Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Break Ke Baad...

No this is not a movie review. I just got back from a month long vacation!
Had a great time getting spoilt in India. But it feels good to be back here.
I was never actually a fan of long vacations and always used to start missing home after a few days. Whenever we returned home, the best thing was the cozy feeling of going to sleep in my own bed, on my own pillow with my own blanket wrapped snugly around me! Sigh! But of course, I never viewed vacations to India like that because I was always going home to India. But this time to my surprise I actually started missing my home back here! The travails of a married NRI woman! Now I am confused as to which to think of as home-parents' house, in-laws'home or this one where I currently am!?

Anyway let’s deal with that dilemma later. What I really intended to blog about was Oil Painting.

Back in school I was hardly ever interested in the Art & Craft classes (although I think it was mainly coz I didn’t like the teacher!) and always used to submit all assignments only on the last day.
But recently I got bitten by the Oil Painting bug! I was gifted an oil painting set by my team when I left my previous org. After a few months I decided to give it a shot. And once I started, I fell in love!
I didn’t really go for any classes but I did look up resources on the internet. There are a number of oil painting tutorials available online if anyone is interested. A word of warning though: oil painting can be very messy and smelly. Also they take a llooonnnggg (atleast 6 months) time to dry completely; though I find this aspect pretty helpful because it allows me to blend, change things or cover up any small mistakes on the canvas ;-) Additionally I can paint at my own leisurely pace without having to worry about it drying up anytime soon. Listening to some good music, humming along and painting all my cares away-my idea of a good time!

Since I am only an amateur artist who paints for nothing but her own pleasure, initially I was really hesitant to show my paintings to anyone (except my husband as I had no choice since we are living in the same house ;-)). But finally after much pushing and prodding, I mustered up the courage to gift a few and after some more encouragement, here I am-putting them up on my blog! Afterall if you have actually been reading all my crap all these days, surely you can stand seeing some more, right?! So here goes!

My very first painting: Sunset By The Cross

From Paintings


Go for a nature walk: Birches In The Meadow



Calm the Greek God of the Seas: Pacify Poseidon

From Paintings


Autumn Attractions: Fall Fantasy

From Paintings


The pride of Holland: Tulips



What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet - from Romeo & Juliet by Shakespeare

From Paintings


A Hawaiian Waterfall: Tropical Paradise

From Paintings


Birds of a feather, flock together: Squawk!

From Paintings


Thru rain & shine,
Lend me strong shoulders thine, O Companion

From Paintings


In Black & White: Colourblind

From Paintings


As the Phoenix rises from its ashes, so shall The Lord rise from the dead:
The Resurrection



Inspired after watching Shutter Island! The Lighthouse



And that is all I have done so far. Hope to paint some more!
Colourblind is my husband's favourite, The Resurrection was chosen by my uncle, The Lighthouse is for my mother-in-law and the Parrots is with one of my sis-in-laws! As for me, I love each and every one of my paintings equally. I know that some are good while others aren't, but still I like them warts and all!
So tell me, which is your favourite?

Sunday, November 14, 2010

A healthy treat for the child in you!

I remember, once when my nephew was around 1 year old, there was a fancy dress show happening in our residential colony. My sis-in-law thought that it would be a good idea to take him there and so got him a tiny doctor's coat and a stethoscope. Since he hadn't started talking yet, I went along too as his mouth-piece! So when his name was announced, my sis-in-law led him onto the stage; he happily walked on and seeing so many people down there, got excited and started waving his stethoscope wildly, while I gave him a voice-over.
I said "An apple a day keeps the doctor away; but if the doctor is as smart as me-you better keep the apple away!"
But coming to the point of this long-winded story, no matter how ugly the doctor is, I actually prefer them to apples.
I just do not understand how sooooo many people seem to enjoy them. I have tried many, many times to eat one but I never could complete even a single apple. They look pretty enough, staring at me from the grocery stands-startling reds, golden yellows and fresh greens. But I am not tempted.
In fact, I think that if I had been in Eve's place, Original Sin would never have occurred-no one, evil or angelic could have possibly made me eat that apple!

Having said alllll this, sometimes I try to make my husband eat healthy and so bought some apples a few weeks back. But my husband,strangely,never likes to eat, let alone eat healthy. So there they were-unhappily awaiting their path to their destiny, namely the dust bin.
But in one of my rare moments of rationality, I decided today to turn them into something much more attractive to my palate. I searched online for all kinds of recipes and finally chose one, did some modifications and customizations and ta da-delicious Apple Oatmeal Muffins!

So lets trace the journey from here...

From Apple Muffins


to here!

From Apple Muffins


You will need:

3/4 cup all purpose flour (I used the self-raising variety so that I needn't
add any baking soda)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter
Handful of chopped mixed nuts
1 apple

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Core and grate the apple. I left the skin on, figuring it would give more fiber.
(And also because I am lazy ;-))If you want, you could peel them.

Mix all the dry ingredients together. So sift and add together both the flours, oats, cinnamon and salt.

Beat the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and whisk well.

Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture along with the vanilla essence.

Stir till everything is incorporated well-maybe 3 minutes.

Either grease your muffin pan or line them with paper cups. I used paper liners.

Drop the dough into the muffin mould using a tablespoon and teaspoon. Level the surface of the muffins as otherwise you as the muffins rise up, cracks may form on the uneven surface and though the taste is not affected, the aesthetic appeal is!

Place the muffin tray in the oven and bake for 30-35 mins depending on your oven.
Start eyeballing from around 25 mins. The muffins may look a little under-done but they should be springy to the touch.

Remove from tray and cool.

Dig in!!!

From Apple Muffins


These muffins are easy, quick and tasty as well as nutritious since they contain whole wheat flour, oats, apples and nuts (I used walnuts and almonds.)
So here is a treat for all of you grown-up kids on Children's Day!
Happy Children's Day! Enjoy and Keep Smiling :-)
From Apple Muffins

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The ME Experience

Weekends usually mean lots of lazing around, sleeping, watching TV and maybe some shopping for AJ and me. But this weekend was different.
A few weeks back we had been to Dubai to catch a movie. Since the show was not until late night, we decided on a whim to go to the St.Mary’s Church in Dubai. Whilst there, we noticed a poster announcing a ‘Marriage Encounter Weekend’ (No, not the kind of encounters where police and thugs and shooting are involved ;-)). We noted down the contact details and over the next few days signed up for it. And are we glad about that decision!

The weekend turned out to be quite interesting!
We were the youngest couple there, the ‘baby ME couple’ as they called us!
The two days are spent completely with one’s spouse with no outside interferences, influences or worries.
And contrary to popular belief, the world does not stop if you switch off your mobile phone and the sky does not collapse if you cut yourself off from the outside world for just a couple of days.

We stayed at a comfortable place; there was good food, lovely people and lotsa thinking to do! The ME Team Members are such gracious and loving people.
The ME Dubai Team is just a part of a dedicated Worldwide ME Group of volunteers, who unselfishly share so much with us.
Please don’t presume that one should attend this weekend only if your marriage is on the rocks – the ME Motto is ‘Making Good Marriages Great’. It is not just some senseless gyan. Anyone who would like to enhance and enrich their marriage can join in. It is open to people from all religions and all walks of Life. Check out their website: http://www.wwme.org/

I do not want to write too much and give away all the surprises!
But if you find an ME weekend taking place somewhere near you, please do make use of that opportunity. It will surely be a memorable weekend for both you and your partner!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Balcony Ballads

We recently moved to a new apartment and are just settling down, unpacking boxes, arranging stuff and in the process of making it into a home. One thing that really makes me happy about this is new place is that, I have not one but TWO balconies! Yeah!
I have always wanted to be in a house with a balcony but unfortunately due to some reason or the other, none of the houses that I have lived in the recent past were equipped with one. Also I do not like balconies that have those metallic grilles built into them. I mean I do know that they are much safer, but me being silly ol’me, I would rather prefer an open and free balcony, where I can lean on the railing with the sun warming my face and wind ruffling my hair-which is exactly how these two balconies are!

We are on the 19th floor and so obviously the view is phenomenal. I can see the backwaters near the harbor on one side and a brightly lit football stadium on the other. After dark, the city’s skyline really comes to life and stands out, with cars moving like tiny glow-bugs, wayyyy down there!


Can You See The Sea?


View From The Top


Zoomed In View


Night View


The Football Stadium

Back in India, clothes would mostly be hung out to dry on the terrace. But living abroad in houses without balconies meant drying clothes inside the house itself. Though washing machines do a good job of drying laundry-the feel of a freshly washed, sun-dried, crisp and warm garment is oh so lovely! So this is what I use the back balcony for.

The front balcony is currently being used to satiate my green thumb!
I always believe that a touch of greenery brightens up any space – and what better place for a spot of verdant foliage, fragrant herbs and colourful blooms than the desert?! The fiery weather is cooling down slowly which is good for my plants. I only have a small collection for now as I wanted to experiment and get familiar without murdering too many of them! Happily they seem to be thriving well enough as you can see from the picture so it can be expected that a trip to the nursery is in the offing :-)




BTW check out this interesting post on Gardening at Work- A novel idea! http://www.livemint.com/2010/05/16194549/Reaping-benefits-in-an-office.html

The plants that I have currently were all bought as saplings but next time around I am planning to coax a few to grow from seeds, especially the easy to grow ones such as coriander, methi, mint etc. Freshly plucked organic herbs from my own garden, healthy as well as economical-it can’t get better than that! Agreed a garden on a balcony in a dusty country such as this will definitely contribute to some amount of dirt and sand. But with a little extra effort , you can have your own little oasis right there!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Jus Wondering...


I read in the news today that Courtney Cox and her husband have separated after more than 10 years of being together. Makes me sad :-(
Of course, celebrity splits do happen on a regular basis, but I guess I always see Cox as Monica of Friends and who would want Monica to be unhappy???

But it also led me to wonder, as I have often wondered, what makes people split up after 10 or 20 or sometimes even 30 years of marriage?
A divorce within a year or a few years – maybe I can understand.
But after being soooo many years with a particular person, even if you don’t like that person much, wouldn’t you atleast be used to him/her by then?
As it has often been noted, human beings are extremely resistant to change. So if you have been around someone so much that you know him/her and his/her way/habits as well as yours, what would make anyone throw away all the efforts in all those years? Doesn’t it take an enormous amount of energy and strength to rebuild your life again all by yourself?
Or even if you find someone to help you out, you again have to start forging a relationship from scratch. Afterall a relationship requires lots of emotional investment.

Or is it precisely because of this that couples who have been married for decades together separate?
Maybe because, they have come to a point where they know each other so well that everything has become too predictable, boring and monotonous. It seems like they are stuck in the bylanes of their well-known neighbourhood instead of being in an exotic adventure discovering different things. Maybe they miss the hidden charms and sweet surprises that one experiences in the fledgling stages of a relationship, when everyday brings new revelations.

Being only a year into married life and also never having been a celebrity as well as coming from a typical-Indian-Middle-Class background , I admit that I am hardly in a position to understand or judge these situations.
All I am doing is thinking aloud…

Image Courtesy: www.dreamstime.com

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Not my cup of tea!


Ladysfinger, or okra according to my internationally settled friends, is one of my favourite vegetables. Yet contrary to the old wives tale of ladysfinger giving one an aptitude for mathematics, I was-am-will be terrible with maths. It was the only exam (apart from Tamil) for which I used to sit up late, wake up early, cry buckets and worry myself into a fever.

So my family was justifiably surprised when I took up a job in Finance a couple of months back. Well if you know me then you probably also know that I am a software engineer and a budding journalist. But I just randomly saw this ad in the paper for a walk-in interview scheduled for the next day and thought I would give it a shot.

The interview lasted for approximately 2 minutes, as I had no clue about finance/sales/marketing and the interviewers had no idea about software engineering. Somehow I landed the job (applause!) and decided to try it out just for the heck of it.

I quote Chetan Bhagat here “It is bad news when you hate your job in the first hour of the first day of office”. I agree whole-heartedly.

I was supposed to sell car insurance as well as savings accounts to prospective clients. ME??!?? Car Insurance?!?? Okay I had about 1% knowledge of cars in the first place. There were only 2 kinds of cars according to me-big cars and small cars.
4 wheel drive? Didn’t all cars run on 4 wheels??!!
Saloon? Isn’t that a synonym for barber shops??

I went back home and cribbed my heart out to my husband. Aware that this was just the first of many similar-complaints & cribbing-filled-evenings, he said “Okay quit if you don’t like it”

But I had just blown away a good part of his salary to buy myself some work wear (just an excuse to go shopping!) and felt a teensy weensy bit guilty.
So I closed my eyes and conjured up my motivational image, namely mall-hopping!! Then I took a deep breath and decided to hang on for some more time.

Once training was over, I started selling-or atleast started trying to sell.
Here are a few samples of the conversations between 3 of us- My Mouth (MMo), Client(C) and My Mind(MMi).

MMo: Sir this is so-and-so from *******, regarding car insurance. May I know if you own a car?
C:Yes yes I already have credit card.
MMo: No sir not carddddd – am talking about carrrrr.
C: No no I don’t want car!!

MMi: Okay so you thought some random person would call up and offer you a car??!? Keep dreaming dude!

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

C: You know, fortunately or unfortunately my wife’s name is also Anne.
MMo: Oh is it sir!? That is such a nice coincidence!

MMi: Did I ask?! Do I care?!??? Are you gonna buy this product from me or not?!!

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

MMo: Sir, our insurance covers your car against natural calamities such as floods, earthqu-
C: Dear what happens here is not called floods-go to Pakistan that is what is called floods!!

MMi: Why don’t you go there and drown yourself?!??

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

MMo: Introductory statements
C: Plleeassee!!! Pllleeaaseee!! Yahhyen huwlllo hsyawhulla Arabic?!?
MMo: Ok sir, I shall ask someone who speaks Arabic to contact you soon.
C: You don’t know Arabic?
MMo: No sir.
C: Why?!

MMi: Because I do not need to know alllll the languages of the world!!!! Y don’t you know English anyway?!!!!

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

MMo:Sir, did you receive the application form sir-I had emailed it to you a couple of hours back.
C: Anne I have a job here. I cannot keep checking my emails.

MMi: Okay then why did u ask me to email it to you, you moron!!

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

MMo: Sir, our insurance covers your car against natural calamities
C: Okay so what if a cat scratches my car?

MMo & MMi: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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

MMo: Standard greetings & introductions. So may I ask if you own a car sir?
C:………………………..
MMo: Sir? Are you there??
No response
MMo: Hello?
C: mmmm?

MMi: Wake UP!!!!!

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

MMo: Standard greetings & introductions
C: See what is this? Early morning you are asking me about car insurance?!??

MMi: Okay if 10 AM is early morning to you then what do you call sunrise time? Midnight!?!??

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

C: I want to open a joint account for my wife and myself.
MMo: Sure sir, can I have the contact details of both of you?
C: Why? Are you going to call her up and check if she is my wife??
MMo: NO sir, we just need those details to fill up your application form.

MMi: Why so paranoid!??

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

MMo: Sir would you like to open a free savings account with us?
C: Madam I am a poor man. No money to save. If you give me money I will open the account.

MMi: Well if I had sooo much money as to distribute to random strangers I wouldn’t be doing this job would I now?!?

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

I had actually wanted to note down the various responses from people but due to tight schedules I couldn’t and now I can’t recollect man of the notable ones.
Anyway after numerous clients, hundreds of calls, unrealistic targets , a monotonous routine and a realization that the only happy thing about this job was the paycheck-I quit. So here I am back to what I like doing best!! If you have noticed, there has been a gap of more than 2 months between this post and my last one. Hopefully I would be more active on blogger now!

Image Coutesy:http://www.dreamstime.com/

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

This, That & Everything Else...

Almost everyone on Facebook (including me) has a photo album titled 'Random'. You put in miscellaneous photos which are probably too general to be classified into any other album. This post is similar to that.

Have you seen the Russell Peter's show on how women always keep thinking? - An observation that is seconded heartily by mon cher husband. And I do agree. Yes I am a woman and so my brain keeps thinking some random thought or the other almost always. Some of these may act as a germ of an idea for something that I can write or say elaborately. While others are just some knick-knacks which pop in and out. So I thought to collate all such ponderings in this post. This will probably be a living post-in the sense that I may keep adding to it as time goes on...

In the year 2010, as of today, I haven't earned a single penny. My most unproductive year? Maybe.
But I have blogged 17 posts in this blog so far this year, which is the maximum in the 3 years since I started blogging. Added to that I have picked up and taught myself, successfully if I may say so myself, 2 very interesting hobbies-oil painting and knitting. Apart from that, considering the fact that my first non-fiction article has actually been published (okay it is only a review and it is only a fledgling online magazine-still it IS a start!)- I must say that it looks like this has been my most creative year in a looonnggg time!

It feels wonderful to go to bed AND wake up thinking something like "What shall I knit today?" or "What shall I write today?", or "What shall I paint today?" or "what shall I read today?" or even "what shall I cook today?"
Believe you me, it is a zillion times better than "Ohhh God! Am gonna be late for my meeting!! ^*&%!!" or "The deadline is tomorrow and I still have to test 2 whole modules! Goddd save me!" or even "Am I EVER gonna be married???"

Of late, 2 or 3 people have sincerely told me that I remind them of their mother(s).
I am still undecided as to whether this is a compliment or not.

I HATE it when people make spelling/grammatical/pronunciation mistakes in English. Please note that I DO NOT claim to be an expert in this or that I never make mistakes myself. I do. Plenty (V remember insatiable?!??! ewwww!!). And yet it irks me sooo much that I always end up correcting the person. But recently, I have come to realise how irritating that can be. Most of the time, I am always the one with the better English. Until I met my husband. So now I am getting a taste of my own medicine. I both love him and dislike him for this same reason ;-))

I have noticed a few friends of mine, both boys & girls, who don't seem to be bothered enough to update absolutely anything about their spouses/married life on any social n/w site that they are in. I mean of course I know that it is not mandatory to post every tiny little thing happening in your life (although some ppl do that too!). And there r some ppl who just simply have an account but aren't very active. That I can understand. But when u keep posting pics of u freaking out with friends or even status msgs about how sick ur dog is-I would think that there would be atleast 1 snap of u as a couple or at the very least a change in relationship status?? Usually these ppl conveniently leave out mentioning anything about relationship status-which means they have no obligation to change it/update it in the first place. I can even understand this with ppl who have been married for years together. But when ppl who have been married only for a yr or so or at the most 3-4 yrs do this, I am kinda intrigued... After all it is the first few yrs that are supposed to be all sugary and dreamy right? So if that enthu is missing then.... It is not a major crime or anything but somehow it strikes me as a lil odd...

I don't care if I sound like a stuck-up prissy but I do not like it when people constantly use swear words when I am around or even for that matter when any lady is around. Now I know that many ladies also use them frequently-which I dislike even more. I accept that occasionally, nothing can express your feelings as emphatically as a swear word can-but do you have to use it sooooo much?!??!!! It just sounds bad.

It feels strange to me to see people getting all nostalgic about college life. Mainly because I don't feel that way. I am glad that I made a few good friends but apart from that the tiresome travelling up & down everyday, the rude staff (except a few), a classroom that actually leaked when it rained(!), allll the boring classes, stupid guys passing stupid comments and such dreary things - No Thank You-I Do NOT Miss you!! I can understand people feeling bittersweet about college times but I can not relate with them.

I feel exactly the opposite from the above, about my school life though.

Whenever I heard that something good, something which I am longing for has happened to a friend of mine, (for example last yr it was getting married) it seems to me like there are two people inside me at the same time. One person is extremely happy and excited for my friend(s). But this other shadowy person feels a teensy weensy bit - I don't know exactly how to term it - Frustrated? Disappointed? Unjustified?. I don't think it is Jealousy coz honestly I am truly happy for you, my dear friend-as delighted as I would have been if the same good fortune had befallen me in fact. I smile often thinking of your happiness and my day brightens up coz I know that you are blessed. Mind you, I wouldn't in my worst state dream of anything happening to take that happiness away from you-God Forbid! And it would indeed depress me to see you sad. But still I have to accept that sometimes there is a part of me which feels a nudge of something else too...

My favourite spice is fresh, sweet-smelling Cardamom.

I am hardly an organized person but it is only recently that I realised that I am so list-oriented. I make a list for almost everything-either on paper or my computer or just in my mind. A list for shopping, a list of to-do things, a list of all my problems - in fact I even made a list of the reasons why I should/shouldn't get married to AJ ;-) My most recent list? A list of my wishes. So if anyone out there wants to send me anything (Hear! Hear!) please let me know-I shall send you my list-for your convenience ;-))

Hey Gurl! This ones for ya!!



Friendship Day.
My greetings and gratitude to all my dear friends who have put up with me so far! But this year I would like to especially remember all my girl friends. Generally speaking, due to some reason (I am guessing its coz guys don’t get offended as easily as girls?) I get along much better with guys than girls – surprising actually when you think about it coz I struck up my first friendship with a guy only when I was about 18 (which was my dear friend Pravin). Till then I didn’t know any guy whom I could call as a friend-there were brothers and cousins and acquaintances of course, but no friend as such.

The very first friend I can ever remember is Aruna. I met her at school but I cannot recollect exactly how. I suspect we were probably sitting next to each other in class. Aruna is my longest running friend-its been 23 yrs! The latest close girl friend I made was Sivagami – my petite, curly-haired ex-colleague. People who know me should be well aware of the fact that I am hardly an outgoing or social person. I keep to myself mostly and do not make friends as easily as one would wish. I do not, by any extent of imagination have a large gregarious group to hang out with. But between Aruna and Shiva, I have made a few really great chums, who I hold close to my heart. Some friends I have known for years and some just for a short time. With some, we caught on like a house on fire. And some were indeed totally unexpected – like you, Anu! (U knw tht :-))

I do like hanging out with all my guy friends-it is fun and enjoyable. But I cannot imagine calling up ANY of the guys and asking them something like this “Hey do you think I should wear the pink dress for today’s party? You know the one I wore for Swetha’s wedding?” Can you imagine the response I might get?
Possible reply No.1: Uh huh….
Possible reply No.2: Nope. Don’t remember.
Possible reply No.3: Which Swetha? That hot girl with Angelina-Jolie lips??
Possible Reply No.4: Swetha got married??!! When did that happen?!!!

But instead if it was one of my girl friends “No d! That pink dress has been done to death. The theme for today’s party is Sunshine. So try something in shades of yellow/orange na… Hey I remember you have that gorgeous lemon yellow, off-shoulder top right? The one we got when we went shopping last month. And you can borrow my chunky earrings-they’ll be perfect!”
Now that is what I call a Life Saver ;-))

I agree, of course that practically speaking I cannot possibly call up a girl friend and ask her to pick me up if suppose I get stranded somewhere in the middle of the night. Nor can I ask her to help me carry the couch up the stairs. But for other things of grave concern and utmost priority like
‘Have ABC & XYZ broken up for good this time?’,
‘How do I make coffee?’,
'What is the latest style of jean called?’,
'Why did Surya have to go and act in such pathetic movies like Aadhavan?’,
'Where did Rakhi Sawant do her plastic surgery?’,
’Shall I go for a layer cut or a feather cut this time?’,
‘Why are boyfriends/husbands the way they are?’,
‘Should I wear my dupatta like this or like that?’, ‘Does this black nail polish look hideous?’,
‘Should I get a second ear piercing?’,
‘Am I looking sloshed in this photo or can I send it to mom?’ etc etc etc – nothing can beat gal pals!!
Despite the fact that I do have many guy friends and that I am blessed enough to have a loving family, gurl friends play a very special and important part in my life.

As R.L. Stevenson rightly said “No Man is useless while he has a friend” (I take the liberty here to apply this to Women as well). So here's to the gals – for all the never-ending talks and chats, for the long shopping sprees, for all the good and bad advice, for being with me thru good times and not-so-good ones, for helping me cope when I was down in the dumps and for rejoicing with me when I made it, for joining in the laughter as well as the tears, for tolerating my weaknesses and accepting my short-comings, never judging and for listening patiently to all my woeful tales of misery-imagined or otherwise. A zillion cheers!! May you always find Love and Laughter wherever you are and whatever you do! Muaahhhh!!

Image Courtesy: www.dreamstime.com

Monday, July 19, 2010

Romeos and Majnus…




I often wonder how some men can hit on women publicly without any kinda shame! Especially with the advent of social networking, I must say it has reached amazing new heights. I am sure all you women out there would have received your fair share of unsolicited “do you wanna make frenship to me?” Huh?!??!
I used to think that a relationship status of "Married/Engaged/Committed" would change that but I was mistaken.
Recently I came across a series of comments on some photos of a very cute friend of mine which made me go “Dude for heaven’s sake get a grip on yourself! Agreed the girl in question is pretty but do you really have to be so embarrassingly obviously drooling?!?”
And then of course there are the opening/pick-up lines that you get. A few of my most memorable ones:
Most people who studied with me should know this by now. It was just another boring day and there I was, standing sleepily at the bus-stop waiting for the college bus as usual, when this college-mate of mine walks up and says Hi. Friends had already made me aware of the fact that some sly teasing was going on, what with everybody shouting out his name loud whenever I was somewhere in the vicinity and the veiled suggestions thrown around and such silly things that only college guys are capable of. But this was the very first time that this person was actually talking to me.
So I say my Hi back and we chat for a couple of minutes about some general stuff and then as I wait with bated breath and clammy palms, suddenly, without any warning, he pops the question.
What question you ask?
It could have been a harmless “Shall we go out for a coffee?” or a bold “Could I please have your phone number?” or a flattering “How come you are so beautiful?” or even an absolutely insane “laechi pothama?” (Shall we elope?”)

But no. Not to be.
The question was “Why are your teeth like this?”
Ahem! What on earth can you answer to that?!? Mortification.
(In my defense, my teeth weren’t THAT bad.) BTW I endured the terrific torture of braces for a year and now my teeth are just perfect. So there!! Hmph!

Let us fast forward to a few years later. It is again one of those days when the office bus has gone and jammed itself in the never-ending evening traffic. I am staring blankly out of the window, lost in my thoughts and waiting to get home, when I hear this “I am hungry because of you.”
I turn around and give a “Are you talking to me?” look to this guy sitting next to me and say “Excuse me?” And he says “I was so famished and so I got a sandwich-but now you are sitting next to me and I can’t eat it while making you watch.”
OK now what makes this guy think that I am interested in watching him-eating or otherwise?!? I say politely, “No problem. Please go ahead I don’t mind” And then he does eat while at the same time talking incessantly and boring me to death. Eventually his stop has come and I am about to heave a sigh of relief. Just before getting down he adds “Your earrings are beautiful” Man, Are you gay!!?! I mean come on now! How many men do you really know who even notice let alone actually compliment your accessories- especially without asking??!

I guess growing up, everyone had a few crushes and some secret admirers. Looking back, I remember my very first admirer. I studied in a girls' school and so my contact with guys was limited to family and at the most a few of my brother’s friends who generally never even acknowledged my existence. It was only when I started going to tuitions in my 10th std, in order to prepare for the ever-threatening board /public exams that I actually met a few guys.

Now coming to my first fan. Lets call him G. He was this guy who was also writing the 10th exam but he was elder to me coz he had flunked his public exam (I suspect quite a few times.) He was the one who used to do all the yedu-pudi (miscellaneous tasks) for the math master, like going to the grocery nearby or paying bills. He was always untidy with unkempt hair and a few top buttons of his shirt undone nonchalantly (Why do guys think that this is macho??)

Back then I used to cycle to school. G used to wait patiently in a side street on his own cycle. As soon as I passed this street, he used to come cycling by, overtake me and then cycle in front of me all the while doing some antics-like cycling with both hands in the air or ruffling his hair or standing up and cycling or something of that sort! Ditto when I cycled back home, as well as to and from the tuition itself.
Never once did he actually stop me or even attempt to talk to me. Soon after we shifted home and I have no idea what happened to him. It was all very amusing back then and downright funny to think of now. But yes, he was the very first person who made me realize the astonishing fact that boys could be attracted to me!! It did wonders to my feminine ego ;-)

This is all very one-sided isn’t it? It wouldn’t be fair to suggest that I never had any crushes. Of course I did. My very first crush – SRK!! Shah Rukh Khan!! Sighhhhh!!!!!! Oray lowweeee!!! The first movie of his that I saw was Baazigar and I really cried heartbroken tears when he died at the end :-(

So what about you? Who was your first crush/admirer/fan??

Image Courtesy: www.dreamstime.com

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Trying Hard...



I tried so hard, not to become a cynic
And yet sometimes, I think I am forced to.

I tried so hard, to believe in the goodness of Man
And yet sometimes, people let me down.

I tried so hard, to keep my faith in Love
And yet sometimes, cowardice and deception were my rewards.

I tried so hard, to trust in Truth
And yet sometimes, Truth is merely Falsehood disguised.

I tried so hard, to give without fear
And yet sometimes, disappointment was what I got.

I tried so hard, to hold on
And yet sometimes, I just want to let go.

I tried so hard, to live without losing ‘Me’
And yet sometimes, I search for her and no traces I find.

I tried so hard, to fight back the tears,
And yet sometimes, they choke me tight.

I tried so hard, to keep smiling my pretty smile
And yet sometimes, it feels empty and shallow.

I tried so hard, to dream new dreams
And yet sometimes, they changed into nightmares.

I tried so hard, to be one with you
And yet sometimes, you hurt me so.

I tried so hard, to often stop the bleeding
And yet this time, it seems to be fatal.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

A Limerick Ode to my newest Hobby :-)


Clickety-Clack, Clickety-Clack, my needles click,
Back and forth, back and forth, quick, quick!

Knit and Purl, Knit and Purl,
O ball of yarn, come on, Unfurl!

Greens, reds, blacks or blues,
Colour, colour, which colour do you choose?

Sweaters, scarves or gloves, I say,
Magically create what you may!

Soon, you'll have a cheerful gift,
To give your day a bright little lift!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Pissed Off!!

One thing(among many!) that really irritates me, is when people call young homemakers "vetti". Yeahh!! I fall into the "young homemakers" category-else why would I be so pissed!! Duh!

BTW In case any non-Tamilians are reading this, "Vetti" means Jobless/Useless.

There are people all around asking me "when are you planning to go back to work?"
Well the answer is NO WHEN. Now don't gimme that weird look!!
For the past 8 years or so I have been stuck either studying or working in a boring industry and I have absolutely no interest in continuing to put myself thru that torture again, unless absolutely necessary. If, by that it means, that I have to skip a holiday in some exotic location or sacrifice a new dress every month-that is simply fine with me.
My sweet husband doesn't mind, so why should you?!????

So unless it is something I am passionate about or there is a real necessity I don't intend to work for now. Then, this invariably leads to the question "So what do you do sitting vetti at home whole day? Aren't you bored?"

Ahem!! Ahem!! Who the hell is sitting vetti at home?!?!?
If you have seen your mom/grandmom/aunty sitting whole day and simply watching mindless TV soaps one after the another-excuse me!! I do not follow that pattern. And I know for a fact that a lot of my friends don't either.

Actually I find that I do a lot more stuff now than when I was working-things that I enjoy doing. In fact, I definitely do not see most people who work do much, other than whiling away half the time at work, working a little and then coming back home, plopping down in the sofa and exclaiming "Oh! Am so tired!" and refusing to move their butts!!
Yes I do browse and play games on Facebook-yet how many of you do that from office??
So if YOU play from work its called "Relaxation" and if I play from home its "Vetti"??!

There are umpteen number of things to do being at home-I am not gonna list whatever I do here - coz its none of your business-but the next time you even consider calling me or any other young homemaker "vetti"- just STFU!!!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

A Letter….. From a Mother to a Daughter



My dearest chickoo,

Today, our neighbor Swetha delivered a baby girl. Mother and child are doing fine. I had gone to visit them. Seeing that cute little miracle reminded me of the very first day I held you in my hands. Oh you smelt so sweet! The fragrance of pure, unadulterated Innocence.
You clasped my hand with your tiny fingers. Even the most expensive silk, the lightest feather or softest fur could not be compared. Something stirred in the very depths of my heart. Was this what they call ‘Love at first sight?’ I wondered.

With every small step you took, with every teensy inch you grew, with every fussy mouthful you ate, with every wink you slept, with every new word you spoke I fell more and more in Love with you. Your divine face was what I saw every time I was tired or weary. I plodded through my average job in a average day, in the hope of seeing your sunny smile in the evening when I returned home. It helped me bear my superiors’ egos, the crowded buses, the hot afternoon sun, the mornings when my body begged for a few more minutes of blessed sleep, the times when my Vanity wanted to throw away some money on that beautiful sari instead of buying you some sweets or trinkets or dolls and so much more. A lifetime of mediocrity was made brilliant only by your presence.

As days went by, you grew and blossomed into such a beautiful person-both inside and outside. I could see the envy in everyone’s eyes, but you always treated them kindly.

Is that what you found finally unbearable my dear one? To be kind and gentle in such an unkind and harsh world? Could you not bear to see the Beauty inside you rusted and corroded by this unfair Life? Could you not tolerate the destruction of the dreamy, ideal world that you built, by the uncaring people you met?
Could you not find one soul who could help you?
When you were young, you fell down often. You always used to come crying and running to me with a bruised knee. You trusted that I could wipe away your tears and heal your wounds- Could you not have trusted me to at least soothe, if not heal, your broken spirit? Could you not see the one person who would have forgiven you of anything, absolved you of everything and loved you with all her existence no matter what?
Why did you not confide in me my angel? Why did you not pause, one moment, on that beautiful November evening to spare a single thought for your mother?
What were you so afraid of that you had to leave me in eternal agony?
I lived for you-is that why I deserve this cruel punishment?
When your tender leg kicked my womb, I delighted in it; When your rosebud lips spat out food at me I wiped it away without complaining; When you were angry with me childishly, I bore it; When you were ashamed of my hugs in front of your teenaged friends, I just smiled to myself. I only wanted the best for you. Were these my mistakes? Was I a failure as a Mother? Is that why you decided to push me away and desert me forever?

So many questions.
But the only answer I get, no matter how persistently I ask them, is Silence.

When I hear of Mother’s Day and Daughter’s Day and even Valentine’s Day I think of you, my lost Love. When my colleagues’ daughters get married, I am haunted by the dreams I once had dreamt for you. When I see a mother and daughter shopping together or enjoying a movie or sharing a joke over some coffee I miss you. The womb that housed you has shriveled up, the heart that beat for you is aching, the shoulders that you slept on are heavy, the hands that cradled you are limp and the Life that you lit up is now dark and empty.
I never knew why you quit that fateful day and will never know either.

Sweetheart I can no longer cry; all I can do is wonder.

With Love,
Mommy.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

See sells See-shells by the See-shore...



If you came here thinking this one is about tongue-twisters, am sorry, it is not.

All you lucky souls out there who have great eyesight and can spot signposts a mile away-I envy you.
Coz I am a “soda butti” as kids used to tease me when I was small-which means that my glasses are quite thick. Even the thinnest and most expensive ones are thicker than the average person’s. Of course, this was partly my fault.
I shouldn’t have read books in sub-optimal light and in sub-optimal positions, I shouldn’t have learnt by-heart the reading chart at school, I should have eaten my carrots instead of surreptitiously dumping them and I should have dutifully handed over the notes written by my teachers to my parents regarding my difficulties in seeing the blackboard. Not the blackboard as such,I'm not THAT blind-rather what was written on it. Instead with every passing year, I simply moved one row forward in class, until finally I was sitting in the first bench and still copying notes from my neighbor. Things came to a head, when spelling mistakes started occurring even then. So eventually, when I was squinting in all directions, my parents took me to the ophthalmologist.
Now if you are a person, who visits the ophthalmologist regularly, you would surely relate to me. I think it’s one of the most demoralizing and confidence-busting activities. You go in at the appointed time and wait, flipping through some outdated magazines. You are called in and the doctor makes you sit down near him/her and asks you to read the chart placed some distance away.
The first few letters are fine-I suppose even bats could read them (I said could). Progressively, the letters get smaller in size and oh what torture! You squint and stare and mumble and grumble-and mostly guess.
Is that an ‘A’ or a ‘B’? ‘H’ or ‘R’??!
And then after trying your best-you have no choice but to accept defeat and you give up. Next the doctor places a big, heavy metal frame on your nose and keeps changing the lenses. And you are supposed to repeat the process of proving that you can’t read. First the left eye and then the right eye and then both together.
Finally after much deliberation, the power is determined. Then you are sent out and someone administers some eye drops and asks you to keep your eyes closed for say 30 mins or so. The idea being to clean out all the dust and debris from your eyes before confirming that you are indeed at-least one step close to blindness. Then once the time is up-in you go again and struggle through the whole show again. At last you have your prescription and can go order your glasses.
Whew! The trial is over. At-least till the next visit.

Nowadays I guess things are a little better; since my power has pretty much stabilized-but during the growing up years it was such a pain! Also technology has improved a lot and now we have computerized eye scanning too.
But still, how blessed it would be to be able to wake up in the morning and check the time without having to search for my glasses.
How delightful to be able to jump into the swimming pool without having to worry about losing my glasses or contact lenses.
How nice it would to fall asleep without having to bother about having my glasses on or lenses in.
How interesting it would be to realize that, that handsome guy I always had a crush on is smiling at me (Yes ME) from far across the room.
How convenient it would be to realize that it is a cockroach and not a piece of dust moving in that dark corner.
And most of all how wonderful it would be to be able to stop squinting at the reading chart every year! Sigh!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Sniff!



I have always suspected that, in my previous birth (if such a thing exists), I was born a dog.Not because I am forever loyal, welcome you home with a wuff and a wag, fetch your newspaper, look at you with adorable melting eyes or drop hair all over the couch (though I must say that this does tend to happen a lot!).
Rather, the reason for me saying so is that, ever since I remember, I have had a strong sense of smell.
I was always able to sniff out what is cooking in the kitchen -or even in the neighboring house sometimes-much before everyone else. And I can always sense the smell of close people. I do not mean their perfumes or soaps or talcs or deos. Neither do I mean perspiration. I am not talking about times when they step freshly out of the shower or after they return from a tiring afternoon cricket match. Here I am specifically talking about each person’s unique body scent. For instance, I love my dad’s smell. I do like my mom’s smell too but my bro’s is a definite no. I think Ajay smells nice too-kinda sweet.But of course, this makes life difficult for him, coz I can easily sniff out and detect any traces of cigarette or alcohol ;-)

Also I feel that each place has a different smell associated with it. I could never figure out how my home smells exactly because I suspect that I have grown immune to it-much like we do not smell our own perfumes sprayed on us as intently as others near us do. But my grandma’s house has a specific, comfy smell to it. My office has a very familiar one. More than the 5* bakeries which smell too clean, the small bakeries around my neighborhood tempts me as the smell of freshly baked bread wafts out.
And one of my most favorite smells in the world – the smell of books, bookshops and those old dusty libraries at the street corner. This is what half my childhood was made up of (Yes I do sound like a nerd!) I always take a deep breath when I cross those libraries and I often close my eyes and bury my nose into the middle pages of a well-read book. Mmmmm! Actually I think a used book smells better than a brand new one :-)
A close second favourite , would be the smell of freshly crushed/mowed grass – it sooo reminds me of walking barefoot on dew drenched grass at the Marina Beach back home, when I was a kid.
And how can I miss mentioning the divine smell of the earth as the first few drops of rain splatter onto the parched sands. Obviously, I do also enjoy the smells of good food or pretty flowers as much as the next person.

I guess for each smell around me, I have a related memory stored somewhere in my sub-conscious mind. That is why smells of rich, ripe and luscious mangoes invokes memories of hot and humid Indian summers, crushed flowers and burning incense together always remind me morbidly of death, even if it is at some other auspicious occasion,
the ‘new clothes smell’ serves as ‘Ghosts of Christmas’ Past’ – as Scrooge would have put it, the pure, pleasant smell of babies reminds me of soft, cuddly balls of cotton-wool, the aroma of burning candles and melting wax takes me to cool, semi-dark and peaceful Churches whereas burning oil and wicks remind me of Temples,
the heavy, acrid smell of crackers serve as a reminder that the much awaited Diwali day is over and it is the morning after,
Petrol reminds me of the days that I used to go with my dad on his scooter to petrol bunks and dip my small hand into the funnel to feel the cool liquid rushing around my little fingers as the attendant pours it out-BTW I luurvvee petrol smell too-almost makes me want to drink it!! Though I hate diesel smells-that makes me sick - and it always reminds me of bumpy rides on loud and over-crowded city buses.
Freshly washed bed sheets remind me of lazy, cozy times spent lolling around in bed.
Oh and I really love the smell of a newly cleaned and scrubbed house–when I sit back tired from all the cleaning, it’s so much worth the effort!
In the US, I used to live in a building predominantly occupied by Indians. So whenever I used to step out of my apartment, my olfactory senses were assailed by an onslaught of powerful Indian cooking-curries and spices and masalas and what not!! Gave a sense of home!

Of course, I do not like all the zillion smells that abound on this Earth-for example, people in Chennai, have you ever tried lifting an Aavin milk packet in your hands-afterwards your hands stink to heaven!! After the first few times, I made it a point to pick them up just by my fingertips.
Incidentally, this was one of the major reasons I didn’t want to get married to a doctor, however noble the profession of saving lives may be. I always feel that there is a slight trace of something antiseptic –smelling, like the Hospital that clings to them –reminds me of sickness, long white corridors and even longer queues with worried faces in the waiting rooms.
Nor would I delight in a Smelly Cat as much as I like Phoebe and her song! And for all my love of water and beaches, I do not particularly like the salty and fishy smell of the sea. Or the Cooum (the Buckingham Canal, if you prefer that!), the Railway Stations or the trains themselves, the dirty Public Toilets that those state transport buses stop at in the middle of the night-all fall into the ‘Yuck!’ category.
In fact, I remember, when I used to travel by my company bus to my office, the bus always used to cross a long stretch of a dumping yard in the city outskirts. In an instant, all windows used to slide shut with a snap, all dupattas and hand kerchiefs used to reach for their owners’ noses and all faces would twist into grimaces. Someone even used to spray some room freshener inside the bus!!
I have heard many foreigners, comment that the moment you step out into India, you smell a whole lot of things all at once! I suppose that is indeed true! Growing up in India has been such a colorful, interesting, vivid and smelly (both good and bad!) experience!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Indulge!!

One of my hobbies for the past few years has been cooking.
I love experimenting and trying out new dishes-when I overcome
my lazines, that is ;-)
I don't usually post any recipes or cookery tips here as this is basically not a cookery blog and I don't really want to add my contribution to the nth recipe you can find online for virtually anything!
Except if I have had some interesting experience in the kitchen.
This is one such incident when a potential disaster turned out to be a pleasant indulgence!

As my birthday was around the corner, I was thinking about special dishes to prepare for my special day. Coincidentally my friend Anu told me about a recipe that her MIL taught her, for a dish called Banofee Pie. Looking it up on the internet would show you that it is quite a popular and easy dessert. So I decided to try it out. Now the recipe calls for a can of condensed milk to be immersed in boiling water continuously for around 2 or 3 hours. A process which changes it to a light brown, creamy (& yummy!) caramelly toffee.


So I asked Ajay to buy a can of Milkmaid (My Mistake No.1). Milkmaid is just a brand name of a particular company's condensed milk product. But in India, Milkmaid is to condensed milk, what Xerox is to photocopy-they are synonymous.

Which kid (or even adult in my case ;-)) doesn’t like licking up the remaining drops of milkmaid left in the can-carefully without cutting yourself on the serrated opening- while mom is busy preparing Diwali sweets?!? Oh the simple pleasures of Life!! Sigh!


Anyway Ajay got me this can and since it had some Arabic label, I didn't really pay much attention to it (My Mistake No.2- Read the small print!). I happily put it to boil, prepared the pie crust, chopped up some bananas and waited patiently for a couple of hours.
After 2 hours, I carefully opened up the can and peered in expectantly-and was shocked!

All I saw was a milk kinda thingy-it didnt even taste sweet!!
How could condensed milk, de-condense into a normal milky consistency after boiling around in the pot for 2 hours?!?!? Quite puzzling!!

After calling up my husband and arguing for some time, I ran down to the grocery store to check out what exactly I had on my hands. (The label had peeled off while boiling in water and I had thrown it out)
Well, looks like hubby dear got me 'evaporated milk' instead of condensed milk!
So I ended up with a can of 2-hrs-boiled-evaporated-milk, a bowl of bananas and an empty pie crust :-(

"This will not do!" thought I and decided to get into action.

I threw in the bananas with the evaporated milk, a few drops of vanilla essence, some sugar, mixed them all up, refrigerated the stuff and voila! Got some banana custard kinda thing! It was good to eat :-)

Now I had this pie crust. I wondered what to do with that for a couple of days.
Then.... Inspiration struck!
I made this:



You can call it whatever you want!
It is derived from the whole lot of jams, pies, puddings, cakes and desserts around!
Whatever it is, it was oh so lovely!! Try it!
So here goes the very first recipe that I am blogging:
(I just did whatever came to my head-so the quantities and timings are only approximate!)


Ingredients:


For the Crust
1 big pack of Marie biscuits/ or a readymade pie crust
50-100 gms unsalted/salted butter- softened


For the Toffee Filling
1 200-300 ml tin of condensed milk (This time I made sure I bought the right one!)


For the Plum Sauce
6-7 plums (Thanks to Sandy for this. He bought a whole lot of fruits for the GM’s diet and never followed it! So he dumped the plums on us-Ajay & I wouldn’t have bought it-coz we both are really poor eaters!)
An inch long piece of Cinnamon


For the Finishing Touch
Handful of chopped nuts (Walnuts, Almonds whatever you choose!)
Whipped cream or Whipping cream + few drops of Vanilla essence+ 3 teaspoons powdered sugar
Chocolate shavings

Method:


Place a heavy bottomed vessel, like a cooker or a big saucepan on the stove.
Fill it with water, drop the unopened condensed milk can into this.
Bring the water to a rolling boil and then let it boil gently for 2-3 hours.


Meanwhile wash the plums well and add them to another saucepan with sufficient water to immerse them.
Throw in the cinnamon.
Bring this to a boil and continue boiling till the fruits become mushy and the water reduces-say about 30 mins or so. After this, pass the boiled fruits through a strainer, press well on the skins and fleshy parts that are left behind and strain well.
Return this to the stove and bring to a boil again. Add about 5 teaspoons of sugar, mix well and continue simmering, stirring occasionally.


While this is boiling, let’s make the pie crust. If it is a readymade one, just follow the instructions on the pack. Else, first crush the biscuits well with a rolling pin to a coarse powder.
Mix this with the melted butter and press and line a pie pan or cake tin or glass bowl or any other container in which u want the pie to be in. Refrigerate this for 20-30 mins till it becomes firm.

If you’re using whipping cream, whip it for about 3 mins with the sugar and essence till fluffy.


By this time, the plums should have boiled for an hour or so. They would have thickened to a syrupy texture and gotten a couple of shades darker- a nice, deep, beetrooty pink. At this stage, turn off the stove.


After the condensed milk has boiled for a couple of hours, pour out the hot water, pour in some cold water and open the can carefully (Don’t burn yourself!). Your toffee is ready.

Spread the contents evenly with a spoon or knife over your pie crust.
Following this spread the plum sauce.
Top this up with the chopped nuts.
Finish it off with the whipped cream. Sprinkle some chocolate gratings.

Chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, slice and…. Bite in!!

The crumbly crust offsets the creamy toffee and plum sauce and you bite into the occasional crunchy nut or two, while the whipped cream just melts in your mouth! The sweetness of the toffee balances the slight tartness of the plums. On the whole it is simply superb!


Note:
• Cinnamon is optional-if you don’t like the flavor of cinnamon flavor you can skip it. If you like nutmeg or cloves you could add them instead-or completely skip the spices too.
• For the plum sauce, try using a non-stick vessel. The white saucepan I used is now pink (Should have applied some common sense!)
• Instead of chocolate shavings (or in addition to that if you’re a chocoholic like moi!), you could drizzle chocolate sauce or coffee syrup on top.
• A quicker version of this would be to use ready-made jams/jellies. But trust me-homemade tastes best.
• Be sure to cool down the plum sauce a little before putting the cream on top. Else the cream might curdle.
• If you are interested in making plum jam, try this:
Continue boiling the plum sauce till it is even thicker. Keep a spoonful in the refrigerator and check for the consistency. If it becomes jam-like, you have homemade plum jam ready! Since berries naturally have pectin, you do not need anything else to set it. But add a few teaspoons of lemon juice while boiling the plums.




For once, don't think about the calories- just Indulge and Enjoy!!

One of my fav poems....

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

- Robert Frost

Friday, February 19, 2010

Trapped!

The cords are bound tight,
There is no escape.
No more can I fight,
In despair, I am draped.

Tendrils of Love, they seemed to be,
Disguised to deceive.
Stupid, naive and foolish me,
The truth, now I perceive.

Can anyone hear me?! I scream,
No one heeds my cry.
Wishing this was just a bad dream,
I prepare to die.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

"aar u fraam Indyaa madam??!"

There are lots of people who have asked me this question in the past few years.
Recent conversation between a cab driver and me:

Driver:"aar u fraam Indyaa madam??!"
Me:Yes
D: Me aalso fraam Indya!!
M: Okay
D: U know Hindi?
M: No
D: English?
M: Yes
D: I Marathi fraam Mumbai. U?
M: Madras
D: Ohhhhh! Madarasiiii?!!
D: U warkinggg?
M: No, my husband is
D: Ohhhh!!! Kids?
M: No.
D: Oh firrst fiivee yearrs no kids, only husband wife no tension.
1 kid nooo tensionnn, 2 kid nooo tensionnn.
M: How many kids do you have?
D: Three! Fullll tensionnn!
M: Where is your wife?
D: Wife? In country. My wife veryyy verry heavy.
M: Oh, In India.
D: Yes yessss. Verryyy Heavvy and vveerryy sstrongg.
M: Hmm.
D: Not good veerryyy heeavyyyy.
M: …
D: New married?
M: Yes
D: New no tension, Husband come home all tension go.
Veryyyy happpyyy.
Nooo slleepinnn in nighhts. Only workkiinng harrd.
You sleepinng nights???
M: Um yes.
D: Verryy baddd. Now no sleepping. Only workingggg.
Thankfully I reached my destination before the conversation could go any further.
Lol!!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Mars & Venus...

A few years back I used to read books like ‘Men are from Mars & Women are from Venus’, ‘Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps’ etc, elaborating on the basic differences between the sexes.

Now it looks like it is time to actually live through all of that!

Am sure there are many people out there who have realised that men turn deaf while watching TV.On the other hand I remember the hours I have been chit-chatting over the phone or even in person while still following something on TV!

Also what is this constant obsession with Ten Sports, ESPN and any other Sports channels on air?!? I am constantly watching players running around one field/ground/court or the other and always hearing running commentaries, cheers and the constant hum of the crowds, all of which peak when someone kicks a goal, hits a four or misses a shot.
And if it’s not from the broadcasts it’s from the Playstation :-(
This forms the background of my cooking, reading, eating, browsing, sleeping and all other general activities of the day!
Oh no, am wrong. Not always.

Suddenly I hear a hard, raspy voice screaming something unintelligble, a serious of dull thuds and some booming music.

Do you smell what the Rock is cookin?!?

WWE is beyond me.
Honestly.
Just can’t imagine why on earth anyone would want to see one mountain of rippling flesh pummell another mass of meat.
Depressing.

But now its time for a happy thought.

Today is grocery shopping day. Yippeee!

Though I suppose Mars’ and Venus’ feelings on this is totally reversed.
Men just go, pick up a handfull of items that are in the list, check out and exit. That’s it.

I could easily spend about a couple of hours in a supermarket,
walking up and down the various aisles(though I do get myself lost half the time ;-)), looking at what is available on the shelves even if it’s the same stuff that was there last week,ticking off the things on my list and picking up a few that were not on it, roaming around once more to see if anything catches my eye (or anyone for that matter! Hehe!).

And if this is the way I shop for weekly supplies you can just imagine how I would shop for clothes!

I hear that most of my friends’ husbands dare not accompany them for shopping.
Or actually its vice versa.
Most of my friends dump their husbands,take their credit cards and go shopping ;-)

A plan I intend to follow from today!

Off I go,
On my way,
All aglow,
It's Shopping day!!

Ta Da!!!!!

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