Voices From Within..

Day-dream

2012-02-09T20:10:00.000-08:00

I have been day dreaming. Again.

Making sand castles, collecting shells, getting just my feet wet in the salty water. Running behind the wave when it is retreating and screaming and running back towards the shore when a big wave chases me. And then, sitting quietly on the sand and watching the waves crash the shore as the sun says goodbye for the day, promising to come back the next day.

Sitting and watching as the moon comes up. Shining its light on the thousands of stars that twinkling their eyes at you. As if saying, "I know what mischief you are upto, you brat", as you grin back wickedly at them.

Just sitting for sometime without any deadlines, without any fear of tomorrow, without any weight on the shoulder. I so badly want that connect with mother nature, letting her wash gently over me and heal me. Enveloping me in an invisible hug. Because, I so badly want one right now.

Suddenly snapped into reality, as my tummy growls for some yummy right now. I will go and continue my day-dream when my oats is bulbing on the stove. Bye for now.

Its Complicatedly Simple

2012-02-07T22:16:00.000-08:00

Eh? What? Complicatedly Simple? Is that even a thing?

Yes. It is. Our relationships are complicated and our relationships are simple.

My mother yells at me for something. Its complicated. I soothe her and give her an explanation. Its simple.

I am angry with my husband. He is angry with me. Its complicated. After 5 minutes of fuming, we reach out to each other. Cry if needed. Talk. Vent it out and get done with it. Its simple.

It works the same way with our in-laws.

We all need reassurances. To love, to be loved in return.
To feel secure and to be made to feel secure.

What does it make us? Does it makes us simply complicated?

No. I think, it makes us Human.

Awesomeness!

2012-02-01T02:35:00.000-08:00

January 2012 has been such an awesome month. A first of many sorts.

Mangalore half-marathon. Many new dishes cooked @ home. Pani puri, paal payasam, vaazhathandu pacchadi, learnt a new recipe for soup. Need to make it this week and see how it turns out. Hardly ate out. Crossed off important items on the to-do list. Decluttered.

Generally satisfied with myself and the way life is treating us right now.

Hope for a great year ahead and many achievements ahead.

Whattay Month and Whattay Life! 'M Lovin It !

Huge Mess

2012-01-17T00:47:00.000-08:00

I dont know whats this shady feeling I have.

Just feel like I am floating on water.

No idea of where, which direction, what I will hit on the way. Nothing.

Not happy. Not sad. Just numb, perhaps.

I dont know if I want to to be here or I want it to go away and leave me in peace.

Life goes on as usual. With no change. With all my loved ones safe and healthy.

What is it then? I find myself wondering.

Is it the random bits of music that plays on my mind.

Or is it random voices, snippets of forgotten conversation that are cropping up.

Or are the forgotten faces (or the ones that I have been trying to forget) being unearthed.

What is stranger is that, I dont even know if I like it or not.

All in this mess between two pretty ears of mine. So much mess. So much.

2012 : Week 1

2012-01-08T10:18:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

I had a fabulous start to the year.
-Spent a quiet day @ home on 1st.
-Made pani puri @ home for niece and nephew and we had a riot family time!Btw, Every week, I plan to cook something new (with minimal damage to the kitchen and self ofcourse!) . Plan for Week 2 is Minestrone soup. Watch this space for exciting updates ;-)

- Learnt a new Annamacharya Krithi :-)
- Read 2 books back to back and enjoyed them both.
- Met my best friend and family during the first weekend of the year. Woot.
- Work has been pretty quiet with most of my developers being on leave :=)
- Celebrated ARR's birthday in the best possible way. By listening to his awesome music and raving about it on chat with my friend and cousin. Yay! Fun times!
-Did not eat out even once during this whole week. I am now officially proud of myself and my cooking abilities.
-Did not go shopping or even think about it. (well, okay thought about it 4 times, but did not go shopping. Really.)
-Have a leg injury and not been running. Cycled around instead. Need to get better soon. Wish me Luck!!
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you this!!!
-Got chased by a dog. Screamed so loudly that the dog got scared and ran away.
-Was sitting quietly on a bench waiting for Balaji, and one lady from the first floor almost threw a bucket of water on me. She actually threw it, the water splashed 2 meters away from me. I swore. Loudly.
-Other than this, dont remember doing any major comedy.

Hope Week2 is as good as this one minus the dogs and buckets of water being thrown on me :-)

Cheers! See you next week if I dont have any brainwave to write about in the interim.

Lowve and all that.

2011

2011-12-31T20:59:00.000-08:00

Some awesome things that went past...

1. Finished 10k in 3 running events.
2. Became a published writer. Yay.
3. Got lovely music gurus.
4. Drove 200kms on the coimbatore-bangalore highway.
5. Got a lovely garmin forerunner gadget. Double yay.
6. Most of the gifts I gave people this year were handmade.
7. Attended a 2 day spiritual retreat by velukkudi swamy. My year was made then itself!
8. Tried to lead a de-clutered life...not succeeded completely.
9. Learnt to cook healthy and have almost stopped wasting food. Win.
10. Made an attempt to talk to family and friends and keep in touch. Have a long way to go to improve this one..
11. Read some lovely books that inpired me to be a better person.
12. Wrote less. But wrote well ( i think) and hope i can do better in 2012.
13. Made atempts to lead life by being a little spiritually elevated. Major room for improvement here.
14. Wrote 2 whitepapers. Yay.

Had a very very bad year professionally. Moved to a new role and excited about it! Hope 2012 is better!

Very simple aspirations for 2012.

Live healthy. Live happy. Keep everyone around happy.

Cheers and have a good one!

Love makes you a bad person

2011-12-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

I was just sitting by the window at a cafe waiting for my coffee. Earphones firmly plugged in my ears and tapping my fingers to the beat of AR Rahman's music. Something made me look up and stop tapping. I dont remember what exactly. Thats when I saw them. Just sitting quietly holding hands. His fingers gently caressing her hands and the small curve of her lips turn slightly broader. He ordered their coffee without taking his eyes off her. The waiter hurriedly wrote the order and backed off. She pulled back her hand and removed her hairband, to re-tie her ponytail. He continued to look at her, and she looked back him with a raised eyebrow. He burstout laughing and said, "Just how do you do that..create magic with one movement of your eyebrow haan?". She smiled mysteriously, and did not answer. He grabbed her hands again and held them in his own. As if afraid that if he left her for a second, she would melt away or leave him.

I felt something strange stir within while looking at them. Not sure if it was envy or maybe even a little jealousy. Something got stuck in my throat. Like, I could not breathe. I forced myself to look away from them. But there was something so magnetic and so strong about their feelings for one another, that I was forced to look at them again. I almost hated the fact that they had each other at that moment. And I had nobody. I was angry. That you were not around. To hold my hand like that. And to tell me how pretty my eyebrows are.

No, I am bad like that. No, I am mean like that.
Yes, I miss you like that. Yes, I love you like that.

Turning Three!

2011-12-07T21:19:00.000-08:00

Time has this unique way of melting away. You are just standing and watching with your hand outstretched, and just like ice, it melts through your fingers, falls on the ground and dissapears.

We have been married for three years now.

1095 days. 26280 hours. 1576800 minutes.

Ok, we might not have been together every minute….but it definitely feels like it. The countless times we would have fought and made up, the countless times we have cooked for one another, made one another laugh, gone on walks, runs, lunches, dinners, cafe visits, music classes, library visits, trips and events. The times we have just driven around, lost in silent thoughts. These mundane regular days moments fleet through mind as I aimlessly drive around the city, scaring people as I drive past.

It has been a mad mad whirlwind this far. What I especially loved about these three years, is being cherished. Ofcourse my parents and sister cherished me (and still do! ) for so many years, but its special that someone in the world, whom you did not know 3 years back, thinks about you 24x7. Someone cares, if you have eaten or not. Someone wipes away your tears when you are sobbing. Someone watches you intently as you smile. Someone wonders what you are praying for, when you stand in the temple with folded hands. Someone tells you that you look beautiful, when you are wearing workout clothes. Someone helps you in the kitchen, when you are exhausted and can’t (be able to) move. Someone cares about your interests and tries to make it his interest too. Someone worries about you constantly.

What is also interesting is that you learn slowly to reciprocate. You slowly learn to convert arguments into conversations, convert a frown to a giggle. Convert a chore (de-cluttering, cooking, filing papers, bills, bank work) to a bonding exercise. Convert a fitness activity to "our" time. Convert music practice time to "sessions. Give and take feedback, correct one another, mug lines together and when something goes terribly wrong, collapse into helpless giggling. You also learn to convert "his" people to "your" people. This is an always "work-in-progress" task and will remain like that for a few more years. But the learning curve is always there!

It has been such a fantastic ride so far. I love most of my life's days. There are some that I would like to forget, and with time, I will. There are things I need to work on to smoothen out some things, which still have some wrinkles. Hoping next year and the years ahead will be like that!

Happy Third Anniversary Balaji!

(This post is late by 4 days.....adjusht please!)

Dinner plans?

2011-12-02T19:52:00.000-08:00

For a working woman, this is the most dreaded question.

After talking to a bunch of Food bloggers/foodies, i have managed to learn some tips and tricks. The below mentioned salad recipies are super quick, healthy, simple to make and very light on the stomach!

Yogurt based:
Chop onions, cucumber, capcicum, carrots. Keep aside.
If you have bioled corn or peas or any brown beans, feel free to add!
Mince garlic.
Heat the pan.
Pour a drop of olive oil.
Saute the garlic, mustard and a few dals, we like urud dal.
Take yogurt in a bowl and mix it well to get the consistency of sauce. Add salt and pepper as per taste.
Mix the sauted garlic with the yogurt.
Pour this as a dressing over your chopped veggies. Viola! In less than 10 minutes an awesome salad dinner is ready!

Soya sauce based:
Chop onions (longish), capcicum, carrots, tomato (finely) , minced garlic. If you have boiled corn or peas or any of the sprout variety, all the more better!
Heat pan, add a drop of olive oil.
Saute the garlic, onion and tomato.
Add soya sauce, salt and pepper.
Add this to the chopped veggies and mix well.
Another awesome salad ready in 10 minutes with 2 vessels to clean up afterward!

Cornflour based:
We went for a dinner date to pure and natural and had this salad. Highly recommend!

Cook peas (or any of the bean variety will also be good, brown bean, rajma, chickpeas and the like) and set aside.
Take 2 teaspoons of corn flour and mix well in water.
Heat the pan and add the cornflour.
Saute the peas or any other bean you have, add salt, pepper, chilliflakes.
Pour the liquid cornflour in the pan and stir well. And serve.
You can add chopped onions, corriander as dressing.

Buying salad dressing from the store is not advisable. They just carry preservatives and add extra calories.

Eat healthy, think better. Ting ting ti ding!

Sweet November?

2011-11-17T05:19:00.000-08:00

November is supposed to be a sweet month. I quite don't know what to make of it so far. It has been hectic mostly.

Exercise and eating right, thanks to all the panner I ate in Oct during my vacation :-/
Watching a movie in the middle of the night.
Learning to drink green tea.
Contributing to Rang De as a social investor.Each time I want to eat out or spend on something that I don't need, I step back and think of the Rang De borrowers.
Finished learning Mohanam varnam in record time.

Flip-side:

Havent touched paints in ages.
Haven't written a word on my travel blog post my travel.

Lets see what more November has to offer! Bring it on baby!

F(H)airy Tale

2011-10-21T05:52:00.000-07:00

Nihira looked at Dr.Anuj in disbelief. When she walked into the clinic in the morning, she was so sure her reports would be negative, but it was not. How could it be? She was a model and she took very good care of herself. During her yearly checkup, she had casually mentioned to the doctor about her stomach cramps. The doctor examined her and instantly became skeptic. He hid his fears from her and told her to come back for a battery of tests and samples. They had sent her samples for biopsy and the reports confirmed his suspicion. In front of him right now, sat a stunningly pretty girl with lovely eyes and silky smooth hair, whose body was slowly getting eaten up by cancer.

He almost wanted to reach out to her and hug her. Since it was against the protocol, he remained where he was, gently telling her what lay ahead. He gave her details of chemotherapy and told her in a calm voice that they were going to fight this, come what may and get the cancer out of her system.

6 months later, of extremely painful treatment and being in and out of the hospital, fighting cancer alone, she lay on the hospital bed. Pale, large eyes and bald. All her hair that she had loved, nourished and took pride in, was gone. Each morning, she would wake up with locks of hair on the pillow and weep. Finally she had to get it shaved. It was the day after that she had shaved it all off, that she noticed that he had awesome shoulder length hair. She looked at it and felt so bitter about her situation. With her hair gone, she somehow felt less of a woman.

But, she withstood all her pain with a brave face, took his advice and believed that she would survive this. She took a break from work, told her parents and friends that she was going overseas for an assignment and would remain in touch with them through phone. She bore it all alone, informing her doctor that she would not have any visitors.

And now, it was done. She had won the battle after two very painful surgeries and almost half her stomach removed. He walked in cheerfully that day to her room and told her she was going to be alright. She told him, that she already knew that, because he was so good and it was by his skill and kindness that she was on her path to recovery. He looked at her then and asked her, if she would like to have some tea with him. She touched her bald hear, and reluctantly agreed. He said, he would take her out the next day and he promised her that it would be a great time for both of them. She was perplexed by his remark and was kept awake by his thoughts. All these days, she had seen him as her doctor, as her ray of hope. Today, she looked at him differently, as a friend, as her only companion who helped her fight this terrible disease, or maybe someone more, she was not sure.

He came for his rounds the next day, all clean shaven and with an army haircut. She looked startled by his striking looks. But what she saw and liked more was the kindness that shone in his eyes. "Good morning", he called out cheerily and she asked him why he looked so happy and so different. He laughed and said, that he had bought her a present and handed a brightly packed cover. As she tore it open, and saw the gift, her cheeks became wet with her tears. He had cut his hair, made a lovely wig out of it for her! He looked at her, grinned and helped her try it out. She looked so cute, even better than her original straight silky hair. She looked up to him and said, "This is the best thing anyone has ever done for me. How do I ever thank you?". He knelt on the ground with a ring on his hand, held out to her and said "Just say yes, Nihira!".

This story was written as a part of Dove Contest on indiblogger.in

Quarter-Life-Crisis.

2011-10-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

(definitely more than a quarter and all *ouch*, I just like to think.. quarter.)

Quarter-Life-Crisis.

There. I have said it. I have NO clue which way I am headed. I have a good education. Fantastic parents, a very sweet crazy sister. A very nice and caring husband. A job , that pays my shopping bills. I shop occasionally, mind you. Like once in 3-4 months. That too for 5 hours straight. I try out every single garment in the store, till either the store closes, or they throw me out or the husband faints out of exhaustion.

I digressed. See, this is the problem. I still have NO clue where I am headed.

So, I was saying I have a decent live-able life. I have ample hobbies, music, books, food (off-late), painting, running, biking, kickboxing and all that. But still. Half the time, I walk around with that, "what? why? when ? how? " kind of look. Pretty much some sort of empty feeling. Again, its empty. Its not heaviness. If it was, I can find the reason and fix it. Its just...empty.

There is definitely something missing. Like an important piece. I know there is more I can do with life, to help other people, contribute back to the society, do something for the city I live in and so on. But I don't know what to do and where to start. I need to make this shift from being "mediocre" to "awesome" perhaps? I don't know. Honestly.

This important piece. I cannot find it. And I know nobody can help me find it except myself. My blog has probably borne the most of my rants. This one has been an epic rant thus far. And looks like I will keep looking and ranting till I find that missing piece. God help us all.

Sigh.

Rockstar.

2011-10-04T22:33:00.000-07:00

How to start? Where to start?

Kun Faaya Kun ? Katiya karoon ? Sheher mein ? Naandan Parindey ? The Instrumental pieces?

Where? Where does one start when one wants to rant about the awesomeness of ARR's music? I was always unsure, to like Mohit Chauhan or not to like Mohit Chauhan. I am officially now a Mohit convert. The dude is amazing!!! What an album ARR has come up with ! Cha.

My heart smiles after a very long time.

God bless ARR. Keep Rocking.

I <3 you ARR. Enough said.

Your humble and a small time devotee,
Vasumathi Sridharan

Navrathri Golu - Season 3

2011-09-30T00:10:00.000-07:00

After Season 1 and Season 2 , Season 3 kick-started without too much hype and without too many guests this year. By the time I arranged the dolls, it was close to midnight and this is what my golu looks like!

I am very particular about giving handmade gifts to people these days. Last year, I had painted some diyas, and this year I was blank and at short notice, I quickly bought some paaku-mattai and decided to paint it. What do you need:

Areca leaf plates / Paaku mattai
Acrylic paints
Brushes
Some Mirror pieces
Glue

Warning: This was time consuming. To make 5 pieces I took more than an hour. Attempt it if you have time on your hands. a glimpse of what it looks like,

And the usual Sundal Saaga continues this year as well. Do consider this as a personal invitation and drop by for some yummy sundal and one of these cute and colourful showpiece :)

Happy Navarathri!

Happy Birthday B!

2011-09-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

I am learning everyday.
What you are good at and what you are so not.
There are things I love about you and some so not.
I want to hug you, and at some other time want to throw something at you.

You say the cutest things and make me smile and at other times, I cringe with your inappropriateness. You look like a stud when you make an effort to dress up and at others you look like a haggard old man, with that lousy uncombed look and overgrown beard :/

First birthday together, I tried buying you shirts, hoping you will like them and you hated them. On your second birthday together,I tried surprising you with a midnight party,You yelled at me for waking you up at 12.On the third birthday together,I wished you early in the morning,
you say, "you got your dates mixed up. Its not today, its tomorrow", and you confused me. I gave you a handmade card with some words in tamil, you pointed out spelling mistakes.

And yet, everyday, every meal,
You check if I ate. Every morning, you insist that I give you a hug,
If I have a late night or early morning meeting,
You make me coffee to ensure I dont get a headache,
If I am exhausted, you make me food.
You walk around as though your life revolves around me.
You know if I am down without me telling you and try every PJ possible to make me smile.

I cant sometimes figure you out.
At other times, I like to tell myself I know everything about you.
Huh, who the hell am I kidding?
I think I will still say this after 30 years,
Looks like, I need to learn. Everyday.

Dear BSNL, WTF!

2011-09-19T03:50:00.000-07:00

My husband's phone display broke a week ago and we decided to give away the phone and port the number to Airtel.

For Mobile number portability, one needs an UPC code which the current service provider (unfortunately BSNL in this case) needs to give.

He could not even make calls, so on behalf of him, I called BSNL Customer care.
BSNL Bangalore Customer Care : 9448024365 btw does not work. Try1503 instead.

I did the usual Press 2 for English, Press 2 for Post-paid and Press 9 to talk to customer care executive. This call is recorded for blah blah nonsense. The call would get connected, someone would put me on hold and call would get disconnected.

Repeat the above 4 times.

Got lucky the 5th time around. One lady obviously not knowing English (despite having pressed 2 for English answers) I understood and spoke in kannada.

Me: "Madam, I need UPC code for my husband's number, his phone is not working can you help?"
CC: "check maadthini.. " (will check) and put me on hold for 8 minutes.

Comes back after coffee break.

CC :"Hold ge dhanyavadhagalu. (thanks for being on hold). Send sms to 1909 and type your number" .
Me: "No. Its 1900 for getting the UPC code. I tried, work maadtha illa"
CC: "1909 and 1901 same madam". #EH ??
Me: "Its not working madam. Can you please give the code?"
CC:"No madam. what purpose UPC code want? Many people want away from bsnl. Against policy."
Me: Sigh. "Can I talk to your manager?",
CC: "aatarah illi yaaru illa..naavu ella peoples here" #Eh #Peoples????
CC:"Manager beku andre, office ge direct hogi. Naavu ella peoples ." #Again #peoples???

Me: "Duh. Ok. thank you."

BTW, after the call, I tried again using 1909 and its a number for registering DND.

Feedback form on website : http://www.bsnl.co.in/feedback.htm says "FUNCTIONALITY DISABLED".

This is some serious WTF.

Can someone help?

The silent raga

2011-08-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

It had been almost 3 weeks since I read a book and was itching to get my hands on one. I had tons of time on my hands and decided to read a book more than 450 pages. I just picked this book 'the silent raga' by Ameen Merchant, without reading the cover or without a glance at the name of the author. I read super fast and can finish a book that big in about 2-3 hours. I wanted to go slow and easy and read this one in 2 days.

I did just that. I read this slowly. Very slowly. Enjoyed every word, every line and every sequence. I loved all the characters. Janaki the most ofcourse! The book is based on the life of 2 tamil brahmin girls. The book is heavily layered with Carnatic music and the life of orthodox families in an agraharam (a cluster of families of the same caste). A few characters could have been given more importance. Asgar, Janaki's husband for example. Its not clear how Janaki meets Asgar and how she got married to him. Some mysterious threads have left untraveled.

Despite all this, Janaki lives with you long after you have shut the book. Its not her veena, its not her wise words or her deeds or her pain. Its her silence that lives with you. The silence that refuses to go away. How much ever you try to shake it off.

PS: This is not a review of the book. I just had to get Janaki out of my system by writing about her. But I doubt that happened and will happen :)

A moment in time

2011-08-02T23:32:00.000-07:00

She Woke up listening to the chirping of birds
With no agenda for the day,
Keep her feet on the cold floor and stretched.
Her eyes fell on the window,
She turned away thinking the view was a picture or a calendar.
She looked again, closely and stood very still.

That is when she saw the gradual movement of the clouds over the snow covered peaks.
She watched as the sun gradually turned the peak silver and then turned it to gold.
She stood watching the birds fly by,
She heard the mist dripping from the leaves,
A few cattle grazing on the green meadows,
On a normal day, she would have frantically run for her camera,
Today, she just stood holding the window pane,
Tears rolled down her cheek as she stood
mesmerized by the spell that nature had cast on her.

A dream

2011-07-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

She lay worrying about her future.
She wondered what sort of a guy he will be like.
She struggled to fall asleep and tossed and turned.
She was restless and perhaps having one her dreams.

Will he dominate? Will he be a pain?
Will he be the mommy-mommy types?
Will he be his own person, having his own life?
Will he be the types to care about her parents?

Will every wish of hers be fulfilled?
Will he give her her space?

Will he be her dream?
Will she be truly happy with him?

Will he ever dance with her to some random song on the radio?
Will he feed her popcorn as she watched her favorite movies?
Will he hug her every morning and tell her he loves her?
Will he watch her silently as she dressed with love in his eyes?

Will he tell her everyday that she is the most beautiful woman alive?
Will he say that she is the most important person in his life?

She suddenly woke up,
To see the sweetest questions of her dream answered.
She gently pulled the blanket over him, brushed away the hair on his forehead.
She slept with a smile on her lovely face.

He made the minister smile!

2011-07-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

It has been almost 2.5 years now that I am married to B. Over these years that I have known him, he has been simply fantastic to me. He has opened up new avenues. Taught me a lot of cooking, taught me to stand in front of the mirror for a few minutes more than I used to earlier (I used to wear clothes twice my size, random combinations, just run a comb thru my hair and I would be done, now I take a little bit more effort and well, still look the same :D). Taught me to never take things too seriously. He also taught me an important lesson. Fight fair (well, I am still getting there I think, There are times I am pretty unreasonable and simply lose my cool and yell at him).

There are a lot of things I started doing after knowing him like painting, learning random songs, running, cooking (eat my pasta and then tell), biking, driving a car, lot of blogging now, travel a lot more than I used to and I can probably go on and on.

Hang on. Is this all getting too muchly mushy? Well. I can write a book on B by now, but it has taken him this long to write a post for me.

Here it is. Simply awesomely cute and very very touching. Making the minister smile .
Minister it seems :D

Tell me you love it as much as I do!

The burrday tales

2011-07-10T23:05:00.000-07:00

So, I turned a year older and had a fabulous time! We did a night trip to Gopalaswamybetta, saw some awesome sunrise, sunflower fields, mountain covered with mist, a lovely quaint old temple. I spotted a elephant herd and we had a great time with close friends!

Balaji planned a midnight surprise party and the cake was so yum that he now has to break open the door for me to enter the house :/

Spent a lovely day watching Kungfu Panda with my niece and nephew and some awesome Thai food with friends in the evening.

For people who asked me, "what gift did B give you?", I say, "He himself is a gift. I don't want anything else from him.". I know. I am smart like that and he is lucky like that.

Birthday wishes for the year? A thinner me and and a more peaceful world.

New paint on old wine (bottles)

2011-06-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

I get bored sometimes. You know? Like I don't know what to do with my time. At such times, I read random blogs of how to make something useful for the home without investing anything big. A wine bottle was lying in my balcony for over a year. I just decided to dab some paint and see how it goes. The results blew me away. A bunch of birthdays of teammates came up and being the employee engagement team member, we had to come up with an innovative and inexpensive idea. I asked people to give me wine bottles and the pic below is the end result.

What you need:
Used wine bottles
Acrylic paint
One size 14 Brush
One used and tooth brush
Some cotton swabs

and kabaad to jugaad happens like this in about 10 minutes!

A second chance

2011-06-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

She sat quietly and looked at the lovely landscape, seeing nothing really. Just stared at nothing but vast lands of green that rushed past her. It got colder and she pulled the shawl closer around herself. Her friend owned a beautiful heritage home in lush green lands of Coorg and she was going for a break. "Break", she said softly to herself and shook her head. Kids were grown up and gone. She hardly even knew her husband anymore. He was always busy. Traveling , working and being an important man for the country's government. Usual story of the mother being the prime caretaker and the father being a guest in their lives. They had just drifted apart without realizing it. It made her sad to think the kids did not even know their dad well enough, not that it mattered anymore. She needed sometime to think about her life and what she would do with it.

He got out of the car and stretched. It had been a long drive for him. He had had nothing to eat all night as he drove, and he was starving by the time he had got here. He convinced himself that food was the last thing on his mind and yet the growl in the stomach told a different story. He picked his small travel bag and walked into the elegant house. He had always loved being here. He loved the green, the mist, the smell of wet earth, and the coffee. A sound of a car behind him jolted him and he turned to see a very striking woman emerge from the car. He took a closer look and felt as if someone kicked him in the gut.

He stood rooted to the spot. She looked up sensing someone looking at her and automatically smiled politely, and one second later, her face lost its colour. They looked at one another for what seemed an eternity, as if in a trace and at the same time a feeling of something twisted on the inside.

The owner came to greet them and the spell was broken. They forced themselves to pick up the bags, walk, thank the driver, greet the owner. Do something, anything normal as against what they were feeling. She decided she would just leave immediately. She could not bear him to be so near and not see him, not talk to him, not touch his face that she had once so well loved. He sat quietly at the breakfast table. Waiting for her to join him so he could look at her. That lovely heart shaped face that was etched in his mind and heart for so many years. He looked up at a sound and saw her approach the table. She sat down quietly and refused to meet his eye. He saw that her hands shook as she got herself a glass of water and without a word, pushed up her chair , told her friend that she would be resting and did not wish to be disturbed and walked back to her room.

He took a plate of food with him and knocked on her door, and just stared at her with a small smile on his lips as she opened the door. "Hi", he said simply, while she just stared at him. Automatically her hands clenched into fists to keep them from shaking. "Nice room you have here, do you come here often with your family?" he asked and she just nodded. "How is your wife?", she inquired, more out of curiosity than her impeccable manners. "Fine", he said and he handed her the plate. "I was starving and I am sure you are hungry too, just bought you some food", he said. She just said, "Sweet of you Ram", and turned away. "Please Resh, can we be friends ? After so many years that passed by, I am sure we can atleast be friends? Hmm? Please?". Startled, she realized nobody had called her that since she was in college. She quietly offered a nod in answer. Relieved, he said, "Great, I know this place well. There are some great places to hike and spend time. Would you like to go with me?". Not having any reason to say No, she nodded again.

They packed sandwiches and set off the next morning for a small climb through the lush greenery. It was a beautiful morning and they got talking about themselves and their family. Suddenly, the found themselves confessing about their respective unhappy marriages and empty lives. They found themselves cursing themselves for wasting their lives. They suddenly found themselves wishing they had made better choices and they found themselves cursing their destiny for having separated them when they were young and so much in love. They sat silently for a while thinking about their lives, their spouse, children and wondering what they would say if they saw them now. Would they be shocked, would they understand ? Would they heap abuses at them ? Would they accept the reality?

Instead of finding comfort in each other's presence , they found themselves confused as she thanked him for a nice day and said goodnight. She was leaving the next day and said she would leave her contact details with him and they would see how to take this further.

She woke up the next day, tried to stay calm and composed as he hugged her tight to say goodbye. She wiped her tears and handed him a folded paper. He thanked her for giving her contact details and walked to the door. Waved for as long as he could see her driving away and walked back in with a pain in his heart. "No more pain . I found her again and life is going to be beautiful again. I will laugh, sing, write poems and enjoy the sunrise and sunsets with her till the end of my life. I desperately hope she wants to do the same. Please God. Please", he thought quietly. He opened the folded paper to memorize her address and stood pained as he started into a plain white paper and heard his heart break into a thousand pieces.

Because, I miss you

2011-06-12T05:15:00.000-07:00

what the heck is it really?
what is it about your smell and your presence
what is it?
why cant I just be normal around here without you?
why the heck do I suddenly turn into some dammed zombie?

why do you really have to do this?
you know how I hate to be without you.
you know it.
then why did you have to go?

I cant think straight enough to compose a decent post.
I cant sing one goddammed song without remembering you.
I cant stay for one whole hour without mentioning your name.
I am sick of looking at my phone every 5 minutes for an SMS.
You know what dude? I am not going to care anymore.
I am NOT going to be worried sick about you.
I am going out now. To eat my favorite pastry from Daily Bread.

PS: Sorry about the rant. Never mind me. Go and enjoy yourself. We only live once.

The question mark

2011-06-03T04:57:00.000-07:00

Communication
Music
Running
Biking
Travel
Painting
Reading
Writing
(Social)Networking
Cooking
Interior Decoration
Languages
Buying gifts for people
Collecting Tanjore Paintings
Vishishtadvaita

.. are a few things I am passionate about. I can talk about and do these endlessly, and yet, I don't have a dream. And I suddenly do not like that thought.

Help?

the search..

2011-05-12T05:17:00.000-07:00

She lives in a beautiful home. Warm and safe and sweet smelling. Her room has a lovely view. She is well loved by her parents and friends. Like most of us, she works, drives (her car and bike and cycle and a geared bike) (ahem..she also drives us crazy!), eats, sleeps, reads (like she is possesed), listens to music, dreams, is well respected by co-workers, smiles at strangers, loves children, is into fitness, loves playing basketball and treats her pet doggie as her own brother and secretly feeds him food from her plate (when her mom is not looking ofcourse!).

Like most of us, she wants a family. Of her own.

Whats the problem? You ask?

She is married (with the usual pomp and show). And divorced (sad story ofcourse!).

So? You ask?

So, the process of finding a life partner after being hurt once, is complicated to say to the least. One tends to put up a guard and loses one's original bubbly self. It is hard to trust again. It is hard to start over. Most of us would not have the guts to even think about it. But she has the guts and is not afraid of the so-called "society", that magically vanishes when you actually need help. She says she has been hurt, but is willing to give life a chance. Another chance. Another chance to see her smiling and happy and safe (and for a change, in the right arms)

Most matrimony websites have fake profiles in the 'Divorced' or 'Annuled' category. Word of mouth returns Null.

But, the search is on.....

.....

2011-05-07T23:13:00.001-07:00

Mind.is.blank.

And.its.best.this.way.

5.45AM

2011-04-15T01:28:00.000-07:00

I do think I have a pretty smile and that my eyes are lovely. I am my own favourite and I think I am beautiful in my own way.

But, I am suddenly not liking myself. I do not smile at myself in the mirror anymore. Everything about my life is going wrong. Most relationships, work, health, art ..well thats sums up my life.

I have to make everything good again. I need to begin this by becoming an early riser. Its becoming harder by the day since I have late night calls at ungodly hours. I am becoming addicted to the snooze button. I cannot move in the mornings. I do not have the inclination to wake up.

But I NEED to wake up early. Else I feel dirty about myself.

Crib over. What am I going to DO?
1. Sleep early (with happy thoughts) and get good rest.
2. I am going to buy myself a pretty alarm clock in pink colour, that rings loud and am going to keep it in the next room. So that I wake up , walk that distance and switch it off.
3. Try not saying "2 minutes please" everytime someone wakes me up
4. Jump out of the bed everymorning and think "Today is going to be a good day".

What do I need from you?
Help. Support. Love and if possible a Good morning call at 5.45AM. If you want to be my alarm buddy, send me an email. I will gladly give you my number!

PS: do not ask me what time I wake up these days. I am not going to tell you anyways.

Its about time.

2011-04-12T23:52:00.000-07:00

I have had enough.
Enough of mopping around.
Enough of cribbing.
Enough of feeling blue.

EVERYTHING has being going wrong for the past few days.
Time to take matters into my hands. To hell with everyone who is making me feel down and out.

Time to make workout fun.
Time to make cooking fun (will start by remembering to add salt into whatever I cook).
Time to enjoy painting (Colors, here I come!).
Time to learn music well (and stop getting yelled at in every class {infront of 10 year olds} ).
Time to Write something decent and STOP blaming the writer's block.
Time for a good sappy romantic novel. Nicolas Sparks, Please release the new book soon!
Time for an outing. Yay!!
Time to be back into people's lives and spam them till they are weeping!
Time for a spring cleaning session.
Time for some shopping and seeing the look on husband's face on reading the bill amount.
Time for curtain shopping (I can imagine the husband saying "Again? How many curtains do you want?")
But, right now, Its time for some dark chocolate!

Its about time. Dont you think?

Today

2011-03-29T05:02:00.000-07:00

Its just one of those days,
I feel like smiling at a stranger
My heart is light and mind is clear
I know exactly what I want and what I need
There are smaller joys of life to be experienced
I smile at the sunset or a beautifully done painting
And I just smile. Just for having experienced that joy.
I spot a bird with blue wings and bright yellow beak
And stand very still. Afraid to scare it away.
On a bright hot evening, there is a sudden drizzle
With a lovely soft mellow song playing in the background
And I find such peace and calm deep within.
Its just one of those days.

Heartbeat

2011-03-22T23:49:00.000-07:00

When the moonlight streams in through the window
And the only sounds are that of your steady breathing
I gaze at the stars and the almost full moon
I look up to see your peaceful sleeping face,
A smile plays upon my lips
A warm fuzzy feeling fills a tiny corner of my heart
Thankful for this moment,
When I am completely secure, content and
Simply loving the sound of your heartbeat.

the alumni meet

2011-02-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

It was a walk down the memory lane for him. He walked past the school corridors with images flashing in his mind. He had been punished here. Made to kneel down with his hands above his head. He had cracked jokes with his friends and wished teachers as they walked past. He tried to recollect the school prayer and could not remember anything past the first few words. He smiled to himself.

He walked down to a sea of faces. Some looked vaguely familiar and some he waved out to, calling them by names. They all stood by quietly chatting and catching up on their lives. Then he saw her. Sitting in a corner unnoticed and furiously typing on her blackberry. He smiled involuntarily. She looked lovely in a black sari with gold border. He took his time to just watch her. The way her hair fell across her face and the way she brushed it back impatiently. He observed the khol in her eyes. But then, he smiled remembering she always wore khol. Even in school as a teenager, she used to look lovely to him, even in the grey uniform. His heart used to flutter when she walked past him. He used to wonder if she had heard it. He would wonder if she had seen it in his eyes. He wondered if she knew that he used to create reasons to go down to her floor hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

He could not hold back any longer. He softly walked to her, and whispered into her ears, "You look lovely today wifey"

Fragrance

2011-02-23T21:20:00.000-08:00

I have always loved homes with nice smells. As a child I grew up in a very friendly neighborhood and was always up and about, playing with my friends in their homes. I always used to remember their home by its smell. One would smell of masalas, one would smell of incense, one would smell of medicine, one would smell...well the sugary sorts. But ofcourse, I loved the way my home smelt. It smelt of my dad's aftershave. And that used to offer me a lot of comfort and security.

As I grew up a little, I started loving the smell of books. I would be constantly found in the library entrance, impatiently waiting for the apartment library to be opened. Once that phase passed and I entered college, I would get lost in the smells of either perfumes or soaps or even the smell of a computer lab. Our lab always smelt of burnt wires. Don't ask me why!

When I was a girl, I always wanted my home to be fragrant with scented candles or room fresheners.

Now that I am a woman, I only want my home to smell of love.

Random curiosity

2011-02-15T20:39:00.000-08:00

It is quite early in the morning. And I am day-dreaming. About whom? You ask? You. Yes. You. I wonder who reads all this stuff that I write. I wonder if it touches you somehow. I wonder if you smile. I wonder if you cry. Do they just find me a silly girl or a dramatic one perhaps?

I am curious like that. I constantly what to know the whys and whats and whens and hows. I would like to know what goes on in your mind. I want to know what you are thinking right now. Does that sound crazy? Normal? Am I blabbering? Do you want to scream a "shut up" at me? Do you want me to write a bit more?

I want to know. Right now.

PS: Curiosity kills the cat, but I am still alive. Meaww!
PPS: Okay, I just re-read all that and it was really and totally....blah!

This is me

2011-02-09T23:19:00.000-08:00

Yes...this is me. And I like me like that. And I have been saying this even before Geet of Jab we met, was born. So there.

The baaba, the babe and beyond...

2011-02-03T08:09:00.000-08:00

This honeymoon trip to Rajasthan changed everything. It changed my status from being single to married. It changed my lifestyle. It changed my dressing sense. It changed my eating habits ( I am now 10Kgs lesser than I was when I got married). It obviously changed my sleeping habits.

If you are thinking crude thoughts just now, you better shake them off.

Moving on, the one week that we spent travelling across Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Chittorgadh, Udaipur and back to Jaipur was one heck of a trip! We still remember everyday, every fort, every chai pakodi stop, every peacock, every glorious sunrise, sunset and most definitely every camel we saw. My husband swears he saw our babloo strolling on the streets of Bangalore the other day. But thats another story.

So, back to why I am telling you a small part of my honeymoon is a contest by IndiBlogger.in in association with Cleartrip.com. I had earlier posted the purpose of my travel . But I will now reveal a memory behind it.

So, we went to this place called Chowki dhani, which is on the outskirts of Jaipur. A five star village resort, they call it. They have camel and elephant rides, massage centers, magicians, Rajasthani folk music and dance, giant wheel ,tree houses, loads of good Rajasthani food (sniff, I still smell the aroma of dal bhaati) and cots randomly placed for guests to lie down and gaze at stars. We were just strolling around and we spotted this astrologer sitting beside a small tulsi plant and he called out to us. He insisted on reading our palms and telling us our destiny. He was hilarious. He said that we will be rich, we will be healthy, we will have a great life and so on and posed really well for us. He read my palm and said we will have two kids. Balaji and me blushed so furiously at that one!! I mean, come on, we were literally strangers then, and this guy comes along with an impish smile and a twinkle in his eye and that is what he rattles on about! We had no idea where to look!

But anyway, we loved his style of speech, his Hindi with a Rajasthani accent. So much that we remember his cute smile and his comments and laugh on and off. It used to be one of our private jokes, but then, what the heck!

PS:I do NOT look so plump anymore :D
PPS: If you are in Jaipur, please go to LMB and eat the kachori and drink the yummiest lassi in the world. I promise you, you will not regret it.

the conflict within

2011-01-27T01:48:00.000-08:00

He stood gazing at the blue sea wearing a simple T-shirt and shorts. Very cold winds hitting him. He did not care. He felt nothing today. This was the place he had seen her for the first time. Her was leaning against the bridge and looking at the sea, deep in thought, as he suddenly turned on his right and seen her. He had fallen for her then and there. He had thought , it just must have been her lovely eyes and smooth and silky hair blowing against the wind. But it was much later that he realized, that it was a connection much deeper than her looks. There was something very strong about her. A quiet strength that she carried herself with. It was as if fate had got them closer somehow, when he figured she worked in the same building that he did. He used every tip in the dating rule book to get to know her and finally propose to her. She had happily accepted. They had been inseparable. She later confessed, she had been strongly attracted to him as well. They always laughed when they were together, spoke a lot about themselves, their background, liked the same sort of music and art. They felt at peace with one another.

Fate always has another rulebook altogether. She was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer and had been in her advanced stages.

The fight to cure her was all a blur to him now. As he stood and watched the waves from up high on that bridge. The doctor visits, the second, third and fourth opinions, watching her disappear into scary looking machines and coming out looking pale. The pain of Chemo. The nausea. The bouts of depression. The loss of appetite. Pleading with her to eat to get back her strength. Seeing her without hair and eyebrows. It had all been too much to take.

Then suddenly, the treatment was over. She asked him to take her to the bridge for a walk. He clearly remembered the last time they walked together on the bridge, oddly silent. Each lost in their thoughts. Each wanting to hold the other one's hand, but afraid to do so. Everything had then been just fear. Fear of being alone, fear of death, fear of moving on. Suddenly she grabbed his hand by force. Wanting to hold on forever. Looked up, said "I am scared. Thank you for being there". She looked oddly peaceful that day. He now wondered, why she had said "Thank you" and why she did not say "I love you". Was it a sign?

They had their doctors visit scheduled for the next day. With a grin, her doctor had told her that she had survived it. She had fought cancer and she had won the battle. The knot in his stomach eased. He felt light as she cried softly beside him with relief.

But they learnt something else that day. She had survived. But the relationship did not. Instead of bringing them closer, the illness had separated them from each other. They knew it deep in their hearts. Afraid to say it aloud. Afraid to face it. He told her he was going for a walk. And he came along right there to the very same spot where he had seen her for the first time. He felt that in his gut as he watched the sea from the bridge. He loved her, but then maybe he did not. He did not hate her though. He just did not know what he was feeling. Empty perhaps. Zapped out of energy. He was thankful she was going to live. But unsure if he wanted to live with her. For some reason, he did not want to go back to her. He just felt resigned by such strong opposite emotions, that he did not know where to go. He stood gazing as the sky turned orange and felt love for her. The sky then turned pink and he felt anger at himself that he could not go on loving her. The sky then turned black and then...he did not feel anything.

Dance..over the wekend!

2011-01-24T19:03:00.000-08:00

The pencil marks might go away, the music will remain.

That list...again!!

2010-12-30T02:48:00.000-08:00

Aha! It is time to make that list. I love making lists. Sometimes. Makes me feel all important and organized. Makes me feel better when I check them off and say, okay, this is Done. But being me, I usually check off about 2 things out of 10. Lets see if 2011 will make me do better.

I want 2011 to be different. Its a different story that I want every year to be different than the previous, but then...

Okay, let me share my 2011 list with you.

- Speak to parents, sister and parents-in-law Daily.
- Cook and eat healthy and ensure Balaji is healthy as well. Avoid eating junk food and control that temptation for chocolates and bhel puri. Please. Be sure to eat one fruit a day. Even if it means pretending that the apple is bhel puri.
- Be regular at running. Do atleast 10K in 3 running events.
- Do NOT get admitted in a hospital for ANY reason this year. AT all.
-Restart temple project started with friends a few years ago.
- Write more.
- Be regular at music class
- Be regular at painting class
- Go to JustBooks atleast once a week and for God's sake, stop reading junk romantic books. There is no take away from them and real life does not work that way. Got it?
- Do a certification / course which will help in improving career.
- Get a health checkup done for self and family.
-Visit the temple once a week.
- Call/mail friends and cousins atleast once a fortnight.
- Try to get out of the twitter addiction.
- Laugh aloud. Daily.
- Sing aloud. When nobody is around please.
- Learn to say "Yes" instead of "Fine".
- Be an active member of the team that does social work.
-Donate to Prerna on birthday of self, family members and close friends.
- Learn everyday.
-Try not to get depressed over stupid people. They are not worth it. Besides, they are stupid anyway.
- If at all get depressed, then window shop. Note. Window shop. Not shop. You have enough clothes for 5 people.
-Declutter kitchen, wardrobes, office table, home office table, puja room...basically declutter Life.
- Be nice to Balaji, because he is really very nice to you.

I think I must really stop typing now. The length of this list is scaring me. And when I get scared, I don’t do any of the stuff in my list. And I really DONT want that.

Have a great 2011 everyone! Be happy, healthy and remember to smile no matter what!

Just Me..

2010-11-20T08:15:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted to live alone. Just by myself. With nobody to answer to. Nobody to care about. Nobody to care about me. These days, it seems to be a lot of effort to smile and talk. I just want to walk around with my head bent down. Not waving or smiling at anyone. Just want to get lost in a crowd of people. Unnoticed.

I feel like that sometimes even when I am surrounded by people. I tune them out. I smile and talk on auto-pilot. I just want to be left alone.

I am alone now. In a very pretty hotel suit. With a coffee in my hand, a nice view of the swimming pool from up above. I am Alone and yet surrounded by my family. Mom dad on phone, my husband on messenger and aunt and kids on voip. Friends calling the hotel and chatting to keep me company.

I always for some reason think, I won’t miss anyone. And I will be fine by myself. But i was wrong. I miss everyone. So much that it’s like physical pain. I walk around with a knot in my stomach. It refuses to loosen up. For once, I don’t want to be alone. I want to go back to the warmth of my mom and dad. I want to go back home and punch my sister, pull her nose and hair. Yell at her for being a pest. Bug my friends. Miss the world famous PJ's of the husband and yearn for the comfort he offers with his presence.

I think I learnt something new about myself. I hate being alone.

PS: I am in the States and if you want to catch-up, drop me an e-mail.

Homecoming..and the aftermath

2010-11-09T22:53:00.000-08:00

I had gone away for a while
I had forgotten what it was like
to snuggle into your arms
to smell the smell that is so you.
How did I forget that smell?

I had forgotten that look,
that rumpled look you wear in the mornings
I had forgotten the reassurance
Of listening to you drumming the keys of the computer
How did I forget that face with a slight subtle and a look of intense concentration?

I had forgotten
that you like your coffee with one spoon sugar
very less milk and boiling hot
I almost forgot your favourite dishes too
How did I forget that you like your dosa soft and not paper thin?

I almost forgot to
kiss you goodbye as I used to daily as you leave
It was a startling revelation That I forgot.
It scared me that I forgot our daily ritual.
How did I forget?

I forgot small things,
But I remembered YOU.
With every minute that passed by
and with every breath I took.
thats as true as scouts honour.

Thanks for coming home to me.

Re-engineering!

2010-11-06T00:37:00.000-07:00

I used to find the bare walls of my home scary. I was damn bored of the striped cotton curtains. I had problems with the way the house was. Just BARE and cold. I stopped cribbing and got to work.

I put up really cute curtains.

I painted pots.

I painted every terracota item I ever own.

I picked pretty (and expensive) flowers for my vase.

I have indoor plants in a corner.

Did a little bit of furniture re-arrange.

All I need now are:
1. A photo wall
2. Cute self-made warli paitings around the boring switchboards.
(Btw, I am still negotiating to paint the precious walls :D)
3. Yet another tanjore paiting of radha-krishna
4. Planning a terracota corner.

Suddenly the boring four walls seems like a home. A much warmer place to come back to. There is still work pending, but what the heck, come home and you will know now, what I am talking about!

Nuttiness

2010-10-26T23:10:00.000-07:00

I saw a mail van today. By habit, I crossed my fingers, made a wish and looked around frantically for a black car. Yes, I am like that.

When I see one raven, I am convinced and deep down I know I am going to have a terrible day ahead and cross my fingers, and get relieved only when I see another one with it.

Each time I make a promise, I pinch my throat. And If I know for sure, I am going to break that promise, I cross my fingers ;)

I make a wish each time I see a "first star" in the evening.

Each morning, I have to look at my mom's face the first thing in the morning. If i happened to see anyone else (sorry dad and Roo), I'd pretend that I did not see them, and find my mom and pretend I saw her, the first thing in the morning. Now that ~~my mom does not live with me~~, I don’t live with my mom, I just pretend that I am seeing her. She brings me good luck.

If two people say the same thing at the same time, I think something good is going to happen.

If I happen to glance at the time and if it reads 10:10 or 08:08 or 11.11 I think something good is going to happen.

Yes, I am nuts. And I like me like that.

Warli Attempt

2010-10-20T02:07:00.000-07:00

First ever attempt at warli painting, with un-warli like colours and strokes :P

I messed the sun totally. It kind of got smudged since the Red was still a little wet..And I love the flower that the boy is giving to the girl. I also like my hut...How cute to live in this happy setup no?

Tell me you liked it please :-)

Confessions...

2010-10-15T00:06:00.000-07:00

My friends call me an incurable romantic. I don’t know if that is true, but love has to be the one emotion I like to look around for. Sounds weird eh? I actually look around for love and moments of love. A mother holding her tiny baby and cooing to her softly. A guy carrying his baby daughter on his shoulders. A brother holding his sister's hand and crossing the road. A guy holding his girl gently by the waist. A seemingly young newly wed girl looking up at her new husband with shiny eyes. A guy holding the phone and talking to his girl with a faraway look on his face.

These for some reason make me smile and warm my heart. The emotion of love brings such varied flavors. Happiness, sadness, anger et at that have a flavor too. But just one. Dont you think?

I used to build walls around myself and purposely make it hard for people to break that wall down. I always used to hold back and never let people know that I love them. I used to do that knowing fully well that people around me who love me, hate that. But I think I am slowly changing. For the good. And that makes me a happier person now.

...

2010-10-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

Does it happen to you?

Do you just sit and stare at nothing ?

Do you feel all alone, depite that there are 10 people around? Chattering and laughing? Making noise and yet you manage to tune them all out?

Do you suddenly become aware that the radio station is playing "your" song and softly hum along savouring the lyrics?

Do you stare at the phone 10 times in five minutes willing it to ring?

Does it hurt when the phone rings and it is not your ringtone that is playing?

Do your eyes light up when someone suddenly mentions his name?

Do you begin to hate time because it suddenly drags on and on?

Do you look at the calander 4 times a day hoping the day is over soon to bring you home sooner?

Does it just hurt all over?

Does it happen to you?

Navrathri Special!

2010-10-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

Its fabulous fun to unpack the dolls from the attic and somehow create odd numbered steps.

The golu looks pretty much the same since last year.

Below are a few sundal recipies that you could use:

Paccha Payaru (Green Gram), Payatham Paruppu (Moong dal), Kadala Paruppu (Bengal Gram), Green Peas, White Channa Dal , Groundnut, Kaaramani (English?), Mocchakottai (Kidney beans), black channa dal. [Contact the mother-in-law for further details / help :-) ]

1.Soak any of the ingredients above for 2 hours.
2.Boil for a while. Drain the water.
3.And seasoning (mustard, curry leaves, green chilli) and the boiled dal/gram and saute with salt to taste.
4. Sprinkle Grated coconut and serve.

Also, if you are looking at a few simple gift ideas, you could buy a few Acrylic paints, a couple of brushes. Buy small clay diyas and paint them. It is not all that expensive, it is personalised and looks grand as well.

Here is a sample of the diyas I painted.

A Closer look at my favourite

And another view...

Wish you all a very happy navrathri!

New hobby...

2010-10-05T01:03:00.000-07:00

There is night...

...and then there is morning

I am good or what!

For you, with a raised glass

2010-09-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Cauvery flowing by, A red-mud trail, colorful lush green fields and 42.2Kms to the finish line.

Kaveri Trail Marathon, event was flagged off and I sent upwards a big prayer for Balaji,as he started running his first ever marathon braving unbelievable heat, thirst, sweat, fear of dehydration, pebbles and muddy trail. Had an interesting time with Kavitha who had come to cheer Gopal who had trained and practiced for the run with Balaji. He had a smooth First half run while Kavi and I sat in the car generally chatting about our lives. After that we got on to the trail armed with energy drink and water. We cheered all the runners along the trail and spotted Balaji going towards his 30th km mark. I estimated that he will come back to that point in about 30 minutes. We spotted Gopal as he was running towards his 30th mark. He told us he had had a fall at the 7th Km of the race and also had cramps. We asked him if he wanted to rest, but he shook his head, waved and was off again. 1.5 hours after that there was still no sign of Balaji.

I totally gave up and panicked. I was imagining all sorts of bad things that could have happened to him. He could have fallen and gotten hurt, he might have given up and gone back to the resort by ambulance and blah blah blah...something and all random thoughts were running in my head. By then even Gopal did not turn up. I started to go into panic mode and started asking every runner passing by if he had seen a guy with a bandana or had they seen a guy with curly long hair (G). All kept saying "yeah, they are behind me somewhere", and still there was no sign of these guys. The heat was killing us by then.

We tried distracting ourselves by trying hard to admire the beautiful peaceful place that we were at, but in vain. We also tried spotting the tee color that these guys were wearing and finally gave up. We started walking towards the 30thKm mark and then we spotted Balaji. Barely able to walk. Literally limping, but at a decent pace. Relief swept over me and we decided to walk back. He told us Gopal was a little behind him and Kavi waited up on the trail for him. We started towards the finish and every beep on his garmin forerunner bought us closer to the finish line and bought some cheer.

This increased the enthu level in Balaji and he started pacing again. I was out of breath by the time I caught on after my breaks at the water points. The heat and hunger slowly started getting on to me and I started walking really slowly. By now, Balaji had a few friends and he started running along with them towards the finish. By the time I reached the finish, there he was. With a "finisher" medal, and a proud smile on his face.

Folks started jumping into the water by then. We could not resist and we also let the ice cold water wash off our tired feet. We splashed about for a while and got out of the water. Just then we saw Gopal finishing and gave a whoop as soon as we saw him. It was such a beautiful moment to see a runner with injuries braving it all and finishing! This was not all, we saw a lady with a less than a year old child on a pram doing the half-marathon. A guy with a fracture, wearing a sling do a full/half (not too sure). Incredibly brave people these were. What an inspiration!! We stopped for a quick lunch at the Young Island resort. On the way Gopal and Kavi stopped by @ CCD. Gopal says, "The good news is, there is coffee. The bad news is, It is on the first floor". We literally wept. By now, Kavi and I were also limping. The folks at CCD gave us strange looks as the four of us limped our way to our couch. To my horror, these guys ordered Idly. I mean, IDLY @ CCD was too much for me to take. Anyway, that was the joke of the day for me! We somehow limped back to our respective cars after a good 1 hr of relaxing and I drove back to Bangalore. That was my first highway drive. 150Kms. Mysore-Bangalore. But the, is another blogpost by itself!!!

So, back to the man of the moment. Balaji manages to surprise me by the way he leads life. He sets goals and so high and dedicatedly works towards them. I sometimes wish I could be like him, and have supreme self-confidence that I can never really be like that. The kind of passion he has, dedicated approach, the excitement and enthu about his vision is all mind blowing. I have new found respect for the way he handled himself, kept up his spirits and managed to talk/joke around after that exhausting run!

To me, Balaji is the new definition of will-power itself! 42Kms is insane and pure madness according to a whole lot of folks, me included. I am still amazed that you pulled it off and managed to walk around after that. If i ever walked that distance, I would have wound up in the hospital!
Way to go champ. Incredibly proud of your achievement.

You rose some 10 feet tall in front of my very own eyes. I am grateful that I was able to witness this event and share the moment with you.

You Rock!

After this, I fell for you all over again! >-----<-0 like that!

She haunts...

2010-09-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

He felt an odd feeling in his heart. Everything was perfect. He had a beautiful wife. He basked in all the love she showered on him. He loved her too. And told her that often. More to convince himself than her. He earned well enough to take care of all her needs. Yet, his eyes always scanned the crowds. He knew he should not be doing that while his wife held his hands. So lovingly and looked at him with so much warmth.

Yet, he feels guilty of thinking back often. Thinking of what might have been, if he had not let her go. Guilt sliced him every time he thought of her.

Why did he long to spot her in the crowds? What would he do if he ever saw her again? Smile? Walk towards her? Walk away from her? Talk to her? Introduce her to his wife? Cry? Would he look into her eyes? Would he avert it?

It was all so confusing. If that was love, then what was that he felt for his wife? If that was love, what is this? Care? Friendship? Companionship? A need to love and be loved? Desperation?

He shook his head, as if clearing all those thoughts. This is love. He said to himself sternly. Only this. That was not. He had to let go.

There was just a small problem. He did not know how.

150th

2010-08-30T23:11:00.000-07:00

God knows what I had so much to talk about!! I dont believe I wrote so much! 150 posts for me is a big milestone. I never thought I'd get there actually.

This blog has given me so much. So many words, so many emotions, so many new friends. So many touched my life, I hope I touched a few as well. A simple thank you to my small circle of readers, will not even suffice, for having bought out so many words through encouragement, critisism and even a pat on the back.

Thank You.

Paneer Fried Rice

2010-08-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

Dear All. Long time no see no hear!

Am back with a recipie that we tried over the weekend. The husband bought some paneer and intelligently placed it in the freezer. It became really difficult to chop it. Had to heat a pan of hot water and place the panner in a bowl and put it in the pan for it to become soft.

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice, Jheera, Green Chilli, Finely chopped Onions, ginger paste, garam masala, pepper powder, elaichi powder, corriander leaves.

Step 1 :Soak the Basmati rice for about 15-20 mins and then cook it. Keep aside.

Step 2: In a frying pan, heat oil, add some jheera and green chillis. Once the jheera turns dark brown, add the chopped onions. Saute well. Once it turns golden brown, add the chopped paneer and saute for a couple of mins. Add salt, pepper powder, garam masala powder and ginger paste. Mix well and on low flame for 2-3mins.

Step 3:Add the boiled rice and mix. Remember not to saute it too much, becomes gooey otherwise.

Step 4:Sprinkle finely chopped coriander leaves on top and serve

:-)

Catching up.

2010-08-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

What am I upto these days?

-Cleaning.
-Planning to spend (loads of) money decorating my living space in an (desperate) attempt to bring some colour and light into my home.
-Cooking. The pasta I made tonight was too good.
-More cleaning.
-While at it, I realized, that I have loads of cute earrings now. (Never cared for stuff like that before. One diamond stuff and I used to be with it for years...now it’s all different. One fake one each day.) And that too neatly kept in Balaji's Tonido Plug box. He won’t be very pleased to know his Tonido's cover has some 50 odd really cute and really fake earrings :D
-Now that the rant of my earrings is over, let’s move to other things?
-I keep typing em for me. Making weird weird typos these days. (After I published this post, i edited "typing". I had earlier typed it as tying. bah!)
-Shoot out maha maha enthu e-mails to buddies about a certain hyperlink and 'forget' to attach the link, leaving everybody confused and getting confused as to why everybody is so confused. Catch my point? :-)
-The whole world is sick. My Daddy, amma, sis, husband, sister-in-law, her two very cute and very adorable kids, her father-in-law and so on. The news is...I am NOT sick. All thanks to my new (very tech-savvy Apple i-Phone loving) Homeo Doc. He also gives excellent book recommendations and some gyan each time we visit him. This is one doc whom I like and take him and his medicines very seriously. I even hold my nose and swallow the SeaCod tablets. For my health, Thanks Doc.
-I got a membership with JustBooks. Too god dammed awesome.
-I cycle regularly, atleast to return and get more books. My Juliet is a dream! :D :D

By the day, the list to be thankful to the husband is increasing.

Scary? Spooky?

How about......just plain lucky?

For You...

2010-07-26T04:33:00.000-07:00

Have I told you that I love the way you drive?
Have I thanked you lately for having taught me to drive?

Do you know how sweet and vulnerable you look while you sleep?
Do you know I smile when you suddenly put your hand around me while still asleep?

Have I told you that you make the best maggi noodles in the whole wide world?
Have I told you how sweet you look when you scold me for having forgotten my medicines?

Do you know I'd kill to have dimples like yours?
Do you know that I get shivers down my spine when you smile impishly?

Have you noticed my eyes going wide as I look at the pics you click?
Have you noticed that I talk about you more than I talk about myself?

Do you know that I love listening to your one liners and you laughing at them yourself
Do you know its funny when you try to understand meaning of Hindi and Kannada words playing on Radio.

Have I told you how scared I am to stay alone at home?
Have I told you how much light you fill in to my life?

Do you know how much you mean to me?
Do you even know how much I love you? Do you?

PS: Part Real, Part Fiction. You better believe it.

From Roja...to Raavan

2010-07-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

My love for the man has not reduced ONE bit. Really. I sometimes wake up and tunes play in my mind. Always the ones composed by the man himself. My friends (or atleast the ones I used to have a few years ago) used to call me a Rah"maniac". I feel very proud when that word is used on me..I love the sound of that word "Rahmaniac".

I was sleeping when the movie Roja started. Then suddenly, I was blinded by some bright light. I saw the sun come up...and suddenly the starting bit of Chinna chinna aasai woke me up. And I stayed put, paying rapt attention to the screen. I was not seeing the movie. I was actually observing the music that was playing in the background. Completely captivated the (then) little girl.

The man actually conquered my heart that day, and till date he simply rules. I never for a minute doubted his capacity/ ability to move me to tears, to make me smile, to make me want to get up and dance (with my two left feet), to put taalam to his tunes , to nod my head in appreciation, to fill my eyes with dreams and to simply light my heart.

There are two men in my life. One Dad and one husband. Both simply LOVE to say annoying things about my ARR and irritate me. They simply love to see me going red with anger and scrowling at them. While they go on and on and on and see me sulking. Grr @ them. Say all you want, you two. The fact remains that my man bought home TWO Oscars and well....some words are best left unsaid.

But, irrespective of what anyone says, I still love my man. And I will always. I pray that he has a happy, healthy and a very very very long life ahead of him. I am proud that I live in the same era as he does and breathe the same air as he does and walk on the same ground that he does. I do not understand the feeling though. Someone says something nice about him, I feel ten feet tall with pride. Someone is mean and nasty about him, I want to kill him. Whats all this? Some previous birth connection eh? Spooooky I say! My confused feelings apart,

Long Live, God Bless and Truck loads of Love to you,

your very humble, tiny and an insignificant devotee,
vasumathi balaji sridharan

Six

2010-07-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

Not much can happen in 6 years right? Wrong. Very wrong.

Much has happened. I finished post-grad. Got a job. Fell down badly. Bled. Got hurt. Healed. Got Engaged, Got married (to the same guy mind you) and now shuttling between being a working professional and managing home.

I cannot believe I managed to survive for 6 years without you around. The pain is still fresh. It is still like physical pain. I sometimes cannot bear to be alive, when I think of you. It still hurts all over each time I hear a wailing ambulance. I still pretend you are somewhere abroad and I cannot see you or talk to you right now. I hope you are at peace. I hope all is well in your land. I hope you know how much we love you. I hope you are watching over V.

Say Hi to Taatha/Paati and Chitiya from me. Tell them I love them and miss them very much. Tell Chitiya, I did not marry a Gujarati guy after all. He wont be very pleased :-)

Please be around and help me face the world with a brave smile. Please let nobody see the tears behind the bespectacled face. Please give me the courage to behave normally infront of perima and peripa. Nobody can take that place, nobody can smile like you. Nobody has your voice. Nobody kisses my forehead like you. Where do I look for comfort? This is horrible. Please help me get through another 6 years...I cannot bear the thought of a long strech of road ahead without you around...

Please dont ever forget, I love you and will always do. For as long as I live.

Half-yearly flashback!

2010-06-30T22:52:00.000-07:00

Whew! First 6 months of 2010 months flew past already. Meanwhile, I have not won any award, not filed any patent, not written any whitepaper, not learnt to play the guitar, not published a book, not bought a Royal Enfield, not walked on moon...yet.

But, I have managed to do other things.

Jan :Cycled 100kms

Feb :Celebrated Valentine's month with Pneumonia in the hospital blowing heart shaped balloons.

March: Hectic work schedule handling escalations :'(

April: Powered Sunglasses, US Trip (yay!!!)

May: Ran Sunfeast 10K in 88min 13seconds (Double yay!!) . Started learning a beautiful Kalayana Vasantham Varnam.

June: One awesome Team Workshop. Played Guitar. Finished reading 5 books. Watched a movie. Hair-Cut. Fell in love. With the FIFA theme song. Added an awesome_max blogger to messenger and talk to her once a while. I simply get refreshed each time I talk to her! Girl, Thanks for being a part of my non-existent social life :-)

I am still miles away from my closest friends and vice versa. I still long to hear their voices and spend time with them the way I used to earlier. There’s absolutely NO progress on that one :'(

It might not be a star-studded list, but still leaves me content and warm as I think back. Me the peaceful.

when it rained...

2010-06-16T09:04:00.000-07:00

She woke to a bright and a beautiful sunrise. She glanced at the calendar and gave a start. Suddenly remembering that it was his birthday! She had planned little surprises for him every year and he just loved every one of them. Her eyes clouded over as she lovingly took his picture in her hands and touched it gently to her cheek. "Happy Birthday", she whispered. A single tear dropped on his smiling cheek in the frame. She wiped them off slowly and placed it back on the dresser. Just as she finished making her coffee, the weather suddenly changed. The sun went behind the clouds and it started to drizzle and started pouring. She just stood in her balcony and watched the trees and roads getting wet.

They had both loved the rains. She remembered the cozy times they had shared watching the rain. She did not love the rain anymore. She could not stand the very sound and smell of rains anymore. She had started hating it. It made her cry. She wondered if the rain gods were in pain as well, to cry the way, she was crying now.

It made her heart ache as she thought back. Every corner of the house reminded her of him. She could not take the pain anymore. She ran and picked a shirt of his and wore it. It was a couple of sizes big for her. She inhaled deeply, to ensure his smell lingered on her. She had to move on. She knew that. He had made it clear that he was not coming back. Her mind knew it. Her heart refused to accept it. It was impossible for them to have a life together anymore, he had said. He could not be tied down to her. He said, he had outgrown her after years together. Every word had hurt her like a dagger. She calmly took it all then. With time, the hurt became worse. With time, her memory of him kept getting fresh.

She could never forget and she could never stop loving him. His voice was what she missed most. Nobody said her name the way he did. She had felt safe each time he said her name. She loved his smell. She missed his deep laughter. She missed his laughing eyes. She missed seeing him frown when he was concentrating on something. She missed listening to him humming, mostly off-key. She missed him so much that it had become like physical pain.

A corner of her heart waits for him to come back.

A tiny voice within her says he might come back someday. Somehow today she did not hate the rain so much. She just stood letting the rain wash over her, her faith deepening that someday he will come back.

the wait...

2010-06-15T04:43:00.000-07:00

Its feels incredibly lonely. I have never shopped all alone.Never.Not once. Not even a slipper or a comb or a lipstick or even a pen. Well you get the idea. I have always had parents or my husband or my friends go with me. For the first time there is nobody. Parents are far away. Husband is working.

Friends...the lesser said about them the better. I have given up waiting for someone to call me. You ight ask why i do not call folks. Well. Remember i am supposed to be married!! I am busy!!!! *idiots*

I would like someone to put it in their heads that I am just married and not dead. Anyway from 400 friends to 0 often brings a lump to the throat.But today i am not going to cry. Today I will give my tears a slip.

But i will continue to wait.....

Tomato Spinach Pasta Soup

2010-06-09T02:54:00.000-07:00

have not ventured into recipe writing before this.
(Psst, thats because I haven't ventured much into the kitchen before this). .

Self mockery apart, I had not eaten too much Italian before wedding and hence found Balaji's affection for Italian food amusing. But over time, I have grown to love it as well. After a long day at office, we wanted to finish dinner with a quick and simple dish. He read some recipies and came up with this idea of Tomato Spinach Pasta soup which he promised would be quick and tasty and filling. We enjoy that quiet when I chop vegetables and he tries to cook something exotic and vive-versa. We just watch the vegetables boiling over, consult each other about trivial things like salt and spices. I cannot explain it, but its strangely fun when we make dinner together.

Back to business. Heres what you need:
-4 Tomatoes finely chopped
-1 cup of Spinach finely chopped
-1 cup of pasta boiled
-Olive oil
-Salt to taste
-Chili powder
-Pepper powder
-Pasta sauce
-1 tbsp Lemon juice

Heat olive oil in a pan, add the tomatoes, let it boil nicely into a paste. Add the boiled pasta and stir for a few minutes. Add the pasta sauce and stir. Add the spinach and close the lid. Add salt , chili powder and pepper powder to taste.

Dinner ready. Ensure you have some bread to go with it, else you will end up hungry in the next one hour of dinner like we did.

Bon appétit!

Tales of my travels...

2010-05-31T23:57:00.000-07:00

I keep saying that I do not travel much and I dont click enough. When the contest at Blogadda was announced to share your favourite photos, I was amazed by my own repository of memories, that I have collected with time. Psst, If I win (with any luck at all) I get a Personalised Tee from Pringoo). Exciting ain't it?!

I am sharing five of my most favourite memories with you.

So, ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts and get set for the ride!

There comes a moment in all our lives when the future is a big question mark. At such a point, was when my travel to Muktinath in the Himalayas happened. Amongst so much serinity, beauty, I felt very close to God and almost felt the wisper in the wind, saying "Go with peace, everything will be fine."

This was shot at Belur in Karnataka. A must-visit for Architecture lovers! The stone carvings are a joy to look at and you can spend nearly a month looking at them daily and not get bored. The mastery and the craftsmanship is genuiney awe-inspiring!

While transfering our honeymoon pics to the laptop, my husband and me looked at this pic and choroused,"WOW!". Shot at the famous HawaMahal in Jaipur, this is indeed a sight for pink lovers!

Abbey Falls, Coorg. You have to walk a certain distance to get to the falls. We thought it would be a small trikle of water, and it wont be a big deal. Well, as always, the unexpected happens and as we neared the falls, the noise was deafenning! A massive falls awaited us, and we just had to click!

Water always has a very calming effect on me. That day, the sea was particularly calm. Spent some quiet moments watching the sun come up at Kanyakumari. The Vivekananda rock and the Tiruvalluvar statue are seen far away.

I definitely do have many more to share, I wish it was share 10 pictures instead of five!! But, thats all for now, more when the next contest is announced.

Love and Smiles,
The-Click-Happy-Me!

The heart shaped bubbles...

2010-05-19T23:23:00.000-07:00

What exactly is life made of? What is your life made of? Mine I think is made of small moments that I like to call "tiny pieces of heart shaped bubbles". As When I look back, I only remember them. Small little red colored heart shaped bubbles floating in my heart.

Off late, in the last four weeks, I have made so many such bubbles, just to be kept locked so safely, deep in my heart.

Starting from the take off at Bangalore airport, to the quick run at London Heathrow to catch the next flight to San Francisco. The view of the Golden Gate from the plane. Got a shock of my life seeing it "bright and sunny" at 8PM. Never really got used to it till I left the country. I myself found my amazement of such a small thing quite cute. Spoke to a bunch of friends Cow, Gowri , a cousin who lives in the bay area, and it was nice to catch up.

Beginning of a lovely day with Quay, his wife Sam and their adorable little boy, Jonathan. The first view of Pier 39 sea lions, the cruise on Blue & Gold fleet, freezing on the deck, trying to take pics of Balaji with the Golden Gate Bridge background while hands went completely numb! Saw the beach at such close waters, got tempted, asked Quay if I could go touch the water. Quickly took off shoes and ran to the beach while Balaji bought some nice hot coffee for me! The total peaceful walk on the Golden gate bridge with Sam, just talking about our lives. Pointed some Silk saree clad maamis wearing Nike shoes with Pothys bag to Balaji and it was so funny!! It was very pleasant to get a different perspective of how people on the other side of world live their lives. The funny ride along Lombard Street, the world's most crooked street, literally screaming and laughing in excitement as Quay drove down the road! Balaji went to work the next day, A friend of mine Aishu dropped by, we went shopping and had a lovely lunch at Amber India, generally talking about our lives. She took me home and sang a lovely Krithi for me. I was amazed that such a slim and frail looking girl has such a strong voice!

I also made a small bubble of Manoj, Arthi, both their mom's feeding Balaji and me with so much love, just as moms do. Balaji says, "Ok vasu, you have another 3 hours in SFO, what do you want to do?". Without batting an eyelid, I said," I want to see the Golden Gate one last time before I leave". The literal dash to the airport making it just in the nth minute!

I was mentally and emotionally exhausted and almost had no space for more bubbles. I thought thats it. I am done. But, as usual, Life was right, and I was wrong. I made more bubbles, and such lovely lovely ones at that.

The biggest one being the hug that my little cousin Maya gave me as soon as she saw me. The shocked expression on Manu's face after he saw me made my surprise visit a complete success and worth everything I ever dreamt of! The yummy food that my aunt cum best buddy made for me. Maya's softball game, my aunt's friends Luz and Neil, who said, just take kids off school and take them to Disney. Then it all began in earnest.

The planning for Disney Trip in Orlando. It was funny driving to Orlando listening to "Devuda Devuda Ezhu mala devuda" as Maya and me sang along! Just loved the first view of Disney's Magic Kingdom. Just L.O.V.E.D it. The Cinderella castle, the Jumbo ride, the teacup ride, car race with Manu (Just for the record, He lost and Maya and me won as Maya drove!!),Splash mountain a 50 feet dip into the water while Manu hid under my leg and Maya was looking around and smiling and clapping her hands! The Thunder Mountain fast and crazy ride, Buzz Light-year and really cute train ride along Kingdom which said," No eating, drinking, smoking, Kissing allowed in the train". Did a little bit of shopping @ the Disney store and everything was just way too cute and...Expensive!

Oh, how did I miss out the character parade. Its "THE" most adorable parade ever. Waved to, sang along with all the Disney characters! Mickey, Miney, Pooh,Chip and Dale, Cinderalla,Peter, Beauty and the Beast, Goofy, Donald and Daisy Duck are so much more adorable in real life! Saw some lovely fireworks from the car park as we decided to call it a day. I also made a tweeny weeny bubble of the leg pain that we all had at the end of the day after walking for miles together in a Magical land. But then, that pain reminded me, that I was after all a human being and I was real. All these are just fake. Just Magic. But, what beautiful magic....Sigh!

Woke up next morning to a cloudy day with the sun thankfully playing hide and seek. Made a nice little bubble of memory of Epcot. The huge white ball, which stands proud as the symbol of Epcot will always be fresh in my mind! We did some amazing rides here. Landing on Mars, Mission Space (Btw, this was Powered by HP), Finding Nemo and the most most most fantastic of the lot, Soarin' . What a wonderful ride flying from coast to coast of the US. The ride got over and everyone who did the ride with us started clapping! For some strange reason, that stays in my mind.

The countries, O Cananda, Morrocco, Mexico, the drummers in front of Japan , Posing in front of the mock Eiffil Tower, trying hard to explain that we were vegetarian to the lady who took our orders for lunch repeatedly saying, "No beef, no meat, no chicken and no egg", she gave us a looks that said, "Then what will you eat?", and we returned a look that said, "Grass" :D

The ride back home to Coral Springs while we all just...slept while the poor aunt stayed awake and took us home!

The days sped past doing some record-time shopping at JC Penny, Ross, picking stuff for folks at WalMart,and a neat mall called Sawgrass Mills Malls. All this in between picking and dropping the kids to school and Maya's softball game. I enjoyed a run along the park where Maya played. Met some wonderful friends of aunt, Michelle, Sunny uncle, Jessi aunty, their two kids, Jyothsna aunty and Naresh Uncle. Balaji's friend dropped in to say hello and it was very interesting to meet different kinds of people and exchange ideas and thoughts. Also went to Deerfield beach. Lovely blue, clean and ice-cold water. Made sand castles with Maya and collected shells with Manu :-)

Even before I knew it, it was time to leave and literally with both Manu and Maya sticking next to me all the way to the airport, talking about how the trip was and how much fun we had being together. I would not make a bubble of the tears at the airport, but they invariably became a part of the memory :-(

The six hour flight was crazy, without a wink of sleep, looking at all the pics and videos and missing the kids so badly :-(

Seeing Balaji at the LA airport was like the sun had come out of a cloud! There he was standing with the entire luggage wearing a bright warm smile on his face with his hand outstretched. LA was a different bubble altogether. Lights everywhere, tall buildings, sweet wide roads, traffic just like Bangalore :-)

Next day, Balaji went too office, worried what I will do all day alone in the Hotel Room, but then, Off I went exploring LA on my own! Took a Burbank local bus and went to Malls, ate at Chipotle, walked around, spent a few quiet hours at the $1 bookstore and generally was hanging out. Did not have the guys to Hollywood street on my own. I probably should have done that considering ti was not very far from where we stayed.

Visited Universal Studios and oh man! So much fun at the Water Show, a really funny Animal Show ,Shrek , Horror Lane Walk, wow, this was really scary! Throat almost went sore screaming! Jurassic Park ride with a 84 feet dip and dinosaurs spitting water on us, The Mummy Ride , Simpsons ride, Terminator were really enjoyable except for that annoying lady at the Terminator ride saying "Super" in an annoying tone. Someone should get her to grow up. We said hello to Dora and Shrek as well :-)

Next day, did a quick walk along Hollywood Walk of fame, saw the white Hollywood sign on the hill, The Kodak theater, Madam Taussad's (did not go in, had a flight to catch the same day evening, so just walked past). Had some Dal Chawal at the Indian restaurant in LA and it felt quite odd, and definitely relieving not to be eating Grass in Subway and drinking Starbucks coffee.

The ride back home felt terribly long and never ending as we just tried hard and struggled to fall asleep. Got back to the BLR airport got picked up by the wrong car. Somehow cleared the confusion and fell asleep laughing at the goof up.

Its one week that I am back home, working till midnight on almost daily basis and hence the delay in sharing my bubbles. Will put pics up very soon and share!

Off I go now, cherishing these bubbles and making more as days of my life come by.

I bought home..Gold!

2010-05-16T01:57:00.000-07:00

Yipeee!!! Close to Akshaya Tritiya, when Bangalore and the rest of the world is busy buying Gold, I was busy buying a bike. After months and months and months of waiting for a small frame bike, I finally bought a Merida Juliet 10V. She is a breeze to ride and a joy to look at. A pleasant blue, and hence not too girly! I yam in lowve.

Heres the link to view my new best friend: http://www2.merida-bikes.com/en_INT/Bikes.Detail.114. Yes, you are permitted to be Jelous now :D

She is an MTB, but I got the tires changed to sleek. There are 3 gears on the left and 8 on the right. Shimanov gears, V-brakes, it does have shock absorbers, but I think I need to read up and see how it works. The saddle is awesome. I am slowly getting used to it and I keep shifting on the saddle to find the right position.

Time to start riding to work (provided I get a proper bike parking and ensure there is enough security!)

Someone at the store asked me, "So you bought the Juliet, where the Romeo?", and I quietly pointed to the husband ;) . Quite contrary to the title of this post, I think I bought home a diamond.

Do wave to me if you see me flying past you as you wait for the traffic to clear.
*evil grin*

Leaving on a jet plane!

2010-04-19T09:30:00.001-07:00

"Will this Tee look nice?", I asked. "No, The colour is too bright. They dont wear such colours "there" ...or do they? ", he asked. Good lord, I am just beginning to feel the excitement as I pack.

Balaji is going on work there and is taking me along. Waiting to gaze at the Golden Gate Bridge with him by my side. Really. I still dont really believe it, as I pack for the whilwind tour.

I am also going to meet my aunt (whom I love a lot) and her two really adorable kids. Waiting to meet them give them a big surprise! (Hope they do not read this blog before I get there. huh)

I am doing BLR-SFO-Florida-LA-BLR. Any of you folks around there and wish to meet/talk on phone, pls do drop a comment/.mail. Would love to sync up!

Oh Yea, Whereever I am, there is some confusion/uncertainity right? And how did I leave out mentioning that part? The Volcanic Ash. This trip that I am so excited about, itself has just some 50% chance of happening. But, I am excited nevertheless.

So, Pray for me brother!

So,

2010-04-17T10:24:00.000-07:00

The initial denial phase is over.

Its official now.

I am...blocked.

Yes.I have a writers block. I cannot come up with anything remotely cute, funny, sad, nice, sweet or crappy.

So, see you when I see you.

Wordless-From-Within

Heena

2010-03-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

Heena was never the beauty. It was always her sisters. She was always the ugly duckling. They were good at studies, extra-curriculars. She was so-so in both. But it was the emptiness in her eyes which would hold people's attention. It was strangely empty. Only she knew the reason. Inferiority complex drove her to get away from home for a few hours daily. Extra classes, she had said. But, she went to the secret camp. It was a secret she would guard for the rest of her life.

A massive open ground. Thousands of people. A beeline of cars. One stage. She was a part of that crowd. Just standing and waiting to see the leader. Just like thousands of others. But, she wanted to see him. One last time. The minute he came on stage there was a hustle and bustle as people tried to inch forward. The weight in her belly made it impossible for her to even stand. She still struggled to move ahead like the rest. In the husle-bustle, she never looked up. Suddenly, she could see him. Clearly. As an instant reflex, tears streamed down her eyes. Tears. Tears of hate. The hate that she had carefully planted as a seed, watered it till it grew to be a tall and strong tree. It would all be over soon, she told herself. She would unload her weight in a while. Then I will be free, she thought.

She slowly inched forward. People reluctantly gave way to her seeing her condition. She could now see him clearer. "Every need of yours will soon be fulfilled. There will be water in the wells, lights in your homes and mobile phones in your pockets", he was saying loudly. She inched closer. " I will ensure they lay roads, repair the school building and post-office in this village.", he continued making his promises.

She was a few feet away from him. She stopped. Suddenly having second thoughts. Should she walk up to him and yell at him? Should she make his crime public? Will any of it matter? Will it not ruin her name further?

Images flashed past her mind. He was her uncle. His abuses, the beatings, the blood, the scars and the tears were all a par of her childhood memories. She suddenly clutched her stomach, jumped ahead the stage and in a minute was standing in front of him.

Before he could react, she smiled. One evil, wicked smile. A smile of victory. Then there was a blast. A big one. Her smile had said, I am free at last. I am not carrying any more baggage. Her smile, had been the one of death.

Celebrating...Me!

2010-03-07T23:20:00.001-08:00

I sometimes do not know what exactly I want,
I sometimes do not understand to differentiate between my want and need,
I most of the times confuse left with right, I love having the last word in any argument,
I might sometimes not know when to make noise and when to keep quiet,
“It is not me, it is my X chromosome!”, I say in my defense!

I look after my family, with lots of care and thought,
I put in a lot of love into my relationships,
I get to my office on time, I write programs with passion,
I can cycle to keep myself fit; I can maneuver a car and park it as well,
I am passionate about latest gadgets and technology.

I celebrate life, Smile at strangers, Wave at kids on the road,
I enjoy sharing giggles with close buddies, Exchange recipes with fellow women,
I blow a kiss to my better half unseen in a crowded room,
I sing on top of my voice while on the road, I do not enjoy sports too much,
I can converse with a four year old and a sixty year old with respect that they deserve,
I am a daughter, a sister, a wife, a daughter-in-law (oops!)

I am a woman and by default I play many roles, I battle hard to do justice to each of these,
I enjoy the journey as well as the destination,
I might stumble and fall while wearing these multiple hats, at such times,
I seek just a teeny weenie hug, a small reassuring smile,
I seek strength sometimes from outside, but mostly from within,
I am a woman and so very proud to be one!

Wish you a very Happy International Women's Day (If you are a lady)
Do remember to wish your near and dear ones and make them feel special in a small way (if you are a man)

The latest devil in my life...

2010-02-28T06:08:00.000-08:00

Have you been awake whilst the whole world sleeps peacefully? I am sure you have.
Have you tossed and turned and tried hard to sleep? I am sure you have.
Have you faced that struggle? That struggle to sleep? I am sure you have.

Lets see if you have tried all that I tried.

1.Reading a very boring book.
2.Music. Especially Nama Ramayana which is my official lullaby since the day I was born but...absolutely NO help..i only ended up singing along in mute mode.
3.Imagine. Pretend I am a mermaid in the ocean or a camel in the dessert. Huh.
4.Surf the net. Read blogs (and end up with a headache next morning)
5.Stare. Just stare at the fan.
6.Watch TV (but at 3AM, that is a bad idea)
7.Tweet. does not help, most of my friends are fast asleep by then anyway!
8.Yearn to have someone to *talk* to. Scroll through the phone book, look at each name carefully, move on to the next name and finally give up and toss the phone aside.
9.Go up to the first floor and roam around the house. Get bored and come down again and try to sleep.
10.Pray. and almost end up crying out of self pity.Cha!

It has been more than 10 days since my sleep pattern got screwed up. I sleep at 3AM sometimes, sometimes 5AM and wake up at 10AM!!

Insomnia. Bleddy Hell!

The house-arrest and the rest....

2010-02-23T04:22:00.000-08:00

I am bored. As in very very bored. I have been house arrested. Thanks to a bout of a bad lung congestion and infection.

I cribbed and cribbed initially during times of illness. I had nothing to do but to lie down all day and stare at the idiot box which annoyed a whole bunch of folks. Now I am recovering and have gradually reduced watching the idiot box. After some soul searching and kicking myself for wasting time, I grew up and decided to do a few useful things with the time that I have suddenly been blessed with.

Something like these below :-)

1. Browsing the net to figure out a neat bike (cycle) to buy. At the same time sell off the one I currently have.
2. After eons, I heard U.Ve.Velukkudi Krishnan swamy, my spiritual guru, talk about the greatness of KoorathAazhwAn. Blisssss!
3. Learn the Abhogi varnam atleast this month!
4. Handmade two bookmarks.yay!
5. Dabbled with some writing and also a few paints.
6. Catching up with the technology world.
7. Gave myself a nice manicure and pedicure.
8. Learnt to make some yum soups :-). Yet to learn to make idly batter and to set milk to make curd at home.
9. Reading friend's and non-friend's blogs and wishing I can write like them.
10.Do a lot of breathing exercises and drinking loads of water.
11.Make To-Do list to shed flab, and look really pretty by the end of this
year :P
12. Currently reading a very nice book, "Love in the times of Cholera" and enjoying every bit of it.

My majorest Plan is *not* to visit a hospital for the next TWO years. NOT even for a fever/cold/sore throat and NO more needle pricks and IV's on both hands. Thanks very much. I have had enough of them.

So, what do you do when you are ill and house arrested??!

Garam Masala - Part 2

2010-02-21T01:32:00.000-08:00

As Ashok entered the house, he was surprised to see the house so dark. He called out to her and did not get any response. Then he saw her, sitting in the dark, hugging her knees and he heard a small whimpering sound. He got scared seeing her cry. He switched on the lights and asked her what happened.

She just looked at him and asked, "Look, I know there is someone else in your life. I have just one question...Why?". His eyes almost popped out and he said, "What nonsense is this Rathi? Have you lost your head or what?". She gave him a sad smile, pointed to the gym bill, said "Then whats this? You dress better, you wear hair gel, you come home late everyday.You are obviously busy. This explains it all does it not?". He was silent for a while. Suddenly burst out laughing and said, "Silly girl. You saw a bill and jumped to conclusions eh? I joined the gym 6 months back. Managed to shed 6kgs , feeling a lot healthier. I wanted to surprise you on Valentines Day and here you go!! Letting your imagination run wild eh?".

He picked up a small cover and handed it to her. She gasped as she opened it, it was her favorite chocolate ice cream. He hugged her and softly wished her a Happy Valentines Day! She in turn fed him some burnt paneer masala and wished him back. Some people really do have all the fun on Valentines Day!

Garam Masala - Part 1

2010-02-02T22:06:00.000-08:00

Rathi, a delicate looking pretty lady in her mid-thirties, was hard at work in her kitchen. Chopping vegetables to make his favoutite panner masala. She hated panner. But he loved it. She sometimes suspected, he loved panner more than he loved her. She was already making the dish in her mind, mentally preparing the amount of salt and the garam masala that she had to add.

She suddenly paused for a second. She was forgetting something. She knew she had forgotten it. But What?

She brushed the thought aside and continued chopping. Suddenly it stuck her. It was his clothes! She had forgotten to bring them from the laundry. She quickly calculated the time that he would be home. She still had three hours. She freshened up, quickly braided her long lovely hair, grabbed her purse and ran to the road across. She paid for the laundry and rushed home. After keeping the onion tomato mix on the gas for boiling, she took out his clothes to keep them back in the clothes shelf. That is when her eyes caught the white paper. It was a gym bill worth nine thousand. He had not told her about joining any gym. Her mind raced and she thought of his behavior of the last few months.

He suddenly seemed more energetic. He looked younger and had complained that his trousers were becoming loose for him. He dressed well and even used a hair gel these days, something he had never done in the past.

Her head spinned and she held the bed post for support. Was he cheating on her? Was it one of her friends? Or was it some co-worker who had weaved a web of magic on him? She had to know. She needed answers. She could not bear the thought of him with someone else. Numbed, she just sat down wondering what to do, whom to ask and how to ask.

Suddenly an odour hit her nostrils. It was her masala that was burning on the stove. She ran to the kitchen to switch off the gas. Went back to the room, closed the curtains and just sat on the bed hugging her knees.

Twilight - A review.

2010-01-23T08:51:00.000-08:00

My co-worker lent me two of her favorite books. Twilight and Life of a Pi. First one a romance and the next one a philosophy. She asked me the next day, which one I had started first. I said, "not started, but finished". I finished Twilight. She grinned and said, "I knew it. You are such an incurable romantic". I grinned back. But then, what she said is true. I hope the "best three fourth" agrees ;)

So, Twilight is a book about a girl, who does not think much about her looks, though people think of her as very pretty. She is clumsy, drops things, falls while walking on a plain terrain, is terrified of dancing, hates her gym classes and her partners in badminton have to play and fight the match single-handed with more harm from her than help.

She falls in love with a stunning drop-dead gorgeous looking guy in her class. And here is where the story takes a beautiful turn. She falls in love with a guy who has supernatural powers. On prodding, she figures he is a vampire. And there are not just one, but an entire family of them living in the neighbourhood. He gets attracted to her as well and also in the process puts her at great risk, when some of his acquaintances want to drink her blood. Read this book to know

-Does he save her from her death trap?
-Does she also turn into a vampire and they live for the next century happily ever after?
-Does he refuse to turn her into a vampire and she like mere mortals die and he lives on?

Unputdownable in my opinion. Loved it to bits and this story will stay in my head for a long time to come.

Of love and longing..

2010-01-17T22:32:00.000-08:00

There was something about that smile. It reached her eyes. He had never seen anything sweeter than that sparkle in her eyes. It made his heart do a somersault. He could never get tired of watching her. He could never describe it as well.

He worked at a bank. He would everyday sit in the same paper cluttered desk, work on the same numbers, eat food cooked by his cook , dress ordinarily and board a bus to work. That's what he was and he knew it. Just an ordinary looking random joe. He lead a pretty colorless life with a frighteningly boring routine.

The only color in his life was her smile. He longed to speak to her and express his feelings, but he never got that chance.

But, that night was different. That night he got to see her. At very close quarters. He got to touch her delicate skin. He got to feel her soft silky hair. He got to hug her and cuddle her softly against his chest. He longer to go further.

There was a doorbell. They both froze.He sat bolt upright.

He had woken to a bright sunny morning to be greeted by his toothless doodhwala.

Wanting to be free

2010-01-12T20:55:00.000-08:00

Ever felt suffocated in a relationship? Ever felt like breaking free?
Ever felt like turning around and screaming at the person to let you go?
Ever felt wanting to hide under the bed?
Ever wanted the earth to open up and swallow you?
Ever felt like being enveloped in a hug where you cant even breathe?
Ever felt like having a knot in your stomach of size of an eggplant?

Ever felt like saying...dude..can you please unfollow me?

The orange-pink moment in a day..

2010-01-11T21:34:00.001-08:00

It is that time of the day,
Where the sky is orange,
When the sun is about to sleep,
In the arms of the sea that rocks it back and forth.

It is that time of the day,
Which comes with a strange calm
When Amidst noise, silence is heard.
A stillness, which is hard to define.

Its that time of the day, when its not dark,
When its not bright,
With the sun god still lurking around,
And so are a few bright stars.

Yes.It is That time of the day
That I love most,
That I call, my time of the day,
Twilight.

Lost...never to be found.

2010-01-11T00:24:00.000-08:00

She went cold suddenly. Just numb to all the maddening crowd around her. All the buses were arriving and departing at their scheduled time. There were people boarding and getting off. Some just waiting for their buses. Some walking around searching for their platforms. But she was unaware of everything. And Everybody.

She had casually put her hand on her neck to adjust her duppatta. That was when she realized something was missing. Her chain. The one that he had bought for her as an engagement gift. A Gold chain with a heart shaped diamond pendant. The one she had loved to fiddle with each time she thought of him. Which she had done a lot over the last two months.A loud honk of a bus right behind her shook her awake and forced her to face reality. The bus driver hurled abuses at her and asked her to move away to the platform. Scared out of her wits, she stumbled across to the platform.

Finally, when she reacted, she felt a wave of panic wash over her. Vision blurred as tears filled her eyes. She felt so helpless and lost. She had no idea how to explain this to her mom and dad. Both of them were very strict, disciplined and organized. They hated any kind of carelessness. She shivered as she thought of their reactions. She was even more afraid of her fiance's reaction. He had so thoughtfully and so carefully bought her the chain. How would she face him? Just as if he heard her thoughts sitting miles away, her mobile vibrated. She flipped it open, to see his smiling photo looking at her. With trembling hands she picked the phone. The minute she said Hello, he knew something was wrong. He cautiously enquired and out tumbled the story, she stammered a little as she explained what had happened. She finished the story and waited for him to react.

There was just silence in the other end. She thought the phone got cut and said 'Hello' again. All she heard was a sigh.

And then came loads of consoling words. She just stood there, with tears streaming down silently thanking the lord up above. She had no clue how he'd react. Will he be upset? Angry at her for having lost something as precious as a first gift? Will he hate her for it? Will he ever trust her with precious things again in future? Hundred such things had raced through her mind. Finally she was relieved when he spoke and asked her to just relax.

He gave her courage and asked her to talk to her parents. When she did, she was surprised, that they took it lightly as well. She came to know much later, that he had called her place before she reached and already informed them. She thanked him some hundred times for being so understanding and taking the episode so easy. She was glad to have found a cool and calm partner who valued people before things. Someone whose heart and mind were in the right places.

Each day, she would walk the same path from home to the bus station, hoping she would see it glittering somewhere and it would come back to her. But she knew deep down, that she had made someone else in the world richer by a few thousands and herself poorer by a symbol of love.

Chandni Chowk

2010-01-08T03:48:00.000-08:00

Located at Koramangala (Near Sony World Signal), A hut with a large closed door is what I saw at first glance. The doorman greeted us politely and I was so amazed by the colors and lights of this place.

The roof is that of a hut. It is literally a thatched hut. The walls are rough and red/black with tiny mirrors stuck to them. There are red and blue bandhini duppattas tied on top of the lampshades. The table sperators are bright colourful hangings. There are small lanterns on every table. The menu is done on a satin cloth held by a round knit work holder!! Ingenious, yet I wished the font size was a little bigger. Had to strain my eyes a little to read the menu.

Walls have black and while pics of well known heroines with soulful expressions :-)

Now that the description of the ambiance is over, lets move on to why we went there. To eat ofcourse!

There are limited option for vegetarian starters. Veg Hara bara and Shahi Hara Bara were both delicious. We also ordered Roti-Shoti (in the true punjabi style) and Panner Masala. The paneer was quite decent as well. We were happy with the service and the music. The parking is five times larger than the restaurant itself! They might want to think of making the restaurant a little more spacious instead of cramming in too many tables (oh, i forgot to mention, the tables are benches of stones made soft by tying up sofa cushions).

Meal for two costs approximately 650 INR.

Overall, a well spent (experience and money) lantern-lit dinner.

Of new beginnings..

2010-01-02T06:52:00.000-08:00

Heylo people!

After a whirlwind of packing, making lists, reading maps, we hit the road. Yes. The road trip of 10 days. Just us, the roads, the wind (and windmills), the sea, the sun, awesome people, temples and food. I am now back home.

Yes, the new calendar year is here. Naturally, being the list-maker, I have a looong list of things to do. Being a decent home maker and taking care of my family's health is Prio one.

Ofcourse I do have a list of work related action items, list of songs to learn, list of books to read, list of movies to watch, list of recipes to try out, list of (most dreaded) groceries, investment related lists, places to see and so on and so much more forth.

Last year, I made similar lists. Somewhere mid-way, I got lost. I got very muddled and frustrated. The very same lists which were my motivation factor, started to annoy me. Then, I gave up making lists for a while. Life just became messier.

Somewhere along the way, I understood, that I was not enjoying the process of completing the action items, which was why ticking off those action items never gave me any pleasure. This year, I intend to be wiser and learn to enjoy the journey as well as my destination.

May this year find you happy and healthy,
May this year bring you accolades at study and work,
May this year see you going green,
May your voices from within reverberate with positivity!!

Heartfelt Wishes for a Safe and Healthy 2010!

Emosanal Atyachaar

2009-12-16T00:51:00.000-08:00

A co-worker today casually remarked, "I sent my husband to office, sent my kid to school and just sat down on the sofa and cried.There was no reason. Everything was fine. It was a normal morning. The daughter behaved well. The husband was normal. Everything was just..normal. But I cried. And I cried a lot. As if the world's burden were on my frail slim shoulders. I can't understand this. I am so depressed."

It struck me quite strange. But I have to admit this has happened to me as well. I have cried in the past with no reason.

And felt a lot better later.

The emotions I sometimes have to deal with are so sine wave-ish. What is it with me? Is it because of being 'newly-married' (a term i have come to detest. Its been a full year man. Nothing is new now.) , is it to do with work pressure ? Is it the complexity of relationships around me? Or is it just because I am a woman and women generally lead lives with so much of emotional mess?

Most often I don't even understand them. Some days on a total high. Some days on a total rock bottom low. Some just mediocre. Normal. If I had to plot a graph of the past year, I am sure no scientist would make any sense of them. Too many highs, quite a few lows as well.

Am tired of the crazy happazard sine wave. It is High time now. I need to have a balanced life.

Bring it on , Dear Life. Let me see if I can plot a better graph next year.

Winds of Nilgiris..Part 2?!

2009-12-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

I asked my readers for help to end this one. Some dear friends came online to chat with me on this , another friend left a comment. Their feeling was unanimous. I was NOT to make the end a tragic one. I think, i will just leave the story as is and not write an end for it.

So, my dear lovely lovely readers, there will be no part-2. Thanks a lot for your appreciation and encouragement.

There are only three options. I will let you choose :-)

Maybe one died and the other lived on with the memory of his parnter.

Maybe both died and it was the end of their picture perfect life..

Maybe both survived the scars of the Nilgiris and lived happily ever after...

Winds of Nilgiris

2009-12-08T06:41:00.000-08:00

It was some kind of a private joke between them. Sajan had just gestured toward someone on the road passing-by and winked at Anjali. She hit him laughingly on the shoulder as she fastened her seat belt. Climate had suddenly changed. From sunny and sultry to chilly and rainy. Being a long weekend, they decided to set of to the picturesque Nilgiris by car. They loaded their car with their favorite music, charged up the SLR , threw in a couple of pairs of clothes and set off.

Both being in the Advertising field, had met during one of their project assignments, instantly got attracted to one another. Over a whirlwind of romance, they figured they were made for one another.Both were of fond of adventure sports, jazz music, dance and their ofcourse their profession as well. They made a stunning looking couple. Sajan, tall, fair , brown eyed athletic and with a deep soothing voice. And Anjali dimpled, frail and khol eyed beauty. Friends envied them. Relatives spoke about them constantly. They were the center of attraction wherever they went and made heads turn.

They had traveled quite a bit covering the Himalayan ranges, Tibet , beaches of Goa and temples of Hampi. Anjali had long been wanting to travel to Nilgiris and when they got the long weekend, they decided to set off. Laughing and singing their favorite songs, they started their climb. He suddenly stopped singing and concentrated on the road , his vision was getting blurred because of dense fog. There was zero visibility. It started raining. A slight drizzle at first. Then started to pour. She got scared and asked him to pull over, but he refused, since he wanted to reach the hotel before the weather got worse. Not knowing, that there was one unfortunate hair-pin bend, which would ruin their picture-perfect life. He turned left. But, There was no road on the left. There was a ditch. The car hit a stone and went down the slope.

There was a scream. Then there was silence.

To Be continued...

smile..a moment that lasted a lifetime

2009-12-01T08:22:00.000-08:00

Slowly, she pulled away her hands from his,
Turned around and started walking away.
Those moments stretched on like eons for him,
As he watched her walk. Silently pleading,
For her to turn back once. To run back into his arms,
He looked on. Willing her to turn back,
All the time praying for her to be given back to him

She walked. Slowly, holding her head high,
Not letting him see the tears that fell like rain,
This is best for him. She kept telling herself.
And she walked, The toughest walk of her life.
The moments spent together flashed across,
The pain tore through her heart, Instinctively, she turned,
Eyes met, and they smiled, through their tears.

Agam..the band.

2009-11-24T21:02:00.000-08:00

Has been very long since I heard good quality non-carnatic music. When I did, I got goosed, I had tears and felt a rush of overwhelming emotions. So moved by the sheer honesty in the lyrics , the plea in the voice of the singer, and the love with which the instrumentalists have played their parts.

This is what I heard. I heard a band called Agam. A piece called "Searching for heavens".

Bilakhte bachpanomein jaaga de zindagi,
tarsti khwahishon ka tu saahil dhoond la.

Woh khoyi jannaton ka pata phir dhoond la.

For every word written, one can say "bhale,sabaash" and get lost in the world of Agam.

"Searching for heavens". After listening to it, I wish to ask the guys, Why search? Its in your music! There is just so much more I wish to write, but how can mere words do justice to this kind of talent and honesty?

Check out more about them here

Wish all of you good health,luck,peace and many more years of good quality music!

am learning..

2009-11-20T04:27:00.001-08:00

Walked, Ran, Fell, Failed.
Got up,Ran again, this time won.

Lessons. Its all about learning lessons.
Learning along the way.

Joy that lasts a moment

2009-11-17T08:11:00.000-08:00

You sleep. Blissfully unaware of the tears,
that well in my eyes,watching you so sound asleep.
Wondering what you are dreaming about right now,
In and out, in and out, I observe that breath,
and come closer to see those lines on your forehead,
Forming a slight frown as light falls on your eyes,
and I see your forehead relax as I block the light from you.

I can spend a day staring at that fine-looking face,
At a spur of the moment,reality hits hard.
Suddenly, I know, I cannot stare anymore.
I have to set an alarm for the next morning,
to welcome a hustle-bustle filled day ahead of us,
where I cannot even look at you to my heart's content,
and....live the moment.

MLTR...Maiden Learns To dRive...

2009-11-11T09:39:00.001-08:00

I hate traffic, crowds, honking and smoke. Everything about driving drove me nuts.

I was very scared to cycle. Then I was scared of the scooty, and then I was terrified of the car. Daddy forced me and took me to a driving school. Did 16 out of the 20 classes and my 'teacher' vanished.

Dad would allow me to drive on the highway with loads of fear. I did not even know how to reverse and all, back then. Then...I got married. The husband started asking me, "So, are you planning to drive the car?” Voice in the head said, "Never". But, being the new bride and all, I did what all newly weds do....

I nodded my head.

What did you think?

Went to the driving school again. This time did all 20 classes (with great difficulty after being pushed and pressurized like hell). The instructor would weep with agony everytime I put the car into a pothole. He would say,” Madam, pothole around hogabeku, not into.". He would say, "Left indicator haaki" and yours truly would promptly put the Right indicator. After overcoming these minor issues, went to the RTO office to get the Learners License. The scary looking inspector asked me to show hand signals for Left and right and it was done. He also asked a very important question. What should you do if you have to overtake another vehicle?

Please do not ask me what I answered.

I do not remember.

Then came the actual lessons. With loads of fear, I would drive around the city. I wonder, maybe the people outside could hear my heartbeat or what. People would sometimes honk like mad at me. Some would yell. Some would roll their eyes and pass by. I would cut people badly and get yelled at. Or I would get mad at someone on the road and swear. The husband put up patiently with all this drama. Sometimes, explaining what I did wrong. Sometimes nearly shouting on top of his voice to get my attention when i was busy frowning at someone on the road.

Then came the D-Day, when the DL had to be done. Finished the two-wheeler round and another big-burly inspector asked me to drive. I started the car.
"Left-Left-Left-Left" he said. Moved the car a little. He said. "Stop. Left Reverse.”. I did that. Then he said, "Ok, move maadi". Asked me my name and where I was from. He said,” Very nice name ma" and signed. Went back to the Office, took a pic, and My DL was Done!!!!! Done Danaa don don!

Balaji, took half-day off for this circus. Pushed me all the way though to attend classes. Get LL done, Get DL done. Patiently sit through while I drove around in 2nd gear where I could have zoomed on 4th.

You know what I did today? I drove from JP Nagar to CV Raman Nagar. Dropped Balaji mid-way @ his office, took the car and went to CVR. In the evening picked him up from his office and drove back all the way home.

It is sometimes nice to be married. To have someone push you constantly to try doing something that you have never done before and are scared to even attempt.

The guy will get his reward. His wife will drop him to office and pick him up with the DL proudly tucked in a safe corner of her wallet!

That is one of the Bucket List items ticked :-)

De cluttering....Life!

2009-11-06T03:42:00.000-08:00

The minute I utter the word, 'De clutter', the first thought is that of a spic and span house, spic and span cupboard and so on. Ever thought of all the clutter on your Desktop/Laptop ?

We all have E-Mail Ids and most of us have multiple E Mail accounts. Ever thought of the clutter there? It is very important to de clutter E-Mails. Have separate folders for important projects. Create Rules for E Mails from Admin/HR/Payroll/Policies for official mailbox and have Lables like Family/Friends/Extended-Family/Guitar-Notes/Imp-Links and so on.

If you have subscribed to a group, and the settings for that Group have been set as "E Mail each time there is an update", then your mailbox gets absolutely flooded. This can be solved by setting the Group settings to "Send me Abridged Mails". So that you get the updates once a day, and you can chose which thread to read. The mailbox looked clearer and you save time reading the ones that you are interested in.

Also, it makes sense to create a separate account, just for groups that you subscribe to, so that you don't lose out on personal mails. I learnt these simple lessons , when I almost lost an important mail from a dear friend. I was about to delete it thinking it was spam, since it was buried under some music related group e-mails.

We amass enough and more information in the form of files. Ever logged into your computer and thought, "My God! i cant see my desktop background". I know some people who have some 50 files on the desktop. Also, it is a good idea to organize everything inside a drive, with meaningful names to folders. It helps to search and find stuff faster.

De cluttering is a great stress-buster and you are left with a very good feeling of satisfaction after having..done it!

I am beginning start living a decluttered life. Are you?

And.....

2009-10-31T07:41:00.001-07:00

This one gets a mention HERE!!

Maiden Campaign Ride

2009-10-25T00:50:00.000-07:00

It all begins in the mind. If you have the mental strength, you can achieve anything. I have always thought of myself as mentally and physically unfit for activities like running, cycling, trekking etc. I was happy, writing and clicking pictures and leading a sedentary life instead. My better half is an aspiring runner. He tried to inspire me to run. With great difficulty, I started doing 2kms on the treadmill. We then bought a cycle and I slowly started with 3Kms. Went on to 4, and then went on to 6 and then 8. I thought that is it. I have set my benchmark. Beyond this, is not possible. Today, at the Go Green Campaign Ride, I startled myself by doing 23Kms.

We all assembled near the Apple iStore JP Nagar at 6.30AM. Started towards Lalbagh and then to JC road and finally Cubbon park. At the start of the ride, there was an uphill @ jayannagar. I was exhausted. I was the last one to tag along and the others were way up ahead. Mr.Rao, caught up with me, and asked if I wanted to take a U-Turn and get back. I said, "No" and kept going. Each time I would slow down, he would catch up and say a few words of encouragement. He shot pictures, took videos and generally kept up the mood of the group. When we reached Cubbon Park, he gave me a huge smile and a thumbs-up saying, "That is it. You have done it.” It made the sweat in my brows worth its while.

Life's most profound philosophies will probably realized during an uphill. An uphill is Life's challenges. We struggle and fight with them. We cross them and Zoom off.

I met quite a few guys from the GGI group and the conversations around were very interesting. Ranging from cycles to Amitabh Bacchan :). A certain "Aiswarya" will know what I am talking about.

The return route was similar with enough ups, to kill me. Mr.Rao again cycled along and was talking constantly. I never realized how I finished climbing one mini-hill! With limbs aching, i reached home to an exuberant husband who was proud, that I managed to complete the ride. (He is the one who knows how terrible i am with my stamina levels). All said and done, I haven't had this much fun in ages. I intend to ride again wearing the Go Green T-Shirts, which is soon turning into a cult, and I must admit, I feel a sense of pride wearing it.

I have often heard Balaji say, "Pain is temporary, Pride is permanent". I would hear that, nod my head and move on. But, I know today, what it truly means.

Today's ride map on Nokia Sports Tracker.

Gooooooooo Cycle!

2009-10-13T22:12:00.001-07:00

Cycle. That very word brings in a memory of my mom holding the cycle and running behind me all over the apartment complex that we used to live in Baroda. After three days, when i learnt balancing, i started cycling with friends in the colony in the evenings and then from then on, it became an obsession. I just would keep cycling all over the place.

Slowly as years passed, i needed an upgrade and moved to a cycle with motor. I mean my Scooty ;)

Then that obsession also wore off. I started traveling to office by office transport and then that was the end of all cycling/driving.

Till recently, i started observing loads of people on the road with very nice looking cycles. I was tempted to ask the husband, but refrained, lest he thought i was crazy. Then one fine day, he asked if we can buy a cycle. I was a little apprehensive, since it had been years since i even touched one!

Then we took a few test rides , spoke to a few experts, read opinions and reviews on bike Discussion Forums. We went to buy a used cycle through an Ad.Unfortunately, the frame did not fit me. But the owner was kind enough to give us a few tips and gave us a contact. He also asked us to visit the Firefox showroom. Which we did. And after talking to the showroom guy and also the kind friend, we decided on a Firefox Cosmic.

I rode it around , finding it enormously uncomfortable. Saddle was real hard. Handlebar was very low, saddle very high. Helmet loose and so on. I rode back home in my brand new cycle in the pouring rain.First ride was a damp squib...literally so! Half way, i gave up, and asked the poor husband to ride it and i drove home the car.I looked at the husband after we reached home and he says, "you rode the cycle well. You did a decent job with the car too.". Ok. That was some optimism.

Second try was with the saddle a little low. Better ride but, with a bad back ache, and an elbow pain.

We were clueless. Balaji kept telling me, there is an entire family that stays close to us, and i have seen them wearing "Go Green" T-Shirts. Lets see if we can contact them . We searched and got their contact. He invited us over and we got to meet the Rao Family. Mr.Rao, who is the founder of the Go Green Campaign in Bangalore , is an amazing gentleman and was so very helpful.Apparently, Go Green is a community now, with around 200 guys who cycle for a purpose! We told him our issues and he instantly recognized the issue, and just raised the handle bar a little bit. Now the bike fits me like a dream. For the last three days, i am regularly doing about 4.5kms.

Why should you cycle?
-Why Not ?
-Saves money on fuel.
-You are not confined to 4 walls of the gym.
-Fresh wind blows on your face in the morning.
-Get to see the sunrise :-)
-Shed those excess kilos :D
-End up with well shaped Legs ;)
-It is the latest style statement.

Few Observations/Tips for cycling:
-Never cycle on a completely empty stomach.
-Never cycle on a full stomach.
-Always stretch after cycling.
-If the saddle is hurting, shift on various positions , till you find the right one.
-Don't give up on a UP road.There is plain terrain further ahead.
-Have control while zooming on the DOWN.
-Never lock your elbows. Keep them slightly bent away from the body.
-Bikes and Cars have NO respect for you. They cut you badly and scare the hell out of you. Beware of them.
-If you see fellow cyclist, show a thumbs up. It boosts morale , cheers you and helps enormously.
-ALWAYS wear your helmet. No matter what.

Do you live in South Bangalore and are looking for a cyclist group? Join http://www.gogreengocycling.org/Home

Go Green. Cycle. Sing on top of your voice.Get Fit. Just have Fun.

Navrathri Golu

2009-09-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

"Vasu,Lets keep Golu at home for navrathiri..Lets start a tradition", said an excited husband. I told him it will involve loads and loads of back-end work. Just keeping a Golu (Dolls) is not enough. He said, i will help. And he has indeed been a big help. We have not had this many guests in ages. I met loads of people important to our family, made variety of sundal and spent an enormous amount of time in the Kitchen. Tiring, but fun nonetheless

Though small and compact, i think our golu is a very cute one. Here is a picture. (I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE the Carnatic music Trinities sitting and looking so cute :D)

The 'S' Factor

2009-09-04T02:37:00.001-07:00

Sridharan, Vasumathi:Thanks for the youtube link. I am still in love with tunbam nErgayiL
Shamasundar, Bharathan R: me too. 'Sanjay Splendid Smooth Subrahmanyan '
Sridharan, Vasumathi : :)
Shamasundar, Bharathan R: adding an additional 'S'
Sridharan, Vasumathi: Sanjay Splendid Smooth Super Subrahmanyan
your turn now
Shamasundar, Bharathan R: I can't beat you in a word game
let me think
Sridharan, Vasumathi::) no you can . my vocab sucks
Shamasundar, Bharathan R: Sanjay Splendid Super Smooth Sensational Subrahmanyan
Sridharan, Vasumathi:Sanjay Splendid Super Smooth Sensational Sweet Subrahmanyan
pls dont add Sugar now
Shamasundar, Bharathan R: lol
sugar syrup
thats a good combo
Sridharan, Vasumathi:yes

Shamasundar, Bharathan R: "Sanjay Splendid Super Smooth Sensationally Sweet Sugar Syrup Subrahmanyan "
that is final
Sridharan, Vasumathi:
lol
Shamasundar, Bharathan R:
no more tweaks
Sridharan, Vasumathi:
i cant beat that
we can send this convo to him via mail
Shamasundar, Bharathan R:
sure
Sridharan, Vasumathi: he is an active blogger. so we can get his mail id
Shamasundar, Bharathan R: can you do it?
Sridharan, Vasumathi: :O :O
ayyo ayyo. i was joking
Shamasundar, Bharathan R:
I was serious
you could post this to your blog
if you pls
Sridharan, Vasumathi: really !!!
ok.. thats a thought..

And..thats how this post was born :) :) :)

The Journey..and the faces

2009-09-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

Traveling by the local BMTC blue buses is one experience.But, traveling by the Elite AC Volvo buses is another altogether. The bustle for a seat, tension to get into the right bus,remembering bus timings, extracting change from the conductor,are all still a part of the game.

I have been traveling by the volvo for the past couple of months. I notice a deafening silence. The chill of the AC and also the chill of glances that people cautiously dart at one another. Trying to notice the office badge to figure which company you work with.Then pull out the ear phones of iPod/Walkman phones from the laptop bag,and enjoy the music with a poker face without even tapping the fingers to the beat.The bus and its surround completely ignored.Some sleep. Some read books. Some read newspapers. Some just sit and stare....into space or into the faces that sit facing them.

But what startled me was, people don't give up their seats even to pregnant women and old ladies. It is impossible to stand in a Volvo and travel.It is equivalent to standing in a helicopter.

I just wish, the elite snobbish crowd, will become slightly more...warm and humane. It is Ok, to smile at people sitting next to you. Really.*sigh*

I never thought i'd say this, but.. i miss my lively fun office cab days, teasing one another, chattering about movies,music and food.

Ganpati Bappa Moriya Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar yaa

2009-08-25T18:19:00.000-07:00

Money Spent.

Pandals Put up.

Roads blocked.

Huge colorful painted idols of Ganesha

Matadors.

Noisy Drumming.

Drunken dancing.

Traffic Jams.

Water bodies polluted.

Celebration.

Yeah!Right.

of the little said words

2009-08-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

As a kid, i used to love saying "Thank You so much", just because that word sounded so nice to my own ears. I suddenly realized with a start, that i have reduced the use of this word so much. It is generally observed, in relationships, That the 'Thank you' suddenly stops. The 'Sorry' abruptly gets reduced. Sadly, The number of 'I love you's also diminish.Wrong? Right? Acceptable? I know not.

To be fair to the person, we may justify saying, "When hearts and minds are intertwined,Are words even necessary?" But, they are. They very much are. They are not just words. They are words that run deep and touch you most , when expressed sincerely.They always make a difference. The best way to feel the lack of these words best, is imagining your world without them.

Imagine, if you keep doing your housekeeping, keep taking of bills, keep driving your better half to work daily, keep working, without a single word of appreciation or acknowledgment, how would you feel?

So, If you are thinking, i am preaching, you are thinking wrong. I am confessing. I often forget to thank the ones i should. I often forget to say the most important words. I don't remember when was the last time i said, 'i love you mommy/poppy' :-( Maybe 3-4 weeks back. That's an awfully long time back.I don't remember when was the last time i thanked my better half for being the dream he is. I don't remember when was the last time i felt nice and happy just saying the words.

This is more as a reminder to self to just 'say' it more often.

Sorry, this post took so long to come. Thanks for reading....and I love you. I really do.

a serious threat

2009-08-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

if you are not going to call me and talk to me.. I will. . . . . Nothing. Not do anything. Just crib sulk and be sad that my own friends have disowned me. Thats all. Yours #sad #friend

The 100 and the cleaning marathon

2009-08-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

I have hemmed and hawed enough. This is officially my 100th post since April 2007. I have made friends through this blog. More than that, I have figured out, that i can write. I can express and touch people's hearts. This post is dedicated to those of you, to whom, i have managed to make a wee little bit of difference. This is also dedicated to my family *sniff* and *sniff* to GOD above. *Holds her award, mike and frock and takes a bow at the same time praying she does not drop any of the above*

So, first of all, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you for gracing this occasion of you reading my 100th blog post. (How many more times are you going to mention this? Eh? Read on please.) I would also like to thank you for your patience for waiting for so long for me to finish this post :)

So, each time, my mom would say, "Ok kids, time to clean the house", my sister and me, armed with a bucket of soap water, dusters and face masks would spring clean our home.We would do it like, twice a month.Say, two weekdays. But , But, But, (not the body part) When you are managing all alone, it has to be a daily process. Else, like they say, You are in a lot of mess.Literally.

Housekeeping is like this While(1) kind of a infinite loop. My better half and me are both quite decently organized people. Both our cupboards are organized, i keep my house quite dust free. I hate newspapers lying around randomly and so on. But this week , for the first time in 8 months was an exception.Two continuous weekends we were not at home. Hence the mess just piled up.
I simply HAD to say this to explain to my readers you know.(Haioo, what scene, as if i am some big author and i have 10,000 junta reading this. huh.i can be a little extreme you know sometimes.)

I had quite an upsetting day today actually and that prompted me to .....rant and yell (read blog). So, What else did you think? Moving on, Instead of sitting and sulking and watching TV serials / concert recordings on Youtube (yes, i do that to de-stress, do you mind?), i decided to channelize my energy constructively. I looked around and realized my house is a mess. There were clothes imploring me to fold them. My corner table had cosmetics littered around (I saw the adidas perfume bottle and kajal tell me, "i make you smell heavenly and look pretty, i have fallen and gotten hurt, can you please help me get up?"). The books and CDs were not in the shelf. There were papers/bills lying around. So, i started cleaning up. Inch by inch. Table after table. Shirt after T-shirt and lo and be-hold. After 1.5 hours, my house was sparkling clean. Papers in place.Books in place. De-Cluttered rooms. Clean Kitchen. Aaahhh. Felt so good. Kept my mind off whatever i was worrying about too.
In fact, mood just miraculously changed!

So, what i am trying to tell you here is that, if there is anything upsetting you or you are hurt about something, channelize it in a way, that is useful for you and other people around you.

Happy Cleaning and de-cluttering.

Hope you enjoyed reading my 100th post.(Just in case you forgot)
Mind-Voice :Oh, grow up, its not like you made a million bucks.Its just a silly post, you rosy posy dodo :D :D

Cheers on the 100 :D :D

To Utths, with all my love

2009-07-15T07:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,
This post is not a rant, nor is it to increase my post count. Today is my dearest sister's 5th Death Anniversary.I wanted to write to her. Shout and Yell. That is all. Feel free to skip this post.I won't mind.

You went. Just like that. Without saying Goodbye. Without giving me that final hug and a peck on my cheek. Without turning back even once. "Kozhandaiya paathukko", were your final words to me. It rings in my ears even today. I looked at you through the grills of the elevator for the last time as you stood at the door with a blank look.It has been 5 years. That you moved on after having left every one of us in despair,misery and tears that don't stop at your thought.

I pray for V, every time i fold my hands in prayer to GOD up above. I pretend that you are living somewhere far away and i cannot meet you right now. It eases the pain for a while. But it does not erase it. I cannot stop my tears which drop every time i pass by that road where you lived. That road where we walked. That restaurant where we went for dinner.I cannot bear that pain at all at those times.

Are you with us? Can you see us go on with life? Do you see us when we silently weep for you? Do you see us when we smile and laugh at jokes and be happy? Are you safe where ever you are? Can i please hold you for one last time? If you say yes, i will hide you where Gods cannot find you and never give you up.Ever.I just wish, i could see you again.Hear that laughter again. See those eyes gleaming with mischief.Hear those absolutely witty and wacky one-liner comments of yours, that would have me rolling on the floor laughing.I miss you and i will miss you till the last day of my life.Diwali can never really be the same without you.Every occasion, every festival will be incomplete without you.Tell me, how do i react when peripa calls out to me and says, "Appdi illa Utthu" and suddenly realises that is it me and not you that he is talking to.

I cannot bear the thought, Utths, that you are gone, and I am alive.It has taken 5 years, and not sunk in completely.I suppose, it never will sink in.I will keep you alive in my heart for as long as i live.I still cannot cannot bear the thought, Utths, that you are gone and i am alive.

Hungry Kya?

2009-07-08T09:02:00.000-07:00

B and me are home alone :-( . We have been driving together to and from office for the past 2 odd months. We get terribly hungry in the evenings. So much that, we end up discussing food. Move on to fitness/driving/our trip plans/ generally discuss the day and come back to food. And at times like these, (which is very often) we just stop at any random restaurant and just eat whatever is served :-(

We are trying various cuisines these days and the below are our views on two of them.

Gud Dhani:
This is a Rajasthani restaurant that i spotted while B was driving one day and remembered "Apni Dhani", a restaurant that we had been to when we were in Jaisalmer last December. We just randomly stopped by, and i was blown away by the ambiance. Its very very Desi and the walls are painted in the Jaipuri Pink, with very interesting paintings. We had a simple Roti and Dal Bhaati and Kadi. Kadi was too good. We then also had a small cup if Kheer. I have had better kheer, but this was Ok.Food was non-garlicky, non-oily, simple and tasty. Service was good.We liked.

How to get here?
This place is best approached from the Udupi Garden road. Continue straight on this road in the direction *away* from the Advaith petrol pump. Keep going straight until you reach the road that runs adjacent to the Madivala lake. Just at the junction of this road on the right side you will find this place.

Heavy on the wallet? Rs.150/- for two. So, you decide.

Kolkata:
This is, as the name suggests, a Bengali restaurant. We had Onion paratha, tandori roti and a garlic nan (my bad. It was sick.com and waaaay too garlicky for me). We had Channar Dalna, an aalu sabzi with panner and cashew gravy. A little too sweet.
So, that left us with NO place for the mishthi Dohi :-( The ambiance was lovely. Lots of bright colors, soft Bengali songs in the background. This place also had a room where one could host parties. This is nicely done up with musical instruments. It had a tambura, a few tablas, a sitar too. (none were tuned :-() . We did not like it too much though. Sounds like a good idea to go during lunch hours. They have a buffet which is Rs.199/- + taxes and that had a decent menu. Service was decent.

How to get here? #965, 4th Cross Koramangala, Bangalore -99

Heavy on the wallet? Rs.300/- for two. I decide for you. YES. It is expensive.

Do yourselves a favor. Next time you are in and around BTM, do not miss out Gud Dhani :D

Hello...Yes?Who is this?

2009-07-06T23:54:00.000-07:00

My love for radio, tape recorder and Walkman started early. AS early as 8 years of age.I'd place the radio close to my ears and fall asleep listening to Vividbharathi's Aap ki Farmaish (and next morning listening to mum scold me , since the battery would get drained by not switching off the radio). Even now, sometimes, when i have trouble sleeping, i switch On my Walkman. Not just a plain Walkman. The Walkman "phone".

I read reviews, Waited for one such phone to release. I "wanted" it so badly (not realizing that i did not "need" it). Saved my salary and bought my prized possession. My Sony Erricson W910i. And one (not-so) fine evening,i end up dropping the phone somewhere...

I lost it. (yes, it still hurts on and off)

It is almost like losing a friend who has been with you for years.My friends know, my phone is used,over-used, over over-used to the extent of being abused by me. I had no intention of changing the phone for the next 2 years! I was so attached and so much in love with it..Losing something dear to your heart can pain you immeasurably.Lost all contacts, messages (that i had saved up, without deleting a single one) and my precious music class recordings, session recordings and songs.

But then, I thought. We have become so addicted to technology and its advances, that even imagining life without it, is scary. I lived without a phone for 2 days. After i got over my grief and accepted the fact that i have lost it, life became easier.I even told B, that i don't need a new phone. I can make do with a spare one. I even felt ashamed of being so attached to an object. (Thats what it is, after all). I always thought, if i ever lost my phone, i would be dead. But, strangely, very strangely, i am still alive. And kicking!

PS1: BSNL were kind enough to give me another SIM with the same number. So, if you ever want to talk, please do call me (and tell me who you are. Remember, i don't have your number anymore) :D

PS2: I am now in love with a new phone. Will let you know after i save up enough money and buy it :D :D

PS3: Talk to me! *Please Please Pretty Please*