The City Girl

You walk right out of bed, with your hair looking like a crow's nest and your feet lazily tucked into your slippers. You're not even fully awake yet, but you're habituated enough to perform the routine without even opening your eyes. So you just rub your eyes, get your cup out, hold it out under the water filter, till its filled to the right level and then stick it into the microwave and shut the door to it. When its warm enough you can spoon in just the right amount of coffee into it and then just stay there, enjoying the aroma of pure black coffee. The Key to a Perfect Cup,... Is to not add sugar. Any sane person who loves Black coffee knows this. Sugar isn't good for your coffee. It entirely suppresses the bitterness of strong and pure coffee. Before you tell me, that's the whole point of adding sugar...hear me out. Take a sip You won't like it. For most, its an acquired taste. For some, you take right to it.  Its too bitter whe

Open Day at Loreto College is a food and fun Fete. The students raise money by selling homemade food and articles and the profits made, are given to NGOs as charity money, or as clothes and food to the poor on the streets. As the name suggests, Open Day is open to all. People from different colleges, friends, family and colleagues all step in to buy items, have food, dance to their favourite records and have fun at Loreto. This Open Day Mahasweta and I decided to step out of the "Loreto students' entrepreneurship", and step into "Independent entrepreneurship". So under our Principal's "Young Lady Entrpreneurs" innitiative, we set up a stall with other companies and establishments, to not just start our new venture, but to also check out our standing. MENU!!! (Snowy Simmer) We had  Choco Ridges (chococolate cake with dark chocolate icing, sprinkles and cherry on the top!) Chocolate Cakes (A loooot of chocolate cake with choco

Saturday morning began with my daily routine of groaning, whining, rolling in bed and getting back up to get ready for class. We Loretoites do have college on Saturdays and believe me, I'm tired of reminding my own parents about that. Justice League had been my daily cartoon/ panacea/ drug for most of my childhood and then Marvel was able to come up with a MOVIE on it, but most of my friends had bailed on me and my sister was too far away then to drag her along. So, I did the one thing I could do ... I got ready for class. What was normal about the day I got late. Now our class has this special system of recording latecomers and devising ways of how to stall the professor so we (the latecomers) can arrive by the time the "attendance register" comes into the scene.  So as is usual, I dropped in a message on WhatsApp in our class group saying "LATE". I missed the metro Nothing unusual. Every single time I am in time for my auto

There comes a day when you wake up and all you want to is to go back to sleep. Reality isn't what it used to be and doesn't mean as much to you anymore. Even heaving yourself up from the bed seems like a job. You just throw your right arm over your eyes and stay there wondering for a minute: "Do I really need to wake up today?" Life doesn't stop though and wait for you to come up to speed. It just goes on. Life has a momentum that is unnerving sometimes, irritating many a times and hard to keep up with most times.  The Routine Instead of actually talking to someone or clearing out issues, you just fall into your monotonous routine. Get out of bed Get that coffee going Pack your bags Pull out your clothes Cram in a sandwich Pick your stuff and rush  Somedays you wonder how you got through the day. Other times you feel this crushing weight of impending doom, that you can do absolutely nothing about. It isn't depression, it isn't about

Unfortunate circumstances make the best of stories... I shrugged on my baggiest top and heaved my roomiest satchel up one shoulder and looked at the mirror. "Will do." *ping* Priya: You coming? Me: Just leaving home. "Bye MAAA!" And then I shut the door. (*bang*) Smirking on having managed to irk my mother even at 10 in the morning, I started hurrying down the road. No autos, just walking.  Back Story: I hadn't met Priya in a while. We were going to meet Suvechha at the hall and even her and I simply exchanged half-hearted "hi's" and "hellos" at college. None of that mattered though. One of us was in trouble, so all of us were going out. The Movie (...) Judwa 2 is not Judwa 1, but Judwa 2 is almost Judwa 1. Get it? No? That's alright. I grabbed the popcorn, Priya got our tickets....and Suvechha came in late. No surprise there. Once we got into our seats though, Priya felt th

Hey there This post is just a huge THANK YOU to all my lovely readers. The City Girl is almost going to hit 2,500 views and I promise to put up posts on any of your suggestions as soon as the target is achieved! Guest posts are gonna be put up here from amateur and experienced bloggers alike from the next week. (contact via profile if you're a writer) Stay tuned for more and THANKS again. :D #BookChat on comments section xoxo

Ethics classes at Loreto college, in the third year, are different. Quite... different... As a young lady, the extent of your education or skill set should not depend upon how well you can cook "butter chicken" or how nicely you drape your saree. To be honest, I can't do either very well. But the bottom line is that I'm willing to learn all of that, for my sake and not for the purpose of bagging the next best groom on an online match-making website. Gender based qualifications required for marriage: Sister (our principal), started class by reciting a few posts put up on a certain match making website. Interestingly...the guy's resume would go something like this...."Tall banker/engineer/doctor/etc. earning --- of 40 years, coming from well educated Brahmin/Kshatriya family. Looking for fair complexioned, 5'4" or taller girl between ages 20-30, coming from good Brahmin family." And vice versa for the prospective bride's ad

You may have come across people in daily life who have the ability to completely turn off their emotions for a while. People belonging to the "Vampire Diaries" fandom, know exactly what I'm talking about. What is this "Humanity Switch"? Basically, according to Damon, you can flip your humanity on and off as and when you wish to.  Switching it off lets a vampire detach his/her actions from any emotional judgment or guilt. This is the excuse these creatures have for killing ruthlessly and actually consuming a nutritious diet of blood, blood and just blood. Can we do it? Depends... Upon whether you really want to, whether you have the will to flip it off or whether the situation demands such a thing of you. You may have seen... Some people are able to keep a check on their emotions for a certain time and then simply break down once they are ready to.  Of course, this isn't a healthy way of dealing with problems...but then

Shoes are bare necessities and that... is a fact of life (ahem). For any other half-crazed shopaholic young woman out there, it makes perfect sense to buy shoes almost every month and probably splurge a few times in between as well. Why we love them: They support you like no other.  They always let you watch your step. They never let your feet touch the ground. How can you not love any object that actually allows you to achieve all these almost impossible tasks? How they repay us: Bought a new shoe recently? Tried it on? Well, good for you. You know the money was well spent.  But then again... what happens when you forget that the shoe is new even though it's practically your favourite pair now?  For all the love and care you show to your shoes, it's unfair to not receive such love and affection from them during the first few days of your relationship. It's gonna hurt and you know it: Each and every one

Summers are lazy, winters are sleepy and rainy days too risky. You will never get used to the tropical climate in India and the afternoon showers just before the monsoons will drive you crazy at times. For times like these and for the sake of your sanity, if you are almost in your twenties and still living with your parents just like I am... here are 10 weird things you could do with a friend, just because you can: 1. A hunting you can go: Go food stall hunting Go ice cream parlour hunting Go hunting for the next best place you could double date at Better ...go hunting for inspiration to get up and go elsewhere There is no end to the kind of exploring you can do, when you have a friend with you. It becomes easier to handle windy roads and unknown crowds, new places and exciting tours. 2. Nap: There are times when you just want to be alone, but do not want to feel lonely. Weird, I know... but it happens and you know it. So here's what you can do... Knock

We met Milind Soman.. . On the way back home... In front of Flurys, Park Street... I've been reading stories and checking articles on Milind Soman since I was 12.  To actually meet him out of the blue was something I'd never have been able to prepare for... So as a posse of girls from Loreto walked back towards the metro from an inter-collegiate fest...who do we "bump" into, but Milind Soman, accompanied by a few of his people! One of us recognized him... Pragya spun around, disrupting her phone call with a slight movement and whispered "Isn't that Milind Soman ?" Now that's not a question you are asked everyday, is it? Me being me, I tripped over (again ) in my hurry to confirm her observations. And there he was, standing on the steps to Flurys, speaking to his PA about the Pinkathon. He looks so much better in Real Life: Dressed in a casual black tee and jeans, with his signature salt and pepper

Bunking classes to watch a movie isn't your usual kind of day if you're studying here, at Loreto. You need insider knowledge, tracking skills, a lot of guts and a crazy group of people to actually consider it. After a morning of practically no classes, sleep inducing guest speeches and first day summer showers, 5 of us decided to simply "bunk it". We were all for staying in and taking selfies till the bell rang to announce the end of the day... until someone suggested we go watch "LOGAN". You see, among a gang of girls with the ultimate Hugh Jackman fans, such a suggestion cannot really be put down... It was five to one on our watches...break ended at one. There wasn't much time to think, plan or even run. You see, in our college, bunking is a serious issue. And why wouldn't it be when even your Principal knows each and every student's name by heart. (Scary, I know.) It was pouring outside and none of us brainiacs had an um