Shucks, I can’t believe it’s the end of the year already. As I sit in my empty room, I strange wave of nostalgia sweeps over me. It’s good to leave – it really feels good to have something new and potentially exciting to look forward to, and yet, it’s a sad moment because I’m leaving possibly the best thing that happened to me.

Res is completely completely empty, I’m the only person on my floor and jess (the other sub-warden) is to leave in about half an hour. Funny, the year began with an empty res – being the only one on the floor, and is ending the same, like a neatly tucked in bed-sheet. Saying good bye to everyone hasn’t been that easy, but there’s comfort in the fact that I’ll be back for grad.

Bapu has come from joburg yesterday (Thursday) and we’re scheduled to leave on Sunday (although that’s debatable at this point in time). The car’s already packed up – can you believe… I’m early for once in my life!!! I’m really hoping that we can meet ba and anjani bhen in ficksburg and go for some cherry picking, but we’ll have to play it by ear for now. then, once I’m in joburg, I need to start sorting out what I want to do with my life – ie the next few years. I’m totally clueless… still totally clueless!! So… I’m going to do a bit of major brainstorming, relaxing and decision making over this vac.

For now it’s adieu… I don’t know when I’ll be able to update (the internet connection at home isn’t all that hot!) but until next time…

Adieu…

Read More

i’m feenished!!!

the feeling of relief sweeping over my sleep-deprived body was – is an indescribable sensation… something like making it to the loo when your eyeballs are floating, or snagging the last piece of chocolate cake… mmm… chocolate cake. yes, the feeling of relief… incomparable to any other human experience.

in other news…

hopefully, my synapses catch up with the good news and allow me some sleep… i’m starting to see square circles floating on my ceiling - which makes me doubt my sanity (irony!!). on the flip-side, i now have time to chill, do some art, go for walks and just generally flomp around camps – which i probably won’t end up doing in any event. tee hee – nevertheless, it’s good to have dreams na?

ok, all together now…

(p.s in case you’re not on the train – i’ve just feenished exams… like forever – well, almost...)

Read More

so it’s my last paper tomorrow… my last friggin paper…

the day before my first anthro paper – the mutant spider bite on my ankle flared up, was itchy as hell and woke me up at 3:32 am. because of the wonders of nervous energy i found myself staring at the ceiling for a solid 4 hours, before finally giving up and getting ready for my paper (which was in the morning). therefore, all in all, i had about 3 hours sleep before my crack ‘o dawn morning paper. call my pissy, but i can’t even tie my shoelaces on 5 or 6 hours sleep, let alone 3 before a big exam… and somehow, by a miracle that is all wonderful, i felt surprisingly alert and awake enough to write my paper (quite well mind you…)!! surprise surprise!! been wondering whether i’d have felt so good and up for it if i had had a full night’s sleep. mmm…

anywhoo…

writing tomorra… wish me luck… last paper and all… and the all and all and all and all and all…

Read More

and the noise goes on...

i can't believe how badly - or how well - noise travels in oriel. last night, i pulled an all-nighter, working into the wee hours of the morning, and i was very suprised at disgustingly inconsiderate people are. at 2 and 3 in the morning, doors were slamming, and people were talking - not even whispering - in the coridoors. i'm so over res. just so over it.

the drama continues...

sam and i went jogging last thursday, and we stopped for a rest in the botanical gardens. some mean-ass thing bit me, and now the area's gone all red, swollen and a tad blueish... eeew! it's also super itchy. great, this is just what i need to keep my o.c.d under control...

on the bright side of life, this time next week i will be foot-loose and fancy-free!!! yipee!! my bapu (dad) is coming to gtown on the 26th to help pack up all me stuff and cart it back to jozi, and we're only going to go back on the 3rd 'o december, so, it'll be a super week to bond, go to the beach, do all that nice father-daughter stuff!!! he he!

more awesome news...

i recently googled the name of a friend of mine from prep school, and found a mini profile on her as well as an address - and so i e-mailed her to find out howzit going... and... i've received a reply!!! she's doing her DOCTORATE in the u.s and is going strong as ever!! the amazing part is that she's my age!! i'm oh-so-proud to say that i know one of the youngest doctoral students! i can't get over the fact that it's been almost 10 years and in a matter of clicks, seconds, and an e-mail later, i've managed to re-establish contact with a special person from me past.

*glow*

righty'o... must get back to the grind... have exams to write, insomnia to experience and another jar of pickled gherkins to polish off.

adieu...

Read More

it’s that time of the year again (no, not christmas – but that too is coming around soon!)… it’s exams!! and apart from the copious amounts of gherkins i’ve been munching on – i’ve actually not been procrastinating as much as i usually do. the freeky part though has been having insomnia and hypersomnia at the same time. as usual, i’m a terrible insomniac at exam time, and yet, i find myself sleeping soooo much during the day. it’s probably to make up for my lack of sleep at night, but i’m getting over and above 7hrs of sleep a day!!! freekin me out!!

so… my exam time table looks like this:

4^th november: psychology (written)

13^th november: psychology

15^th november: anthropology

18^th november: anthropology

…eeek! just short of stating the obvious, next week i will be seeing mass fire!!

anyway, on the flip side, this is the last year of undergrad studies. from here on, it’s postgrad or i enter the working world. i still have no idea what i plan to do next year. i’m quite keen on taking some time off from academia and getting a new experience, but then again, i don’t want to lose my momentum. so… here we find ourselves at crossroads, floating along with the current, hoping for the best!

we had a terrible water shortage in grahamstown for about 3 days… there was nooooo water in many many parts of the town – and in some places, no electricity either. many residences on campus were affected, but fortunately, our res wan’t hit. when the water finally came back to the res of campus – we all got muddy water! it was insane! and then there was a scare that the water contained heavy metals and other toxic materials. oi vey. and so… for the next 3 days we all lived on bottled water – kindly sponsored by the uni! phew! now everything’s pretty much back to normal – except that sam refuses to drink tap water until he gets home (thank goodness he’s ok with showering!!!)!! tee hee!

that’s all from me at the mo.

adieu…

Read More

to blog, or not to blog… that’s is the question…

the most trickiest things about blogs are how much information to include, or how much not to. i could ramble on about the 15 fantastic orgies i attended this week, maybe you’d enjoy hearing tales of crimson dyed animals, or how about the one where my psychiatrist recommended that i self-commit to an institution, ‘somewhere quiet, with lake or a garden’ – a sort of mental ‘time-out’ (oh do pardon the pun). yet the amazing thing is that you (the reader) may chose to have trust in the fact that i am indeed writing the truth and not rambling on about a fictitious life, spurred on by your seemingly insatiable curiosity. you may now chose to believe that underneath that colourful, bubbly façade, there lies a mentally unstable, tormented yogita, waiting – wanting to crawl out of her skin… or… you may simply realize that i’ve been watching far too many hannibal lector movies and am now considering eating your brain…

mmm…

Read More

i have to have to have to brag about this...

rob started experiencing pretty nasty stomch cramps and a runny tummy - not good when you trying to break a world record...

so... after taking some lodium (similar to immodium) - rob took it not me!!!, i realised that this man needs some immidiate symptomatic treatment otherwise he's going to be a very unhappy chappie for a very long toim. and so, oh best beloved, this wee first aider wracked her brain to find a way to make a hot compress for the fellow. now bear in mind that we are in a radio studio and there is barely any coffee, tea and sugar. so, using two engergade bottles, i made a hot compress with boiled water and prevented them from melting by putting them in a sink of cold water...

my bad if i'm making a big deal over small stuff.. but at this point in time, i'm bloody chaffed with meself! :D
(check out previous post for details)

Read More

it's 2:11am and i'm at the rmr (rhodes music radio) studios on campus and doing first aid duty for a crazy (yet amazingly balanced) fellow who is attempting to break the world record for the longest dj stint. currently the record stands at 125 hrs and he's now through 66 or 67 ish hrs... more than half way - yay rob!

so... i have taken his pulse, which is at 90 - good and healthy considering he's had about 2 or 3 hrs sleep max in the past 3 days. also gave him a massage and helped him get some shut eye for 10mins... you cannot imagine how crazy the situation here is. it's literally a game of fantastic endurance.

check out http://www.rhodesmusicradio.co.za/rmr/index.htm for more info on this amazing... yet amazingly crazy bloke!

oh yes... and just in case you're wondering - rob is doing this all for charity... so - if you can, are able to and have the resources to, please contribute to this venture in any way you can!!! if you can't get hold of rmr, you can contact me on XXX or e-mail XXX thanks a mill...

Read More

oh life life life…

i am so loving student life at the moment!! on vac at the moment in joburg and loving every moment of being a busy student!

i’ve been doing a lot of fieldwork – interviewing various people for my fieldwork project on snuff (non-smoking tobacco)… and trying… trying oh so hard to relax!

life has been treating me pretty well… at major crossroads in my life – choosing between carrying on with honors next year or getting some experience and joining the working force. eish! tough decisions to be made relatively soon! what do you think? should i take a gap year or so, or should i just plough on with my studies? would love to hear what you’ve got to say…

also, exams are ‘round the corner and i’m already starting to feel the burn! it’s going to be a tough, long term – but in the old end… it’ll be worth it (or so i’d like to think!)

there’s not much to be said at the mo… life is good (relatively) and so we plod on…

adieu…

Read More

and now… for the looong overdue birthday update!

before i begin anything, i’d just like to send one humungo thank you to each and every person who contributed to my day in some way or another… you really made it amazingly special!

so… the big 2-1!! and my was is a big 2-1!!

it all began, oh best beloved, on wednesday morning outside oriel house (my residence/hostel) with a breakfast picnic at 8am. steph, jonno, sam and me-self sat and ate… and ate… and ate…ba surprised me and organized a few platters that sam picked up from pick ‘n pay, which included sandwiches, muffins and some awesome mouse-cup things… mmm yummy!

in the afternoon, sam and i went for lunch at gino’s where i had me favourite pizza – sundried tomato, olive and feta!!! i cannot begin to tell you how much i love love love that pizza!

in the evening, i went to meena mami’s, and ajima (grandmom), ajabapu (granddad), masiba, both mama’s and mami’s and the kids – priyanka and trisha were all there to have supper and open… wait for it… (drumroll…) 21 presents!! it was the coolest and sweetest thing! and i got some really awesome prezzies too!

and after that… sam, kish, steph, jonno and meself went out dancing to friars!

all in all – an amazing day, filled with lots of love – definitely one i’ll cherish for a long long time to come.

but wait… it doesn’t end there!!!

on thursday, left for joburg, and was thoroughly spoilt by my parents… here’s the cleft-notes version, or i’ll be here for years!

• thursday: room decorated with purple balloons, and a ginormous bunch of flowers!
• friday: woke up at crazy ass 5am… actually, at 5:30am! for a beautiful havan performed by my hero… mahendra bhai! i don’t want to single out any event, but the havan was simply marv! i couldn’t have asked for more! then, at about 1-ish, ba blindfolded me and took me to an amazing day spa, where i had a chololate body wrap! yummy! but, friday didn’t end there! in the evening, me folks, the wonderful folks that they are, booked out a vip lounge in monsoon lagoon at emperors palace in joburg! it was mind-blowing!!! had an awesome time with anj-bhen, j-b, sue bhen, pinto banevi, damoo, nischol, edwin and sam!! check out http://www.monsoonlagoon.co.za/.
• saturday morning was a tad sad! ha ha! mind you – depends on whose perspective that’s from! let me say that i was just a bit ‘fragile’!! tee hee! in the afternoon, went for lunch with sam’s sister, and after that, (got blindfolded again!!) was taken to the lemongrass – an amazing indonesian-dutch restaurant in benoni. i can’t begin to explain all the emotions that overwhelmed me… practically my entire family was there to share with me in this special moment. for once in my life – i was totally speechless!!
• sunday morning… early early, i began my trek back to g’town. and so, a very special, very sentimental weekend came to a close.

please feel free to have a squizz at my pics of the breakfast and the weekend at www.photos.yahoo.com/ykunvar.

Read More

Bhanu masi, my heroine and role-model. always miss you, love you forever…

(Bhanu Masi at Khetan Bhai's Wedding)


















(Bhanu Masi at 17)

Read More

life is beautiful.

fact.

as much as so many of us bitch and moan (me included) about the shittiness and complexities of life, the undisputable fact is that life is beautiful.

one of the most amazing things is that no matter how many times we chose to ignore or reject the eternal divinity, when we are ultimately ready, it reveals itself to us in a grand manner. i think that in a lot of ways, we need to change or adapt our mindset and how we chose to view the world and the things that happen in it. should we see life as a collection of experiences, tailor-designed to help us learn and grow – life becomes a rich tapestry of interwoven, interconnected life-lessons.

ok, that’s my bit of existentialising for now…

week update:

the funniest thing happened. on monday, sam, kish and i went to debonairs for pizza and as we drove up to res (from debonairs), my mouth started getting all itchy and a bit swollen. slowy it got worse as it traveled down my throat (yes, but this stage i was going slightly kookoo – itchy throat not good eeaaagh!!). so because i couldn’t phone ba that evening, kish (aka the darling) phoned his dad (who is a doc) and asked him what the course of action should be for an allergic reaction (to mustard). after some strange anti-vom pills, lots of water and listerine the situation ‘calmed-down’ so to speak. except that now i was buzzing from the listerine!!!

but it gets funnier…

and so, oh best beloved, after my test on tuesday i went to sam's and was super duper starving... so, i made a nice steamy cup of noodles for meself and settled down on the bean bag to enjoy them... then, dearest sam cracks some wise-ass joke about mustard and oh-so-casually looks at the ingredients on the pack of noodles... need i say more? luckily, i had only had 3 spoons, so the reaction wasn’t as bad as the whole pizza, but hows that for irony!!!

and jai shri krishna for wednesday. hope everyone had a special, wonderful... blessed janmashtami!

Read More

sam is wounded that i said that the night out was boring... this is to publically announce that sam and kish's company is great - no no, fantastic! it is simply the multitudes of drunken rhodents that irritate the ba-nanas out of me.

adieu...

Read More

it’s 1:30am on a friday morning and i’m wide-awake - like a 5 year old on red bull. oi. save my hyperactive ass.

rhodes is a bad place to be sober. sam, kish and i went out tonight (to get into the vibe of tri-varsity) and because it’s shraavan (hindu holy month) none of us were drinking (yes, we were stone sober… J). i can honestly say that it was one of the most painful nights i’ve had out. no really… flat boring… not a pithering of emotion – not even irritation with all the drunken rhodents falling all over the place, nada, niks, nothing, bugger-all.

am i turning into an old lady?

Read More

i solemnly swear not to ignore my blog…

well, the upside is that now that i’m back at uni, things in terms of internet should be easier! for those of you who are otherwise uniformed… i have a lan internet connection in my room… yay for technology!

vac update:

for the first week of vac, i did absolutely bugger all!! and guess what, it felts bloody good!!! *yogs grins inanely!*

apart from doing nothing (which one can never finish doing!)… i changed my fieldwork topic about 3 times and feel like i’m still getting nowhere really really fast. background: in anthro 3, we’re required to do a field work project on a topic of our choice, accompanied by a research proposal etc etc etc. sorta makes us feel like mini anthropologists! tee hee! so, this so-called mini-anthropologist feels minute…

in the second week, i went to ermelo, a small (but rapidly growing), practically frozen town in the middle of mpumalanga, just half an hour from bethal. you’re probably thoroughly confused by now… so let me clarify a few issues. no, ermelo is not in deep dark africa, it is in fact one of the most swiftly developing mining towns in south africa. recently, a few previously closed mineshafts were re-opened and this has brought major industry into the town. yay for development! i am also proud to say that i have 148% vision. that’s according to my jija (brother-in-law) who is an optometrist in ermelo. and now i have a super cool set of polo sunglasses!

in the third week, my folks went on holiday, which was a well-deserved break for them… and so, i manned the kunvar fort! working in the shop was an amazing experience. i can’t say that i thoroughly enjoyed it; it had its perks and downfalls – like everything. but i learnt a lot and now know that i don’t ever (never say never!) want to go into retail business!

and the fourth week? well… let’s not go into that. the drama, oh the drama! after much swelling, pain and lots of myprodol, i had a cyst that had found a home in my gum (eek – yes, my gum!) removed. the procedure’s called an apicoectomy (‘scuse my fetish for big fancy words!). i really don’t want to go into it much – for the sake of my liver and all those queasy ppl out there, so the important thing is that i’m doing fine now, and the stitches are healing nicely. according to bapu (my dad), i have a left-hand smile, according to emese i have an aristocratic smile and according to me, i look like a lopsided chipmunk trying to smile! tee hee!

righty’o, that’s it from me.

Read More

ok, all together now...

yes people, i am finally on vac!! the miracle of this all is that i have managed to crawl out alive and well, a small feat of nature! psych (paper 2) was a tad painful, but do-able none the less, and all i have to do now is wait... wait for that fateful sms to tell me whether i'm not-so-smart, or just a little bit smart.

the up-side of this is that i shall finally have a social life!!! yay! there is finally a bit light at the end of my tunnel... *yogs happy dances around the room*

Read More

right, i believe a pity-party is in order…

i don’t know where to begin… should i begin by slating my oh-so irritating neighbour to the depths of hell, or should i target her parents, who have obviously taught her that it’s ok to be a screeching, squealing abomination? in all fairness, her ‘dear’ (note: none is a dear – save for an animal) friend should take at least half of the blame – for she was the one doing the most screeching.

pardon me, in the midst of my frustration, lack of quality sleep and general grumpiness, i fear i am being rather unclear… so here’s the real sheezy…

at 12 midnight, this soul decided that she had had her lot for the day, and retired to bed. now, if you’ve read my previous posts, you will have noticed the reference to insomnia, which continues to plague my oh-so fragile liver… so, in the beginning best beloved, i found it difficult to fall off to sleep. i finally feel into some vague stupor (yay – applaud now…). HOWEVER… that was not to last long, as at about 3am… yes, you read right… 3 bloody a.m., my bloody neighbour and her bloody pal decide that it’s bloody fun to bloody laugh (oh-so-very loudly), and bloody talk at the top of their bloody voices. now if you know oriel at all, you’ll know that it’s made out of paper, and the fact that res is dead quiet at that dead hour, does much for the acoustics. (this is the part where you start to feel very sorry for me). after much whining, groaning, and whimpering, i mustered up the courage to leave my warm spot and ask my fellow housemates to tone it down a bit. which (in all fairness and due credit to the brain-less) was done. HOWEVER, at 5am… the saga recommenced… and at 7am this poor sod (i am feeling very sorry for myself right now) went yet again to ask the hooligans to get a padded cell.

the irony of this all is that i have the power to fine and give-hell-to and yet i chose not to… i’ve fined this individual before, and given a million warnings, and still… nooooo change!!! i ask you with tears in my hazel brown eyes… aren’t i just the biggest sucker you’ve met?

Read More

the irony of life: youth day (an official public holiday in south africa), is on the 16th of june… june is that time of the year when students recycle washing, scholars draw spots on their faces with markers and moms pace around their kitchens with anxious tension. yes, june is exam time. and the strangest thing is that the 16th of june, happens to be in the middle of the month, which also happens to be (by some miracle of nature) the middle of exams!! well would you believe it…
ok, so before you think that i’m the village idiot regarding history let me offer a few tit-bits on this ever so conveniently placed public holiday. the 16th of june 1976 marks the day of the soweto uprising, in which very many students were killed because they refused to accept being taught in afrikaans (well, that was the spark that set the fire off – it was a number of contributing factors). the saddest thing about the 1976 uprising is that children were the victims of the atrocitities. ok, it’s it from me, but, there’s a happy stash of information on wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/apartheid) if you’re interested.

on a completely different note…

me last paper is on thursday… yes, yes, you can stop happy dancing now! it’s psych (paper 2 – duh!!) and aside from being grossly dissatisfied with the entire psych course so far, i’m quite excited (and keen) to write this paper ‘cause it means that at 4pm on thursday the 22nd of june, my holiday officially starts, and that i’ll have the horrible first semester over and done with and out of the way… yippee… (you may recommence the happy dance).

Read More

niks has kindly pointed out to me that i have another spelling error in my previous post. from now on i'm cutting and pasting from word... my liver just can't handle it anymore...

on a brighter note… i’m writing anthro tomorrow (tourism) and will only have 1 paper left after that! yay… the challenge at this point is to get through the next 48 hrs alive… someone save my oh-so-traumatised bum-bum!!

aside from anthro (which is happily chomping on my liver), procrastination and insomnia i’m doing ok!! steph (see photo) and i had an awesome evening last night… just chilling and chatting… lying on sam’s bean-bag staring at my white ceiling and existential-ising – and no, we were not high!! it was one of those moments when all around (and inside) of you is going bezerk and somehow, you know it’s all going to be ok. yes, yes, the warm fuzzy feeling… that nice squishy feeling you get in your toes – like when your mum used to put little notes in your lunch…

Read More

i've found a spelling error in my previous post... that traumatises me.

blogging is so wierd... it's like talking to all your mates (and a bunch of randoms) all at the same time, in the same room... and yet, you're all alone... mmm... someone should write a book about this- any takers?

ok, so i've progressed from procrastinating and studying, to procrastinating, studying and eating. was video conferencing with a mate a few days ago, and apparently, i've put on weight. i'm a fatty boom boom. crap. so, instead of doing something about it - exercising, starting a 'healthy eating plan' or simply watching what i eat, i've gone ape and eating even more. and what makes this disastrous situation all the more disastrous is that my ba (my mum) is down in grahamstown from joburg... and feeding me all sorts of 'oh-so-nice', yummy food. oh lordy, i can fully empathise with fat bastard from austin powers now... this is sad.

right, i'm off to lunch (tee hee)...

Read More

i've finally got a blog... and i have no idea what to write... oi.

ok, so lets start in the now...

i'm stitting in me res room and procrastinating like it's on sale and... i'm feeling rather lazy. so, rather than be totally unconstructive, i thought i'd share what's goin on in me life now.

for starters, i wrote anthro (theory and fieldwork) yesterday (8th June), writing psych (paper 1) on tuesday (eek!) and thursday i write anthro (tourism)... (double eek!!). then i get a bit of a breather till the 22nd, when i write my last psych paper!! yay... then i'm footloose and fancy free...

at the moment, studies have been all consuming and taking up most of my time - studies and procrastination...

i don't get life... i don't get myself. i mean, i love anthro... i really really love anthro, and yet, when it comes to getting down to the grindstone, my head goes all funny and i'm floating in 'mind-space'... ever get that feeling? soooooo frustrating... or maybe i'm just rather strange. mmm... yes...

well, i leave you on that rather morbid note, my books bekon... *sniffle*!
adieu...

Read More

how exciting is this... i have managed to (by some miracle of nature) set up my very own blog!! oh and the fun begins here!!!

so... pls bear with this yogi-bear as she fumbles and stumbles over the wonders of 'Blogdom'.

Read More