Grabbing space

The year has started rather well.
I ushered in the new year in a bus on my way back from Aurangabad (visited the Ajanta and Ellora Caves), but it's been smooth sailing since then.

Week one, 2007 was totaaal chaos. M and I were going crazy (ok, only I was going crazy) trying to get things in order for the 32nd Mahabaleshwar Seminar on Parasite Immunology and Immunogenetics. We left a day before the conference began, and were greeted by the stern yet friendly Brig. Ravi Khullar, secretary of The Club Mahabaleshwar. The club is simply out of this world. Everything is impeccably maintained, and the floor of every room is spotless. And the food! *sigh* Strawberries and fresh cream, Mango ice cream, Kheer, Corn- shaped marzipan, all sorts of dessert. :-)

The instructors for the course were really good. I think they have successfully rekindled my interest in immunology. They were all super sweet and approachable. When I sneezed on the first day, an American instructor asked me to 'go sleep' so I could recover from a cold..:)

Lectures apart, there were 'group discussions' where we were supposed to walk around in groups with the instructors and discuss immunology. These were a lot of fun. Mahabaleshwar is a wonderful place to walk around. Although it's a tad too commercialized now- too many hotels and shops. Groups sat by the lake, or next to various small temples; some went to an apiary, others discovered caves...

We also took time off to explore the place at night. The complete absence of street lights, ridiculously low temperatures, and cluelessness about the area couldn't keep us from exploring the place, and expectedly, getting lost. We went walking around, and on the last night, lied down in the golf course to watch the stars. I wanna go back!!!

We 'explored' Pratapgadh fort on the last day of the conference. The view from the periphery of the fort is absolutely stunning.


Despite outward appearances, grad students can be a lot of fun. We discovered this on the last night of the conference, during a barbeque-bonfire we had organised. The alcohol flowed freely, like every other night, but this time round, there was music! And chamiya music, that.

The students and some instructors jiggied away, and there was some serious multi-cultural step-trading. Two American grad students (boys) of Latin American origin played some upbeat Latino music off their iPods, and moved their hips with a vengeance! They taught us some stuff, and then a punjabi student took over with basic bhangra training. This was followed by an adorable, considerably senior instructor from the States, who literally described the step he was teaching us as 'Grabbing space'. Fun fun fun! :-)




Cocktail parties should be a more regular feature in conferences.