Road-ies

While going to office today, I was perplexed by the condition of the roads. It is a 25 minutes ride to my office, and thanks to the Corporation, it is really a challenge to be able to reach office safely. Of course, the daily to and fro trips are slowly taking its toll on my back (with all the jerks) but it is inevitable.

I truly believe if you have driven on Indian roads, you can drive anywhere in the world. It is not only the condition of roads that is to be blamed; actually everything works in perfect harmony.

• The road will be perpetually under construction
• If it has rained for sometime, driving can become adventure sports for you would not know which hole is how much deep and you would have enough exercise dodging the holes, garbage that has over flown on the roads and a lot of actual mud slinging.
• There will be vehicle coming from all sides. As my brother says, in India, when you are crossing road you should not only look in the direction of Traffic, look at the opposite side and the front too. You never know from which side a vehicle would be speeding to your side.
• There will be animals walking leisurely on the road like dogs, cats, cows, buffaloes, etc, etc.
• Right when you would find a vacant stretch of road and you would slightly increase your speed with confidence, from somewhere a kid will cross the road running, causing you a momentary heart-attack and unbalancing you for next couple of seconds.
• State Transport Corporation buses would move on the roads as if they own it, and incompliance to this unwritten diktat can cause anything between major discomforts to accidents.
• People behind you would keep honking horns at you, even if there would not be any space to move ahead.
• If you don’t let people behind you get ahead of you, you will be subjected to all kinds of verbal abuses.
• Most of the secluded, under-construction roads will not have street lights

By the way, our Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Kamal Nath says that next decade will be of Infrastructure. I am all for it!

My Cup of Tea

I am almost obsessed by Tea. When I was a kid, mum would try her best to dissuade me from getting on this habit but somehow it fascinated me even more (yes, people get fascinated by something like Tea also). Sometimes, I would not be satisfied by just one cup, I will go and make another cup all over again.

Thankfully, I never got the habit of Morning Tea. It is bad for health to drink tea in empty stomach, especially first thing in the morning. But yeah, I love having it when my hubby sometimes gets up very early and make his special Tea.

Sometimes I also have lemon Tea or black tea when I had had too much during the day. I plan to slowly move to Green Tea as well, but that can wait for sometime. It tastes so different that it does not feel like Tea at all!

I like Tea in big coffee mugs. I have different kind of coffee mugs - some gifted by me to my hubby, and some by him to me, and some freebies. A coffee mug is special to me too. It is like your identity. Your coffee / tea mug tells a lot about you.

People think I’m crazy. I even ‘cheers’ with my cup of Tea, when everyone else is downing wine, rum or some kind of alcohol. By the way, I really think all types of alcohol is highly over-rated. I cannot stand even the smell!

In my world, I am happy with my cup of Tea.

Image Courtesy: Shutterstock Images

Rain dance

Amidst the sound of hubby kicking the plastic football, keeping my fingers crossed on what he is going to break and the soundtrack of ‘Dhan Ta Nen’ from Kaminey, I’m back for just a quick post.

It looks as if rains are finally here. I am not too fond of rains because I just haaaatttttttteeee getting wet. I like drizzle, so you enjoy rain and not get wet! But since we will be practically handicapped without water, so I will do that much sacrifice for the sake of humankind ;-)

I got wet while going to office and again on my way back. Got wet again when I went to friend’s place close by, and yet again while coming back….Ugghh!

Well, but I do love getting cozy inside a blanket on a rainy day, sipping garama garam tea and reading a good book. It is the ultimate fascination of any book lover. I would also love a drive on a beautiful rainy day (not the heavy rains though).

Rains mean water, greenery, blankets, hot adrak-wali chai, pakode, lush-green fields, rain-coats, and so much more!And I do love looking at water pouring in from my balcony, but not a step outside.

Car-mic connections

Sometimes, unanticipated, little things bring smile on your face.....read this cheeky line at the back of a car (could not stop from smiling):

"Not so close dear, I hardly know you"

Random thoughts at Random

I used to be music freak, you know the usual, collating songs, listening to songs day in and day out, every waking hour tuned in to Radio. I have been a decent singer myself. My mum would diligently watch Indian Idols and Sa Re Ga Mas and keep wishing that I would also go for auditions! Without a Training? No chance, man.

But anyways, I love my piece…err..r..r peace of mind much more than crowding every moment of my waking hour with the ridiculous blabbering of some stupid RJ. While going to office (a good 25 minutes) or cooking, I like to think. And sometimes thoughts are funny, eccentric, ridiculous, emotional or just a wild one.

· I have evolved a lot in the august company of my husband. I have learnt to let go a lot of things. Sometimes it feels amusing how we keep on saying that we will always be same. Nobody can ever be same, that’s the thing about life! Every relationship is continuously evolving –whether with parents, with siblings, with friends and especially with your spouse / loved one. It would be boring to be same forever.

· I am planning to learn driving. Since I have never done it, I won’t admit but I am a little scared. You can manage a 2-wheeler if somebody suddenly takes a wrong turn, or somebody gets in your way or even when you get lost in some thoughts; but it scares me how would I handle a car in such situations! But then I look at people driving on the road – I feel, if this girl or that guy can drive then why can’t I! To come to think of it, kids below 18 also easily drive, and millions of people drive around the world. It can’t be that tough really!

· The season of birthdays and anniversaries have begun. On 3^rd July, we celebrated Birthday of one of our close friends, and we gave him a remote-controlled toy car. By the looks of him, he surely loved it. You cannot go wrong with guys on this one – 99% of the times they love remote-controlled cars, etc, or some Games or some gizmos.

Personally, I love giving gifts and I feel exhilarated when my thoughtful gifts are appreciated. It is a wonderful feeling.

Yesterday it was the same friend’s marriage anniversary and we gifted wine glasses. I think it was a smashing idea by one of our other friends. One of their wine glasses got bumped off recently. Can’t have given anything better than that. Mementos, Show-pieces are really wastage of money. In fact, I had also got a smart Baggit wallet from all of them. It was really thoughtful.

Right now I am planning to send a nice book to one of my friends for her birthday. I’m sure she would love it. It feels so nice to bring that smile on the person’s face whom you love.

· I’m planning for a long, long time now to make hard copies of selected pictures. Since the time Digital cameras have been introduced in the market, we have forgotten the importance of looking at albums on a cozy, rainy day. Soft copies can never match the joy of holding a picture in your hands. So, I will do it pretty soon. In fact, I’m planning to get a place done specially for albums and pictures.

· I have started planning what to gift for our second anniversary. Right now, I’m jus making notes. But one gift will definitely be personalized. Like in our first anniversary, I gifted him pictures of our time together. It is lovely to wake upto these pictures. Priceless! So, second one has to better that.

· Recently, I read a lovely poem. Can’t help putting it here (really want to know who has written such soulful words)

Koi tumse pooche, kaun hoon main,

Tum keh dena "koi khaas nahi".

Hawa ka ek suhana jhonkha hai,

Kabhi nazuk toh kabhi tufaano sa.

Sakal dekh kar jo nazrein jhuka le,

Kabhi apna toh kabhi begaano sa.

Zindgi ka ek aisa humsafar,

Jo samandar hai, par dil ko pyaas nahi.

Koi tumse pooche kaun hoon main,

Tum keh dena "koi khaas nahi".

Ek saathi jo ankahi kuch baatein keh jaata hai,

Yaadon me jiska ek dhundhla chehra reh jaata hai.

Yun toh uske na hone ka kuch gam nahin,

Par kabhi-kabhi aankho se ansu ban ke beh jaata hai.

Yuh rehta woh mere tassavur me hai,

Par in aankho ko uski talaash nahi.

Koi tumse pooche, kaun hoon main,

Tum keh dena koi khaas nahin....!!"

· I used to write poems when I was in school, simple ones, nothing great. I also wrote a little bit in college. But now, totally given up. I especially love, such simple hindi poetry. I had one complete diary of my poems Don’t have it any more. It was not worth saving. I have always written my own lines, whenever I have made personalized cards for my friends. I have none of those with me now, but at that point of time, it used to feel apt.

· It is drizzling outside, hubby is gone for pool or Table Tennis, and although I planned to read a book, but I’m sure once I get up from here, I would be cleaning, re-cleaning, organizing, re-organizing things. But today, I will definitely finish ‘Feast of Roses’. And again I’m dying to buy a few more books.

· By the way, I have completed 5 years of blogging. It is all here. Getting introduced to Blogging, running to computer lab and documenting my life, getting placed, life at my first job and first acquaintance with Mumbai, moving to Pune, getting married – everything is right here. Sometimes I read my old posts and re-live those moments. It feels good to be here. I will again quote one of favourite lines:

‘I tend to live in the Past (read Blog), for most of my life is there.’

Loving your Work

There are a couple of things which I have learnt from my husband and have come to truly appreciate it – being honest with work! For me, responsibility is a big thing. If I’m entrusted with something, I do take it very seriously. Same goes with him. Actually, he is still way ahead of me.

I find so many people cribbing about salaries, about how they are under-paid and so on and so forth. I never really get into all these. It is not that I don’t like bigger pay-checks; for me, it is about peace of mind. I don’t bargain that. When I joined my first job, I did not even paid attention to how much the company was going to pay. It was my dream company during my MBA. Period. I quit Advertising, which I was absolutely crazy about while in college, after 1.3 years. But then, I am content that I can say today – “been there, done that”.

There is no end to a home and a car, then a bigger home and a bigger car and so on. The contentment is inside us, what do we really want from life! 20 years down the line, will I be more satisfied by a mansion and a line up of swanky cars, or by the pride of being able to make a difference in whatever we did!

Hate is surely a strong word; let’s say, I don’t like people who are not sincere to their work. Fine, your work may not be your true calling; but you did take it up, so why not give it your 100%? Why do a half-hearted job? Someone has rightly said:

“Either you do what you love, or love what you do.” There is no other way to "LIVE" life, everything else is just a waste of precius time.

Statue-tory Warning

Recently I read a very funny piece of news - “Court has asked Mayawati government to explain the use of Public money for making statues”.

Some time or the other we have all got the trail mail in which you can see Mayawati’s status with a purse! All this is definitely hilarious but just think about it whenever you pay tax. It will no longer make you laugh. First of all, I have never understood the use of erecting a statue. Let’s say, we do go ahead for a select few, but who decides? It is because of this, every Tom, Dick and Harry is getting his statue done out of my money!

I also remember someone saying how all this is a racket. Here the minister clears money for statues and the order goes to some relative of the minister. So, any guesses who is pocketing the money?

Rakhi ka Swayamvar

Yes, I know I am accused of watching this programme in bits and pieces. I really did not know that it is supposed to be real Swayamvar and not just a programme. Guys have actually come to fight for Rakhi. Somewhere I also read that apparently Rakhi has lost weight for this programme. I really don’t know what’s cooking but I bet Rakhi is not going to marry any of these guys. There are struggling actors cum engineers, some stunt artistes, some interior designer-cum-actor, some police inspector and even a student. Why will Rakhi marry any of these?

OK, what I saw in this programe was guys were interrupting each other and taking Rakhi from one corner to another and asking her over and over again what she is looking in a life-partner. One guy had the nerve of bringing Bacardi for her. I’m sure no guy who intends to marry a girl, will do that in their first meeting. That explains what these guys are thinking really, beyond the façade of “marrying” Rakhi.

One guy from Lucknow says he has fallen in “love” with Rakhi since he saw Mohabbat hai Mirchi!!! Gimme a break.

Aishwarya and the 'Best Actress Award'

I read a hilarious piece of news recently, in fact, heard it first on TV – Ashutosh Gowariker could not understand why Priyanka Chopra walked away with Best Actress Award even though Aishwarya was nominated in the same category! I mean, isn’t the reason quite obvious?

Let us look at the kind of work Aishwarya has done, in Jodha Akbar, or otherwise. There is no denying the fact that she is extremely and exquisitely beautiful and that is the only reason she is the highest paid actor in India and has done some work in Hollywood. Otherwise, please somebody enlighten me with the name of one movie where she has truly acted and let the “Aishwarya” in her go!

Of whatever she has done, I think Raincoat is the only movie where she has been able to let her go to some extent. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam or Taal has been highly successful movies but you can easily notice her goofiness in a lot of scenes. Devdaas? Not really! Did you say, Guru? Please…even Vidya Balan shines through in her miniscule role. Good make-up will never replace good acting! C’mon, what else? Don’t even mention Sarkar Raj, she just catwalks in business suits.

I don’t know what is the problem with our heroines, they are never able to get over the fact that they need not look pretty in each and every frame. They need to breathe life into the character! Look at Tabu in Namesake and you would know. Why Namesake, she has been fabulous in Maqbool as well as Cheeni Kum. She is not very beautiful in conventional sort of way, but she is remarkable in all her roles. All actresses, even Madhuri Dixit, in a lot of movies, need to learn that from her.

Rani was good in Bunty aur Babli, but in all her Yash Raj Movies, she also loses focus on the main purpose of the movie – good acting!

Coming back to Aishwarya, even if she wins an Oscar one day, I will not accept that she is a good actress. She is just very, very beautiful. Even in Jodha-Akbar, I would remember her only for the way she looked. In fact, I don’t even think Hrithik acted so well in that movie. Hrithik also appears gauche in a lot of scenes. Good acting? Give me Irrfan Khan any day!

A saas supporting her bahu whole heartedly makes for a good story but it does not mean that we should give it to Aishwarya. Priyanka surely deserved it better. She has improved a lot and she is even looking like a million bucks. Ashutosh Gowariker will surely feel that his heroine has done a better job, because the movie is his baby, but what about his judgment of good acting!

Aishwarya can have all the orchids to her name, wax-statues and perfumes or whatever, but she must act well to deserve an award. Only a famous surname is not enough. I have nothing against her. I think she is extremely pretty. She has replaced Madhubala as the epitome of beauty. Look at any beauty parlor or Tailor shop at any nook or corner of India, you would find her pretty picture. It is a proof enough how people look at her as an embodiment of perfect beauty. But that’s it!

Movie Mania

I saw 2 movies back to back yesterday in a theatre, something which I have not done since college, that too when I had gone for the FTII Film Festival. We saw 'New York' first. Frankly, I was not too keen on this movie because I did not expect much out of (what I felt) 3 non-actors! But I kind of liked the movie. It was not very good, but it was OK.

Although the movie is promoted as John-Katrina starrer but actually it is Neil's movie throughout andhe definitely steals the show. Katrina is reasonably better than all of her movies till date. John somehow felt a little aloof. He was OK, but I don't know whether it was his screen timing or what, his role felt like a guest appearance role. Irfan as usual was very good.

The promos portray it as a college movie, but the real story starts after college. Well, I would not spoil the fun. Let's say it is surely worth a watch.

The seond movie was "X-men Wolverine". We watched its 11.15 show and it was really chilling inside the hall, which also gave me a sore throat. Add to that half the things flew over my head, since I have not seen any of the X-Men movies. So, it was OK. Although my husband and my friends liked it better than New York!

Since this question keeps coming back to me - courtesy yesterday's movies and today also I saw 2 on TV - why is it that heroines have to be pretty, poor little things and why they always have to be a school teacher (nursery grade) or a nurse or a Human Rights activist? By the Way, today I saw "The Longest Penalty Kick of the World" (something like that) a Spanish movie on World Movies and then Goal II on Star Movies. And owing to my sore throat, I have only rested today. So, a good laid back Sunday in all!

Of Writers and Writings

English is not my first language, but I have always been enamoured by the beauty of this language, sometimes it overawes me. Although my school was an English medium school, but most of the teachers were inclined towards talking and teaching in Hindi, and consequently all of us also conversed in Hindi. In retrospect, I think I have fared quite well in learning this language, slowly but steadily, over the years. Of course, there is a long way to go where I would like to see myself. If you genuinely love something, you will definitely find your way. Thankfully, I have always been inclined towards reading, and when you are trying to improve your language, you must read a lot. It slowly enriches your language and vocabulary. The beauty of any language is in the precision of expression.

I have always been quite a reader, as long as I can remember. As a kid I was completely devoted to all sorts of Comics, but I had not been initiated into reading English comics so much. I discovered Archies, Betty, Veronica and Jughead much later. I was more into Super Commando Dhruv (those days I used to dream that I will marry Dhruv when I grow up!), Chacha Choudhary, Pinky, Billoo, Nagraj, Raman, Champak, Nandan, Suman Saurabh and the likes. I used to have a huge collection of comics, and I would talk to absolutely anybody or go to any place, if there was an opportunity of getting new comics.

I started reading novels from Sixth Grade. My early companions were Famous Five, Secret Seven, St. Anne series, etc. I had read all the books on Famous Five available in my school library. It was exciting to read the adventures of school kids as young as us.

After reading all that was of Famous Five, I graduated to Agatha Christie. Somehow I never fancied reading Nancy Drew series or Hardy Boys series. I could never overcome the initial discomfort of starting a new series and trying to get a grip of new characters.


After a while even Agatha Christie became predictable. That was when I picked up Sidney Sheldon. Right from ‘The Windmills of the Gods’ to ‘The Rage of Angels’; I read everything I could lay my hands on. But somehow, it sounded too unreal and filmy. Meanwhile, I also read quite a lot of James Hadley Chase which was yet again from masala genre.

Soon I got completely bored of all these writers, that’s when I got acquainted with Erich Segal, who came across as a very sensitive writer – ‘Man, Woman and Child’ still continues to be my all-time favourite book. I also loved ‘Doctors’ from the same author, although ‘The Class’ was not as good.

Some people like Medical thrillers, some like Psychological; I am generally attracted towards “Legal” works like John Grisham’s. I love those court room dramas. I still remember I had read a book called ‘Indictment’ by someone called Barry Reed, and it was fabulous. I still read John Grisham once in a while, but as you grow up, your taste in books also evolve.

Somewhere in between, I think during my later years in school as well as in the early period of college, I was absolutely into Mills and Boon series. There was this ‘circulating’ library which used to give old Mills and Boon books for 5 bucks and used to take it back for 3 bucks, so it was awesome deal. I would use my savings in getting bag full of books from there. It does sound embarrassing right now, but I did read more than 100 books from M&B series. I read somewhere that M&B has several male authors who write under the guise of a female name, may be it connects with the majority of readers who are women. To come to think of it, I have never seen any guy reading M&B. I also borrowed a lot of Archies’ from that ‘circulating’ library. I still love Archies series a lot but it is always advisable to buy it second-hand.

During my Post Graduation, I was lucky to have a wonderful library in our college. I read some autobiographies like Lee Iacocca, some fiction like Arthur Hailey, some Indian Authors like Khushwant Singh, even Shobha De (horrible!), Anurag Mathur, and most importantly, I was introduced to Shashi Deshpande (sensitive). I also read Jhumpa Lahiri, Anita Nair and so many of them. From then I started appreciating Indian writers and started reading more of Indian English Literature.

When I moved to Mumbai, for my first job, it further broadened my exposure to English writers. I joined a library, which used to take some deposit and some nominal monthly charges like 200 bucks. One was allowed to read any number of books and exchange again for new ones. From here I started liking Non-Fiction also, and read a lot of autobiographies and other non-fiction works like ‘My Feudal Lord’, ‘Maximum City’, ‘May you be the mother of Hundred Sons’, ‘Holy Cow’, ; and hordes of Archies.

Surprisingly, I have never intentionally read any works of William Shakespeare, Somerset Maugham, D.H. Lawrence, Oscar Wilde, Chekhov, etc. That is where I move next. Hindi literature is also another world, which is yet to be explored. I have read a couple of books by Premchand while in school, but back then I did not truly appreciate it. ‘Nirmala’ was part of my course and I also read ‘Godaan’ but I was not able to empathise with the characters well at that time. Now I think I am ready to explore the works of Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Premchand, Mahasweta Devi, etc. I already know a couple of works which I can start with like Rashmirathi by Dinkar, Urvashi by Dinkar again and Chandrakanta. Mahasweta Devi was quite an activist and several of her works have been made into films like Hazaar Chaurasi ki Maa, Rudali etc. I also like Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s poetries a lot.

Sometimes I ‘m overwhelmed by the quantum of literary work available in this world. There is so much to read that even a lifetime is not enough.

A wonderful life is an Award, and I have many people to Thank..........

I thank God for……..

- Not listening to me everytime I prayed for something, and did only what was right for me. Had it been my way, I would have become a scientist-cum-air-hostess-cum-architect-cum-chartered accountant-cum-fashion designer-cum-journalist-cum-copy-writer.
- For saving me everytime I take risks while driving or short-cuts that I take
- For never letting me down, on absolutely everything



I thank my Parents for………..

- Bringing me up the way they did; which I never believed in but I’m thankful that they did.
- Always giving in to my whims and fancies during childhood (actually I’m quite embarrassed about it right now to have been such a cry-baby). But it is their magnanimity that they gave me everything that I asked for
- Making the right choices for me; and sometimes giving in to my choices
- Inculcating right values in me
- Always letting me do what I wanted to do
- Always being there for me
- Everything that I have today and for the person I have become



I thank my Brother for…….


- Being my big brother, my mentor, my guide, my idol, my friend
- Always standing by me, in all my decisions
- Believing in me more than even I ever believed in myself
- All the fun we had when we were kids, for all the stories he always has to tell
- The son he is to my parents
- Just being there always


I thank my husband for…………


- Always letting me be myself
- Treating me like an equal

- Makingme get over my prejudices
- Standing true to his words, when he promised he would take care of me.... always
- Taking me by surprise everytime – whether it is cooking a complete dinner, or just a morning tea, whether it is a trip on our anniversary or several small small gifts which mean he cares
- Understanding me more than I do myself
- Always keeping his cool when I lose mine
- The way he makes my life complete



I thank all my friends for

- So many moments of happiness and little joys which I have shared with them
- How they make everything sound so simple and uncomplicated
- Just being there, no matter whether we talk that often or not; for when I need to talk, I know which number to dial
- Giving window-shopping a whole new meaning
- Really caring
- Sharing my joys and sorrows
- Being able to discuss absolutely everything with such ease

- For always being there to support my choices


In life, there are really so many people to thank for all they do and what they mean to you.

Express Yourself!

I love reading (my huge collection of books is a proof of that); I love writing, blogging, watching movies, watching FRIENDS, skimming magazines and just taking in the beauty of tall mountains in some picturesque locale. But I realized, only a couple of days ago, that there is something which I love even more than everything else, something which can make me stay awake for nights, which can make me forget hunger and which can completely engage me for hours and hours. It is making collages.

I remember, when I was a kid, I would diligently cut the glossy newspapers and magazines for the pictures of my heart-throbs or things which motivate me or excite me. The wall in front of my study table would always be colorful with beautiful collages, which I would keep modifying from time to time.

I had made a pen stand with collages. I used to love print ads of these pens called Rotomac Fighter with a byline that said ‘kyunki fighter hamesha jeetata hai’, which used to feature Javed Akhtar. It was actually a series of ads. I found these lines on some website, from one of those ads:

Zidagi Hai To Khwab Hain,
Khwab Hai To Manzilain Hain,
Manzilain Hai To Faasle Hain,
Faasle Hai To Raaste Hain,
Raaste Hai To Mushkilain Hain,
Mushkilain Hain To Hausla Hain,
Hausla Hai To Vishwas Hai,

Kyonki Fighter Hamesha Jeet-ta Hai.


Those days, I had a major crush on Himanshu Malik of Afreen Afreen and Khwahish fame. Those days he used to appear in 'Only Vimal' ads with Milind Soman and no matter where I would be, I would run around the house to catch a glimpse of him. (Of course, I lost all interest in him after watching his pathetic acting in Khwahish and Tum Bin).

My dad had got me an earthen piggy-bank; I had even converted into a colorful collage of pictures. The inside wall of my cupboard, used to be always covered with colorful pictures right from Aishwarya Rai’s Lakme pics to Aamir Khan’s boyish charm, there were Wills ads, there were poetries and ads.

While in college, I converted collage into a form of expressing myself and give a personal touch to convey my feelings for my close ones. I would combine poetry with relevant pictures to create personalised cards for my best friends. They still remember that very fondly.

Quite recently, I gifted a huge collage of our pictures over the years, to my husband on our first marriage anniversary; and he absolutely loved it. It now takes the space just in front of our bed to give a glimpse of happy memories. Both of us (together as well as separately) just love looking at it.

Just 2 days back I made another collage of book cover cut-outs (from different magazines) to put up in our guest bedroom. I have framed it in bright yellow color, to bring color to the room, while the book-covers will add to the already over 100 books in my cupboard. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed on how it would have turned out. I am going to pick it up today.

Collage making needs planning because you don’t just start sticking pictures, you need to have a vision of what you are making. Once you are clear then you start collating relevant pictures, and after that you organise all the pictures, so that you know how it will look like. Click a picture of that or make markings for reference. That’s it, take out the glue and let your creativity flow. It is not that difficult.

One day @ Deccan Gymkhana

I had a lovely day yesterday. I had taken off from office due to some bank-related work (courtesy financial year end) and some work at home. Started off the day pretty much the same time, as on any weekday; except that I did not have to get ready for the office. Till 10 am, did some usual stuff at home, breakfast, etc; then went off to the bank. When I stepped into bank, it dawned on me that I’m not the only one who does everything at the last minute. I was welcomed by a huge crowd on every counter of the bank. I had even forgotten where to get the form for cash deposits (the last time I came to the bank, to deposit money in PPF was last February….again at the last minuteJ). Somehow I got hold of the form, filled it and joined the queue.

 

 

While standing in the queue, I had an interesting observation. SBI has written “Cash receipts” at the counter where we need to ‘deposit’ cash; and “Cash payments” where we need to ‘withdraw’ cash from. That shows how ‘Customer-oriented’ they are! Everything is written from their perspective. Anyways, I waited and waited, shifting from one foot to another and fiddling with my form, cash and purse…..suddenly when 3 people were in front of me in the queue, I realized, the form which I used last year for depositing cash, looked a little different. I checked with the guy behind me….2 guys left in front of me……he said there is a different form for PPF deposits. Great! I ran to the specified counter. Checked with people standing there, they pointed towards a form…just when I snatched it, an aunty was about to lay her hands on that last form kept there. I said a sheepish “Sorry”; and rushed back to the queue. The guy in front of me moved towards the counter, I told myself, stay calm and fill it carefully; so bang on time I completed my form and finally deposited cash.

 

Everything done, I came out of the bank and wondered what to do next! Although I had to get back home for some repair works, but I can’t do that, can I? Coming 11-12 kms and not checking out any bookshop!

 

Well, they have closed down Crossword at J.M. Road, otherwise hands down, I would have gone there. But anyways, I had a nariyal-pani and thought, if I’m here, why don’t I cross the street and go to F.C. Road (dear old Fergusson College Road in Pune). There’s a huge stall of magazines near Sagar Arcade circle. So I walked upto there, and saw every possible magazine staring at me. Somehow I limited myself to 2 magazines – ‘PEOPLE’ and ‘Society Interiors’; since I already get FEMINA and BBC Good Homes at home.

 

Then I thought if I’m already here, why don’t I walk across to the Hong-Kong Lane. I have not been there since ages. There’s a small Second-hand bookshop hidden inside Hong-Kong lane. I wanted to buy so many things in HK Lane but stopped myself. At the book-shop, checked with the guy if he had any book on ‘Mahabharata’, but he had only YUGANTAR, that too in Marathi. He had usual Mills and Boons, Sidney Sheldons and the likes. I took his card and checked if he would take second-hand books. He answered in affirmative and said he needs to check the books first. He said, you seem to be a serious reader (ahem..ahem..), why don’t you go to POPULAR Bookshop, just across the road. Hmmm, well, I thought if I’m already here, why don’t I check it out. So there I went inside POPULAR, and checked if they had any book on Mahabharata. Guess what? I got Kamala Subramaniam’s Mahabharata for 500 bucks. It was completely unplanned, and it just happened. I really liked that bookshop. It was so refreshingly different from Crossword, who are so in-your-face with their marketing. Crossword always has a predictable stock of books; but POPULAR, although not very big, has variety.

 

I came out of POPULAR with a sense of accomplishment, then I thought may be I should go to Venus Traders and get myself a sheet of hand-made paper as well for the collage I’m planning. So, I went carrying my huge purse (actually it is too big to be a purse), 2 magazines, a huge novel and my helmet. It was so hot but I was feeling extremely elated. I have not shopped like this since such a long time. Just walking into any shop without any planning and thought, and buying stuff!

 

 

When I came out of VENUS, I was totally dehydrated. Quickly, I had another nariyal-paani and a glass of orange juice; and came back home.

 

It was an amazing day. I did not mind the heat, not even the heavy stuff I was carrying around. Sometimes I think such moments are really more enjoyable when you do not plan things out but they happen in the most wonderful way because actually, how many times do we really live in the moment -- either we spend time regretting or reminiscing past or planning future! 

A Big Brother and some Childhood memories

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It is wonderful growing up with a big brother; you always have somebody to look up to. I have millions of fun memories of childhood and growing up years with my brother, who is 4.5 years elder to me.

 

I have spent 18 years of my life in a small township in the interiors of Jharkhand. It really is not that primitive, how it is sounding. It had a wonderful mix of people from all communities, coming together to celebrate festivals together. It was a peaceful hamlet – school at a walking distance (to think of it, everything was at a walking distance), those were times when we actually used to play outside (unlike the simulator games on playstation and computers now), only Doordarshan to watch (other channels like Zee, Sony, came much later) and all in all, a happy life.

 

I had wide-eyed ideas about big cities. I was overawed by the life in a metro. Infact, I would even admit that I used to feel inferior to my metro-contemporaries for whatever reasons. But now after having stayed in Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai and having seen Delhi, Kolkata and so many of other cities, I think we are more or less same, with similar expectations, hopes, dreams and worries.

 

Childhood is a time of innocence and freedom from all worries. But of course, you don’t realise it then, when home works are like monsters and exams, your nemesis. Still, whenever I and my brother get together, we would recollect our childhood – his bullying me, my getting fooled, cooking many a disasters together, and my brothers’ cooking of several unbelievable stories! Her are some stories of my childhood….the memories of which still linger on….

> My brother was the mischievous one, I was prim and propah! We used to come back from school, mostly together. We had to cross a play-ground to reach home. As soon as he would reach play-ground, he would conveniently hand over his school bag to carry back home. Of course, carrying 2 bags home wasn’t really my idea of fun, but what can you say to a big brother when you are that young. So I would be fuming all along the way, and make very ‘bechari’ face to my mum, so that my brother gets full thrashing.

> There was a sports club at our township, where all the ladies would go and play some indoor games like cards, Chinese checkers, etc. We were some of those privileged kids, whose mum was also a member there. So we would wait for our mum to go, showing that we are totally engrossed in studies; but once she was gone, it was party time. We would fry loads of home-made potato chips and place ourselves royally in front of the TV.  

> I remember, mum would make nice namkeens and other delicacies, and store it in the unlikeliest of places, to evade attack from us. Now, I know why mum used to do that. It is such hard work to make them and when they finish off within few hours, you feel so bad….I can’t tell you! But anyways, I would be in charge of guarding the door, and my brother would hunt down wherever it was kept hidden. Even after that my brother would gorge on it; I would just look on or take just a little bit because I used to be really scared.

>I am sure, many would have done this. I and my brother used to read comics inside our course books. I have even read novels, like that. My brother has also tried putting me into trouble, by shouting that I was sleeping, when I was not.

> Our parents nurtured this dream to see both of us wake up early in the morning and study! Well, they tried this lot many times. We would wake up, and sit for studying; all cosy and comfortable inside razaai. My smart brother would slip slowly deep inside, with just his book propped up prominently on his knees. He would caution me to keep a watch and wake him up if dad or mum comes over to check. So poor I, would try to keep myself awake to keep a vigil!

 

We have thrown slippers at each other (yeah, at my elder brother! But don’t judge me, children are absolved of such misbehaviors), we have got each other in trouble, we have called each other names; but then along the way, we grew very close, and he became a friend, a mentor and a role model for me!

 

Wherever he goes, my brother owns the room. He has that charisma to attract everyone to himself. I would be waiting for his trips, when he was doing his Engineering from Sindri and then worked in different places. He always seem to have so many stories to tell, and all three of us– mum, dad, and I would be all ears! We still are!

P.S. Yes, that's us in the picture

What have I been up to....daily ramblings

I have been out of action for sometime now, but I visit my blog almost everyday. In the last few weeks, I had an interesting time. I acquainted new neighbours and now they are good friends. In matter of 2-3 weeks, we hung out together, watched a movie, dined at each others' places, played games together and just had a good time. 

 

Sometimes we are so consumed by our daily routines that we tend to stop ourselves from treading out of our cocoons. Good that my hubby loves making new friends, and because of him I get to know new people; otherwise I really don't have any friend around, who is just mine! Of course, apart from him :-)

 

Well, anyways, at this moment, when I'm thinking about what all things I did in last few weeks, my hubby is watching Roadies or Splitsville (one of those)! I know because of the beeps......for all the expletives the channel "censors"! My personal opinion is both the programmes are sickening! I really don't know what all this fuss is about!

 

Hmmm...so here's what I have been doing all this while:

 

1. As expected, I bought 3 more books:                               

 

                - After Kurukshetra

                - And now let me sleep

                - Mrityunjaya

All the above are again books on Mahabharata. The first two are translations in English and the third one is a translation in Hindi.  I was really ashamed of myself for thinking so much before buying ‘Mrityunjaya’ because it was in Hindi! Can you believe this? But now that I have bought it, it has opened doors to Hindi literature as well, and I’m definitely ready for more. I have already got a list of books in Hindi on Mahabharata:

 

Duryodhan by Kaka Vidhate (still searching for this. It is in Marathi)

Yugandhar by Shivaji Sawant

Mahabharat ki ek saanjh

Radhey Karna Ki Atmakatha

Rashmirathi By Ramdhari Singh Dinkar

Bhatko Mat Dhananjay

Main Bheeshm Bol Raha Hoon

Yah Mera Antim Yuddh Nahi

Yugnayika

 

And few more in English:

 

Ramesh Menon's Mahabharata (2 Volumes)

Kamala Subramaniam’s Mahabharata

 

 

2. When I’m on the subject, I am reading my fourth book on Mahabharata – Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. It pales in comparison with Pratibha Ray’s Yajnaseni. The latter had a classic touch to it; it had the aura anticipated from the story of kings and queens. ‘Palace of Illusions’ is very naïve; Draupadi’s infatuation with Karna is almost out of Mills and Boon. I’m reading it, just to finish it but it does nothing to my research on Mahabharata. It treads on a tricky terrain of Draupadi and Karna’s relationship but handles it very amateurishly.

 

3. I updated my Shelf on Shelfari; and created my Wish List. And I’m still adding several on daily basis.

 

4. A glimpse of a huge book shelf on some site has encouraged me to build a library of my own. In any case, I cannot stop myself from buying books. I already have more than hundred. Of course, now I will be more careful while buying books. I will invest on books which are worth reading again and again. One thing is for sure, I’m definitely going to buy, every book I know of on Mahabharata. May be someday I would write something on this complex epic of relationships, ethics and dharma! It would be interesting.

 

5. I have discovered that I absolutely love making collages; and I have been doing it since school. My walls used to be collage, my penstand, my piggy-bank, posters I made, cards I designed, just about everything. I just gifted a huge collage of our pictures, to my husband on our anniversary. So here I have got another idea for another collage. I’m going to make a collage of book covers for my guest room; and get it framed. It will give the room an aura of reading and books! I’m thrilled just by the thought of it!

 

6. I saw 13B, and loved it. It was nothing like your regular horror movies; it was entertaining, even funny in bits and pieces.  I read somewhere that some Hollywood production house has bought the story. India shining, really!

 

7. How can I not write about the euphoria about ‘Slumdog Millionaire’? Frankly, the movie was average, acting of all the lead actors, none which was Frieda Pinto, was below average.  I’m just not able to understand how Frieda Pinto is getting all the attention? She hardly had any role in the movie. Besides, she did not really do anything much in whatever paltry screen time she had. She was ordinary. It just reminds me of beauty pageants in 1990s, when suddenly the world woke up to India and when Priyanka Chopra still won the crown despite naming Mother Teresa posthumously, when she was asked to name a role model from amongst people who were alive!

 

 

8. I love music but surprisingly I never listen to music, not even when I’m driving. I feel driving or traveling is a time when all of us should just think, think about things in life, what we are doing, where we are going, whether this is what we wanted, or may be think about spirituality or god or anything. It is such a nice time to introspect. Most of the time otherwise, we are completely preoccupied with the humdrum of routine activities at work as well as at home; we never take time out for thinking. This is the time to do that. Atleast, I do that!

 

9. I have planned so many things for my home and just taking things slowly. This is really not the time to splurge!

 

10. I’m trying very hard to get up early, atleast by 6 am, but not able to go beyond 7 am as yet. Every night I sleep thinking that I would rise real early, but mornings are different stories altogether.  I really miss looking at sunrise. It is a lovely experience.

 

11. I’m writing my review of C. Rajagopalachari’s Mahabharata. It is difficult to remember points after you have read the book, so keep pen and paper handy while reading, to make points for reference.

 

Well, that’s about it!

Book shopping

I bought three books recently on an unscheduled, spur of the moment, splurging at Crossword in Mumbai. I have never felt as much content as I felt yesterday. The feeling is indescribable. Whenever I skim through books in a bookshop or online, there is always a queasy feeling inside – which is actually the knowledge that I have about 100 books that I have not read so far. But yesterday, I let it go and bought three wonderful books:

 

• The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
• Red Sun: Travels In Naxalite Country. by Sudeep Chakravarti
• Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup

 

I feel blissful!

Slumdog Millionaire

I just finished watching ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, and the one question it has left me with is how and why it made it to the Oscars?

 

I have read Vikas Swarup’s Q&A. I found it interesting and quite easy to read. When I came to know about this movie, I was pleasantly surprised because this book is a movie material. I also read wonderful reviews and several behind-the-scenes articles on casting, on how some of the kids were real slum-dwellers, and so on. I was suitably impressed with the movie even before I had seen it. It is definitely what everyone is talking about, a very commendable job done by their Marketing and PR.

 

I don’t know what did it – over-expectations or prior knowledge of the story – but it did not live up to my expectations. When I had seen ‘Namesake’, I was bowled over by Tabu and Irfan Khan. I believe, that was the movie which deserved an Oscar. But in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, I do not find any high points. It does not inspire thoughts, for people abroad; it might, but not here. We have seen it several times in reality as well as in movies.      

 

Direction was pretty decent; but acting and music were quite ordinary. Dev Patel is impressive, but Frieda Pinto did not have to do much. I felt the little Latika and the teenage Latika were quite amazing. I also liked the kid Jamal. Irfan Khan was his usual good self and Anil Kapoor also did justice to his role. The teenage Salim was particularly good. But that’s about it.

 

When, particularly, A.R.Rahman wins an Oscar for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, I would certainly rejoice; not because he has done a good job (he has created zillion times better music for hindi movies) but because he is an Indian who has done us proud.

 

I wonder if I should cheer for the movie, because

(a) It is not a masterpiece in cinema

(b) It is not an Indian film – yes, an Indian story with Indian actors but not made by an Indian

(c) I did not like it that much

I read somewhere that two young kids, who played youngest Latika and youngest Salim, are real-life slum-residents. They have been given flats and have also got admissions in English medium schools. I would certainly like to cheer for them. In that way, the movie did make a difference. Well, the underdog did win at the end! So cheers to that.