Help!

I need to travel to the US for an interview - airfare, board and lodging all covered. Predictably enough, the visa is proving to be a problem. Actually am not even sure what visa I should apply for. I thought B1/B2 until someone told me I wouldn't be eligible- I don't work, and therefore I don't have an income etc. Oh, and dates aren't available, so will have to apply via the emergency quota. Which again is mired in problems- don't know if my case will be considered an emergency or not (I know of one person who was refused an appointment). Has any of you been in a similar situation/ know of someone who's been in a similar situation and got their visa? Any info on the matter would be very, very gratefully recieved. Write to me at duffilled@gmail.com, or simply leave comments. Thanks!

Students of Anna University have filed a petition to the President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam after the Vice Chancellor defended the silly dress code, and the cell phone ban that he imposed a few months ago by saying that the students 'welcomed' it. I don't know if this will change anything, but I'm very impressed that they haven't let this go without putting up a fight. Anna students have displayed far more spunk and initiative than I'd ever imagined them capable of (I should know, I went there- most were completely spineless). Very, very heartening to see. Much power to them.

And if you're curious about the dress code, here's a sampler...
1. No student shall wear jeans to college.
2. No student shall wear t-shirts to college.
3. Girls may only wear salwars-kameez with dupatta or sarees.
4. No student may wear the following colours: white because it's "transparent"; green, pink, orange and red because they "distract the faculty"; black because it's a "depressing colour", and "hampers the "educational process".
Oh, and other regulations imposed by the VC include:
no cell phones on campus; no cultural event that takes place in Anna University can involve dancing, and no film music; and last but not the least, boys and girls are to sit in separate rows; no more than three people can stand together as a group; and no group of students may contain a member of the opposite sex. I swear I haven't made any of this up (however bizzarre or ridiculous some of the rules may sound).

As a student put it, 'The male ego is being fed. When a security guard stops and asks you where is your dupatta, you feel so violated. All your rights have been taken away". And I'm glad something is being done to puncture said ego.

Eef You Come Today

Finally, finally, finally! Yay, yay, yay! Saw the video of 'If You Come Today'. Grooooovy!! Now I can't stop watching it :D Hail Rajkumar!
The first half of the video can be found here. I would be very, very, very grateful to anyone who could send me the entire video. Pleeeease.
The song is here. And if you have an Airtel or BPL phone, you can download the ringtone from here.

And now I leave you with the lyrics:

Eef you come today | it's too early
Eef you come tomarrow | it's too late
Eef you come today | it's too early.
Eef you come tomaarrow | it's too late.
You pick the taaaaaaime
tick tick tick tick tick tick a-tick tick tick tick tick tick a-tick tick tick tick tick a-tick tick tick tick tick tick tick | daaaawwrleeng |

Eef you come today...

Paaa Paaa...

Did you say morning | no, no it's not good
Did you say evening | no, no it's too bad
Did you say noon | no, no it's not the time
Whaat did you say? | hey, whaat did you say| nothing? oh it's all right
You pick the taaaaaime | tick tick tick tick tick tick a-tick tick tick tick tick tick a-tick tick tick tick a-tick tick tick tick tick tick | daaaawwrleeng

Eef you come today...

tutututu tu tu tu tu| tu tu tu tu

Million times beating my heart
Million dreams haunt my heart
Million desires spring in my heart
Million memories squeeze my heart
You pick the taaaaaime | tick tick tick tick tick tick a-tick tick tick tick tick tick |

Eef you come today|it's too early
Eef you come tomarrow| it's too late
You pick the taaaaaaime
tick tick tick tick tick tick a-tick tick tick tick tick tick a-tick tick tick tick tick a-tick tick tick tick tick tick tick | daaaawwrleeng |

"I don't want the first case of our Reader's Editor, K.Narayanan to be one that investigates charges of plagiarism from The Guardian- we've taken all the necessary permission from them." said N.Ram, just before the interactive session with the speakers- Alan Rusbridger and Ian Mayes of the Guardian was about to begin.
Subtle hint not to ask about this, Mr.Ram?

K.Narayanan only takes up his post on March 1st. And how independent an ombudsman he will be, I don't know. He's been with the Hindu since 1955.

What Not to do in Singapore

Sentosa Island
Went there in '99, but not during this trip. Now, what did we do in Sentosa? Oh, right, there was that cable car ride. Which may have been good if I hadn't been fighting the urge to jump off (does this happen to anyone else?) And that underwater aquarium- which looks like plastic, and no, not half so pretty as in the pictures. Actually I'd have even settled for quarter as pretty, but no. Then that dancing fountain- now you seriously don't want to see another dancing fountain, do you?

Christmas Lights on Orchard Road
We went to see the famed Orchard Road Christmas Light-up almost as soon as we got off the flight. So big disappointment. First indoctrination into the Way of the Singapore Goverment: Hype. It wasn't all bad, though. I espied Borders and also the Apple Centre- useful for future reference. Besides, our guide on the open top 'Hippo Tour' bus was quite funny, and tried to get everyone to play 'Hippo Idol'. The winner, he announced, would get a 'limited edition' duck.

Night Safari
Most synthetic, orchestrated, fake tourist attraction you could ever hope to visit. Even in Singapore. The whole place is designed to look like an African jungle lodge. Contributing to the atmosphere were wire-gauze-and-serial-light beasts of the jungle, and attendants in lungis. Oh, also Haagen Dazs. So, here's what happens. You pays an extortionate S$ 28 for a night safari by train through (how exciting) Himalayan terrain, marshland, Malayan jungle, etc. You may or may not get to see what you've come to see: animals. Whatever animals we saw looked drugged (Now we know what S'pore does with all the narcotics it seizes). A couple of vultures looked stuffed. And the tigers there have been adopted by (you'll never guess) Tiger Balm! As a bonus, you get to see a show called 'Creatures of the night', where said Creatures of the night-Otters, *insert here creature with unpronounceable Malay name* and a python (they're nocturnal, really?).

Singapore Metal and Gems Factory
The moment you see row upon row of tourist buses, you know it's time to do an about turn and flee as quickly as possible. They sell here anything semi-precious stone. Lapis-la-zuli globes, ugly 'paitings' of birds, (some of these have lights which glow when you go near them and clap. They also make twittering noises.) chess sets, jade sculptures, jewellery etc. Our fellow Indian tourists are mightily impressed. Everyone's busy taking photographs. My mother overheard one Bengali tourist remark that buying just one item from the place would give her jeebon mukti. We manage to choose the least ugly piece available and run.

Boat Ride on the Singapore River
More like a canal really. Go, if you want a very scratchy and disembodied voice point out to you the landmarks of Singapore such as the Merlion (that ugly thing that spouts water from its mouth we've all seen in pictures- only its uglier in the flesh) and S'pore's only suspension bridge (barely 100m across). You also get to see a different view of the skyscrapers you've already seen from the road. Don't gag.


Takashimaya
You wont be able to buy anything, unless you're super-duper rich. But do go to Kinokuniya bookstore, and the food court in the basement. More on that later.

HMV Megastore
I went expecting great things- utterly, utterly disappinted. Even Landmark here would have a better movie collection. But I did find some CD box set at an unbelievable price of 5 for Rs.500. So, not entirely wasted, I suppose.

Komala Vilas
Yes, yes it's a legend and all that. But sadly, standards have fallen- the food tastes awful. It's the South Indian version of McD, and a none too clean one at that. For good South Indian food, go to Raj Cafe down the road from Mustafa. Clean, affordable and friendly service too!

Jurong Bird Park
The flamingoes were pretty, but otherwise can't think of anything nice to say about it.

Don't try the new Godiva Chocolate drink. It's a complete waste of Godiva chocolate.

Don't go at all- unless you want to shop. In the end, it's all about the shopping. Not the sightseeing.

So what to do in Singapore, apart from shopping, you ask? Next post.

Singapore

Hype. Escalators. America's Sweetheart. Four Billion Dollars in Tax. No Crow Zone. Skyscrapers. Malls. Synthetic. Cleanliness. Greenery. Food. Queues for Cabs. Bookstores. Efficiency. Glazed Looks. Long Arm of The Law. Consumerist Heaven. Compulsory Military Training. Road Cross Request. Too Many Coffee Shops. Slimming Clinincs. 24-hour Surveillance. Elevators That Only Stop At Some Floors. Cold Storage-The Fresh Food People. Electrionic Road Pricing. No Political Freedom. Under-passes and Over. More Food. More Hype. Recycled Water. 80% Chinese, 10% Malay, 7% Indian, 3% Other. More Malls. Raffles Hotel. More Skyscrapers. Library With Eleven Stories. More Inter-connected Malls. Low Birth Rate. Corporate Government. Abuzz but Lifeless. Hydroponics. Sample Question Papers for First Standard. Lee Kuan Yew. Student Bonds. Fake Bungee. Boredom. Expats. SMRT. Nine Million Tourists. Zero Tolerance. Unpolluted Air. Impersonal. Big Brands. Uncomplaining, Patient Queuers. Chrome and Gleaming Glass. Black and White Houses. Electronics. Hard to Own Cars. Censored Press. Vanda Ms. Joachim Orchid. Swallow Last Bits of Words. Even More Malls. Fireworks. Merlion. Duty-free. Even More Hype. Four Official Languages. Island Sized Tourist Trap.

Know your Parliamentarians

I demand to know why this was never a top story on any of our 24 hour news channels. How can Jagdish Tytler racing to eat apples with hands tied to his back, or Naveen Jindal playing kho-kho, or Ghulam Nabi Azad participating in an egg-and-spoon race (for men) be any less entertaining than Shah Rukh Khan turning 40, or Amitabh Bachchan's stomach ailments?
And would you like to know which Parliamentarians are celebrating their birthday today?
Or perhaps which MPs are in hospitals in Delhi?
All of the above and more to be found in the Lok Sabha home page.