MY OIL CANVAS

SIMPLE SIMON

2009-05-15T09:45:00.002+04:00

Whew!!!

Finally back from the much needed vacation, or break if you will,....but wait a minute, did it feel like a break, I mean "The all rest and no work" kind of a break. Well, if there is one thing I did during my so called break, it is changing diapers, washed clothes, was constantly worried anbout whether my baby would be warm or cold which drove me into a manic, incessently removing and putting clothes, sweaters, socks, scarves, caps, on the lil one, and ya not to forget, constantly checking for my baby's poop....in between all this activity, i managed to breathe fresh air, stop and stare at the beautiful nilgiris, appreciate the green tea gardens and have some outdoor fun at Safari rides....

Well, it is funny how the idea of a vacation has changed over the years.....way back when we were kids, a vacation meant going to big cities from the lil towns we lived in and visiting monuments,famous buildings, museums,parks and all the known places...Today going on a vacation translates into hiring a small cottage in a hamlet hill station and enjoying the joys of a simple life amongst nature where no one would be able to reach you, esp colleagues... the urge to enjoy something simple that is so different from our fast paced lives in cities like Mumbai is high on the agenda of a vacation...

Sure I enjoy our weekly visits to the multiplex, grocery shopping in an air conditioned Mall scores above sweating it out at the local vegetable vendor, monthly indulgence to a posh swanky restaurant peps me up, and I love the rare visits to a downtown pub where i can be on my own....so just wanted to spare a thought , can I live without these "Big City things" in a small hill station hamlet with lot of greenery ...and then it hit me, I only enjoy these things coz these are the only vent outs for recreation i have, for example, living in a small town woul have me doing other things which I probably cannot do in Mumbai, for example, i would be cycling among the tea gardens and breathe fresh air, my grocer would be probably a furlong away and i could just walk down for my grocery, life without much Chaos would probably entice me into cooking elaborate meals...can have space for a garden and indulge in rearing flowers, go hiking whenever I feel like, entertain friends who are visiting, have a campfire and a barbecues in the garden ....

Ya life is not just about the lights and glamour, it is about simple things.....

Dilemma

2009-01-01T15:12:00.000+04:00

Hey……. Wish you all a very happy new year…… Its been long since I even visited this site leave alone posting blogs…..This new year I have resolved to be more active with my blogsite, as a result of unemployment by choice, (no, I wasn’t given any pink slip)…but inputs might be a little slow coz as unemployed as I maybe, I am definitely not “jobless”….ask any women with a 6 month old toddler to take care of and you’ll know

It is that time of the year again when people make excuses to boost their spirits with “The Spirit”, just because they have made resolutions to abstain from alcohol….resolutions and excuses for reveling because of the resolutions……the promise of discipline to one self gives an excuse for breaking the rules before the pledge is brought into action…..it is almost like last few hours of freedom…..well, 31st December, 2008 was one such occasion for Gans…..Before you jump to conclusions about me policing my husband around with threats of abandon if he doesn’t quit alcohol, let me tell you that this was purely a promise he made to himself and I in this context was merely a witness of sorts to the agreement made by the two parties, my husband and himself……

On the said day, he said to himself aloud….today is the final day…I shall savour the all the joy the cans of beer might bring to my taste buds for in a couple of hours my tongue would be barren of this elixir…..and we went over his friends home for a nice quite private party carrying a dozen cans of the beverage as it was our contribution to the celebration….upon reaching we handed the “the elixir” over to the hosts as one might guess , to refrigerate( Gans likes( oops! Liked) his beer really chilled)…..in the meantime we decided upon putting our respective toddlers to sleep so that we would have no intrusion of toddling kinds ……the task which we hoped to be done with in half hour was a marathon one and apparently took us an hour and a half……finally as the two twits turned into sleeping angels Gans’ friend announced that the beer was waiting to be gorged by Gans…….bringing out the cans one by one I saw my husband downing one can after another….. to my astonishment he was well past his capacity….. “the moment of truth” had come….it was time to tell him to stop…..but he understood my apprehensions and assured me of his sobriety …..he pleaded with me not to ask him to stop as afterall he had only 2 more hours to go before the day ended……I agreed, but not before warning him not to make a fool of himself in an inebriated state……next thing I knew , he was quenching the thirsty saplings outside the house with the water retained in his body that was waiting to gush out with urgency…….I was flabbergasted…….I admonished him for not using the shiny white bowl built for the purpose……but it seemed that my displeasure made no meaning to him, for he continued to prance around in the state of happiness that he was in and out of the blue , he grabbed my arm started waltzing with me to the beats of the music that was playing, embarrassed as much as I was, this sudden display of affection caught me off guard…..and all of a sudden I saw a child in him …the naughty twinkle in his eye…..the endless songs he sang for me, those puppy dog expressions….that adorable tilt of head that exposes vulnerability……that immense love for me in his eyes….and last but not the least the endless attention he was paying me……

The clock struck 12 and we wished each other happiness and prosperity and a few phone calls later, he retired on the top portion of the house where the men has made arrangements to sleep, and I was with the women busy tending to the infants who we had well forgotten for a couple of hours……

At Dawn, we were getting all ready to leave to our respective homes, all somber and fresh….exchanged pleasantries with friends and as we were returning, I told Gans that I had a lovely time last night and wished he would throw me such excess attention once in a while so that I really felt special….he smiled at me and said, “I let go of all inhibitions last night dear, because I let the alcohol hit me. That’s why such public displays of unabashed affection…..but, that doesn’t mean I love you any less, alcohol just lets me express my feelings in a more animated manner….but now that I am letting go of alcohol, there might be little or no occasion where I behave like such a love fool…..”

That made me reminisce……I was so happy with Gans’ resolution prior to last night, but now I do have second thoughts as my need for attention has suddenly become more than his need for “ The Drink”…..You winsome, you loose some…..

PS: Still hoping he gets back to social drinking, and I get my dose of attention once a month at least…..Yes, I am evil!!!!!!!!

Baby highs and lows

2008-07-30T09:33:00.002+04:00

It was Sunday early morning 6th of July, , 2008,an emergency , and Meera, my sis,drove mom ,dad and me to the maternity home just 10 minutes away fom home. Reached the maternity home and a few tests and scans later, decided to go in for a C-section at 8:00 am.spoke to Gans who was at mumbai airport boarding a flight for b'lore...he asked me to hold on till he touches down B'lore...I smiled and told him I'll be ready with the gift when he touches down....At 8:12 am, a cute lil Bonny boy was born and half hour later I was shifted to my ward...the nurse brought a small bundle covered in soft white towel and showed the bundle to me...though I was sadeted I could see wide eyes staring back at me and surveying my face closely...I couldnt believe my eyes...this cute package had been creating havoc inside me for the past nine months and now he is finally out in the cold world....then Meera's mobile rang and I could hear Gans scream on the other end "hey I recieved Meera's sms...i am so sorry, I wasnt around for the C-section".An hour later, Gans just appeared from nowhere and planted a kiss on my cheek and cried on seeing our lil bundle....Mom, Gans and Meera immediately got on the job of caring for lil one...I was too sleepy even to keep my eyes open...the baby needed to be fed...the nurses suggested a local dairy's milk to be given fighting protests from mommy and Gans who insisted on either a high quality milk or formula....I tried feeding him the second day but was too sore from my surgery so he had to be given something else apart from mother's milk..and the nurses again suggested the local dairy milk....the next day the bonny boy turned into a bony boy and the weight loss was vey evident.we were worried but the pediatrician assured us that there was no cause for concern as weight loss is common....we werent convinced and meera and gans drove him to a neo natal speciality hospital where upon examinaton he had to be admitted to the ICU.Apparenty t was a severe case of dehydration and bacterial infection due to something he was fed with.The docs sounded the "critical" Alarm....it hadnt even been 72 hours for the lil one and his life was in danger already....of course, these facts were hidden from me for reason that I was under recovery myself...but Gan and Meera ran from pillar to post for different scans and blood tests for the lil one, he was under heavy medication and drips from his third day...the joy we were reveling in two days back turned into our life's biggest nightmare.I was separated from my baby winthin three days of his birth and the lil one stayed in ICU FOR 5 DAYS.Two of which being extremely critical.The day the doc gave us the "Out of danger" sign , we were so relieved we were taking him home afterall....he was going to live...

u can imagine the agony and truama all of us would have been thru...am blogging this really unpleasent episode only to tell all those reading my blog that please take care of ur precious one as soon as he/ she graces this world...if the mother can feed then please go for it the first hour itself and if she is unable to feed for some reason then give him doses of formula only even if the docs insist on some cheaper brand of milk.....coz ur baby deserves the best...

When Big is Beautiful

2008-06-16T17:51:00.002+04:00

Well , am finally at the stage where i may have to wait for just 2 weeks for my bundle of happiness to arrive....enjoyed shopping for the lil one , clothes , cradle, toys and all.....

There waz a time when i was getting bigger, I would look myself in the mirror and give a snarl, but the getting bigger in pregnancy makes me wanna show off my bump....the bigger I get the happier i feel and for some strange reason, Gans is also ga-ga over the bump, he looks at it proudly and if I even try and wear clothes that might camouflage the bump, he flies off the handle.....

This is the only time when you are forgiven even if you put on 10 to 15 kgs.....who sayz only small is beautiful......

Maternity excitement

2008-05-07T16:05:00.002+04:00

Havent blogged for a while now....hey by the way, thanks Sree for your concern , am doing just fine my dear girl.....its just that the third timester of the 9 and a half month ordeal is taking a toll on my general fitness.....the fatigue and the heaviness...I call it the the 3rd trimester jitters...and also the excitement of the fact that I will be seeing the face of my sweet angel in just 11 weeks......

well, its amazing how the maternity period can be so difficult yet so enjoyable....the heart burns , heaviness, vericose veins, and numerous discomfort but just thinking of the miracle that you will be holding in the end make the effort worthwhile.....

I have only been daydreaming about my baby in the past few weeks....have become such a zombie....but guess this phase is one of the sweetest phase in ones life....Gans is very excited too...and has been collecting info on how hw can help during labor....

A Tale of Two Cities

2008-04-13T09:55:00.003+04:00

Am presently enjoying my maternity break at my in-laws place back at Jamshedpur, the steel city. Frankly loving the attention, loving being overfed ( appetite seems to be an unending saga), but just detesting the "much bigger me" and have resolved to get back to my original size at least a month after the delivery.One thing that I am enjoying the most though is the quiet peaceful town that Jamshedpur is.What a respite from the noisy, dust spurning city that Mumbai is.Living in Jamshedpur almost feels as if I have descended onto an uninhabited land, untouched by dust, pollution, crowds most importantly TRAFFIC.

Most People living in Mumbai would surely agree with me when I say the peak hour trafiic in Mumbai in a hot summer day can be equalled to a third degree torture.Ok maybe I was going too far , but definately second degree torture.Waiting on the endless Western Express highway for the antline of vehicles to budge when the suns rays burn your skin, the sweat soils your clothes and the dust and grime makes it impossible for you to convice those nosey parkers that you bathed in the morning.You enter the well lit corporate office and the snazzy rooms with clean walls looking like a drab apology to your posh surroundings(yeesh! how I hate to be in that position). Anyway, bottomline is, Mumbai gives you all the patience you need to live in conditions unsuited for basic comfortable living.The city teaches you to grow up, put up with consistant honking and pan spitting, smell of rotten garbage and sewage, in short , it teaches you to put up with a lot of shit.

Thats why coming to a small clean township like Jamshedpur, you feel as if you have descended in somesort of a luxurious resort.The peace and quiet, the clean roads , non honking and non pan spitting public, and a meagre 4 to 5 vehicles plying on roads canopied by tall green trees seems like such a luxury fit only for the king to enjoy.You hardly find dusty and chipped of concrete multistories huddled with people breathing down each others necks. I have only seen independent houses with beautiful gardening spaces .Looks like everyone here has acquired a flair for gardening. The Roads are lined with tall trees to provide shade when it gets too sunny.And at a given point in time, there are only 4 to 5 vehicles plying on the roads.Inspite of these luxuries that the jamshedpurians enjoy, my ma and pa-in-law say that the traffic is bad, and the dust is killing and pollution is at a rise.

It hit me then" my city may not have given me all the basic comforts required for a peaceful life, but what it has definately given me is the patience to take the discomfort" Since I am not exactly living in the lap of luxury, I am satisfied with even basic requirements for a comfortable living.

In the name of God

2008-04-07T10:04:00.002+04:00

Will not feed you with another dose of movie review....but watched "Khuda ke liya" last weekend and simply loved it...words cannot be put to understand the experience ...if you are looking for something sensible , hard hitting and gets you fodder for those thinking cells, "then dont miss it".......

2008-04-01T15:08:00.003+04:00

“It was the best of times; It was the worst of times."

2008-04-01T14:37:00.003+04:00

I wonder how many of you have seen the award winning movie" Hazaron Khwaishen Aisi". Friends kept telling me not to miss it but the lazybones in me never got around to pick up the CD. Last weekend, with nothing much on my agenda, I asked Gans to pick up the CD for me. The curiosity about people raving was too tempting to resist. And it was truly worth the watch.

In short, the movie, as quoted in some review “is how three extraordinary people change the course of their lives in a span of 10 years during the Indira Gandhi regime and Emergency." I would like to rephrase the jist in a more lay manner as “how 3 extraordinary people follow their individual dreams, realize the dream they are living turned out to be nightmares”

The opening lines of the title song says it all"Hazaroon Khwaishein Aisi ki har Khwaish pe dum nikalen"

I agree that life never follows the course you plan for it. Most of have seldom fulfilled living the dream we dreamt. I agree circumstances, lack of grit and determination, have an important part to play in not realizing that dream. But sometimes there are instances when the dreams are all fulfilled and realized only to discover later that the dream you lived and realized has ruined you.

Coming back to the movie. The movie kicks off at a time during the late 60s (Indira Gandhi Regime) with agitations against corruption, Satyagrahas by Gandhians, wannabe power mongers of the then "Infamous Youth Congress", confused bourgeoisie youth wanting to embrace socialist and communist ideals, the starry eyed middle class youth infested with ambition and ruthlessness in their journey to prosperity, and of course last but not the least the dangerous nexus between beaurocrats, businessmen and bum lickers of politicians. Plot revolves around 3 strong determined individuals who have their lives carved out for themselves. There is Siddharth, the son of a retired high court judge, who is chasing the communist dream, the starry eyed Vikram, son of a Gandhian, who dreams big bucks and the doe eyed Lady of steel, Geeta, whose dream is to support her lover, Siddharth at any cost.

Eventually all the three Delhi University graduates pass out to follow their individual dreams, they live their dreams.Siddharth joins the Naxalites and is a geurilla fighter for the oppressed somewhere in Bhojpur, Geeta, married to an IAS officer, leaves him to follow her dream of supporting Siddharth in his struggle and Vikram bags a huge contract of converting a Dilapitated Palace into a Five Star hotel and there is no looking back, before he knows it, he is a sucessful businessman. All of them have realized what they wanted to. Then comes the dread of emergency and indiscriminate arrests of all and sundry, this brings their well nestled lives to conundrum, and la....before you blink they are shattered and Vikram is left demeted with Geeta to care for him in some godforsaken village where she teaches in an elementary school and Siddharth is left nowhere after the disintegration of the Naxals, and is studying medicine at the age of 35.They lived their dream but dreaded it.

I know most people during the 70s were fascinated with the concept of Socialism and political awareness was at its peak among the youth.Most Delhi Universitietes harboured a dream to be a Naxal or a member of the communist movement.There were communist groups formed in the hostels.Colleges became political battlefields.Those were the times when awareness and rebellion was at its peak , so was oppression and corruption. The movie beautifully captures the romance and the passion of that era, when people had a purpose beyond just making money and flying abroad.

In Dickens’ words “It was the best of times; It was the worst of times."

What Goes Around Comes Around!!!!!

2008-03-18T14:20:00.000+04:00

Last weekend Gans and I decided to get into a more social mood and make all those long overdue visits to relatives. Part of it came out of constant prodding from Mom and Gans' uncle. Finally, we decided, let’s do it and get over with it!!!! Little did we know that we would come back smiling and with some wisdom in those dense head of ours.

Our First stop was at an aged couple's home, my Granmas' brother. The Grandpa was 84 and his wife probably three to four years younger. We had been postponing our visit for about a year, so it was natural for them to be a lil bit cross with us. We couldn’t avoid the visit this time around coz there was my Granma’s younger sister who was visiting from US, and wanted to meet Gans (da groom her grand-niece had chosen).So we wore our best sober clothes, to visit the octegenarians.Arrived there about one hour late and thought that this would have understandably sparked off displeasure from the "British Raj Generation”. So, there we were, blew it all up from the very start. As we entered we could feel the warmth in their eyes and smiles on those soft wrinkled lips. We were glad to see that our late entry had not irked them a bit, and even if it had, they probably had learnt to deal with the "Laid Back Coke Generation".

The first thing we noticed was that the home was neat, Spartan, huge and uncluttered and happiness seemed to emanate from every corner. It was bright with colorful floral curtains and lots of space. The gracious hostess, who was about 81 or 82 years old, asked if we wanted coffee or tea. Our polite refusal to cause them any kind of inconvenience did not go down well with her "hospitable" instincts. She insisted and we put forth our preferences after which the poor lady smiled and reconfirmed our requests but swapped our preferences.Gans politely smiled and corrected her. Then she rose from her chair, and we noticed she was a complete hunchback owing osteoporosis. That moment guilt pangs had hit the peak and we collectively wished we could have insisted on having nothing and said we were there to see them. Both Gans and me involuntarily rose to help her out, only to receive an "I can handle myself” kind of a look from her. We backed out due to fear of being misunderstood. Then I followed her to the kitchen in the next two minutes, thinking that she could do with a lil bit of company in the neat spacious kitchen. She just ushered me into the living area and asked me to be seated. I obediently took my seat. Then she came in, her weary shaky hands holding the tray that somehow looked bigger than her delicate lil hands. She offered us the beverages (again the wrong ones) and took a deep breath to sink into the Armchair.

Conversations drifted from pleasantries, to sundry enquiries of wellness till we started warming up in our chairs and were comfortable enough to recline ourselves and lend our ears to the enriching experiences of the wise souls. There were talks on how Gramps had carefully steered clear of corruption during his 41 years of holding High bureauracratic positions in the Central Government, how he repelled the those rotten eggs of his dept by being as rude and nasty as possible, how he intimidated the corrupted bureaucrats of other nations during his tour as a UN official in Chile. We were naturally amazed at the experiences and to think that this High level bureaucrat was sitting in front of us wearing simple white cotton Kurtha and Pajamas and perched on this recliner in a Spartan home and treating two youngsters with the glories of the past. One would expect a man of his stature to carry airs and live in a mansion with an army of attendants to wait upon him, but there they were the happy simple couple. Of course our delicate and dainty lil’ hostess added that much needed homely touch to the conversation by mentioning about the comfortable huge houses and abundant house-hold help that was available during those glorious days and how she really hated to see so many people help around and never appreciated the plethora of attendants in the good old days. She looked wistful for such help in today’s date when she actually needs it.

The stay at their home which was initially intended to be 15 minutes, stretched a long two hours. And no we weren’t forced to stay, we enjoyed it.

We learnt too many things that day. We understood how important it is to connect with people (both of us hated socializing), how our mere concern and desire to meet certain people can bring them so much happiness, how honesty may not be able to buy you comfort and luxuries, but may fill your sack with happiness and peace of mind abundantly, and how we must never have preconceived notions about how boring or interesting some meetings might be.

I guess this visit had definitely made us wiser, happier and most of all made us smile.

On our way home, Gans looked at me and said" we'll also grow old together one day and long for a visit from youngsters and would tell them about the good old days, and they would curse us under their breath." Life is a full circle.

PS: The next stop of our visit to be featured in the next blog….watch the space

Smart Women and Loosers Attract

2008-03-14T09:27:00.000+04:00

Well, wonder why I see these things more and more each day.....Is it that there is a dearth of good men around or women in General have are too smart to a fault...whew! These are true stories that happened in front of my eyes and any resemblance to any person dead or living is not co-incidental.

Scenario 1:

A smart girl who works for a HR Firm in a metropolis. She is beautiful, dashing, well dressed, neat, stylish and Fashionable, knows her mind, loves Soft Rock, Hollywood romantic comedies, Jim Morrison, Brad Pitt, Meg Ryan, Bollywood and Kajol.She is the very smart suave career woman, focused on building a career. In short she iz what you would call a Rock Chick.....She has a boyfriend who is good looking but such a looser in life, lives off his girls' earnings and blows up da money mainly on Booze, beats her up whenever he gets high and Highly possessive....Finally the smart cookie, manages to dump the squib after a huge emotional conflict...The breakup hurts her a lot as she really loved the guy and he was a high school sweetheart...Of course the break up is heavy on the guy as well, but after all he was da cause for it thus it waz well deserved.....then she finds this sympathetic shoulder smartass kinda guy, okie looking, not a looser, planning to get a green card and is chasing our dear lil Rock Chick like mad...both hook up and rock chick sees love in life again, the guy splurges on her, the best hangouts, the best outfits, the guy brings out confidence in her which is a good thing..3 months later he gets his US Visa and flies to Uncle Sam in search of Employment and Green Card, leaving his Rock Chick behind...She carries his photograph in her bag, has his voice as a ring tone and caller tune, has a framed photo of them both on her work desk....the relationship tries hard to survive for a staggering period of six more months after which she is perplexed by his indifference and disinterest, he comes to her land only to tell her its over.....then she finds this extremely sexy, suave, handsome colleague who has seen her thru the previous relationship and was secretly harboring feeling for our beauty, jumped and the first chance, wooed her with flowers, gifts, coffee outings, then slowly they became cozy dinners and then they officially announced the "committed" status, when the mother of typical Tambram hunk disapproves of the social nicotinelizing (if dats a word), social boozing , career minded and modern bahu in da family, the hunk, turns out to be a Mamas Boy....Rock Chick is confused to the hilt though he career is in its peek....

Scenario 2;

A super intelligent well groomed career girl with a great job and numerous offers flooding her practically every day. Hot property in the Corporate houses, well networked, oozing confidence, will never take no for an answer when it comes to closing Business deals, Star performer in her team, intimidates Men. She loves her Archies with piping Coffee, gushes over Brad Pitt (he is really the taste of Sophosticated women), loves Ally Mc Beal and Friends and loooves most of all to hang out with friends for a smoke , chai and some cheese sandwiches.She had been dating this light eyed, non looker, non performer, looser, since her college days,when he swept her off her feet with some silly love song he sang, and from that day on our lil dynamo had her heart set on da dude, she had seen the world , met a lot of interesting men along her career, partied with corporates, but she stuck to this ol’ damp who was struggling to do something in life and was trying a pathetic hand at the Real Estate Business, as she had the responsibility of a commitment and she was a strong believer of "TRUE LOVE"....but unfortunately the ol’ damp did not share the similar belief and sentiments, building up an inferiority complex came naturally to him, especially during all those social occasions when she would take him out for her corporate gatherings. He would spot a young Tart who may not be as intimidating as his girlfriend and flirt endlessly, looked for easy tarty lays everywhere and banged them left right centre as a tonic for his ego, till the lady found out one day, and dumped him immediately and then had a girly night out with a lot of booze and dance, but in spite of all this she camouflaged all the hurt she felt inside....now shez single, ready to mingle and come out of the seclusion she waz in for months.....

Seanario 3:

Highly skilled, talented , articulate, and pretty young thing. Most had hardly seen a 13 year old with such IQ and were fascinated with the young thing. Everyone thought there was no match for her in the world. She was too good for anyone. Loved her Fredrick Forsythe, Sidney Sheldon, Broadway musicals, and a small dose of Bollywood to go along with the concoction. She was a dreamer and dreamt of the white Knight on a steed who'd sweep he off her feet, thank fully she didn’t have to wait long before the real Knight surfaced from nowhere and blew her mind off....he was handsome (extremely goodlooking) , stylish, rockstar Dude who came with the frills of being rich.She was elated and could believe she had found the love of her life so early, when people wait for 30 till they set their heart on someone, she had found her soulmate at 13...so what if his IQ doesn’t match that of hers, she will manage to live on conversations revolving around the 80's rock stars....she will keep the more intellectual discussions for the family and friends, she will cook for him, keep his house, his dog...she had stars in her eyes.....the relationship went along smooth sailing for 8 years, then trouble started brewing in her paradise....She had run out of the 80's rock star anecdotes in her stock , so had he....so she started being satisfied with the silly conversations or non conversations they had....she realized it would be very difficult to get along with a person with famine for ideas.......he was the typical stud who like to be complimented for his good looks by beautiful women and fell into the trap of glamour and glitz though he claimed that he loved his pretty young thing a lott...she tolerated his philandering only for the reason that he seemed to be still madly in love with her.....he abused her, and cheated on her and always came back with a puppy dog face she couldn’t resist.....she took all the shit from him, and they were engaged to be married , just when she thought engagement would change him, she learnt of a few more disturbing activities of our Hero, she wanted to call off her marriage but couldn’t owing to familial ties...don’t know what to say.

Seanario 4:

Smart, Intelligent, well dressed, pretty, bubbly and ultra charming. Very ambitious girl and wanted to be a top notch corporate figure. Did everything she could to work towards her goal. Did internships, socialized with people who mattered, studied to get into various colleges. The journey was interrupted by a surprise co-passenger who had similar dreams and she fell madly in love with the beautiful stranger. He was a cool dude, the kind most women would die for. As soon as she expressed her undying love to her, he laughed it off as an infatuated lil girl. But the more he got to know her, meet her, he realized she was a woman with grit, strength and stuff (the grey kind).So he fell for the girl head over heels. As soon as he proclaimed his love she had to move city. She kept the faith and so did he. Letters, mails, cards, phone calls were the most awaited tidbits in her life. She was as bubbly as ever and love had given her more strength and grit. Slowly the correspondence seemed to be thinning from the dude's den. She was worried, she would try calling him up. He would always seem to be "out of calling area", "Busy", or "Switched off”. Sometimes she would go weeks without any communication from the mate, weeks turned into months, months turned into half an year. NOW, she had had enough, she decided to look her man up herself. She visited his town .Set up a date at an appointed place and time. The guy showed up 3 hours behind schedule, with friends and some booze and fast bikes. She was horrified. How could the ambitious, sincere and level headed boy turn into "The Perfect Brat”. She waz dissapointed.The guy being as insensitive as he could be, was shocked to see her, as he thought she might have left the hangout after waiting for him for an hour or so. So he turned a good 3 hours late. That was the end of it all. She left him with the bad company he had gotten into; after all she had many more ambitions in life to look forward. But yes this one did hurt, and hurt her bad, though thankfully not bad enuf to leave a scar.

So you see now, Most of the smart women end up with Big Time Losers, and why????There are too many such stories to fit into my blog, but all of them have the same underlying themes to them. Well the girls did move on with their lives eventually, some found true love, and some compromised on the losers, some got smarter and decided to dump all men and turn Lesbians (well not really!!! just kidding.), but ya some made up minds to steer clear of the disturbed sex, Sigh!!!!!
But one underlying factor was that they were all smart with the wrong men.

Why are Smart women mostly attracted to Losers, Beats me!!!!!!!

FLOWER POWER......It hurts.....

2008-02-28T10:15:00.003+04:00

Well I am sure most of us will agree that "vulnerability exists under the shadow of certain strengths." Here I speak for those millions and Millions of "Career oriented women who are all Hard core professionals in our field of work, maybe successful even, and some of them have surpassed men in their respective fields. But.....when it comes to personal relationships some of us can’t help feeling that we have failed badly, though there might be no fault of ours. Well, first of all these intelligent women have to fight a stigma against powerful women.....Men would praise you for being intelligent , beautiful , sharp, witty, funny etc..etc....they may even respect you for the same , but when it comes to being in a position of power, all the beauty and intelligence is forgotten and you are being examined as an intruder into the Male domain called POWER. And once you take the coveted position there is only mud slinging, bickering, false accusations to look forward to. So there goes your personal equation with male colleagues

Well, lemme get back to the main topic here...so I was saying, the power women has not only to fight the stigma of being what she is, she is also made to harbour guilt for being so strong .Well, if you are unmarried and powerful, then you will be pitied for not being able to find a guy who can match your power, your status. Most men who come with the Power Tag attached, would love to go in for a docile homely wife, and some that want intellectual stimulation at home, would look for an intelligent, articulate and smart woman, whom they can show off, but one who would at least try to act as a second fiddle to them infront of their colleagues and the miniscule few who can handle equally powerful women are so rare that it is unlikely you could sieve them out of such a population of ego maniacs. So the only option is a lesser powerful mortal, who can handle a more powerful wife. And such guys are fine with such women, if fact most of such women seek the lesser mortals to avoid ego clashes, but then you have relatives harping on the fact that he earns lesser than you or isn’t as smart, then starts the tiff about why the girl had to be so overtly ambitious and not concentrate on building Home and family before it was too late....blah...blah...blah..... So the vulnerability springs from the guilt factor that is forced upon the poor Lass.She suddenly is forced to wonder if she is the one ruining all her chances for a happy life and a wonderful relationship, though she may seem this tough nut at the work place .Also she feels she has failed her parents for not being able enough to get a groom worth her "salt".....so there goes another relationship spoiler......bugger!!!!!

And if the woman in topic is married then Heaven help her coz then the so called well wishers would surely pity her Husband even if he happens to be in a more powerful position and if he is not then you cannot escape the bickering. A lot has been said about Men who cant handle more successful spouses, so lemme not get into that, but then, I personally think that this phenomenon is slowly decanting as, more and more men are able to handle Flower Power…thankfully…..but then there are always those rotten eggs…u know…and another dampening effect

Thus the seed of guilt is sown into the mind of the unsuspecting dame for not bothering about"more important" aspects of a happy life. At this point she is so vulnerable she is most likely to get hitched to a spineless nincompoop who may be just strong enough to hold her up in this moment of vulnerability but cannot handle her social status........so there so goes again, another relationship blunder.......

Then comes sibling rivalry, esp. if it is a brother.....the male ego hurts there, he may be all proud of his sister and all dat, but if he is for some reason not as successful, then he would secretly harbour these hurtful feelings which might be another let down......
So all in all her self worth takes such a beating inspite of being so successful, that she starts blaming herself for all the sour relationships in her life.......
No one understands that a strong successful women sometimes, " is also just a girl standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her".........She can be vulnerable too, like china in your Hands........Well "Notting Hills" dont happen all the times, do they......
Whew! So much apologising for FLOWER POWER!!!

What is in it for me???

2008-02-26T14:37:00.001+04:00

Have you ever wondered how much importance a certain section people give to this line in their lives ...its as if this line decides the entire course of their lives....It is the
key factor for choosing friends(FRIENDS WITH BENIFITS), choosing Jobs, helping people...every single aspect of their lives governed by that teeny weeny little devil inside their heads asking" whats in it for me?"

Franky, the sorts make me snort in exhasperation.I recon it must be really tiring for people who always wonder about the "added benifits" before they even smile.I mean imagine debating with yourself about whether you should go ahead and shake your hand with the oblivious stranger you have just been introduced to when you have just a little over a split second to react before he might think you are rude. Well, am I kidding myself? The sorts dont even bother if they appear Rude to a stanger so long as he doesnt fit into the so called "Friends with Benifits" category.

The sorts might honestly think they are "Gods Gift to the dumbass world", but let me tell ya...even "friends with benifits can leave ya hi-nd-dry, when the the going gets tough. So watch out!!!!

Well, I dont deny the fact that all of us are looking to win some brownie points with important people around us, it is but natural.But that doesnt exactly mean that it should be the base of our friendship with them.

Mumbai is for "Mumbaikars"

2008-02-06T16:15:00.000+04:00

All this hoopla about Mumbai for Maharashrians is such a disheartening episode in the history of one of the largest melting pots of the world.
I am not making a political statement neither is it some kind of a regional point of view, but just an ordinary citizens' disgust about the whole razzmatazz.I have been living in Mumbai for 2 years now and have been really amazed with the metropolitan culture of the city. Have noticed the warm smiles and pride of being a mumbaikar irrespective of their region, religion or even nation. Have noticed people from all walks of life amalgamate beautifully in the melting pot of varied cultures. They love their Mumbai, and would be always prepared to defend it to the hilt if anyone even tries hurt their citys' sentiments.Mumbaikars are a clan of their own, they do not belong to any particular community or Nationality or Linguistic group. They speak a distinct language of their own, carry a distinct attitude and tolerance which is exclusive to them only. Just hint them on even considering a change of location and they'll cringe. They love being where they are and would definitely not swap cities with anyone for anything.For me Mumbai always stood for strength and Oneness of the people in times of crisis (not to forget the 7/11 and the July 22nd Train Blasts). The best thing about the place is that the citizens are always there for one-and other. I have noticed that this " Non-Maharashtra’s bashing" hasn’t gone down well with Mumbaikars(when I say Mumbaikars , I mean Maharashtrians too).I know of Maharashtrains who are so hospitable and so ever welcoming. There is this Maharashtrian Colleague in my office who is such a warm person and always goes out of his way to make me feel more comfortable in this big city. Because I am an outsider and new to the metropolis, I used to have certain reservations about the city, but he always was eager to help me out with any information I needed about different places in the city, so that I get more comfortable here and still keeps reassuring me that Mumbai is not such a bad place to live in after all. So when the so called "disgruntled local community" is not disgruntled at all about accepting people from other states, who is getting offended may, I ask? Well it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to deduce this as a political Gimmick, I still wonder if trying to disintegrate the strength of the MumbaiKars is going to help them in anyway.There are people who are still strong about their defence for the city inspite of being someone form the victimized community, but there are others also who are left disillusioned by the city of dreams and all that it has to offer.I feel if there is any sentiment that the so called disgruntled localite group should express on so many cultures prevailing in the metropolis, it should be that of pride and their chest should swell on being the original inhabitants of such a beautiful canvas of cultures, instead they have taken a stance of chasing away ironically those very people who Make Mumbai what it is today.But for this khichadi of Cultures, Mumbai would not have half the charm it holds today.Hope realization dawns on those that are ignorant and we the mumbaikars start co-existing once again, like one big happy family.

This too shall pass!!!!!!

TAARE ZAMEEN PAR

2008-01-03T09:09:00.000+04:00

Very rarely do I feel really touched by a Hindi Movie.Perhaps I am the biggest critic of the Hindi Movies, I love to hate them, criticize them , rip them apart and finally bury them.
The genre of so called comedies that are being churned out dime a dozen are just a rehash and concoction of an attempt to insult the intelligence of the "esteemed" audience.

Anyway, this is not what I am writing about.Au contraire, I am here to rave about a sensible Hindi Movie I have seen in recent times which gives me some hope that the Hindi Movie Industry is still capable of making sensible cinema.

Last week I saw this extremely sensitive movie called Taare Zameen Par.I havent seen such cinema in Hindi for a very long time.It stayed in my mind long after I left the Theatre, and I am still waiting to get over it.It sure is like an infatuation,(who says you cannot be infatuated by a movie or fall in love with a movie).

Most of my friends came out of the Theatre secretly identifying themselves with the protagonist, Ishan Awasthi, a dyslexic kid. I say secretly, because there still exists a stigma about being identified as abnormal.But how can it be abnormal when most of us confessed to have had learing disorders when were young.We were just normal creatures.The perfect ones( if any) were abnormal.

Most of us were weak in at least one particular subject when at school. Either we couldnt understand what was being taught or failed to see the logic in the subject.Be it English or Maths, we would commit the same mistake over and over, inspite of being corrected at least ten times before.Some kids luckily got over it and devised a new method or trick that would help them stop comitting the mistake but some of the not so lucky ones stuck with the flaws for long.

All of us will have these little skeletons coming out of our little kiddie closets, wherein there would be confessions about difficulty in reading, writing or grasping certain things, which we might have eventually gotten rid of.

What we dont realize we still look down upon or feel sorry about any kid that might have major learning disabilities, when we could have been that kid.We have been there and done that, so instead of looking down upon a dyslexic child , why not for a change instill in him the confidence to move on with the disorder.

These kids are only normal, hyperactive, their brains work very fast and they are intelligent. It is just that they find difficulty is recoganizing alphabets , hence cannot read well, as their memory is not very good.Morover, English is such an illogical language that even normal people cannot understand the logic behind the spellings, how does one expect Dyslexic kids to appriciate the meaningless spellings.

Getting back to the movie, it really is an eye opener to all those people who always heckled slow learners and parents who pressurised their childern or teachers who were rude.

These children can teach you a thing or two about Humanity.

CLOWN...Who me?

2007-11-29T12:59:00.001+04:00

Where is da humour......

It is sad that life has become so busy that we hardly find time for a little laugh during the day.... taking some time off just to kid around is considered a sheer waste of time nowadays.....

Gone are those days when we would spend sometime just to fool around , laugh at ourselves, share a few stale jokes and just act silly......

In todays format of living, if you just want to clown around for sometime to ease the stress...you are either stared at or heckled at .....

I used to be Pheobe of the group way back and people actually found me adorable.......

I think actual freedom is when you can act silly at times and still be adored....

Well so much for a lil bit of humour...

Colleagues and Friends!!!!

2007-11-29T12:50:00.000+04:00

I still remember the days when Dad used to invite his colleagues and bosses home for some drinks and dinner with family....and all that the men used to do is chill with the family and avoid talking about work......

Colleagues used to be not just colleagues but friends and further still confidants.....that didnt mean that they werent professional enough at work....

In todays date where we tend to take everyting a wee bit too seriously, it is really difficult to maintain a switch on-switch off equation with colleagues.....

You cannot enjoy a family get-together without talking about work.....we have become like parasites viewing every colleague as a host to feed upon....

we have lost the trust in colleagues.......offices have become zoos with animals feeding upon the other of their kinds......

Where has the Trust gone guys!!!!!!

What do I do?

2007-11-26T08:22:00.000+04:00

Am back from my self imposed exile.....

Have had oodles of demotivation come my way, my comments page is always empty.....been like dat since i started bloging on Blogger.....well, i have no idea how to increase the visibility of my blogs.....but if anyone wants to advise, you are welcome....

please....answers for this one at least.........

Hutch is now Vodafone

2007-10-05T12:49:00.000+04:00

I love the new Vodafone ad that has been splashed all over the city Hoardings.....It has these very beautifully shot young faces and little things they have to say.....one particular hoarding caught my attention, though there aint anythinthig spectacular about it, its simplicity puts you in a "feel good" state of mind.....it said " Revisit your college days, have cutting chai and meet old friends".....another one featuring a trendy teenager with a nose ring mentions" discover your city, visit the museums, and hit the new hangouts"......

Well, i simply loved the fact that these hoardings gave my some ideas on how to possibly spend some of those boring days when Gans wud be travelling to Europe..

Coming back to the ad.....it reminded me of the Hutch ad when it was first launched in bangalore.. ..it had these pictures of people who could be anyone...but the ad was really eye catching back then.....Vodafone took the same concept but added words to the mute ads.....

Somewhere down the line i think the choice of going into an advertisement in the line of the older brand showed that they did want to change the brand image in the minds of the customers, but wanted to maintain the Brand recall of Hutch....same goes with the television advertisement where they used the same dog but different kennels....and the "You and I" signature tune that they they retained but with a dash of jazz in it........

Basically, they want to scream that they are "THE NEW AND IMPROVED HUTCH"......and not very different from the older one.....

However, whether they would eventually break away from The Impressive Brand recall of the MIGHTY HUTCH or not.....one things for sure....they are basking in the glory of the amazing advertising creativity developed by HUTCH......

I-DENT-TITY CRISIS

2007-10-03T10:16:00.000+04:00

WANTING TO BE SOMEONE ELSE IS SUCH A WASTE OF THE PERSON YOU ARE !!!
- CURT COBAIN

Why are we constantly trying to be like someone else,look like someone else, act like someone else? Like the Bard himself proclaimed" All the worls a stage ane we are mere actors".....I think this is the case with many of us.......

Well, as for me, lemme be honest about it, I still remember of the days when I thought Vonn Trapp family and their kids were the coolest, loved their lives, wanted to live their lives, daydreamed that I was one of them....was searching for my MARIA, the Governess....Mid school led me to believe I was all of the charecters straight outta the pages of Enid Blytons mysteries and boarding school stories

Grew through my high school days thinking Madonna had the coolest attitude in the whole wide world and I wanted to dress like her, act like her, even think like her......say all those feminist statements she did....look down upon men....in short, she turned me into a typical bra burner types.....

Then down the line i got bored of her and started getting inspired by Lady Di, I cut my hair short like her, practised her smile in the mirror, believed I would do charity like her (ashamed to admit it, but i didnt do a thing on the charity front)........

Then there were those adolescent days with sudden bombardment on knowledge of the opposite sex and the days "BASIC INSTINCT" was the talk of the town, it was very cool to be a Bad Girl, so I started believing that getting an acquired attitude like Sharon Stones would really be fun. It would be hilarious to watch those poor lil boys fumble and go weak in their knees....Miserable bunch of girls we were...all we wanted to do is get a man to drool and then before he tries to get dirty, show him the cold shoulder.....it was fun to break their tender hearts....oh..men can be such fools....little did we realize that we were greater fools!!!!!

We were a trio, Rachana, Swechcha and myself....and it was the time when F.R.I.E.N.D.S started the sitcom trend in India.....we started believing that Rach was Monica, Swech was Racheal and I was the lovably silly Phoebe.....the more we believed we were like them, the more we acted like them........... and the more we acted like them the more we wanted to be like them.......so there goes, another bunch of wannabes.......

Then came Business School and with it a slight seriousness of choice of Role Model, most of the ambitious girls in the college were all floored by the sucessful career women, and as there was a famine of good looks and business accumen in the corporate world those days(or perhaps we werent very aware those days), we started adopting mannerisms of Hilary Clinton, or Sushma Swaraj.

Passing out of B-School and two jobs through it was Kiran Majumdar Shaw, never emulated her in the sense of dress or mannerisms coz i believed that I was better in those aspects, so it was more about wanting to achieve the goals like her, the reason for idealizing were purely Intangible this time....

Two years of marriage and a stuck up in a shitty job( will definately move on to a better one, i believe that) .......and my role model remains Kiran Majumdhar Shaw, still want to start my off something on my own, even if my skills may be confined to being a florist......but the reason has moved beyond frivoulous reasons like wanting to look like her.....the reason is skin deep now...

But I guess for most of us our earliest memory must be of trying to emulate our parents or at least one of them, and trust me, for most of us that wish lasts a lifetime...

Finally one last thought after all this.......WHO AM I?....Just want to say....

WILL THE REAL SLIM SHADY PLEASE STAND UP!!!!!

Interesting Quotes by BOB DYLAN, The God

2007-10-01T14:25:00.001+04:00

These are a few of my personal favourites I picked from various songs:

Take care of your memories.For you cannot relive them.
- BOB DYLAN

All I can do is be me, whoever that is.
Bob Dylan

All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie.
Bob Dylan

All this talk about equality. The only thing people really have in common is that they are all going to die.
Bob Dylan

He not busy being born is busy dying.
Bob Dylan

I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.
Bob Dylan

If I wasn't Bob Dylan, I'd probably think that Bob Dylan has a lot of answers myself.
Bob Dylan

Money doesn't talk, it swears.
Bob Dylan

No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky.
Bob Dylan

FOR BETTER OR WORSE.....TILL DEATH DO US APART

2007-10-01T10:34:00.000+04:00

This post is straight from my heart....call me silly, call me sweet, call me a Love Fool, call me a romantic....Coz I know I am all those things....and have no qualms or regrets whatsoever.....guess tis ones perception of ones life that matters....you can choose to believe your life is a mess, or a Fairy Tale....so here I am believing that I live in this world of Fairies and have found my prince charming.....here are a few lines from a beautiful song that sayz it all....

"Ho chaandni jab tak raat deta hai har koi saath
Tum magar andheron mein na chhodna mera haath

Jab koi baat bigad jaaye jab koi mushkil pad jaaye
Tum dena saath mera o humnawaaz

Na koi hai na koi tha zindage mein tumhaare siva
Tum dena saath mera o humnawaaz"

Well, thats whats companionship ....five years of courtship and two years of marriage to Gans has really taught me what it actually means........

Gans always treated me like a queen right from the start of our relationship, overtly fussing about me, getting me whatever i wanted, taking me places i wanted to go, crappy movies i wanted to see.....in short, he made a perfect BRAT out of a nice sweet little girl ....I started gettin used to the ATTENTION....

Before Gans happened to me I was a perfectly normal Child have very few or normal demands, and understood that i shouldnt expect too much attention if i dont deserve it....a typical middle class upbringing.......But then here came this TORNADO, who completly swept me off my feet and uprooted me from ground level and placed me in da clouds.....Life suddenly felt like a fairy tale ......i was too far away from the ground to even see it.......

Then came marriage to Gans and I waz still treated very much like the Queen of his heart, but then there ware slight variations from the kinda attention I got in college.....I waz still very much da spoilt BRAT he had made outta me and expected as much time and attention from him as I got in College.....after eight long hours of work, when the two of us would get back home, I would still expect him listen and talk endlessly, make funny faces and keep me entertained......Poor Gans would always ensure that he'd come up slowly from the behind and plant a kiss on my neck while I am cooking.....everyday....but that apparently wasnt enough, I wanted him to talk........

I started brooding about my kismat.....wondering why I wasnt as lucky as the other girls who might have married perfect men......i'd always think about how much I wasnt getting rather that how much he was giving me.......was hit with selective amnesia.....

Never thought of the times when he'd come tired and cook for the both of us becoz of my cramps, whenever I am low, he'd suddenly call me and tell me that he'll be at my office to pick me up for any movie I want to see, when he would carry me from the TV room to my bed when I fall asleep after a long hard day, how when a cricket match is on, and i would insist on watching some strange Hollywood flick, he would only check the scores and lemme watch my pic..... the way he just picked me up in his arms and swayed me to the the music when my favourite song (Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin) was on T.V.just after we had a bad fight........

It took a crisis situation to understand that nothing had changed........ I fell very ill due to some food poisoning, and was in a really bad shape.....I suddenly saw Gans doing everythin for me , saw tears in his eyes for me, he was there for me and wouldnt let go of me untill i was ok......

I guess, thats what love means......Love means sticking by you through Thick and Thin.....

tis nice to take a walk in the clouds sometimes, but yes at the same time tis more important keep the ground in your radar view at least........

ALONE....NOT LONELY!!!!!

2007-09-24T10:15:00.000+04:00

What is it about Indian Men and their fascination for that "LONELY WOMAN". I mean the moment these guys happen to see a lady sitting alone at a restaurant or going to the movies alone, they start building fantasies in that dirty head of theirs.Sometimes the desperation reaches such fever pitch that it is impossible to even wait by the road or walk alone without inviting unwanted stares.

Is'nt a girl allowed to have fun for at least one evening without being looked upon as a prey to those wild and hungry eyes.

Well, there are these times when i just want to hop by the nearest bazaar all alone to buy some girlie stuff , and probably eat at a fast food when i get hungry, but cannot do so without scanning the crowd around and how they might react to a girl sitting alone and eating her food.Dont know what these guys must've been thinking.In most probability their mind must go like this" Hey, poor girl, maybe she haz no one to give her company and needs a Man , maybe i can give her some comfort and......."

You are in greater trouble when you go out to the theatre alone, they somehow pity you.Why dont men understand that there are times when we girls would rather be alone than hang about like just another arm candy to our men.I agree hanging about your man can be real fun, especially when the other guys give you dat look of jealousy but then being on your own and doing your own thing gives you a different kinda kick altogether.Most men might percive this to be an attempt to show that we are available, but no, this is just a defiance to the societeal norms that a woman always needs a man around her to be safe, methinks, doing your own thing screams INDEPENDENCE.

A lonely woman just about brings in as much negetive attention as a "SINGLE WOMAN " would. I have experienced this personally.Before marriage, many stray encounters with guys through friends or friends friends would somehow lead to unwanted SMS after the brief meeting and these unwanted SMS(Short missile services) and other overtures would come to an end only after I may "accidently" mention in a conversation that I am commited.Now, after marriage, whenever I am introduced to someone at a meeting of getogether, the similar missiles of overtures are hurled at me untill I have to again"accidently" mention an anecdote which includes Ganesh and refer about him as "MY HUSBAND".Sometimes I wonder if I have to change my middle name to MARRIED....come to think of it, even mentioning you are married will not go down well with these sorts, one has to clearly mention"HAPPILY MARRIED".Why do they assume that if a girl is SINGLE, she almost always is AVAILABLE.Heaven help you if you are a divorcee, coz then they always assume you are an EASIER LAY.

Sometimes, I wonder if it is the fault of some of our Species who might somehow send out the wrong kinds of signals and allow some men to take advantage of their Status but after pondering over that I can only conclude that it is only Men to blame for their Perceptions, coz if a woman had to give wrong signals, she could do so even if she were married, so men have no right to generalize the entire fraternity of single women as "READY TO MINGLE".

I think Men have a long way before they evolve into finer HOMO SAPIANS, and understand that they should not make obscene overtures untill and unless they get the some kind of a signal.GROW UP MEN AND LEAVE US ALONE!!!!!!!!

COLLAGE

2007-09-20T11:53:00.000+04:00

There are always phases in your life....Each phase is characterised by certain PEOPLE, HOBBIES, INCIDENTS, MOVIES, TV SHOWS, FASHION and LIFESTYLE which somehow magically transports you back in time........well i have crafted a beautiful collage drawn up inside that little heart of mine and put all the the memories into the upteen phases I can think of....and its funny that one always remembers the sweetness of a phase, the hardships are almost always forgotten......ISNT IT A WONDER!!!!!!!!!

PHASE 1: SHOLAPUR (nursery)......Pink Frocks with frills.....two ponytails on the head that made me look like a bunny......a pesky younger sister who pinched me always.........very beautiful mom with silky hair cascading down her shoulders..........dads head looked like a basket full of very curly hair ...........beautiful mom beating me every time i try to bully that pesky lil sister of mine..........Mom stiching frock for my sis and me......attendents from dads office...........lots of rabbits at home and seem to be myteriously multiplying day after day........

PHASE 2:PUNE (LKG to 2nd std) ....small matchbox sized house...........waiting for dad to return from his frequent tours so that he could bring the new frocks frm every tour(Still remember the "BOMBAY KA FROCK" and "DELHI KA FROCK")...........vists to Patna and the smell of grand moms lipstikcs and make up............visits to my patenal grand mom at Coimbatore and the smell of sambhar and her gentle eyes......extremely gorgeous mom doing her B'Ed and going to college by LUNA.................reluctantly waiting for the school bus every Foggy morning, mom trying desperately to make us speak in english when we were only speaking Hindi...............in awe of those stylish and good looking paternal cousins who were just back from KABUL.............went to aurangabad with dad when he was out on business trip and drank loads of apple juice(GOLD COIN) and slept on the restaurant table(GOLD COIN made me high)..............DADs official driver RIAKER and Sepoy BHUJBAL..............Paternal cousin Lakshman buying my sis and me BON BONs every saturday............Mom taking us to Deccan Gymkhana once a month (MOM.....I still remember those yummy sandwiches you fed us at deccan gymkhana....LOL ).............Little flower Convent school and the GRAND PIANO in the hallway ...... pepsi colas outsite the school, The school fair and pope and mother Teresa's visit.............., a new Black and white TV,................. Doordarshan and Indira Gandhis assasination, .................Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor..........

PHASE 3: VISAKHAPATNAM(3rd std and 4th std).....very very spacious govt quarter and too much space,................. Kendriya Vidyalaya and mode of transport was cycle rickshaw, ..................Tata Rao, our rickshaw puller and Konda his wife a maid at our home, ..................The Charkravarties' sons Nirmal and Sukumal were our companions in the cycle rickshaw to school, Babloo and Bunny also companions in cycle rickshaw, ...................the district collectors son BUMPY who used to come home coz he had no friends to play with, .................very naughty sister always upto some michief of irritating FAT PEOPLE by calling them FAT on the face, ................GRIMMS FAIRY TALES, and moms puddings and jellys, ...............mom, her luna and the college she used to teach at AVN College,................Dads official car which was a big blue ambassodor and Anand Rao , his driver , ....................waiting for grandpas monthly visits to vizag...........chasing away "Rowdy Boys" from the guava trees in our compound and mom screming at them for breaking window panes while playing cricket,............ and ya our first colour TV,............... Buniyaad, Yeh jo hai zindagi, Nukkad and Vikram aur Betaal...dads greatest ceasure at the port of vizag which made big news then.....

PHASE 4: VISAKHAPATNAM (5th std and 6th std)....... MOM joining school and teaching higher classes,............... our favorite person NARAYAN who was like our second guardian, cooked for us , took us to "MUZIC" Classes and "SKATING" Classes and "SWIMMING " Classes, whom we loved irritating,.............. Lakshmi, our darling maid,................Kendriya Vidyalaya Waltair and lots of friends,.....naughty sister thinking and wanting to be the "naughtiest girl in the school" with a bunch of loud superbrat bunch of girls........................ Enid Blytons and Tintins, and sometimes Nancy Drews, ................dear friends Swechcha and Samatha,.............. enacting plays and getting dolls married,................. mom teaching us to make dolls, and embroidery,................Walt Disney, Broadway Musicals, War Movies.... family trips to Bhilai Steel Plant, Damanjodhi , Rajamundry, Kakinada etc....lots and lots of Rajiv Gandhi on TV .....................Mohd Rafi and Mukesh on the Tape recorder, .............................visits to grand parents at Hyderabad and wake up every morning to M.S.Subbalakshmis Suprabhatam....waiting for sundays to watch"ek do teen chaar", "Babuji ka baiscope", RAMAYAN, MAHABHARAT.....mom was away for 2 months in delhi for some cultual training and when she came back,.................... she fed us with all the indian history and culture knowledge, which i still cherish..............

PHASE 5: VISAKHAPATNAM(7th and 8th).......School annual day functions...."i hate boys" phase, coz suddenly i have discovered that they are dirty,............. wonder why only some girls are gifted with rotund shape on their chest while most of us are flat,.................... why have the same boys we grew up with suddenly started staring ,................ discovering fashion,........... dabble with moms make up kits,................. interested in clothes and left frocks far behind to make way for stylish jeans and mature looking Salwar kameez,................those "GITANJALI" dresses and "AASHAQUI" ribbons.............. crushes on Aamir Khan,............... Qayamat se Qayamat Tak,.............. Jo jeeta wohi sikandar,................. Dil hai ke maanth nahi, ................(Aamir...Aamir...Aamir...all the way)......4 new channels apart from DD......Star Plus and The Crystal Maze,..................... pesky neighbour boys who played tennis and broke our window panes,.................. a rich superbrat who wove many a stories about having a snow room in his house(well, met that superbrat years later only to find out he grew up to be a very sweet boy as i met him again at B-School)....................sista and me were staying at a friends when mom and dad were outta town and disliked the place coz the couple had an irritating college going boy who stared at us, so me and my sis poured GUM over his freshly prepared project report......Sachin Tendulkar has just been discovered......and looks like P.V.Narsimha Rao is the only non Gandhi Congress leader to hold the fort for so long........my darling grandpa passed away.......

TO BE CONTD.........

TO HOPE OR TO EXPECT?

2007-09-19T10:19:00.000+04:00

Sometimes i wonder, how simple would the world be if there were no expectations attached to people.......but is it really possible to live a life devoid of expectations.....

I know, what i am saying is nothing new, but i am sure most of you will agree....Expectations almost always puts you inside a pressure cooker situation, be it expectations from your kith and kinn or yourself (aint it funny that you always put the most pressure on the people you love the most.......wonder why???)

Take a marriage for example.....marriage is mostly about giving, i agree.....but you are also entitled to dreams of yours too.....I know people talk about unconditionality and "give without expecting in return"....but my take on the philosophy is that afterall we are humans and it is only human to expect....expectation only brings in the hope that you need to keep the relationship alive.....oh...i used the word HOPE( a new dimension here)....Well EXPECTATION brings the HOPE or HOPE brings in EXPECTATION....

Living without expectation kills you.......or should i be saying living without hope kills you...ok...i think the use of HOPE probably makes more sense......here is where i probably reel out my understanding of the difference between "EXPECTATION" and "HOPE" (and no, i am not just spurning out definitions from "THE OXFORD" or "CHAMBERS")........HOPE according to me is that tiny winy wish that is born out of some corner of the heart......and when the HOPE becomes more determined and certain then it is transfered from that little comfortable corner of the Heart to the BIG BAD ZONE called the HEAD, then HOPE becomes EXPECTATION.....Expectation is when you start believing that that little HOPE of yours is going to come true........ and when you start working towards it....

Is it such a bad thing to turn your HOPE into expectation.....not at all, what is bad is how you react to failure of your expectations........
thats what hurts you, i guess...well i am no one to talk about the sportsmanship spirit coz i am very bad at it myself, but ya,a stable reaction would help you to bounce back.....

Well, you cannot have much control over your expectations from others, but you definately have an upper hand when it comes to your expectation of yourself, so it is best to only HOPE when it comes to others and EXPECT when it comes to the self

i would always say HOPE, for there is no life without hope, EXPECT(from urself) , for there is nothing better than setting ur own standards.........and finally if the EXPECTED turns out to be THE UNEXPECTED, take things in your own stride........

MOSAIC OF MEMORIES!!!

2007-09-17T15:30:00.000+04:00

This is a Blog basically to salute certain things that will always be a part of me with lot of Childhood memories attached to them....and though they are mere non living objects ....just the thought of them can bring a smile on my face and a teardrop in my eye.......and a thankyou to the three most imp pple in my life whithout whom these memories mean nothing......THANK YOU MIMI, APPA and MEERA.....

The most memorable part of my childhood was that of Mom reading out pages from timeless Classics, novels, renting out few "all time classic movies", putting up some silly stage acts for parents and enacting the songs straight out of "THE SOUND OF MUSIC" , "MARY POPPINS"........Whew!!! those were the days....

I still remember those chilly nights when Meera, Mom and Myself used to curl up in a Blanket , Mom sitting between the two of us sipping her piping Hot coffe...and both of us struggling with our Hot Chocolates, all our eyes and ears on the book that Mom was reading.....That book has been and will always be the most important part of our Childhood memories....It was this GIANT BOOK OF CLASSICS, very pictorial, Hard bound Book of Classics (DAD had bought it during some official tour)...The pages so smooth and Glossy covered with the most beautiful paintings ever seen...and filled with 5 Classics in Original......Treasure Island, Robin Hood, Tom Sawyer, Heidi, Huckleberry Finn....taking us fro a journey through the adventures of Long John Silver through the Shearwood Forest and then to the banks of the MISSISIPPI and finally to the highlands of Swizerland...... Mom had virtually taken us to all these places and left us both starry eyed....

THE NEXT MEMORY FRESH IN MY MIND - The day the school vacations would start, Mom would neatly chalk out a timetable of activities for the day.She set out time for classic reading sessions, enid blython reading sessions, self reading sessions, music classes, skating classes, swimming sessions and finally the evening would be something to always look forward to, it was called"MOVIE TIME"....While the rest of our friends would be going to watch some telugu or Hindi movie in the nearby theatre....Meera and Myself would be only fed on Walt Disney Movies, Broadway Musicals and II nd world war movies.....some of the most memorable ones were, "MY FAIR LADY", "PIPPY LONG STOCKING", "CHITY CHITY BANG BANG", "DIRTY DOZEN" etc.....

Then came the times when we teamed up with our close friends and put up acts of playing Fairies and Witches in a self choreographed DANCE DRAMA, sang sweet SONG DANCE sequences like"SO LONG FAREWELL", "SUPACALIFRAGALISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS" to our parents just to entertain them......

The sweet memories of the MIDNIGHT SNACKING SESSIONS inspired by Malory Towers and St.Claires and the climbing trees and feigning as if we were child detectives in pages right out of "THE FAMOUS FIVE", or "THE SECRET SEVEN"....

GOSH!!!! Suddenly i realise, childhood for me meant a hotchpotch of all these things:

GIANT BOOK OF CLASSICS, "MY FAIR LADY", "PIPPY LONG STOCKING", "CHITY CHITY BANG BANG", "DIRTY DOZEN" "SO LONG FAREWELL", "SUPACALIFRAGALISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS" MIDNIGHT SNACKING SESSIONS

This wonderfull childhood wouldnt have been possible without MOM DAD and my little sister.......CHEERS TO THE GOOD OL'DAYS........

MUMBAI MAYHEM!

2007-09-17T15:29:00.000+04:00

What a city?
It really amazes me how people manage to remain in touch with their human side in this city of ruthlessness.before coming down to mumbai 8 months back, i was tucked away somewhere in the corner of the beautiful city of bangalore which was probably my very last chance to see traces of human behaviour and hear the words "Thank you" and " sorry".
I mean, its like these words dont even exist in the local lingo in mumbai.
People here are so self centered and travelling by local trains is a nightmare for any newcomer to the city, esp.during rush hours.You find people so absorbed in themselves, they stamp your foot (of course by mistake) in the train and dont even apologise, worse still, if you look at them and politely tell them that he or she has hurt you, they glare at you as if you were coming from some uncivilized jungle.Being polite brings stares from people looking at you as if you have run away from the zoo.
Yeah..............the one common excuse that mumbaikars give for such behaviour is, the traffic, rush, no time..............but they cant be excuses for behaving human with a fellow human being.

And you have some RJ in "Lage Raho"wishing Mumbai a Goooood Morning, and telling them to watch sunrise, hear the chirps of birds, spend some quite time alone............how can you expect these people to enjoy such refined luxuries in life when people here cant even hear themselves breathe.

Yes, I know this is a city of contradictions....you have the richest and the poorest co-existing and all that crap people say to just put Mumbai above any other city, but let me tell you, it is the people that maketh the place........if the people are intolerent, no matter how much the city prospers financially, it is still crap.........

I think I have just vented out the bottled up frustration built up in 8 months about the city and its people........I can only hope that some sense prevails in these people's heads in the future..after all, even I have come to this place to earn my livelihood and seek shelter........that is probably one thing that mumbai gives to everyone........"Asylum".......so mumbaikars, let us show some gratitude for all that we have got........smile, say sorry if you have hurt someone.....say thank you next time someone gives you a something....Please!!!!!!!!!!!

MY BEST PAL

2007-09-17T15:28:00.000+04:00

It was the first day at B-School(introductory session), Sixty of us(well a little more actually, counting a few parents), my mom and sister were there too, and i had already reprimanded them, asking them to sit in the other corner of the classroom. I was sitting in the first row, far left corner and the introduction started with me....went on to other mundane intros with a few boring pple trying to sound desperately funny and some inaudible bores.........just when I started zzzzzing away, heard a deep baritone voice, looked back and saw a hunk standing at the last seat at the far right(Intros over already????)He said"I would like to take the dias for the benifit of those sitting in the front".He narrated sme poem he had penned on Ajnabis or smething like dat.

his warm disarming smile melted me ...........when we broke for lunch, I found ma and sis going ga....ga...over the boy with the deep voice...i brushed them aside saying he was just a show off trying to attract sme attention..........asked them to look how the girls were swarming around him, he did it for dat..........I had no energy or inclination to be personally introduced to him then...........

Went to the girls hostel, I found girls going wild about his voice, smile, body, ass........and i was too arrogant to be bothered and comment, anyways, boys like that are only looking for a nice screw...........but couldnt supress pangs of jealousy when a girl would reel out an encounter with him.........
ok. what happened after that, lemme reel out in a nutshell,

1 week down - he introduced himself to me, but my arrogance told me not to respond, he only wants one thing

1 month down - he isnt that bad afterall, Hi-bye terms is ok

2 months down - some misunderstanding and "mooh pherna shuru"

4 months down - apologies, make up

5 months - do assignments together, study together etc,,,,,,,,

6 months- do lunch at the canteen and towards the end the shy guy (realized he was a shy guy afterall)manages to propose to me after a lot of pressure for classmates

We go out , do so many things together, walk by the sea, talk about living a life like this, like that, working like this, like that etc.....He was my best Pal

Today, when i see him when I wake up early in the morning, i see the same face that made my heart skip a beat five years ago.the difference, he was some guy then and now the same guy is my husband.

things have changed since then, we discuss different things now, our priorities have changed, we fight more.............sometimes we think why we got together at all, we are so different.......then we suddenly look at each other and just know why we are together............He still is my best Pal...
even today, one look at him can make my heart skip a beat..........oh!god let it be that way all through
Not everything changes with time does it

THANK GOD THERE IS BOREDOM

2007-09-14T13:02:00.000+04:00

notice how boredom sometime brings out the best in you.....

here i am reffering to some of da hidden talents we discover out of sheer boredom.....somethings that we might normally never do during the course of our busy schedule.......and are forced into them just because we have nothing else to do.....

ok...lemme decipher what i meant in my case....i had never in the world imagined that i would be writing things..coz right from school i have been allergic to exams...essays.. and anything to do with books and papers....now, that i have quite a lot of time at hand in my workplace(Hey, at least i am being honest)....i started to pen down stray thougths...feelings...and BUDOOM!!!!....blogging happened.....stumbled across the land of BLOGDOM (if i may call it that).......just then a realization sruck upon me....hey, i am not that bad at writing afterall.....i write pretty decent (heres' where you guys should start being polite and say i write well)......

Just the other day there waz this colleague of mine who suddenly cribbing one friday evening....she said weekends are so boring without any productive activity....then she suddenly looked at the small mishty doi earthern pots kept aside after the contents were scooped out by us......with a glint in her eye, she said, lemme try out pot painting this weekend......when she brought the painted pots with a dull gold coating and solid black design, we were spellbound.......the plain earthen pots were transformed into beauties in two days....I asked her" and this beauty came out of boredom"...a prompt nod waz her reply....

Of course, now she is hooked on to it and it is no longer, an activity out of boredom, but she takes time out to do it........

My point is we dont pay attention to little things in the busy humdrum called life....it take boredom to bring out the real talented us......WHAT A PITY!!!

oooh....that brotherly feeling.....

2007-09-14T13:00:00.000+04:00

Its all CRAP......well sorry for being so cynical....but my experience has brought me to the conclusion that calling some-one a brother or sister only gives them the lisence to flirt openly without being labelled.......

Well...... Frankly speaking...It only makes me barf when a guy sayz he haz "Brotherly Feelings" for me......whats that supposed to mean.....As far as I am concerned...there can be platonic and non platonic feelings towards the opposite sex.......but making a brother out of a platonic friend is making a mockery out of the relationship.......what are people trying to prove by giving any platonic relationship such a name ?

I think some of them are trying to scream out loud "Hey guys....I find the girl sexy and want to be able to flirt with her with no strings attached...wanna be able to touch her "here and there" without offending her or anyone else"......

Girls have a different philosophy altogether....they want to have a nice time and at the same time save their reputation.....notice, they will make a bhaiyya only out of a hot guy, to be able to hang on him for every pretext and still be concieved as pure, innocent and virginal....... so that they remain untouched good girls and can be married off to whosoever their parents wish.......

And then there are the relatively more civilized group who just wanna to say: Hey guys....I find the person interesting, but there is no possibility of falling for her coz i am not even remotely attracted to her....so let me clear my stance

I have seen couples who havent been able to carry on such a FARCE for long....During one rakshabandhan, they are tying Rakhi to their"mooh bola bhai" and applying tika on the forehead....the next Raksha bandhan, they are seen cootchi cooing and smooching passionately in da beach......

Come to think of it I dont blame them as much as I blame the society, by society I mean those "mean" people who love to make rules about etiquette and "propah behaviour".......They do not have the word "platonic" in their dictionaries.....they only think that one relationship exists between a boy and a girl..."SEXUAL"

I just want to say to all those over suspicious aunts and neighbours.." please give them a chance to proove that two people can be friends without wanting to sleep with each other".....

As for me if anyone comes up to me next time and says I am like his sister......i swear to God, I will break his face.......

OF BITCHING AND GOSSIPS......

2007-09-14T12:59:00.000+04:00

I really wonder how some people find it so easiy to be the typical "Miss Goody two shoes" without a single bad bone about anyone in them.....
I mean, there have been phases when I have tried to get into Miss Goody's two shoes.....the act lasts for a month or two, and then I am itching to be out of them and back to my wicked bitchy shoes...it iz much more fun that way......

Sometimes bitching (lets call it Bad mouthing as it sounds more euphemistic) takes you to such a level of euphoria and destresses you momentarily, i think it is the perfect substitute for Nicotine esp. for non-smokers....(imagine having the corridoor bitching sessions at the smoking zone during your smoking breaks sans the nicotine).......Bad mouthing, let me clarify, is different from back stabbing......You are not harming anyone by bad mouthing him......it iz done mostly with a close circle and in most probability would never be leaked out.... again it doesnt amount to defamation becoz you are not saying untrue things about anyone in a public forum......ya bad mouthing is mostly repetive and you tend to repeat the same thing you did about the person half a minute ago.....it is just a way to giving vent to your frustrations without causing real damage.....so why not go ahead and indulge your senses.....

Just yesterday I heard Ganesh speak to his boss over the phone about their Business trip to Singapore and he asked him if he had finished his packing yet.....Ganesh smiled and said almost done and not to worry...such a beautiful smile on hiz face, i felt he was so happy to acompany his boss...as soon as the phone clicked on the other end of the reciever Ganesh almost threw his phone and started uttering some of the choicesed cuss words and said the idiot has given me all the extra luggage and .....this took me by surprise and I admonished him for such a behaviour.... he said, "now there, I have vented my anger and frustration, i feel better now and this will help me to smile at him which i see him at the airport".........so there you go...i discovered an entire new dimension added to the list of advantages on bad mouthing.....it helps you to be decent to the victim and not create a scene... coz you have already shown you anger in his absence.......

But yes.....bitching also has downsides to it.....too much of indulging into this can make an addict out of you....and any kind of addiction is bad......once you are an addict it is very difficult to reform yourself (plus, they dont have institutions called "Bitching Anonymous" yet)....And yes it affects you health...mental and physical....just like bad vibes and bad aura does......It definitely gives you momentary pleasure, but might be fatal in the long run......

I still remember, when my grand father used to be angry with someone as his driver or painter or gardner, he would just say things like "PROCRASTINATION.....CONSTIPATION.......ADDULATION........." out loud...and when i asked him why was he spurning out his vocabulary, he smiled and said..."i dont want to have bad vibes by using bad words...so I used high sounding words which dont mean anything bad....so that the pple who dont understand english think i am scolding them....but I havent paased on any negetive Vibes"......

So as I said in my earlier Blog " Too much Sugar is bad......but too much Venom is just as bad, if not worse........U needint be Goody two shoes but dont spit out too much venom either........So bad mouthing is ok as long as it is done in limits and under the leash............OTHERWISE U R IN TROUBLE BAD BOY

THE JET-SET AGE Vs THE OLD WORLD CHARM

2007-09-14T12:56:00.000+04:00

have you noticed how most of us have stars in our eyes whenever we talk about "the good ol' days", talk about fewer amenities, lesser luxuries, less comforts, and much simpler lives.....and(most of all) much happier times.......

People with oh so perfect , la-di-dah lifestyle, are so clausterphobic in their well woven cocoonss that they long to break free......as for me, have you noticed that whenever you travel to the so called "modern" countries, the first five days are so amazing and a respite from the hustle bustle, dirt, chaos of India....but by the twilight of the fifth day, you are so bored with the perfection and comfort in our lives........It kills you (like sugar)...and you long for the heat and dust and actually start missing it........

Last month Ganesh visited Turkey and and he was still beaming after a 10 day long visit. Apparently, he was delighted by the refershing change after visiting the other developed nations of Europe.....what left him so happy was that the country side reminded him of India, with people pulling carts, crowded market places, the strong ethnicity of people in the way they dressed and what they ate, and the OLD WORLD CHARM added to the entire experience..........he was of the opinion that instead of taking a holiday to singapore, malaysia or any other country which boasts of its modernity and tourism attractions, it would be much more fun go to such countries where people retain ethnicity of culture and carry the OLD WORLD CHARM, I agreed with his opinion, that these places were much more romantic........

Wonder what is it that makes most of us loathe the comforts of the jet -set age which make our lives so much more easier.........There is always a wistfulness to experince something thats so raw, so unrefined , so not perfect, so ancient......

I guess it is just like the urge to connect with other humans in a much different level altogether........not through emails, blogs, mobile phones, but probably through personalized hand written letters, discussions, and calling on at friends' houses........

Okie...okie...I hear some people accuse me of being one of those few lucky ones to experience the "good life", so I can talk about longing for "the not so good life".....but let me tell you one thing.......I know that it is very difficult to live under poor conditions (though many people say that the conditions you live in doesnt matter, what matters is only how happy you are), I am not making a mockery of below poverty line........I am just saying that too much comfort just might kill you......SUGAR IS A SLOW POISON............

HAPPINESS QUOTIENT!!!!

2007-09-14T10:46:00.000+04:00

Isnt it a real pity that when people can choose to be either happy or sad in life they more often than not make the wrong choices in life.Well happiness lies in our own hands, no one can make it or break it for us.It is a state of mind whose reigns are in the hands of our mind itself.

Methinks, a human being is not happy being happy.To get that extra something, spice, zing..he wants to be unhappy.look at me, I feel so bored when the going is good and always complain that I am so bored with the "oh so perfect" , "la di dah" lifestyle we are leading.I want something to brood about, crib about ,blame someone to feel good.Lets face it , all of us have that little bit of persecution complex hidden somewhere inside of us.

Actually I think unhappiness acts as a "feel good" kind of a morphine to the darker side of the brain.I am no scientist or doc, but my native intelligence and instincts tell me that we do have shades of grey that somewhere somehow seek imperfection.

Yes, this means we unconciously bring in unhappiness to ourselves and then crib about it and derive some kind of sadistic pleasure from it.

Guess, our love for imperfection explains our love for the sexy rather than picture perfect.well, I dont know about others, but for me sexiness is not exactly a picture perfect beauty, but someone whose imperfection might have such charm that it could win you over.

I prefer Sush's imperfect and soometimes foot in the mouth sexiness to Ash's picture perfect and too politically correct beauty.

So probably all of us are seeking imperfection in life as because of our perception of what we deserve.

Next time you are unhappy, remember to enjoy it, coz you brought it on yourself

" Where there is a will......

2007-09-14T10:12:00.000+04:00

Well life has a funny way of teaching you a lesson and then rewarding you for the lesson you have learnt.

I have noticed one thing,whatever you try to do and however you do it , the result always depends on how passionatly you want it.

Be it getting into a university or a job or even looking for a life partner.I am not saying that your performance doesnt matter at all.Yes, it most certainly does, but if even an average effort is lapped up with total sincerely and passionate desire for the goal, life gives it to you.

I think life is a very fair lady.

I have noticed that whenever I have failed in anything, either I have lacked that burning desire to achieve my goal or I did not have enough confidence in myself, my performance being above average.

My Grand mother says"nothing is unattainable in this world, all you have to have is Burning Desire, Confidence in yourself and perhaps a very little bit of talent is enough and the unattainable is yours."

I tell all those people who have failed exams and lost their Life partners, "Just look inside of you, Pehaps, you failed becoz of your lack of hunger to pass or lack of desire for that special someone"

Yes, Life has taught me that where there is a will, there is a way.

ODE TO MARS

2007-09-13T11:35:00.001+04:00

While Men consider us women to be the most engmatic, puzzling and intriguing creatures in the planet, I think one underlying quality that binds men all across the world is their SIMPLICITY.Experiences with my Dad, husband and other umpteen male friends of mine inspired me to pen this ode to the amazing Species.There has been so much male bashing going around that I thought I should say something nice about them..........So here I am................Well, I think men are much simpler than the complex creatures that we are........According to me , they know exactly what they want out of life and work their way towards achieving it.The three basic needs are, Power, Money and Sex (not necessarily in the same order)Unlike women, whose needs and wants keep changing according to situations, men have just the three goals to focus on.We spend a lifetime of bickering, Jealously and Gossip, but men are superior to us in this aspect.Their thought process is very simple and no malice attached to it.I think a man is never so jealous of another man just becoz he looks better than him,.They have no time for these inferior emotions.Call me old fashioned, but I just love the way a man acts all chivalrous(Chivalry is not dead, at least not yet) when there is a lady around.The way the get so protective and Responsible.Women of the world, you may love to hate me for this writing this peice, but, I wanted to see if I could write something in praise of the Clan, and realized that it was too short coz there is only so much to it.Now, I know why there and many more articles on Male Bashing.Wait for my next on Male Bashing............................will definately be a longer peice..................I am sure...........Sorry...........all those Men out there!!!!!!!!!I still feel YOU are amazing.........Yessss..............I also admire how men resist shopping........our greatest weakness......