Sensible Gibberish

Happy New Year

2011-01-10T10:29:00.003+05:30

Hiya Friends,
Wish you all a very happy and bright 2011!
This is a photo from one of the highlights of 2010- the Canoe trip.

Fog(gy) Memories…

2010-10-26T12:29:00.001+05:30

Early morning scene today -
Location: Out of my window.
I get up and look outside the window and see that my neighbourhood is covered in a white blanket of sorts. I have to walk out the door into the balcony and check instinctively. I smell the air – there is a certain crisp to it. It is not smoke – not the pollution you are now so accustomed to… OOO it is fog! Fog that diffuses the early sun rays and the one which will dissipate as the rays become intense.
The fog, the cool weather all of this has become so rare in these recent years – something attributed to global warming - that it seems distant now..
I instantly apparated (from Harry Potter) into my school days. This brings back the anticipation we used to have as kids – of the soon to come Diwali festivities with fond memories of the school vacation associated with it. Then it brings back the memories of the approaching winter, of snuggling blankets and not wanting to get up early, of going to school early morning any way and enjoying the ride on dad’s scooter, of wearing the red school cardigan…
All this hidden somewhere in you and lost in the daily grind only to be brought back unexpectedly one fine day…
Oh all the nostalgia!

Welcome?

2010-07-20T05:09:00.000+05:30

Who wants this doormat?

2 days – 3 continents (virtually)

2010-07-20T01:02:00.003+05:30

This weekend was all fun and dance. Enjoying summer to the fullest!
Its summer and there is so much happening in the city that you have to choose!! This weekend we did festival hopping attending 3 events in 2 days.
There was this South Asian Festival with all the pomp and colour of our side of the continent! They had a whole program of music (tabla concert) and lots of dances – Kathak, bharatnatyam, Garba and of course Bollywood!

Next hop was the beaches Jazz festival. This was in a park near the beaches area. It was out in the open on the lawns and had attracted lot of crowds. We spent some time there listening to some young talent and then some singers from the French quarters in Canada and later Argentina.

Sunday was our Salsa day and we headed to the Salsa fest. It was interesting. There were a lot of hot spots which was like this – they had blaring music on; being either played live or played records and there were people dancing. Then there was a stage and people playing live music there. After a while 2 instructors were teaching some basic salsa steps there and people were watching and learning. I too joined in of course. You know when it comes to dance, I cant stop myself!

Loved the cultural diversity all had to offer – right from the crowds to the music and dance to the array of foods!

Beach BBQ Vs Earthquake

2010-06-25T00:48:00.001+05:30

What sounds more interesting – a beach barbeque party or an earthquake?
Ok, I know beach barbeque party of course! Right? Well if you’d ask me, I’d say an earthquake. I know what you are thinking now – she is crazy! Well judge for yourself …
It so happened that we had a beach barbeque party organized at the office – just a summer celebration lunch. There were some relay games and Hawaiian shirt contest and the likes. Lunch was hotdog, pasta salad and potato salad followed with ice cream! Interesting it was indeed as there was the whole of the office – all of 12 floors worth people gathered to enjoy the meal.
Then we headed back to our dungeon. This needs a bit of explanation. We are located on the 14th floor but some restructuring work is going on there and so we are temporarily located in the basement which we lovingly call the dungeon.
So, back to the story. We came back and were at work for about ½ hour. I felt something shaking. I thought I’m moving my chair too much so sat still and the shaking continued. Saw the water bottle shaking and looked around to see if anybody else had noticed. That time, the colleague who sits across me also looked up and said he too felt it. Then there was some noise around and we all started wondering if we should head outside. I hesitated for a moment thinking I should take my passport with me if nothing else! But that thought just flashed past and we headed out. Some more people were descending the stairs.
We are in a building 22 stories and if we felt the tremors in the basement, I’m sure people on the higher floors experienced them much more than us. After about 10 mins, we started to go back and the building security would not let us in. We told him we just wanted to grab our passports but he wouldn’t agree. So we had no option but to go the parking lot away from the building. Once there, some of us started checking on their blackberries about news of the earthquake. Here we came to know that the earthquake was 5.5 on the Richter scale. They had started evacuating the building and all the staff was out. We were told that there would be investigation to verify that the building suffered no structural damages before we would be let in. that would mean about 3 hours of no activity and just waiting. 3 of us sneaked inside through an alternate route and gathered our stuff.
Then somebody had a bright idea of going for beer! So our team headed out to this place and we had a great time there with drinks and snacks and chattering around. Making the most of ... earthquakes… on a Wednesday afternoon…
Not totally crazy, am I now?

Rush Hour... no rush minute...

2010-05-28T09:33:00.001+05:30

What time would you get up if you had a bus to catch for another city at 6.00 in the morning? ok let me give some more details. The bus starts at 6.00 am, reaches the point you board in about 10 mins. You stay at about 10 min walk from the boarding point.
So again - what time would you get up? 5.00 am? considering you would snooze and everything...
well not me!
I get up at 5.45 am (that too accidentally, more on this in a minute), rush through everything; barely managing to get a very very quick shower, and make a dash to the boarding point. And how! start walking, am not even halfway there when the bus goes past me and then I am left with no choice but run. Technically there is a choice - of missing the bus, but not without trying right? Not when you took the trouble of reserving a ticket in advance! So I reach the bus just as the conductor is about to close the door. I ask him if this is the 6.00 am Borivali bus while puffing and panting heavily; he nods and I set my foot on the stairs. Finally I am in it and it starts immediately! Leaves me thinking that good I didnt waste any time wondering if I would make it to the bus or not and trying!
Now for a little background.
I was to travel to Mumbai on an official visit. I had booked in advance for 6.00 ticket. I set an alarm. Mom too was going to set one and I didnt let her do it: very confidently stating I'm all set and I've set 2 alarms - in case I switch one off instead of snoozing it. And so I had. Albeit for 5:55 am and 6:00 am instead of 4:55 am and 5:00 am.
Can you beat me at that?

Junk comments...

2010-03-12T04:05:00.001+05:30

Peeps,
I have been getting some junk comments - for reasons I cant comprehend - and the comments too I cant comprehend.
So as a precaution, have set the comment moderation on.
-P

101st post and no title...

2010-01-20T09:27:00.004+05:30

We study together from the age of 3 as kindergartners;
We laugh and cry together;
We gulp down food and manage to play in the short recess;
We run around the school campus sometimes forgetting who we are running behind;
We have our share of fights; Mischief intended : malice none;
We get back together the next day as if nothing happened;
We tease each other, call names: sometimes weird, awkward and remember the history behind all of them;

Some of our pranks backfire and one amongst us is punished;
We stand by him: daring to face the punishment together;

We recognize people by their first and last names and the house colour;
We belong together; we grew up together;

Then you leave high school and lose touch with most;
Welcome to the real world;

One fine day, thanks to the efforts of a few trying to trace everybody, you get a call from a school mate.
A reunion … after 19 years!!
Excitement, anticipation, anxiety;
Will you recognize them? Will people recognize you?

And then the day arrives.
My vocabulary fails me here, I have no words to express.

Nostalgia.

Solar eclipse

2010-01-15T20:31:00.003+05:30

as seen today...

Resolutions is a heavy word

2010-01-04T14:57:00.000+05:30

was the title of my post last year and it weighs me down still.
Last year I had the audacity to make resolutions and to top it, make them public on this blog. So I take it upon myself to declare here how many I accomplished and where I failed.

•Make something creative every week so by the end of the year I should have 52 things I created - Although I didnt have 52 things I created, I did have a fair bit so I consider this as accomplished (now wont you say thats a creative excuse?)
•Write blog posts at least once every week - failed ! If only I had 7 more, the total would be 52 for averaging out the 52 weeks...
•Take one photo every week - then again! Although not 1 photo every week, I have a total of approx 2500 photos clicked in Oct-Dec - thanks to the Canada trip. Can I please please say this as more than accomplished?
•Exercise (this is one which is most likely to fail) - as predicted - failed miserably. Howmuchever, I want to put forward an argument here, I know a month of swimming, once a week badminton sessions and a couple of days in the gym does not count as exercise!
•Take up some creative course – photography maybe! - again - failed this too.
•Learn to swim - yay! done this.
•Ride a bicycle (this one is after a long time) - Did not :(
•Call up old friends (as some of u would agree I am verrry bad at this) - fared ok there
•Volunteer at an NGO/orphanage/old age home - yes

I had restricted my list to these 9 items (for the year 2009) and I am not too happy to report that I failed to keep up 4 of them.
Need I say I wont be keeping any this year much less make them public?
Do you keep score of your resolutions?

Welcome 2010

2010-01-04T14:55:00.001+05:30

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2010 ahead!!

The return...

2009-12-17T16:31:00.000+05:30

So... here I am sitting at the Toronto airport waiting to be airborne. As has happened earlier on my way here, I reached the airport very early! My flight is scheduled for 6.15 pm. I thought I have 3 bags so let me go early and reach in time so that I have no hassles. So I plan to reach there at about 3 pm in the afternoon. I arrange for the limo to pick me up at 2 o’clock anticipating it would take about an hour given the bad weather and impending traffic.
At about 1.30 when I am thinking of going and finish the check-out formalities at the hotel, I get a call from the limo driver. He says he is early as the weather is not too favourable and there are inevitable delays in this weather. Anyways by the time I finish all the formalities and have my luggage sitting in the car trunk, its about 1.45.
We start. What I see on the way is that there is no traffic and there I am at the airport check-in counter at 2.40 with too much time at my hand!
I had not thought I’d say this any time but I am glad that the rep at the counter could not operate the new ticketing system! At other times I’d be probably irritated at having to wait at the check-in counter for 25+ mins but not today. Today I am happy that the rep is cursing a system upgrade and that nothing works as it used to. All this is because of e-ticketing. Who would have thought. But I am glad for this hiccup and user complaints and more so that I (and the software we develop) am not responsible for this! Now that I have said this, I am musing, would it be any different for the customers we develop software for?

Cavalcade of Lights

2009-12-17T16:18:00.005+05:30

What do you think about going to an open air theater at 7 in the evening and listening to a concert albeit not knowing the singer or having heard her songs before? Oh and I forgot to mention its -6 deg celcius and with wind chill feeling like -12. Crazy eh?
I did that. Singer was July Black, a Canadian performing artist. Occasion: prelude to Christmas. Location: at the Toronto city hall, where the official Christmas tree of the city is. It helps that this square where the performance was, there was an ice skating rink. I’d have liked to skate but given that there were nobody with us who could skate and me being so prone to falling, I dropped out of that and settled to just listen to the music. It wasn’t too bad, with cup of good hot chocolate to keep me warm.
After the concert there were fireworks. Amazing too. I’ll leave you with some pictures!

Toronto's official christmas tree.

the stage

fireworks - in the background is the new city hall buildings

the harbourfront - Toronto

2009-11-11T07:56:00.006+05:30

The weather predictions for Sunday was that it would be partly sunny and partly cloudy but no rains. So I had decided that I do some outdoor activity. This time we(debs and me) didn’t ask the concierge for directions! Getting used to roaming here I guess! So we took the usual bus, then train and then the streetcar (aka tram).
We got down there and walked in the direction of the lake. Its not very difficult to find the way around there – there is the CN tower which you see from almost everywhere ( when our line of sight is not blocked by any tall buildings). We reached the lake side and there it was the queen’s quay.

It was a little cloudy and the lake reflects the sky so all was still pretty much grey at that time. It was a little cold too at 4-5 degrees. We took a stroll down from the queen’s quay to the harbour front and reached an area where in summer there are a lot of activities taking place. Not so much in winter.
There are three small islands in Toronto which can only be reached by ferry/boats. Summer time is the best time to visit there I hear. Now most of the activities there are closed so only the boat tour takes you around the islands.

We were thinking of going on the ride since it might start getting cold from next week and if the weather is not good, they might cancel the tours. But it was still cloudy so I thought we would come back in another hour or two. This boat tour was scheduled every hour. So we were just strolling around the lake side enjoying the sites
Here I spotted another boat just docking and then this girl calling out people/selling tickets for the next ride. I still wanted to wait for the sun to come out so that I get good pictures! So to spend about an hours time we went to this shopping center at the quay. When it was about 15 mins for the boat ride we went to the place where the boat would start from. We had an advantage of being the first ones on board – so that we could take seats we wanted! By now the sun was out of the clouds and so the sky was looking blue and everything was bright around.

The boat went past one of the islands which has a small aiport – which services flights from Toronto to New York and some other places in the US. Next we went past an island which was a clothing optional area – first in Toronto. Further we circled around a small Island which is a bird sanctuary. Didn’t see a lot of birds apart from swans and ducks – maybe because of the season. The trees were looking good and casting great reflections in the water, being the fall season.

The Toronto skyline looks beautiful from the boat.
Then we were on our way back to the shore.
So we had a good time and it was a good day spent along the harbor.

What happens when

2009-11-09T05:02:00.002+05:30

you tell the hotel service lady that she didn't replenish sugar the previous day?

This..

Visit to the tallest concrete free standing structure in the world – CN Tower

2009-11-04T02:19:00.003+05:30

Warning: Long Post

How does it feel being on top of the world? Well top of the world as far as you can see for that matter! I could tell you how it does! I visited the CN Tower and the view from there of the city of Toronto was amazing to put it mildly! Sunday being a good weather day we decided we would go to the CN Tower. It is funny how everything here ties in to the weather! We don’t really need to bother so much with the weather back in India. So the case in point is we followed the weather channel and studied that it would be a sunny day with the temperatures being around 10 degrees Celsius and we decided this would be as good a day to visit the tower as any we could in this season. Thus our plan was made.
We took the bus and then the metro to the Union station( yeah – just 2 trips in the public transport and you know a lot more about the city than you would by hiring a cab). We got down there to see this was like a business district with tall buildings trying to overpower one another – there was the Bank of Montreal BMO, the Royal Bank of Canada RBC, the Citi group building, the Scotiabank and the likes. Its nice to be in a big city and see all of these skyrise buildings which I missed while being located at some other client locations – in fact all my previous visits. Agreed all these places I visited had a small town charm about them but it’s a different feeling being in the heart of a commercial capital city – just like being in south Mumbai! Well the CN tower is visible from almost the whole of the city (and even from others – we saw it on our way back from the Niagara) but when we got down at the Union, we could see it right in front of us albeit 2 blocks away. We just started walking in the general direction to the tower and we knew we’d be there. On the way we saw the Royal York Hotel which is a very old hotel built sometime in 1928-29 for the royals from the UK. It is one of the largest hotels in Toronto. Going further we saw the above mentioned buildings and needless to say I clicked a lot of pictures.

Then we arrived at the base of the tower bought our tickets and headed inside. There is one lift which travels at 22 km/hr and it took us to the first level which was the belvedere in 45 seconds. The elevators were also glass paneled on one side. This took us to the first level – Outdoor Observation level. The main attraction here is the glass floor… Yeah glass. You can view the foot of the tower and the surrounding area through this. A lot of people were freaking out here as standing on a glass platform at this height does not really appeal to a lot of people. At the same time, we see a lot of kids very happily hopping and jumping around. Then there were some who were lying down on the glass and taking pictures which includes me! (thats my foot on the glass floor and you can see the ground below - far away - see the spots? they are cars)

Just outside of this glass is a balcony like structure covered with only a wire mesh and which is exposed to the elements which is the Outdoor Observation deck. The feel of fresh cool air is worth experiencing. The wind one experiences at this height has a different chill to it! Just taking a flight of steps we reach onto the next landing which called the Lookout is another balcony covered in glass planes. A pie of this circle also holds a restaurant and this floor rotates! The view from the restaurant changes and it completes a 360 degrees turn in 72 mins. Well I didn’t go to the restaurant but could make out the difference in views from all the time we spent their and the second time we came back to this floor after visiting the top. Again a breath taking view. All this at a height of 346 m or 114 stories equivalent.

From there we took another elevator which took us to another 33 stories higher to a height of 447 m. This is the sky pod. It is (or used to be till being surpassed by Burj Dubai) the highest man-made observation deck. The sky pod gives an unobstructed view of the Toronto city and is even more overwhelming. We heard that on a clear day one could see as far as the Niagara falls. No such luck for us though! From here you can see the levels below and is quite exciting. The view of the observation level from the sky pod below - We spent quite some time there and then headed back to the glass floor level. After some more pictures and viewing the place again, it was time to come back and set foot on solid ground!
We had taken the entire package which included visit to both the levels on the observation level, visit to the skypod, a motion theater ride experience and the movie about the CN Tower. The movie described how the tower was conceptualized by the humble idea that with all the high rises in the city, the TV signals were getting blocked and they needed a tower to transmit the signals which would be taller than any other buildings in the area. Thus the tower was born.
The motion theater ride experience was something I had not experienced before. Here we were seated in a mobile or moving vehicle. The movie was called Himalamazon which is how a new technology had made possible to develop trees which would grow in 11 months upto a full height. The trees would be made using the atmospheric conditions and DNAs from trees from Himalayas and Amazon – hence the name. It was almost like sitting in a ride with us being logs and it showed the journey of the logs through the factory, the jungle, the river etc. When the logs fell in the river, some water splashed as well!
Then back on the ground outside the tower, we went to the side opposite from where we had approached and we got a full view of the tower. Some more picture taking here, wandering on the brewery nearby and I was ready to call it day!

Look out

2009-10-29T01:47:00.004+05:30

I am currently sitting on the 20th Floor of the 22 storey office building. Right behind me is a window which gives me a view of Toronto city – the CN tower and the business district on one side to the more non-commercial area which falls in the Eat York district where the office is located. Right behind the business district I can spot the lake Ontario which no doubt can be spotted because of the height where my desk is. One look outside and you can see that the highrise buildings and densely populated trees can co-exist. I can see a lot of green outside here and in this season of fall, some pretty yellow, orange and red trees. I am trying to make the most of this view while it lasts.
Lo and behold I present to you the view from my (office) window.

Visit to the most powerful falls

2009-10-22T00:08:00.010+05:30

in North America - thats how Wikipedia describes Niagara Falls!

Yeah I had the chance to visit the famous Niagara Falls! What an experience it turned out to be!

We had our first stop at a village named ‘Niagara on the Lake’. It was a small town with tourist gift shops, coffee shops etc on the street. Next we went to a farm shop where they were selling fresh orchard picked fruit, homemade jams and preserves etc.

Next we saw this - a botanical clock - another tourist attraction here

From there we went to a spot where the Niagara river forms a pool of water down a valley. There was a cable car which went across the gorge. Here is the view

From there we went to the falls. The first view itself is amazing!! When we reached there, while still in the car, we spotted a rainbow; caused by the mist which rises high above and out of the falls.
A little note here: I had imagined the falls to be much larger than what I saw – maybe because of all these talk you hear but of course they are amazing – one of the natural wonders and not to be missed.

The best part is since we are on the Canadian side, we can actually be at the 80% side of the falls and experience the horse shoe from the top. The US side of the falls is about 20% and is flat where as the Canadian side is C shaped. We can experience it from the table top on the brink where it falls and gives you a very different feeling. Then we took time to explore the walkway along the river – the falls, the surrounding area, and walk on the ridge along the river. Some of my observations: You can really hear a huge roar from the water falling at this height. Also the mist rises very very high above. You can feel the mist as if it is rain while you are up at the horseshoe itself.

The next touristy thing we did was take a boat ride called ‘Maid of the Mist’. This boat takes you from one side of the river to a place very near the falls where there is a huge column of mist. That experience is awesome. You can feel the chilly water of the falls on you and get the feeling of almost going into the falls. Everybody is given flimsy raincoats which is actually of not much use since there was a lot of wind and we got wet anyways.

That is some experience. (We were lucky here as from next week the maid of the mist boat ride will stop. It will start getting too cold to go that close to the falls. )
Do I need mention I had a great time there?
Needless to say I was clicking throughout the day. Some of the pictures I have included here, some go in my Picassa and some more on Flickr.

Prep to the journey - an experience!

2009-10-16T23:26:00.002+05:30

Well as promised, here is an update of the prep to my journey! My(and others) visa processing got quite delayed and I along with some other colleagues travelling with me were on tenterhooks waiting for them. Finally on Wednesday we heard news that the visas were processed and we would receive them. Me not being the main office was to collect my passport from the airport itself. So we were all ready to fly on sat night when we got the news that Monday is a thanksgiving holiday out here so we changed tickets to Sunday evening. Now all was fine until I left office on Friday – set with the e-tickets in hand. Saturday I did my last minute shopping. No matter how often you travel and how long you know in advance, there are always some last min things to be bought – yeah well its true for me at least! So I was out doing that, my cell phone battery conked off and so I was unreachable. After returning home, when I charged the battery sufficiently, I noticed a message from the travel dept guy asking me to call him up. He tells me that there was a huge drama and that my tickets are changed and he had sent out new tickets. Now the drama being, earlier tickets were from continental airlines and I was flying in from the US. According to the (new?) laws, we need to have US visas if we have a transit from there!! This was found by accident by another colleague who would also be flying with me. She had a casual call from one of her friends who works with the travel industry and he told her of this requirement. She tried to find out more and talked to some official from the Continental airlines directly who confirmed of this requirement. The she spoke to Thomas Cook and they confirmed as well.

Now this was notified to our travel dept back at the office and after some more rounds of back and forth, our tickets were finally changed to this new airline – Lufthansa. Now the story doesn’t end here; there is another twist. On Friday I had notified the travel rep that we had not received any formal documentation - no business invitation letter or other formal documentation. He assured me that none is required. Obviously I was not convinced and printed out all the meeting requests and any other doc to this effect that I had but left for the day unsure.

There was still this bug bothering me on Sunday which was the day I was to fly so I called up my manager to get any available documentation he had from the client or our onsite office. He was surprised that the travel desk did not give us the same and sent out some. That put me to peace. And thus ends my pre-travelling adventure.

But come to think of it, what if we had travelled on the initially booked airlines without any documentation with us? Shouldn’t the travel department guys know about it? It gets pretty frustrating as this is their job and they should know their job.

Here to stay

2009-10-16T06:30:00.005+05:30

So what does it take me to start blogging again?

Well this …

Can you tell where I am now?

I traveled to Toronto, Canada over the weekend and here I am 3 days thence, sitting and updating my blog. I know I have been missing from the blog scene for quite a while and if you have kept checking all this while, I’m sorry folks!

But now that I am back, do expect to see the blog updated at least twice a week if not more! And of course you would loads of pictures on my photoblog and some here as well.

The prep to my journey was eventful and my next blog post would be about that!

So long!

Rains in Mumbai…

2009-07-15T10:52:00.000+05:30

Here was my first mini adventure in the rains. I am experiencing rains in Mumbai after a long time! A couple of days ago, the rains started heavily and continued through the next day. I started to go to office but wouldn’t get an autorickshaw. There is this heavy downpour, no autos in sight and lots of people competing for any auto that would come along!
I tried to call up another girl who stays in the vicinity to find out if the bus had already left our regular bus stop. Thankfully the bus was late too.
Now I stood in this lashing rain for a good 20-25 mins and was just about to turn around and head back home when an auto comes along and believe me, agreed to go where I wanted to! So there I hopped into this rick and started. I also came to know in the meanwhile that my bus had left my stop. So I requested this driver to follow the bus and he flatly refused! Yeah refused to go beyond the earlier point. I had to actually plead him and say I’d pay extra. He finally agreed and I managed to board the bus only after making the bus stop for a couple of minutes.
But yeah didn’t have to miss work because of not getting an auto which was an achievement.
We were left early from work due to the heavy rains as well!

And is this becoming a habit?

2009-06-28T20:44:00.002+05:30

I know I have said this before, but sorry for not posting regularly... Guess, the classroom trainings and certifications does that to me!

Well thats not the only things I am doing these days though. I am also catching up with the creative side - afterall "All work and no play makes..." and I dont wanna be dull in any way! So promise there will be some updates from here for sure!

Thanks for being patient in the meanwhile!

Book in hand

2009-06-07T20:53:00.004+05:30

Its been a long time since I have had to sit down with a book in hand and study and that is exactly what I need to do these days. I am currently in a training class and as a part of this program we are to give certification!
I am used to reading novels - for hours together but a study book in hand and my attention span is just about half an hour.
Outcome : I am now finding creative ways to study.
Any ideas folks?

MIA?

2009-05-30T23:08:00.001+05:30

Sorry for the lack of post here but I can now only access this on weekends.. Please head over to my photoblog which is updated more frequently...

About moving...

2009-05-23T20:09:00.003+05:30

Being in the profession that I am in, I need to travel. When this travel is to different places, outside India and when it is for short duration, then I welcome this change. It is a great learning experience both workwise and otherwise. You tend to meet a lot of new people, learn about new cultures, new food and new places.
Another interesting aspect for me is clicking lots of pictures! Every place has got different sights to offer even more so when I get to see different seasons!
Ironically though, when this same job transfers me to another location in my own country, I think of it as an occupational hazard! I (and most like me) refuse such projects ordinarily. Needless to say, the kind of economy prevailing now has taken away this luxury of refusing such offers. Thus, I have moved to Mumbai.
I like to think of this as a temporary move - maybe only to think of this as positive and there is no denying that I am indeed here to learn some new skills.
Its not that I am new to Mumbai, I have been coming here as a kid as my grand parents hail from here. I started my career here and yet coming back here seems like I am back to doing what I was 10 years ago!
I wonder why is it that moving to a far distant place is more readily accepted and this relatively closer move yet not truly sunk in?

Immobile…

2009-05-12T12:38:00.001+05:30

Well, yes that’s what I was!
Glad to break up that word now and say – I’m mobile!
As you know I am in the habit of making a story of every mundane thing too, so why not this?
So here it is…
Last Tuesday while getting off the bus, I sprained my foot at the ankle. There was a biggish stone and my foot just twisted over it and that left me unable to stand. I just sat then and there on the steps of the bus. I recently read that with injury to the foot, it might lead to fainting due to congestion of blood to the injured area. (Can you tell I am showing off, but I read this in a novel and thus am not sure of its authenticity though I did some reading on this on the net).
Well anyways with the rickshaws on strike (another blasphemous post on that later) during that very period, I decided to stay in office for the whole day with my swollen ankle. No, before you start chastising my friends, I declined a couple of my friends who wanted to come all the way to drop me off home. I was sure it was not all that serious to put them through the trouble.
So there I sat through the whole day with some pain and agony. Next day I got an x-ray done and was glad that there was no fracture! This sprain did leave me immobile for the following 2-3 days though.
Swelling not altogether gone and some area black and blue near the toes.
One good thing out of this – I took a 3 days off work and relaxed, did nothing at all! Now it’s not very often that this happens – that I take days off from work for nothing and do that (nothing).
But now, I am mobile again. Back at work too.

PS: If you find some parts of this post all garbled/muddled up, remember it is because of the blood congestion and my sensible mind is not party to this gibberish!

Showing the Finger…

2009-04-23T16:04:00.002+05:30

Funny but this time around it’s the middle finger that gets the ink dot for voting. Usually it is the index finger and when somebody asks me if I voted, I put up my index finger display it proudly. Guess I shall have to hold myself back this time!

PS: 2 posts in a day! I know, two much!

I voted…

2009-04-23T11:59:00.001+05:30

Of course…
Did you?
Well today is the phase 2 of voting in India and there has been much excitement around voting.
Till last evening I was the only one from my family who was going to vote (I do every year). With a lot of convincing on my part, my sister also agreed to vote; though she termed my convincing as ‘lecturing’. After all results matter, don’t they! I am so proud of her.
We usually get voting slips and this time my sister’s name did not appear though she has a voter id. So we had to do a lot of hunting around different poll booths to find her name. It’s not easy, to say the least. Finally, we found one place which has a computer database and hence easier to search from list. There we found her details and so off we went.
Sadly, I couldn’t convince my mom enough. Her argument, it doesn’t make a difference whoever we vote, all are corrupt to some extent or the other! Well. To this my argument is you can at least cast your vote and try to change the system. Too add, I think after you vote and it still doesn’t work, you have a right to speak of the wrong-doings. Another argument my mom put up was that none of the candidates or their representatives have come soliciting votes this year. There have been some mass rallies true but not the old fashioned soliciting. She says they are all interested in the votes that they can buy, not the educated votes. To this, I rest my case. Why, I agree to this to some point. All the same, I have gone and cast my vote!

Does my voting give me a right to chastise those who have not voted? I don’t know. I reprimand them nonetheless. Of course after trying to convince them to vote!
If you haven’t already, go vote.

Swimming Day 5, 6 & 7

2009-04-14T10:58:00.003+05:30

Hey folks!
Day 5 & 6 for swimming did not see a lot of progress and hence I didn't have much to write about!
Day 7, today and there I was, swimming short distances, very short really but yes, swimming.
So decent progress was made and that made me elated, so much so that my coach mentioned she can see that I am happy. Well! Yes I am!
I went today the deep end of the pool today and could manage some strokes there. I am hooked on to it now! yay!
PS: Sorry for the over the board usage of exclamation marks. As you can probably tell, I am happy :)

Swimming - Day 4

2009-04-10T20:46:00.002+05:30

Today I got to learn the hand movements along with breathing technique.
Next step was to incorporate hand and leg movements and with some assistance from the coach, managed to do that. Need to relax a bit more so that my body does not remain stiff.

Swimming - Day 3

2009-04-09T12:28:00.004+05:30

Hey all!
It is so much fun in the water. I have had the feeling of floating yesterday - even out of the pool :)
Today's lesson - hand movement for breaststroke (corrected from freestyle). In my earlier post I mistakingly named it as butterfly but what I am learning is free style actually.
So now I can independently move legs, hands and take breaths and the next step is to combine these!
Some encouragement from my instructor - she said I am floating even better today and she says I should be able to learn early 'cause I am so willing to do it. Yay!!

Blog header update

2009-04-08T15:12:00.000+05:30

Updated my blog header to celebrate my new activity - Swimming!

“Resolutions” is a heavy word!

2009-04-08T12:43:00.001+05:30

So are declaration, pledge, determination and steadfastness. Nonetheless New Year should bring something new albeit heavy. I usually do not keep New Year resolutions but this year I thought why not give it a try. And thus, here I am publicly announcing my resolutions in no particular order.

Make something creative every week so by the end of the year I should have 52 things I created - am still doing fairly good on this
Write blog posts at least once every week
Take one photo every week
Exercise (this is one which is most likely to fail)
Take up some creative course – photography maybe!
Learn to swim - started - yay!
Ride a bicycle (this one is after a long time)
Call up old friends (as some of u would agree I am verrry bad at this)
Volunteer at an NGO/orphanage/old age home - twice so far

I think I should restrict my list to these 9 items (for the year 2009) lest I feel bogged down by too many things to do.
Are you planning on keeping any resolutions?

Updated

Swimming – Day 2

2009-04-08T12:13:00.002+05:30

I was warned yesterday that my body is going to ache. Fortunately that did not happen. There was some pain in my arms but otherwise I was ok.
By the way, what I did not mention yesterday is we start the session by walking in the water, front, backwards and sideways.
On day 2 there has been some progress. I could manage to stay afloat for longer duration before I hit the pool floor. I was given the kickboard and I practiced floating using the help of that. Also did some gliding straight ahead.
I can now relax more than yesterday.
One thing I realised today, when I step out of the pool after an hour, I can suddenly feel my weight. To carry this weight around now seems to need an effort!

And into the water I dive…

2009-04-07T17:56:00.002+05:30

Well not dive really… But step into the water doesn’t sound as interesting!
Today was the first day of my swimming classes.
All the gals who have patiently listened to my swimming woes from last year, here I do it finally!
Woke up early morning ( 5.15 am is early now) full of excitement, anxiety, nervousness which comes with anything that is new!
Went to the pool to see my instructor waiting for me. A round of introductions. Here I am all showered and ready to enter the pool. A set of basic instructions…
Coach seems good, experienced.
What consisted of my first day?
Trying to stay afloat, leg movements for butterfly stroke and breathing techniques..
Breathing was ok, leg movements - well could manage too. Cannot yet stay afloat though.
Just before I left for the day my instructor warned me of pains in the shoulders, back and legs (all from being stiff).

Am excited.
Shall log about my progress.

PS: Swimming is one of my this years resolutions… one more down! And now I shall take VS's advice and keep ticking off my resolutions (I was waiting for this particular one).

I am not sport…

2009-03-26T12:12:00.002+05:30

All this while I used to think otherwise. I realised this very recently – in fact just yesterday.
I lost a table tennis match. Didn’t take it too well.
Well I know I’m not the best at this game but I do play a decent game and getting out in the first round of a knock-out just did that – knocked me out! Well I fretted and fumed after the game and was grumpy… for a while.
You see I just hate to lose. Well that does not mean that I never lose or I don’t play with strong competition. I like that. But you know I HATE to lose. Who doesn’t like to win now?
I resorted to retail therapy and my mood changed.
Upon reflection, this realisation hit me that I am not a good sport and maybe I should change that, take defeat positively.
All the same, that’s not gonna stop me from wanting to win every game I play (I boast “I play to win!”).
Can I call myself a good sport now?
PS: I didnt mean to be away for so long... just could not think of anything to write...

Holi Hai

2009-03-10T12:14:00.002+05:30

To the Women

2009-03-05T15:48:00.001+05:30

Who I call my friends (family not included else the post will grow too long)…
Its women’s day on the 8th of March so I thought I shall just post a few lines about my female friends here (Sorry guys, I shall post good things about you another time).
(As always I shall not post your names – just initials – so as to not give you a chance to sue me).
So gals, here is what I admire about you (in alphabetical order)–

AH! – your smiley face!
AN – your enthusiasm
Bhai – your imagination
Chan – your sense of humour, our tireless plans of doing everything under the sun
DG – Attention to details, thoughtfulness
HM – your independence of thoughts, innocence
KK – your attitude towards life
ManWa – the host of topics that we can talk about
MT- your chatter
Risha – refreshing. how nobody can ever get bored with you.
SD – how u always have office news (gossip)
Silin – your lively spirit, demeanour
Smiley – your stories and experiences
SZ - your poise
UK – your cheerful demeanour
VS – your ideas and laughter

You gals are special and mean a lot to me, even though I may not say so frequently!
I shall not say thanks, coz that’s a very small word. Nonetheless I wanted to let you know what I feel about you.
(If you want to know what I don’t like about you, I shall tell each of you separately :) )

Made by me Monday - Big Ben Westminster

2009-03-03T15:05:00.000+05:30

A friend wanted some icon of London to be made for him. So I made this Big Ben & Westminster for him. The paper I used had a ribbed texture(you cant see it in the picture) so the vertical lines added a construction(architecture) kind of feel to the cutout.
I was going to mount this on grey but my sister suggested this blue background which had some shades so I used that instead and am happy that I went with my sister's suggestion!

What a start …

2009-03-02T09:59:00.000+05:30

…of the day, week, month!
I came in to office today realising on my way that I forgot my cell phone at home… I thought its alright I don’t get too many calls anyway and besides my cell was switched off over the weekend so another day would not matter much.

After reaching my desk, I realised that my chair was missing so I went hunting for a comfortable chair. I was looking at chairs in the bay next to mine which is practically empty these days.
So here I was testing the chairs and deciding which one I should pick. The first one was not to my liking so I tried the one next to it. There I sat and I fell down, backwards! Didn’t realize it was broken. To me that one second when I fell was a long time. I felt like I almost floated down. Luckily there were no sharp edges around there as I had pulled the chair into the open before trying and I wasn’t hurt. Thankfully not many people had come in then and I could get up on my own. No scratches, no bruises, no pain. It was almost hilarious!
Can you believe while I was falling I could only think of
‘Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall…
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall…’
Can’t stop laughing now!

And the Oscar goes to…

2009-02-24T10:09:00.001+05:30

Slumdog Millionaire ...
Slumdog Millionaire ...
Slumdog Millionaire ...
Well ok!
The whole day the news channels here are running news of how this is India’s victory, how this opens doors for Indians at the Academy etc.!
All the channels – radio and TV and repeatedly playing Jai Ho.
We hear – “The success of Slumdog Millionaire at the Oscars had made India proud”.
Has it? Really?
I disagree. I, proudly Indian, disagree. No, I did not make a grammatical error there. I intend to say “proudly” and not “proud”.
I fail to understand why has this made people so happy? Is it the need to identify with anything successful that has remotely something to do with India? (I have similar views on associating Kalpana Chawla with India but that is another post.) This movie is not Indian. Neither a complete representation of India for that matter. India could be this but it is much more.
I have to admit that I have not yet watched the film. The initial reviews of the movie did that to me. From what I heard, India is not shown in good light. Yet, people rejoice!
I see a silver lining though. A.R. Rehman is truly a sensational musician and his getting the award makes me happy.
Other than that, even though the cast is from India, this movie is not.
I cant help but think, where does this leave Indians(or India), as slumdogs or millionaires?

Made by me Monday - flowers

2009-02-23T11:26:00.000+05:30

This one is for another friend - now delivered so I can safely post pics here!

The picture is from a cell phone camera so please excuse the perspective lines!

Made by Me Monday - Guardian Angel

2009-02-16T21:53:00.000+05:30

Another angel. This is for a friend and since it is now handed over, I can safely post it.

She thought something was missing in this though but could not quite point out what. Could somebody help? Am hoping there is a chance to enhance this someway!

Where is the buzz?

2009-02-16T16:51:00.000+05:30

The clock is nearing 4.00 pm on a seemingly normal working day. Usually this is the time when you can hear murmuring and there is a spike in activity. People get up from their workstations to take a 10 minute break, head to the tea/coffee machine or a quick bite.
Why is it so quiet then, of late? Where is the usual drone? Where are the people?
There have been talks of a slowdown for a good over 6 months now. We frequently hear the news of layoffs in Organization ‘A’, shutdown of Org ‘B’. Till now, these are ‘news’ for me, terms that I have heard a few years earlier as well.
Suddenly people from around my work area go missing…
People who you travel with to work, who you chat with everyday and sometimes just wave or smile at are not to be seen at the office.
This is when reality strikes – and badly at that.
Maybe this is one disadvantage of globalization, or maybe not. The economies of the world are now so inter-related that some downfall in one part of the world has ripple effect across!
Not that I understand finance or economy in the slightest, these are just my thoughts. So rather than state some incorrect ideas, it will do best if I restrain my ponderings and leave this at that…
Some questions still do bother me though. How long before life gets back to normal here at the office?

Friday Foto - Pink and Green

2009-02-13T15:07:00.003+05:30

Surreal but nice

2009-02-13T14:55:00.000+05:30

You are exhausted from a day full of activity. You have late dinner followed with a walk and chatter with some others bunking with you. So essentially you sleep late. The next day starts early with you being all ready and set for another rigorous day. The alarm wakes you up early the next morning. It is still dark outside. You go for a morning jog, come back get ready and are prepared to take on the new day.
This day also follows the same pattern. You set up an alarm for the next day.
Surprisingly you are up before the alarm goes off. You set off to jog. You hear birds chirping and no mechanical sounds.
Imagine not having a TV in your room, no newspapers to read, no signal on your cell. Virtually cut off from the world. You do not hear/see vehicles, no honks.
Nature surrounds you and welcomes you.
It is difficult to imagine but not so much for me anymore.
I have very recently had the pleasure to experience all of this. It is surreal, but nice.
What made it even better is living in a tent so no doors to block the world out. By virtue of the tent, I welcome the nature!

Another new banner...

2009-02-12T15:47:00.001+05:30

To welcome spring!

Alive.

2009-02-12T13:55:00.000+05:30

How is the experience of laying your life in the hands of a group of people, a group which includes 7 people you hardly know and yourself? (I think this would be the same thought in every individual’s mind then.)
I had this experience. Yesterday.
I was in a program held at an activity camp.
We had a task.
Was it Exciting? – Yes
Was it Exhilarating? - Yes
Was it Challenging? – Sure
Had we ever done it before? - No
Life threatening? – Most certainly!
What with amongst the group of 8 barely 1 or 2 knew how to swim.
The task was to build a raft and actually sail on it. (Ok, there was help where required!)
And we did it. Made it back to the shore – ALIVE!

Made by me Monday - Angel

2009-02-07T21:48:00.001+05:30

A friend wanted me to make a cut out of an Angel... So this was a proto for that!

My 30 mins of…

2009-02-03T17:40:00.002+05:30

No, not fame.

Basic needs.

Oxygen.
Ok I am not writing this to boast that I went out for a walk this morning. In fact I’d say, far from boasting. This was one of my resolutions – exercising and a whole month after making the resolution, I am trying to put it into practice. Better late than never, what say?
That is beside the point though.
So I went to the park for a morning walk today. When I started on my way, the air was nice and crisp and chill, quite early so not much traffic on the usually busy streets.
Then I took 3 laps of the long (c’mon, gimme some credit) jogging track. My time was up and I started on my way back!
I have never felt the weight of air before! One step out of the park gates and I had this feeling of going into thick air. I was shocked as the realisation hit me that what I (and you) breathe every moment is so polluted, so contaminated, so carbonated! It was in stark contrast with the pure oxygen that I inhaled just a minute ago.
And now I can only hope that this fresh air has stirred some cells in my brain and those will want me to go and exercise in the park more often (I was going to write every morning but I don’t want to jinx it).
Tomorrow I shall take deep breaths – just to rake in more benefits!

Made by Me Monday - Hummingbird

2009-02-02T11:11:00.001+05:30

My kid-cousin saw one of my paper cutting pieces and was all excited. He tried to draw a hummingbird on a rough pad for me to make a cutting out of. In the end he was not happy with what he sketched. So I thought I should make the same for him.

Lo and behold!

Now for some close-up shots -

1, 2 ka 4

2009-01-28T14:45:00.001+05:30

What can you do if you are gonna be sitting at home for 3 days in a row (ok occasional trip to the grocery market excluded) and not get bored? Catch up on some movies. This past weekend being the long weekend that it was, well that’s what I did!
4 movies in 3 days – not too much but quite enough hours of sitting watching some screen – TV or laptop!
Well that’s not the point though.

I am not a big movie buff and hold off watching most movies till I hear decent reviews barring some exceptions. The downside is I need to wait till at least the second week of a release of good (surprise) movies before I see them. And then there are those which I chose to ignore till they come on DVD/VCD and I borrow from others! Yes you read it – borrow – I only own the choicest of them – which I can watch repeatedly without tiring.

Well that’s not the point either.
I am not a big fan of action movies.
I tend to sleep thru’ silly hindi movies – there are some which do not even have the bollywood masala to make it spicy!
I sometimes like to watch scary movies.
I am ok with animated movies once in a while but I have found very few which are really good.

So coming back to where I started, 4 movies in 3 days.
I watched ‘New Police Story’ – a Jackie Chan movie – ACTION. Unintentionally! I dunno what I was thinking – expecting this to be from the Police Academy series. After a while realised that I had expectations which were not to be fulfilled but for want of anything better to do, I continued watching this.

The next movie, that same night was a hindi movie ‘Saas, bahu aur sensex’. Don’t ask me why. And painful though it was, I watched it all. In spite of having the remote in my hand and the willingness to just stop it, I did not! Call me crazy!

It had been a while since I watched a scary movie. After the ghost stories from our ‘gals night out’ (see below post Gals just wanna have fun’), I was eager to watch one. When my sister’s friend offered a CD, I just had to grab it. Thus, came ‘the Grudge’.

Next was Shrek-3. Not as exciting as the 1st one I have to say but ok.

This is the 1st time I watched movies of different genres together… and liked the scary one the best!
Scary?

Height of...

2009-01-28T09:20:00.003+05:30

(A recent conversation)
Chan: Today I look down upon you.
Me: (sad face) Oh! Does that mean I have to look upto you?
(Pause)
Me: No way!
Context -
I am wearing flat shoes and Chan is in 2 & 1/2 inches heels.
Me and Chan: (Laughter)
Now to complete the title of the post -
Height of ... heels!

Made by me Monday- Fabric covered frame

2009-01-26T21:49:00.006+05:30

In december was my sister's wedding anniversary. Apart from other gifts, I wanted to give them something personalised and hand made and thus, here comes a fabric covered frame. It is decorated with some shells and conches that my youngest sis got from Goa. The frame even has my sis and bro-in-law's name in glitter!

Here it is with a abstract art done by my youngest sis.

Knock off those locks!

2009-01-23T11:20:00.001+05:30

Sometimes I just look at myself in the mirror and think I look so boring. And no I am not saying on a day when the mood is glum. Even so on a day when the mood is good and all is fine. Then this continues for some more days. Whatever I wear, I look the same … to me. That’s when I know I need change.
I am not one to go experimental so the easiest way is get a haircut!
That is kinda a pattern with me. So to say. I am too lazy to go and get my hair cut every recommended 3 months – or even a trim. With me its only when I want. I rule me – you know!
Only this time it was my sister who got bored and tired of my long hair (waist length is long by my standards!). So she insisted that I get a change in my style. In fact she has been nagging me since a month or so.
I finally had to give in. So the past Sunday I visited my salon and snip snip snip… waved my tresses a farewell (temporary). While I have said earlier that I am not too experimental, I went from waist length to shoulder.

And now you would think – why am I writing all this on a blog – what’s the big deal? I know you would think that – especially if you see me everyday.
But let me tell ya, I write when nothing significant happens then why shouldn’t I when something does :)

Girls just wanna have fun…

2009-01-12T12:40:00.002+05:30

Clichéd, I know. But nothing describes the weekend fun we had better than this. Come on its Monday and I thought why strain my brain too much J
So this title sums up pretty much how the weekend was spent. A gang of seven gals, a farmhouse on a hilltop, no restrictions on the noise we make and what you get is what you shall read ahead.
One from the group AN has beautifully written about the experience and with her permission here it is on my blog.
What you read ahead is in her words. I have taken some liberties of shortening names (I don’t want all to sue me for mentioning their names on the blog) and adding a few items of my own (in brown).
So this is what AN says –
I will never forget ...
chips n pepsi at gazebo, full moon, Bhakari preparation session, Pithala prepared by SD, sumptuous dinner.
Campfire in the cold, songs, ghost stories, Dhagi(nickname so it stays) without sweater in that cold, all time laughing and swinging UK, Adrak wali Chai by Chan n me(AN) J, our stupid PJs, Jenny and Bru, Scrabble, UK’s snoring, early morning trek, waiting for the sun to rise, waiting some more, returning downhill thinking the pollution blocked a good sunrise, seeing the first red of the sun, running back up the hillock to get sunrise shots!…
And our crazy photographers… n how can we forget Pohe prepared by Dhagi. When all of us were very hungry n tired, Dhagi prepared Pohe for us… Elaichi wali chai in the morning…
The whole night was real fun…

A good break and I for one am pretty refreshed now.
I was planning to hold on and not post this without pictures but then I can always add pictures later!
PS: Thanks AN for putting it so well.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T17:04:00.002+05:30

Image from a card I made - cant post the animation here but certainly can post the image :)
If the image is not clear it says "Have a refreshing year ahead"

Christmas Spirit!

2008-12-23T17:55:00.005+05:30

There is a very beautiful saying in Marathi –
Denaryane det jave
Ghenaryane ghet rahave
Gheta gheta ghenaryane denaryache haatach ghyave.

Simply translated this means –
The giver should keep giving,
The receiver should keep receiving
And while receiving, the receiver should take a giver’s hands or in other words should himself become a giver!

What thoughts! While what we did for Christmas at office this year is not as magnanimous as this saying, it was certainly a pleasant way of celebrating the Christmas spirit. This year around, the idea was to give gifts to children at some NGO. A local NGO- Akanksha's Muskan centre was zeroed in where they teach underprivileged children from the surrounding slums. Notices were put up and announcements made asking for gifts that could be handed out to these children. The response was overwhelming. While plenty of gifts were received, those who could not get gifts gave generous cash contributions. Then it was time to hunt for good gifts. This was an exciting activity where thought had to be put into the gifts that it would make them suitable for a child, gender neutral (no girl activity kit should be handed to boys etc) and that no bulk-ordering-everything-is-the-same-kind gifts. Each gift was hand picked and the store employees did a great job of wrapping each gift in a very short time period. Then a whole bus load of us from office which included carol singers, volunteers, volunteer photographers et al went to the centre. Our visit was kept as a surprise and the children were busy in their activities. That is when the carol singers, all adorning Santa-caps entered the hall.

The carols were accompanied by some good music, claps and for the well known carols, the children joined in the singing.

After a few carols, entered who else but Santa Claus! Excitement broke out and there was a lot of cheering. There was a rainbow of emotions – joy, delight, excitement, cheer, and awe on the children’s faces when Santa handed out the gifts to them. Santa’s elves handed out a packet of crayons and chocolate bars too.
What is worth noting here is that though the kids come from slum areas, all of them were very neat and clean and more importantly well behaved.
It was very difficult to leave and some of us wanted to stay back and play with the children but alas, there was work to do back at office and we had to return.
And nay sir, we didn’t come empty handed. We received a very nice thank you card from them – handmade!

To say the least, it was a very humbling experience. I am ready to bet that the joy on the faces of our group was no less than the joy on the children’s faces. We received manifold and this has by far been the best way we have spent Christmas at office.

Photocredit: Our official photographer Ms.UK (thanks UK)!

A new header

2008-12-19T17:15:00.000+05:30

Just for some wintry fun.

The Last Sparrow…

2008-12-19T16:52:00.002+05:30

(image is not mine- I oculd not find a sparrow even to take a picture. it is from somewhere on the Internet)

I hope not. Here is a simple sight that made me happy today. I saw some common sparrows! And I thought they are all extinct now!

As kids we used to get a lot of these teeny tiny visitors. They used to be everywhere – on the trees nearby, on our balcony railing, in the hallway to our home – just about everywhere chirping their merry songs. We used to leave food grains out on the window ledge or the banisters for them and it used to be fun to watch them pick the grains. There is a tree in very close proximity and these birdies use to come and gather soft twigs for their nests. So all was well then.
Then sometime about 2-3 years ago I realised I had not seen a sparrow in a long time. I even discussed this at home and everybody agreed. True the trees around were almost gone. The only exception of this huge fig which still lies in close proximity to us. In fact it is so close that we need to sometimes trim it thru our window so that the branches do not grow inwards(towards our house that is). So coming back to the main subject, we all began missing the sparrows and used to wait for a sighting which used to be so common.
I still miss them. I was reminded of this because a couple of days back I spilled over some wheat grains on the floor. Now we didn’t wanna use them so I placed them on a platform outside my door. 2 days hence, the grains are still there. I am ready to swear, this would not have happened had it been a few years ago! We must be doing something verrrry wrong to drive out these harmless little ones don’t u think?
Now I wish to say –
Long Live the Sparrow!

Percy Penguin

2008-12-11T11:20:00.001+05:30

When: Three months ago.
I am born. After my birth, my mother has gone away in search for food. For her and for me. Before that she has safely transported me to my father. They make sure that I am protected from this cold that surrounds me and I am not exposed to the harshness that surrounds us, just yet!

Fast forward
When: 1 month ago.
My mother returns. She has food for me. I get to know my mother. I am glad she is back. I look around, some of my friends’ mothers have not returned. Some have returned to see my friends have not survived. My lessons on the race of survival have already begun. I have understood that family and friends matter a lot. My mother and father underwent through a lot of hardships – just so that I may survive! My friends /community also had an important part in my survival. We had to stay huddled together to fight the cold.

Fast forward to present.
The cold has subsided a little and greenery begins to show. I now play with my friends. My parents teach me basic skills, they tell me how to be a better penguin. Here I have climbed a rock which is my throne. Note the little gold crown on my head. I am the king! I rule!
I wrote this story for a creative writing site http://picturespoetryprose.blogspot.com/

Made by Me - Black Rose and a Butterfly

2008-12-10T14:56:00.000+05:30

This time made by me comes a little late !

Nonetheless, here is what I cut - from in-mail advertisements - what else!

I discovered that the shadow of my cut out looks good (almost like an art in itself) so I had to take a picture of that as well!

Slow down now… will ya?

2008-12-08T12:06:00.000+05:30

One Saturday evening after the classes are over, our group of 10-12 decide we need a break and should all head out for a movie. This, I am telling you about college days where we do not waste a chance to freak out!
So ‘Speed’ is newly released and our whole gang decides on that one. It is only 20 mins for the next show and we have to speed! We reach this theatre ‘Alaka’ – now we were in college and with so much movie watching and partying, we could not really afford multiplexes! Not that multiplexes were a rage then anyway.
So there we reach the movie hall with about 2-3 mins to spare. With half of us parking our bikes, we send the rest to get the tickets so that we do not miss on the beginning (I hate missing the start of a movie). So we meet at the entrance and get into the movie hall just in time for the last trailer getting over.
The movie starts. There is this teenager who wants to apply for a driving licence. He somehow manages to clear his written test and for the practical, he gets a tough instructor. The cop places a cup of coffee and asks this teenager to drive, the condition being that not one drop has to spill. This guy (who was cute) does ok but as the test is about to be over and he has to park, a huge truck comes in the way and the coffee spills. This guy flunks the test. He does not tell this at home and his folks think he has the licence. With the new rage of being able to drive, he speeds and so the movie continues.
It is interval time and we discuss the 1st half of the movie. We keep wondering this movie – Speed is like a teenage flick and why so much hype! Anyway it is quite cute and we continue watching it. This guy keeps speeding and finally manages to secure a licence for himself.
The movie gets over in a while and we walk out. On coming out we watch the movie posters and lo what do we see. The poster for Speed does not have any of the characters from the movie we watched! What? Then what were we watching all this while?
It turns out we watched ‘Licence to Drive’ and the whole gang of us burst out laughing. Of course we do not leave the chance to bash up the friends who got the tickets without checking the show!
What confusion! Have you had any incident like this?

Of open fires and attacks

2008-11-27T15:21:00.000+05:30

Who would think that an ordinary sounding day could suddenly unfold an eventful night ahead?
Last night in very unfortunate happenings Mumbai, the financial capital of India was attacked, yet again. Though this is not the first time of this kind one can never (and in my opinion should never) get used to these.
I always fail to comprehend what lies in the minds of those taking lives of the innocent. How can this ever be justified? When would all this stop?
Salute to the heroes who put themselves up in the line of fire, fully knowing what lies ahead.

Hilarious!

2008-11-25T11:58:00.000+05:30

Last night I watched a movie – Dostana.
Its been a long time since I watched a light movie with the subject handled so well.
I went crazy laughing well almost the entire theatre was roaring with laughter (so those who have seen me laughing and are thinking that I cant stop once I start, its not just me). I admire the talent of the writers and the director to handle a delicate subject in this manner. They have gone all out but not over the top. It is commendable given that it would only be a thin line that would have to be crossed and the movie would turn out gross! But no! It is cute and funny. The movie goes on with a fast pace.
Priyanka Chopra looks good. John looks hot and both he and Abhishek have acted well.
For those who have not watched it, just go! Be prepared for riots of laughter.

I cant help falling in love…

2008-11-24T15:14:00.000+05:30

Right this minute I am eating a Ferrero Rocher. And every time I eat it I fall in love with it… every SINGLE time.
I just love how these chocs are made each layer intricate. With so much detailing going in I think they deserve all the attention they get – from me anyways!
I prefer eating them while I’m on my own (or with family who tolerate a lot of my non-sense). Why – that way to give each piece full justice, I manage to eat each layer separately.
Ferrero – Are you looking for a brand ambassador by any chance?

Ok… before it this starts sounding like I am going to blog about chocolate reviews, let me stop… and maybe eat one more of those rochers.

Friday Foto - Textures and Patterns

2008-11-21T12:10:00.000+05:30

The everyday journey

2008-11-18T13:11:00.000+05:30

Today we had a belated birthday celebration in our bus!
Whoever heard of that?
Well, yes we did have a celebration in the bus!

Yesterday one of my colleague celebrated his birthday and among the options of choosing for the celebration we hit upon this idea of having a breakfast party! So the birthday boy (of course he was the host!) was to pick veg puffs and cup cakes from a local bakery and bring in for all the travel companions! It was fun!

Our bus gang (yeah I dare call it that!) is cool. Some time back, due to road works our travel time increased considerable and the bus we had was not in too good a shape. This necessitated us to make the journey tolerable if not interesting. As they say necessity is the mother of all invention – I introduced the game of ‘Dumb Charades’ during our daily journey. Not that this game needs introduction much less is it my invention but I used the word ‘necessitated’ earlier on and it needed company! So there we go – playing charades on our way back home from office. The daily play instilled camaraderie among us and we started to enjoy the travel.
We usually occupy the last seats – reminding me of a term we used a lot in school/college days. We used to call ourselves (yeah I’ve always been that) ‘LLB’ (not the law school type) aka ‘Lords of the Last benches’. That’s where you get to be naughty and playful and make all the noise you want!

Since it is thanksgiving month (that’s what is going on around the blog world) I thought I might as well thank my travel companions (who are my colleagues) for making the journey so not-a-rut (wish I could think of a suitable word there)! It so helps to leave work and office and go ‘home’.
I sometimes think that this Thanksgiving tradition in the Western world is needed here as well. (Or maybe it’s just me – I don’t thank people in my life enough!)

Isn’t it amazing that small things can make a huge difference!

Made by Me Monday – Quilling

2008-11-10T14:31:00.000+05:30

I learnt of this craft while surfing the blog land and thought I must give it a shot.
So I did and what you see is my piece of art!
I used strips made from the fliers/pamphlets that come in the mail for this – of course with my reuse-recycle mantra you would not expect me to buy paper strips :)

This will most probably be given to a friend from office.

Strangers – Random acts of kindness

2008-11-07T12:34:00.000+05:30

I am inspired by the blogsofnote blog http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/ where a topic is given and you write about it in one minute. Though I know I’m going to overrun the slotted time, I am still going to write coz the subject is nice and I have some things to share…
So this is about some strangers I have encountered who have done nice things!
We were on our road trip to Kerala -India and driving towards our next destination – Munnar. Instead of taking the 4 lane highway, we decided to take an off route which would be shorter and more scenic. We were to meet the city road at one point and then head off in the required direction. We touched the road and started on the journey further. There were no directions for about 10 km and when we did hit upon one small milestone it displayed a town name which was not supposed to be on our route. A few km further and we saw another big city milestone which was not supposed to be in our route. Finally we decided to stop and ask a traffic policeman. This was a small town. We had communication problem since we did not understand their language and neither did he understand ours (Marathi/Hindi/English). He collected some other townspeople in that area to help us out. One of them understood some English and comprehended when we showed him the map and our destination. He translated it for the rest of the crowd but unfortunately none of them knew the directions. We were confused but decided to go further till we hit proper direction hoardings. We were backing our car and slowly moving ahead still discussing which way to go when in the rear view mirror my sister who was driving saw a man frantically waving to us on his bicycle. We recognised him from the crossroads back where we had stop to ask the direction. We waited and he asked us to go back to the crossroads as we were on a wrong route. Reaching there we learnt that the traffic policeman had asked some other people, came to know of the correct directions, stopped a passer by on bicycle and sent one of the men we were talking to behind us to get us back. Then the man who knew directions, helped us out, then wrote the names of all the small towns we would pass on our way in Malyalam (for other small town folks to understand if we were to ask again). What nice gesture and all this for strangers!
Another incident happened to me when I was in the US. One weekend we decided to go skiing. Well it was my first time and we took lessons. After a while we went to the beginners slope and the one a littler harder than that. On my way down the fifth or sixth time, I fell down. I could not get up on my own and neither would my skis come off. My back hurt (though thankfully not much). I kept sitting there hoping that one of my friends would spot me on their way up through the cable or down the slope and help me. One of my friend saw me while zooming past the slope but she thought I’d just fallen and would be ok. Then a small girl ski-ed past me. Apparently she saw me on her way down earlier too and so she slowed down and asked if I needed help. When I said yes, she stopped and tried to help me get my skis off or get me up standing. That did not work so she went down and got an older person (her dad I think) to help me. He helped me get up and took my skis off, carried my skis to the ground while I walked back down. Thanks to them I was back down safely.

Friday Foto - Yellow Door

2008-11-07T10:23:00.000+05:30

Made by Me Monday – Bookmark

2008-11-03T14:43:00.000+05:30

I made this bookmark for a colleague who is … you guessed it addicted to coffee!

After all my talk of being environmentally aware etc, there was no guilt factor here as the paper was recycled – it came from invitation cards – base paper as well as the one where I’ve drawn cup and coffee beans and appliquéd on the base.

Friday Foto - Droplet

2008-10-24T12:13:00.000+05:30

Made by Me Monday – Wall Art

2008-10-20T11:11:00.000+05:30

We had a not so good looking wall behind out TV. Some of the paint was peeling off because of some moisture and we are not yet ready to go ahead for complete water-proofing and repainting yet.
So had to think up of something that would cover up the patch and not really look patched up!
Came up with a lot of ideas and finally zeroed in on this. It would not be correct to say that only I worked on this, my sister helped out on this too.
It was like going back to school again, and if you were to visit me then, you would have caught me red handed – literally.
Here it what the process of making it was like –
This is the outcome, with a few birds appliqued to the tree. It now sits on the wall, and you can see the wireless phone's wall socket attachment.

Friday Foto - Birds

2008-10-17T16:49:00.000+05:30

Birds on a pole on a grey and cloudy day!!

The world is a small place…

2008-10-06T14:22:00.000+05:30

Mine is...

I visited the supermarket the other day doing some chores for mom. There sitting on the shelf I saw this coffee mug painted with reddish brown on the inside and off white on the outside and it was just screaming “Pick me up”. Well it was plain and ever so often I need to give vent to the creative juices trapped inside of me.
So before I knew it, I had visualised how to style this mug and personalise it and viola it was already in my shopping basket!
I thought since I love visiting places and every city/country I’ve been to holds a place in my heart, why not imprint that on the mug. I wanted to draw the landmarks but didn’t know what would go in for the not-so-famous places. So I’ve a mix of both – famous landmarks and the names of places.
If I can be a little boastful, I was happy with the outcome, loved it!
Now the only thing I don’t know is whether this ink will stay on the mug. I know it does not wash off. Some might go off when heated though so I need to use it carefully. But hey it’s a mug and I shall use it and if this wipes of, I can maybe imprint some other design on it!

Bare… feet!

2008-09-16T10:26:00.000+05:30

Have you ever walked on the road and have people staring at you and pitying you? There I was yesterday on the road, dragging one foot. It had just rained and there was mud on the roads. I’m sure it must have been a sight what with me having four bags on me and trying to save the dress from the muck at the same time. There I was and trying to cross the road at my own pace when people usually have to run across to avoid being hit! Ok I am exaggerating but only about the running bit but all those who know pune and Karve road and especially the Karve statue chowk in the evenings would agree with me!

Well coming to the point, I received a lot of sympathetic glances when I didn’t need them. I had to drag my foot not because if was hurt but my chappal strap strapped! I had no option but to drag that broken sandal on my feet.

What option had I? Walk barefoot you say? No sir, not me! I have always tried to take good care of my feet. And from my childhood too! My mom tells me (I was too small to remember this!) that I used to not walk on the floor at home at all. I used to walk only on the beds and mattresses. And then when the others in my play group in the society used to play barefoot, I used to be the one with shoes all the time!
Well then there came a time when I had no option but to shed the shoes. I have once had to descend the Sinhagad barefoot. I have! Let me tell you it was not easy but even more difficult it would have been if I tried climbing down with bad floaters. We were 1/3 from the top and to go back up and take a cab down was not feasible. That was one time I was mighty proud of myself and my blistered feet.
That was also the time that you thank God for his grace as that is when you remember all the poor you have seen countless times passing you barefeet and you not giving them a second glance!

Little things

2008-09-16T09:57:00.000+05:30

I lost one of my hairclips yesterday. I had it pinched on to my purse as I had carried it as a spare and in the rush of boarding the bus, I don’t know when and where this one fell off.
Well what of it, you might think! I’ve been trying to convince myself the same.
I’ve been sorry about it ever since. I even mentioned it to my sister saying I would not mind missing the one she was wearing (which was mine too) and she could have put this one instead. Not her fault of course but she could not understand my glum over it.
Come to think of it, it was in mixed hues of brown and deep orange, had no sharp edges, lovely texture, and it was plain nothing very ornamental which is why I just loved it!
Its not that it was new – I’ve used it atleast for the past 6 months if not more. But somehow I cant get it out of my mind – not yet that is.
These small things, mean a lot… to me… and maybe for a lot like me!

Call me possessive. Call me material girl.

Twists and turns and somersaults

2008-08-20T22:03:00.000+05:30

--I wrote this some time ago but it never got posted - due to blocking of blogger from office!
Time: till about 10-15 days ago
Extreme water shortage. Pune city which normally gets 24 hrs water supply suddenly faces the situation where people are forced to store water, conserve it. Power cuts are on the rise affecting business. Households are not spared either – electricity being cut during the morning rush hours as well as evenings as load shedding measures. This affects water supply two folds – no pumps to pull water!
China sends rockets (1104 no less) to deter the rains. India, this being monsoon badly awaits rains. Like it or not, India still is very much dependent on the rains!

Time: Cut to about 4-5 days ago
The reservoirs of the dams are more than half empty. No signs of rains. Whatever water is available would have to be frugally used and has to last for a whole year ahead – till the next rains at least. State government declares the impending drought. All the news papers flash the news that all over the state is drought situation. People dread to think about the effect on the agriculture industry and the crops failing, the imminent inflation!

Time: About 2 days ago
When it rains it pours! Yes. Here the weather takes a turn.
There has been lashing rain all over the state. Almost all the rivers in the state are now flooded. Lots of towns/cities under water. People need to be evacuated for the fear of drowning. The dams which were partially full have now the need to release water. This may lead to more flooding! New measures have to be taken to deal with this crisis situation.
Weather was never predictable. But this level of uncertainty where situations change in a matter of 2 days – is this something that we have drawn on ourselves? Is this also an effect of global warming?

Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu…

2008-07-18T14:27:00.000+05:30

I shall narrate some very funny incidents that happened long ago–
At school we were taught to pronounce circle in a very specific way. We used to call it ‘sek kel’ – with the ‘r’ being silent and the k heavily pronounced. As happens in childhood, whatever is taught in school, I used to come home and repeat (read teach) to my younger sister and parents! Now imagine the plight of my parents when they used to pronounce ‘circle’ as ‘seRkal’ and I used to ask them to repeat it over and over till they get the pronunciation right!
The next incident is told to me by mom and some of her friends (me being too young to remember it – 4 year old to be precise). Mom had come to fetch me from school when it was closing time one day. Our teacher was leading us from the play area back to the classroom. Mom was their with some other student’s mothers (who turned out to be great friends later on). As instructed by our teacher, we all (at least the obedient ones) were walking with our hands folded and fingers on our lips – to curb the noise and limit the ruckus created! Mom spotted me walking in the line and called out. And what could be my reaction? I tell mom – ‘Shhh. No talking while walking back to class.’ And I just walked off while mom and friends burst out laughing after recovering from the initial shock!

Why am I reminded of these incidents now? Well, today is Guru Pournima. How much ever we write about our gurus or teachers it would never be enough! We can never thank them enough either. Thus, I decided to muse upon (on a light note) the earliest incidents relating to the impact that a teacher could have on the students!
My sincere regards to all the teachers, mentors and not to forget the first ever teachers- our parents.
Guru Brahma Gurur Vishnu
Guru Devo Maheshwaraha
Guru Saakshat Para Brahma
Tasmai Sree Gurave Namaha
Meaning:Guru is verily the representative of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. He creates, sustains knowledge and destroys the weeds of ignorance. I salute such a Guru.

Cleansing

2008-07-17T17:17:00.000+05:30

I was cleaning out all the e-trash from my machine. I have a lot of old-stuff hanging about and it was time I cleaned it and made some space. I had some idea of how much of old data I have been carrying but I did not realise the magnitude till I actually started the clean-up drive! Phew! Its gonna take me days.
One thing led to another and I started cleaning up my mails as well. Now that was a mammoth task. Consider some mails lying around since 2002 – yeah that’s what I said 2002! I have been pretty organised (some modesty huh!) but that sometimes is a curse. I have some 20 personal folders (pst) files to be cleaned. Now you know why I say it’s a curse! I wish it were as easy as deleting the whole pst at one shot. Alas! I compel myself to keep some important communication and delete the rest.
So there its quite a bit of stuff to keep me occupied for the rest of the week, if not more. I have no reason to complain (you would know if you have read my t…i…c…k… t…o…c…k… blog). So what is this all about?
The point to ponder on was – while I was cleaning out some of the old mails, I realised it is not only the mailbox or the machine that needs a clean-up. I need to de-clutter my mind too. This led me to thinking -

Maybe its time to cleanse my system as well.
Maybe its time to stop dwelling in the past.
Maybe its time to move on.

Utterly Butterly!

2008-07-16T11:34:00.000+05:30

Yeah that’s right, this is the tag line of Amul butter and I am indeed going to talk about it.
I shall not talk about butter though and only about Amul butter as a brand. I am very much impressed by the advertising agency who works for Amul. They come up with the campaign with the most recent topic for the week and it is linked to Amul in an amazing way! For quite a few months (years is it?) I have been noticing this hoarding at the main crossroads at Deccan – just at the onset of the Lakdi pool. The spot they secured was great too as it is a busy crossroad and the waiting time at the signal quite a bit.
They say you don’t miss something until you lose it! How true it is. It is a treat to watch this and I quite look forward to it. I had not realised that I like to know what is the latest that they have come up with. This was until sometime last month or before that, the hoarding I am referring to was pulled down. Some construction work began at the location and I started missing this Ad campaign. Last week, on my way back from office, looking out of the bus window, I notice this black and white billboard! From all my ranting above you would know that this was for Amul and I was glad about it!
A tribute was being paid to the great Sam ‘Bahadur’ Manekshaw who recently passed away.
This week the theme is – There is an arena and a person sitting on a bull (as it is so closely associated with Spain!). He has tennis gear on him. Clearly they are celebrating Rafael Nadals’ victory at Wimbledon. And the punch line says 'Rafa ka Lafa' and tag line says Amul ‘Fed on it’ so honouring Federer as well!
Delicious I would say!

Dictionary:
delicious
(dĭ-lĭsh'əs)
adj.
Highly pleasing or agreeable to the senses, especially of taste or smell.
Very pleasant; delightful: a delicious revenge.

Bright Yellow

2008-07-14T15:46:00.000+05:30

Today I thought I would post a picture!
Loved the colours of the flower against the background earth shades. Clicked at Lakewood resort.

T…………i…………c…………k ………………… T…………o…………c…………k

2008-07-08T13:59:00.000+05:30

That slow – Yeah that’s about how slow my time is passing at this moment!
Time, they say, does not stop. But it sure varies its pace. Seems so to me at least!
When there is loads of work and long lists of tasks to be completed, the time just flies by.
And then when there is not much to do it seems you have all the time in the world AND it does not pass!

Here I am counting seconds go by – waiting for the work day to get over and there I know of a few friends who have their hands so full, they can only pack so much in one day!

Perspective?
Or the time is not right?

Exhausted but refreshed

2008-07-07T14:03:00.001+05:30

Yeah this is paradoxical. I never said what I write is all sensible!

Every year around this time, we have these incorporate sports tournaments with matches for badminton, table tennis, football etc. Every year, this time few enthusiasts (sport enthusiasts will not be entirely correct – please read on for why) like me pick up the badminton racket and are all charged up to play! Further to explain why I can’t call myself a sports enthusiast, I held the racket in my hand last year and then now. In this meanwhile I have not taken any efforts to work on my stamina and neither my shape. Needless to say, you can imagine the quality of my game. And then I show up on the day of the tournament and face what comes my way. Brave eh? Nah – stupid is more like it!

This time it is a little better though, I have actually played twice before the actual tournament. After the first practice session, I knew the worth of my game and was all set to quit. Yeah I played that well! Then thanks to mom, I did not withdraw entirely (though I did from the singles event). Nonetheless after the second practice game, we all were shaken and decided that we just have to play – tournament or no tournament. So it goes that we played for a good two hours on Saturday. That felt good – physically and mentally. I was dead tired and all the body parts aching but happy all the same – Pleasure in pain as they say!

Thus we have decided we shall play every Saturday (at least if not more) to keep up our energy levels. Am not sure if playing once a week will do the wonders of keeping me fit, but its not too bad for the first step (shot if you please) is it! Also keeping up the hope that our resolve to play would not die down like all the other plans.

Hair and Now

2008-07-01T16:53:00.000+05:30

We girls share a love hate relationship with our hair. I mean all the girls I know have at some point or the other complained about their hair. Girls with short hair want a longer mane, the ones with curly envy straight hair (I’m one of them), straight haired girls want curls. If nothing else, brunettes want be blondes, red heads and all. And then there is this inevitable ‘I’m greying let me colour the hair’!
All this no doubt gives huge income source to the fashion industry.

Whenever I get bored of my look (basically looking at myself in the mirror) I turn to the easiest and the sure shot way of changing the look which is to get my hair cut. So it feels nice when I walk out with the new style – and it feels nice only then since it is nicely styled. Day 2 and the style goes sloppy and washed away and it ceases to look nice. My sisters keep telling me – the only day my hair looks good is the day I have a haircut!
This blog would be incomplete if I do not mention an incident. This was a couple years ago and a friend of mine Dee and I used to be flatmates in the US. We used to grumble and whine about the hard water and how it is bad for the hair (though for credit, somehow hair grows in length there!) So there we were getting ready to go for a party. Dee was trying to set her hair and most of you would agree, when we want the hair be set in a particular way, it never does, so she was not happy with the result of her style. She blurted out ‘I hate my hair’. This was not the first time I’d heard this from her and this time I joined in saying ‘Me too.’ First she thought I’m being sympathetic to her saying ‘I hate my hair as well and it’s the usual story etc’ but then she looked at me and I with a straight face said ‘Yeah, me too, as in I hate your hair’. We just burst out laughing at this and this has been our long standing joke since then.

I have been obsessed with those tresses for quite some time now. A few of my friends sail in the same boat. Every now and then comes up this topic where somebody says she is suffering from hair loss and the rest join in the cribbing. Some bold souls try to chip in with remedies – eat this, apply that. But the saga continues.
Sometime I wonder, am I losing hair over stress or am I stressed about losing hair!

You look nice today!

2008-06-27T09:58:00.000+05:30

How often do we give compliments? And receive?
More important is the question, how often are the compliments that we give truly heartfelt?
A few years back, it was Diwali time and festivities in the air. Girls don’t need a reason to dress up anyway and it being festival time, it was decided that we all would be adorned in our best festive and traditional attire. Thus, there we (me and a friend) were heading to office in sarees!
Along came some gals we knew – and then as is customary, we appreciated each others sarees and jewellery and looks. Its kind of a deal – you say I’m looking nice and I say you are!
And then came a couple of other girls and again they complimented us on well we looked etc.
Then amongst the two of us we started talking and saying that these girls don’t mean what they say. So just as a sport for that day, we started categorizing the compliments! So here were our categories –
Artificial – just because I saw you and you have done something different, I must tell you that you look good!
Envious – You are looking nice and I don’t like it but I shall not say that to your face!
Return Compliment – You complimented me so I just have to pay back!
Rare and Genuine – This one speaks for itself!

Some things are so etched in your mind! Since that day whenever I receive a compliment, I can’t help but categorise and it is instinctive! And when I give one I try that it be only when I genuinely feel so…

What’s in a name?

2008-06-25T14:24:00.000+05:30

Today I changed the name (url) of my blog. Of course all of you who have reached here know it (I am saying its gibberish) but still for the record - Today I changed the name of my blog.
Again for the record, the title still remains the same as still ‘its only words’!

I’ve wanted to do this since ages but somehow or the other it got procrastinated (ok I’ve been lazy)! The main reason being the want of a good name.

Ok this calls for a look in the history. Some of my friends used to address me as ‘prax’ and I started writing blogs in the month of may and so when the time came to name the url of my blog, it turned out to be praxmay – well not very creative and not very attractive (I know). Since then this feeling of changing the name! Earlier I thought it there may not be a facility to change the url once published and also to think of reposting all the blogs held me back.
After contemplating a lot I decided it should have an element of confusion – well to signify the hoards of ideas floating around in my head at any moment. So came up with hotchpotch, mishmash, medley etc. But then that wouldn’t be entirely true – I do try to put these musings in order and try to make some sense of it! So there just like they show in the cartoons – a light bulb flashing on in my head –I struck upon the new name!
Lo and behold – here I am offering to you some ‘sensible gibberish’…

Of Movies and Travel

2008-06-23T14:39:00.001+05:30

So what is common between movies and travel? Hogging... Yeah well food and lots of it!
I remember the time when as kids, during the vacations we used to travel to my grandmom's place. The journey used to be by train and it would take us 4 and a 1/2 to 5 hours of travelling to reach Mumbai from Pune - yeah just that and I'm not even talking of long distance travel!
It used to be a big event - along with our clothes and stuff required for the entire 2-3 months we used to spend at granny's, there used to be one bag full of goodies to munch on. We used to usually board the 6 O'clock Sinhgad Express. In about an hour, some of the munchies used to come out of the bag. By the next hour, the train pantry department used to start sending out breakfast and the smell of it, made everybody want it. In another hour's time we used to reach the Karjat station where we just had to have the famous 'Batata Wada'. We would find that invariably spicy (but in spite of that we couldnt miss it!) and then to pacify ourselves - there use to be the biscuits or the chocolates. Next some tea/coffee or cold drinks and by the time all this wrapped up, it was time to descend and proceed for home.
Same was (and still is) with the movies - you sit in the theater and within half an hour of the movie starting, you can hear packets opening, and the crunch crunch crunch sounds surrounding you. There is popcorn which is like the must have for movies. Then during intervals - samosas or sandwich and later coke/coffee.
I wonder how did we then (and even now) managed to eat so much in that span of 3-4 hours! I believe mom too must've had this bothering her as she used to have a tough time otherwise to even make us drink a glass of milk before packing us off to school!

The Pause

2008-06-20T11:12:00.000+05:30

As I’ve already written in this blog and most of you, my friends, know I read – a lot. I need something to keep my idle brain occupied lest the frustration start creeping in and I go mad (I know some of you would say that I am already mad – in which case u don’t wanna see me getting madder still!). That’s not the topic of this blog though. I manage to have a steady supply of books, through friends, friend’s friends, friend’s friend’s friends (well yeah!!) and thanks to all of them I get to read lot more than I could have if I were to purchase every book I read. So thanks to this supply, I usually have two books with me – one that I’m reading and the next one lined up for reading.

I read and finish the book. Most of the times it takes a long time to finish the last few pages (as I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs – ‘For a few pages more’).
Even so I usually take a ‘pause’ after reading the book in hand and picking up the next one. At this time, I think about the story, the characters, go back and read some of the incidents/interesting chapters again.
That is also the case with movies. If I’m watching a particular movie for the first time, I prefer not to watch another movie back to back. Some high impact movies, I play the movie in my head lying down on my bed.

Sometimes I wonder, is it only me who needs this pause?

I drag myself to the finish line (somehow)

2008-06-17T14:41:00.001+05:30

I just finished reading the Zahir by Paulo Coehlo. I may not be right in saying that I was disappointed. Well I had not read very good reviews of the book to have any hopes on anyway!
I didn’t much like the book. It takes off and reaches its peak in the first 2-3 pages. After that it’s a lull, nothing really happening in the story and the same lines being repeated over and over again. There is no build of the story and at a point it gets quite boring. I am a compulsive-till-the-epilogue reader – by which I mean, I usually don’t leave book half read – I need to complete them till the last page. Only that stopped me from putting this one away and I thought I’d rather finish it.
Of the Paulo Coelho books I’ve read so far, I only liked ‘The Alchemist’. I have read ‘By the River Piedra, I sat and Wept’. ‘Eleven Minutes’, ‘The Pilgrimage’ and ‘The witch of Portobello’ (which again I made myself complete). Sorry if anybody is his big fan but somehow I find that most of his characters in all the plots similar. Its like cashing in on one big hit!

Ouch Potato

2008-06-06T17:45:00.000+05:30

No… I have not missed ‘c’ and it was not meant to be ‘couch potato’…
Why did I think of this – well, today there were 3 of us for lunch, all of us had potato subji and all made differently!
Hence, here is my ode to the potato!

This is one veggie which I’m glad is universally available (well at least in all the countries that I travelled to).
I was wondering if the potato were not available, life (ok that’s going too far) food for me would have been quite different, especially out of India given that I’m a vegetarian! Available from the smallest size the size of marbles called baby potatoes to the largest – baking/jacket potatoes, they are used in multitude of cuisines, can be cooked in various ways – have them baked, boiled, roasted, fried, mashed, whole, spiced or bland.

Without dragging this too much, here are few interesting things that I know about the potato –

The year 2008 has been declared the International Year of the Potato by the United Nations
Potato-based alcohol fuelled German planes in World War II?
(This is what we heard in Belgium) – French Fries are not really “French”. They originated in Belgium, and are called ‘Frituur’ there, but because Belgium was under the ‘French’ rule then, the French publicised them as ‘French Fries’!

My bit for the world…

2008-06-05T13:40:00.000+05:30

Today is the World Environment Day so I thought I should write a bit about that… I try to do my bit to protect the environment -

I have CFL lamps at home
I switch off lights / appliances if not in use (even in office)
I switch off my monitor (and others around me) when I’m away from my desk
I try to close running /dripping taps – wherever I find them
For short distances, I prefer walking
I use mass transportation system (bus) to most places – though its partly also due to the fact that I don’t much enjoy driving bumper to bumper on the small streets
I try to use less paper – I’ve stopped most of my paper bills and have opted for Online bills (most banks now give paper bills when asked for and e-bills regularly)
I use the printer less often
I keep complaining about wastage of paper (to the point of sale) if the paper bills in stores are bigger than required (yeah I’ve been thought of being a fanatic I’m sure)
I carry a jute bag for lunch
I try and refuse using plastic bags as far as I can
My vehicles are PUC certified!
Try to make people around me aware of our duty towards the environment

I am guilty of -

Not planting /nurturing trees
Sometimes (unwillingly) wasting food
Using plastic bags (when I forget to carry one of my own)
Travelling by air (international – once a year at least: that’s my job though – cant avoid)
Don’t always buy local
And more… though I’d try and change this!

Washed

2008-06-04T10:42:00.000+05:30

The sky with dark clouds overcast
Grey light it spreads all across,
For a few days thus they will loom
This is not the grey of the gloom;

There it finds an opening
And there it pours down,
Small droplets wash dirt and grime
To the ground;

Making the mundane look fresh and new
The greens are greener
The roads look cleaner
Everything bright, colourful and gay;

I drift in the rains
And get myself soaked,
These drops will cheer me
Is the hope;

The change everywhere I see
I need to feel it deep within me,
I need a rain of my own…
I need a rain of my own…

One meal is what I need…

2008-06-02T17:53:00.000+05:30

The signals are abound by beggars and vendors and it is now such commonplace that nobody now pays heed to them I think. I was on my way back home from office. The traffic light had just turned red and there was already a long queue of vehicles that could not make the green light. So it was more or less known that the bus may not make the next green light either. We had just started from office, the bus, by virtue of being parked not in shade had heated up and most of us were still cursing the heat around. I just happened to look out and what I saw moved me to say the least.

There was this lady, a youngish girl rather who was with her child, sitting comfortably(?) on the road divider. The child (I doubt if he was even 8-10 months old) was sitting across his mother and looking at her expectantly. Suddenly I noticed that she had this foil takeaway package of food. There was no way of knowing if this food was fresh or not –probably something given to her as charity or somebody’s leftovers! She went ahead to pick up a morsel to feed her child. The child gestured that he would eat. He picked up a small morsel of food, put it in his mouth. His face lit up and he moved his head in a manner to convey his appreciation of food – something he really liked the taste of. At this, tears welled up in his mothers eyes and her expressions brightened. She could not contain the happiness of having fed her child for that day at least. She looked up to see if anybody was watching and I turned around lest she feel embarrassed.
I will never forget one of the happiest smiles I saw…

For a few pages more…

2008-05-27T12:01:00.000+05:30

I’ve stayed away from the blogging world for too long to even call myself a blogger! But I shall now start writing regularly – or so I think now.

I love to read – fiction mostly but can read non-fiction, articles in books/magazines and over the net. Honestly I like reading out of a book held in hand over the other forms and mostly that’s what I do. I think I have inherited this love of books from my mom. She is an avid reader herself. She tells me, her mom/dad had to actually snatch a book from her hands to get her attention and not few times! In spite of that, she complains when she has to do the same to me. So I reserve my reading time to be the one when she watches her soaps on TV. But there is a problem in that too – soaps have frequent commercial breaks when I too have to take a break from my reading. Anyway there I start digressing from my topic of this blog.

Why I was thinking about this – I was at the last 100 pages of this interesting book I am reading – mystery novel from Robert Ludlum, could lay my hands on it after 3 days and finally got so desperate that finished it over the bumpy ride (that’s another blog coming from me soon) from home to office. I know that its not good reading while travelling and all that but couldn’t help myself in this case!

Come to think of it, I noticed that this happens to me quite often! Its like how the batsmen score the first 90 runs at a steady pace and when it’s the matter of the last score for a century, the runs come in slowly or at least seem to.

What I was saying was, I devour books at a not-so-bad-a-pace. All goes well until the last 100 pages or so are left that is. Once the book comes to that stage, usually the climax of the story, that’s when some things happen that keep me away from my book for 3-5 days. People who love to read will understand my plight here! Here I am at the most interesting section of the book and then again I am lost for reading time. After 3-4 days of such a state separate me from the book, a desperation creeps in – a need to finish the book come what may.
IS it me or is it ME?

Finally

2008-01-24T09:46:00.000+05:30

Am I glad to get back this toolbar !!!
Now I can add images to my posts!

Go green

2008-01-11T14:35:00.000+05:30

I walked barefoot on lush green grass today morning.
The grass, moist with morning dew, was very refreshing and I sensed my feet relax instantly!

This year I’ve decided to go green in more than one way.
I’ve made paper handbags to carry lunch box in! And where has this paper come from – not some fancy stuff – I’m just using old newspapers!
Have just decorated them with some dabs of paint here and there and some craft. I gave this social message to the first one which states ‘Go Green’.
I feel nice about it and most of friends who saw the bags I carry around have appreciated them! If I just shy a little from modesty, some friends have even been inspired by my bags ;)

sorrow

2008-01-09T10:05:00.000+05:30

The happy moments are to be shared and grown;
The losses, each man hath his own...

Lost..

2008-01-03T11:38:00.000+05:30

I was visiting my sister for the holidays. While on board a bus, there was this couple sitting across me…
They must be newly married since they both looked pretty young and very much in love.
How do I know this (no I wasn’t staring at them!) well thru’ out the journey, they were both singing songs and quite loudly too… While she was a little abashed and looking out of the window while humming, he was constantly looking at her and singing…
Truly lost in love I’d say…