Flyaway Mind

City Rain

2011-05-25T19:16:00.010+05:30

These days, it rains every evening in Bangalore. The sky is persistently clouded, casting a gloomy spell whole day long. I watched the rain through the glass panes from the fourth floor of my office. I could see the rain droplets plunging down, and the intermittent gale of wind blowing the drops upward, creating a hazy pattern up in the air. It's fascinating to watch these patterns from high above.The rain thrashes down on the parked cars and people run helter skelter for a cover. But there are few guys walking around, as if they are unaffected by the nature's fury.. I wonder, are they trying act super cool or are they really enjoying this..I quiver at the thought of getting drenched and later having to sit inside the air conditioned office space..

As I came out of the office after the rain, everything had a glossy washed out look.The air was cold and the evening sky was engulfed by menacing thunder clouds. As I walked through the tech park, lined all along with colossal glass buildings, I could see the dense blue-grey monsoon clouds reflecting on the tall glass structures and imparting them a quaint bluish tint. The lights inside the buildings added to the magical feel.

As I walked, it started drizzling and I had to pass by the lake, which is inside the tech park. The cold wind blowing through the lake gave me goose bumps. I wished I had a warm jacket on. It's beautiful to watch the lake in the rain. I stopped by to watch the dusky light from the evening sky making the rippling waters even more beautiful. The lake has a dense carpet of flowering plants, lining it's edges. Occasionally, during daylight, we find fishermen in coracles fishing here. At other times there are buffaloes waddling in the murky waters. Group of cormorants (black duck-like birds) breed on this lake. It's a curious sight to watch these water birds. It occasionally flings it's pretty neck into the water and does a vanishing act. After a few seconds, it reappears in some other part of the lake with a wriggling live fish in it's beaks. Then it just tilts it's head up and swallow the entire fish down, in the blink of an eye. After devouring a sumptuous meal of fish, the cormorant flies out of the lake to the distant horizon. Sometimes it perches on the branch of a nearby tree, spreading out it's wing, as if to dry in the sun.

The night was settling in. I could neither see the menacing beauty of the sky, nor the rain. All I could see were the silhouette of the buildings against the night sky and lights reflecting in the lake. I walked on in the city rain..

Awed

2010-09-27T16:31:00.003+05:30

Today morning I was dashing out of the Cafeteria at office, after grabbing a quick breakfast. I was late and was hurrying out, when somebody called out, "Madam, Good morning". I turned back and saw the familiar face of the Security guy. "Did you have breakfast?", he asked. It dawned on me that I had not seen him for a while. Since last month, it was different Security guy at the Cafeteria. Otherwise, everyday, I used to exchange greetings and chit-chat with him. He is an old guy with a kind looking face..

"I haven't seen you since a month.."
"Oh..I was at hometown.."
"Where's your hometown??"
"I am basically from Madurai..And it was my daughter's wedding"
"Good.. So how is your daughter ???"

And his reply left me spellbound for a few seconds..
"She works in IBM. She has done her BE in Computer Science. And my son-in-law is MSc in IT. He works here in Bagmane Techpark."

I was awed. After a few spellbound seconds, I regained my composure and replied, "That's wonderful". I felt a swell of pride, proud of these people who have worked hard and build their own destiny. I felt proud for him, proud that his daughter is so well educated and well employed.. I felt happy for him..And this Security guy still works, earns his own living and stands proud, though he could easily have left his job.. I am awed!!!!!

Chronicles of Siya - 2

2010-04-13T12:30:00.003+05:30

Siya came from Delhi last month for a short vacation. For the uninitiated, Siya is my little niece. I could hardly wait to see her and Chechi. It had been six months since I last saw her as a 2 year old and hence I was apprehensive about her recognizing her super-duper Chitta (Aunt). All my apprehensions were blown away, when she came tearing towards me and wrapped herself tightly around my legs. It was the most heart melting moment in my life as a Super Aunt.

Siya has grown up and I could hardly wait to show her around Kerala. I wanted to show her the beautiful river flowing near my home and the water birds that dwell on it's banks. I wanted to play with her in the sand in our courtyard and had even bought a beach-kit to frolic in the sand. I wanted to show her the ducks, hens, goats and cows which she never gets to see in Delhi. In fact, I was more excited than her.

At home in Kerala, she refused to come inside the house. She always wanted to go out and play in the sand, gather the nutmegs which had fallen off from the tree, go outside the gate to watch goats or sit inside the car carrying her bag and play "going to shop". And I being the hypocrite Aunt that I am, often refused to come out and play under the sizzling summer heat and get barbecued. Come sunshine or rain, kids don't really care. I preferred playing "doctor-patient" inside the house. Siya has a real stethoscope which she got from my doctor Aunt. Invariably, I am always the poor patient and Siya the Doctor. I will come to Siya to get treated for my sickness varying from fever and cough to 'pain on my little finger'. And how cute is it to see Dr Siya put her stethoscope on my little finger to diagnose my pain. Afterwards, she will apply imaginary ointment on to my little finger and enquire, "Are you okay now?".

Siya liked the beach kit which I bought for her. She dug up the courtyard with the spade, filled sand into her green bucket and marched towards the base of coconut trees to empty the contents there. To summarize, Siya happily dug up her Grandmother's precious garden!

We went to my Father's ancestral house. It was the perfect time to introduce Siya to nature. On the way, we stopped at an acquaintance's house. To my surprise, they had all imaginable domestic animals at their house. They had ducks, hens, goats, cows and even a poor caged parrot. It seemed the world was conspiring to entertain Siya.. Siya was on cloud nine, seeing the quacking ducks wading in the murky waters and the big cow tethered to the pole. She bravely fed the goats with leaves and to her utter delight, they ate right out of her hand. She even stroked the fidgety goats as the lady of the house held them for her. She kept calling out to the parrot, "thathammee thathamme".

As we were traveling, we saw a guy on the pavement selling chickens, some painted yellow, others painted pink. There were over a hundred of them squeaking inside the makeshift fence. We stopped the car and went out to watch them. Siya kept yelling, "Chitta, Touch them..touch them". The guy offered to sell us a dozen chicks for 100 Rs. I was tempted but Amma instantly declined.

We reached Valyamma's house, where my cousin's six year old son was there. Siya and Abhi made great friends, playing bat & ball, racing the car, going to watch the cow and simply holding hands & running around..In fact Siya tortured Abhi pushing him around, pulling out the toy car from his shirt pocket and thrusting wild leaves into it instead. Finally, in an act of immense friendship, she even pulled out her colourful beaded necklace and deposited it around Abhi's neck. Only an innocent two year old can do this.

I wish Siya could remember all these precious moments, when she grows up..But alas, nobody remembers their life when they are just 2 years and 9 months..So here I am recording all those exquisite moments, so that little Siya can cherish them when she grows up.

Hugs to my little sunshine girl!!!!

Signing off,
Chitta

Hues of Holi

2010-03-12T20:55:00.009+05:30

The Holi celebration last week turned out to be a bonding time for all girls in our flat. Till then, me and RT shared a kinda hi-bye relationship with the rest of the girls. And on Holi, we just let down our guard and celebrated like a band of hooligans. I had almost lost hopes of celebrating Holi this year, since my Mom had come to stay with me for a week. My mom being the paranoid Mom that she is, warns me and RT about the colourful toxic chemicals choking our larynx, trachea, bronchi and all possible organs and about the deadly dermatological conditions that we may develop in the aftermath of Holi.

On the night of Holi, RT could no longer resist herself and returned from office wearing an evil grin and saches of colours overflowing her arms. She opened the door in a dramatic gesture and screamed, "Let 's play Holi girls !!!!!" I turned around to Mom and saw the ghastly expression on her face.

Mom: Are these natural colours or artificial? Where did you buy them from?

RT: Oh Aunty.. These are from roadside..Obviously some chemical...I got it cheap for 20 Rs

Mom had a priceless expression on her face

Mom: Heyyy!!!!! I will buy you natural colours tomorrow and you can play Holi then...

RT: But Aunty Holi is TODAY !!!!

By then the rest of the girls had joined in, all ready to celebrate. Mom couldn't tell anything and I took the silence for an Yes. (mounam sammatham) It was around 11 pm in the night. We debated on whether to celebrate on the roadside or on the terrace. Finally, taking into consideration our poor neighbourhood souls, we decided on terrace.. We created quite a ruckus on the terrace, screaming and attacking each other. I could feel the weird taste of colours stuffed into my mouth and even my ears were plugged with it.It was midnight and our laughter and screams reverberated the silent peaceful neighbourhood..A pack of street dogs were ferociously barking in front of our gate. Even our neighbour's friendly Alsation dog Tyson was going wild. We got phone calls from our worried house owner. Well, who had time to answer his calls. I must say our house owner is a cool dude. He didn't later enquire or make a fuss about our midnight escapade and we went on as if nothing had happened. And to add brownie points, the Holi brought all of us girls more close. We are bossom buddies now.

Two hours later, we were downstairs and pestering Mom.
RT: Aunty, can you click our pics pleaseeee????
Mom: NOOOO.. I will die of heart attack if I keep watching you
Me: Amma, can I hug you?????
Mom: @##$%%

At midnight, 3 baths and several scrubs later, I finally looked presentable.

Holi has always given me memorable moments. Two years before, in our office they arranged for celebrations at the rooftop cafeteria. Heaps of natural colours were kept at the counter along with sweets, snacks and unbelievably a vessel full of Bhang. We had a whale of a time. But there were a few scared lot, who went and locked themselves in the cafeteria restrooms.. Well, how long can they stay there.. When they ultimately came out, the tumultuous attack that awaited made them repent for being over-smart.

That year, at our PG, there was this this drama queen (DQ) who took bath and washed clothes only once in a blue moon. She shoves her dirty clothes into the cupboard and wears the same two days later after lavishly spraying the deodorant. At our wits end, when we enquire about this, the standard reply used to be "Oh, I took bath when you went out". Exasperated, I and N went on to plot a naughty scheme to break DQ's nonbathing spree. On the day of Holi, we thought it was the perfect time to execute our plan. We went and bought all possible colour saches. But at midnight we felt sorry for poor DQ and decided we won't drench her in coloured water but just smear the powder on her face and dress so that she is forced to take a bath. We attacked DQ with the powders at midnight and awaited with our fingers crossed. To our utter dismay, DQ just dusted off the powder from her clothes and went to the wash basin to wash off the colours from her face!!! "I will take bath tomorrow", she proclaimed. That was the final straw. We just went ahead and dissolved the colours in big jars of water and poured it directly over her head. For DQ, there was no option but to sulkingly go and take bath at midnight.. Phew...What a satisfying way to celebrate Holi!!!!

Chennai, Saarang and more

2010-02-02T14:46:00.018+05:30

Last weekend I was at IIT to meet hubby. It was the perfect time to be there since Saarang, the annual Cultural fest of IIT was on.

I reached Chennai at around 5am. One thing that surprises me about Chennai is that even at the wee hours of morning, when it's still dark, you will find womenfolk out in public. Old grandmas going to temple, the flower sellers busy with their day's work, women jogging near the beach, college girls going for tuition. It's a relief for the lone woman travelers. For me, the progressiveness of a city depends on how safe it's for a woman to travel alone there. In Bangalore, you will see lots of young crowd(girls) out in public even at midnight. But early mornings, the streets are almost deserted. In Chennai, you can see lots of ordinary women, the lower and middle class women out in public space, come midnight or dawn. That's what I love about Chennai..

IIT is carved out of Guindy National forest and hence is a botanist's delight. It's like a campus inside forest, with the canopy of gigantic trees, lakes and mangroves sprawling the campus. Spotted deers, black bucks, monkeys and migratory birds throng the place, unhindered by human presence.

The campus is an enchanting place. I love cycling through the campus roads sheltered by dense canopy of age-old trees on either side, stopping occasionally to watch out for a deer or black buck.. I love taking a night stroll in the huge windy stadium with M, chattering away under starry skies, watching fitness freaks jogging and sweating it out, kids playing in the sand as their parents keep a watchful eye. I love going to the Open Air theater on weekends, watch the movie/show being screened, sitting in the open air gallery cosily hugging M. I love sitting at campus Cafe Coffee Day at midnight, sip a hot cuppa of coffee, devour a slice of yummy walnut brownie, relax and chat with M till 1 am when they finally close down CCD.

But this time, IIT was looking different, all decked up for Saarang 2010, bustling with the young crowd, all colourful, vibrant and noisy. I had already missed the 1st day of Saarang. On the 2nd day, we went to watch hip-hop and rock contests. Watched hip-hop for some time and it looked like something straight out of a 'Step Up' movie. At the rock show, it was a totally freaked out, bizarre crowd, guys with long hair, tattoos and few foreigners all head banging to the groovy beats. I was watching headbanging live for the first time. All this while, I had thought, headbanging was just a literal term.. hehee..I feel so outdated.. And my neck hurts just by watching them bang their heads at such high frequency. Then we ventured out to the food stall to have mouth melting homemade kulfis. We missed out on the music show, since both of us were tired and returned to M's quarters.

On 3rd day, I attended pottery workshop and tried my hands at clay art. The instructor taught me how to knead the clay, place it on potters wheel and shape it out. Even tried making concentric ring design to my pot using a stick..HURRAYYY!!!! And here it is..

I tried modeling a human face out of clay, but that was a total disaster, with people misinterpreting it for a devil with popped out eyes and crooked nose...Sigh...The face painting contest was going on. We watched the burst of colours for a while and then moved on to Fashion Show, which had brilliant shows from NIFT and few others. I guess NIFT was inspired by Priyanka Chopras "What's your Rashee". They had designed dresses for 12 girls each of a different sunsign and 3 guys who formed the trinity (Brahma,Vishnu,Siva).

That night, it was the much awaited Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy show at the Open Air Amphitheater. The place was tightly packed with over 10,000 enthusiastic fans. Sat in the crowded theater with M's friends and had a rocking time, dancing and screaming to Shankar Mahadevan's pulsating music. The whole stadium turned frenzy with Koi Kahe, Pretty Woman, Rock On, Mitwaa and many others.. At one stage when Shankar sang Taare Zameen Par, the whole crowd switched on their mobile and started waving it in the dark stadium which gave the feeling that the star studded sky was down on earth.. Really taare zameen par. I had an adrenaline blast after a really long time!!!! The final day we didn't attend much other than the Salsa workshop, which me and M enjoyed to the core.

That was an eventful weekend. It rekindled the dormant memories of my college days, the cultural fest, catcalls, screaming and the frenzied dancing...Hats off Saarang 2010!!!!

Coconut Santa for Christmas !!!!

2009-12-24T13:51:00.006+05:30

This Santa and girl were made for my roommate's Secret Santa (lucky guy). We used coconut and cotton to create these cutey pies.

Chamba

2009-12-14T11:06:00.011+05:30

I first met Chamba in the PG, where I used to stay 3 years back. She was always draped in a maroon robe, had a close shaved head, and wore an innocent smile. Chamba is a Buddhist monk. If you enquire something to her, pat comes the reply "Yes Yes" in a queer accent. Because, "Yes" was the only English word she knew for a long time. She is a Tibetan monk, who lives in a monastery near Hubli and had come to Bangalore to learn English.

She stayed in our PG for a month. Initially we had a tough time, rather fun time, communicating using sign language like cave men. Once when she was back from her English coaching class, flaunting my great acting skills, I enquired "So what did you learn today?". Her blank face suddenly lit up, she smiled her toothy smile and replied "Chappathi". Gosh!! She thought I had asked her about what she ate. She had a note book, scribbled with English words and basic sentences. It resembled a first standard kids notebook. Every night, I and N used to read out to her from the book and ask her questions. After a few weeks, she was able to decently communicate to us through broken sentences and sign language.

Sometimes,I feel she acts like a school girl, who has just broken a few rules. She explains to me in a hushed tone, how she and her friends occasionally used to sneak out of the monastery to devour some delicious chicken fry. Who said monks are supposed to be vegetarians?? She is the most happy soul, when they serve egg and chicken once in a week in our PG. I and N loves taking her out, just to see the sheer joy on her face. She has never came out of the enclosed walls of her monastery since the last 30 years and gets excited and happy when she comes out with us to a nearby bakery to snack on egg puffs or for our occasional junk-jewellery shopping. But the only problem is that people out on the streets stare seeing a monk . But she seems quite unaware. I have never seen anybody feeling so happy to just come out of the house except maybe for my niece. But absolutely no grownups. And that's exactly why I love taking her out and I feel like I am taking her out on a special date.

She had left her home in Tibet as a teenager, to join the monastery. And that was 30 years back and she has never once gone back home since then. She gets letters from her brothers once in a blue moon and that's the only ties with the family who lives thousands of miles away. I listened in awe and finally asked her, "So do you love India? Don't you miss Tibet?" She replies, "India peace peace... Tibet no peace" She breaks away without getting the right words to continue and then started using her sign language. She explains that Chinese people come, fight and kill innocent Tibetans and hence it's very unsafe living out there. I really don't know whether the situation is same now, but maybe 30 years back this was Tibetan way of life. "India peace peace" was the proudest and most patriotic thing I have ever heard about India.

She went back to her monastery after a month, promising to come back next year. A year later, I had already moved out of that place. N called me up one day and told that Chamba was back and wanted to see me. I was getting engaged the next weekend. I came and broke the news of my engagement to Chamba. She was happy and asked me "He good?" I laughed and replied, "Yeah, he very good". She pressed a brown cover into my palm telling that it's a small gift. There were a few colourful ginger candies, sacred thread and a small craft work. She told me, "Tie the the sacred thread on his hands." She doesn't have any money, all the things I got were handmade by her. It felt so precious...

This year, she called me from a public phone booth. I wonder where she got the money from. But I was out of Bangalore that month. I don't know if I can ever see her again.. Maybe she will come next year too.. Maybe she will have money to call from a phone booth too..

Hope too see you sometime Chamba. And this Christmas season, I am remembering you, your innocent toothy smile, the good will and the cheer you brought.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Jaipur, The Pink City

2009-11-06T14:22:00.009+05:30

Rajasthan had long been in my list of dream travel destinations and this Dussehra holidays the trip just happened. Jaipur is five hours journey from Delhi. We (me, M, AP & parents) started off early morning from Noida where my sis stays. It was not the best time to visit Jaipur. Well, for that matter it was not a bad time either. The weather forecast reported was at 36 degrees and Rajasthan was in news for all bad reasons. The Indian Army had accidentally dropped bomb at Bikaner and there was sand storm in Jaiselmer. Well, but nothing could deter our trip to the Pink City.

Rajasthan of my imagination was a dry treeless arid dessert. In fact I was quite surprised to see the sprawling hills covered with shrubs all around the city. Jaipur is a colourful city. People wear bright clothes, the men in turbans and the women in colourful saris modestly covering their face. We walked through the City Palace complex. On both sides of the street were shops selling puppets, ethnic jewellery, shoes, elaborately embroidered dresses,and the famous blue pottery. We reached Hawa Mahal. This palace is shaped like Lord Krishna's crown and has an array of countless windows on all sides, which accounts for the heavy breeze inside and hence the name. During the Rajput reign, these windows gave the women folk of the palace a view of the street life outside. In AP's words, the lovesick princesses waited at these windows for their prince to come and whisk them off on gallant horses :)

Next we decided to check in at our Hotel Umaid Mahal. We had a tough time locating the hotel, because whenever we asked for direction, we were pointed to a different route. Wherever we stopped, there were eager tour guides waiting to pounce, offering to accompany us to our destination. It looked as if Jaipur is teeming with travel guides.

And Umaid Mahal was very much worth all the trouble. It far exceeded my wildest imagination of a hotel. As soon as you enter the Mahal, you get transformed to a magical palatial world. Every inch of the wall and ceiling were covered with exuberant mural paintings. Oil paintings of old Rajput empire adorned the walls. The intricately carved silver furniture, wooden sculptures and grand chandeliers that hung from the ceiling coupled with the golden glow of the lamps added to it's magnificence. I would highly recommend this hotel to anybody visiting Jaipur.

After having a late lunch, we proceeded to Chowki Dhani which is a modelled Rajasthani village. It is a rustic hamlet comprising of mud huts with thatched roofs, panchayat and forest with Rajasthani tribal. It has a carnival with performance by folk dancers, puppet show, tight rope walking, magicians, fortune tellers, potter dancers, camel and bullock cart rides. You can sit comfortably on coir cots in the huts, sip camel-milk tea from earthen pots and smoke the hookahs. Btw, camel milk tastes yuck. There were craft bazaars for shopping and I bought a beautiful Rajasthani jootha and a jewel box. There were entertainment stalls, where M tried his hands on shooting with bow and arrows and AP at shooting with a gun. Well,the mention of Chowki Dhani is incomplete without the elaborate full course Rajasthani dinner served on leaf plates. I almost lost count of the number of dishes on my overflowing platter. I guess it was around 20-25 dishes. I couldn't comprehend the ingredients of most of the dishes, which left me at awe about how much varied are the cuisines when you travel from one part of India to another!!! Truly incredible!!!

Since we went to Chowki Dhani during Dussehra season, I for the first time witnessed the tradition of "Burning the Ravan". A gigantic effigy of Ravan was erected on the open court supported by ropes on all sides. We were told that the ceremony will start at 9pm. There was a huge crowd gathered. Soon all the performers of Chowki Dhani- the folk dancers,acrobats, magicians and tribal folks came together singing, dancing and blowing trumpets. They danced around the roaring Ravan and made merry.. Crackers exploded and fireworks illuminated the night sky. Ravana had chains of crackers and fireworks enclosing his body. After the merrymaking, it was set to fire. The illumination and cacophony that followed temporarily rendered us blind and deaf. I was really excited to watch this event despite the amount of air and sound pollution it created. After this, we left Chowki Dhani and returned to the hotel.

Next day after having complimentary buffet breakfast from hotel, we set off to indulge in some shopping extravaganza. Jaipur is famous for quilts/rajais. So we bought two of those along with blue pottery for our future home :) Also got some bandhini dress materials and Jaipuri bangles for cousins and friends.

It was in the scorching hot mid day sun that we went to see Jal Mahal, as a result of which I got a bad splitting headache. From there, we went on to see Jaigarh fort which is situated on hill-top. The fort must have well protected the city from the enemies during the reign of Mugals. Jaigarh fort gives a good view of the entire Jaipur city. There is a museum out there showcasing all the weapons, armour and shields used during war. I was surprised to see many of them exactly replicated in the movie 'Jodha Akbar', when I viewed it last weekend. As we were leaving the fort, I spotted a few hoopoe birds with their beautiful crowns spread out and a couple of peacocks in the wild. I guess the bird watcher in me has not died yet. I was excited to spot the hoopoe birds, though it's quite common in this part of India. Hubby dear on seeing the peacocks stopped the vehicle, ran and vanished off into the wild with his camera.

We left Jaipur by sunset, when the setting sun painted the Pink City into a dark hue of red.

Chronicles of Siya

2009-10-23T16:37:00.004+05:30

Siya and Bow-bow

For the uninitiated, Shreya is my two year old niece. If you ask her name, she will promptly reply Siya. So she is Siya at home.

Siya is crazy about dogs be it the street dogs, pet dogs or her toy dogs. She refer to them as bow-bows. Siya takes her neighbour's Pomeranian dog Golu out for walking. Can you imagine a two year old girl doing it, considering that poor me, her aunt, is a bit scared of this hyperactive canine creature. She is not at all scared, rather she feels very important. She pulls the dog by his belt, bosses him around, and walks bravely along on the road, occasionally stopping for Golu to pee. It's a sight to see because Siya is hardly as big as the dog.

Siya plays a lot of imaginary games. Back home she will take her dad's belt and walk around with an imaginary Golu, talking in her baby language and occasionally shouting " Golu, come hereee", "Golu go there". After a while Siya will be bored and the belt will instantly transform from imaginary dog to an imaginary hose pipe to water the garden plants.. She will go around with the belt watering the imaginary plants and pluck imaginary flowers from her garden.

Hugs to my little sunshine girl !!!!!

The view outside

2009-09-24T14:25:00.005+05:30

I often look down through the glasspane of the restroom at my office. After a tiring time infront of the monitor, it is a comfort to see the bright sunny view outside. It is not by any means a pleasing view, with an eerie looking cemetery, an empty plot dumped with garbage and monotonous array of rectangular buildings.

On a particular frustrating day at work, as I entered the restroom with a furrowed brow, just chanced to look outside and behold, there is a perfect beautiful rainbow arched out wide across the expanse of the sky. I have seen rainbows countless times. But never have I been happy to see one since my chidhood. The sight made me happy. Maybe the frustration and stress of that day made me appreciate the simple pleasure of seeing a rainbow. It gave a hope to my otherwise hopeless day.

And today morning the life outside that window was all different. As I looked down, I could see a mob gathered
inside the cemetery. Obviously someone had died.. Few men were digging the earth to bury the corpse. I could see wailing women, garlands of flowers, the body wrapped in a white cloth and cows grazing inside the cemetery. It caught me by surprise since I had least expected to see such a view outside. In the afternoon I was expecting to see an abandoned cemetery again with an added tombstone. And what I saw shook me. There was a man lying over the grave and weeping uncontrollably. He was all alone and seemed unpacifiable.. There was nobody around to share his grief, nobody to support or comfort him.. He was a lone man. He looked like daily wager in shabby clothes and shaved head... Maybe it was his loving wife who died ..or maybe it was his beloved child.. or maybe his very own parent..An immense loss for him.. I stood there speculating for a few minutes and then moved on...

The view outside the window, I guess, will keep changing. And I on the other-side of the window has nothing much to do, but watch.

Through the Green Lens

2009-08-26T08:40:00.012+05:30

When I think green, I remember my father's ancestral house nestled in the interiors of a remote village in Thrissur. The small tiled roof house enclosed by a dense courtyard, lined with coconut, mango, jack fruit and arecanut trees. You name the trees and it will be there.. Where the faint scent from nutmeg and tamarind trees waft in the air.. Where the cows and hens rule the haven..Where the courtyard wall is never concrete or cement but a dense row of thorny bushes... Where the summer vacation were spent climbing guava trees, munching juicy red cashew fruit and slightly sour roseapples (chambakka)..

Image:wwwsoulreflectionsinartcom-colleen.blogspot.com

The small house stands proudly, with a neat garden in the front. At a corner of the yard stands the cowshed and hencoops. Right next to the cowshed, there are pyramidal haystacks mounted after the harvest, which ultimately feeds the cows. There is an old well with moss covered stone walls near the house. Pigeons used to build nests between the creeks of it's wall and we used to scare these birds by splashing the water with well-aimed stones, that makes them noisily flutter out of their cosy nests. The well water was used to irrigate the fruit trees in the courtyard. Water was initially pumped up into a small tank, from where it flowed through a channel and then cascaded down forming a waterfall. As kids, all of us cousins used to take bath here. Few will plunge into the tank, few will be in the water channel, and others frolic under the manmade waterfall. It used to be an awesome experience playing and bathing in the pure, ice cold water coming deep from within the earth. This water will ultimately flow through mud structures made into a canal (kayyani) that irrigate the whole land. I used to love playing in kayyani. Whenever water was being pumped, I used to run through this mud canal happily splashing the water all over. During monsoon, when irrigation was not required, I would eagerly watch out the kayyani for those green tadpoles and eggs floating on staggered rain water..

There is a long wooden bench and desk in the house, where we six cousins used to sit together and have food. Pet cats used to walk under our desk, rubbing their furry bodies against our legs, eating tidbits of fishfry and pappad that fell from our hands or are deliberately dropped when we didn't like the food. There used to be atleast 5-6 cats anytime. As a kid, I used to hate milk. Drinking milk was a chore which I used to escalate to the cats. So after carefully ensuring that my Mom was not looking, I will pour out my share of milk to a coconut shell and secretly offer the cats, who used to lap it up all gleefully.

In the evening at dusk, we used to visit our family temple. When I think about that time, I remember everybody freshening up to visit temple and I can still feel the scent of Cuticura powder mingled with sandalwood paste lingering in the air.. We used to take oil bottles and wicks to lighten the stone lamps around the temple. I love the sight of these coal black stone lamps darkened by years of exposure to oil and fumes. I feel, it's the fresh feeling of evening bath and the heavenly glow of stone lamps in the dark that gives a spiritual aura to my childhood temple memories.. Even when I visit temples nowadays, which happens rarely, I don't feel particularly religious, rather I feel spiritual..I feel light..

When I took hubby dear after wedding to the ancestral house, I was looking forward to recreate those wonderful memories. Showing him the old house, the well, the cowshed and hen coops, the kayyani and temple..The cowshed is uninhabited and wild creepers have grown all over it... There is no trace of the hencoops.. The old well and the tank still remain as testimonies of good times.. In the evening, it was drizzling but we still decided to go to the temple. My parents, sis, brotherinlaw and little niece were also there.. We had to walk through the dark village path for a short while to reach the temple. It was pitch dark and cloudy with no street lamps. As we walked under the umbrella, M's arms wrapped around my shoulder, the cold breeze making us quiver, I longed to see the glowing stone lamps and fill myself once again with the spiritual aura of my childhood. As I looked ahead, I could see the rest all walking ahead. My Achan and Amma under the umbrella leading the way.. My Chechi and Chettan with vava in arms closely following them.. And we both behind.. As I pointed out to M, how my Achan holding Amma under the umbrella is the same way in which Chettan is holding Chechi & it's the same way M's arms wrapped around me, we couldn't help smiling.. Three generation walking toward the temple in the rain... Three generation seeking spirituality and solace in the age old dieties of the temple, where generations of people have thronged.. Life seems to have come to a full circle...

A Cupboard full of Life

2009-07-29T16:35:00.003+05:30

It had been a long time since I lost those keys, the keys to the wooden cupboard upstairs at home. Out of blue, my Mom found it out last weekend. It had been years since I had opened the cupboard. It was stuffed with old school books, magazines, few greeting cards, a dead spider and few cockroach eggs among other stuff.

I flipped the pages of my history text book.The papers have turned into a dull yellow with rusty brown spots scattered around. History used to be one of my favourite subjects,unlike most of my classmates who perpetually cribbed about mugging up boring events and insignificant dates. For me, History classes were never boring. Rather they triggered my imagination. I used to imagine myself living in the Harappan civilisation, fighting in Bolshevik Revolution, praying to the Inca gods and travelling through Amazon rainforests. As for exams, I am sure I gave vent to my poor suppressed imagination on the exam sheet.

There were my school note books wrapped in brown paper with those colourful name-slips glued on them. The brown paper must be a product of the yesteryear's school-going generation. I wonder if brown papers are still available around in our stores. Inside the book, the blue fountain pen ink had started fading away..

My handwriting looked so unsteady & childish, so very different from what it is now. When we initially started using fountain pens in school, I remember the trademark blue ink smears on our fingers, where the fountain pens used to leak. During lunch break, you will find a gang of kids ritually rubbing their fingers against the stone wall near the wash area to get rid of those blue spots.

On the lower deck of the cupboard, there were a collection of Balarama (kid's magazine) & a bunch of greeting cards belonging to my sis. She had collected it over her school & college days. It was an era when Bday cards & Christmas cards were a rage among the college goers. It must be the time when Archies cards started invading the Indian gift shops following economic liberlisation.

Then I found my old school magazine where I had written a small article. It was weird reading through it. The words which I had penned a decade back sounded so strange..It was like rediscovering the old self and realising how much a decade has changed me..Maybe years from now, when I read this blog I might get a similar feeling.. Maybe I will feel good.. Or maybe I will feel it's all so silly...

I absolutely love this feel of finding old stuff unexpectedly...the feel of the memories associated with it..It's always nice to find an old friend in a crowded bus rather than at an Alumini meet..It 's nice to find an age-old photograph while flipping an old book rather than seeing a newer pic on Flickr or Picassa..

I remember the time when I opened my Grandfather's wooden chest many years back. I got two coins, one dating back to as far as 1897. It was only a quarter anna coin or so, with the head of a British King. It was a real treasure for me. I feel like hiding some of my stuff now, so that many years later when I accidentally discover it, it will feel extra special.

My New Roommate

2009-07-29T16:34:00.006+05:30

It's been terribly long since I have updated this space. Somehow, whenever I tried putting down something, words just stopped at my finger tips. Lots have happened since my last post. The most important being, I got my new roomie M. Well, I mean, a roommate for a lifetime ;) But the sad part is since M is yet to complete his research, we stay apart. So am back to my PG and will continue to write bachelor-life-like stories ;)

This pic was taken by a dear friend B. He had attended the function, clicked lots of pics and surprised us with an album, which he sent by courier. A truly personalised gift which we treasure.. Thanks a ton B !!!

Tag time

2008-07-18T14:21:00.025+05:30

A tag after a long time... Preeti has tagged me. Hope this tag is going to breathe some life into my poor dead creative cells...

Last movie seen in a theatre?
Tare zameen par. I am not a movie buff and very rarely go out to watch movies.

What book are you reading?
None.The last one I read was The Man-eater of Malgudi
All my books are getting dusty in the cupboard these days.
The bookworm is slowly dying..woaaaa…

Favorite board game:
Scrabble, as long as I am winning ;)

Favorite magazine:
Magazines kept at my office breakout-area: Outlook, Week, India Today

Favorite smells:
Smell of jasmine and tube rose, aroma of food when hungry,
nail polish, paint…

Favorite sound:
Amma’s voice over the phone when I am sick or depressed,
Rumble of waterfall, while trekking.

Worst feeling in the world:
Feeling of being alone, the feeling that nobody is there in this world for you..!!

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
Is it Friday yet???

Favorite fast food place:
Brewhaha.That’s our favourite hang out place. We sit on the floor with carpets and lotsa pillows, relax, sip a coffee and play a board game (they provide all that)

Future child’s name:
No clue…Maybe I will outsource this job.
I took 3 months to zero in on a name for my niece!!!

Finish this statement, “If I had a lot of money I’d…”
Travel to exotic places, shop, shop and shop till I drop :D

Do you drive fast?
I dont drive.

Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Yep.. my life-size teddy bear gifted by M.

Favourite drink
Hot chocolate

Do you eat the stem of broccoli?
I have never eaten broccoli.

Storms - Cool or Scary?
Cool and romantic. I would love to watch the sea on a stormy day

If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?
Black with burgundy streaks. I tried this on my own once
when I was utterly bored. But it didnt turn out well :(

Name all the different cities/towns you have lived in:
Cochin, Tanjore, Bangalore

Favorite sports to watch:
Table tennis...I impatiently watch it while waiting for my turn to play..

One nice thing about the person who sent this to you:
A genuine & down-to-earth person. And a bit naughty too..

What’s under your bed?
Dust....the maid didn’t clean it properly ;)

Would you like to be born as yourself again?
Yes… a thousand times again.

Morning person or night owl?
Night owl definitely. I rarely sleep before 1 am and never get up before 9am.

Over easy or sunny side up?
Both..I wont mind as long as it’s egg.
Over easy bcoz my mom thinks it has germs if not fully cooked.

Favorite place to relax:
Home sweet home..
Or maybe on a tree house in a dense forest, with brooks & streams running beside...

Favorite pie:
I don’t like pies

Favorite ice cream flavor:
Vanilla & chocolate anytime..
Now, the mere thought of ‘death-by-chocolate’ is making my mouth melt.. mmmm…

You pass this tag to:
Rechit, Ajay, Aths, Minu

Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first?
Rechit the lime soda guy.

To Our Bday Babe

2008-07-11T12:41:00.018+05:30

Dedicated to my niece, Shreya who turned 1 year old on June 14. I missed your first bday chweety pie..I missed it when you dressed up in your pretty pink dress blew the bday candle and cut that yummy bday cake which your aunt had lovingly baked for you..

Well, I remember that one week I spent with you in May, a month ahead of your Bday.I remember how every morning, you used to crawl up on to my bed, talk to me in your baby language, bite on my cheeks and wake me up.. Ohh..What a way to wake up..And your teeth were new and sharp…You never liked anybody sleeping. You used to climb over them again and again , and sometimes even bite them too. You wanted them to be awake & watching your naughtiness always.

And I love the way you used to crawl all over the house, especially the kitchen..You were never tired and endlessly crawled in your territory, sometimes looking behind and going super-fast if you see somebody coming behind to catch you. Kitchen was your favourite place. How you used to take all the vessels and spoons and throw them around or bang them against each other. You absolutely loved the clutter & the noise they made. You were never very interested in the sophisticated toys bought for you. You were only interested in kitchen vessels, mobiles, laptops & spectacles. And you never gave a heck for your poor teddy bear and your pretty doll 'pinky'. They never interested you. Only thing you loved was balls. You used to kick it with your hand, crawl behind it & repeat the whole process until finally it rolled under the cot. You never knew how to take it, nevertheless you used to try all acrobatism to get it.

You were never scared of anything. You danced when you heard the mixie in the kitchen being turned on.. And you used to whisper “sssshhhh shhh” when the pressure cooker whistled away. I love the way you gurgled and happily went behind the spiders & beetles to catch them. You used to catch and squeeze those poor creatures to death. Any moving creature used to excite you, even the mosquitoes which you tried catching once. Your parents never made you to watch tv and I heard how you cried in the restaurant when you saw tv for the first time.. You might have wondered how people could be trapped inside the small tv.

I remember how you used to gurgle and talk in your baby language.. You used to scold the maid-chechi in your language, when she rebukes you for not having your food. Your face used to be so grim and your tone very angry. We used to laugh seeing your expression.

I remember how your face used to light up when we take you out for tata. You wanted to see bow-bow, doves, flowers, moon & the aeroplane. You used to laugh & gurgle when you see them. I remember how you made me once pluck all the flowers from the shrub one after another until nothing was left.And you kept throwing the flowers down & demanding for more…

One week went away so fast..And nowadays, I keep seeing videos of you on my mobile…And I realize the more I see you, the more I am gonna miss you….

HAPPY BDAY DEAR!!!!

Hailstones, big mouth & dancing

2008-04-04T11:27:00.004+05:30

Last Sunday was a lazy Sunday. I slept till around 11’0 clock, then got up and fixed myself a quick brunch of upma & tea. The sky was overcast and it was a perfect day to snooze off. I was lying on the bed, propped up against the pillows, trying to read the book “Snow” by Orhan Pamuk , when it started raining heavily. I could hear the faint thud thud against the glass windows.

My roomie was screaming from balcony at the top of her lungs. I rushed out thinking that her clothes might be outside on the lane to dry… ‘Hailstones’, she screamed on seeing me. The ice cubes on her outstretched palm were already melting. I could hardly believe this. It was actually raining hailstones in Bangalore!!! I collected a few hailstones from the balcony and tried catching a few as it pelted down… Many people in our seven storied apartment had come out to their balconies to watch. The kids were excitedly scampering around. And on the ground floor, few people were out drenching in the rain and collecting hailstones in a bucket.

My room mate usually stocks up eatables for the rainy days. She loves preparing hot soup or making banana fritters when it rains.. So we go out to the balcony, sit on the steps, watch the rain and sip the hot soup or munch the fritters. I remember the first time when we bought Knorr instant soup mix. It almost ran out of it’s expiry date because it was summer and it didn’t rain for a long time in Bangalore.

Boca Grande is the newly opened restaurant near my house. Boca Grande is a Spanish word meaning “big mouth”. And I had won their puzzle contest which earned me free-dinner-for-two. I was planning to go along with my friend for a lavish dinner on Friday. But severe hunger pangs propelled us to hit the place on Tuesday itself. The handsome owner welcomed us, showed us around the place & told us that as the sole winner, we are entitled to eat to our hearts content.. kewllll..For once, I could devour all the delicacies without having to worry about the ultimate BILL. We scanned through the menu card and started off right from starters. Smart as we are, we ordered the highest priced items in each category and items referred as ‘BC special’.. heheee ;) Food was yummy but the problem was with our appetite. By the time we had the starters and cake-shake, we were almost stomach full. Half way through our main course we felt we couldn’t hog any more. We decided to take a break, chat a while and then try to finish it off. But it was of no avail.. Thus with a broken heart, we left many of those special items untouched :( And I was disappointed that I couldn’t have those tempting mouth melting desserts. Nevertheless, we packed off scoops of Belgium chocolate ice cream with lotsa nutties for my roomie.

I like dancing away to glory. That is if I am dancing to my own tunes and dancing to my own specially copyrighted dance moves. I joined free style dance classes this week. Yesterday was my first day. Initially I was enjoying every bit of it. The instructor was teaching us random steps and we were following it. Later it turned to aerobics and finally to Bollywood dance. The music was “soni de nakhre sone lagade”. I started imagining myself as Govinda and suddenly I couldn’t dance anymore ;) I found it difficult to get along with the ‘continuation of steps’. Hope it gets better in the coming classes. And to add to the insult, two girls in my class are dancing even better than the instructor. They need to see the steps only once and they can dance like some divas. Well, yours truly is feeling really J :)

On the Hill top

2008-03-18T15:36:00.034+05:30

It was March 8 th– Women’s day. We were on our way to Yercaud hill station, which is near to Salem town and popularly know as “poor man’s Ootty”. Yercaud is situated in the Servarayan range of hills in the Eastern Ghats.

We were a pack of seven. Me, Raintree, GG, Pavi, Vj, Maiden, Desai. We were having good time in the vehicle chitchatting, munching snacks, threatening to puke on each other ;) and singing.

Start of the journey was li'l disappointing. When our vehicle started climbing the hair pin curves, I found the place not as exciting as I imagined. It didn’t look that appealing in the mid afternoon heat with the dried up grasses and dull green surroundings. As we bent the 20th hair pin curve things were getting lots better. The place looked green and dense. The weather was pleasantly cool. Around 1 pm, we reached ‘Silver Resort’, where we checked into a luxurious cottage over looking the big Yercaud lake.

We had lunch at Shevaroy’s hotel and then went on to see Pagoda/ Pyramid point. It’s a windy hilltop point, which gives a good view of the surrounding Shevaroy hills. There is a Rama Temple here, which is surrounded by four pagodas, which are rocks piled into pyramid shapes by the tribal people.

The other attractions of Yercaud are the Ladies seat and Gent’s Seat points. These are view points with natural rock formations that resemble seats. On the way to ladies seat, we stopped at a local tea stall, with mouth-watering bajjis & pakoras. We sat outside and relaxed while tea walla prepared us hot piping tea.

At the ladies seat, we were standing on a tower overlooking the Salem town. Raintree and i found out an an echo point inside the tower, where we stood howling and listening intently to the reverberations. We continued this for a while, until to our embarrassment, we saw some local crowd gathered around us staring blatantly.

We hiked to Gent’s seat point, where we planned to watch the sunset. The evening sun casted long shadows on the ground and soon we were playing puppet dance & tribal dance with our shadows. It was fun trying to stamp on each other’s shadows. We sat on the rocks in tranquility for almost an hour, silently watching the sun sinking down the horizon. The evening sky was misty and the setting sun created multiple halos around it. Did a few photographic acrobats by clicking snaps of “catching the sun in the palm” & "open mouthed and trying to swallow the tiny fiery ball."

After sunset we went back to ladies seat, since we heard the point was magnificent at night. From the hill top, as I looked down I was dazed seeing the entire Salem town brilliantly lighted up in the dark. We could see the silhouette of the dark hills and the flood lights of an occasional vehicle passing the ghat roads. It looked as if the star studded sky was down and we were floating far above it. As we stood there watching, suddenly an entire dark area lighted up. To our surprise, it was the street lights turning on. As if a million fireflies have alighted on it suddenly...

Night had settled in and it was li'l windy and chilled. We went back to our cottage, wrapped ourself in jackets and proceeded for dinner at Shevaroys. Later, we went out for a night stroll. After hiking for sometime, we reached the Emarald lake. We sat down on it’s banks and started stargazing. Sky was enchanting and we were chitchatting on all possible topics ranging from global warming to childhood stories. Life seems to have come to a standstill. Meanwhile, Pavi and Desai were arguing about the location of pole star in the sky and Raintree helping us find the shape of hunter constellation.....It was fun making out the hunter's belt and pointed arrows in the star spangled sky.

Next day at sharp 6 am, the early bird GG came and knocked at our door.. We girls groaned, turned over and slept for another half an hour ;) By 7, the half sleepy team was ready for the early morning trek to Killiyur waterfalls which was around 3kms from our place. Coffee plantations and silver oak trees grew all over the place. The early morning hike was very refreshing. Raintree was busy adorning her hair with all the wild flowers collected on the way. Maiden with the pretty scarf wrapped around her hair looked like a kashmiri girl. Pavi puffing and panting, with her life-supporting inhaler in one hand had to literally hauled up by heroic VJ ;) As we trekked we could hear the gurgle of the water. It relieved us because we didn't expect much water during summer season.

We splashed each other and got drenched in the falls. The water was icy cold and it actually hurt to have the piercing chill water splashed on you. I climbed up to the possible highest point of the waterfalls along with the guys. Yeahhh..Mission conquered..We clicked snaps and then climbed down to continue with the splashing game..The guys were busy climbing trees and posing for snaps. Later, after energizing ourself with bananas and energy drinks we started our trek back. GG had in fact collected all the plastic bottles and kits thrown around the waterfalls by careless tourists. Kudos to him and his "giving back to nature policy."

The next target was Yercaud lake, where we did pedal boating. We were in two boats, and hence started competing and trying to hit each other’s boats.

Soon it was time to check out of our cottages. Our final destination was Shervarayan cave-temple, which was the highest point on Yercaud hills.. We had to literally crawl inside the dark rocky tunnel for the darshan, where the deities of god Sheravaryan & goddess Kaveri were worshipped. We all sat huddled inside the dark cave, while the pujari narrated us history of the 3000 year old temple. He explained how the original deities were kept further down the tunnel which ultimately lead to Cauvery river 1km ahead..

Thus after two days on the hill top, we started our journey back to Bangalore...

My Grandmother's House

2008-02-19T15:13:00.031+05:30

During my growing up years, I used to love going to my grandmother’s house. It was in Vypeen island, a sleepy little town, separated from the mainland of Kochi by a wide expanse of backwaters and Arabian sea.

The boat journey from Kochi to Vypeen island used to instigate my childhood fantasies… The fleet of majestic ship at the Cochin shipyard and the brightly lighted sea-port gave it a magical aura. As the ferryboat move away from the mainland, I used to watch out for those innumerable green islands that dot the Arabian sea and the Chinese fishing-nets yonder in the horizon. It used to look enchantingly beautiful during sunset. Seagulls and cormorants used to hover over the fishing boats, trying to snatch off few fish from the boat’s deck. And an intermittent beacon of light flashing from the light house use to guide the boats and ship in the dark.

My grandma’s house was a ten minute walk from the boat jetty. The backyard of the house directly opened to the backwaters. I have never seen any house so near to such a wide-stretch of water. In those days, I used to wake up early, to watch the sunrise and the backwaters being painted in colorful hues by the rising sun.

My GM had a pet dog and a small flock of ducks at her house. I used to entrust upon myself the job of opening their coop in the mornings, let the ducks out and likewise chase them back to their home in the evenings. Sometimes the notorious dog Titto, used to chase the ducks and the terrified creatures used to jump into the water , paddle away and ultimately lose their way. And in such cases, my poor uncle had to go all the way to the nearby Mulagukadu island, where they ultimately used to land up and bring them safely back home. On special occasions when VIP guests come home, one of those ducks used to be killed and it would eventually reappear as duck roast on the dining table :)

I used to be awed seeing the variety of seafood, she used to serve us for lunch and dinner. The fishing boats harboured at our backyard and the ice-company nextdoor ensured that we got a lot of absolutely-free seafood at our doorsteps. The crabs, shrimps, lobsters, shell fish all seemed to be a part of our ‘ordinary meals’ during those days. Long gone are those days... No longer is anything free and no longer is anything so readily available. And I stopped eating fish many years ago.

Rainy days used to be li’l wild out here, due to the proximity to Arabian sea. I remember those stormy nights when heavy winds blowing out of the sea, uprooted mango trees and breadfruit (kadachakka) trees in our orchard. The mango trees used to be close to the house and hence their branches occasionally bent and fell on the tiled roof. And once it damaged the roof that it started leaking and flooding the room. There are some images that got framed in my mindscape. One such image is the whole family having dinner under the dimly lit oil lamp, while the storms raged outside.

It was on one of those stormy afternoons that, a lost baby turtle found it’s way through the water and landed up on our backyard. I found out this ‘jem of a beauty’ and instantly fell in love with it. But the turtle on the other hand showed utterly no interest and instantly withdrew it’s pretty head into the shell. I cautiously picked up my ‘shy’ turtle and dropped it into a bucket of water. I decided instantly that this turtle and I are gonna be friends forever.Afterall I have learnt in my GK textbook that turtles live for over a 100 years. After a while, Titto found out this intruder in our house and stood near the bucket barking and growling. I bet he was jealous about all the attention directed at this ‘intruder’. But all my hopes of having a pet-turtle was brought to an abrupt end by my GM, who warned me sternly that sea turtles are poisonous. I threw a tantrum, but in vain. Finally, I sadly placed the baby turtle back into the water. And it swam away , to where it ultimately belonged…

Times have changed...Inevitably, the old tiled house has been remodeled into a more sturdy house. There are no quacking ducks flocking the backyard anymore. And now, there is a wall separating the house and the backwater. The wall that separates my nostalgic yesteryears from today....

Perfect Strangers

2008-01-09T15:57:00.007+05:30

Yesterday I woke up to the voice of my roomie, “Today is not Sunday. Wake upppp...It’s already 9’o clock.” I could hardly open my eyes & felt too tired. So I decided to pamper and lavish myself with a corporate extravagance termed as ‘sick leave’. I quickly sent sms to my colleague & went back to catch up my beauty sleep.

I woke up around 11.30 & quickly made myself some elaichi tea & omelet. I had a quick brunch and was relaxing in my bed watching tv, when the door bell rang. I and another girl N were the only ones in my PG .We are around 10 girls staying in our apartment on the 3rd floor. All the other girls had long back left for work.

I wondered who might be at the door, at this time of the day, when usually nobody will be around at home. I assumed it might be the lady who comes everyday to collect the garbage. Feeling too lazy I didn’t bother to get up from my bed. I heard N answering the door & talking to somebody. After few minutes, the bell rang again, and this time a long ring. I got out of my room & found N lingering around the door. She looked tensed.

Me: What happened? Who’s there at the door?
N: (in whispers) There are two guys at the door. They were asking for S. I told them S is not here.(S is another girl in our PG) Then they called somebody on the phone & told, “Sir, she is not here. And even her cell phone is switched off. What should we do now?”
Me: (all suspicious) do they look troublesome???
N : (in a dramatic gesture) They look like some gundas..Big & gruff-looking men
Me : uh-ohhh
N: And later they changed their tactics. They told she has some courier. But they were no papers in their hand..
Me: If they are really courier people why do they ring the bell again & again... Let’s lock the front door properly.

Immediately N went inside and got the key. We locked the door and secured the latch. Then we tip-toed into the kitchen & peered through the window curtains. They were two bulky men. One in red t-shirt & another one in a check shirt…They surely looked a bit too aggressive and resembled those villains in suspense thriller movies.I remembered the previous night, while I was walking across S’s room. I sensed cigarette smell. She never used to smoke inside the room. And I made a mental note that she might be really tensed about something. I put two & two together and suddenly felt scared for poor S.

Me: Let us not bother. They will get fed up & leave soon..
N: Hope so..

Suddenly the bell rang. This time terribly long and persistently. We heard somebody trying the door knob & pushing against the door. I thanked my good-karma that we locked it with key.Then there was the sound of key being inserted & turned .. We both looked terrorized at each other.The door would have unlocked now, had it not been for the inside latch. They were pushing hard with all the might from outside.. The thud sound from the door sent shivers up my spine..This must be some maniacs on run...

N screamed out, “Let’s call the security”..She ran to the bedroom windows..I ran to my room to get my mobile in case of emergency.I grabbed it, ran to N’s bedroom & latched the door from inside. I was almost sure they were going to break open the front door anytime. My heart was pounding…We opened the window. From there, we could see the two security guys in the opposite apartment building. We started calling out to them & waving our hands. They looked, but didn’t seem to bother.. I mentally cursed whoever appointed these irresponsible security guards...From our 3rd floor, we saw one guy down..We called out to him about the two guys at our doors.. He looked clearly confused & finally shouted back, “kannada kannada”…Eeekkk..what wrong timings!!!!!!! Luckily the ironing-guy came to check the matter.. We told him our door no: & about the two guys trying to break open our home.

At that time, the land phone started ringing in the living room. What the hell now..Everything was a total pandemonium.Finally, I carefully unlatched the bedroom door & went to attend the call. Suddenly with a final thud the front door came open……………………

S was standing there with a heavy carton. I couldn’t believe my eyes. She was supposed to be in big danger.Those nasty-looking guys were supposed to be after her....

Me: Youuu..you are supposed to be in office!!!!!!!!!!
S: Why the hell didn’t you girls’s open the door? My new laptop is getting delivered today. When I came in, those guys were waiting…

I & N were standing speechless. Our faces embarassed & pale after all this mental trauma...

“I tried the keys. But you had latched it from inside. At last I had the security to come and push the door open”

Me & N were on the verge of fainting……..water please……….

PS: She got herself a brand new pink laptop :-)

Gone Crazy

2007-11-21T11:36:00.002+05:30

Phew...I need a break. Wish I could sit back, relax , reflect & dream…. Even the weekends had been quite busy these days. I had been literally banging my head on impossible ‘deadlines’ since last 1 month. Everyday I come back late at night, eat & hit the bed. After a long, I had a relaxing day today. So might as well utilize it before I get assigned with my next work. And as my friend tells, “You have completed disappeared from e-world.” Hmmmph!!! No orkutting, mailing, blogging indeed. It seems like I have gone back to Stone Age communication. Am out of contact with my friends :( woaaaaaaaaa…

I am desperately waiting for the project tapeout in December. Have a list of stuff I wanna do after that. Joining salsa classes & charcoal painting sessions hits the top list. I was at office on Saturday & contrary to the usual, I finished my tasks much earlier than the deadline. Was so happy that I could relax on Sunday. And I celebrated this by going out & having a ‘big dinner’. And relax I did the next day being down with ‘food poisoning’ & a resulting foul mood :) After popping a few pills, felt enough energized by evening to go out to Forum mall with my roomie. Met a few friends there & proceeded to have a strictly vegetarian dinner at Transit. When we finished & came out of the restaurant, it was almost 10 pm..

Roomie: I’m dying to watch ‘Jab We Met’. And all because of your
dumb work, we were not able to watch it this weekend
me: hmmmph…!!!
Roomie: why don’t we book it for next weekend????
me: hmmm…
Roomie: what ‘hmmm’?????
me: I cant wait till next weekend!!!!

We were standing in the queue at Cinema Europa to book tickets for the coming weekend.The movie availability status kept flashing in front of the counter…And there it was blinking right in front of us “Jab We Met - tonight 10 pm show available”

I looked at her…Hurrrayyy…It was 2 minutes to 10 pm.

“Let’z gooooo” , I screamed.
“Yeahhhhhhhhhh”, she screamed back
“My goodness!!! It gets over at midnight 1 am. How will we get back home????”
“Does it really matter???” came the crazy reply
“Not really!!!”, I was equally crazy…
“We will get prepaid autos down forum”

Yeahhhh.And we rushed to get the tickets and raced to the movie hall. We were lucky that the movie had not started yet. I looked around to see the crowd. Most of them were families. And right in front of us was another girl’s gang, just like us..Crazy girls..Crazy Bangalore!!! Hurrayyy!!!!

I must say say, the movie was worth the risk. Though not a big time fan of Kareena, I found her acting really good in this movie. And Shahid too is looking all cutey cutey.

The prepaid counter was opened but the guy refused to issue the tickets.. Since we girlz didn't want a street-fight at midnight 1 am, we found an autowalla who took us for the 1 km joy-ride back home for 50 bucks!!! That was indeed a crazy Sunday…

Canine Lovers

2007-09-25T18:32:00.003+05:30

These days I find myself surrounded by dog lovers. Lotsa friends are screaming the war-cry PFA (People for Animals).Not that I have anything against them. But curiously, I had a history of ‘dog phobia’ as a kid.

I must have been six or seven years old then. I remember that day when the twin chechis in my neighbourhood house came to pick me up, to play at their home. Those days, there were three ferocious looking Alsatian dogs in their house, which as far as I can remember always used to remain caged… The moment I entered the gate , one massive dog came pouncing upon me. I froze for few seconds…. Then my childish instincts told me “run”. And run I did, for my dear life. Soon the second dog also followed the wild chase. I was screaming and running … I remember vividly that I ran & almost reached their backyard. From the opposite end I could see the third dog closing in on me. Amidst all the pandemonium , I fell down ….I scraped my arms and knees.. The rest of the story I can’t remember. I remember only a tiger-look-alike-dog’s tongue wagging close to my face.. Thankfully, uncle (the twin’s father)came as my rescue ranger and somehow managed to control those terrible beasts…

Later, for months I used to have night mares about large dogs chasing me & tearing me apart. I used to wake up in the middle of the night all scared. I even used to be afraid to go to school , since on the way to bus stop there were many street dogs…I developed a perennial fear of dogs. Later I started to make a conscious effort to get rid of the phobia.. Gradually as I grew up, the fear faded away.. I am in perfect harmony with street dogs now. As for the pet ones, I like to admire them preferably from a distance and might even venture to stroke their silky smooth hair. But the moment they try to be friendly , climb all over me and decide to give me a face wash with their loving tongue, I will die of heart attack!!!!

There is this colleague of mine with whom I was discussing about my weekend trip to home..
He: I wish my home was close by..
Me: missing mummy..huh?
He: hmm..I miss my baby!!!
Me: eh? oh..i didn’t knew you were married **evil grin**
He: my baby is my Labrador Leo… He even sleeps with me on my bed…
Me: I see.. So the baby is your cute little puppy
He: hmm...my baby is just 12 yrs old
Me: duh!!!

I have this buddy of mine who is into the business of exporting injured little street puppies from Bangalore to Kerala..hehee.. The brave heroine once rescued a hairless, half-eared little puppy from the streets of Bangalore . She christened him as Chesko & they were happily living together ever after until that fatal day when her evil landlady found him out & screamed, “Either you are out or that hairless creature!!!” .So after much thought, a clever plan was devised to smuggle Chesko from Bangalore to her home in Cochin. Chesko was sedated with a pack of sleeping pills. Then he was carefully packed up in a box with lotsa holes to breathe in ..Thus the heroine boarded the bus “Kallada Travels” to Kerala. Everything went on peacefully till midnight until Chesko woke up & decided he had enough of the caged life. He started whining & fidgeting around… The heroine thought Chesko was suffocating & opened the cover a wee bit so that Chesko can breathe better.. And out jumped smart Chesko!!! Happy at the new found freedom, he gave loud barks & started running in between the seats. Imagine the surprise on fellow passengers’s face …And the funny story ended with the heroine having to pay fine to “kallada travels” for illegally smuggling dogs to Kerala & spoiling their carpet by having the dog pee on it!!!! :)

And there is this bloggie dude who is clicking away to glory his doggie Sparky's pics.I saw a heap of them in his flicker album...

Midweek Crisis !!!!

2007-08-23T13:58:00.001+05:30

I was feeling very blue at office yesterday. It usually happens when I don’t have much work to do & I feel dumb. And one interesting thing I have noticed is that I enjoy chatting , orkutting & blogging only when I have lots of work to do. So while I am banging my head on some deadlines, I will sneak out in between, to scrap a buddy or chat with a long-time-no-see friend or indulge in bloghopping. Otherwise I don’t even feel like effectively utilizing my free time for such ‘productive’ work... Sigh!!!

By evening I was feeling so mad that I jumped out early from office & decided to make my otherwise boring life colourful. So I went for a bit of shopping and later proceeded to have a haircut which was absolutely not necessary. I must say shopping is a wonderful form of art that cheers me up from my deep blues..heehee.. I know gals are gonna support me in this hands down. And of late, I got to do lots of ‘Onam shopping’ for the whole family!!!

By the time I reached back home, it was around 8 pm..My roomie was not back yet.And I hate being the home-alone heroine when I’m not in my moods. So I went and washed all my dirty clothes accumulated, multiplied & exponentiated over a week’s time :) And , washing dirty clothes give me some sort of mental satisfaction that I did something productive & fruitful. Now whenever I tell this, my well-wisher friends have always cheerfully offered to outsource their laundry stuff to me…No, I am not taking any of your chweet offers.

I finished all these hard work, but still my roomie was not back.. So I went out for a relaxing night walk in the park, listening to the soothing music on Fever-104. And for the zillionth time , the music playing is “cash meri aankhon mein..” I want to bang my head on the wall if I hear this stupid song one more time.. Later something caught my interest. The chatterbox RJ is talking crap on some topic called “Midweek crisis”

Hurray!!! Now I know what is actually the root cause behind my blue feelings. heeheee..Yesterday was afterall wednesday. On a more serious note, there seems to so many complex terminologies these days for simple crisis that we go through in our everyday life.. Mid-life crisis, mid week-crisis, insomnia, PMS, exam blues, anxiety disorder & what not. All these seems to be a part of our everyday vocabulary…You are welcome to add to this terminology-list & on your own ways of effective midweek crisis management :)

Trekkers and Rafters!!!

2007-08-03T15:16:00.002+05:30

In a place far away from the maddening crowd, set in the tranquil interiors of a quaint little village in Kolar district, enclosed with hills on all sides and dotted with green fields of corn & vegetables.. This is the place where we packed off for an outward bound training program from office. There were no proper roads connecting this place & during the last half an hour of the bumpy, jerky journey , we didn't even come across a single bmtc bus. Muddy tracks led us to the camp where we stayed, in the tents..it seemed to be so far away from civilization...

It was a unique experience living in the tent & having campfire dinner every night. In the nights, we had friendly visitors inside our tent in the forms of beetles & centipedes, who found their way inside our cozy blankets for a nap.. Once in the middle of night, it rained very heavily & our tent got almost flooded.Well, but as usual nothing could hinder my beauty sleep.

In the evenings after the training, we were free birds. And the team was out in fields playing football, cricket & volley ball. I tried my hands at playing cricket. The word 'tried playing' will be an understatement, considering the way I excelled. Because the only time my bat hit the ball, it went for a direct catch :( I guess, it's time to start our all girls team :D One evening, a few of us enthusiasts, decided to explore the wild country side. We trekked to a nearby hill. While trekking up, at a high altitude, we were taken up by surprise when we hit upon a plain, which was segmented into cultivated vegetable fields . Yes, a farm right in the middle of the hill, in the middle of nowhere. I guess it is the concept of 'step-farming'. And when we hit the top, the sun had almost set at the horizon.The panoramic view of the fields & hills was breathtaking in the mellowing evening light. Next day,we went for yet another expedition. We conquered another adjacent hill & hoisted our flag there (ok..not flag, but our office logoed cap propped up on a stick).

And the best part of camping was saved up for the last. It was rafting. We had to build our own rafts using bamboo poles, ropes & lifebuoys. Yes, and we built our dilapidated looking Noah's Ark , by tying the bamboo poles together using figure-of-eight-knot & appropriately fitting the lifebuoys to keep the raft afloat. Phew.. So I mastered the art of tying the figure-of-eight-knot so well that, now I can even tie a ferocious bull safely to the pole. So here is our hard work...

And what to say, we rafted in the lake in our Titanic.. No..It was not a tragic Titanic!!!! We the proud sailors rowed hard to reach our destination at the other end of the lake. And in the middle of the lake, the sailors momentarily lost their sense of direction, abandoned their oars & started splashing the muddy water on each other. Thankfully, we had life jackets on & hence I am still alive to write this crap post.

With this ended our three days of frolic & adventure....

The Weirdo Tag

2007-07-09T15:49:00.000+05:30

I was on hibernation for quite a while & hence guilty of abandoning my little bloggie.I was awakened from my sleepy mode by this IIMBian & told to write 8 weird / arbit things about myself. So here I bare my soul ….

1.) I have this weird habit of talking in my sleep sometimes .And there were times when I had screamed out in my dreams & hence scared the living daylights out of my poor roomies :)This was much prevalent during my college days. While, I used to sleep peacefully throughout these episodes, my roomies had tough time getting back their beauty sleep :D

During BTech, at hostel, my bed used to be right next to the windows. Once I dreamt about a hand extending through the open windows & trying to strangle me. I screamed out … A few weeks later, this incident actually took place in the adjacent room, where a guy actually put his hands through the window & tried to flick the purse..

2.) Though I love hearing music, I don’t have an ear for English music especially the heavy metal kind. With a roommate addicted to Vh1 channel, I don’t have much of a choice. I call some of those songs utter “NOISE POLLUTION” :) Music lovers, don’t throw stones at me!!!

3.) I have very good memory about people & incidents. Recently, I got introduced to a colleague from another branch of our office. I instantly recognized her as my classmate in 4th standard. She was there in my class only for 2 years. And she didn’t even remember having heard my name, let alone my face :(

4.) I hate hypocrisy. Am allergic & repellant to people whose words and actions don’t compliment each other. I understand that a little hypocrisy is necessary to survive in this world. But I have seen some extreme cases. I can’t stand these people…

5.) I derive sadistic pleasure out of killing mosquitoes with the mosquito bat. I like chasing them with the bat & watch them attain nirvana…

6.) I take some time to trust people. Trust is not something that blooms instantly for me. So I take time to make friends, but once friendship is formed, it’s there to stay. I have friends right from my kinder garden onwards, with whom I still maintain good contacts with.

7.) I am an “attention seeker”, as far as my mother is concerned. So when I have a cold & headache, I like to exaggerate it & inform my mother that I have fever :) After all, nobody dies from all the extra care, attention & love showered on them.. hehee..

8.) Last weird habit about me is “I-won’t-ever-acknowledge-I-am-weirdo” hahaa….

People tagged to write 8 weird things about themselves:
-The attention seeker
-Toothless wonder
-Aths
-Minu
-Pophabhi

Where the rain is born....

2007-05-30T11:06:00.005+05:30

It rained heavily in Bangalore on friday. We were having Ethnic Day celebrations at office terrace, when the menacing thunderous clouds rolled up and it began raining cats & dogs.Heavy pellets splashed on us from the tarpaulin sheet overhead. I was traveling home that night. And in Kerala the monsoon was setting in with all its ferocity .

My growing up years were closely associated with monsoon. It was the season I used to love as a kid, the season which used to irritate me when I grew up, the season that arouses waves of nostalgia when I think of it now. I used to hate it because, I could no longer go out anywhere and had to stay back at home. Hence my moods used to be as cloudy as the overcast monsoon sky. There was a persistent damp feeling everywhere & dresses took forever to dry up.

My home is on the banks of river Periyar and it's mesmerizing to watch the river when it is raining. The rain lashing on the gentle river and creating turbulent whirlpools is something I love watching .During my childhood, it was usual for Periyar to flood up during monsoon & threateningly encroach on it's banks. It was something much awaited by us, to play on the swollen river banks swarming with fish, crabs and an occasional water snake. And when the flood gates of Boothathankettu Dam were opened up due to overloading, the rain swollen river used to look menacingly beautiful.

Once when I was 7 years old, I went to play in the river accompanied by my mother. I started playing on the flooded stone steps leading to the river. As a child, I used to behave exactly opposite of what I was told to do .So when my mother shouted, 'Dont go further', I had this sudden inner urge to step forth. Involuntarily I took a few paces ahead . But there were no more steps... I fell into a deep gorge and was helplessly drowning in the river. My mother who never swam in her entire life time was forced to jump into the water and drag me out. Now the moment I was confirmed alive I got a good doze of scolding. Thus ended my trysts with the river. Never again during my childhood was I taken anywhere 1 km radius from the river. Even the mention of the word 'river' resulted in terrible outbursts in the form of scolding & threats!!! But then unknown to my family , I had eloped several times with my best friend to the river banks & plucked those tempting water lilies. That's entirely another story.

I remember the time when we went for Goa trip from college. That was one of our best tours. We stayed in a beautiful beach resort , which ensured that we spent a whole day on the sun-kissed sandy beaches of Goa. But the only kill-joy was our Sir who screamed at us, every time we attempted anything adventurous. So in the afternoon, we locked his door from outside when we went out :) We were frolicking in the sea, when out of blue, it started raining. It was not an ordinary drizzle; it was a heavy thunderous outpour.. And we delightfully stayed in the sea, while the heavens poured itself out. It was simply blissful...And the best part was, we were so far away from the shore, even crossing the danger zone, where a red pole was hoisted as warning.

These incidents surface my mind when I think about monsoon. Between, I am planning to buy the book 'Where the rain is born' compiled by Anitha Nair.It's a collection of stories about Kerala. The title of the book itself is too tempting for me...

Poonjar Diary

2007-04-28T14:01:00.003+05:30

Last Saturday, I attended my friend's wedding mentioned in my last post. It turned out to be a sort of get together, meeting up with my old buddies. We 5 of us planned for a trip to Poonjar that evening. It had been 4 years back when we girls went to the same place and I remember it was one of our best trips. Poonjar with its enchanting rolling hills, dense dark rubber estates, gurgling streams and cascading waterfalls. Nature was simply at its best there.

Because of the sudden hartal in Alappuzha district, we had to take a train to Kottayam and from there 2 exhausting bus journeys before we could reach Poonjar. By the time it started raining heavily. Rain gods seemed to have no mercy on us and the sky was pouring out threateningly. We feared rain will play spoilsport on our trip. By the time the bus was climbing the long winding uphill roads of Poonjar, there was power failure. The whole village was enveloped in coal black except for the hurricane lanterns that flickered here and there. The heavy rains had caused some damage to the BSNL tower and we were literally cut out from the rest of the world. What a way to start our journey!!!!

At last we reached our destination. My friends uncle and his daughter were there waiting for us. And it was a long walk in the dark to reach their home, guided only by a torch light. We had to climb through the rocky path , cross a stream and a bridge to reach home. A worried aunty was there waiting for us (it was almost 8 pm. We were supposed to reach there by 6).There was nothing much we could do inside the house because of power failure. So we sat under the candle light sipping hot tea and munching chips, talking to our hosts . Aunty was an energetic sporty lady and soon we were plotting wild crazy plans. The power cut could not tone down our high spirits. We decided this was the best time to take bath in the stream. Soon, under aunty's leadership the girls army( including her daughter S) marched down the rocky tracks to hit upon the stream. The water was icy cold after the rain. S was a girl used to all the wild ways of nature and soon we found her dragging us and unsuspectingly pushing us into under-water pits. With a sinking feeling I found myself drowning & gasping. And for a brief moment, I had a glimpse of the happy life I may never live to see :-) With zero knowledge on swimming, I felt it was a wonderful creative game for people who are thinking of ending their life. But soon we turned crazy and was enjoying the drowning-game. We screamed and our voice echoing in the dark almost brought the whole village down there. In a way, it was good that there was no power.

After dinner, we were sitting out in the veranda. The first thing I noticed on reaching the house was the swing. It has been terribly long since I did swinging. And there I was swinging to my hearts content into the cloudy night sky. We played anthakshari. It was past midnight and the aunty surprised us by coming with glasses of black tea . She announced, "to keep you devils awake and croaking." Here was a lady who encouraged our craziness!!!! After we finished our activities and decided to hit the bed it was 3 am.

I had to literally pry open my eyes next day morning at 6. We went to explore the country side in broad day light. The streams looked beautiful set against the foggy misty hills . Our next destination was waterfalls in the nearby hill. There we trekked down the rocky tracks enclosed by dense dark rubber plantation.

The best part about the waterfalls was that, we had it all to our own. The waterfall was surrounded by rubber plantations belonging to uncle and hence was a secluded place inaccessible to public. It was our very own kingdom. Only the chirping birds & the dragon flies hovering over the water gave us company.We sat under the waterfalls, with the heavy splash of water drumming on our heads and almost intoxicating us. We splashed around the pool , tried the balancing-floating-act on water ,and even danced under the falls. Later we were sitting on the top of a boulder, drying ourselves in the sun & chatting lazily, when S came and started pushing us one by one. From the precarious edge of the rock, I fell, was momentarily air borne and then sank down into the stream below. It was an exciting adventurous feeling. We tried it several times later

We spent almost half a day there. And then it was time to return. We had a train to catch at 6 pm , to take us back from this heavenly abode to the corporate jungle

Wedding Shopping & Heights of Carelessness

2007-04-04T14:19:00.000+05:30

For last 1 week I felt like being orphaned. Here is the turn of events that turned me into an abandoned soul.

A week back, I accompanied my friend for his wedding shopping to buy blazers & suits. Two gals accompanying a guy for shopping can turn catastrophic, especially when the gals in question are ‘shopping crazy’ ones, who vanishes when ‘ladies dress section’ is in vicinity. But since this was wedding shopping, we refrained ourselves with much difficulty :-)

The mega shopping started in Marathahalli brand shops . His specification of blazer was a gray one which looks ‘informal’, ‘unique’ & ‘different’. Since we gals didn’t consider ‘gray’ as a colour even worth mentioning, we brainwashed him to go for a cream coloured suit. Now, none of the specifications ‘unique’ & ‘different’ were met in any of the brand giants viz Allen Solly, Van Heusen, Giovanni etc etc. Finally decided to select the engagement shirt first.In between his fiancee called up. Both of them are my friends since college days.

She: Remember, I am wearing orange sari with yellow border. So his shirt should match with
that
Me: Ok done. How about a bright fluorescent orange shirt then? Heheee....
She: @#$*#@
She: And don’t select any full sleeved shirts. It doesn't suit him.
Me: Ok..i will try to convince him…

As soon as the ‘order from higher authority’ was conveyed to him, he dismissed it as absurd. So we did buy a full sleeved shirt. God save us!!!!

After lunch we proceeded to Bangalore Central. As far as I was concerned, all suits looked alike. They were either black/gray/blue/cream or 2buttoned/3buttoned. After hours of searching, we zeroed in on an ethnic looking smart suit. By this time we gals were really worn out. To rejuvenate our poor tired souls, we decided to go on a shopping spree of our own to ‘ladies section’, while he was left gaping. After having revived ourselves, we decided to search in main Commercial Street too, inorder to widen his options. We went to some 5-6 shops in vain. By this time, we were dead tired & couldn't even take another step ahead. The climax of the story happened when he called up his parents to tell about the ethnic looking informal blazer he has finalized upon. From the other end he got a lecture on ‘proper mallu Christian weddings’ and how you should only wear simple formal suit on the occasion. So that was the end of it. We argued with him but he meekly replied , "I chose the bride on my own; I chose the wedding card on my own; at least I should leave this to my parents.” Thus the shopping saga came to an end.

It was much later while I was returning that I discovered I had misplaced my cell phone. I had left it somewhere while shopping!!!!!!!!!!! Called up to my cell immediately , but it was switched off. That was the anticlimax. I felt sick , more because I was so careless. Hmmm..i was proving myself to be all the adjectives that my Amma sometimes lovingly :-) calls me – ‘careless’ ‘irresponsible’ ‘clumsy’ :-) To get over the feelings of blue, I slept the whole of next day.Felt much better after that. For next one week,I was out of contact with the world and felt orphaned. Finally I got my mother to send me my old Nokia 1100 . So finally no longer am I abandoned :-)

Remembering Women's Day

2007-03-16T14:38:00.000+05:30

I remember Women's Day mostly when I see the glossy ads in newspapers. But , the memories of a Womens Day during my 3rd year Btech are vividly etched in my mind.It was the time when our bossy seniors were out of the college for project work and suddenly we found ourselves as the shakers & movers of the campus. Many of our crazy ideas materialized during this time.

The idea of celebrating Women's Day in a different way sprouted from our 'qool galz' gang. Soon we had our infectious energy & enthusiasm spread to the whole gals in our college. The idea was to host a fund raising Womens Fest & donate the amount to 'Thanal' , an orphanage near to our college. The fest christened as 'Unarvu' (energy) was dedicated to Kalpana Chawla. That was the time of her demise & so feelings and emotions were running high during those days.

The Fest had all entertaining ingredients - fashion shows, cinematic dances, music, stalls, all hosted by the gals. Alltogether, there were more programs than we ever had during our Arts Fest. So for a change, the guys sat back and enjoyed (meant screaming & cat calls) while we took the reins of the Fest. The most important task was to get moral support from the guys, since for a few of them, the very idea of celebrating Womens Day was like undermining the existence of guys :) So a committee of gals were roped in from each class, to win over the guys, collect funds and make it a success. But I must say, the guys were really sporty about it and helped us amass huge amounts for our fund raising. And they were also supportive to the extend that they threw only tomatoes at us the 'qool gals' when we danced onstage. I remember the tomatoes quite matched with our red colour dance outfit. hehee

It was a feeling of being at the heart of the event, because we took all the responsibilities like booking the auditorium, arrangements for stage, audio systems & event management.

In his welcome speech, one of our popular Sir raved like this, " So I dedicate this Fest in fond remembrance of an Indian woman who made us all proud - Juhi errr.. Kalpana Chawla !!!!" The whole audience burst into laughter and a few even cheered. Grrrrr... I personally think it was deliberately done by him :) And I proudly did the introductory speech on Kalpana Chawla.

We put up various stalls during the Fest for fund raising. As usual the 'dedication counter' was a runaway hit. It's where anybody can pay 10 bucks and have a filmy song dedicated to anybody else. The songs will be played in between the events, along with the dedication message. Then there was 'face painting stall'. It was quite crowded with guys because pretty gals sat there to paint faces. Then there was 'mehndi stall' put up by some creative ones. But the toughest job at hand was for 'secret message counter' , where the unfortunate messengers had to deliver anonymous letters even to the principal.

The event was a success by all means and we were able to hand over a good proportion of money to the orphanage. That was a year when I felt worthy of having celebrated Women's Day.......

Battle of Hearts & Minds

2007-02-28T15:14:00.001+05:30

It has been quite a while since I have been bored with the routine weekend hang outs. Two weeks back a friend invited me to the 'Tri-Continent Film Fest' at Bangalore. Though many people think it crazy, I absolutely love watching contemporary parallel movies & movies with a strong sense of direction. About 20 award winning movies were screened during those two days

Alliance Franchise, where the movies were screened, is an Indo French collaboration centre. It has a terrific ambience with a tranquil garden and aesthetically furnished interiors. Most of the crowd over there were social activists, media students & a surprising number of foreigners. Felt like being transposed to a different world inside Bangalore; where people sat in groups, sipping piping hot tea & discussing social issues.

Some movies succeeded in striking a chord deep within me. One such movie was ‘Hearts and Minds’- a 1974 academy award winning documentary on Vietnam war. It captures the most powerful images of a devastating war carried out by the US.

The US war planes whizzed past, carpet bombing the Vietnamese villages and ejecting toxic gases that resulted in massive killings. Many US war veterans & pilots when interviewed, initially told how they enjoyed bombings the targets; but later on many broke down seeing the devastating effects they created . One pilot commented how he felt as if he were playing video games, when the deadly bombs hit the target. In the national cemetery an elderly woman wails and tries to jump into her son’s grave to get buried; a child pathetically weeps and falls on his father’s grave.

The movie derived it’s name from US president President Lyndon B. Johnson’s notorious speech “The ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there." Glorious words used to cover up the senseless occupation of Vietnam.

US soldiers brutally harassed the civilians, set fire on their houses & dehumanized the Vietnamese prostitutes . The war footage shows children screaming and running in pandemonium. A little girl Kim Phouc, horribly burnt ran out screaming while the shells exploded against the back drop. This picture that appeared all over the world , pricked the conscience of the entire world .The movie succeded in putting forth a strong anti-war message.

There were a few other movies worth mentioning: John & Jane is an Indian movie on the woes of call centre employees, as they tries to cope up with the virtual world they live in. Shake Hands With The Devil looks through the eyes of Romeo Dallaire, the once UN Force Commander to Rwanda, when the country went through a heinous civil war & genocide. It’s the story of a nation abandoned by the world & even by UN who withdrew it’s peace keeping forces at a crucial time. Say Amen an Israeli movie, comically picturises how a gay man is being forced by his large conservative extended family to commit to the institution of marriage.

I think I have seen enough movies to last atleast a month. Cant take in any more!!!!

PS: I might not be politically correct here. These are just a chain of images drifting across my mind

Yo Man Yo!!!

2007-02-06T11:39:00.000+05:30

January has whizzed past. This has been a month of partying - party at office, party at hostel, and one back home at our residential association..

Now the New Year party at office was a helluva one. Though the invitation revealed nothing explicitly, it soon became an open secret that it was a pub party. It was in Regalis- Cloud 9 at Lavalle Road. Now I always had this curiosity to know what really brews inside a pub. The bouncer thugs guarding the pub & the blaring music have always intensified my curiosity. "Curiosity kills the cat". But, I was not that curious a cat to waste some bucks on such stuffs and quench my curiosity. But this pub was exclusively reserved for our office and hence it turned out to be a pretty decent party with the managers hovering over us (!!). So I guess, I missed the real yo-man-yo dudes & dudettes:) in action . *** sigh*** So, instead ended up seeing the same monotonous faces of my colleagues **sigh** (incase anybody of you are reading, dont kill me..kidding)

The initial feelings on entering the pub were that of partial blindness & deafness imparted by the dazzling light & ear-splitting music. As soon as my sensories regained their functionality, I joined the gang. All around were a bevy of glasses. Now somebody informed me that soft drinks are available.Ok... So after all, I get something to drink. And I really dont know what got into me, when I went and asked the bartender "Can I have juice?" The horrified look on his face said "where the hell did you drop in from?". The moment I really wished the earth would open up and swallow me!!!! Heheee..So I ended up drinking pesticide (sprite), something which I never used to drink these days.

For some time, just stood there drinking pesticide sprite & watching the colleagues on dance floor. This soon proving to be boring. I felt like another brick in the wall. That is when I and a few pals decided to hit the dance floor. Soon we were having a whale of a time. Then out of blue, somebody in an energetic dance move, crash landed the heavy sharp heels onto my toes.Aaah..Instantly, I could feel warm blood sprouting around my toes. I thought, yo man yo ,I dont care and resumed with the activities. After some time, yo man yo didnt feel so cool about it. Toe was hurting. So went out of the room to inspect the poor mashed up toes & got it bandaged

Soon it was time for the most crucial event "dinner". Hogged the dinner & went on to collect the office T-shirts. So as usual, the unlucky me didn't get any small sized t-shirts. Only medium sizes were left, the small ones being grabbed by the early birds. I am just not destined to wear office logo t-shirts. So as usual, my t-shirts will be donated to my fathers collection. Hmmm..My father is getting real trendy these days with all the t-shirts :)

The toes got infected and after a long have healed now. But the poor toe nail still remains a deep bluish-purple. Guess I should get a purple nail polish & paint the remaining nails purple too. That would indeed be a smart way of living with it !!! yo gal yo !!!! :)

Potpourri of Colours

2007-01-02T13:24:00.002+05:30

This pottery painting was done some months back, when I went home. It was the time of torrential monsoon showers in Kerala, which made outdoor life miserable and almost nil. Being confined to home, I soon grew bored & decided to lavish my skills on the poor pot :) I found these Mughal paintings printed on some coffee mugs & thought it would be interesting recreate the same on pottery. Below are the 3 different views.

Anna’s Christmas

2006-12-15T15:10:00.002+05:30

Once upon a time, there lived a little girl with sunshine in her eyes & laughter in her voice. It was a Christmas Eve & the little girl Anna was busy making a handmade Christmas card for her best friend. Crayons & coloured bits of paper lay scattered around her. She drew a cheerful, colourful Santa Claus on the card & sloppily sprawled “Merry Christmas” across it…. From where she sat , she could hear the clutter of vessels from the kitchen, where her mother was baking her favourite fruit cake. She sneaked in there to check out the status-quo of the cakes. To her disappointment, her mom was still mixing the batter & the cakes were yet to be baked. Unnoticed by her mom, she dipped her fingers into the creamy batter & licked it gleefully…

Then she ran off towards the window, impatiently waiting for the local church group to visit her home. Outside in the chilly night, she could feel the magic of Christmas in the air. The glowing red star & bunch of balloons that hung on the branches of the gulmohar, wavered in a cold gush of gale. She wished it would snow in India, like it did in those European post cards she admired so much. Waiting on the window sill, she must have dozed off somewhere in between. She could see herself making a real snow man & having snowball fights with her friends. She could hear the jingling of sleigh bells, and the clatter of reindeer hooves on snow…. The strains of carol woke her up. At last the church group had arrived, singing carols & frolicking away. Anna was on cloud nine seeing the bulky Santa dancing, with his wobbling stomach, funny long beard & masked face. She was utterly delighted when he took her hand & made her dance with him. Then he gave her toffees & went away…………

That was years back. Little Anna has grown up. Sending xmas cards is no longer in her busy agenda, let alone a hand made one. Neither does she write any long personal letters. Sitting in her cubicle, the only letters she write are the brisk, professional emails she send to her colleagues seated just yonder her . Cakes are no longer a Christmas extravagance for her. She devours yummy pastries often at parties and then ends up dieting the rest of the week. She shrugs and then laughs off seeing the funny Santa, with that silly looking plastic mask. Anna still religiously attends the midnight mass & celebrates Christmas. But the magic has been lost, somewhere along those years of growing up .

Musings....

2006-12-01T16:56:00.000+05:30

I woke up to the terrible feeling of cramps in my legs. I was still in the bus, on my way home to attend a friend’s betrothal. I was not sure of making it there on time. The bus was already late by 2 hrs, thanks to the tense situations at the Kerala- Tamil Nadu border, all in the name of some Mullaperiyar issue. After being immobilized for 2 hrs at the border, the bus finally took off from the Walayar checkpost…Suddenly you could feel & sense Kerala ; the enchanting greenery, the imposing Western Ghats & the refreshing morning air. Never had all this been so alluring ,until I started staying away from home. No longer is anything taken for granted. I particularly love traveling when it’s drizzling. If it’s a heavy downpour, you have to close your window and just sit there sulking & watching the fog developing on the glass panes. But if it’s a slight drizzle, you can leisurely keep your windows open and bask in cool air and enjoy the sight of glistening leaves & the rain drenched tiled roofs of kerala

The last 3 yrs I had been living in 3 different states..A year back, I was in Tanjore in TN.. The first thing you notice there, is the feeling of “ghee on sacrificial fire”. It used to be too damn hoooooot. And we had to walk a long way through the treeless campus to reach our class. We used to literally race to the class to sit inside the a/c. It must be one of the reasons we never bunked any classes:) There was nothing to do out under the scroching sun.My attendance level was too high to suit my character .We were too happy to sit inside the class & doze off

Another thing you notice in the campus is the ease with which you can locate fellow mallus inside the campus. They are the only ones who walk under the fiery sun with an umbrella. I guess the Tamilians & Northies are used to these environmental conditions. So as I walk around with a red poppy umbrella, if I come across anyone with a blue/green/red poppy umbrella, I can confidently walk up to them & ask “enthokkeyundu visesham”( how are you)

But the nights in Tanjore are quite in contrast with the days. Nights are heavily windy, especially during the ‘aadi season’ . They are crispy cool with clear, star studded skies. At hostel, we used to take our mattresses up to the terrace, and lie down there under those heavenly skies ,chatting all the way into the night. We used to try figuring out the constellations and the non-existent comets, that fire away in the night sky (comets will usually be a figment of somebody’s flourishing imagination)..

Then, there was this farmland behind our hostel with rose farms, paddy fields & sugarcane fields. The swaying paddy fields are a rendezvous for the peacocks. If you are shrewd & careful enough to stand like a statue/scare crow, the suspicious peacocks will sometimes allow you watch them. But the moment you take out the camera, some sixth sense makes them to flee away, cackling its horrible cry.(it’s cry is similar to a cat’s cry with a little more volume & bass) . And for some unknown reasons, we gals used to derive much pleasure, by sneaking into the rose farms & taking away some of those pretty flowers.

Then I miss the fun we had in the hostel, the hanging-outs after each exam, watching tamil movies, breaking bday eggs on friends’s heads, sitting late in college in the name of projects & seminars(but browsing most of the time)

The place is famous for the big Brahadeeswara rock temple, with its mind blowing architectural beauty,built during the reign of Chola King, Raja Chola. The tall architecture is designed such that it’s shadow never cast upon the ground , at any time of the day

World of Books- A Tag

2006-11-14T12:21:00.002+05:30

Ajith had tagged me to ponder on the world of books.And there is a slice of my life associated with each of the books.This is my first tag & here it goes...

1) One book that has changed my life

I never came across any drastic life altering books. But I remember reading ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ when I was 13. The diary is 13 year old Anne’s account of her life , when forced to go into hiding during the World War 2 , at the time when Hitler started his anti Jewish decrees. The Jewish girl whose young dreams withered away in the ghastly Nazi concentration camp.

After her death, her diary was recovered by her father & published. I too wanted to be like Anne; bold, ambitious and a real life heroine. That was the time when I started writing diaries. In those swashbuckling teenage years, I day dreamt of being famous through my diaries..heehehee.. It is so funny now to even think of it , let alone read through the diary entries of those times. That year, I wrote a review of this book in my school magazine

2) One book that you have read more than once.

It’s the ‘Mahabharatha ’ stories. The intricate plots & human emotions depicted in it has always captured my imagination . My mother used to tell me stories of Krishna, when I was a kid .Once when I was hardly 3 years, she narrated me how Krishna as a child put sand into his mouth , and when his angry mother made him open his mouth she nearly fainted on seeing all the 3 worlds there. The very next day, I discreetly went & scrapped off some sand , managed to put a wholesome amount in my mouth & ran excitedly to my mother. My mother almost fainted seeing the stones , debris & a poor dead beetle there..That incident marked the death knell of the story telling sessions…

3) One book that you would want on a deserted Island

Maybe a copy of ‘Robinson Crusoe’ will guide me on how to survive in an uninhabited island, how to build a fire, make a tree house, hunt down beasts, collect wild berries & manage to stay alive fighting off any cannibal attacks

4) One book that made you laugh

I have not read many rib tickling books lately .The only humorous tales I read recently are the ones from ‘Tinkle Digest’

5) One book that made me cry

I cant think of any book that made me shed a few tears.. But there are some heart rending incidents in books like ‘Les Miserables’-Victor Hugo

6) One book you wish had been written
Compilation of the works of a Flaway Mind.. hehehee :)

7) One book you wish had not been written

The whole of M& B series!!!! I have always been tempted to read them at the wrong times.It always happened during my study holidays. Though I knew it’s all mushy & crap, I was never able to resist the temptation.. I think I outgrew those books now. I am no longer tempted by them, maybe because exams are not there any more :)

8) One book that you are currently reading

“Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra”- Ruskin Bond. I am a big time fan of Ruskin Bond. No other Indian writer has enchanted the world more. His stories spun around the Himalayan foothill, fascinate us with its simple, down to earth characters and the magical aura of Himalayan flora & fauna. His stories are closely interwoven with nature. The stories set against the backdrop of pine ,deodar trees, chirping of magpie robin , the gurgling streams & brooks set our imagination on wings

9) One book that you have been meaning to read

Catch 22 - Joseph Keller

I pass on this tag to Calvin, my buddy who recently ventured on a brand new blog.

About Roommates & Smugglers

2006-09-19T15:48:00.000+05:30

So it has been exactly 1 month since I shifted to a new accomodation. It is a comfy place 5 minutes away from my office & most importantly near to the so-called-happening place in Bangalore - The Forum .Apart from that, it is the most boring-to-death place you can ever find. I live in that hole all alone.

Before I shifted, I was convinced that I am going to die of loneliness there. How can I survive there ,after having lived in an ear splitting ,high decibel environment of Ladies Hostel.On the first day, I was experiencing a feeling of "suddenly single" .I was convinced I am going to turn into a human island...Three days later, I was relaxing in my room listening to Radio Mirchi and reading my favorite novels. Nobody to disturb the peace. I have the whole room to myself. I can throw my whole stuff around- books,clothes & still get away with it .I can listen to music & dance(secretly of course) all the way around in the privacy of my room.(ya..burning the dance floor)I can lie down in my bed , hearing the rhythm of music, stare at the star studded skies through the window & drift in my flyaway thoughts.This's quite blissful.

Two week later, I was tired of this routine. Suddenly,the silence is deafening.I crave for another human presence.Or should I think of getting married ?? heheee.. I took my cell phone & started calling my friends in the list. Afterwards,I felt slightly better. Within the next 3 days,I have exhausted my whole currency & decided I have had enough.

The whole scenario changed last weekend.Finally a new gal came to my room : a student & a friendly looking gal. Appearances can be deceptive, I warned myself. I was indeed ecstaic, but outwardly kept a straight face. She introduced herself as S . Then she looked at me slyly "Hope you wont be offended by my preferences. I wear minimal clothes". Interesting indeed!!!I refrained myself from commenting.

Some time went by peacefully.I went as usual to my FM world. Then she dropped the next bomb
S: "Do you think there are gals in this PG who flicks stuff??"
me: eh??? not that I know of....
S: I have 3 lakhs bucks with me !!!

I looked passive.Did I mishear?? Then she repeated proudly, "I have 3 lakhs bucks with me". My thoughts were racing. 3 lakhs with a student??hmmm..Finally,I concluded her father must be into smuggling. And why the hell is she telling all this to me. With a sinking feeling, I thought of the consequences lest she loses her bucks. As her sole roommate, all suspicions will be directed at me.I looked at her as if I am hearing the most natural thing in the world, "Better take care of your stuff"

I have been waiting for a roomy all this while & now a smuggler lady has sailed in. I mentally cursed all my karma for this . I decided to ignore her and go my own way before she tries to disclose more about her possessions to me. That night went rather peacefully, while she slept like an angel with the loud, blaring hiphop music ON on her tape recorder.Since I am the kind of gal who continues to sleep, even if a tsunami rages in & swallows up the whole Bangalore, it is not a matter of much thought.

Next morning, by the time I got up, she was all ready to go out. Before she sailed out of the room, she announced , "I just left my ipod nano in your cupboard. Hope you don't mind"
I screamed, "Whaaaaaaaaat??????" But she was already gone.Ayyyo...Now the burden of 3 lakhs ,an iPod & the antics of a minimally dressed devil is on me.

By the time I came back in the evening, she told, "Bad news for you"... My heart skipped many beats.My stomach made a somersault. Then to my utter relief, she muttered "I am leaving the place. I am moving in with a friend"

I simply love being alone. By the way, ever heard of cases where people die of claustrophobia ????

To my Sis....

2006-08-26T14:52:00.004+05:30

Today is my sister's bday. So this post goes out as an exclusive dedication to my chweet sis. Happy Bday Chechiiiiiiiiiiiiii.... Her bday is quite a special one; since she embarked upon this earth on a Thiruvonam day, the most auspicious day celebrated by mallus all over the world.

So although the date falls on 26th, we used to bash it out on Onam, the day which rejuvenates the nostalgic memories of the warmth of family gettogethers, vibrant colours of pookkalam, ambrosial onasadya, esctatic thrills of a high swinging oonnaal ...(swing)

Until a few years ago, we used to celebrate it in our ancestral home. Our childhood Onams truly captivate the true essence of the occasion.We cousins used to go flower hunting the previous evening in the wilderness of the bountiful courtyard ; in search of those precious golden mukkuttis, teeny-weeny kakkapoos & unblemished thumbakudams(name of flowers).Each one of us will compete to fill our ornate flower baskets. And the next day,amdist all excitement & chaos of a pack of unruly kids, the pookkalam(floral design) will finally be laid out. Then the thrikkakarappan(pyramids made from mud & adorned with rice flour) will be kept at strategic locations to welcome King Mahabali, who according to Kerala traditions,is believed to visit all homes.

Afterwards, we will run off to play, our all time favorites blind man's bluff & kallanum policum.I being the youngest, was usually the unfortunate victim of these unscrupulous:) games. I remember giggling myself away in blindman's bluff & in the process of keeping a straight , innocent face give myself away in kaalanum policum.

By then,we will be all geared up for Onasadya(feast) to tickle all our taste buds with unique bitter, sour, sweet, hot dishes. I am not going to elaborate anything here, since I have this serious grievance of missing Onasadya this time.

I crave to enjoy the thrills of a high riding oonnaal (swing)once more, to reach for the heavenly sky, with wind gushing through my hair & cousins down there quarreling on who has the next turn.

This is the first Onam I am gonna celebrate away from family. And this is the first Onam without my chechi too. I miss youuuu.....Happy Bday...

PS: This post contains a few terms non-comprehensive to non mallus & beyond the author's capability to translate. So please do bear :))

With Love from India

2006-07-22T23:07:00.003+05:30

I was rummaging through the old drawer in search of a lost novel, when I hit upon a neat stack of letters at the bottom. There were multi coloured envelopes, affixed with quaint little stamps of USA. It has almost been a decade now. I fell into a retrospective mood…

The letters were from my ex pen pal – Erin Noble hailing from Illinois, US.I was in high school, when I received the first letter of its kind. I was truly on cloud nine. In those days when getting a personal letter itself was a matter of much pride, receiving one from an alien friend from another part of the world, called for an extreme case of vanity.

This pen-pal ship was initiated through an exchange program by 'Young World'. The acquaintance soon blossomed into a wonderful friendship through a series of letters. Each letter was eagerly awaited; read & re read a zillion times; showcased around to poor buddies(poor = no pen pals) & finally a lengthy reply drafted.

Like many contemporaries, Erin Noble’s India represented a land of tigers & snake charmers. Probably, Americans watched too much of Discovery Channel. It must have been real hard on Erin’s part, to believe, that I didn’t live in a tree house , surrounded by dense rain forest, crawling with snakes & tigers

To make matters worst, I was unofficially declared as their mentor/guide for summer project, which involved a study of tigers. I didn’t have the heart to tell that, the only tigers I have seen are the ones in zoos & the only fact I know is they are India’s national animal. So the next 2 days, I sweated it out in the library, trying my hands on translation work of a Malayalam book “ tigers of India”.

We exchanged cards on all occasions. Once I received a pink envelope, scribbled with “don’t open before 14th ”. For an uninitiated gal to whom Valentines Day existed only in the pages of the novels she read, it was a pleasant surprise. Thus Erin Noble became my first ever Valentine at the tender age of 13.

Then, there were 2 other pals, rather e-pals: Heron El Khwaja from Egypt & Jung Hwa from Korea.

Heron El Khwaja is an engineer from Cairo, Egypt.. After exchanging a few mails , it suddenly dawned on me that El Khwaja rhymed with Al Quaida & timely ended what I believed was a disastrous friendship. Another result of my “ chronic suspicion syndrome”:)

Jung Hwa is a fiery young gal from Korea, pursuing her studies in medicine. Being a Korean, English language was never one of her finer points. But her communication skills were excellent to an extend, where I could imagine the beauty of her vivid descriptions. I still remember her descriptions of her winter music camp, where they huddled around a campfire in the picturesque woods singing, when gentle snowflakes danced all around them. She is an excellent example of how language can never be a barrier to effective communication

Bday bash

2006-06-19T15:08:00.000+05:30

It was my roommates Bday. This time, contrary to usual, we hadn't equipped ourselves with eggs & tomatoes for the midnight bash. It all started at 12'o clock, with waking up the Bday Babe by bursting balloons right over her ears. She bounced out of her bed, yelling that her eardrums were no longer functional. Then we started singing..err.. howling bday wishes & hogging yummy yummy pastries.

Since eggs & tomatoes were not readily available for adorning the Bday babe, we decided to use whatever was available at hand. This included orange peels, pastries, jam & all sort of crap things. We pounced upon her, generously squeezing orange peels into those wide open , awe stuck eyes & smearing pastries & jam all over. It was big fun , until it started snowballing into a big battle. Yummy yummy pastries were rocketing in the air & gals running helter skelter. Somebody came up with a mug of water for self defense. Needless to say, my sparkling clean room soon transformed into a huge muddy puddle

OH NO!!! NOW WE HAD TO CLEAN OUR ROOM :-((

Bdays used to be memorable times, during my 4 years of engineering. At hostel we were a gang of spunky gals named 'QOOL GALS' (QG)

On one QG's Bday, we decided to decorate her with water colours. Each one of us took turns to paint her up. She made so much fuss that we were forced to tie her up in the chair..hee hee.. We even took snaps. Feels good to recollect all those long lost days

On my bday, I was drowned in heaps of glitter. Glitter had this unique property that , even if you take bath for the next 20 days, half of them will be still sticking to your hair. I was a living joke at college for next 3 weeks with people teasing me "Oh my God.. You still didn't take bath��"

Another time we went to a vegetable vendor to buy rotten tomatoes for the occasion

QG: you have tomatoes??
Vendor: yes mam
QG: Ok... Then get me some rotten ones..
Vendor: NOOOO. I never cheat my customers. I sell only real garden fresh ones here
QG: ????????

Lost World

2006-04-19T14:16:00.002+05:30

So I’m back after a luxurious 5 days at home. Nowadays, five days have become an extravagance, which I can’t afford. Sigh!!! And I feel nostalgic about those long lost college days, when mass bunking was considered to be our birth-right.

Five days went much faster than a supersonic jet . But I did have an effervescent time when I met up with my high school dude , after long years. Felt I last met her in some prehistoric stone age in another world. We both were very excited, swapping news , catching up on each other & having a real tête-à-tête talk

We unearthed many of my old albums & autographs from the cupboard. How good it felt flipping through those old class photos. Some were real funny….

One of my kinder garden snaps showed me , with a wide opened mouth curled in a perfect `O' . During that day, I was down with fever & was not supposed to attend school. But I threw a big tantrum at home, screaming “I wanna be there in my class photo” . At last my parents relented. And there I was sitting quite pretty with a red bow , ready for the click. And it was that exact moment, an irritating cough decided to take a toll on me . I tried to control myself. But the itching cough grew unbearable & I finally let out a long “ coooough couuuugh ”… The camera flashed & it was caught forever. When the snap came out, there was a red faced embarrassed me, fuming at those telltale kids who giggled and proclaimed it was a perfect yawn.

Then there was another toothless smile photo of a 7 year old.. Hmm sort of cute.. And one cute guy was standing next to me :-)

And the school autograph was filled with some hilarious stuff
One went on “I still remember the big fight we had in 5th standard that day that year”Eh?
Another one ended “ mashi theeraraayi..nirthatte”(let me stop now.. ink is going to finish)
Another gal scribbled “ dated till I marry Afridi ” I guess, some die-hard Pak cricket fan!!!

SCHOOL DAYS ROCK!!!!

Hobbies Forever

2006-03-14T12:14:00.002+05:30

I got interested in a brand new hobby. It’s glass painting. This thing really got into my veins, when I chanced upon the beautiful Fevicryl Hobby Kit, all set to deceive the eyes of the beholder. My creative juices at once sprung into action. And there I was toiling through the weekend upon a broken piece of glass, unearthed from the attic , amidst an extended family of cockroaches & spiders.So with much effort , finally I finished my masterpiece horse(???) Though at the end, my clothes looked like the aftermath of a vibrant “ holi” celebration, the ‘masterpiece horse’ I believe can be called a decent creation . So it is now all set to be framed and hung to fame. Now I can’t wait to try out the other Fevicryl Hobby Kits . ha ha… I can hear a heave of sigh escaping from my friends….

Many hobbies have entered gallantly & gone silently out of my life. At the budding stage, I will plunge head down into it & work till I drop.Gradually the interest will wane & it wont be long before the wonderful hobbies find themselves transferred to the museum, which is the attic in my home.

The ‘ feather collection ’ was introduced into my life , when I was 9. The mania started when me & my childhood buddy Sharon got hold of a couple of feathers of a poor,dead kingfisher. From then on, my evil eyes were always on the poor little birds, wishing it were dead ; so that it’s bright plumage will add another feather to my cap.When you really look out for something, you get it!!! I used to find numerous feathers from the courtyard, paddy fields, inside shrubs & bushes and some were even sneaked out of the bird’s own nest.I even remember chasing the poor ducks, in hope that the startled & alarmed creature will shed a few of it’s feathers , while fleeing for it’s dear life. i am really glad, there were no bird flus to scare me back then. Thus I had a large, unruly ,colourful collection of feathers of sparrows, woodpeckers, parrots, mynahs, bulbuls……etc.

The hobby lasted a long five years, & alas met an untimely ,early demise at the hands of my father . It so happened that, as time passed, insects & silverfish found out that my precious feathers were so tasty & started devouring it. One fine morning , my father found this out and my hardwork of five years flew out of the window, down to the foot of a coconut tree. There it breathed its last silent breath!!! I never forgave my father for this act of cruelty, which shattered my young budding heart!!!

I had many other countless hobbies. I'm sure ,anyone reading this wont last through another dose of my mindless hobbies. So I will blog it another time.

I'm travel sick

2006-02-20T12:22:00.001+05:30

Going home has always been a much awaited occasion and coming back is indeed the most despised one. This is what happened to me 2 weeks back. I had to mentally prepare myself for a long tiresome journey ahead ; and coax & convince my stubborn mind of a “wonderful future” beckoning me from a not-so-far-away-land.

The big deal is not the long train journey. It infact can be quite interesting with the teaming crowd of people, booksellers, little kids singing & collecting what is their daily bread, vendors shrieking ”chai chai” . And if your fellow passengers are real specimens of character, you have all the more fun.

Now the real problem was , I reached my destination even before the sun god arose. It was pitch dark . Outside the station there are those autowallas, waiting there ,ready to pounce on their prey. I got into one auto. Travelling in auto alone through the half lit streets, even if it’s a so-called metropolitan city is great adventure. I looked at the autowalla. Now he really looks suspicious. His eyes looked disoriented, through the mirror & I mentally calculated he must be a drug addict. Though I never admitted, I’ve always had this “acute chronic suspicion syndrome” . All those forwarded emails depicting how people have been robbed , snatched , abused & murdered , surfaced my mind. Thanks to those well wisher friends who forwarded all these. Now my mind is total pandemonium of unfathomed doubts & fears. Wish I had obliged to my friend who once cajoled me to buy pepper spray. Mentally cursed my parents who never gave me training in martial arts for self defense.

Butterflies fluttered wildly in my stomach, till I reached my hostel. Now they always keep the big iron gates locked. I stood outside patiently , after buzzing the bell exactly once .Now if you ring more than once , the maid will turn wild & frenzy and decide to give you a piece of her mind via a verbal volley of unintelligible shouting in Tamil.

My patience is wearing off. The little doggie “Tommy” is apparently the only one happy to see me . It’s prancing & dancing around the grill whining. Now I can’t understand the over zeal & enthusiasm. Soon I heard a fierce growl & glanced back to see a pack of street dogs surrounding me, obviously attracted by the little devil inside. Now I clearly don’t mind Tommy having romantic indulgences. But I don’t entertain the idea of jeopardizing myself amidst a pack of wild street dogs, at the break of dawn.

I thanked my good luck, when the maid turned up with half closed eyes to open the gates. I rushed inside & Tommy taking it as a wonderful opportunity to freedom raced out like bullet. The maid shouted at me in bewilderment & anger. I, tired after the journey & all mental trauma hardly cared. I marched off, leaving the maid to tend to Tommy, who obviously thought it was some sort of ‘catch-me-if-you-can’ game……!!!!!

Five Point Someone- Chetan Bhagat :- A book review

2006-02-15T13:57:00.000+05:30

Five Point Someone- Chetan Bhagat:- A book review
[A national best seller by an ex-IITian on campus life @ IIT.The book tells you what NOT to do @ IIT]
My Rating:good[not excellent]

Since a long time, I had wanted to read this book. It is not often that one get to peek into the life & thoughts of the most elite & superior of our race - the IITians. I was dying to read about these Einsteins who in my wild imagination:
- were drowned in a tsunami of tech books;
- barely had time to breathe down , having to live at the cutting edge of technology & cutthroat competition;
- hardly ever spoke & opened their mouths only to mumble in technical jargon, unintelligible to the rest of the world.

Now the book had my imagination tumbling down. It goes on to tell the story of 3 friends Ryan, Alok & Hari. They are the five point somebody’s of IIT; somebody who scored a *GPA of 5 point something , which is below average according to IIT super standards. The story tells about the simple joys of campus life, right from ragging days to the convocation day. It makes a potpourri with all the right ingredients –intellect, friendship, romance & plots.

RYAN: He is smart, stylish, sporty & can be rightly termed as a daredevil and spoilt brat. He is the one who look at things in a different perspective. He comes up with innovative ideas like how to make boring classes interesting, what to gift Hari’s girlfriend, how to sneak out the question paper right under HOD’s nose etc etc…

ALOK: He is the sentimentalist amongst the three & dreams of making it high. He has a traumatized family background, with a father who is paralysed & a family looking forward to the day he gets campus selection. His character is exactly opposite to Ryan

HARI : He is the quite one,a passive onlooker. He is the one who gets all tongue tied during viva voce & the one who dances to all of Ryan’s whims & fancies. He balances the conflicting ideas of Alok & Ryan. But how he transforms into an entirely opposite character, when in company of his girlfriend Neha is really mind boggling.

They are the 3 protagonists of the story.The book comes down heavily on the relative grading system of IIT, that reduced an individual’s identity down to his/her GPA. The system with its overloaded schedules(exams,assignments & surprise quizzes), crams up the students’s lives & leave no space for open ideas or innovations

The narrative which is humorous, witty & hilarious , provides for light reading. But sometimes we wonder whether humour is a bit over done, especially when there are situations that call for atleast a grain of seriousness. Maybe that is why it is regarded as a book version of dil chahta hai.

*GPA- Grade Point Average

Tragic Tale of My Shoes

2006-01-24T13:24:00.000+05:30

Last weekend I had planned to go shoe hunting. But all my buddies suddenly vanished during the weekend & I didn't want to go alone . It so happened, my last shoe hunting expedition turned out to be an utter failure...

In Bangalore, if you want to go shopping, you have 2 choices. One option is you can go to any shopping mall , those really happening places. If you are a shopping freak or a person with lot of black money looking forward to get rid of some, this is the perfect choice . Or if you are a real diplomat eager to display your negotiation (read bargaining)skills, you can go to those out stretched streets(not to mention those equally outstretched potholes)

Now I belong to the latter category minus the bargaining skills. Last time when we went shopping , we were strolling through the commercial street, window shopping. I think window shopping is a full fledged hobby & entertainment for majority of the Bangloreans. And Bangalore with its colourful streets brimming with youthful spirit & enthusiasm , doesn't disappoint its window shoppers. It was at that time when I saw those cream coloured sandals beckoning me from behind those gleaming glass panes. Now this platform heeled beauty really had me hooked .

So me and my buddies went inside the shop & asked for the price . Now this friendly faced guy gave a wicked smile and told "500/-" My dude was pinching on my arm & whispering the mantra "BARGAIN" . I thought this was a good opportunity to develop some useful skills . And instantaneously my great bargaining instincts uncovered itself " Do you really mean to say 500??? The quality of this stuff is surely not that worth.." blah blah !!! Finally I concluded, "250/- not a pie more ; not a pie less " . Now I really had it in my head that cutting down the price by half was an intelligent bargaining move :-)

Now a weird thing happened . This friendly faced guy is really nodding his head . This cant be happening . I cant believe this . Why did he agree so easily??? . He should at least have put up some fight . Stupid me . If I knew it, I would have told 150 !!!( this explains the fact that human beings are greedy by nature) .Once again , my intuitions have failed me .Now I am in dilemma : to buy or not to. Atlast I made up my mind & bought it . I was really proud of this shoe beauty.

One week passed by , and I was flaunting the sandals wherever I went .Then I noticed something peculiar . The pretty sandal has developed wrinkles on its creamy heels. Oh No.. And with each passing day, the grand platform heels shrank more & more .So did the no: of wrinkles . Though rather sad , I continued wearing it , until that tragic day, when suddenly the shoe straps without any prior warning gave away . To add to my embarrassment, I was on the way to my office & in the middle of road . And the rest became golden chapters in history as I started hopping towards my office.!!!!

Monday Morning Blues

2006-01-23T10:09:00.000+05:30

"Monday morning"... It's one of the most miserable, lethargic & sullen of all mornings for me. My eyes just refuse to open & come out of the cozy comfort of the warm blankets. And a chilly wintry morning like today just add up to my misery. Now I always harboured this secret wish to be a rodent ,so that I can go on a long hibernation . It is at this point when I look around for my roomies for some sort of inspiration . And seeing them curled up in their beds , adds to my conviction that people shouldn't rise early morning & catch a horrible cold . Hah !!

Well, early mornings have never been one of my favorites ; not even during my student life. I always preferred to be the 'Ms. nocturnal', as I was lovingly referred as. When I was a kid , I used to enjoy late night as it presented a golden opportunity to escape parental scrutiny & to do all the naughty things . As an adolescent , it was always my unquenchable thirst to read suspense thrillers , that had me wide awake past midnight , & then later on to scream out in my dreams.

As I grew up & went to hostel , it's always, chatting into the night with my friends . The chats were filled with fun , laughter, sharing, inexhaustible jokes, criticizing teachers(we were really good at that), analyzing situations, killing & assassinating many characters & of course the gossips!!!! This recreation will continue late into the night till our warden come & start a long lecture .Then during exam times, it was impossible . I hardly used to sleep because everything was last minute work . I really believe if it were not for "that last minute" nothing will materialize in this world . So i'll be really burning , fuming & setting aflame the midnight oil and only sleep by 4 am . Then I'll be up by 7 . So to conclude , I rarely got to see the glory of rising sun or be a good girl and hear the "suprabatha" . Now I have started working .When I come back home, sometimes I'll drained out & will be waiting to hit the pillows . But I just cant sleep !!! The habit just sticks to me...

Now don't get me wrong. I have infact enjoyed the beauty of sunrise. This actually happened when I was 8 year old & my family went to Kanyakumari , which is the meeting point of 3 oceans viz, Arabian sea , Indian ocean & Bay of Bengal . Sunrise & sunset seen from the beach there are mesmerizing & really worth it.

In the morning I'll put my alarm half an hour early. So when it starts ringing, I'll wake up to snooze it, with the ecstatic realization that I can continue with my slumber. Then there are those good old weekend mornings, where you can blissfully be in the land of nod as long as you wish. Now I have this buddy , who gets a headache if she exceeds her 8 hour quota. O man!! she doesn't know what she is missing out But if it were not for the existence of the terrible Monday morning blues, my weekend mornings would not have been soooo desirable ...

Thus I finally succeeded in writing my first ever blog !!!!