College

This weekend I went back to my old college.

(Inspired heavily by the opening line of Rebecca)

Down the familiar lane I went, the bike jerking around a little almost like it was fussing “Where have you brought me mistress? , I’ve never been this way before”
True , the last I went down this lane , I had had my old bike , my friend of 7 years. Now , he was a toughie , he knew that he had to heave him self down with a puncture right in front of the mechanic’s garage , he had to run until he exhausted his last drop of petrol a safe 100 meters from a petrol bunk!Ahh the red bikes of today, spoilt, I tell ya! Gimme my old Kinetic any day!

“Parking for students” the board screamed.. there used to be a WELL here! That used to be filled by a motor! Mother of all Ironies!

I sauntered along into the main gate, I forget which was the last time I walked into a building without involuntarily flashing an access card…

The old workshop

Carpentry, Welding, Sheet Metal, Filing

Semester 1

RM in a khaki workshop dress looking around stealthily to see if there were any seniors around to rag her.

Sadistic sauntering senior: “Hello”

RM: *Panic stricken face*

SSS: “Which semester are you in?”

RM: “Been here long enough, am in the second semester!”

RM runs, stumbling on the rocks, clutching her black bag and her beloved Dovetail joint

Khandala

Our pet name for the building that never got built while we studied there. A large building that was open on all sides, we used to be served food there during fests .. Show your ID card, get a lunch coupon and get served bad food!

Fest times remind me of the treasure hunt that we went to. S and I almost reached another city by the time we figured “Zen speaks” referred to Zen motors that was a km away. We came back to the starting point a good hour later than the others and had the gall to yell at everybody that our bikes had lower horse power than the guys’ and it was unfair to declare a guy a winner!

Fest times also meant that the deadline to reach home was stretched a little to 10 PM. This was the time when the gang of hooligans I studied with mutated and developed strange strains of chivalry. They would valiantly fight to escort us to a harmless coffee stall at 6 in the evening, talk to the parents and say

“Hello Aunty! This is R, RM’s friend”

To which the mother would reply: “Which one is this?”

R: “I’ll make sure she reaches home safely Aunty, do not worry”

PPP: “Yes, R, tell her to study well also, her marks are worrying me more”

R: “ yes yes tch tch”

RM: “ Ok , wait , I’ll call your Ma!”

And how could I forget that kid who got drunk and kept throwing mud over himself while yelling out “Who’s that! Who’s that throwing mud on me!”

I watched, fascinated, from my safe fortress, two big burly shoulders in front and a tinier one next to me. Good, Vi was watching the fun too...

And then there was V. It was the day of the FEST! And there he was , sitting ALONE! My heart bled for him. Poor V! Why was he ALONE! His troubles reached unimaginable proportions in my head and I ran towards him, Bharat Mata Ishtyle , whatever it was he could tell me , RM, the savior of everybody who was alone on the day of a fest!

V: “Err Hi”

RM *Plonking herself next to him and gifting him with a thump on the back*: “ We are all sitting there”

V: “ I saw”

R saunters in

R: “He’s taken the shabhari mala thing …he’s sitting here ‘coz you’re not supposed to touch women when you take it up”

V: “Oh let her be, she’s just a kid”

I can’t remember another time when I’ve felt so happy and so miserable at the same time …

Dental block

Almost Bermuda triangle like. We were forbidden to venture into the Dental Block … “Go there if you wish to have your hall ticket confiscated” was the unsaid rule.

So what did Vi and I do? We went there after the last exam of that semester.

RM: “Are you scared?”

Vi: “Not yet , if you are , we could go back”

RM*gulp*: “I’m never scared”

Vi: “hey , isn’t that the ’tronics HOD?”

RM*gapes*: “The big fat cheat ,Vi! Maybe they have illegal dealings here that they don't want us to find out…smuggling maybe?”

Vi: “ No idiot , he’ll recognize us and that’ll be the end of it all …. RUN”

The Office Block

RM:“I want my hall ticket , number 9888923”

Attender:“Shortage Ide” (You have shortage)

RM: “What shortage”

Attender: “What can it be? Petrol?”

Turned out EnE lecturer marked me absent for 15 classes ALL of which I attended! And she, obviously unaware of my plight chose that time to go on maternity leave.

RM: “That lady!! Horrid lady! I sat through all her $%$ classes!”

T: “Hush, don’t use bad words, she’s pregnant!”

RM: “Sure, I hope there’s something called divine retribution and someone flunks her kid!”

As it turned out, she lived pretty close to college and I could get a signature from her. Hall ticket nightmares drive people into doing crazy things. Like knocking on 35 doors to find out if a pregnant EnE lady resided there (I didn’t know her name either)

College had its share of surprises and shocks as well. Like the girl who asked the Trig lecturer WHY Sin (0) =0.After 3 years of Trig, there should be some things that you should give up on, right? Well, what do you know my friend, Princeton; yes yes, the last I heard of her, she was doing her MS at Princeton. And how about the guy who had a zillion crushes, got into at least 3 scrapes a week? Heppily married like they say. Yes, with a child in tow!

Like I’ve always said, college is my happy place. A place that is associated with happy thoughts-Of youth, of dreams, of ambitions, of innocence, of life and most of all, of friendship. A place where what I wanted was no different from what could be. A place of many firsts and many lasts. My happy place :)

Weekday Happenings

Legend PPP : Praying PillPopper , mother
Potterer: Dad
RM:me
Altoid:The sister , she ,well , is minty

Its the end of the year feel , theres 10% of the normal crowd in the cafeteria and the caterer happily doles out sooka chappathis without counting them , he usually lurks behind the huge casserole and swoops down on anybody who grabs more than two..considering they taste like feet..!

So now , the Pillpopper(She seems to be the high point of all my posts , shes a never ending source of post feed , I tell you!) decided to go her Maika , apparently it has been two years since she last saw her Mom.So , one fine Sunday morning ,

PPP:" Hi !"
Potterer:" err , what do you want?"
PPP(*looking miffed*):" Why does everyone respond in that fashion to my Hellos!"
Potterer(*Looks on gloomily*)
PPP:" I want to go to Secunderabad tomorrow"
Potterer:"Sigh"

Come Monday eve , PPP sporting a rich maroon sari walks daintily towards the A4 coach , while I balance a large tote bag and a larger suitcase and puff along behind her.

PPP:" Why are you puffing , do you think your BP is normal?"
RM:"Think the BP is fine , I think your eyesight is failing , can't you see what I'm carrying?"
PPP:" We better hurry , apparently this train is coming from Delhi and will stop in Bangalore for 5 minutes"
RM: "The train is coming from Delhi to B'lore and then to Sec'bad? It doesn't make sense"
PPP:"Its not logical , its just a route dear"
Potterer:" Ahem ... the train is going to Delhi ,it starts in Bangalore and it will stop in Secunderabad for 10 minutes"
PPP:" Ok , in that case , wake me up at 6 AM , set an alarm in your mobile , DON'T FORGET , else I'll land in Delhi"
RM: *Looks scared*

This meant that I was in charge of the kitchen for four days.

-Did you know that you DON'T wash bhindi after its cut? , looks like goo
-Did you know that you've got to boil the tamarind water really well to ward away the sour taste ? Else you'll have hot n sour soup and hot n sour soup for Rasam and Sambhar
-Suppose , just suppose your cooker is making that wooosh sound and spouting starch and steam in equal proportions , tilt the cooker so that the spout faces the sink , that way , you don't need to clean the ceiling... you think I could start a food blog?
-Never let the Potterer make decoction , its easier to add water to a cup of hot milk

*********************************************************************************


Wishing you all a very Happy New year :) and I hope you get HUGE proportions of whatever you want :)




Image -123greetings.com

Potpourri

Don't know what to call this post , it's a mixed bag of all events and musings from the past week . Lets call it Pot potpourri , ok? Ok.

First of all , Altoid , Dad and I threw a party for the Pillpopper J , we called all her colleagues (her oldest colleagues from a little school near home to the ones from her new extremely corporate school) ..

PPP: “This is ridiculous, how will I ever host a party! I’ve never in all my life hosted one”

RM: “Well, I’ve never gotten married either, so shall I back out on that too?”

PPP: “Shut up! I won’t have a party!”

Altoid: “Black Forest cake and samosas? Or something southie?”

RM: “ yeah yeah …yum”

PPP : “ I will run away from home”

Altoid : “Ok , we’ll tell your friends you ran away and now they have to foot the bill”

1^st December 6:PM:

The PPP is in a dark pink and gold saree socializing .. merrily(like a merry duck taking to water! Now I know where I got the Nautanki trait from)

PPP : “ Jhalak Dikhlaja? Oh yes we all love that show , I think sandhya rocks ! I’m glad you’re enjoying the party hehe .. some more cake? Altoid , do get some cake… Oh that table? It's a cradle that my mother in law gifted Altoid , I cut its legs and converted it into a low table .. no no she didn't live to see it , God bless her soul ..”

I’m glad Altoid threw that party for you PPP J.I’m glad you enjoyed cutting a cake and I’m sorry Altoid and I burst all the balloons , obviously we don't make very good event planners!

Now for a little snippet from what happened in Jaipur, it has significance to our current tale ..

PPP : “Wheres Appa”
Altoid: “He went into that emporium”
PPP: “To do what?”
RM: “Shake a leg, maybe?”
Altoid: “He’s buying one of those expensive table decorations”
Dad saunters into the car..

PPP: “Why must you waste money on table decorations, we have so many at home … then I need to scrub them with Peetambar powder …”
Stony silence ….

December 2^nd dawns …
Dad(beaming) : “ Pillpopper , happy birthday and this is for you…:)”
PPP: (Looks down at the wrapped table piece and for once has nothing to say..)

The week after that , PPP’s old college friends landed home to wish her and generally take off on an outing. PPP keeps telling us about her group at college -of starched cotton saris and neatly plaited hair , how life was about getting up at 4 AM to chant shlokas with her grandfather , of how she used to be his pet and how she used read Keats and Shakespeare to that almost blind old man.. It was nice to associate faces to the people my mother grew up with, fascinating to wonder at a 15 year old innocent who turned out to be MOM! A strong , loyal individual who has been such a strong force to both of us :)

Coming to the point ,college reunions aren’t all hunky dory like we found out..

B: “ hello hello PPP , I have come!”
PPP: “That's so nice of you :)”
S: “ hello , B how have you been!”
B: “Who are you?” (yes ! she actually said that!)
PPP: “ errr.. S has changed a lot since college … I mean its almost been 40 years .. hehe”

A day before Altoid was leaving , we went to Chitra Kala Parishat ‘cause one of her fellow bloggers was a part of the “Bring your own Art” event.Ok all "Painting-Art-Photography" novices raise your hands.. RM raises a pair of hands and feet.. After that we took off to Kamat Bugle Rock and downed endless Jowar Rotis with cubes of butter floating on them..

And then there was Winter Funk.The 2 month Indo Jazz workshop at SDIPA.
Dance is truly therapeutic , it knows no words ,no language , it touches your soul like nothing ever can nor ever will.Learning Jazz was an experiment , a question to the self if dance was universal.Apparently , it is.

PS: Dear instructor S , getting over a crush on you seems to be such a hard task :((

;)

Some gems ...

Do you know why my weekends are never boring these days? 'Cause I just discovered a new hobby! Cleaning up my inbox in my Matrimonial profile! Good time-pass I tell you , it has all the makings of a sooper dooper hit reality show -Laughter(Lots of it , sometimes I need to hold on to the table for support ), then there is Drama("I want a soul-mate who will dig into the crevices of my until-now-un-nurtured heart"), there is romance("I want a friend-wife-soulmate-companion-cleaner-cook all rolled into one hot looking slim fair iyer chick"), there is Dard(" I will continue smiling until i find her") ; Also , ALSO a great place to find quotable quotes!

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.........

When you love someone, and you love them with all your heart, it never disappears when you're apart. And when you love someone and you've done all you can do, you set them free, and if that love was true...when you love someone it will all come back to you.......

*BAWL*

So , now coming to the "gems" part of the post .. it took me a lot of effort to choose two winners .. in this game there are no losers , because we are winners in life , even though we die in the end...my 5 mins of mic fame is up? Ok , here they are!

*CLAP CLAP*

the runner up message is ...

I'v always wondered what would it be like to watch Shiva dance? Guess they call it the Tandava. Don't Shiva and Parvati make a wonderful couple. Enough of mythology so how's work and how's bangalore?

Good message , no?All this 'cause apna profile says apun knows classical dance(thanks to Matashree who resorts to such cheap tactics of carrot dangling to sell me off)

and the winner is...

born and raised in chennai. moved to chandigarh 3 yrs back. as i belong to a royal family dint find the necessity to complete my graduation(he can atleast spell the word , so alls good-o)
lincoln said 'gimme 6 hrs to chop a tree and i'll take 4 hrs to sharpen the axe'.(see? I told you so about the quote part!).Am not gonna say am a hard worker but i've decided to work till the day the world gets rid of destitution.(SNiffff Mother theresa , you have returned!!! TRULY!)
i cannot get along with a grl who is neither well educated nor talented(Yes yes , that right solely belongs to you). 2ndly external appearance matters a lottt to me.(Arrey , of course , janm sidh adhikaar and all that, lottt= too too much)

Voting lines are open , please make the right choice , type "RMKISHAADI" followed by "001" or "002" and send it 6565656565. Till then , good night , shubh raatri!!

;)

Travel Tales

Ok , just returned from a week long trip to Delhi Agra and Jaipur and my ! was it good or was it good ! I'll probably bore you with a detailed account of each place I visited and what hit me most while being there in another post, Ok? Not ok ? Well , you've no choice 'cause you don't have my password , so there!

Some " Did you knows"
Did you know..

1. That Delhi isn't like Bangalore ? Well Duh , I mean like no one wakes up before 11 and there is no concept of a Darshini ! People eat bread toast an chai from the road-side vendor who sports an oil tin for a seat!!

2. That its very normal for a man to be carrying 5 buffaloes in an open cart , and casually lift up its tail so that the buffalo can attend to its nature call? I mean the nature call of the waterfall kind...
I wondered why he would want to do that ,is it to prevent the.. err waterfall remains from slapping merrily against him ? hmm ..

3. A snake charmer who's traveling alone has no choice but to hold his snake firmly at a feet's distance while he attends to his nature call. I mean what else could he do?Ask of a stranger "Here , could you hold this for a while?" No NO! Hold it calmly and do whatever!

Driver time tales

We'd hired a car to take us from Delhi to Agra and Jaipur , and the driver gave us some laughs!

1. My mother was "mataji" and Altoid and I were "sister" and my Dad was "Daddyji". So that makes him our brother. Our brother Pappu.
2.He would referring to a "construction" (and trust me there were quite a lot of them in Delhi)
as a "contraction" , and it used to send a mixture of pain and laughter through us every time he said that!
3.While we were passing through a set of houses in the outskirts , he casually informed us (in the tourist guide style) that " Yelloji , this is a red light area". And I heard it as the "red alert area" and I started quizzing him " Pappuji , what happened over here? Is there a curfew??" . All this while the mataji pictured me with a noose around my neck..
4. My Dad would fondly call him " Paapu".Total south indian ishtyle!

Tales from Firang ..

A foreigner asking the guard at Rajghat..
" Where is Gandhi?"
Mom(in the background , of course): " Turning in his grave"


You know you're missing home when...
1.When in the middle of Karol bagh , you jump at the sight of a Udupi restaurant and you clamber inside to taste a Vada and coffee that you haven't had in what seems like light years! And you look happily at the steel tumblers and plates and the CHUTNEY!

2. You are walking along in Karol Bagh and a weary southie voice behind you says " Bhaisaab , where is Udupi?" And Altoid jumps from somewhere and beams at the man and says kindly (I understand your pain types) " Go left"

Additionally , I was reading Indu Sundaresan's " Feast Of Roses" , a sequel to the "Twentieth Wife" , a tale about Nur Jahan while on the trip , it added that final touch to the trip , the pleasure of standing on the very same spot that the Emperor and his Empress had perhaps walked 600 years ago is just about priceless..

Weird me

HHG has tagged me to reveal 7 weird things about me and to further tag seven people to continue the tag ,Here goes!

Ok this one extremely peculiar trait that I’ve noticed about myself.

Manager gives me an issue to debug at work

I pour and pour over documents , analysis files yadda yadda and something strikes.. this is the issue the brain says.. yes RM this is it.. and then I stop right there and go for a cup of coffee OR I go home , i.e I don't continue to check if the solution is right in which case I should’ve rejoiced nor do I prod along to see if I’m wrong , in which case I must’nt be going home.

Methinks its cause I’m scared it might be wrong in which case it was all a lost cause and I’d have to start from square one.

I have this incessant need to wash my hair every alternate day

Whenever my Mom/Dad/sis are traveling to/from India, I keep googling for the flight number to check..Just in case types. I’m totally paranoid about my family!

I love my birthday J I wait a whole year for it every year. And I always wonder if people would’ve bothered to remember, they DO! J

I walk weird; my right leg is always at 60 degrees to my left

Sometimes I like to throw myself challenges. I.e RM, if you can sprint and catch the lift just before the door shuts , then it means you will find the silver ear-ring you lost.

If the man on the bicycle ahead takes a right turn , Altoid will give her modal tee-shirt to you..

You get the drift...

I dislike odd numbers and I love the number 4!

Ok , now anybody who wants to take up this tag can!

The world in a cube

My friend SRC has spent the last week trying to convince a russian that her name happens to be S , she even signs off as S in big black and bold. And yet somehow..



SRC :"Hi Rai (or Chatterjee?),
RM says: wow
RM says: she wrote that?
SRC :very soon i'd rather sign off as Rai
SRC:a certain Cynthia watever!
SRC:bah!
RMsays:bah
SRC says:how mean wud it be if i replied to her and addressed her as 'Hi watever'
RM says:send her some abuses...
RMsays:"hi WTH"
SRC:she might not follow
SRC:she's russian i guess
RM says:send her a link
SRC:her designation is "Software Entwicklungsingenieur"
RM says:if shes that dumb mebbe u shudnt mail her queries?

A little while later SRC mailed an almost diabetic mail that went "Dear Cynthia... Just to clarify.."

Yeah yeah , we Indians are adaptable and never take offense and all that ... little do people know what conspires on the IM...

oh so sigh!

Cool "Reebok Dance" RM gave her heart to = 600 Rs (Yes , yes Gulp)

A cool book the sister recommended = 300 Rs

A cool non fruity non flowery non girly but "Hmmm oh so fresh n tangy" perfume = 500 Rs

All this bought thanks to a "Diwali gift Voucher" from hamara company shtrongesht = Summation of all above.

The feeling of dread which overpowers all the above positives of hamara company shtrongesht on a Sunday night = Priceless

:(

Happy Diwali..!

Here's wishing a very happy and a prosperous Diwali to everybody :)

May every one of your whim /fancy/crazy idea/most bizarre thought come true !

Leaving you off with a favorite poem of mine
(one of the very few I've read)

Lead, kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom, lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home; lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on.
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile, which I
Have loved long since, and lost awhile!

Meantime, along the narrow rugged path, Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Savior, lead me home in childlike faith, home to my God.
To rest forever after earthly strife
In the calm light of everlasting life.

-John New­man

PS : The diya always reminds me of my principal at school.She always used to say "Lead your life like a flame , look upwards and always try to ward off darkness" :).

Sound of music

6:15 AM: *ZZzzZZ*

Sounds from the wash stand:"Splash splash , tweeka tweeeka brush brush"

RM:"zzeeh?"

RM:(glaring hard at the ceiling)" Appa?"

Dad:"Shploosheh?"

RM:"Never mind , am up anyway!"

Some other day,

4:11 AM:* zzzZZ dream dream*

Sounds from the kitchen

"BANG clang scrub bang "

"Ting ting ting ting"

RM:*Looks at the ceiling*

RM:"Ma?"

Mom:*Sing song voice from the kitchen* " Oooh did I wake you?"

RM:"No no , I'm still dreaming"

Mom:" Early morning sarcasm eh , hehe"

RM: " WHAT are you doing at this hour? Is it that Kanu festival today?"

Mom:*bang bang clang* "I slept in the afternoon yesterday and I couldn't sleep at all in the night , so I thought I would finish up with the cooking and call Kedar earlier so that I could finish up with the tuition as well"

RM:"Ok , open the front door , I'll sleep in the garden"


Sometime during mid December

1:05 AM

*Har dil jo pyaar karega woh gaana gayegaa*

RM:"#$#$#"

Altoid:*Switching channels*" Ooooh goodie , you're up!"

RM:" I'm not UP! I've been WOKEN up!"

Altoid : *Nods* " You know , its been ages since I saw these geet mala kind of songs"

RM:"Really now, tch tch!!!!"

Altoid:"And did I tell you ? Remember that visit to someamericansoundingmuseum? I sent you the pics?"

RM:"No , you send me pictures of paintings , flowers , buildings , so I don't remember which one. Now , if you'd told me remember that photo of me in the brown spanish skirt , THEN I MIGHT remember "

RM:" Hello?"

Altoid: *ZZzzzz*

RM goes to the wash stand

*Splash splash , tweeka tweeeka brush brush*


The first scene repeated this morning , and I resigned gracefully to fate and woke up.

Mom:"Hello!"

RM:" What do you want?"

Mom:"Be more courteous to your elders and how did you know I wanted something?"

RM:*Grin*

Mom:" Yesterday , I asked GuruRaghavendra grocery guy to give me some cardboard boxes"

RM:"Ok...."

Mom:" And he gave me some"

RM:" Err.. so what's the problem"

Mom:" They all read TANGY CHICKEN noodles"

RM:" That were once there? Hmm..."

Mom:*Troubled face* " I don't like to keep them , I know you would think it very old fashioned ..but"

RM:" Yeah Ma , I understand , I wouldn't want to keep them either somehow"

Mom:*Bustles away beaming*

Sounds from the verandah

Dad:"Hmmm one more accident"

Mom:" Yesterday , I asked GuruRaghavendra grocery guy to give me some cardboard boxes"

Nothingness?:)

Everybodys left early , this being a combination of a day before a State holiday , a possible long weekend , and a blissful Diwali week waiting ahead.Its 6PM and all I can hear are the sounds of my hands tapping the keypad , my floor mate G's voice as she pulls her colleagues leg , my friend S's groan(she's got a lot to do this week and apparently can't even *think* of a day of respite), I like this feeling , of having some work to finish off , of not having too many heads around me(sounds so gory eh?) , of the thought of polishing off a pastry at the cafetaria plus a cup of coffee , messaging Alto a Good morning , of telling Amma that I will reach home in time for our serial...errrm now I'm thinking "Do you think I'm asking for trouble?"

All in the family

Now , just before I decided to do a post about it , I did ask my Mom if she had any objections to my content. As always she said she did , and as always I choose to disobey , so here goes..

I think my family has a strange strain of sadism running through it that has gotten better with each generation.With that Dhamakedar opening , I shalt resort to using less fancy words.You've knitted your brows? You wonder why it is so? RM patti will tell you why.Here's why.Shall I commence now? Or now?

See what I mean?

Let me start at the very beginning.I was born in Secunderabad(besides that , I do not have any attachment or sentiment attached to the place ) .During the formative years of my life , my Mother and Altoidster led me to believe that I was actually a Muslim (No offense meant to the religion ,more to do with regionally) woman's throw-away baby and my original name was "Raziya".To make matters worse , during throes of "Im-an-unwanted-child-who-loathes-studying" , I was led to believe that I had not one but TWO sisters far away in a hostel , and the reason I didn't see them was because they chose to come down during my summer vacations in Sec'bad!
I bawled my heart out and talked to the mango tree while the Mom and Sis exchanged glances and whispered
"Where's she"
"Under the mango tree"
"Did she hug it yet?"

*********************************************

Now , we will introduce the C Maama , my Mother's equally sadistic brother.
After a heavenly lunch of Rice-Vetha Kozhambu-Vadaam-Thayir shadam-pickle-Banganpalli mango , I would wander around the book-shelf aimlessly(i think sometimes people can't bear to see my happy face), and then C mama who would be seated on the reclining chair would catch hold of both my hands and wouldn't let me go. He would then say " This is how the crocodile caught hold of the elephant in Gajendra Moksham ..Heeeeehahahhaa" .And I would wail around uselessly to an empty audience and promptly fall asleep.

*Thinks*

*Pouts*

*:(*
****************************************************************

Yes , there's more

There was/is this muslim family who were our neighbors in Sec'bad. And apparently a kid called Mujaheed who was around my age lived there too . Yes you guessed right.

They had arranged for Mujaheed and his long lost Raziya to be united in Holy matrimony on the 2nd of some month , some year.

And I nearly died of palpitation as the day neared...


The only saving grace in this whole situation was probably the Dad ... someone who'd frown sometimes , look on amusedly at other times...

So I kid you not when I quote

If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child.
~Linda Sunshine

On a related note , Altoidster has designed this template for me , and it is SO me , the colors , the illustrations et all. Ty Ems :)

Diverse are we

I believe
Diversity is a part of the natural order of life
As natural as a billion shapes and shades
Of the colors of spring
Or the leaves of autumn

We had "Diversity Day " at work this Friday . A day to acknowledge the fact that we were a French-American organization with one of the branches in Southern India with one of the campuses next to Bangalore's largest drain.Yes , diversity in all shapes and forms there.

"Do your floor" was one of the bullets in the To-Do list.10 heads came together on the first day with cups of coffee and a board marker .

K: "All the floors will do the cliched color paintings and colored lights"
L:"Last year , we did nothing , When the judges came in , we were still cutting color paper, we were the worst decorated floor, we got a pity award"
S1:"Maybe we should shift to the HR's floor , they always win"
S2:"Its full of women , man .Theyve got loads of time to kill"
RM(looks murderous):"Ahem"
S2:"Heheh , didnt mean that.. I just meant HR's have a lot of times on their hands"
RM(looks murderous):"Grr"
S2:"Whats your problem ?"
RM:"BAH"
K(The efficient floor captain instincts surfacing):"Ok shut up everybody and listen to me"
L:"Thats what we did last time , then we decided this time we would be democratic and take a poll"
S1:"I opt for democracy and opt out"

*** General pandemonium where everybody tries to get S1 back into action***

Minutes of the Meeting : We agree to be democratic

Day 2:

S1:" I think we could do stick paintings to depict the software development lifecycle"
T:"Why dont we show diversity in different ages"
S1: "It wont work , our floor always loses"
RM(looks at S1):"I wonder why"
S2:" Ok , lets show diversity in work , starting with the cave era , the jungle age , the medieval and the Space age"

MOM: We have a THEME!


Day 3:

K: "S2 takes Space , RM takes the cave,S3 takes the jungle , and I take the medieval"
RM:" Good lord , the cave age?"

Many ideas , inputs , good ,bad,eccentric flowed in and finally the day before the D day arrived.

I had 6 handy and happy helpers to create my cave :)

S4:"What are you guys doing in this cubicle , I have WORK!"
RM:"Shall I call Mrs K?"
S4:"Whos Mrs K"
RM:"Our Director and someone who mailed saying we had to celebrate Diversity Day"
S4:"Ok , do what you want , just dont upset my desk"
RM:"Haha fat chance"

After spending 10 minutes trying to stick brown paper to the ceiling and having it fall unceremoniously all over us , we rethank our thunk

B: "It looks too straight "
V: "Hmm"
RM(Glares at the unforgiving brown paper):"Double sided tape with a drop of Fevi-kwik"
V:" Chutki mein chipkaye hehhe"
RM"Grr"
B:" lets stack dustbins and cover it with brown paper , it will have that uneven effect"
N:" (sweet smile)"
I personally love N's smile , its so unaffected and sweet :)
After 3 hours of foraging for dustbins , standing on desks , stretching our (by that i mean mine) five feet forms to reach the ceiling , we had some weird sinister looking brown sheet hanging structure that swayed gracefully!

But at the end of the day ,when I was riding home at 9:30PM , I learnt that

1. I had a new found friend in S5 , especially after we set out on his bike at 8:30 to look for more brown paper and adhesive
2.The tissue rolls (:D) play a good roll in making as clubs used by cavemen
3.You get to see the best in your colleagues
4.You never knew you had this big an ego to live up to!

To cut a very long story short , our venture was a success , we actually ended up with the second prize.
yes , yes the first went to the first floor with all its creative HR's :D

These are a few of my favorite pictures ..

"Happiness is a toothless smile"

Taken in a village very close to Muthathi , you'll find a representative from each generation, different people , same smile :)

Kaladi , Shankaracharya's birthplace












Murudeshwara , a few days before lightning struck the idol










Somebody's very pretty house in Mangalore :)

Urrm , any single guys inhabiting this place ?:D

Return to innocence

"Know you what it is to be a child? It is to be something very different from the man of to-day. It is to have a spirit yet streaming from the waters of baptism; it is to believe in love, to believe in loveliness, to believe in belief; it is to be so little that the elves can reach to whisper in your ear; it is to turn pumpkins into coaches, and mice into horses, lowness into loftiness, and nothing into everything, for each child has its fairy godmother in its own soul."

Friend's Mom to Friend's Dad: Wonder what little R will look like five years from now
(Friend's Dad looks amused)
R: Auntie , I will marry a Punjabi
Auntie: Why a Punjabi , little R?
R:Thats as wild as I want to be and as north as I can go

A rose by any other name

I have been tagged by HHG , so here goes!

There are 3 rules.
Rule 1. The rules must be mentioned in the beginning of the tag.
Rule 2 You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
Rule 3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag.

Ok , since my middle name is quite unmentionable , I (cringe) choose one of the pet names that my sister Altoid has erm bestowed upon me?

And the name is..


is..



*HOWL*

"Anshuman"

Ok , now shut up with the laughing and read on...


Atma
is something we all have? I'm sorry , I thought over this "a" a zillion times , ironically a is the most common alphabet thats used after e!
"A bad start does'nt necessiate a bad ending"

See ?There's your a!


Nautanki
Tell me you don't like something I've done and i will switch on Nautanki mode.
"Yeah , yeah , one fine day , I will not be around and then you will know my true worth"
"Yeah , yeah if you can't give me one square meal a day , tell me that I will live independently , why do you want to marry me off *sniff*"
"If you can't get me those silver with light blue flowered sneakers , its ok , I will find them here , no need to tire your delicate feet by walking across the street to Sketchers"
"Its ok Vi , I know you have zillions of other friends"
PS: Any just as cute ?;)

Serene
is something I'm not , but wish to be.Someday ,I would like to have said of me."There she is RM patti , nothing excites her, nothing disrupts her tranquil state of mind.There she is sitting under the peepal tree with light green jade ear-rings ,jade bangles and light green n white Benares cotton.." errr some more time to rethink the basic concept behind serene? Ok!


Honest

Thats one thing I like about myself and would never like to change .I'm 100% honest to the people I love and I never want to change that.If its on my mind , its out aloud.I believe there are 3 states to any bond -Love , hate , Don't care . And the last is the worst.


U
You ? You mean a lot to me :) , you're someone who took time off a busy schedule to see whats on this space.So , my dear reader you are jesht too damn yemmy

PS: 3 layers of this enough? Or shall i lay it on thicker?


M
moody
If there are 60 seconds in a minute , there are 60 different things that can influence me to think about the same thing 60 different ways.

A
another a??
Addict
addicted to TV , caffeine and Google


Narcissistic
A new pair of jeans/top/tee/kurta would be treated with different poses/angles/pouts/hair dos/expressions in front of the mirror.Then with a final flourish , I will sail away to face the traffic ,heat,rain and muck
Paint a pretty picture , don't I?



Ok now , I would like

Pillpopper(PPP , please wake up and post asap , we're fast forgetting what you look like)

BitHawk

Temporary insanity

to take up this tag..

Sights while on a "Pleasure" trip

Blame the bad resolution on my 2 Meg camera phone , but this happened to be an evening when the sun was peeping coyly from out of a cloud on one side and the rain man decided it was going to be shower time on another side , but what did the weary traveler see ?

A beautiful rainbow!






God forbid , but if this Cab was involved in a hit and run case , what would a genius of a witness see ?

W:"Poleeceman , the car's number was a Chinnu cab owner who said a Hi to Chethan!"
P:"Sounds a simple case , we will get cracking!"

Seriously , is this allowed??




I feel guilty as hell for taking a picture of this man without his knowledge , but what to do :( , these are dire circumstances , aren't they??

Ok people , any idea where such cute wind cheaters are available?

Cute-bunny-man , if you are reading this space , where did you find it?

Game

“Hello?...Nalin?”
“Akki , meet me at 8 for dinner?”
“Ok..Khej”
“Done!”

At 7:30 Pm , Akanksha shut down her computer , signed out and started towards the parking lot . It would take a good twenty minutes to drive down to Indiranagar , with just about 10 minutes buffer time for the Airport road signal .

RADIO CITY! blared the FM.
“Welcome back to Route 91 and this is Darius” blared he.The next request is from Varsha who says “Hey Darius ,I’m madly in love with my ex-boyfriend and I would like to dedicate a song to him and he is currently going out with my best friend.So, I’d like to request a song from Bewafa….”.

Akanksha slammed down the accelerator and cruised down the inner ring road.

8:15 Pm :
“Aks!Sorry am late..left office a little late”
“Lemme guess..you left at 8?”
“Hehe!...U know me so well and yet you always come on time , Aks?”
“Habit..So tell me , what’s eating you”
“Hold your horses , Aks , lets order first.Waiter!”

“Boliye, bhai saab”
“Ek Tandaai , Do Ajwain ke parathein , ek dal , Ek Kulfi, Do Lassi”
“Aks, anything else??Aks?”

Nalin turned around to find Akki gazing at some paintings. This place was an old haunt of theirs. Very strategically located, in between both their work places .It was owned by a renowned painter , and sometimes the painter would sit in the porch near the entrance and paint .His paintings usually depicted women , mostly with the emphasis laid on the eyes ,sometimes on the nose-ring , or even the anklets, almost always with a shayaree attached. One of them was Akki’s favorite.

It was that of a woman staring at the sea and it read

“Kya naam dein ab is zindgi ko hum
ek dard hai, ek aah hai, ek nasoor hai aur kuchh bhi nahi.

jab bhi kho jate hain teri yadon ke manjar mein,
koi pukare to akser kahte hain yahi,
na jagao awaz de kar kuchh lamho ke liye
dard soya hai abhi ”

“Akki , come on over . Stop staring at it with your big eyes, the glass might crack!”
“Tell me Nalin, what’s up?”
“Its about Keerthi.”
“Keerthi from office?”
“Which other!Yeah , her .I’m planning to ask her out tomorrow . What do you say?”
“Hmm .. not a bad idea. You could get to know her better .Just ask it in a nice manner .Don’t sound too needy ”

Nalin cleared his throat.
“Ahem , fair Keerthi , will you come with me to dinner tomorrow?”
“No!”
“Pleaaaaase!Pretty Please!”
“Nalin!”

“Akki!”

************************************************************************

“How went the date , Romeo?”
“Better than expected..She actually turned up!”
“So , do you like her?”
“Don’t know yet Aks , lets see tomorrow, another date..Hehe”
“Same girl?”
“But , of course!What do you think of me!”
“Where did you go by the way?”
“Rice bowl”
“Thought you hated Chinese….Her idea?”
“I don’t hate Chinese per se…yep her idea”
“Yep , you don’t hate it per se..just that you would have stopped at the starter and finished up with dinner..”
“Doesn’t matter Aks , will take her elsewhere tomorrow”

************************************************************************

“Ms Akanksha?”
”Yep , tell me, Hussain”
“Nalin sir is at the reception”
“Tell him I’m coming”

“Akki! C’mon lets go for a cup of coffee!I’ve got important things to discuss”

************************************************************************

“So , do you think I should do it?”
”Don’t you think it’s a little too early , Nalin?”
“Its been 4 months , Aks. And I think I’m pretty sure . And I cant keep dating her and not say anything at all.”
“Its still just 4 months , Nalin , how many dates is that ?24 dates? 2 hours each? 48 hours?Thats like knowing someone for 2 days”
Nalin looked away as he bit his lip whilst swirling his cup of coffee.
“You know what our problem is , Akanksha?”
Akanksha looked steadfastly at Nalin’s eyes…Habit.
“You think you know everything. You think you can sit up on a pedestal and call all the shots. You are never supportive about anything I do!”
“So what do you like most about her , Nalin?”
“From the top of my head , well, she’s very understanding.Sometimes this irritates me you know , Akki!Its like she’s absolutely spineless!”
“And oh!She also likes Chinese …”
“I ABHOR Chinese!I have half a mind to kill all the Chinese in the world.I’ve had so much Chinese that I can actually speak the bloody language with all those dorky door-men!”
“One more thing , Akki. Frankly tell me what did you think of her when you met that once?”
Akanksha smiled.Her slow smile with her eyes transfixed on Nalin’s eager face.
“Well…”
“I promise you that it will get better .. now that you are going to see more of her”
“Yes”

Only time will tell.

Nalin signed the bill and got up.
“Thanks , Aks , you’ve been such a brick!”
“Nalin ,you got some change for the parking?”

************************************************************************

“So here we are!”
Akanksha looked up.Nalin was trying to break the ice.Time to do something about it.

“So , Keerti , Nalin tells me so much about you that I simply had to meet you to believe it”
Keerti looked straight into a pair of large steel grey eyes and smiled.
“So then , we’re even stevens”
Nalin looked on.The two most important women in his life.
“Waiter!”

************************************************************************
The painting looked exquisite .Especially against the setting sun .It was a year since she last saw Nalin.Had she really loved him?Yes , in parts .He had a wonderful sense of humour and he could drag you up from the doldrums in no time at all. A big heart that was child like and innocent . She missed those eyes .

Nalin … was he really worth going through all that ?Nalin , who could be so easily swayed by anything anyone said . Nalin ,with whom it would be so easy to seed a doubt in . Yes , I did the right thing..I couldn’t have fought her all my life .

Some women are like that . Mysterious. Enigmatic.The more Nalin tried to know her , the more she didn’t let him.Dear God , I hope he never does…

~~~ ~~~~~~~

“4 letters , down, for an amusement or past time ,hunted for food or sport”
Nalin looked down from his lap top. His darling wife was propped down leaning against his feet and trying to solve a crossword puzzle.
“Akki , how about a candle lit diner tonight?”
“Game”

Yes , Ma'am

In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.

~Jacques Barzun

Here’s wishing a Happy Teacher’s Day to all my dear readers!

Why the wishes even though you aren’t really a Teacher? It does happen to be a vocation all by itself, but tell me, aren’t you also one if you happen to be a Father/Mother/Sister/Brother/Friend? Aren’t you one everyday? Aren’t you imparting wisdom to someone each day like I am to you now? :D

The mention of a Teacher brings Amma to my mind, or rather Amma forces herself into my mind .Amma kept insisting that I had to be logical and methodical like the pesky sis , now could I help it if I was born minus the left brain? It also worked as a great disadvantage to me that my Mother taught Geometry/Algebra/Arithmetic/English/Science. So I had to excel in ALL these subjects in school. The fact that her school was perennially short of teachers and she had to fit into all their shoes calls out for a new post altogether.

Did I forget to mention that my Mom is also never short of TLC and encouragement?
Some scenes snatched from her tuition classes (Yeah she does that too)

A: Pranav , your English is Abominable

P: What does that mean , ma’am?

A:It means you have muck in your head

P’s Mom: Yes ma’am, please yell at him more often, it's the only way he’ll learn! What was that word again? I shall try it on him too.

Ok , now shall we move on to the Teachers that I actually adored? :D

Mrs. Shiela Kamat

Now, if ever you could envision a goddess in chiffon, it would be her. Beautiful chiffons, some in powder pink, some lilac, some pearl white with little flowers, neatly pinned, with a pinch of grace and a whiff of eucalyptus. She stole my 12 year old heart and I loved her with all I could.
Wren and Martin was her bible for grammar. And she said that she trusted us not to use the key to find the answers. Any idea what that could have meant then? RUN when u catch sight of the Wren Key!

Mrs. Poornima
My Kannada teacher to whom I owe my fat-curvy Kannada writing to. I used to shamelessly copy her writing style so that she could carve a “Jaane” (Good) in my notebook. She was always full of praise for the great Kuvempu (his sister lived next door to my best friend in school, S , yep, love name-dropping)

BN Guru Mrs.N
I used to love dancing to the “Ashtapadi” by Jayadeva.It will remain my all-time favorite dance. A composition that would move me to tears with its sheer beauty.And what better than to have my dear Mrs.N explain each verse with kohled eyes shining , long black hair swishing gracefully! Mrs .N, you are the reason why my eyes always have two layers of kohl under them.
Someday , Mrs.N,I will be back!

Mr Prakash
In the first year of engineering , we had to learn all the subjects under the sun , which included Civil Engineering –Engineering Mechanics and Strength of Materials. These would have meant 40-scoring subjects had it not been for PP.PP came , with his bright eyes shining , a 100 watt smile plastered on his face , he called us his “friends”.When you are all of 18 and you know not where you fit in ,and a grown man sails up to you and calls you his 100 percent scoring friend , you bet your last penny you wanna be that!Mr.PP you just simply rock!

Mr Ganesh
Ok , 6^th semester (that's a year away from a B.E to be) and you don't know a resistor from a capacitor (google it up pliss , and send me the link as well), what do you do? You enroll for Mr.Ganesh’s Lab classes.And you suddenly realize that you and your best friend Vi are his favorites , and , wait , it gets better , he also happens to have a err a dislike to Viv , who is your sworn enemy in the Lab! Full circle eh? Heehaw!

And there ends my list , so tell me ,who rocked your life? Who inspired you to pull out all your hair? Who was the reason you let the dog chew on your homework?

A special wish also going out to Hip Hop Grandma! HHG , I hope you had a nice time teaching your grandkids!

The K factor

Met K online today after almost 2 months. He’s scored 99% in his USMLE and is already in the land of a million opportunities. And guess what , he’s studying in a place that's very close to the Altoids’.K , in the very remote possibility that you landed up at my blog , congratulations !:)(for landing here , of course)

Ok ,whos K , you ask? And you look indignant too? That I haven’t ever mentioned a K in my blog ? He’s my old old friend , probably known him for 8 years. I met him online on Yahoo , he was a mad medico and I was a budding-semester-exam-fearing Engineer.Like Anton Chekov aptly said “Love, friendship, respect, do not unite people as much as a common
hatred for something.” And our pet grievance? Exams, Telephone bills , Exam results!

God! Sometimes I’m amazed as to how stupid I could have been! Imagining chatting till the middle of the night with strange people and running huge telephone bills! Come exam time and I would make 3 minute appearances in the chat room- it served as a stress buster , where people didn't know me , people wouldn't care if I scored badly , people who were normal compared to myself- I had a huge exam looming in front of me.

You don't really blame me , do you? Come on , I was all of 19 with not a shred of responsibility in me!

It was then that K and I decided to exchange phone numbers and break the barrier of anonymity. Calling each other once a day became a regular feature. He would regale me with rather merry instances of how he got to see someone’s rather green spleen, an extremely infected appendicitis (referred to as a very rare specimen),he would with great gusto offer to bottle up the specimen so that his dear chat friend wouldn't miss out on the good things in life.
I would ramble on :
“ K , I have a DSP exam tomorrow , 5 hours of sleep enough?”
And K would go , “4 hours is a-plenty for the human body”
“K , you ass , I almost slept through the entire exam!”
“The human body is unique , what works for one doesn't work for another”
“Yes , you’re an exceptional ass!”

And the day K received his medical degree , all hell broke loose! He wrote in font size 32 , bold and in red in the chat room about how from now on he should be referred to as “Dr.K” .K had such cheap thrills! I remember once when I called him and he’d forced his Mom to pick up the phone .i said “Hey auntie , is K there?” And poor Auntie had to say “No , but Dr.K is around!”

K then told me he was going to leave for the UK to pursue his studies. I gifted him a laughing Buddha (symbolizes good luck) and we had a huge chat in Casa Picola , it was then that he told me he planned to come back to India after he was 40 to open a centre for the Diabetics! God save them!

And know what the best part of this friendship is? That I don't need to be constantly in touch with him or update him on what’s happening in my life .On the rare occasion that I catch him online , or on the rarer occasion that he calls up , we talk , freely , without any discomfiture , about what happened , what we think will happen , and about who earns more(its always him :() , who should treat who the next time we meet and so on..

So K , I hope you do atrociously as a Doctor and you return to India with your tail between your legs. I will guarantee you a merry jig and a free Pizza when you do !

Found at the entrance to Transit.


If a stray packet of chips is found , ULP! it will be incarcerated!

A burger found? It will punished to solitary confinement and where its internal parts will rot slowly and painfully...

A hot dog found? Oops! It will be hung upside down and whipped mercilessly!

Really? What with the helmet check , the check-for-the-parking-ticket, the check-if-you-have-outside-food, check if-you-are-armed ..they expect you to smile?Waitamin they forgot something vital! yes , yes! The sanity check ! For having visited the Forum on a weekend!It was all I could do to stop myself from running pell-mell shouting "Get out of my waaaaay!"

Ok , now we're done with ranting.

Watched Chak De India. Shahrukh Khan.No histrionics , very well made , powerful , has a feel to it , makes you want to learn hockey , in the end I wanted to stand up and salute. Good.

"For once , he has acted sensibly and he isn't laughing around vacuously and singing with knitted brows!" said Amma. Methinks Amma should take up criticism as a full-time job. I do not for the life of me know how she is proclaimed to be a "darn good teacher" by her students.Incidentally , a battery of students mobbed her at the Forum.She grinned around good naturedly while Vi and I patiently waited near the exit for Mrs Congeniality to join us.

Weekday musing

For all those of who spent sleepless nights over how my first day at a new work place would go(*Beams around*) , we have done you proud! It went really well , people .Nice place , Warm people , wonderful coffee , God's in his heaven , all's right with the world!

I decided to decorate my cubicle with all kinds of stuff that my friends gifted me .


Item # 1 : Confused Ganeshu
Gifted to me by Vi.This little Ganeshu can make the hardest of hearts melt.It looks at you with such sorrowful eyes(Rather likes its blaming you for its twisted trunk)
Note to self : Item to be thrust into the manager's face whenever aforementioned self in trouble






Item # 2 :Enchanted Cup
Also gifted to me by Vi.
It reads
"Take a sip from this enchanted cup
And make a wish for yourself,
If all else fails ,
There is a wish
Just a messenger click away!"

Which summarizes all our pre-coffee , pre/post lunch , pre-dinner chats et all.Beautifully penned and even more wonderful to have :).

Some other wonderful things adorning my cubicle- A pink pen stand from Akki , A Sai Baba table piece gifted by Altoid , and then , what do you know , My Mom's greatest gift to mankind -ME!

Although , the ride to here is probably the beetle in the icing(now I'm inventing idioms yoohoo!).I simply HAVE to leave home at 8:30 AM , which would mean I would have to get up by 6 , hit the gym ,return by 730 and set off at the aforementioned time(You will find this word a lot in my posts , I simply adore it , sounds intellectual and Victorian at the same time!)

Stuff nightmares are made of

"Dear RM , this is with reference to your resignation from the position of Director , Wireless Communication group ... " read my relieving letter.

"EH? Ki hoya??"

RM storms back to the HR and thrusts her relieving letter into the hands of a sleepy HR.Agreed , I do not expect you to personally type out every relieving letter and there exists something called a "format".But just 'cause the previous resignation was that of a director and you were too lazy to click "Do not save changes " , I get to be Direktor? Seriously? Too much!

I have been unemployed for the last 48 hours and I have mixed reactions to this state , and please add nightmares too.

Thoughts running in my head

RM in a starched cotton salwar sporting a new stylized (read lots of goo in the hair) cut.

RM : " Hello !"
New company HR (opening new company door):"Who's this?"
RM:*Scared face*
New company HR:*BANG*

Or what about the nightmare of last night.
*One huge nightmare bubble Start:*
Mom:*Smile*
Maybe the nightmare bubble should start here?
Me:*Confused grin heh heh*
Mom:"The guy's folks have come to see you"
Me: "Who guy"
Mom:"Tamil Matrimony number M7112221111"
Me *Edging on hysteria*:"SO???Is this a new trend ?? Window shopping??"
Mom *Sickly smile and gritting teeth*:"He's a PhD in nanotechnology"
Me:"Who"
Mom:"The Dad"
Me:"So you are giving me away to the Dad now?"
Mom *Gritting teeth*:"No , just imagine what the boy would have studied"
Me:...

~~~~~*******###### (These parts of the nightmare are hazy)

In the next scene , the boy 's parents have convinced mine that there should be a small engagement ceremony after which they would proceed to see another girl(No No , this wasn't the scary part of the nightmare, pliss to trudge along)

So , now boy and I are engaged and my parents are preparing to send me off in a bullock cart with them.And we're headed to the next girl's house.

No , all you curious cats , I don't remember the boy's face!(Do you blame me?)

The boy's mom looks at all the marapachi dolls in the display and tells Mom to pack them all up .They would later decide which girl their boy would marry.

Sounds of wailing fill the air..
Me:" Amma! How could you! "*WAAAAAAAHHH*"
Mom :"Its ok , what can we do about it"
Me:"How could you give away Paati's marapachis to total strangers ! She loved them like they were her kin" *WAAAAH*

~~~~~~*****####

*End of nightmare bubble*


All this 'cause Mom and I were clearing up the landing and we found a pair of Marapachis in all their grandeur lying in a box.

I will be back to work starting next Wednesday , until then , I shall nightmare along merrily!

:)

Tagged!

I have been tagged by Altoid to list 8 things about myself.So here goes nothing..

1. I’m a sucker for natural cures. More so if you tell me you found them in the Himalayas. Which is why I bought 3 huge packets of “wonder hair herb” while on a trip to Thirunelveli.Which is also why I pay a small fortune to my ayurvedic doctor who incidentally is the only person who says I look radiant and “cured”.
2. I hate reading the newspaper, its something I’ve never ever done. I wouldn’t know the Prime Minister from the Chief Minister, unless erm... a central/state holiday was declared because they happened to go to the land of no return. I know, I know! Will work on this one.
3. I love imitating people. The milkman, the post woman, oh-so-many relatives -and that too in the presence of an august audience –enthusiastic sister, suspicious Mom (Is she going to do me next?) and an amused Dad.
4. I hate intellectual snobbery.So you’ve read Kafka , and that Neruda guy , So?? I swear by Enid Blyton and Richmal Crompton , go hang!
5. I would like to call myself a “laidback person” probably Alto and Mom would like to translate that to “bone-lazy”
6. I love being the youngest. Seriously, there’s nothing like it! This is also why I abhor all the juniors at my work place!
7. I have transitory addictions. Right now , I’m into chamki and embroidery.Last week I wore a embroidered +Chamkied top and a embroidered +Chamkied pair of jeans.So if you were to appear in front of me , I’d more often than not chamki you.So beware!
8. When we were kids and we used to play Monopoly , I would hate winning and hoarding all the moolah.I’d reduce the rent for everybody who landed on my cities much to the chagrin of the Banker.Yes , we love underdogs!

*Drumroll*

I pass the tag to liferocks and Misunderstood!

The rules :-

1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
3. At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
4. If you fail to do this within eight hours, you will not reach Third Series or attain your most precious goals for at least two more lifetimes. (what does it mean?)

TV trouble

Ring out the old, ring in the new said Tennyson but I hardly feel happy parting with things that have served me loyally for a long time. Same feelings felt when my old BPL TV let out a final shudder before blacking out forever. While I was skulking around mourning the loss of an old friend, I found myself being subjected to my Mom’s rather caustic tongue.

“Don’t be an idiot. It’s just a TV for god’s sake”
“Yeah, Yeah” I leered. “How’d you like it if I were to turn you out of the house ‘cause you were getting ole and rickety”
“Altoid’s right. We really did pick you from the gutter. With that logic you simply CANT be my kin”
*Scared Face*

Luckily for us, the man from the orphanage happened to be visiting us that weekend, which was not very surprising actually. Last month, Mom had generously donated an old grinder and an older sewing machine. Can’t really blame the guy for having had a mental note of the number of appliances that were falling apart in our house.

Man:*You MUST help orphans smile*
Mom: “Come in, I have a TV for you, and please hurry up”
Man :*( Thought bubble) This lady is kind AND efficient, must put her in red, bold and in capitals in the donors list*
Man disappears saying he would be back armed with a tempo.

Meanwhile, the lion had stirred in his den: My Dad was just coming to his senses after a long siesta.
Dad (Opening the door): “Yes?”
Man: “We have come for the TV, sir”
Dad: “Who?”
Mom (glaring at the man for coming in at an inopportune moment): “Please take it away, FAST (gritting teeth)”
Dad (glaring at the man): “We are not giving you any TV”
Mom (glaring at the man): “Yes, we are!”
Dad: “Woman, if I were to sit in a corner with arthritis, I’d hate to think of what you’d do to me!”

Hah!! That proves oh so clearly that we aren’t from the gutter.

Anyway, I had Vi and Viv coming over to help me get a new TV to fill up the *sniff* void.
Me: “Wow, these LCD TV’s look awesome”
Vi: “Yeah… totally groovy”
Viv: “So what’s the budget? Philips, Sony, Onida.. which?”
Me: (How just like a guy to cut to the facts) “ Umm ..Sony?”
Viv (Dragging Vi and I to the Sony section): “ Ok , which one of these?”
Me: “Vi , how about this silver one?”
Vi: “Yeah! Would so totally go with the peach wall”
Viv(looking totally peeved): “ Ladies , any TV would come in 2 colors , please decide the woofer , output power , home theatre output yadda yadda”
Me : “I pick the blackish grey because it’s the cheapest and it doesn’t hit my eye like the silver”
Vi: “Yeah, what’ll she do with the woofer and all that yarn, anyway. I pick the grey too!”

So the blackish grey it was :-). IF only picking clothes was this easy!

Sigh.

Week Update

Time to move on to newer pastures. I have given in my notice in the hell-hole and the feeling is just too damn good. I yam jesht loving it.

Now, everybody from the Director to the sweeper wants to have a talk with a certain RM who had the audacity to say “NO” to exploitation. I’m like the Jhansi Ki Rani minus horse minus a lot of courage plus a red colored Pleasure. The number of cups of coffee and tea over which I have explained the “thought process that provoked such dire measures” are staggering.

I am finally reaping the rewards of coming to work at 6 A.M in a rickety auto and an empty stomach. While everyone’s slogging with my share of the work , I , on the other hand have managed to put aside “The Malory Towers” and the “The St. Clares” series to my list of re-reads. Ebooks zindabad!

An added advantage with Ebooks is that they can pass off so easily as “White papers from IEEE”. You just need to view it in a “Century Gothic size 10” and have a notepad handy. Voila!

Needless to say, I have been blog-hopping and have managed to discover two new bloggers. I also took Alto’s leadership test and irrespective of the number of questions asked 9/18/17/45, I am JFK to the hilt. Apparently, we belong to the amorous power crazy category. Cut to scene in which I’m wearing a halter necked bikini top with a slinky chiffon draped around me dangerously, saying “Bharatwaasiyon ...”

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There were plans of trekking the Himalayas with an old class-mate who was only too pleased to take me. But then, I think my interest is waning. All I want to do is lie on my bed and have endless cups of coffee and read books. While I’m on that , can you ,the handful of my readers suggest some books to me ?

Random memory that just hit me: I studied in a Convent in Mangalore and when I was around 8 , they introduced us to “Help age India” , all of us were given little piggy banks to collect money for the cause. That day, Dad’s colleague visited us and I cutely (Yes , I insist I was extremely cute) brandished the piggy in front of him. He grinned and added a 1 Re coin .Later on in the day, I again found him when I was walking with Amma and I repeated my act . He added another coin, though I rather thought his smile had faded a wee bit. Later in the night, I espied him chatting with Dad in the verandah. I repeated my act (shrewd business woman instincts surfacing), he added a 50 Rs note and said “Mr M. I will soon have to enroll in the Helpage India centre if your daughter hounds me anymore”

Which is why, I always grin at the Helpage India box in Butter Sponge and never fail to drop in some money.

Random Song playing in my head : Title track of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom