wondering why on earth he let me go so far away...But we pull through. Together. I'm strong when he feels weak. He lifts me up, when I'm feeling down. We balance eachother out.

"Hold on, just a little bit longer!....
.....No more nights alone, I'm almost home now."

It's just a matter of a month or so, now. I'm going to see him next month. And it won't be long before this seperation comes to an end, for good. I can almost see the smile in his eyes, when he sees me at the arrivals at the airport, I can feel my cheeks burn with happiness when I see that smile, I can almost feel myself shaking, when he takes me into his arms, holding me with so much care, as though I were made out of glass. Oh god, I can't wait!! But I've got to hold on, just a little bit longer.

Love is said to be one of the most complex emotions. People shy away from it, people are afraid of it. There are so many complications where love is concerned, they say. Love is overrated, others say. Some would say none of us even know what love is.

Well, whatever name you give it, however complicated you say it is, however frightful and avoidable it may be for some, I'm in it. We are in it. And its...it's beautiful.

Jet City, baby.

No, the 13th of November is not the day we first met, or first said "i love you" to eachother, or first kissed, or started going out. We don't really have a 'special day' like that, as such.(although, i must sheepishly admit, I do remember when all that happened). Don't need a special day. Our enthusiasm to celebrate "us" never waned since before the day him and i became an "us".
This is just a random post, on a random day, about a very important part of my life.

I googled "Aranyani" and look what I found..

Was getting extremely bored since my friends seem to have ditched me on a saturday night! Arrrrgh...so...I googled "aranyani" for a laugh, and found some really interesting, and some really odd stuff..have a look.


http://moonspeaker.ca/Amazons/origins.html says - These Amazons may also have worshipped Aranyani, a Goddess of the forest who was usually heard rather than seen due to the bells she liked to wear. She may well be an earlier version of Kali, because she also avoided villages, was most active in the evening, and although Aranyani never killed without provocation, once aroused she was merciless and absolutely just. Aranyani tended the forest and all wild things, providing uncultivated foods. Later Indian traditions refer to Yakasis, women who lived in Aranyani's forests and kept away from villages. They were believed to have curious features and powers.


Aranyani The Courtesan's Lament (http://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/IDF376/)
About the Book:A tale of a hunter and a courtesan: the brave, noble Vanu, huntsman of the forest and the beautiful, graceful Aranyani child of the mountains. Theirs is a love that reverberates through time, a story that remains s eternal as the waters of the Ganga.

In their escape from Chromius, the callous Greek Yavana, and the proud Prince Harisena, and their search for Kashmir, the land of thousands of blossoms, the lovers encounter a place and its people that are vibrant in the sheer diversity of language, landscape and religious benefits.

This was a time of transition and change, of journeys and wanderings, of mysticism and spirituality. Set in an age of lush colours and exotic fragrances, strange myths and noble honour, the world of Aranyani and Vanu in Ancient India.

At http://www.lotussculpture.com/parvati1.htm, I found this -

The Birth of the Celestial Warlord

Parvati gave Shiva’s aura to the gods. “From this will rise the warlord you seek,” said the goddess.

The gods gave Shiva’s aura to Svaha, consort of Agni, the fire god. Unable to bear the heat of the auro and the god Agni for long, Svaha gave the aura to Ganga the river goddess who cooled it in her icy waters until Shiva’s aura turned into a seed.

Aranyani, the goddess of the forest, embedded the divine seed in the fertile forest floor where it was transformed into a robust child with six heads and twelve arms.(FUCKING HELL!)

The survival economy and forest conflicts

In the Rig Veda, forests are described as Aranyani or mother goddess who takes care of wildlife and ensures the availability of food to man. These ashramas and forests, not urban settlements, were recognised as the highest form of cultural evolution providing society with both intellectual guidance and material sustenance.

http://www.ahste.com/?q=gallery&g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=31 - here, I found a mug shot of me!

https://www.vedamsbooks.com/no18623.htm -
XIV. Deities Connected with Forest and Vegetation: 1. Vanaspati. 2. Sakambhari. 3. Tree Goddess. 4. Aranyani. 5. Vanadurga. 6. Vindhya Vasini Durga. 7. Katyayani. 8. Vanasankari.

http://www.bedandbreakfastscotland.co.uk/bbsco/private/search/search_results.asp?location=East+Dunbartonshire

I am a bed and breakfast somewhere in England. Charming.

Found bits of real me too...lists of dance performances I've had, an article I wrote on Iraq...hmmm. How interesting.e.g Le débat sera suivi d'un récital de danse (Bharatanatyam) par Aranyani Bhargava,Jeudi 18 mai 2006,à 18h30 Reid Hall

Ooooh...check this out -

In 1975, Leela joined the Sriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra, Delhi and started there a department of Bharata Natyam. When she left the institute in 1990, there were over 60 students learning this southern Indian form. Since then, for the next fifteen years she has taught privately in the tradition of the guru-shishya parampara and has trained several dancers who have graced the Delhi stage with their particular sense of grace, knowledge and adherence to the best traditions of the Kalakshetra style. Among them are Aditi Jaitly, Aditi Rao, Aranyani Bhargava, Meenu Venkateshwaran, Priti David, Kapil Sharma, Bilva Raman, Nithya Raman, Amrita Lahiri, Mitsouko Takahashi and Yukiyo Kubota from Japan, Mohammed Anisul Islam from Bangla Desh, Alexis Chen and Justin McCarthy from the United States, Zhang Yun, Zheng Yun and Jin Shan Shan from China, Boun Phone from Laos and Sonia Galvao from Brazil.

My blog's on google too! Hehehehehe.

The Aranyani Institute
107 South Main Street
Fairfield, IA 52556......

uhhhhh? What is this?!

Completely Unproductive Day

Woke up at 1 in the afternoon. I was very proud of myself. I haven't slept till one in the afternoon in YEARS. Anyway, that was refreshing.

It had been a long night. I got to bed only at around 3 am. And I would've been out later than that, had it not been for that son of a bitch who started gyrating against me at the bar. Sometimes I get into a mood where I can't handle so many people so close to me. I mean, sure, it was a gig..what else did I expect? But I just couldn't handle the cheek of that man. And I couldn't handle the fact that I'd just dealt with something similar the previous night with five brazillian men...Two nights in a row!?! The so-called civilised world is worse than Delhi! I was seething with anger.. How dare he fucking think its ok to just grab my waist and start grinding?
I mean, WHAT THE FUCK.
I was so tempted to turn around and WHACK him, but there was no space to even turn around. So I pushed forward. I literally fought my way through the crowd, feeling invaded...bad memories from the distant past rushing back to my head like lightning...I walked out of the pub, without even saying bye to anyone. I felt like throwing up.
It's funny how things that happen so many years ago, can still make you feel so fucked today.

Anyway, I got home, ate the leftovers of the Dal Chawal and aloo that I'd made, drank some juice, and went to sleep.

Ahhh...and now we're back to the beginning of this post. I slept till 1. Yay!

But that wasn't the end of the sleeping escapade..I always tell Ganesh that he's like a lion. Lions sleep for about 20 hours in a day, and so could Ganesh if the circumstances would allow it! Hehehehe.
And today I was the lioness. I got out of bed at 1.30, made some lunch...vegetable fried rice, which turned out to be quite nice actually, sat with Hannah while she made her lunch. It was nice talking to her. We havent seen eachother much at all, even though we're in the same flat! And then both of us went back to our rooms...and I went to sleep again!!!!

I dreamt all sorts of strange things...something about getting lost in a huge game park, on one of those tram things with my mother, looking for my sister who seemed to have gotten lost. It was quite eerie really. And only by the end of the dream I realised that I was actually some secret service agent, and funnily enough, so were my mum and sister...and we'd recovered loads of guns from this game park. Sabotaged some terrorist plan. I love the way we can be such heroes in our dreams.

I woke up and it was dark. I thought to myself. What an unproductive day. But I felt full of energy having slept so much!

Spoke to Ganesh on skype. He sounds so happy since he's back in Bangalore. It makes me almost explode with joy! I'm just relieved that he's back home, where he wants to be, with the people he loves(except me, that is...but not for long!)...Big hug, baby!

Am now "going on the piss" as they say. It's a saturday night!

Cheers everyone!!

Nimboo Pani

I remember the day I got her home, saw her 'lemon coloured' ears and named her Nimboo. The whole of her fit in my little 11 year old hand. I read through an entire dog book to see what she would need. I got her milk in a little bowl, and then she scrambled onto my lap and went to sleep.

We've been through so much together since then.

I've sat up for hours on end completely immobilized because she was sleeping on my lap, I've trained her to sit and calm down, wait patiently for her food and not pee in the house, I've cuddled her and spoilt her and loved her, I've made sure she's had an active sex life(!!), I've delivered her babies and helped to look after them, I've cried for her when she's been in pain, sat up nights with her when she was uncomfortable and in pain after her operation, I've shared a bed with her when she didn't feel like sleeping alone.

She, in turn, has been my friend and companion since she was carried into my main door ten years ago. She's shed tears with me when I've cried, she's jumped on me and bitten me in gentle anger when I've been away too long, she's given me so much joy, so much love, relieved me of loneliness many times, kept me warm in the winters by sliding under the razai and curling up under my arm like in the photograph above, she's slept with me like another human being - under the covers, head on pillow(haha), she's sat by me when I've been depressed and scratched me with her paw lovingly, she's known when I'm going out of town and sulked, and seen me through everything.

I know...everyone must be thinking - for fuck's sake, its just a dog. But for those who have and love their pets, you'll know..they're not just animals. As for Nimboo...she's almost human. And we connect. Even as dog and human. She and I...we know eachother inside out. I know her moods and how to deal with them just as she does, mine.

I love her so much!

Today she is 10 years old. Happy birthday Nimbooli!

From worst to bad to better to good to great to fucking fantastic!

Woke up in the morning, wrote an email. Wept. All the Blue Funk just came gushing out!
I felt the worst I've ever felt since I got here.

Went to class. Shed a few tears there, too.
Fuck, what is wrong with me!?!? I was thinking to myself.

I decided not to skip rehearsal, though I was very tempted.
It was a good decision.
I felt much better having gone to class. It got my mind off things, and I did some solid dancing.
Three hour rehearsals are pretty solid, don't you think?

Then we had a Contextual Studies class.
In class, we were studying SWOT analysis. We were to tell our partner their strengths and weaknesses.According to Georgia, my strength lies in my thinking, the fluidity in my movement, in improvisation in contemporary dance, and in flexibility. And she thinks I've improved massively in Ballet.My weaknesses - Street Dance. My movements arent jerky enough. They're too graceful.
Phil, our lecturer contested my strengths. "All dancers are meant to have flexibility..so that's not really a strength."
I started to nod.
I heard a voice from behind me..Caitlin's voice "She's flexible in different ways!"
I just sat there, frozen, looking from side to side.
And then it all went MAD.
"She can do plie`s in second position without her bum sticking out. we can't do that!"
"She can touch her nose to the floor when we're exercising!"
"She can bang her feet while dancing with so much control!"
Oh GOD...and then they all asked me to demonstrate. In a class of 20 classmates and 20 other strangers(acting and singing diploma students), they told me to get up!!!
"Do the Lisi Perry step..."
"Do that thing with the Plies"
"Do that thing when you're on your side with your leg stretched out!"
"Do that bending over backwards thing and touch the floor!"
"Do that thing where you open your feet out.."
I did it, confused and embarrassed.
"See...now that comes naturally to her"
I was burning.My face must've looked like a monkey's bottom.
"Oooooh! Do your Indian dance...come on!"
So I did. A tiny bit.
Hehehehe...this is the part, by the way, when the day started looking good. I admit, I was feeling very chuffed. And I admit, I feel sheepish writing about it here...but I had NO clue that they all thought all this about me!!

Then we had singing class. It was great! A lot of fun.

But something was still missing. I was walking back home after a long long day..I just got to the gate of the student houses. My phone rang.

It was Ganesh!! Yay! My day just went from good, and satisfying and productive to fucking fantastic!!! It totally made my day! I can't live without him! I just can't. I realise that again and again. Talking today to him, was just like breathing fresh air after being in a claustrophobic stuffy room. It was like really living again. I felt so alive!!!

I can't wait to see him in December.

I spoke to him about 10 minutes ago, and am still feeling like I'm in heaven. :)

Blue Funk

n : a state of nervous depression; "he was in a funk" [syn: funk]

....And that's all I have to say.

Random news.

My december performance has been fixed for the 15th of December, so I'm not coming back to India on the 15th. More on that once things are confirmed.

I am sick and tired of eating western food. I need chapatthis.

I cleaned my whole room today.

I cried in class on monday. Was feeling "Ganesh-less" as my greek friend aptly puts it.

I decided that I want to work with choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh at some point of time in my life.

I got a strong reference from my teacher here which I am very happy about.

Ganesh is in Goa and mostly unreachable, its driving me insane! I want to talk to him and be with him!!! I miss him so much, all the time!!!

I uploaded more pictures on Flickr of Wales. What a beautiful place it is!

It was my grandfather's birthday on sunday. Missed him a lot. :(

I met Champa in London!! That was fun.

I'm going to bed now.

Solitude and Loneliness

Tonight I sit by myself, I feel alone.
The darkness feasts on this desolate seclusion.

Where’s the sun? Where’s daylight?

It seems to be playing games with me.
Let's see how long you can hold onto your sanity,
without catching a glimpse of me, Aranyani...
I sit in my room, absorbing the false light
Outside its still dark.
And I’m still alone.

My mind drifts to places I’ve felt safe and loved.
The room with the creaky single bed.
Serene monastries on majestic mountains
Ancient ruins by the riverside
Thick forests where a tiger saunters
Beaches, and hidden musical waterfalls.
In the kind of solitude he speaks of.

But now, I’m here…
Still alone.
Not a soul in sight.
The hollow wind whispers of loneliness.
The cold bites into my untouched flesh.
The empty mailbox tells of empty promises.
We’re all in different worlds of our own
Selfishly absorbed in our own little troubles.
No time for anyone else.
Why am I so shaken by this?
This is the world we live in.

But I want to go back to our world
of mountains, ruins, forests and waterfalls.
In that world, I’m never alone.
Not alone, but in that solitude he speaks of.

In solitude with him.



All photographs (except oil lamp) taken by Ganesh Krisnaswamy.

It happens only in India....?

Walking down the road alone, she wrapped the coat around herself. It was bitingly cold. Waiting outside the theatre on the pavement, she wondered "Where are these guys?" It was almost time for the show to begin, but they were nowhere in sight.

Her phone buzzed. She pulled off her glove and reached into her pocket for the vibrating mechanism.

"Hello?"

It was her sister. Chatting with her about the show she was just about to see, she stood by the road, walking back and forth.

A car pulled up. Two windows rolled down. Five heads stuck out. All male.

She looked ahead and behind the car, stealthily. No sign of a traffic light. They had just stopped in the middle of the street.

They were looking at something. Her.

They snickered. She looked away, wrapping the coat more tightly around her as if that would protect her further from undressing her in their minds.

She didn't dare look back. The cops had said, "Don't engage, walk away". But she feared that walking away was engaging. She stood still, leaned against the fence and continued talking on the phone.

After what seemed like a long time, but was probably just a couple of seconds, the car started to move slowly, and the snickering heads turned back as the car passed by.

She stood there momentarily vexed. She couldn't really understand what had just happened. Here? On a crowded street? Where people follow rules, and laws, say please and thank you for everything?

How naive of her! She thought it happens only in India.

My first halloween costume

The Zombie Indian Bride...Or...Have you ever seen "The Grudge"??

Make up : Emma
Concept(The Grudge): Hannah