A trip to Kerala

Happy New Year deeeer readers :) , here's wishing all your dreams ,hopes, aspirations come true! What did you guys do on 1st night? Me?Well, errm I slept.No, not 12.At 10.There's only so much of Ronit Roy dancing that you can take, no?

A lot has been happening that I haven't updated you on.One of them being a trip to Kerala.Needless to say , it was beautiful.Munnar has no specific place that you need to stop and take pictures of.Every bit of Munnar is breathtakingly beautiful.Now I know why all the mallus I know call themselves Keralites with pride.

Day 1:Munnar.
We had made reservations at the Royal Retreat.The hotel is situated atop the Kannan Devan Hills.The hotel itself is very quaint ,picturesque and extremely clean.There is no specific place in Munnar that you can call scenic , every stop seemed straight out of a picture post card!
But oh! The food .. BIG PROBLEM.I thought I was being smart when I had listed down all the vegetarian joints in Munnar , only to find the Saravana Bhavan there is a fake one , and had nothing to do with the original!And guess what happened at a restaurant the driver forced us to get into!
Seren to Waiter : Ermm can you please clean the table?
Waiter: "It is clean"
Seren:"No , it isn't.. there are rice grains all over the table cloth!"
Waiter: *Promptly takes out the table cloth with a sweeping gesture , dusts everything to the floor and puts it back with an Einstein expression on his face*
Seren: *Stomps to the door*

The drive from Munnar to Thekkady is just breathtakingly beautiful ... endless green mountains , tea plantations , flowers in every possible color in full bloom , fresh air , and little waterfalls and dams tucked away here and there.It is precisely then that you ask yourself a question: What the hell am I doing slogging away my night and day in the 10th most polluted city in India, when all I needed to do was to buy a little cardamom estate right here by that nook, drink bad coffee, sip nice cardamom tea(home grown),have wild rice for lunch and call my Dad Achan.
Ans: The said estate would cost about 20 lacs and that doesn't even include maintenance and the fact that I have just one use for cardamom - In my tea.

Day 2: Thekkady
The Kathakali Centre day,the highlight of the trip.We were called one hour before the act so we could watch the artists dress up.
Altoid:"Whats happening Seren?"
Seren:*Hushes two american kids who dared to laugh at the 'artist'* "Can't you see? *Hushed tones* The artists are dressing up !"

The male artist(MA) finished with his green make-up and started to fervently tie a fat rope around his belly.The ticket issuer guy(TG) started to insert empty cement covers and rice bags under the rope.Ta-dah! This is what flairs are made of.

The artists:

MA : Male Artist

FA(Duh):Female Artist who is actually Male

The story:

This performance revolves around the story of Narakasura, a vicious demon and Jayantha, the valorous son of Indra (King of Devas). Nakrathundi, Narakasura’s sister gets attracted to Jayantha and approaches him in the guise of Lalitha, a beautiful woman. Jayantha rejects her love and the disappointed demoness takes her normal form and attacks him. He injures her and a shocked Narakasura vows to take revenge, only to find himself punished for his wrongs.

The performance commences to a very enthusiastic audience.MA quivers eyebrows , cheeks , nose,eyebrows and every quiver friendly facial part to show that he obviously is Narakasura.Meanwhile , Narakasura’s sister(FA) winks(??),raises eyebrows coyly,winks again,pouts with large orange lips,feigns a kiss and yes , winks again.I had expected Kathakali to be a lot different from Bharatanatyam , but for the life of me , I could'nt imagine even a demon's sister breaking into a majestic-hooligan-going-aie ice ice baby act.

Winking? Really?

Ok, FA was now prancing around the stage lustilly winking, quivering,shaking hips and winking all at once.She was in lowww , mind it.

My gaze shifts to MA , he is eh??? Adjusting his nails and his costume calmly..like oh where am i? Oh right, the stage.If u don't trust me , look at the pic on the extreme left.

I was getting rather bored with all the quivering when a diversion came in the form of a late comer.He calmly walked up to the stage and asked MA where his seat number was.MA stopped quivering , ushered him to the right row , walked back to the stage , put his feet up on the stool(prior to the diversion he had had one leg up on a rock), adjusted his flair and sword and continued quivering.From this angle , one of the aforementioned cement covers screamed out an advertisement for Coramandel Cement.I looked on in disbelief.

At the end of the 'performance' , the stage was thrown open to anybody who wanted a picture with the 'artists'.MA and FA quivered some more as the honeymooners hugged them and each other and said 'Cheese'.

I avoided Alto's smirking eyes on the way out and shushed my Dad rather loudly for wanting to come back for a Kalaripayattu show.

I was quite looking forward to the trip back to the 10th most polluted city.

Day 3:Thekkady

Periyar Wildlife Reserve.Altoid and I rented binoculars which costed about 100 bucks for two hours.The boat took off and I enthusiastically started scouring the lake with my binocs.Just then , a family of about 20 plus who were seated next to us went 'Bete bete kya karen , karna hai kuch kaam ..lallalala .. antakshari leke prabhu ka naam'

I set aside my binocs and concentrated on the yes .. of course!The honeymooners.Needless to say , we spotted no tigers.

Day 4: Allepey

We had rented out a speed boat for about 3 hours.And I must say , this was more soothing than the much touted Ayurvedic Massage that Kerala is well known for.While I'm on this I must tell you about this conversation that my Dad had with the driver who took us around.

Driver:" Seren and Alto , how about going to the ayurvedic massage centre"

Alto whispers to Seren: " Say no , that place looks shady"

Driver to Dad:"Achan(great , now the driver is our brother?), shall we go?"

Achan:"Sure , I've never seen a massage"

Seren:" Achan , you cant see a massage , its not like a museum tour.You need to get one"

Achan to Driver firmly:"Then , no"

Seren:*Makes mental notes to tell Mom about how Achan wanted to see a massage..hmm*

Ok , back to the backwaters.Alto enjoyed it the most , I think.She always has this list of things she wants to do and apparently the backwater tour was one of them.Really , I have no tongue in cheek comments about the cruise.It was the perfect ending to a perfect trip.

A lot of houses are situated either on islands or simply bang in the middle of the backwaters.. the people living there work on the paddy fields nearby and sell coconut water to the boatees(people on the boats:D).The boater(:D the guy who boatfied us around) stopped running the motor and our boat was generally bobbing around aimlessly.I looked around wondering at the life people led here, so different from the crappy things that I did back home ,so different from my world of incessant cribbing.

"Ipdiyum oru olaham irukuma?" (Like this also one world-a?)

Its that day of the year ..!

A hurried visit to the tailor , lying about the date , hurrying back with a newly stitched unironed Kurta = lots of effort+300 Rs







Two wooden block prints bought at Dastkar Mela , Chitrakala Parishat+ Fevicryl Fabric Paint +Wooden bangles bought at Fab India= Rs 500

A perfect ensemble all ready for the birthday = Priceless

Happyy Birthday to me !! :)

guess what happened

TGIF..

Terribly over loaded this week :D

Sometime last week we had a late night call , and I had booked a cab at 9:30 PM.The call got over sometime around 9 and I was walking towards the pantry for a cup of coffee.Our floor is the first .I was walking all weary eyed towards the window with my cup , when I suddenly saw a pair of bright headlights zooming towards me at breakneck speed.I stood rooted to the spot.I was on the first floor , how does that explain headlights at my level??

9/11? Was it a plane? Was I gonna die??

Then I realised ...

That we have a building with multi-level parking in front.

:D

On a more serious note , I am disgusted and sad at the same time , with whats happening with the world.There must be some form of retribution for this dastardly act.

A tag and then some

Alto has tagged me , or rather I forced her to .
So here goes,

My oldest memory:
Is of putting my hands between the elevator doors while on a visit to our relatives place in Bombay.Amma said ' DONT put your hands between the doors' and at that moment I did do exactly that.
....Tch Tch , Amma never ever learnt , did she ?

Ten years ago:
I was younger , a lot more naive , a lot more innocent and a great deal more irresponsible.
Ahem. Yes.I would like to think I conquered all that.

My first thought this morning:
Do you think the alarm is going to ring now? or now? .. now?


If you built a time capsule, what would it contain:
Hmm ..mt family my wardrobe , my trinket cases , my mobile .. you know what , it would have my house in it .. and the garden .. and my CAR .. and my bike .. and ..

This year:
Has been the 'One with the big ones' ;)

14 years from now:
I will be SO old!! And so will u! And so will our blog :)

I pass this tag on to Amma , she might like to do it.

On other news.The company transport sucks and there have been many heated exchange of mails , and I did put my rather caustic tongue to good use , wanna see how ? :)

My partner in crime was S , who managed to unearth about a zillion odd reasons and quite a handful of fancy sounding words like 'fulfill our duties at work and home' 'disruption of mental state' 'no state to apply mind and soul' koff koff and the likes..Here's a snippet ...

1. The cab did not turn up on Friday, 31st of October. We were told to huddle up and wait for one. We were doing this for more than an hour, and then decided that it was useless to just huddle up and wait for a cab to turn up. We had to barge into the first empty cab we saw after 7, and asked the driver to take us to our destinations. Thankfully, the driver obliged.

So much, for organized transport!! Please note, we were waiting till 7, for something to be organized. I reached home at 8, I am not sure what time the last person to be dropped that day reached!

2. Monday morning.. A 52 seater bus turns up, late, that too, to pick about 20 of us who use the cab service. The driver is super slow. Since it’s a bus, we have no hopes of being picked up at our respective stops, because the bus cannot go in small roads!! We were also not dropped at our stops for the same reason. Many of us had to take auto back home. We reach office and home late that day.

3. Tuesday morning.. The bus is late again! My pick up is at 7.42. The bus came at 8.05. I was dropped at Le Meridian, so I am not sure about yesterday's experiences.. I am sure people would like to add to the continuing list of woes.

4. Wednesday.. No surprises here. The bus was late again. It turned up at 8.05. I am not sure what time I will reach home or where I would be dropped!

Please note, for route 25, we would be picking up people even at 8.15 with this new system. We reach office at around 9.15, against 8.35 (our previous cab used to be here by that time).

Please understand that there is no way a person can be in a state of mind to work, after waiting for his/her cab for 15-20 mins and sitting in the cab for more than an hour. This has been affecting productivity to quite an extent. Many of us have things to do when we get back home and families to attend to. If our return time is 7.15 - 7.30 (as is the case for the past couple of days), we would be too tired to fulfill our duties at home too.

To which yours truly replied :-

"I’d like to add some more detail for what happened on Friday before I get started on the other days.5:40 Pm is surely not the time to be putting up stickers on the buses , so much so that we had to organize search parties for our buses. And added to that , the drivers of the cabs were plain rude and refused to take us on the assigned routes. Some of our friends had to hijack buses only to find the driver walk away. I understand that there might be a few hiccups when the vendor changes, but in this case, we had absolutely no one around who was trying to even help us out until came.

Regarding the present bus for Route 25 , the present bus is too huge for us 10 or 15 people. The bus takes forever to reach office/home and I would suggest a smaller vehicle which could reach faster. My stop is at 7:50 and I reach there a good 10 minutes early because I have no idea when the driver might turn up , on Monday he turned up at 8:25."

Two days later , I was waiting at my stop when I saw Juniper's cab go by , ok 2 mins more to go I thought.Nokia's was next and then Philips' and no sign of my big green unwieldy bus.And then , the ming started squealing.
'Get into the Sumo behind you' said a disembodied voice.
Seren: *Sinister voice* 'Who is this and what do you want!'
DV: ' Aren't you Seren'
Seren ' I might be '
DV: ' Eh? Get into the Sumo!'
Seren: ' I will not do that!! I shall call the police!!' *panic stricken*
DV: *Obviously a tam* ' Aiyoh! Kaduvule! Madam , we belong to the company transport dept! We changed the vehicles for your route'
Seren:*looking sheepish* ' Ehehe..ehhehe .. jesht kidding ..hehehe'

I get into the Sumo and ask the driver to please put up the print out that reads my route number and company name.. for some weird reason , he's sporting a peaked cap and a jacket with the collar turned up ..then my eyes wander to where the driver's credentials are listed..

'Ace Detective Agency' it screams .. 'If he’s anywhere in the universe, we’ll find him'

I rest my case.They had to hire a detective agency's cab?

Really?

Of walks and bungalows

Yesterday was the kind of rainy day that reminded you of a rather annoying relative.The one that would crib in your ear constantly while you watched the proceedings of your cousin's wedding.Anyway , the point being yesterday morning was irritatingly rainy.Although the rest of the day made up for it.

SRC and I set off on our post-lunch walk at 1:30.We scoffed at everybody who was piling into the office when they could've set off on a lovely walk like we were.SRC said something to the effect of age and marriage doing that to people.In my hurry to catch the cab(owing to the irritating morning) , I had forgotten to wear a belt.So I hurried behind SRC while holding on to my jeans.

The walk was strangely peaceful.Without random voices talking about releases , builds, bugs , defects and everything else that is akin to an IT conversation.Just then,the cloud above us jiggled its belly and sent a huge shower our way.We ran towards a construction site ,and this is what we found.





Men at work ...















Toiling hard at what kids their age do best ...

Play!








**************************************************************************
SRC , Gee and I make up stories while we are on these walks.There are a couple of lovely bungalows next to our campus (It being a special economy zone or some such).Apparently the sites cost the Raja's turban , his crown and even probably him.There is one beautiful bungalow that we spotted on one of our walks.I cannot stop raving about this house , remind me to when we meet , if ever we do that is.While we are on that , why didnt ANY of you comment on my Dostana post? Tell? Considering it was my best friend forever's wedding eve and also considering that I was so depressed.BAH.Hmph.
Anyway , coming back to the house , what is it you say? You didnt know what to say?Well of course you didnt.Which is why you didnt.Hmph.
Okkk now , the house.Its this heavenly looking house , and guess what!The designer has incorporated a boulder ,yes you read right.There's a little boulder thats been included along with the compound walls ... almost as if the compound is hugging it and saying come come , we be bhai-bhai.There is an open space on the first floor thats covered all over with bamboo blinds , and a huge portico that has wooden pillars ,stained glass windows, chimes.. oh so sigh, I could go on.We came up with random theories for the owner of the house.That it belonged to a successful,single,independant woman in her late 40's .. the Dimple Kapadia slash Rekha kind.I offered that it could belong to a Rekha kinda woman , who probably taught Kathak on the portico.It could also belong to a thirty something man , successful , cool , sauve , with elements of Farhan Akhtar in him , the kind who went horse riding early in the morning(heavily inspired by Agatha Christie , Daphne Du Maurier and the likes).I wondered if he would also have a philandering brother who tried smuggling diamonds from Kimberley which was the reason why the boulder was where it was?Gee thinks I should marry the horse rider and invite her home and give her some diamonds.SRC meanwhile keeps looking out for a pair of mynas and she invariably spots a lone myna and curses out loud that her release is going to be doomed because of the silly myna that forgot its pair.

Its lovely to be 13 again.

Dostana

Vi gets married tomorrow morning and strangely, I feel calm. Maybe a little hollow as well. All this while, I figured it would happen to us someday. But even nowI feel its not the right time, I do not want to let go. Just yet.
(Hey Vi! I know I know my exact words were “Shut Up and get married” but it was the right thing to do and all that blah). I cant believe I’m spouting all this gyan when ahem my exact words 5 years back were :-

18/12/2003 12:18
To:
cc :
Subject : me jittery

Hello Vi!,
I still have lots to do.But am gonna chuck most.I have to accept I CANT do it.There is just so much that I can mug:(.Im getting nauseous.I have this familiar sense of having to mug,reminds me of coll.U silly thing,why the hell are u in 2loos(errr … she went onsite to a place called Toulouse in France) when yr supposed to be here to cheer me up(glares at you).To this ur gonna reply
"U will manage fine "No I shant manage fine, stamps feet.and yr marriage plan ----------BAD IDEA
And oh I dreamt of u yesterday.U were getting married to that guy u said ud meet after u come back.I think I hate him already:(

Ahem.Post 5 years , my punctuations have improved and I sound a lot less like a fresh out of college kid. :) .Every other emotion still remains.
I had so many things that I wanted to pen down in this post. But strangely , I feel I’m on mute.Like the wise man said , “Do not speak unless you can improve the silence”.But who listens to wise men , anyway!So here goes!

Lalbagh , early morning walks , sandwich sessions at South Hall , Bike rides to places that were termed “ Shopaholic’s heaven’ only to discover newspaper advertisements can be bought , saree picking for ethnic day , classmate’s wedding , neighbor’s dog’s 54th day anniversary , parceling Vidyarthi bhavan’s masala dosas because the seating queue was longer , shampoo (curly - bouncy -damage control) /serum hunting , I-want-to –find-a-hairdresser-who-maintains-length-gives-fab-cut-that-is-maintianable hunting,I-have-to-have-this-dress/top/material/kurta-coz-its-the-best-thing-that-happened-to-me-after-chocolate/coffee only to have it turned into ‘casual chilling wear I wear to Lalbagh’ the very next month, Urgent phone calls to each other asking for drops to Koramangala ‘coz the feet (the bike) had gone servicing,Tongue in cheek exchange of glances when either meets the other’s project manager while on a visit to the workplace, “Do you think grey goes better with pink/peach or does maroon go with bottle green” conversations, reliving exam nights , project nightmares , talking non-stop about Viv’s crushes , talking about Viv,Shopping for Viv and sending him approving glances coz he bought whatever we ordered him to , wiping off a tiny tear when Viv sailed off on his shiny-grey-bike on the last day he was in India,Chattering with the PPP and never ever wondering if she/us made any sense and whether we were chattering about the same thing,… worrying, worrying some more :), never ever talking about ‘life’ and ‘what’ it had in store for us , we surely had better things to do and oh heck , it wasn't for us to decide.. all this and so many many more. They will all be missed. For some time … till you’re back , Vi.:)

Here’s wishing you a very happy married life and here’s wishing you everything that's lovely , great and out of the world!

Signing off with lines from one of the recent songs I love listening to

Tu hai to
Ulti pulti baatein
Seedhi lagti hain
Tu hai to jhoote moote waade
Dushman ke iraade
Sachhe lagte hain
Jo dil mein taare waare de jaga
Wo tu hi hai tu hi hai
Jo rote rote de hansa
Tu hi hai wohi

Jaane kyun dil jaanta hai
Tu hai to I ll be all right
I ll be all right
I ll be all right

Sunday funday

Yesterday , Appa had gone out of town to visit his cousin.That meant Amma and I were going to have an MTR breakfast -probably the only time Amma doesn't drag herself on a walk , she zips across Lalbagh to reach MTR at lightning speed before the rava idlies and dosas get sold out.
I , on the other hand achieved a new milestone.I took the car to the gym.At 8:30 AM.Then , I circled the area around the gym 351 times before I found what I thought would be the ideal place for me to park.In front of a temple.It was already 9:13 AM.I walked 2 Kms to reach the gym. I had just started jogging on the treadmill when I wondered if
1) I had locked the car
2) If I had left the window open and/or locked the car
3) If some random pervert had scratched my car/broken the mirror/hit my bumper/had gained access into the car and was waiting to jump at me.
4) If I had parked under a coconut tree.

I ran back to find the lil fella standing innocently, with his hind part tending towards the foot path and the front gaping at the middle of the road.Hmm.. next milestone would be to learn parking proportionately.Not as if I had had a random urge to switch off ignition and run away.Hmmm..


Towards noon , the mithaiwaala instincts in Amma and me were aroused.We decided to make 'Shahi Tukda'. Off I trotted to get full cream milk and bread.I placed my order and while I was waiting , a woman holding a baby came in accompanied by another lady.The baby started wailing and pointing towards an ice-cream cart when suddenly the other lady made a sweeping gesture and hid her purse while saying to the baby
'Oh look , that pigeon took away my purse , how can I buy you your ice cream now?'
The baby looked at her very suspiciously and then at the poor pigeon.Then , it looked at me to make sure.I didn't want to lie to the baby , so I grinned and touched its cheeks.
So now , the poor baby thinks all pigeons are thieves.Such a sad lesson for the baby to learn ,no?
BANG , 3 years later truth will suddenly dawn on the baby and I just hope sweeping-purse-lady will not be around to face the music.Hmmmm...

The Matrimony Chronicles -II

Well , hello .Can you tell me who is the point of contact God who is in charge of matrimony? Well that some one has a SERIOUS problem with me.

So as of now,in my kitty I have 4 prospective grooms , the imperative word being prospective.We are not all that nonchalant about it as we make it out to be.Sometimes , we get interested in the said grooms.Like the other day , a conversation with PPP went as follows.

Seren: "Amma , some TamSoundingName has mailed regarding his son , says he has already talked to you"
PPP:*Looking up from her crossword* "Really ? Who is he?"
Seren:"You dont know?"
PPP:"Ohh .. yes ... is the great grandad from Gopichetti?"
Seren:"Do you think Yahoo could trace back his mail to that place? His mail doesn't really go "I am tamsounding name , great grandson of tammersoundingname from Gopichetti whose great great grandson we are searching an alliance for .."
PPP:*Looks observantly*" You are getting older and more and more bitter.."

Another went ...
PPP: "The boy wants to meet you"
Seren:"Sure, just let me know his name , I cant really go "Hi boy , me girl" "
PPP:*Looks a little concerned*"The boy said he leaves for office at 12 PM everyday"
Seren:"Ok"
PPP:"Do you think he really has a job?"
Seren:"You didnt ask him where he worked??? and I need to meet boy??

The cherry on the icing so far has been a mail that I received today.Now, my profile mentions the name of mera company shtrongesht and this is why the mail went thus ...

"You seem to be deeply embedded with the DSP's and looks like signals from me are too weak to breach the SNR levels ..."

For the uninitiated SNR stands for Signal to Noise Ratio and it basically determines the strength of a signal ...

If I have to keep polling once in a while I may have to raise interrupt again [though not indefinitely, once battery drains, signals transmissions will cease].

Dearest God-of-Matrimony,

I had asked you for a man with a sense of humor .. now did you really have to insert the word warped there? Tell me??? Tell me?

Phat

:) We never tire of this topic , no? Hug Hug! .. oh by the way i aveabadgold... pliss to move farther.

So what happened now on the matri front? So , PPP went and got 3 horoscopes matched and came.And she was referring to her little diary called Alliances for Seren to call them up.Strictly in descending order of the horo match.

PPP: "Hello ... is this Mrs.TamilSoundingName"
TSN: "Yes , indeed" (Post British Raj upbringing)
PPP: "How do you" (Not to be outdone)
TSN: "I am doing very well , how about you"
PPP: "Me too"
*Stony Silence*
PPP: "The horoscopes of Seren and your son have matched"
TSN: " Oh thats great , there's a minor clarification, though"
I looked on amusedly while "Potential post feed" flashed in my head.
TSN: " Errm .. Seren doesn't really look thin in her matri profile"
PPP: " Yes , we never said she was thin .. but she isn't fat either ..."
TSN: " Yes.. but my son is very particular that his future wife should be thin atleast before marriage , so that even if she puts on +5/10 Kgs after marriage , she will still look right.And he really does'nt want to reject a girl after meeting them"
PPP: " Alright , Mrs.TSN , I see no point in proceeding further ...good day"
TSN: " If you could give me her weight , maybe I could talk to him about it"
PPP: " Just a moment , I shall hang up ever so gently so that I could go look up on my daughter's BMI"

And who says this woman is the mother of a "daughter"??

Yes , I'm terribly glad for God's small mercies.

And we just trotted right into Seren's heart...

We just lost our heart to this lil blushing red guy .. :).YES! We bought a car! A hyundai i10 Magna ... which we can't drive too well .. but oh hell , we be soo appy!
Don't worry little car of mine , I shall protect you as much as I can , and I shall try to be as painless as possible.I feel like I'm your Ma for some odd reason ..Oh goodness , having your own child is gonna be a million times worse eh?? 3rd August will be earmarked as well

See what I got ..

First and foremost .. all the bangaloreans safe? Did you all reach home safely ?... I'm hoping I heard a loud YES.. :)

I finished embroidering this top FINALLY .. took some 3 odd months and very many spurts of enthusiasm :)

Of grooming and circuitry

Today was fun.In a 'oh its so much fun to be a girl' kinda way.I was slumbering away in the living room(The maternal Paati has come down to visit us).It was 5 something unearthly hour when my Dad decided to yank arrange chairs in the living room , a habit that he gives into whenever he has nothing better to do. In my dream parallelly , my CA at work was moving around my Form 16’s which were making similar sounds whilst saying there was no way I’d get my money refunded from the Government , what with Shahid Kapoor heading it and all.It was a dream , no? Seems to me it should’nt make sense , no?.Anyway , I shall cut the crap.

So , I resigned myself to my Father’s music and dragged myself to the washstand. Half hour later , I rushed to the gym.Saturdays are meant for circuit training.I was already 15 minutes late , by which the instructor had already briefed(soo IT softwarey) everybody about the circuit.Eighteen something people were standing around in a circle in pairs , and then I was directed to my pair ,Mr.YellowTeeShirt(YT).
YT: *Heloooo pardner smile*
Seren: *Thinks.. what do I need to do after gym … haircut , go to the auditor(better hurry since I dreamt about him and all , might be urgent)…. …… …… oh heelllooo my pair smile*
YT:*Picks up 2 mammoth dumbbells and starts working on his biceps*
Seren * Ditto*
“Next Change” shouted the instructor.
A woman in zebra pants and her friend in leopard pants are charging towards me. I look panic stricken and duck out of the way.Turns out , they’re a part of the jog-from-one-end-to-the-other team.I look around for YT.Oh there he is .. eh.. standing up and sitting down on an exercise mat.. supposedly an exercise for the posterior.This went on for sometime till we got to the 4th variation.Lunges to the side.So YT and I worked on our lunges together-together , right left right left we went in tandem.The instructor yelled out to us that we were supposed to do them in opposite directions to which YT; my man said “Oh , but we started off together and we’d like to continue this way” .The next variation involved carrying 4 exercise mats tied together from one end to another.So whilst I huffed-puffed-walked-ran my way , I’d find a friendly YT waiting patiently at the other end!It reminded me of a scene in the railway station when I’d be hurrying along with baggage to catch a moving train and YT my man would be waiting patiently for me to come!Yes , I am this girly.Anyway , I could swear to the circuit training god that we had a moment there :P
In other news , Vi and I decided to do away with the locks.And post “hair-grooming” as they call it , we didn’t look too groomed.We looked the same worse.Like a dog chewed away the ends.
There’s always coconut oil to go back to.

:P

ramble ramble

Ok , random post alert ...

<-- This was the only saving grace at 'Unwind Island' which my team mate described as a 'getaway' from the usual grind on a cloudy Friday afternoon.Coming to think of it , I wasn't in the need of a getaway especially since I'd bunked my Friday morning workout at the gym and I had sworn 2 sooka chapathis was all I'd eat for lunch.But then , Seren proposes and good reproposes and all that crap. Come 12:30 and the 20 of the team mates spill all over UN oohing and aahing at its wooden swings , bay-watch like beachball courts , 'island gazebo' , ' summer benches' .. yetcetera.. Seren(the sensible team senior and all that jazz) approaches scantilly clad waiter(SCW)

Seren :" Hi "
SCW: Blahhety Blahetty
Seren: *Switches off and wonders if there are any matri men lined up for the weekend .. face crumples a little*
SCW: *Beam*
Seren: *Glare (result of matri men thinking)* " We had reservations for 20 under the name of A"
SCW: *Looks into notebook and beams* "I'm sorry , I dont think you made any"
Seren: "I'm sure we did , please re-check , and is there any other person who takes reservations?"
SCW: "No .. you didnt are you sure you made it for today and not tomorrow"
Seren:"Tomorrow is Saturday" *QED*
A comes along and says she can prove she called him , he just needs to check his received calls on his mobile.But obviously SCW is too busy to be doing all that.
So we land up in the disco place.Dont laugh.
So now we're entering a tunnel which I think was supposed to make some dim-wit on her date with another 18 something dim-wit boyfriend go 'Oooh honey, hold me , I'm sooo scared'... ok now theres a weird spotted yellow fake cobra gaping at me from the roof ....hmm ... yellow lights...blue lights...ooh here we are!
I look around me .. theres ying yang painted on the roof with disco lights glaring at them ...karmic disco maybe? .. then theres silver foil wrapped all over the AC ducts.. now thats just poor maintainence.. and theres a fake tree with yyyes disco lights and cobras... hmmm maybe discos come with jungle themes and all .. who knew!I finally seat myself with whatever dignity I could muster and who do I see next to me? My super senior tech manager who gave me the 'Oh the kids of this generation' look.
BAH wonly.
My rating
Food --> 3.5 /10
Ambience--> -infinity
---> The displaced red thing is the 'in case of emergency' button on the treadmill at the gym .. sheesh wonly!










Thats the pool that belongs to the company behind ours ..but just imagine jumping into a pool fully knowing that people from 7 floors of 3 companies might be watching you :O
The pic on the right is the view SRC and I have while we sip our evening coffee , its a view of our 'football ground'.I know.It sucks ..but the new campus promises better things!SRC and I feel like God as we look at people from the chrome windows.. ah you cant see that I see and you all that kinda kick.We frame stories , espy cows near the green clump ,at one time we to see flights take off the from the old airport as well.

And oh , watched Jaane Tu.. whats it about this movie thats got everyone raving :O.And whats with Genelia kid? Why does her voice sound so heavy and misplaced :O,Imran is fine , I thotted.What say?

Deep down ..

SnS has tagged me and has also called me 'funny' , so thats one more thing in life and blogdom to live up to.

Here we go
... round the mulberry bush mulberry bush ... ahaha ..
*Ok*
*Shuts up*

My ten dark secrets

1.I was the one who threw chalk at the Uncle downstairs when my Mom took me to visit an old play school friend.:(.I know! I was terrible as a child!
2.I was also the one who conspired with Sapatraman to empty the petrol tank from my Sanskrit teacher's Luna.:(.I was also incorrigible.This is a terrible tag...
3.I dislike fish in any form
4.I have a thing for princesses.And royalty.Really , who doesn't?I love watching shows , especially the ones that air on NDTV Good times which show the myriad halls in the somefabsounding restaurant 'Oberoi Rajvilas' ,'Oberoi Amarvilas' , the palace in Mysore , in Agra etc , which have moats surrounding the fort, 'Jacaranda' flowers in full bloom , ancient jewellery(the ones you get to see in Ganjam).Oh so sigh :).I love reading about them as well , one of the reason why I love the Feast of roses.
5.I like hugging people.I do this a lot.I think a hug can speak more than words can ever.
6.I am petrified of flights.Being suspended in thin air under the mercy of 2 human beings who are strangers to me is a scary thought.And this reaffirms my faith.
7.I hate dark chocolate.'Tis my dark secret,no?Although quite lame , no?
8.When I was around 8 or so I got into the confession box in the Church when the pastor was out.And I remember being petrified when I heard someone entering on the other side to confess..I peeped out of the curtain separating the two sides.The woman sitting there looked HORRIFIED.
9.When Viv Vi and I used to work together during Electronics Lab , Viv had this irritating habbit of sending me off to get some transistor/thyristor soldered , I'd make sure I'd dawdle , speak to the lab attender,talk shop with all my classmates and then saunter in.Just to see the look on his face. And it was so worth it.
10.When I was in school I once filled my shoes with stones coz I desperately wanted to be a junior in the sports team!I was perennially sub-junior 'coz of my height.Or the lack of it?

There! Done! This was truly therapeutic! Now , who else wants to take it up ??

All for a piece of cloth

Thy clothes are all the soul thou hast.

Author: Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher

If I had to go by the above quote, my soul would have to be a combination of the following:-

Straight cut , no flair , high collar (I turned into a nun overnight)

Ps: No offence meant to nuns or anybody who’s a wannabe nun

Weird frock like ensemble , indecent looking pot neck (more like cauldron neck)

Ensemble that refuses to budge down below neck area

Something that I could perhaps wear after I shed about 50 Kgs

Something that I could perhaps wear after I gained 50 Kgs

Something that I could never wear

Suffice to say, I have tailor problems.

My first tailor was about a Km and half away and school friend P introduced me to him. His first outfit was a Gurjari product that fit my weird-looking-teenage-just-out-PU form to the tee. It was well-cut and my friends raved about it. And I was ecstatic! The next trip to him found me beaming, gushing and ever so desperate. To cut a 5 year long story short , at the end of it I made the following observations:

He was good at only straight cut plain salwar suits which were minus hand embroidery,machine embroidery , appliqué- in short, anything that required an imagination.Hmmm..thats saying he missed quite a few classes in his tailoring school

And then all of a sudden, my stars, as is wont of stars, took a turn for the worse. I had a huge fight with him and stormed away laden with a freshly-cut-ready-to- be-but-not-yet stitched kurta and swore never to be back again.

Did you know that tailors have a rule in their rupa-new-designs-for-the-modarn woman book that reads:

‘Thou shalt not touch a garment that has been rendered cut but not stitched by a fellow tailor’ ?

Well now you do.

Weekend after weekend saw me take the frail little piece of red garment (its insides hopelessly bruised, cut and unstitched) to various tailors , big and small , from boutiques to Dress makers- we met them all. First..Second. Third opinions yielded the same diagnosis. Frail red cloth would not be touched.

And then , the same stars led me to Kapad.Not Kapda –Kapad.Kapad House. He fashioned a Kurti for me that was lacking in many areas.But then , Kapad had the emotional advantage. He had been my savior when the entire world and its sewing machine had shunned me.

Good lord , MS word wants to replace Kapad with Keypad..tch tch how insensitive

Weekend after weekend saw me handing various pieces of material stored from my no-tailor days to Kapad who was enthusiastic. Overtly so, coming to think of it.He told me he was due for a Diploma in Fashion Design and the courier guy would be honoring him with it anytime in the near future.

One, two three mishaps later, a thought started creeping into my head. Were my Kurtis supposed to make me look like I had wings for sleeves? But then, I lived on in denial.Atleast I had someone whom I could call my tailor…

Fourth’s a charm, like they say. It was a lovely sea-green material that I had lovingly bought in Madras. And now, it looked like a camping tent. Make that a camp. I rushed to Kapad and spread it on his table.

“ What is this”

“Oh madam, you remember? You came last Sunday and took it? Its your dress”

“I KNOW, BUT WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE I WANT TO COVER ASIA WITH IT”

“See madam” *Brandishes his measuring tape* “ Your waist is x ,and so is this, neck is y and so is this , hips are z and so is this..”

I looked on patiently and said “Yes , but where is the cut??”

“What cut madam?”

“For once , we agree!”

“See madam , it is cut according to your body shape!”

“YES! EXACTLY! If I were proud of my body shape, why do you think I’d be searching heaven and earth for a good tailor you nincompoop!!I’d wear a banian.AND you charge me like I were to be a queen .. like I’m Miss Chola or something!! And you can’t cut a simple piece of cloth!!”

Yes, I stormed away.

Again.

And then I found ‘Kaya , every woman’s desire”. She charged me 450 Rs to “design” a kurti. It’s called differently in different parts of the world. Its not her fault , really.Over here , we call it a “choli”

Choli

a short-sleeved blouse, often one exposing part of the midriff, worn by Hindu women in India. Also,cholee.

She calls it a kurti.

A rose by any other name , would fit you would think?

SIGH.

To my first best friend

To
-The girl who taught me how to balance on a new BSA SLR
-The girl who could barely suppress her laughter when she saw me hiding under the cot when her Music Teacher went Sa-Pa-Sa
-The girl whom I met every single day for 10 long years
-The girl who felt the same anguish and hurt as I did when we got invited to a party and the host forgot to give us dinner
-The girl who shared Van Number 2 with me for 10 long years
-The girl with whom I conspired, confided and trusted my deepest darkest deeds with
-The girl with whom I jumped into a overhead water tank with
-The girl whom I helped re-unite with the "love of her life" (and many more to come)
-The girl who once told me very simply "There is something about you that feels right" before pouring her heart out to me.Even after 5 long years of not meeting each other.

To,
The girl who will always be my first best friend.

From
The girl who will always be your first best friend.

Happy Birthday Suppi! :) have the greatestmostfantasticallyyummybirthday!Yes! We are exactly 6 months apart! Yes! We're practically twins :)

Love ,

Me

Friday

I love fridays , ever since I've joined mera company strongesht.My manager has been working from his hometown for the past month and nothing could be more blissful than a cloudy Friday morning although I was actually getting to work.So there I was chugging and humming along and what do I see? The turning that leads to my campus is being blocked by the police.
Poleeceman: 'Munde Hogu' --Sail forth
Seren:'My company is on this road , what do you mean munde hogu'
P: 'Kannada balaralwa? Goings goings goooooings'
So I goed.

I goed a little more and the story repeated.And the next.And the next.

Oh goodie , I'm allowed to make a turn now ... ok ..no U turn? ....only right turn ?Now I'm inside the HAL airport? Err? EH?

We're made to stop inside the HAL airport where 3 gazillion cars and scooters are all lined up.With their ignition off , and that is a terrible sign.

The first person to respond was Mr.Goatie beard in an auto behind me.
Goatie Beard to Me: 'What's happening ?'
I tried to look my sarcastic best , rather unsuccessfully from behind a scarf and a helmet before turning away.
Goatie Beard to Bike guy next to mine: 'What's happening ?'
Bike Guy: *Politely* ' No idea , dude'
GB to BG:'Are you in the same campus as I am?'
Seren: *Rolling her eyes inside the baking scarf and helmet*
BG: 'Yes , come hop in , I'll drop ya!'
The scene that ensued was hilarious!
GB to auto driver: ' I will get down here'
AD: ' Saar , you are the reason why I'm stuck here saar , else I would have got better sawaari(auto rider) , and now you are the putting ditch'
GB:' I will give you 5Rs extra'
AD:' Saar beedi(a thin, often flavored, South Asian cigarette :D) also not comes saar for 5Rs'
GB:' Its 5 or nothing'

Cut to scene #2.
GB sitting behind BG
AD glaring at GB
GB pretending AD doesn't exist.

By this time , bike guy in front got hysterical.
'Seems there's a VIP coming because of which we're being cooped here!
Some more yells from bikers around
'We pay taxes , we're office goers , why can't the VIP come night $%$%$'

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

I reached office around 11 only to find out that a team lunch was being organized to 'Jalsa'. I kept thinking the name sounded awfully familiar when I realised it happens to be the name of AB's house!Its a mughlai themed restaurant which resembles a set from Jodha Akbar! It even had a huge movie screen playing songs from Umrao jan and JA..



<----These are the couple seats!





Any guesses as to what this could be --> ??
The plate!







<---A cool looking goblet








Reached office by 3.30Pm , had coffee at 4:30 , set out homewards 5:30 PM!
Yesterday.
Blissful! :)

The Matrimony Chronicles - I

Oh yes , we are back at it. Our favorite topic.

Lets call him S.S with an Irish accent.Oh No.That was the other one.This one had a an Australian accent.Well Duh not because he lived in Australia , but because that breeze used to brush past him and ruffle his hair oh so gently whenever Australian ships docked at Frankfurt.

Anyway , after sending me a cryptic mail that read
"Wll cll at 19:56 tm nte, b prpd. Js kddin!" , I applied the Cryptology logic that Ramakrishna Sir taught me in my first job(Don't ask me why someone was teaching that in an IT company , it calls for more dignity than to be explained between curly braces).I deduced that S would call at 7:56 Pm , hopefully IST.

19:56:01:The Ming starts squealing ...
Disembodied Voice(DV):*Static* "Bellow"
Seren:*Saami , kaapathu* "Hi?" Translates to God Please Help
DV:*White Noise*"Ye"
Seren:*resisting an urge to say “Ee number chalanealli illa :This number dose not exist*: “ Hi! HI !! HIIII!!!”

DV: “Look , first up I’d like to clear a few things”

Seren: “ Uncle? Who I threw chalk at from the second floor?”

DV: “ I am an academician.”

Seren: “ Ooh! That suits me fine. I’m a caretaker at the neighborhood cemetery”

DV: “ We will meet.For coffee.Your treat? Snicker Snicker”

Seren: “ Eh” *I must wax my ears soon , hearing strange things*

Do din baad

1:55:01 Pm

Venue: Coffee Day

I balanced myself precariously on what looked like a barber’s stool to cut babies’ hair.Ok.The ground below seems scarily far away.What do I have in front of me ?A clump of orange-red hair… and something glittery .. Oooh .. hallelujah .. it’s the waiter.

Orange-red : “Mayigetyousomethingmam”

Seren: *Get yourself a razor first and some black hair dye* “Umm , in a while”

OR bows .. oooh his centre clump of hair is blue !

What do I see around me .. bunch of 18 year olds .. one has a swastika tattooed on his hand .. although it looks reversed ..hmm ..Eh .. someones waving at me from outside.And gesticulating that they’re coming inside.

Embodied Voice : “Ye”

Seren: “ S! Hi.Nice to meet you!”

EV: “Come , lets get away from this place”

Seren : “ But I thought you chose this place ‘cause you liked it”

EV : “Did I ? No matter! Lets walk along”

Ek minute baad

Outside a coffee shop

EV: “Two coffees…Hey! You said you would treat me!”

Seren: “ yyyes .. oh dear God”

Let me stop you right here. In case you think I belong to that class of women who do the chivalry jig and expect the men to pay all the time, you’re wrong. This, I thought had to be categorized under plain weird humor.

So we’re walking along talking about his academician family and my not-quite-so family … and there are exactly 28 stones on this pavement.. Hmm funny .. I never ever noticed .. Oh hellooo …S throws his coffee cup into a dustbin that’s 3 feet away. Needless to say , he’s no Jordon , this man. I couldn’t say if he was planning to pick the cup and try again because at precisely that moment a lady with a snake in her basket turned up.

EV: “ Please go away”

Rule of thumb : Never talk to brandishing snake ladies.Tip them.Or run for your life.

Brandishing snake lady: “ The lord will keep your jodi salamat , gimme money now”

EV:*Moves his hands frantically around*

By this time, charmer had advanced towards me while I looked on transfixed.

Charmer: “ Give me 10 bucks”

EV: “ I have no money on me!”

Seren: *Wondering if I should give him some as well* “Here you go!”

By the time I could mouth Jack Robinson; Charmer had flicked a 100 Rs note from my purse and had started sprinting. YES , in the middle of 4^th Blk Jayanagar and in broad daylight.

I didn’t know how to react. So, I did the only thing I could. I sipped some coffee.

Aade ghante aur some more academecia talk ke baad

S offered to drop me off to my bike.He also hands me half a bar of chocolate that has been mercilessly ripped apart from its parent.He also offers to pay me 50 Rs. I had not even an ounce of energy in me to ask why. “ I thought we could split the loss” he said.

That’s it … I have found my calling – Bird collecting

To Amma , with love!

Dhoop Mein Chaaya Jaise,
Pyaas Mein Dariya Jaise,
Tan Mein Jeevan Jaise,
Man Mein Darpan Jaise,

Haath Duaaon Waale Roshan Kare Ujaale,
Phool Pe Jaise Shabnam, Saans Mein Jaise Sargam,
Prem Ki Moorat Daya Ki Surat ,
Aise Aur Kahaan Hai ,Jaisi Meri Maa Hai...

Jab Bhi Andhera Cha Jaye
Woh Deepak Ban Jaaye ,
Jab Ik Akeli Raat Sataye,
Woh Sapna Ban Jaaye,
Andar Neer Bahaye ,
Baahar Se Muskaye,
Kaaya Woh Paavan Si,Mathura-Vrindavan Jaisi,
Jiske Darshan Mein Ho Bhagwan ,
Aisi Aur Kahaan Hai,Jaisi Meri Maa Hai....

-- Saagarika

To my worst critic
And my Best Friend :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Amma , you are irreplaceable and I don't think God could've given me a better you :)

Its her day!

She can kill with a smile
She can wound with her eyes
She only reveals what she wants you to see
She can lead you to love
She can take you or leave you
She can wait if she wants-
She's ahead of her time
She's also one hell of a sis,
And I'm glad she's mine !



Happy Birthday , Ems ! Here's wishing you all the good things in the world !:)

These are a few of my favorite things!

Usha has tagged me to do this tag (terrible sentence eh?) , here goes!

Last Movie You Saw In A Theater:
Err ... Chak De (I KNOW that it was eons ago and Shah received awards of all sorts , one even from the makers of Vicco Vajradanti)

What Book Are You Reading:
Finished Palace of Illusions by CBD.Draupadi sounds so terribly cool that I'd probably lunch with her if she were my colleague.We'd be discussing one husband a day.And she'd go "Kunti is such a slave driver that I had to pluck the fruits , wash the veggies and light the hearth before I got here.."
"Arjuna got another promotion , he now the patent for Pashupata astra.."


Favorite Board Game:
The MAD game.The idea was to lose all you had!

Favourite Magazine:
Hmm , don't like any

Favorite Smells:
Rain , Amma when she emerges from her bath all "cinthol-y", the smell of babies(powder and milk), coffee

Favorite Sound:
"Seren , breakfast is ready!"

Worst Feeling In The World:
Guilt.

What Is The First Thing You Think Of When You Wake?
"Do you think Amma ran away without giving me my cuppa? Ok , lets bug Alto!"

Favorite Fast Food Place:
I'd rather not talk about food right now (terrible bout of stomach infection)
But then , there's this awesome place in RangaRao road -Brahmin's Coffee bar

Future Child's Name:
Sparsha

Finish This Statement. "If I Had A Lot Of Money I'd...”

BUY A FLAT IN SOUTH BLORE! And buy John Abraham and Bips too if she'd like to come along :D

Do You Drive Fast?
Not anymore , Airport Road's traffic has successfully numbed any signs of it

Do You Sleep With A Stuffed Animal?
NO.They'd probably scare me in the middle of the night.

Storms-Cool Or Scary?
Storms are super-cool!

What Was Your First Car?
We'l' change that to a scooter.A Kinetic

Favourite drink:
Coffee

Finish This Statement, "If I Had The Time I Would .....”
Get Married :D


Do You Eat The Stems On Broccoli?
I choose not to eat the Broccoli , is that a choice btw?

If You Could Dye Your Hair Any Color, What Would Be Your Choice?
Blue!

Name All The Different Cities/Towns You Have Lived In.
Mangalore , Secunderbad , Hubli,Bangalore

Favorite Sports To Watch:
Figure Skating

One Nice Thing About The Person Who Sent This To You:
She's ageless and she bonds like hell

What's Under Your Bed?
Errm my keys , my purse(?), a dustibin

Would You Like To Be Born As Yourself Again?
Depends on whats going to happen , no?

Morning Person Or Night Owl?
Morning

Over Easy Or Sunny Side Up?
Hard Boiled :D

Favorite Place To Relax:
Home

Favorite Pie:
I hate pies


Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:
Rum n Raisin :D


Of All The People You Tagged This To, Who's Most Likely To Respond First?
I haven't the foggiest! This tag is open to anyone who'd like to take it up ! :)