Arranging some Love..

My Brother and I were having some good laughs viewing profiles at www.keralamatrimony.com.

Yes, we're looking out for alliances for him. Its amusing how people can describe themselves as "white-complexioned", extremely good-looking, very intelligent and similar adjectives!!

How modest.

Another weird rule of the alliance-search is that the guy MUST have more alphabetic credentials ahead of his name. Basically, if she's a Graduate, he HAS to be a post-graduate, duh. If she's a PhD , you better have your guy with Supersize-PhD in Rocket Science.

Then comes the most rip-off-your-hair-and-scream-out-in-frustration torture, the Horoscope Matching. I wouldn't disregard this path of art/science because many people are staunch believers in that. Yet, there's a limit to everything people! Because, here people don't seem to be satisfied that your compatibility match works out. You need to be born with Paapam, Doshas, Jataka and one million star signs to match your life partners'. (I agree some of them do sound like dishes).

However, I cannot really blame them. It so happens that I didn't have to go through the pains of alliance-searching myself. So, I can't really be an unbiased judge.

I have so many friends and siblings who're in the same process and I must say, It can definitely be very frustrating. That's when one feels, it would have been so much easier to just fall in love with someone and be married. To certain extent, I agree to what they say. To certain extent, I would say, "...you don't just fall in love! Sure you CAN, but you gotta nurture it."

But then, one thing that's common to either Arranged or Love Marriage, something no couple can escape is, to make it all the way. Isn't it? :)

With my own marriage coming close, I wish the warmest feelings to all the people in love or in search of love, to find not the right person, but, the person right for them...and the journey ahead.

Who wants some Pav Bhaji!?

Today was one of those days when I did every task that I had been procrastinating forever.

I cleaned up my cupboard, I cleared that nagging cobweb in that unreachable corner of the bathroom, I scrubbed my heels, I cleared my dressing table of all those unwanted creams/ nail colors/ cotton balls and unbelievably even stitched that one nasty button back on my favorite pants-which-was-unusable-since-the-button broke.

Phew! I feel productive alright.

Did I brag about the fact that I got a kitchen helper/cook. (Picture me hopping around in joy). So obviously, nowadays my mind is overjoyed at the thought of going home since I would get to do the one of the things I love, COOK! Without worrying to clean, chop, dice or mince.

So, today was the Pav Bhaji day. And I must say, Bro and Prasad were floored by it. So, I will let the lip-smacking do the talking too. :) Now, giddy up and take down the quick recipe right out of my kitchen.

Ingredients

- Fresh Pav (The numbers depend on your appetite)

- Vegetables may include;

Carrots, Potatoes, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Capsicum, Tomatoes, Onion, Green Peas...Basically anything you can lay your fingers on. Except of course, Brinjal and Ladies Finger!!

- Green chillies, Coriander and lemon slices for garnish

- Pav Bhaji Masala ( I would recommend Everest or Catch)

- Salt to taste

- Loads of butter of course.

Procedure

- Wash, peel and halve the vegetables, except for onions.

- Chop the onions, coriander leaves and green chillies finely.

- If you have a food processor, I would recommend just running the raw veggies in that for a few churns. If not, you have more chopping to do. :| Don't fret over chopping evenly, they are going to be mashed anyway.

- Once ground coarsely, just pop them all into a pressure cooker and give them a few steams.

- Meanwhile, saute the onions & green chillies in oil and when golden brown, add the Pav Bhaji masala, salt and turmeric. (P.S. Spare some onions for the garnish!)

- Once, the veggies are boiled, use a large serving spoon or masher and manually mash them into a coarse pulp. Add these to the saute'd seasoned onions.

- Bhaji is ready!

- Butter a pan and roast the Pav on that. Make sure you slice them into halves for better greasing. :)

Serving Style

- Ensure piping hot Bhaji is served for the best taste. Garnish it with a blob of butter, chopped coriander leaves, chopped onions and a slice of lemon to squeeze.

- Bring in the buttered Pav.

- Serve right from the stove to the platter.

Bon Appetite!

Begging for beds...

Its those post-lunch hours at work when you can kill someone to get a fluffy bed. Actually, not even fluffy, any bed, any horizontal surface would do. God bless those minds who came up with idea of a rest lounge at work for women. Especially women, the delicate half of the human species. Because of course, with all that they go through biologically, that a man can never undergo; they deserve it. Sadly and honestly, that's true!

Thus, winning us the brownie point of a dormitory.

But, then the million dollar question arises, do you ever get to sleep on that bunker bed in the dormitory!??

No.

Why??

Because some ladies sleep on them as though they have never encountered a bed before in their life.

Now, come on you can't be serious!

No, seriously! They sleep with their claws dug deep into the bed. They cannot be removed from their until (death do us part? Nah, that's too harsh) eternity!

Ah, that must really suck. Especially when you really need to get a shut eye, or worse, when you aren't well.

Oh tell me about it. I have stood there towering over sleeping women hoping that they will freak out when they open their eyes and would run out that door. I just got snores back in return.

God, that's outrageous!

Oh, that's nothing. Now, I get a feeling they even reserve the beds! They land on the bed in the off-sleep-hours and proceed with eating, chatting, stretching and then finally sleeping through the day. Makes me sometimes wonder if they even get their own pillows from home to make themselves 'feel at home'.

They should make some rule for the time that one person can occupy a bed for.

How!? You should see those women! They even cover their faces with the duvets to shut out any "official" disturbance from the outer world. What are we supposed to do? Yank their blankets off and pour a bucket of water , like the movies. Although that would surely be fun.

Although, I really wish if the world was the movies, one day I might just do that! LOL.

Straight from Dee's Kitchen!

I had just got home from work and I was in one of my cookie-cookie moods. Yes, the days when I find cooking therapeutic. I just love cooking. Although, I will be more human and confess that sometimes, when you're tired out of your senses, obviously cooking for yourself is a pain.

As always my mind was on a hunt for palatable quick-fix recipes. I remembered having boiled chickpea (black chana) in the morning. But, I was in no mood for a run-of-the-mill chana curry (bleeeeh!). I would give a limb for a lip smacking chaat though. Quite on the contrary, I agree. Ah, I miss mum.

Nevertheless, here is what I made!

1. Throw in the boiled chickpea, jeera, ginger-garlic paste, salt, green chillies, dhaniya powder,pinch of garam masala.

Chef's tip: Add 2 spoons of bread crumbs or rice powder for more crunchy outcome. :*

2.Heat up a non-stick pan and smear a little bit of oil on it.

3. Make small cutlets out of this chickpea dough.

4. Place them on the pan on slow heat and toss them periodically for uniform browning.

Taaa-daaaa...

Much more healthier than the usual aloo tikki and when you have it with a dash of ketchup or salsa sauce, you're guaranteed to go yummy in the tummy!

Bon Appetite!

Do away with the bitterness.. :)

My nose would twist in utter disappointment when Mom would make Karela (Bitter Gourd). Although I must agree, even back then, it would smell heavenly. But, I should be excused since children and bitterness don't really go together.

Today, I love Karela. Not the kind of love I would express by consuming it every day of my life. But, yes, I have definitely come to appreciate its taste and more so, the health conscious part of me loves its natural bitterness for its God-gifted healing powers.

Thus, today I decided to put up a simple recipe for all Karela-haters out there, just to give it a second chance. And for those who love it already, another lip smacking way to savor this

vegetable that definitely finds place in grandma's household remedies.

Here you go;

Ingredients: Bittergourd, Jeera (Cumin seeds, optional), Amchoor (Dry mango powder), Chat masala (for the tang), Vinegar/ Fresh Lemon, salt to taste.

1. Chop the bitter gourd finely. I usually skip the seeds (this is more because someone once compared them to lizard eggs and I couldn't ever get that notion out of my head).

There's no restriction to sizes, just that smaller pieces always cook faster!

2. Mix these with the Amchoor and set them off into the microwave for about 5 mins. ( Don't fret if you don't have a microwave at disposal, just skip to next step, you'll just need to give it more time on the stove).

3. Heat about 2 spoons of oil in the pan. Add Jeera and let it splutter. Toss the semi-cooked bitter-gourd into it. Add the salt, chat masala and sprinkle the vinegar / lemon juice over it. Cover it with a lid and give it a minute.

Don't forget to absorb the aroma when you remove the lid!

Relish this crunchy side-dish with your regular meal. Tell me if you still hate it.

Bon appetite!

DHIN-CHUCK- NUNCHUCK

Thrilled is an understatement of my feelings when my aerobics instructor told us today that we'd be doing Nunchucks!
Don't know what that is? Don't fret.

Nunchucks (ヌンチャク, Nunchaku^?) are a traditional Okinawan weapon consisting of two sticks connected at their ends with a short chain or rope. Still clueless what that is (that's ok, some in my class were as well).

Peek into the images running in my head!??

Oh-W.O.W. :D
Do you have any idea how much serious damage those two little pieces of sticks can do. Brutal. .

Ok, only problem is. That's Brucelee. The Brucelee.
Here, it was just me. So, you see, watching myself in the mirror wasn't as impressive as the images my brain was creating. I agree, I have earlier trained in martial arts weapon, but any weapon, has to be learnt and mastered on its own. Besides, I never got that far with the weapons ( :( ).

The routine started in an unexpectedly hilarious manner, with an absolutely butt-clenching squat posture. :\ I have no issues with squatting as long as the entire routine is not based on it. So how this goes is, Nunchucks basics involve A-Z routines that you must practice and memorize...all this in almost squat position (although I won't say we were doing perfect squats by end of the routine, it was more like posture-attending-nature's-call). So, we began with 'A'.

After five minutes of smacking the sticks on my head, arms, back and almost breaking my frontal teeth; the routine ended. I had hurt two nails, my ribs, my arm pits ( yes, you need to lock that stupid stick under your armpit and all I could do is knock myself with it).
After about five rounds of practice, I wasn't that bad! :D Maybe, someday I might improvise a lot and be female Brucelee. No pain no gain. Ain't it?

Ain't it?

The crazy confusing emotion called Love.. :)

Love, is such a strong emotion. I read a beautiful phrase in a book, "...enough to justify one's existence". Also, at the same time its the most confusing emotion in the world. It makes you mature, caring, loving yet go bananas and act like a child, at the same time.

I was just viewing this cute advertisement on television last night about Johnson & Johnson celebrating their 100 years of cuddling and hugging. Mother and child. A relation no one else can define. The pain a mother undergoes to bear her child can only be understood by her. Yet, she awaits that pain...eagerly so.

I wonder sometimes wouldn't a mother want to punish her child for that painful experience for no fault of hers. Maybe, maybe not. The child was barely aware of it as it came kicking alive into this world. But what about all those times when a child has pee-d or poo-poo-d on her mother's expensive outfit. Or, the times it called names or spat as a mere medium of leisure, while the mother sometimes embraced, sometimes enraged would just withstand it.

Isn't that what love is about, you are so much in it that you don't even realize what is good and what's bad, its just your interpretation of love.

Do children ever realize what all has gone in from bringing them up from a uni-cellular organism to this complete human being? Not just children, it can be any living being who is loved.
Your pet, your siblings, your friends, your lover, your father, your mother, your teacher...the list is endless.
We all love them, we can't live without them, but how many of us express it out loud? They all become hygiene factors of our life...things we miss only when they go missing. How many of us hug them for no reason and plant a big wet kiss as a expression of our gratitude to their presence in our lives. (Of course, that doesn't apply to your love for your teacher :) )

Lucky are those few, who appreciate and value what they have. I hope I hug them close to me until they suffocate. Because, most of us realize it when its too late.

Comfort Food Festival :)

As I gobbled a slop of Maggi down my throat, I realized, I have been sinning. Past few weeks have been so stressful at work that I have stopped being Miss-Goody-Two-Shoes and just grabbed any edible molecules in my sight.

I feel exceptionally guilty because I have always been so conscious about the food I eat on a regular basis. Before my friends fall off their chair, I confess, Yes, I do go on binges. Yes, I have eaten chana-batura for weeks in a row. Yes, I do eat like a man sometimes. But mostly, I make a sincere effort to detox, before I can re-tox .

Jokes apart, I have usually been proud of my daily staple. Until lately. I remember a recent night where after an evening snack of cheese sandwich, I have eaten a dinner of potato wedges and then pounced at a chocolate bar at one in the night. Then it felt too sweet on the palette so I topped it all with salsa sauce with crackers. I can't be blamed! It was one in the night. Staying up late always makes me hungry. Doesn't it happen to everyone?

To be honest I can't blame my work entirely for lack of muscle movement cause I always believed when there's a will, there's a way. Thus, yesterday although being pooped out post work, I was undeterred from my decision to do a workout routine at home. After an hour of searching on Google, bored yet unfazed I found something interesting. :) Belly Dancing Basic lessons.

I was overcome with so much excitement that I didn't realize until forty minutes later that I have only been doing the warm ups and it was almost 11 in the night. I was a midnight-belly-shaking-night-suit-clad-freak. Next day I had a cramp on hips. I can't even explain that cramp to anyone! Not happening.

I contemplated the whole of today about rejoining my aerobics classes but I realized I will go cuckoo if I have to do that jump-touch-toe-jump-touch-toe routine even one more time. I decided, I will do power yoga. That's it. If Kareena can do it, so can I. I looked up videos on net. I did my stretches and warm ups. Finally, by the time I got down to business I was exhausted, whiny and yawny. Next thing I knew, I was stretching in bed. Nightie Night.

ITS MINE! AND I L-O-V-E IT.

I attended Family Day celebrations hosted by my sis's office. Apart from being really well organized, the awesomely coordinated dance numbers were the icing on the cake; owing to my love for leg shaking. But of course, we had some quick bites ( and a lot of them at that ;) ). I was impressed and comfortably satisfied in the belly.

There were miniature giant wheels ( I know that's an oxymoron but that's exactly what it was!), merry-go-rounds, caricatures, shooting/bouncing/tossing games, pottery making, mehendi, tattoos, clothes, junk jewellery and lots more. I have always been fond of these carnival-sort-of-gatherings. They just transport me back to my childhood were me and sis would be these starry eyed kids glued to the food stalls. Man. Those were the days.

All in all, had a great time as you can see all my thirty-two out there!

(Sis, Me, Deepali Di)

I was walking towards my car at the parking when I saw a fairly elder man carry a tiny little dishevelled thing in his hand with utmost care. He was almost a level before tip-toeing. Curiousity took the better of me and I gave a second peep. Ah, it was his creation at the pottery stall. I think it was an attempt to make something like a pot. It definitely looked more of a flower to me. Nevertheless, what seemed to matter to him is, he CREATED IT!

In those brief few seconds that I noticed this scene, I realized something.
The Sense of Mine. A critical element in all of us. Something that "I" created will be precious to me. No matter how sad or ugly it looks to the outer world. We will have an invisible umbilical cord attached to it.

I remember the time Dad bought our first Sandwich Grill at home, I was in eight grade. I don't remember much around that incidence except for the fact that I had made these grilled sandwiches with just plain cheese filled in them. I remember feeling the Top Chef that day. Or, perhaps Mom Dad just played along (you can always count on them to do that! :) )

I remember my good friend making this painted ceramic bowl. How much she loved it. What I loved is, watching her adore her lil' scribbled color mesh.

Don't we all do that? At least when it is our first time. Just recall...when did you look at your little messy first-time-project and pat your own back in admiration.

THAT WASN'T ME!

I entered the ladies toilet (okay, let me be polished, lavatory) and let out a scream in disgust. Not only stared back a floater on my face, it looked like its owner had taken a cleopatra bath in there. (A BIG EWW!)

I was almost certain that the lady had taken a shower in there. No exaggeration. But why! Maybe to get the smell off herself. Possible. In utter repulsion I cleaned up the mess and wiped the seat clean with my pinky. Trust me, the least human contact is advisable in such conditions.

What I fail to understand is how do they manage to create this magnificient scenario! It is only a touch of an expert. The other object that crosses all limits of aversion is The Used Tissue. Be it positioned anywhere; floor, half hanging on the bin lid, near the seat proximity; its unacceptable. Now ladies, why can't we drop it where it belongs? and FYI, its none of the above listed places.

Doesnt the poor tissue paper deserve a proper disposal after it has served you to death. Literally.

An ideal treatment for such people would be a Disappearing Tissue paper.
Muahaha. <> Obviously the magic should happen after they are done with their job.
Another wicked solution could be an Itchy Tissue paper. I know its mean but can you disagree, it will help in teaching some valuable lessons!

Nowadays the corporates are cutting down on the abudance of tissue papers in the bathrooms as a cost cutting measure. Jeez, can't even poop in peace. Although this withdrawal of luxury leaves you feeling a little vulnerable it does help in avoiding people mistaking tissue rolls for shower towel substitutes. But, incorrigible human species, we always come up with alternatives. If its not the tissues, then the air blower is victimized. Got the flow(blow)? ;)

DISCLAIMER: Post written with an educational intent.

OOPS! nooot AGAIN! nooot NOW!

Today was one of those Butter-Finger-Syndrome days.

1. I dropped my toothpaste on my night suit first. (Cursed the toothpaste, it was not my fault).

2. Then dropped the sugar out of the tea cup. (Cursed gravity).

3. Dropped the nuts out of my cereal bowl. ( Ok, maybe my fault).

4. Sprinkled the talc all over the floor. (This one I would actually categorize as a basic problem of watching yourself in the mirror while getting dressed!)

5. Dropped the food at lunch on my dress. (Noticed it little too late to have accused anyone in particular. It had dried and left stains :( ).

6. If that wasn't enough already and just in case, anyone missed the obvious stains on my dress, I dropped my lemonade on the dress again.

Mission accomplished.

I know a lot of you would say, Oh come on! What's the whole fuss about. Big Deal.
But, let me clarify, as a person, being more on the artistic and very cautious side by nature; I would say mostly these things don't happen to me on a regular basis.

On the other hand, I do have people e.g. my brother who has this syndrome exactly few minutes before his office cab's arrival. When things voluntarily fly out of his hands and land in the most inaccessible corner of the room. Unfortunate are the days when he's wearing a light colored shirt. And it gets worse when he knows that I am watching. Things just continue to fall magically and dramatically until he gives up and sends one of them flying out of the room in frustration. (LOL).
I sympathize.


Last few days have been observing hyperactive phenomenon in my grey cells and I had just so much to write. But, right now, I am so tired. Especially, with all that juggling going on between my fingers!

Catch you tomorrow. I promise an amusing trail of thoughts. ;)

SOMETHIN'S FISHY!!!

Feet, the most neglected parts of our body. (Yes, I know there are others, which I would not like to discuss on a public forum like this!)
I discovered that all the running around on heels, horsing around in workouts and sluggish bare-foot wading in the house had resulted in an incredibly painful corn on my foot. And the condition of my heels and sole too wasn't exactly spectacular. Thus, my good friend Suchi and I decided it was time to take matters into our hands, or should I say, our feet.

This particular spa, The Kenko Spa, Bangalore, Lavelle Road http://kenko.co.in had been doing its rounds in our heads for months now. Although, my sine wave of illness and work schedule didn't leave me much choice. But now that The Moment was here, we happened to choose one of the weekdays to finally do the honours! We traveled for precisely two hours in the horrid traffic for our ten minute "fish feed"; meanwhile really hoping that, THIS BETTER BE GOOD.

You're wondering what did I just say?
Fish Feeding? Hundreds of little brown Garra Rufa fishes nibbling on your feet, and nope, it doesn’t hurt at all. The fish don’t have teeth and exfoliate naturally by sucking off the dead skin.
I had read in the reviews before trying this out that it is a "bit ticklish and then you begin to relax gradually". Maybe I need to do this every day of my life to stop hyperventilating and start relaxing. Which, I would have done, if it didn't charge me 200 bucks for 10 mins. :\

Anyway, we were welcomed in a fancy way and our grubby little feet were washed before we visited the fish tanks. I could see the excitement in the eyes of all those tiny starved fishes. Oh, they could eat a horse alright. Yikes. As I lowered my legs into the water, uncontrollable shrieks filled the air. Yes, it was me, the wuss. In my defense, they were REALLY ticklish and for a first timer, the sight of hundred fishes hanging out your leg, not pretty. See that;


But, gradually some of them shifted from my feet to Suchi's although they definitely seemed to find more dead meat in mine. (Muahaha, I win!) Before I knew, the time was up. We wore our footwear admiring our feet, which we were convinced, looked great.

Now, I know that's being too critical. It was fun, I admit. Also, I somehow felt my feet looked prettier than ever before (Ah, the weak-minded-me!) In fact, I am dying to be back there perhaps this time for longer.

Caressing my feet, I wondered at night, how it would be to have it done for the entire body. Or, does that ring any 'Who-Dares-Wins" bells? :|

OMG LOG!

I know I've been missing from action for a while. In my defense, I'd blame it on my body. It needed a lot of recuperation. ( I know my body blames it on me for exhausting it beyond humane limits).

So today I am here to give you a sneak peek of the most mesmerizing LIVE show I have ever attended in my life yet. It happened this Saturday at Palace Grounds, Bangalore. Were you there?
I was and let me tell you this. Having being designated as The Delicate Darling of all my social circles (not something I am proud of), I feared being definitely down with at least a sore throat and perhaps few hundred degrees fever, if not any other deadly diseases, post show.

LAMB OF GOD arrived here two days before the show. Madness prevailed. Period.
Must make it clear that first in line to receive them was Mr. Prasad who is a die hard fan of LOG from I suppose ever since he knew what music was all about. To make matters intolerable for sanity, Prasad's band, Extinct Reflections was opening for LOG. (For those, who're not into the metal scene, Psst...This is a BIG THING. Bigger than the Big Bang, Or, the End of Days. )
Lastly, to make matters beyond words, when Prasad met Randy Blythe (LOG Vocalist) at the airport, they became bum-chums!

So, the next few days had undiluted lunacy on the cards. I was game for it. :)

We landed at Palace Grounds at sharp ten thirty that morning. Beeline of fans from all across the country already kept the area abuzz. While Extinct Reflections (ER) folks got busy with the sound checks, I deposited myself in the safety of my car sufficiently away from all the dust and sun. I was astonished at how the crowd kept getting bigger and louder exponentially with every passing moment.

It would be hours before I would pull out my SLR and get down to business. After all, I was looking forward to my first celebrity shots!

Its incredible how Mob Mentality works. In the sun where usually we wouldn't bother stepping out even if it meant escaping a burning house; people went from loud to relentlessly psychotic for hours! The minute hand got spinning and we were already at the hour of the gig.

Prasad's band went on stage. The crowd went into a trance. The most unbelievable moment was when Randy Blythe came on stage to watch them play. He was actually head-banging to them! Or, Okay, you can say nodding-in-appreciation!
Here, you go , some shots from ER;




Then, came the final act, my camera went into a clicking frenzy. I'm sure if there was enough friction in there, it would have smoked.
But as they say, a picture is worth thousand words. So, here it goes;

Happy Fairy's Day. :)

We are all born to be Fairies some day, you know that?

Once upon a time a chubby little toddler would wriggle on the floor in her pink bloomers. The thrills of her life revolved around collecting all the utensils in a pillow cover and dragging them around the house the whole day. Unaware of the dangers around her, she waded through all obstacles merrily. One day, she fell on a glass, cut her eyebrow, bled and howled in pain. Her Fairy came to her rescue.

A few decades later, the same girl continues to fall into trouble, almost every now and then. Sometimes, its just stress, sometimes, just any silly non-reason getting her bed-ridden. But, every single time she thinks of her Fairy and her Fairy is next to her stroking her hair.
The girl wonders can she ever pay back all these zillion wishes that the Fairy has granted over the years. Rather, will she ever be close to being a Fairy herself when she can never imagine growing independent of the Fairy!

I look into the mirror and the scar hidden beneath my decently shaped eyebrows reminds me of the endless times I have given Shockers, Thrillers , OMG!s, Oh NO!s and Gasps to my Fairy, my Darling Mother. But, all she did is absorb them like a sponge and cushion my miseries.

I hope all living beings are blessed with this Fairy. I know some of us aren't always under her wings but, I hope they get shade from some or the other Angel. And one day, we are Fairies to other living beings. They need not be our children. They come in various forms. Our pet, our sibling, our friend, our lover, our neigbour, our colleague. And just like that, without knowing, we become their Fairies by just helping them in their hour of need, without them even asking for it. :)

Happy Mother's Day to every Mother.

RED NOSED REINDEER

I feel like Rudolf today. The red nosed reindeer! Yeah.

I had been smart enough to remove my nose pin and forgetting to wear it for a few days. Today, I had to wrestle it back into the teeny dot of a hole on my nose. Thus.

I remember the last time I had felt this stinging pain through my nose was when a gun shot placed a gorgeous diamond on my nose. To make matters worse, this was a second time piercing on my nose since the previous one wasn't good enough to let the pin go through.
My biggest fear was resulting with two holes on my nose on the same side living as neighbors for the rest of my life. So, I was still as a rock.
While I smiled and shivered, fat bead of tears involuntarily ran down my cheeks. Although the only restriction was not to move my body, there was no movement from my vocal chords either, maybe they had died somewhere with the panic.
Why do I do this to myself? I don't know.

And well, this wasn't the first time, I have had worse experience with my ear piercings. The second pair you know.
I was so freaked out about catching any infections from the needle that I kept applying the antiseptic lotion for a day. Next day, the pierce looked fine but was only surrounded by blisters from the lotion. Eeeks.

Being the only one in my clan who has ever dared to have more then two regular ear piercings, I thought I was maybe the Hippie of the Family. Rather, so I was told. Until..I came across this lady while I flipped the pages of this month's Femina!

And she's 73 and going strong. Way to go! So basically her entire body is covered with tattoos and piercings so much so that she can be very well be naked and pass for a fully dressed person! Jeez...weird thought though imagining her that way at a public place.
Quite a saving w.r.t apparels right. But think again, she's already spent moolah worth 16 lakhs on her body. Talk about savings now.

Its great that someone actually went through such pain to decorate the body with what they loved. But, I think its a tad bit too much. Aye?
Nevertheless, personal choice.
I feel these piercings and tattoos can be really sensual if they are done just right and in the right places and because you love them. Not because you think they look great on someone else.
Also, sometimes I think its OK to draw a line. Because as rightly as my friend Veena said, there's difference between a kid laughing .. and a kid laughing ALL THE TIME.

Bijli !!

Like a diwali cracker it would have lit up and burst...leaving us in pitch darkness for nearly fifteen hours. Which, by the way, was neither diwali lights nor as fun either; thats the transformer in our area.

With the stormy rains, we are subjected to unlimited torture in the candle light dinners nowadays. Being a person recuperating from three week long illness, my options for leisure are anyway...well, very limited. Minimal physical exertion. So not me. :\

Nevertheless, my dearest mom is here to take care of my boredom. So, the thing that came to our rescue, was...

Tada! Playing cards..yes, by Nandi ;).

Its funny how these petty wins and loses in these card games start making so much of a difference when this is all you got. We started with these as goodwill games. But, they turned ugly with all the score-keeping, cheating and nasty mind games! Gradually, so much so, that the loser was made to wear a degrading crown, a symbol of failure! LOL. Check that out. My poor little sister was the loser almost every single time. Everyone learns.

What darkness always reminds me is the amount we're dependant on electricity. Everything stops without it. The only thing that remains which can be done comfortably in no-power situation is, whine. The whole situation is so depressing for me that I almost rejoice with a cheer dance at the advent of electricity. Hola Ho Ho!

Anyyyway, the lights came up just now and I decided to put this blog up. Happy light situations to all of you.

Viral war!!!

Hey everyone...
Decided to finally start off my laptopie and drop by a post on how my entire body was broken down by a mere virus.

Nah. Not as serious as I just made it sound. But, pretty bad to get me stuck to the sack for almost fourteen days now. The last sightings of outer world I remember was on my birthday and the very next day the virus gave me a birthday present. Yes. Hail and Hearty, you can never anticipate such things. But, in Bangalore, you can. Anytime.

Not only did I manage to drive my mother all the way down from Delhi in emergency but also, land up for a good few days in the hospital with the grace of the Almighty Virus. My cough was quite resonating with the surprisingly loud bass background. While I laid in the hospital bed and was asked to think about what bad did I do THIS time...I could think of NOTHING. Except, I know my family would refuse to agree to that. But, seriously folks, this time I claim innocence. I agree there was certain amount of exposure to an ocean of viruses i.e I had been to a mall. You should have seen the expression of the doctors when I told them that. We all go to the malls, don we.. :| Don't we.

Nevertheless, almost two weeks later, I begin my journey gradually again towards the pool of virals, in a few days. How? By landing in an office with air conditioner that cuts off any fresh air supply and ensures appropriate circulation of all sorts of germs.

Anyway, enough about me, how have you all been. :)

So that's how I became Officially an Aunty..

But, still a girl at heart.. :)
And I'd like to believe so for atleast another few decades.

Crossing my twenty-sixth birthday just yesterday; I received a lot of Wow's, Oh's, Wishes, Blessings, Smiles as well as No-reactions, No-acknowledgements. :|
It was a working day for me and a hectic one at that. Being a routine driven person, I slumped into bed at sharp 10:30 the previous night. At sharp twelve, I was sleep walking. My sweet cousins, who'd had managed to sneak in a cake and were singing "Happy Birthday to .." around me. I could comprehend very less with the blood-shot eyes and the whoozy brain. But, this is what was there when I could manage to click;
I cut the cake and stuffed their little singing mouths with it and started speeding back to bed. But, when has the world loved peaceful sleepers. Nay. Never. :|

My phone started to buzz on the bed. Then it rang in a series of calls with some of the closest, warmest, not-so-expected, abosolutely-expected and then unknown people. By the time I had received everyone's wishes and love, my body hated me. I should realize the sleeping needs of my aging body now you see.

Morning was equally sugary for this birthday girl. I reached office with packs of Kheer Kadam and Dry Fruit Mixture. My girls gang made sure the entire building knew I was The Birthday Girl of the day. While I blushed and tried unsuccessfully hiding behind the pillars and chairs for cover, they blared around singing birthday wishes to me. I love these girls. :) (Ah, few of em missing here)..

Being five years with Prasad I knew I will be greeted with a pleasant surprise for my birthday like every year. Man!! I LOVE SURPRISES. As soon as I met him in evening, he asked me to keep driving straight. Well, I did. We finally arrived at a location which sported a Circus, namely, New Prabhat Circus! Yeah, a real, functional circus. I looked at him for answers. He laughed and pointed at opposite direction which had a beautiful lake surrounded by a walking track. ( Note: Did I mention the weather was love-struck and balmy).

Precisely ten minutes later, we were sitting in the speed boat at a quiet and breezy lake far, far away from manic civilizations (well, not too far but near the K.R.Puram Hanging Bridge). Whatever was in the capacity of the boat, it wriggled through some funky maneuvers and made our trip hilarious fun. Check this out!

All in all, we had a good time. Also did some chasing of stinky little cute rabbits and rabbit "Kids", Yeah! ..LOL. They had rabbit litter for sale!

Walking around and then just relaxing.

I reached home in time for dinner and knew for a fact that my little cousin sister was upto something. She had frantically called me earlier in the day asking for location of various spices in the kitchen. ;)
To my disbelief, my little girl had laid out a full course Sadya (Festive Meal) as her gift on my birthday. I am sure it took her the whole day and well, we did justice to it, in about eight minutes.

So, athough I have always believed that Birthday is just another excuse to celebrate life; my close ones made sure I did just that. I love you all.

P.S. I am sure you guys wanna know what all I got for gifts!! :D
1. Nokia E63- Jiju and Sis
2. Car 3M Sunscreen- Loving Dad Ma and Lizzu
3. Addidas Workout Shoes- Anoop
4. Full course sadya- Dhanya
5. Prasad- Partial received. ;) Other bigger half will be covered in a day long shopping sponsorship by him! Veeeeeee.
6. Gal Pals--Oooo.. Waiiittinnngg.
7. Rest of you- I never say no to Gifts! :D The bigger the better. ;)

Bridget ON MY CAR!!!

I braked my car with a screech. Someone had definitely rammed it from behind. Preparing my speech against rash driving, I stepped out. What do I see?! Two uneven shaped feet on the roof of my car. I stare shell shocked and start looking up and cannot fathom the face. It cannot BE! She looks JUST LIKE Bridget JONES! Her hair flying all over her face! It cannot possibly be. I think she's holding a cake or something like that. While I try to shape my lips into some words, I hear my phone ringing. I answer it, it continues to ring! My eyes switch between the phone and her while she's fighting the wind blowing her hair all over her face. I give her an understanding look and then stare back at my phone. Maybe I should click her picture quickly on the phone as a proof. Its so unbelievable!! It IS HER! Oh hey, the alarm is ringing on the phone. Hey..wait a minute. What's that sound? Is the alarm ringing like a doorbell?!

I creep up to the door with my eyes shut tight. Let the maid in, who I think is the maid. One of my half-open eyelid confirms. Splash the water on my face. Yep, wide awake now. :|

I recollect the dream I had (for what seemed like eternity) early morning and wondered if what they say about morning dreams is true. Do they really turn into reality? I snigger.

Its fascinating how our naughty little subconscious brain picks up strands of information from so many incidences and cooks up a whole new world inside our head. Its weird I never dreamt of food though. Hmmm. Maybe, there is so much of it present in my reality that my brain and for that matter subconscious are sick of it! Possible.

I recounted all the factors that could have landed Miss Bridget Jones on my car!!

1. Someone hitting my car from behind.
Analysis: OBVIOUSLY. Its Bangalore! It happens everyday. Perhaps even to toy cars! There's so much traffic and by the time you absorb the shock, roll down your window and raise your vocal chords; the criminal is wriggling precisely half a km away from you.

2. Bridget Jones!
Analysis: Need I say anything. I have read two of her novels followed by their movies and then endless discussion with Suchi. I agree, she's been an overdose now.

3. Uneven legs;
Analysis: I realized I have uneven legs in my aerobics class. Period.

4. Phone obsession;
Analysis: I've been addicted to my phone! DUH! New Nokia E63. Who wouldn't be. I gotta be frank and shameless to say that yes, the most used feature has been the camera on it. Some randoms here;





...Explains the cake...hmmm...



Yeah..Some say show off.. I say..Why not! ;)

5. Last but not the least, the hair flying over face!!
Analysis; We'd been to this team lunch to The Village. It happens to be an open air restaurant. You know what that means right. Basically, few of your hair in your mouth with every single bite. My brain did register that discomfort of mine.

Sweet dreams people!