In a hospital

The tubelight in my room is not working tonight, so typing is a real strain. I'll keep it short.

The grim situation as regards illness on the campus continued today. Our class CR Anara joined Thoku, KG and Khetan (from Section A) in the hospital today. It's possibly malaria but no one is sure (Though Khetan has indeed been confirmed with malaria). It was rather sad to see them all in the hospital today, especially with the end-terms approaching. From our section, Prostee, Chhedi and Balaji are doing the commendable job of spending the night in the hospital. Gusshow, guys!

Meanwhile a tradition has affected me. Pajushan began on Sep. 1. Altough a hard-core atheist, I have a soft spot for traditions which are not directly contrary to my beliefs. So my general policy is to continue with a tradition unless there are compelling reasons to do otherwise. Since 9th or 10th standard, I have followed the Jain custom of abstinence from certain foods during these 8 days of Pajushan. Generally, it is hardly a bother; but this time it has been a bit more difficult. With hardly any of the allowed foods being served in the mess, I have had to resort to drinking juices and eating fruits (with a good corn soup in the evening) during the day. And the long nights cause more pangs of hunger at night than I've been used to (Since nothing can eaten or drunk from sunset to sunrise). Well, only four more days to go, then it's back to a varied diet. And from the 16th to the 21th, it should be good eating my favourite foods in Bombay all day!