The Characters

All right this is just the introduction to the characters that will be mentioned on this blog in the future. Now that all the permission taking has happened and most people (actually all) have agreed to be written about, we shall commence. On a side note everyone was okay with me taking their real names, but since pseudo names sound that much more fun(ner) we shall use pseudo names... So today one by one we will get to know the most distinguishing characteristics of all these characters...(I think this is becoming character overdose)..

The Charging Bear (will also at times be called Grizzly bear or simply Grizzly B depending on how bored I am of typing): This homo sapien has many unique qualities and also happened to be one of the first friends I made in Xaviers. I have no clue why he choose a name like Grizzly B considering he is not the hairiest person I've met...but maybe he sees some other common qualities of a bear in him. Grizzly B can come up with the most unheard of thoughts ( the discussion about dog meat in my last blog was courtsey Grizzly B), in a situation which is nowhere related to such thoughts (maybe I didn't get my point across there...but if you know him you know what I mean). He also has the biggest collection of pornography (I just had to say this somewhere) and can have discussions, rather debates in how porn in different countries and languages differs. Often this discussion becomes a monolouge since no one else has anything to contribute due to lack of knowledge :). Grizzly B is also a player. I don't know if he will like me saying this or no but hey this blog isn't about being politically correct. But Grizzly B also is one of the smartest people I've met and can easily hold his ground and probably outshine most others in a debate (other than porn also). He's also a big music fan and his music collection I believe far outshines his porn collection...more about him later in future posts.

Wizard The Squeezer: As the name suggests, he is a little different :) . Probably one of the more philosophical types, but every now and then bound to make some horrendous bloomer (which is how he gets the name). "Always think from the third person's point of view"....I've probably heard this sentence at least once every week from him. Over the years he has changed a lot and has become a lot more open and comfortable with emotions (he may disagree, but then this is my opinion!). He generally is not the sort who will create a fuss about anything and likes to be in harmony with most people, not the confrontational sort by any means. A voracious reader and someone who will voice his opinion in a very calculated manner (most times), but when he makes bloomers they are the most classic ones (as I shall describe in future posts).

Cass: I don't quite know why she choose this name, but I've never quite understood her fascination for Greek names in the first place. Cass is probably my closest friend (now everyone knows who I am talking about) and someone who knows me better than most others. She has been my agony aunt and patiently heard me out when I've been irrational (Grizzly B and The Wizard also will fall in this category). She's also been the one who has been subject to the most atrocious nick names courtsey yours truly (never quite got over 'raapchik'). Cass is another smart woman and is one of the few who is not shy to voice her opinion in a crowd that she is familiar with. She will usually refrain from making any extreme comments, and take the middle ground, but with her you get what you see. If it's a spade it will be called a spade. The best thing about Cass is that she and I disagree on a lot of things, but we are able to put these differences aside and find a common ground most times (there are some exceptions...remember our argument about proposals!!).

Mr. Puri Bail: He was, is and will remain the king of foot in mouth syndrome. He's one of a kind and when I say that I mean every single word. Also, he was, is and will remain the 'firang' in the group. The million dollar question that everyone has is how did this guy pass his school exams in Hindi and Marathi??? His answer is for marathi he just changed, "hain" to "ahe".... The rest of us feel his writing was probably so bad that the poor examiner decided to have some pity on him :):):).... He will probably end up being the guy most written about here in future posts, courtsey his wonderful bloomers (probably beating Wizard's bloomers). But he is also a genuinely nice guy and someone who has become a very good friend over the years.

The Nephew: :):):) Don't we all know who we are talking about here. He could alternately be called Mr. Confidence as well, for the only reason that he is the guy will confidently answer every question asked to him in the manner, tone and with a face that suggests that he is the expert in this field! He is also someone who has had arguments about the 'gear box' of a car at 7.15 in the morning in a train when most others were still half asleep. The nephew is also one of the most enthusiastic people I've met. His collection of music will probably challenge Grizzly B's.... He was always the New Year's planner and I must say he did a pretty good job of planning the parties...A very good DJ as well.

Brown eyes: After Mr. Puri Bail if anyone had a hard time being the 'target' it was probably brown eyes who will also at times be called "Sheru" (and now I will be abused). Had some fascination for purple, had the pleasure of experiencing the Sun's first rays every morning, one of the few people who drove a car to college in Mumbai (rich sindhi girl), always liked to 'share' her food and a big time party animal (much like the nephew).

The Alpha female: Longest last name (no seriously like after knowing her for 6 months I still couldn't pronounce her last name). Very opinionated and NOT AT ALL SHY TO VOICE HER OPINION. Still suffers from an undiagnosed syndrome (research is on and she has willingly agreed to be part of a study that I am conducting). Very emotional and very likely to cry at the drop of a hat. She's had some absolute fantastic episodes worth narrating.

The Gujju Boy: At first he comes across as the most sober, decent person in this group of people. Once you get to know him, all these misconceptions are easily erased! He has had the most number of misadventures after being drunk..and the stories he starts telling when he is drunk are definitely worth hearing (red slipper and blue slipper). He also loves to give gyaan to people (thankfully not when he is drunk).

Handy Man: He is exactly that... the handy man, alternately he could also be called Mr. Argumentative but then I shall be good to him for now at least (after all he is arranging my New Years is Goa this year). Handy man has MPD for sure. But on the whole Handy man is a good friend to have and he is someone who usually does a lot for friends....

There are some other characters also who will probably be written about in the future and I shall mention their characteristics at that time...

Some vignettes about this group will be posted soon...