Bebot - The "Translation"

So here I was, not having posted on my blog for over three months, just casually surfing the net, when I came across it. It was searched for on google, purely out of random curiousity. The results were mindblowing. I'd like to take a moment to thank my friends Carlo and Maegan for teaching me a bit of Tagalog, the Filipino dialect. To Carlo especially, I finally understand how 'Ba' can be used in four different ways! Please note, "bebot” (be´-bot) is a street slang word for “babe” or “girl” or “female” - taken from the Tagalog word “babae” (ba´-ba´-e). Here goes -

BEBOT sung by apl.de.ap of The Black Eyed Peas

Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay aking :You are my
Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay aking :You are my
Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay :You are
Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino!: Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino!
Hoy pare, pakinggan n’yo ako: Hey man, all of you listen to me
Heto na ang tunay na Pilipino: Here comes the real Filipino
Galing sa baryo - Sapang Bato: Came from the barrio - Sapang Bato
Pumunta ng L.A. - nagtrabaho: Went to L.A. and labored
Para makatulong sa Nanay: In order to help my mother
Dahil sa hirap ng buhay: Because life is so hard
Pero masaya pa rin ang kulay: But the disposition’s still bright
Pag kumain - nagkakamay: When eating - we use our hands
‘yung kanin - *chicken adobo: What we eat - chicken adobo
‘yung balut - binibenta sa kanto: The *balut - being sold at the corner
Tagay mo na nga ang baso: Share the glass already
Pare ko, inuman na tayo: My friend, let’s start drinking
Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino!: Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino!

Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay aking :You are my
Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay aking :You are my
Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay :You are
Masdan mo ang magagandang dalaga: Observe all the beautiful girls
Nakakagigil ang beauty mo talaga: Your beauty really drives me crazy
Lambing na hindi nakakasawa: The sweetness that is never tiresome
Ikaw lang and gustong makasama: You’re the only one I want to be with
Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino!: Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino!

Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay aking :You are my
Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay aking :You are my
Bebot - bebot - bet (3x)
Ikaw ay :You are
‘yung bahay o kubo: The house or nipa hut
Pag-ibig mo ay tutoo: Your love is for real
Puso ko’y laging kumikibo: My heart always speaks
Wala kang katulad sa mundo: There is no one else in the world like you
Pinoy ka - sigaw na - sige: You’re Filipino - shout it out - c’mmon
Kung maganda ka - sigaw na - sige: If you’re beautiful - shout it out - c’mmon
Kung buhay mo’y mahalaga - sige: If your life is valuable - c’mmon
Salamat sa ‘yong suporta: Thank you for your support
Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino!: Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino!
Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino! - Pilipino!: Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino! - Filipino!
Filipino . . .La la la la la la la . . . .la la lo . . . .La la la la la la la . . . .la la lo . . . .


This, sung in praise of a 'Bebot'. Aah.. I love the Phillipines. Makes me almost proud of the epic Indian courtship song, "What is mobile number? What is your smile number?"

Lost In Translation

They say that there is no time like the present for postponing what you ought to be doing. 4 months, 6 days and 23 hours is a long time. In terms of a blogging break, it really is. Reasons could be given, but what purpose would it serve? So here goes - another attempt at effectively capturing my life on cyberspace.

Indonesia left south east asia in a haze.
North Korea left the world in a daze.
I finally got out of the maze.
Or was it just another phaze?

Singapore does a few things to you. It shows you the trick of survival in a varied culture. It teaches you too look below the glossy exterior and identify the dirt within. It exposes your weaknesses faster than a torture chamber would. It gives you the best opportunities in the world, but snatches it away the moment you loosen up. And of course, it reduces grammar requirements drastically. You don't need to give an elaborate explanation to ask one for something. All you have to ask is 'can?'. Mostly, cannot. It's worth the try.

Home is being missed terribly. I miss my family, my friends and my food (Ma.. I'm hungry!). I miss my city. I miss M.G. Road. I miss NPS. I miss 5 hour-long phone conversations. I miss long walks through Defence Colony. I miss Bangalore. But I aint gonna complain. Life is good here. Plus, my ticket for december is booked. So I'm happy!

New friends have been made. New places have been seen. New types of food have been eaten. Old habits though, have remained. College is great fun. I love SMU. Not just because every place in it is covered by posters screaming the same thing! I love it because it is everything I expected it to be. And sometimes its gone way beyond. The technology in this place could make NASA raise an eyebrow. Or maybe two. And of course, who can ignore hostel life? It's something I'd recommend highly. Nowhere else will dinner be at 6 in the morning, and nowhere else will you meet a football player from Ghana, and a Thai monk who debates.

I have mastered the art of getting up at 8:20 for an 8:30 class, and still making it in time. I'm impressed! Quizzing is being missed sorely. It's place has been taken for now, by debating. British Parliamentary at that. It's great fun. Before I move on, any P.O.I.'s at this point? I kill myself!

Motion picture type soundtrack has begun playing in the background. The sirens are going off. The show has begun. And I'm on my way. Come on, lah. Slow down cannot. Have a great time? Can. Wah lau eh!

Lost in translation.

Is IIT IT?

8:00 am on a tuesday morning. Approximately 3 lakh people logged on to the internet to check their fate. A number, or a rank would possibly decide their future, and disturbingly for some, their existence. The IITJEE 2006 results were being annnounced. Once they were out, it was a moment of sheer ecstacy for some, and a heart breaking one for many others. Sadly, many people who did not make it, took their lives because they couldn't accept their failure. Looking at both sides of the coin, I thought to myself whether all the effort was really worth it. I mean , forget the physical and mental stress for a moment. What about the emotional drain? Was IIT really worth all this?

Flashback to 2 years. All of us began our long journey towards the IIT summit. Tom and Jerry were replaced by Resnick and Halliday. Through the past two years, many of us dropped out of this journey for many reasons. Some though, stayed on, and studied hard, and I mean really hard. All their focus was on April 9, 2006 when they would write the IIT exam. There were many barriers in their path, but they overcame each one of them with determination, if not with ease. So, as the days turned into weeks, which turned into months, books as thick as pillows were finished off with mind-numbing pace. Sleep was not an option for some. I remember secretly hoping that all of them would somehow make it, after all the toil.

My question was answered on the 31st of May 2006, when the results were announced. Many of my friends made it, and even more did not. What I remember the most from that day was the supreme joy I felt on hearing that my best friend had got a phenomenal all India rank of 153. I mean, if I myself could be so happy, I can't imagine how happy he must be. And this was when I realised that it was all worth it. You might sacrifice a year of your childhood to get into IIT, but once you make it, there's no bigger joy. Just knowing that you are among the smartest people in the country, and that you are studying at the best college in your country and arguably the world, that must be one hell of a feeling.

So if IIT is your aim, and you indeed make it, all the effort becomes worth it. The intellectual and career benefits of being an IITian speak for themselves. Even if you do not make it, just knowing that you had the resolve to make the journey should leave you feeling proud of yourself. For that matter, I guess that whenever we are fixed on an aim, want it bad enough, and decide to work towards it, the outcome becomes a small part of the entire process. In the words of a wise man -

"Don't worry about the destination. Enjoy the journey."

Butter Chicken Blues

Man life sucks. Richa calls and says she's in the mood for butter chicken. So we decide to meet up , and engage in the fine art of hogging! I'm all jumping and happy. Then I call the "gang" and let them know the plan. Everything's decided. Then she calls back, and says the plan is cancelled since many of the girls didn't get perm! WTF... I WANT MY BUTTER CHICKEN !!!!!!