Indianism

Context: A friend is in the US for the first time, is a little home sick and is in a "Missing you all", "India is great" "Indian festivals are great" "Indians are great" mode ;)

 

What Transpired:

 

Me: Give yourself a couple of years and when you are back I will hear you say "uffff these mosquitos", "ufff people here have no road sense", "aaaaah the stench", "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew Indians" ;) and all and all

 

Fren: U r completely wrong. And all u ppl know that what are we :)

 

Me: You will know what I know only after you go through what I said. That means, come to India after 2-3 years and then talk.

 

Fren: The same sentence applies to u also...Did u also do the same thing when u returned back to India?

 

 

Me: Don’t live in an imaginary world. I very much said so when I got back to India. That’s the reason I am telling you. Moreover I was in the US for a very brief time, 5 months. It took me 2 minutes to get used to the size of the maruthi 800 car in India. It took me 2 weeks to get used to the mosquitoes ;) The rest of the things are the ones told by people when they visited India after a longer duration.

 

Well, it was friendly conversation and neither of us holds anything against each other. I however continue to ponder on the same and did have things to say about it.

 

"You people know that what are we" - This really got me thinking. What did that sentence really mean? Are we the ones who would never complain in life? Well, I for sure am not one such ;) But that’s besides the point. Let me state my point with an example. For instance, if there is a drainage around (which is pretty common to find in India :D), I wouldn’t think twice before I say aaaaah the damn drainage is stinking. And I would just not take it hands down if anyone would question my patriotism when I say that. NO! If I express my thoughts on a fact which is there for everyone to see, there is nothing derogatory about it. It’s just about the damn drainage and got nothing to do with anything else.

 

There are certain things in life that we can talk about only after we go through similar things. Without experiencing things, our opinions would be diametrically opposite to the ones we express after we go through them. This is one such. However there is a lot I would like to talk about this, but that would be another blog post altogether :)

 

“The same sentence applies to u also...Did u also do the same thing when u returned back to India?”

Here the person is assuming that I couldn’t be like that. That’s more because the whole thing is being positioned as how patriotic you are than how one looks at things.

 

I was reminded of an incident in life. As a kid (sometime in middle school), I had been to a friend's house. While we were talking her mom came to give us something to nibble upon. Aunty was talking to us when my friend (I don’t remember the context) said my mom is the most beautiful person on Earth. I instantly thought "No, my mom is the most beautiful person on Earth" :) While it is true that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, I am sure everyone thinks that their mom is the most beautiful person on Earth. The beauty here though is a reference to the value that one associates with it.

So, while I do consider my mom the most beautiful person in the world, I wouldn’t stop from saying something like mom so n so thing is not nice, change it or anything to that effect. And when I do that, it doesn’t mean I appreciate her beauty/value any less :)

 

So while I can’t let anyone question my patriotism, I wouldn’t stop from calling a spade a spade.

Strike a chord

A couple of lines that struck a cord in me from the latest Dostaana (Its called Jaane Kyun).........

 

When you smiiiiiiiiiile for me world seems alright. Yeh meri zindagi pal mein hi khil jaaye, jaane kyon

Jaane kyooon dil jaantha hai, tu hai tho I'll be alright.

 

 

 

 

 

About love by swami Vivekananda

A Nice Article about Love: (by Swami Vivekananda)

I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me. Once when we were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she filled the palm of her hand with some water and held it before me, and said this: "You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love."

This was how I saw it: As long as you keep your hand caringly open and allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will spill through the first cracks it finds.

This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love...they try to posses it, they demand, they expect... and just like the water spilling out of your hand, love will retrieve from you .

For love is meant to be free, you cannot change its nature. If there are people you love, allow them to be free beings.

# Give and don't expect.
# Advise, but don't order.
# Ask, but never demand.

It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly practice.It is the secret to true love. To truly practice it, you must sincerely feel no expectations from those who you love, and yet an unconditional caring."

Passing thought... Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take; but by the moments that take our breath away.....

Life is beautiful!!! Live it!!!

"I Will Remember that person Not As The One Who Broke My Heart, But As the One Who Taught Me How To Live With A Broken Heart and how to love!!!!!"

Life's Little Instruction Book

Have a firm handshake.

Look people in the eye.

Sing in the shower.

Own a great stereo system.

If in a fight, hit first and hit hard.

Keep secrets.

Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen every day.

Always accept an outstretched hand.

Be brave. Even if you're not, pretend to be. No one can tell the
difference.

Avoid sarcastic remarks.

Choose your life's mate carefully. From this one decision will come
90per
cent of all your happiness or misery.

Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.

Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all that they have.

When playing games with children, let them win.

Give people a second chance, but not a third.

Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life-and-death matters, nothing is as
important as it first seems.

Don't allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It's there for
your
convenience, not the caller's.

Be a good loser. Be a good winner.

Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret.

When someone hugs you, let them be the first to let go.

Keep it simple. Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born.

Beware of the person who has nothing to lose.

Don't burn bridges. You'll be surprised how many times you have to
cross
the same river.

Live your life so that your epitaph could read, No Regrets.

Be bold and courageous, when you look back on life,
you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the one's you did.

Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.

Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to
acknowledge those who helped you.

Take charge of your attitude. Don't let someone else choose it for you.

Visit friends and relatives when they are in hospital; you need only
stay a
few minutes.

Begin each day with some of your favorite music.

Once in a while, take the scenic route.

Send a lot of Valentine cards. Sign them, 'Someone who thinks you're
terrific.'

Answer the phone with enthusiasm and energy in your voice.

Keep a note pad and pencil on your bed-side table. Million-dollar ideas
sometimes strike at 3 a.m.

Show respect for everyone who works for a living, regardless of how
trivial
their job.

Send your loved ones flowers. Think of a reason later.

Make someone's day by paying the toll for the person in the car behind
you.

Become someone's hero.

Count your blessings.

Compliment the meal when you're a guest in someone's home.

Wave at the children on a school bus.

Remember that 80 per cent of the success in any job is based on our
ability
to deal with people.

Good news?

Situation: I am wearing a new dress. Apparently the dress looks good (or errr I look good? ;) )

Context: Quite some people have dropped by my desk or spoke to me when they spotted me. Almost invariably everyone said the same thing. Herez what they said:

 

Friend: Hey new dress? Its pretty nice. Any good news. (Good news?)

Me:   In an attempt to make a rather drab day a lil interesting, I wore a new dress K

 

Their expression: Ohhh!!!!!!!

I think: Weird girl eh? ;)

 

 

Dont loose the loved ones....

The Socrates Triple Filter Test

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem.

One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?"

”Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything, I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called

the Triple Filter Test."

”Triple filter?"

”That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a

moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the triple filter test.”

”The first filter is TRUTH. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

”No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."

’All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter

of GOODNESS. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"

”No, on the contrary..."

”So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You

may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of USEFULNESS. Is what you want to

tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"

”No, not really."

”Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to

me at all?"

Use this triple filter test each time you hear loose talk about any of your near and dear ones

Archive 15 - A new chapter in life

I am older by another year now. In retrospect, I always thought and felt I was still a kid. But man, the number of years I have walked the Earth, I am quite old now :D A memorable birthday I had, thanks to the wishes of all my friends, my family and all well-wishers. I was welcomed into the day by friends from all corners, who called to wish me on my special day. Nice gesture it was, some in the middle of their chores, some in the middle of their sleep. All of them made it a point to wish me when the clock struck 12. What a better way to start your day than getting warmly wished!!!

Early morning I was woken up with a sweet hug from my mom wishing me a huge "Happy Birthday Kanna". Dad joined with a mild yet affectionate wish. I felt special, felt nice, its nice to feel special isnt it? :) Its nice when you can still be a kid, when your parents still sing a "Happy birthday to you" song that we used to sing as kids. Couldnt stop the happy tears when my sis called me and sang the song for me. Phew, am I getting senti already? Well, there is more :) There were friends who made me feel absolutely special too. Each had their unique way of expressing their fond wishes and make my day more special. The huge bouquets adorning my hall still make me reminiscent of all old and nice times we had.

If wishes from friends brought me joy, wishes from friends who talk occassionally added to the joyous mood of the day. All in all, I am delighted to be delighted :D

Thank you all for all your efforts in making my day special.

Archive14 - Celebration Means.....

A nice forward that I received. Read on……..

Celebration means...

Four friends.
rain outside.
Four glasses of Tea.


Celebration means....

Hundred bucks of petrol.
A rusty old bike.
And an open road.


Celebration means...

A hostel Tea.
A hostel room.
12 a.m.


Celebration means...

3 old friends.
3 separate cities.
3 coffee mugs.
1 internet messenger.


Celebration means...

Rain on a hot tin roof.
Pakodas deep-frying.
Neighbours dropping in.
A party.


Celebration means...

You and mom.
A summer night.
A bottle of coconut oil.
A head massage.


You can spend
Hundreds on birthdays,
Thousands on festivals,
Lakhs on weddings,

but to celebrate all you have to do is spend your Time with your loved ones.

Keep in touch with those who care for you...

Archive 13 - Adventures on Hosur road

11/22/07


We were right in the middle of the road, cursing the traffic on hosur road yet another time. The traffic was moving an inch at a time. In the interest of the rising cost of oil, I turned the ignition off to make a difference! Does it by any chance help the cause of global warming as well? Well I sincerely hope so, coz what ensued after that was pretty "interesting".

Once there was another inch of space ahead of my car, I had to move forwards. This time when I turned the ignition on, it refused to start. It seemed dead, it seemed like life was sucked out of the car and it refused to show any signs of starting. Imagine the embarrassment when all the bull dozers behind begin honking at the helpless car and its driver!

Then 2 men came barging at me and asked what happened. I told them that the car refuses to start. They began hurling words at me and began pushing my car to a corner. In the middle of Hosur road, its really difficult to find a "Corner"!!! Coz give an inch of space and at least one cycle waalah or motorist will try to squeeze in from there. Finally they found a better place a little ahead and then there was peace!!

Now I had to figure out a service center guy. Thankfully a friend came to rescue and offered to get a person from the maruti service center. Meenakshi who was travelling with me said she was rather excited coz all this seemed fun :d Well in hindsight it might seem fun, but those few moments when everyone was either hurling words at you or looking at you as if you were some queer animal in a zoo didn't seem too exciting :)

Today in the morning I glanced at the predictions for the day section of the newspaper and it said, I would meet with an accident. As usual, I read it and forgot about it.

For some reason I thought I should take the bike to office and not the car. I really enjoyed the ride to office. The roads were clear for some odd reason. Well is it because its the thanksgiving weekend :-? It was quite an exhilarating ride to office, errr almost. Just a kilometer away from office, just when I was thinking I should ride to office henceforth, just when I was thinking of how good a ride it was, there was a sudden jerk on the bike. Thankfully the speed at which I was (around 40kmph) I could manage the sudden jerk. I was still wondering what had happened and I realised that I was going forward just coz of the inertia and the slope and the engine had in fact turned off!!!

Phew, again!!!! I alighted the bike and thought I should kick start and check what happened and lo behold the bike started. Heaving a sigh of relief I set on my way again when I had not even crossed a few meters it stopped again. Hmmmm so there was a problem indeed. Every few meters it had to come to a stop :( The good thing was I could see the office in front of me. So, managed to get to office somehow.

Hmmmm wonder how the journey back home would be, coupled with the fact that the predictions for the day didn't seem too encouraging either :)

Archive12 - Life and its interpretations

I have often seen that an event has different connotations to various people and various situations. What one person perceives is different
from what another perceives. Even better, how one person sees an event at one point of time varies from how the same person sees the same event at a later period of his life.

There is this program called "We the people" on NDTV. The topic of discussion once happened to be KANK. The movie though in particular doesn't send out any sane message to its viewers, deals with extra marital affairs. OK, coming to the point, there was this viewer who was having trouble with her married life. And she took a cue from the movie and filed for divorce!! I was shocked really. I had watched the movie too, and not even remotely did I sense any such message. I just watched it and left it at that. When I heard the lady's decision is when I pondered as to how people look at the same thing with a different mindset. It all depends on ones current life affairs I guess :)

There was another such incident that comes to my mind right away. One of my friends (say X) was going through a rough patch in his life. There was this another common friend of ours (say Y) who fancied having interesting status messages on yahoo. 'X' during his lean days happened to see a totally harmless yahoo status message against Y's and interpreted it in a way that shocked me. Its just that one weighs everything that they get to see or hear or talk, with the happenings in their life.

I have just finished reading this book called "Memoirs of a Geisha". The book was certainly a good read. But then there were quite a few incidents that made me look at the events in a different light. Had I read the same book maybe a year ago, I would have seen the same instances in a different light. Mind and its interpretations :)

Coming to the mind and its interpretations, I also find it amusing that human minds sometime adopt frivolous ways to come to a decision. It could be as meaningless as "If the lady turns around n gives me a glance before she boards the train, that means she is in love" ;) (rememberDDLJ ?) or could be as stupid as "Now that the cat has crossed my way, I will postpone this piece of work". Well, the latter is more commonly known as a superstition.

There is one other way that can make people do or not do things. This is quite interesting actually. Astrology!! Based on the alignment of certain celestial bodies, people decide on what activities to embark upon. The geisha's from japan are popular for being superstitious. They supposedlydon't do a thing without consulting the almanac!!!

When in need, the mind might seek a solution from just about anything :)

Archive 11 - Traffic ordeals

It was a thursday evening around 8 p.m. when I looked at my watch in the office. I got tired and decided its time I head home. An impromptu Ctrl+Alt+Del and I was all set to leave. Traffic-jam and food on my mind, when I was alighting the stairs from the 6th floor. My house is roughly 8kms away from my place of work, but on certain occasions it took me over an hour to cover that little distance in my car. Hoping for it to be better at that hour, I set off from the office only to realise that it wasn't going to be a joy ride back home.

I took the service road, coz its a bit better than the main road. That possibly didn't seem a wrong decision when I saw that the vehicles moved a bit faster on that road. It all started when I saw that the lane on which I was, for some reason had come to a stand-still while the lane on my left was moving pretty fast. That is when I decided I should try and change the lane. When I was almost changing to the left lane, a tempo-traveller guy who had to go straight decided to move a little towards his right! As a result, the front-left portion of my car touched the rear-right portion of his vehicle. And after that he went a little ahead which only worsened the impact of the touch!! And then hell broke loose!

The tempo traveller guy got off the vehicle and menancingly came towards me. I was visibly scared, coz I knew it was my fault and to be frank I didnt really want to get out of the car and see the damage caused. I offered an apology. He asked me to pay for the bumper saying it was damaged but I told him that I didnt have the money to pay up. In a short while I realised that too many people had gathered and all shouting at me. Since I was in the middle of the road, they were worried about blocking the traffic but I refused to take my vehicle to the left or even get out of the vehicle.

What was worse was, I could see his vehicle had a rod behind which protected his vehicle from getting damaged, the damage if at all was to my car. But then what irked me the most was the presence of a couple of people who were shouting at me more than the tempo traveller guy was. It was none of their business, why did they have to poke their nose into this instead of just minding their way. With the number of people hurling words at me at that hour and the fact that I was alone did scare me enough.

One thing I noticed was all the unwanted helping volunteers and the tempo traveller guys were just trying to make full use of the moment and tried to exploit. I agree it was my fault but damage if any was only caused to my vehicle and I tendered my apologies the moment it touched the vehicle, if he had not gone further, my vehicle would also not have gotten damaged!

The tiring evening only ended being worse for me!

Archive10 - Trouble of a different ilk

8/18/07

It was a sunday and my dad decided that we meet some of our family friends since it had been a long time we had done any kind of socializing. Since there was another reception to be attended the same evening, I figured that there was no way to avoid stepping out of home :D (On sundays I prefer staying home full day). As always, this particular family friend is associated with a lot of goodies :d Ok let me explain what that sentence meant. Everytime we visit them or they visit us, dad/uncle have to buy half the bakery/sweet shop! So, dad as usual got one huge bag of sweets, mixtures and all those mouth-watering things to eat. I had to somehow curtail my temptation to steal one packet of them :p After a bit of maskafying dad, I managed to pull one of the sweets in there n hogged on!

On saturday I had noticed that my car had a problem with the rear tyre and I didn't bother to fix it assuming I can do it on Sunday (without realising that shops are closed on sunday :( ). So, instead of having a pleasant drive in the car, we took a rick to Malleswaram. After all the "how are you" sessions, we did all the catching up we had to do. Then, aunty emerged from the kitchen with a plate full of goodies, as has been the custom :)

Now, is the "troublesome part". When it was time to leave and we were in the process of saying its time to leave, uncle suddenly had to say "Chudidhar for Soumya". Well these words are a little uncomforting in an unusual sense. This has been the case with both the families all the time. I knew what was to come. Uncle (n his family) would want to gift me a dress and me (n my family) vehemently saying no to it. This goes on for atleast fifteen minutes. Its a test of who is more stubborn all the time with uncle just not ready to relent. Phew, its so difficult to say a vehement NO. May be the fact that he is an elder person that I cannot really go and fight it out and say "No". He would be like "Dont let me lose the pleasure of giving you" and I would be saying "I will take when there is a function or occasion and not now"!!! This went on for 15 minutes with all the 3 of us (me n my parents) protesting and uncle not ready to budge. Uncle put 3 dresses in a cover and handed it over my dad (assuming that is the safest custody)!! Mom n I were royally uncomfortable, but we could just not avoid. On my way home, I could not avoid a chuckle and said to myself - "This is a trouble of a different ilk"!!!

Archive 9 - Free gift anyone?

I get a call from some Blore number. Here is the conversation.

He: Can I speak to Soumya
Me : Yeah, speaking.

He: Are you in Bangalore
Me: Yeah

He: Your number has been shortlisted for a fabulous gift worth Rs.7000 madam.
Me: Ok (Should I have said ohhhh is it!!!! How lucky me :| )

He: Today evening we have a function, you can come and collect it from MG Road or koramangala
Me: Ok

He: Note down the address madam
Me: Ok

He: "Starts telling me the address"
Me: Ok

He: May I know your good name madam
Me: Why are you giving some lucky people this gift

He: I dont know madam. May I know your good name madam
Me: I am sorry, I dont want the gift.

He: Thank you madam
Me: Ok :|

Why on Earth would someone give a gift for no reason!!!!
Atleast I believe in a philosophy, no one does anything for freee!!!

Archive 8 - An ode to my Daddy dearest

My sweet little busy sis and I got to have a long talk after a long time. This was a totally different kind of a talk from the ones we regularly have about how well she is studying or working and stuff. It was different because we went back in memory lane and spoke about olden days.

I happened to tell her about the nice talk dad and I had today. And from there we went back to golden memories we had. We talked in unison about all the fond remembrances we had. How he taught us everything in life, how hee corrected our handwriting without making us change the style, how he taught us cycling running all through with us (and hurt himself also :( in the melee ), how he even taught us how dishes in the kitchen can be washed in a better way (when mom was away), he has been our friend discussing our subjects in college (even to this day) and amazingly he still has solid advice and content though he didnt study the same subjects in school. Apart from these trivial seeming things he is the one who has inculcated some very good moral values in us. I also rememebred the days when we made mistakes and he did not spare the rod, rather the leather belt :) The punishments changed through the years based on our age. Ofcourse now his raised voice is a good enough punishment for me :)

Even when he was transferred and had to stay far away, he was always there guiding us and also goading us to study well :D. I always wished he was here (in Blore) when I was studying so that he could that extra element of knowledge.

The long discussions we have on varied topics ranging from how skilled Henry is at football to how certain political decisions have a hidden agenda to how much of hype and hoopla the press generates for a flimsy issue to how bad the outfit of the current genre of tennis players is!

He still gives me tips on how I could better my hold while playing badminton, how I could improve my serve in tennis. Although he comes from a very conventional orthodox family, he never let us feel so, we have been given liberty to do all things as long as they are right.

My dad doesnt ever cook but can still give some wonderful tips on how to cook faster, how it can be tastier by adding that one extra ingredient.

It was fun re-living all those moments with my sis and saying how great our dad is.

It has not been possible for me to put the thoughts that I have in mind. The intensity cannot be shown by words for sure. All I can say is "My daddy greatest :)"

Archive 7 - Grandiose traits

Its been a little too long since I blogged. Well, now that I have been tagged, I got out of hibernation to be a part of the tagging sequence not to break the chain.

Here are the rules of the game.

1. The tagged victim has to come up with 8 different points of their perfect lover.
2. You have to mention the sex of the target.
3. Tag 8 victims to join this game and leave a comment on their comments saying they've been tagged.
4. If tagged the 2nd time, there's no need to post again.

My sapnon ka shehzaada should be......

* Extremely patient to be able to listen and laugh to all the PJs I crack. Listen to the endless chatter, cribs, stories that I tell.

* Love to play just anything ranging from table tennis, football, cycling to just walking. Its nice to be a kid in a while and not always the grown up.

* Love me a lot lot lot ahem ahem ahem :)

* Should be able to make a witty and humourous conversation. Should be able to argue with me with only the topic in mind and nothing in heart.

* "Understand the silence". Everyone likes to talk and likes to spend time talking. As a friend of mine told, one should understand the silence of each other and not just the words.

* He should like me inspite of what I am and not just for what I am.

* Derive pleasure out of simple things in life, a small walk eating corn or peanuts, splash through water or puddles during rains, be a kid with kids and a sophisticated professional at work.

* Take life easy, jovial at heart, good planner, ease me out when tensed.

Now continuing the tradition, I tag the following......

Pakku
SV
Anil

Well 3 should do for now :) Have a nice time.

Archive 6 - Cool Gurukul

Fame Gurukul, a reality music show is what the organizers call it. I happened to watch it on Sony TV yesterday. Its not yet another competition where the participants sing and a few judges choose one of them as the best singer. It was a show with a difference.

There were 7 participants in the show yesterday. Each one looked pretty well dressed. For a second I was wondering if it was a competition to gauge the vocal chords or the acting prowess of the candidates.

Unlike the other musical shows, here the participants are trained in house (after selecting the eligible candidates). They are very well groomed helping them improve not only on their weak points concerning music but also the overall personality. They get to learn from the who-is-who who of Bollywood. They were well groomed in the way they dress, the body movement, the way they speak and many more intricate things that eventually matter.
The comperes asked the contestants really irritating questions; it actually got onto my nerves. But the candidates had to keep their cool and answer the really senseless questions.
In an earlier episode the candidates had to eliminate one of their peers by voting them out and the saga of sentiments that followed thereafter was worth watching. For sometime, I didn't understand what was happening (I was watching the program for the first time then). But the amount of hard work that they put in makes them react thus. Phew, whatever, I liked the concept of the program. The participants were pretty good too.

Archive5 - Euphoria at the US open

It was Sunday evening. Sis was very eagerly waiting for THE MATCH to be telecast on TV. I cannot say it was the clash of the titans, but shall definitely say it was a very much "awaited" match. SM vs MS, Sania Mirza versus Maria Sharapova. Lot was said about the match in the paper. Not that Sania was any match to the top seed Sharapova, but it was the first time an Indian reached such heights in competitive tennis Grand slam events. Moreover, the name Sania itself causes euphoria among the audience.
Waiting for that match we witnessed another very interesting match, Hewitt vs Dent. It was an unexpected thriller (atleast to me). I had not expected the match to be so interesting. Initially, I was in no mood to watch the match since I was waiting for the ladies match (I had never watched Sania in action earlier). But man, it was a very interesting match, worth watching every point. It was the final set being played in the five setter match. 3rd seeded Australian, Hewitt faced a really tough competition from the 25th seeded American, Dent. In the match that lasted around 3 and a half hours, some very anxious moments were experienced. The last game saw 4 match points which Hewitt finally managed to convert into a winning point. The hyperactive kid that I call Hewitt, finally made it to the 4th round after a very happening match.
It was past midnight when the ladies match finally started. Two beautiful ladies took on the mantle of US open for foraying into the next round of the US open. Sania found a lot of support from the audience. With crowds cheering "come on Sania", it was quite encouraging. Sania knew that she didn't stand a chance against the numero Uno. Nevertheless, she put up a nice fight before she passed the baton on. The scores show a dismal 2-6, 1-6 loss of Sania, but the match was pretty interesting since Sania put up a nice fight. She has a long way to go with her service. The service which ought to be the forte of a tennis player, was proving to be her liability. With double-faults galore, she never actually posed a threat to Sharapova. She has come a long way but she still has a longer way to go before she could be a consistent performer at the grand slam events.

Ohh yeah, one more feat by the Indians. The Indian cricket team finally managed to win the match against the formidable second rung team from Zimbabwe. Hurrah!!! 3 cheers to the Indian Team.

Archive 4 - Subah ki kahani

Sun these days rises pretty late for me. I wake up only when I know that the newspaper is there at my door step. But I should re-consider this habit of mine, given the fact that it needs quite a bit of gut nowadays to open the newspaper early in the morning. Gone are the days when one used to wake up to the lovely chirpy sounds of a "koel", the early morning cucku-koo-kooo" or maybe the neighbour's playing the suprabhatam. These days its gotto be some gory pic on the frontpage of the newspaper that welcomes my day.
A plethora of events have stuck mumbai of late. First it was the incessant rains which took the whole nation by storm. Rains lashed all over and wrecked real havoc. People lost lives, property, relatives, so much so that they now fear even a light drizzle. Lot of them now suffer from hydro-phobia. Even the survivors are left aghast wondering if it were a blessing to survive or a curse to see everything and everyone lost.
The aftermath, epidemic. Given the unhygenic conditions in which a vast portion of mumbai lives in, this was inevitable. Fear of the attack of Leptospirosis and then the medicines going out-of-stock only added salt to the injury. The apathy of the shack dwellers was untenable.
Gory incidents like slashing the neck of an innocent spectator at a densely poplulated area like Gateway of India sent a shiver down my spine. The splashing of the news with the photographs of the hapless victims shoke me up. Early morning, I witnessed(passive ofcourse) the heart-rending sight. This happened in a city like mumbai which is supposed to be a very safe place for aam junta.
Then came the collapse of a 4 storeyed building in downtown mumbai. The dilapidated building gave way at an unearthly hour when the inmates were in deep sleep. Some more lives were claimed.
The point that I want to drive home is, it needs guts to be able to read the headlines early in the morning. Reports of natures' fury, people's indifference to one another, reporter's apathy towards its readers (especially the young ones), these form the crux of the news these days.
Well one can always say, that dont read the paper the first thing in the morning, simple solution to a complex problem in life, isnt it?

Archive 3 - Re-kindled penchant for books

After a long time I got myself to read books again. In retrospection, I gather that the progress was not bad considering the number of books that I managed to read. Thanks to Madam M, I started it off with English August. It was an okish kind of book. There were "hazaar" interruptions during the course of my current stint of book reading. Nevertheless, I managed to complete it. The Client by John Grisham was the second one. I was engrossed in reading the book I must say. The journey to office all the way from Wadala to Vashi was quite a long one. The Client kept me busy when I was not "eating" others' brains with my "chatar-patar"! I did like the book. Well prior to this, the last book that was captivating enough was the Da Vinci Code. After these 2 books, came a long hiatus.......

It was one fine sunday afternoon at matheran, 5 of us were having lunch when Ms. RT asked me if I read a book called Five point someone. On getting a reply on the negative I should say she was flabbergasted!!! "Haven't you read Five point someone!!" she exclaimed.
It made me seem like I had committed a gruesome sin :)). Well, it was at that very instant that I was fully determined to read the book and thanks to her and my dear Madame M, I did infact buy the book on the same day at Fountain near church gate. Needless to say, I did not keep the book down till I finished it (I had to read it ASAP you see). Finally, I did manage to finish that (no wonder Miss M was very surprised). Well, the book made a good reading and never realised when it got over. It was a good pastime. At the end of it, I was left with a desire for reading more.

Rains struck mumbai after that and all of us were literally under house arrest (makeshift house that is). During those days with neither TV nor newspaper to bail us out of boredom, I was missing reading books like neverbefore. I managed to buy a book at Vashi - The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I had heard good reviews about the book and so decided to go for it. It was a nice book which I did not take long to finish. I decided I shall seek madame M's expert opinion on some good books. Unfortunately the book vendor didn't have a wide range of books. I just managed to lay my hands on Shobha De's Spouse. In this book Shobha De gives her piece of advice on the nitty-gritties of married life.

Again thanks to M, I have the following books lined up in my closet - Animal Farm, Life of Pie, To kill a mocking bird and one of Douglas Adams' books. Now the onus lies on me to read and enjoy them.

Wish me happy reading :-D

Archive 2 - Trees turning a bane ? - Archive2

8/18/07

Bangalore these days is undergoing a paradigm shift from Garden City to Concrete Jungle. People have become cynical about the leftover greenery as well. Of late, a heavy shower accompanied by a breeze is a reason enough to clog all the roads, branches strewn all over.....sad state of affairs. I was pondering over the reasons for this - could it be that the trees are old now and are dying or is it that they are not able to survive due to some factors. Well....one might wonder how it matters if some branches do fall off - after all that is a small price to pay for being able to enjoy the numerous benefits of having trees in our surroundings. But there have been quite a few casualties apart from the fact that the traffic comes to a standstill stranding people all over. It is now instigating grave concerns among the common people since the lives of lot of innocent people have fallen prey to falling trees/branches.

A trivial solution could be to trim the trees more often. But instead of fending for some viable solution, I thought of delving deeper into unearthing the "root" cause of the problem. Something flashed. Its the ROOTS!! they dont have breathing space. Well if one has noticed the pavements in bangalore are built in a very unscientific manner these days. It has been built keeping only the pedestrians in mind forgetting that the tree is after all not an inanimate object and that it also needs some space. The pavements are completely concretised and the roots barely have space to breathe. We just get to see the trunk of the tree. Don't they need their share of breathing space? After all the hapless trees would give in when they aren't strong enough to withstand the fury (mild) of nature.

Probably we could help ourselves by helping the trees help themselves....Can we do something about it?

Archive1 - My First Blog

I have diligently been following all the blogs of my friends tiny and kans . This has kindled a liking for blogging in me too. I have created the blog so that it serves as a medium to vent out my views, musings, anguish etc. etc. Will try to make myself as regular as possible :) Comments are welcome

Part II - The conversation

Herez the conversation between my Friend and I based on the mail fwd (blog : Part I)

Friend: How about another version of the story?

Me: Sure go ahead.

Friend: Well.. the guy moved on and married another girl who was "normal" and the first girl went back to her parents and lived with them. Both were happy and lived happy lives.. in their own ways..

Me: Fine if they were happy. But then I wouldn't like it

Friend: hmm.. why?
Friend: Single girls staying with parents is not a big deal these days..
Friend: and marriage is not a must either..

Me: agreed
Me: But I wish that all marriages were made such that they think that they were born for each other and they shouldn't think they have an option out of it
Me: and unless its a painful thing there should be no separation

Friend: hmm..

Me: The day one thinks there is an option out of it they would stop trying and simply pry for better options. That would be never ending.
There should be some level of commitment in life

Friend: yeah.. that's true..

Me: And think of each other as dukh sukh ke saathi else why bother marry at all? Just have fun all life without any responsibilities, commitments or the luggage that comes with marriage

Friend: but, one doesn't know unless one enters the relationship?

Me: then one shouldn't enter the relationship and if one does, then one should try ALL one can (and beyond) to maintain the sanctity of it, well if one things its sacred that is....

Friend: I like the way you think..
Friend: but, reality is that there are too many unhappy marriages and divorces that I have seen in my Friend circle
Friend: not counting all other failed relationships of other flavors

Me: I know, but how many of your Friends are in India?
Me: Divorces mainly happen coz women are now independent and don't take everything hands down. Men are not too used to it. So there is the problem
Hence men sometimes have to sober down too, though its a male dominated society

Friend: that's a simplistic description..that divorces are because of the rise of women power

Me: It is. I have seen it happen. Earlier, even when men were wrong, they used to dictate to the ladies. The ladies having no other go, would take it hands down. After a while things would fall into place. So allz well.

Friend: hmm

Me: But if the girl fights back or questions anything, then starts the trouble..

Friend: I guess that generation is gone..



There ended our conversation on the issue. But then, though I agree that the generation is gone, I strongly feel that was the sole reason our system of arranged marriages was so successful.

Part I - The mail

Below mentioned is one of the fwds I got one fine day. I sent it to a few of my friends with the following disclaimer: "Not about the protagonist being a boy or a girl, but I really liked the patience of the protagonist and how it worked.". Read on........

Ours was an arranged marriage. It was done the traditional way. Our Parents took care of everything. My only condition was that she should be ready to work. Our horoscopes and photos were exchanged. Everything Matched. I spoke to her over the phone. We talked about things two strangers would talk. She was a lecturer in Bangalore who felt Chemistry was more important than Hindi movies. There was no engagement. The date for marriage was fixed in 2 weeks as I could not get a vacation after that. Even the vacation time I got was just 10 days.

Everything was fixed. It was supposed to be very hectic for me. We got married and 2 days later we had to leave the country. She cried like there was no tomorrow when we left. She would not talk to me on the plane. I thought that was usual for an Indian girl. I thought she would get over it. Once home she would not talk to me. She sat in a corner staring at the TV. For the first couple of days I had to catch up on some work and did not take her mood seriously.

A week later I sat beside her and asked her, "What is wrong?"

"Why did you bring me here?"

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"I want to go home"

"This is your home"

"No. I want to go home. Please buy me a ticket"

"Look, everybody feels homesick. I did when I came here the first time. It is normal. You will get over it. Sorry I have been busy with work.

We can go out this weekend. You will meet my friends and other people who will be very friendly. Come on be a good girl"

"I hate this place. I miss my family, my friends, my college. All the people I know are not here. I want to go home"

"Think for a minute. Try to reason it out yourself. What is your plan by the way? So you want to go back and never come back?"

"Yes"

"Are you crazy?"

"If you think this is crazy then I am."

"It is ok if you do not answer this question. Is there someone else?"

"No. I want to go home. I will call 911 if you do not send me"

"First cool down. Think about it. Think about our parents. It is less than a month that we got married and now you want to return home. You very well knew that you had to come here. What were you thinking? Even if you are returning home what happens to our marriage?"

"I am not blaming you. I take the blame. It is my mistake. I can't stay so far away from my family. If you are so interested come to India"

"I am family too! What you are asking is ridiculous."

The next day she would not change her mind. I called my folks. They said that it was my decision and they would stand by me. I booked her ticket and put it in her hand the next evening. She was to leave in 2 days.

Nothing would convince her to change her mind. She was crying like a kid. Then she left.

She had done nothing for me to miss but something inside me was telling me that I was at fault. I tried to shake it off but as time grew I started feeling more guilty. I called her. She made it clear that she did not find me despicable but she would not leave her city. Her parents apologized profusely but they were helpless too.

I have had crushes. None of them were serious. There was this girl in my high school tuition whose phone no I managed to find out. Then the prettiest girl in college whom everybody loved, who talked to me once. Then the girl from my city who was at my university in USA who made me feel at home when I visited her place. I had ignored them once I crossed their paths. But Anjali was my wife. I could not ignore her.

I decided to quit my job. I went home. No one back home knew I was returning. I wanted to surprise her. I dropped off my bags at my place and went to the college she was teaching. The gate keeper would not let me in. So I had to wait outside for the classes to get over.

She walked out alone, struggling to carry her bag, tired, with slow steps. She was walking towards the bus stop. I silently followed her and went behind her and whispered, "Do you mind if I carry your bag?"

She was startled and turned to face me. Her eyes lit up. I was not sure if I could hug her. I was smiling and she had a 100 questions written all over her face. "I want to spend a week with you in this city. Show me the things that you could not miss"

That one week went in a jiffy. She was treated a kid at home with all the comforts. That explained her behavior. Coffee was brought to her in the morning. Even her dress was laid out for her. She would have breakfast and leave. The bus journey was an hour. She would sit near the window with a book. Then once in the college she would teach her classes and come out tired in the evening. She would stand in the crowded bus carrying her bag which would look heavy. Then she would alight, go home, have a snack and would head out to a friend's place. Some times she'd stay home watching TV or listening to music. When her dad returned she would join him and they'd have dinner. Then her mom would tuck her in bed. Weekends were not much different. She would sleep late, wake up for breakfast and lie down talking on the phone. Then she would visit the temple in the evening and would have her singing lessons. Then she would eat out and would head home late.

That was her life. It was something every human being wanted - simple, content and happy. Of course to her I was a villain. I told her that I understood her. I wanted to know if it was ok if she stayed in the same city but away from her parents. Her only condition was that I should not stay at my parent's place to which I agreed. So we moved into a small apartment. She knew nothing. She had to be taught everything. She learnt. It was hard to make her understand that she had duties and she had a husband. Coffee had to be brought to her in the morning. She made the rules and broke them. She did not care for me. Sometimes she would not return home but go to her parents' place without informing me. I would have had to go bring her back.

Slowly she started realizing about married life. She would wake up before me, try to cook, agree for a movie, visit my friend's place, invite me to her college, let me dress her up, dance in front of me, teach me Chemistry, talk about her crushes, play cricket with me, make me cry for a change. She was growing mature day by day. One day she apologized for the whole thing. I brushed it aside. Finally I had her the way I wanted.

Today I am happy and content with my life. She is still there crying to get her things done. I keep reminding her how she had threatened to call the police. She laughs it away. Some times I wonder how life would have been if I had not returned. Then again some things are left as they are.

That's how life is...

There are two ways of meeting difficulties:

" You alter the difficulties, or you alter yourself to meet them"

Some nice quotes

Beautiful lyrics

Toota toota ek parinda aise toota
Ke phir jud naa paaya
Loota loota kisne usko aise loota
Ke phir ud naa paaya
O o o o toota toota ek parinda aise toota
Ke phir jud naa paaya
Loota loota kisne usko aise loota
Ke phir ud naa paaya
Girta hua woh asma se
Aakar gira zameen par
Khwabon mein phir bhi badal hi the
Woh kehta raha magar
Ke allah ke bande hasde allah ke bande
Allah ke bande hasde jo bhi ho kal phir aayega
Allah ke bande hasde allah ke bande
Allah ke bande hasde jo bhi ho kal phir aayega

Kho ke aapne par hi to usne tha ud naa sikha
Kho ke aapne par hi to o o o
Kho ke aapne par hi to usne tha ud naa sikha
Gham ko aapne saath mein lele dard bhi tere kaam aayega
Allah ke bande hasde allah ke bande
Allah ke bande hasde jo bhi ho kal phir aayega
Allah ke bande hasde allah ke bande
Allah ke bande hasde jo bhi ho kal phir aayega

Aa aa aaa
Tukde tuke ho gaya tha har sapna jab woh toota
Tukde tuke ho gaya tha aa aaa aa
Tukde tuke ho gaya tha har sapna jab woh toota
Bhikre tukdon mein allah ki marzi ka manzar paayega
Allah ke bande hasde allah ke bande
Allah ke bande hasde jo bhi ho kal phir aayega
Allah ke bande hasde allah ke bande
Allah ke bande hasde jo bhi ho kal phir aayega
Toota toota ek parinda aise toota
Ke phir jud naa paaya
Loota loota kisne usko aise loota
Ke phir ud naa paaya
Girta hua woh asma se
Aakar gira zameen par
Khwabon mein phir bhi badal hi the
Woh kehta raha magar
Ke allah ke bande hasde allah ke bande
Allah ke bande hasde jo bhi ho kal phir aayega
Allah ke bande hasde allah ke bande
Allah ke bande hasde jo bhi ho kal phir aayega
Allah ke bande hasde allah ke bande
Allah ke bande hasde jo bhi ho kal phir aayega
Allah ke bande hasde allah ke bande
Allah ke bande hasde jo bhi ho kal phir aayega

-- Allah ke bande by Kailash Kher