Feminity and essence of womanhood

Don't you think that the environment in which we are brought up, affects us most? I know, I know, age-old debate and all that - conditioning and inherent qualities and all that, but I really do believe that conditioning - both conscious and unconscious - molds us to a great deal. I mean 'My Fair Lady' is a great celluloid piece and all that but it takes a lot of effort to de-learn all the 'unwanted' and learn the 'much needed'. It takes a lot to be a 'lady'. Where am I going with this? Well, I was going through my awe-inspiring drafts folder and came across this snippet. I don't know what transpired when I wrote this, so the above para was just a sort of introduction/explanation for the snippet.

I remember (and for some strange reason whatever I remember of my childhood school days is always in technicolor) watching my mom comb and style her long glorious hair and wishing that I too inherit her hair when I grew up. I remember her perfectly draped saris, perfectly rounded nails - both painted and unpainted, her musical laugh - so lady-like. I remember hoping that I would be a lady just like her when I grow up. I guess for every little girl, her mother is the fairy queen. Much as she might rebel in her teenage years, she will try to emulate most of what she remembers/sees still as the magical quality that she thinks makes her mother such a lady. And its not all appearances - handling pesky, nosy relatives, managing a household, arguing gracefully without raising her voice - yes, we all wish we could be like our moms in almost all areas. She is the epitome of femininity and the way she takes care of her family, makes time for her work, your school and your extra-curricular activities without stressing it out defines for you what being a 'lady' or a 'woman' really means. And it got me wondering today - am I today what I wanted to be like when the young and idealistic me defined what a 'lady' is?

Nope. A firm no. Nowhere miles near. But is that still how I want to be - the basics of it - yes! Surprising, isn't it? All these years and still the notion for me about what goes to make a perfect woman is still the same?

Do you have an ideal for what a perfect woman is?

Two incidents that got me thinking....

That was one long break from this blog. I have been toying with shutting this blog down, but I get this niggling voice that says, oh this I should blog about and all...

Heard of rodent problem? How about the massive traffic, food, or even cockroach problem? Well, this one coffee shop in Pune I had been to faces what they call the 'police problem'. Nestled in the middle of buildings housing BPOs, the 11/12pm deadline mean they lose out on their main customers - BPO employees looking for a caffeine shot to boost up energy levels. Why not build it inside one of the buildings, I asked. Restricts clients only to that one building - this way there are walk in clients as well (like me). Plus, most of the BPOs have coffee shops or kiosks in their cafeteria. The BPO employees come to this cafe for meeting up with different people too. Hmm... Whatever the reason, they switch off the lights if a police van approaches. And the event the police do prod them to shut down, am sure money changes hands. Yes, I can see the problem. Its our Indian 'chalta hai' lets-make-this-one-occasion-an-exception attitude. We are all more than happy to bend, bypass and break rules. And who is to blame? The people whose duty it is to safeguard the rules! [How, and if, they perform this duty is a different part altogether] Police problem, indeed!!

Oh and a shout out and a big thanks for the kind lady at Pink Attire, Pune. Well, get this. Outside the venue of a formal do, in a part of the city you know nothing about, dressed in your dressy best. Not the best time for the person in charge of getting the gift to start muttering about gift wrapping - especially when there are no gift or stationary stores in sight. The lady at Pink Attire, puts her conversation with her client on hold and graciously gives us a swatch cloth to be used for wrapping a gift when we barge into her shop and explain our fix!! Any old cloth swatch would have done, but she eyes our gift, and asks her masterji to get a gold tissue cloth swatch. She could have simply shooed us away, and regaled her clients about the 'weird people problem' that she faces. Class? Manners? Nah, just attitude!

Anyway, check this tutorial for cloth/fabric gift wrapping.

[Image from: White Apricot ]

Overdosing, cravings and what have yous

Feeling like OD-ing on sleep right now. Yesterday, it was chocolate (thanks to a gift hamper by these generous people, but more about that later). Over the weekend it was eating all kinds of sinful food.
Hmm... I wonder if one can OD on awesome holidays. Imagine that!! That will take care of my cravings for these three days!
What do you wish to OD on today?

A modern-day love story...

Foreword
I have been meaning to write this for a long time. Being a subject so close to my heart, I don't think I am in a mood of studied writing. Be warned - lots gushing and mushy stuff ahead.

For
Hubby, sis and papa.
For making this love story possible.

Prologue
She sighed as she beheld the one she craved. Yearned for. One day... one day..

Chapter One and Only
It all began over a couple of years ago, when I got my iPhone as a birthday gift. A birthday gift that I insisted upon. And boy, am I glad I did. Back then, it was my Apple-adulation that was the main reason for craving it; right alongside the look-its-so-sexy and ooh-so-shiny. Yep, back then it was lust. Just basic lust. Then....

Then I got my paws on it, and started trawling the web and finding all about apps - free and more, SSH, themes, utilities. And the games. Once I started, I was hooked. I spent hours searching for app sources that I could add to my Installer. And then I discovered the mail facility. It was then that I truly fell in love. Soon, my GPRS bill was more than my phone call bill. But....

But it was tough trying to turn my nose up almost everyday on people (friends and colleagues) who were either just out to get me or diss the iPhone. Every story has villains - temporary ones or otherwise. But my love triumphed and held true. And then, one day...

One day my husband, S, told me about 2.1. And that I should upgrade. And all the people on the communities I had become a part of soon were saying the same thing. So... Took a deep breath and a backup. And upgraded my lovely to 2.1. And downgraded it back again the very next weekend. It slowed my love's reflexes. And she needed to sleep and recharge herself almost everyday!! And then there were those spells - she would just blank out all of a sudden. It was a trying time. It hurt me to see her so. So back to 1.1.3 it was. And then...

And then, soon, 3.0 was out! It had copy paste - global!! One weapon less in the iPhone-detractors' arsenal. It was fast. It worked on 2g as well. Landscape keyboard for messaging and more!! Another weapon gone. And it had global search. But my earlier experience advised caution. And so I waited, regularly checking out forums and message boards for any problem or glitch that I might encounter. And a couple of weeks ago, I (ok, fine, the hubby [I really can't bring myself to do such a severe operation on my love, you understand]) upgraded it to 3.0. And went into a app finding and downloading tizzy. And....

And they lived happily ever after.

Epilogue
All this while I have yet to find the perfect theme (am currently on buuf2). Any help, suggestions are welcome. If I find more, well, who knows, I might just write up a sequel to this....

Revisiting....

... old, well-loved books. Enjoyable, never-will-be-bored movies. Eateries/haunts where something new and delicious is always waiting to be discovered.
Why do I find myself reaching for a Nora Roberts or JRR Tolkien? Of late, where is this willingness to re-watch Star Wars, Transformers, Sex and the City, and many more cropping up from? Why when hubby wants to try out some new place, the first thing that pops in my mind is why not Out of the Blue, Cafe Basilico or Moshe's??
Do I need some comfort and soothing for unknown reasons? Or am I sub-consciously gearing up for change??

Bombai nagariya....

It has been a unique experience living in Mumbai (not that I am moving out, yet). It just struck me today that a lot of things that used to strike me as weird or convoluted actually make sense to me and some I can even relate to. Blame it on the dichotomy that living in Mumbai is. So, I compiled a list. Care to add to this?

Prior to Mumbai I never:

• felt the need for a locker in office. I fought to get one once I joined here. You do need a place to stash your just-in-case clothes for a sleepover at someone’s in the event of a riot/flood/rain/train strike/what-have-yous.
  
• wore flip-flops/sturdy shoes to office only to switch into my heels the minute I opened my locker. One twisted ankle and dozens of ladies scoring my feet with their heels have made me give up my heels on my way to and fro from office. That and the state of my both feet and high heels after a week of daily abuse on Mumbai streets and trains.
  
• understood the dark portends of 'too much rain'.
  
• realized how lucky I was to have two days off as the weekend.
  
• knew the existence and, indeed, the need of weekend getaways.
  
• realized how easy it is to take for granted the impromptu meet-ups with friends - you know, the 'hello-are-you-doing-nothing-right-now-too-?-then-lets-meet-up kind. It makes such a difference when say, friend lives in Mulund, you in Andheri and the place that you both really check out is in South Bombay.
  
• felt like a tiny, insignificant spec in the mind-boggling human mass that inhabits the earth.
  
• understood the grit it takes to wake up every morning, make the 2 hour commute to work, slog, commute back home in 2 hours, eat, watch telly for half an hour, sleep and get up to do this ad infinitum all the while fighting for a toehold on the train that takes you to the tiny box that you call office and back.
  
• lived in a city that is so awake all the time! Bangalore was a snooze fest. Pune was awesome but nowadays is only marginally better than Bangalore. In Mumbai, however, I don't get weirded out traveling alone even at 11. There are traffic jams here at 11 at night, for God's sake!
  
• understood the true meaning of customer service. Pune has its siestas, Bangalore its I-don't-need-your-business-but-since-you-are-in-my-shop-what-the-heck-ness, and Mumbai its home-delivery boys even for a humble kiraana shop which is open till 10. Even the fruit and vegetable vendors shut shop only after 11. I realize this is due the late hours the residents have to keep, but, seriously!!
  
• seen class differences blur like they do in Mumbai when it pours.
  
• seen total strangers bond over cheap baubles or an irate commuter like they do on Mumbai local trains.
  
• understood what a difference it makes to take a local train 3 minutes later than the usual one.
  
• realized how the mounds of garbage and filth that one passes by everyday, slowly become invisible.
  
• could comprehend how the can't-afford-to-stop-to-get-involved attitude lasts most of the year and suddenly transitions into helping hands during the monsoon.
  
• sympathized with Bombayites who complained that they found other cities boring. Am hoping that this 'boring/itchy' phase lasts only a short time when I move out of here.
  
• realized that people actually meant it when they said they were jealous of my one person cubicle. Ironically, I still have a one person cubicle. Yep, in Mumbai.
  
• could come to terms with how anyone could justify that changing trains, taking the foot-over (train tracks) bridges and catching the bus on the run is exercise.
  
• realized that when they claim to love of Mumbai in spite of everything they do/face, Mumbaikars mean it.

PS: My dream city (the city I want to settle down in) still remains Pune. It’s the city where I spent the first few heady years after college. Sigh. But, won’t embellish on Pune in this post; this one is about Mumbai.

Pic source.

Lifestyle change?

College. With little pocket money. Trying to stretch it to cover petrol, outings, food, dates, birthday gifts, movies, accessories, CDs and more. And trying to save some of it. Money seemed so important back then. Used to hand it out miserly.
Working now. Earning. Trying to stretch it to cover rent, petrol, groceries, shopping bills, credit card bills, insurance payments, beauty parlor payments, movies, Internet costs, maid costs... blah blah. And THEN trying to save some. Money is still important. Its just that now, I spend it like water. Lifestyle change? More like a mindset change.
Does it suddenly hit you, on some days, the enormous change that time has wrought on your spending habits? For me, its when I visit my mom or my in-laws. They still live like they used to - spending wisely. Somehow, between college and now, I have gone from spending miserly to lavishly without stopping for a second at wisely. Have decided to find out where it is, and stay there.
The problem, of course, is the return journey to miserly. Its uphill, you know! So when you are not concentrating hard (like when your concentration breaks coz you just spotted those Aldo or Charles and Keith heels at half off or a Mango or Van Heusen sale), you just sort of lose grip and slide back to lavishly . Still trying to find wisely. Do let me know if and how you found it, especially if you are living there.

The Indian TV reality arena

Take a look at this. Originality - where art thou?

Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao - I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here!
Rakhi Ka Svayamvar - Who wants to marry a millionaire
Sach ka saamna - Moment of truth
Dance India Dance - So you think you can dance
Indian Idol - Pop Idol/American Idol
Bigg boss - Big Brother
Biggest Loser Jeetega - The Biggest Loser
Jhalak Dikhlaja - Dancing with the stars
India's got talent - America's got talent
Kaun Banega Crorepati - Who wants to be a Millionaire?
Bakra - Candid Camera, Punk’d
Khulja Sim Sim - Let's make a deal
Kismey Kitnaa Hain Dum - Night fever
Fear Factor
Kya Aap Paancchvi Pass Se Tez Hain - Are you smarter than a 5th grader?
Kam Ya Zyaada - More or Less
Naya Roop Nayi Zindagi - Extreme Makeover
Poker Face - Poker Face
Deal Ya No Deal - Deal or No Deal.
Mastermind India - Mastermind

Don't get me started on the Sa Re Ga Ma, Roadies, Nach Baliye, Laughter challenge wannabes (I loved these three, btw). At one point there were as many as 3 variations each of the Nach Baliye and The Great Indian Laughter Challenge formats airing. I have already posted about the Doordarshan days, so will not get into that.
Is it just me, or there is nothing fresh and Indian on the reality scene? I know it is easier to bank on the tried and tested show formats from other parts of the world, but seriously, is there a paucity of new ideas or all the ideas exhausted (ya, right. that would be the end of the world).
I would rather watch Survivor, Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, Project Runway and Top Chef - and sometimes even Beauty and the Geek - than any of the current crop of Indian ones. I think only the most offensive, controversial and voyeuristic ones have been copied/remade. Oh, and lets not get into the discussion of IF reality is entertaining - it most certainly is. In all kinds of way: fun, sleazy, voyeuristic etc. That is not my point.
Wouldn't you like to see a desi version of The Amazing Race or While You Were Out or Guide to Style? But going by the trend, I guess we should expect something more on the lines of Temptation Island.
What do you guys say? Any super, original (I hate this overused, over-abused word in this context) ideas for a fun new show?

Btw, did I miss any (or get any wrong) in the list above?

Yearning for the heavy downpour-y weekend....

for no social obligations.
for no grocery shopping (as the better half would have done it anyway)

to catch up on my sleep
to spend a lazy afternoon with a cup of steaming hot chai and a book

for catching a silly movie on DVD
for finishing the next level of the current game on the playstation

to do absolutely nothing but laze
to catch up with my ever-growing todo list - happily.

for a razai and an afternoon nap
for the wind to bring in the cool wet-earth fragrance.

to watch the green trees dance with the wind
to hear the rain make its own music.



[Pic source: Unknown. Actually, Google.]

A movie, a movie. My precious couple of hours for a movie...

All right, multiplex owners, IPL is over, done, kaput. You can drop your pretense of having a tussle with the producers and whosoever. Had you not had that rigmarole, you would have had poor ticket sales this IPL entertainment season; but your strategy paid off and now people will flock to see movies. So now start screening movies, will ya? And please, please, good ones?

A twisted sense of humor...

Long, gangly body, refusing to stop growing. Short, frizzy hair refusing to grow. Why, oh why, she cries. Why can't I have long, silky, straight tresses?!
Years pass. A quarter of a century old, with graying hair. Sigh.
But wait!! Growth spurt! Her hair! Yea! She colors. Straightens. Smiles at her straight-as-rain, long, silky hair. For two months.
Two months! And inch long gray roots. Six months. Hair long enough to obliterate the straightened hair.
Nature/fate/life has a twisted sense of humor...

Dear neighbour,

You don't know me pretty well - I live in the building next to yours, on the same floor as yours. The pink curtained windows of a living room? Yep, that's me! You know, I can see your entire home: all your rooms. I like your place - it seems so happily and messily lived-in. Umm.. not that I keep a watch or anything: I don't even know who live at your place... Not that I am looking! Oh well, this is getting worse. Let me start over....

When I first came here, I didn't know of the Mumbai rule of no socialising with your neighbours. Even if my window does look out into all their rooms. Like a good Mumbai neighbour, I stuck to the rule and didn't knock on your door three nights ago when I first heard the racket. Nor the day before. Or yesterday. But tonight, well, I just might. Yes, I just might break the rule. Why? Because..... I am very, very, very anxious to know what it is that requires nine whistles of your ancient pressure cooker to cook!! I am going to die of inquisitiveness otherwise.

Your curious-as-a-cat neighbour,
P

P.S. I wonder if, while writing down the recipe for me, you will lament about (and hopefully, apologise and promise no repeat performance of) your cruel job/fate that forces you to cook at 1 in the morning?!!

On my telly

Other than IPL, of course. Hubby and I have a deal - he watches all IPL matches he wants unless they clash with my must-watch programs. Simple, right? Yep, it is, and fair as I watch a total of 5 programs in the week - and two of them are programs we both watch, so that makes it 3, right? ;) Anyway...
Tim Gunn is back this Thursday on AXN! Right after the first part of the Top Chef finale. And Project Runway has started on DTL! The Rachel Zoe Project is off (I really didn't get how it was soooo huge in the US). Survivor Tocantins is getting really interesting and Heroes airs on Star World to make my TV watching list complete. Sweet!
So, what are you watching on TV today? Umm, aside from IPL, of course ;)

So you think you are old?

Scene 1: Suburb. Building entrance. 3 women are talking and playing with their kids.
Woman in skirt rushes down the stairs with grocery bag in hand.

Kid#1: Hi, didi.

Woman in skirt smiles, pinches his cheek, smiles at the ladies.

Mother#1: You are thin na, that is why you are a didi. We all are not slim, so we are all aunties.

Woman in skirt - [Weirded out as they have never spoken ever before and as Mother#1 appears to be at least a decade older]: Oh, and here I thought that it was the skirt that did it!

Now, there are two issues here - the auntie issue and the weight issue. Note: rant ahead.
So the kid called me didi. Its been 3 years since some kid did. Its been 3 years since my friend's son first called me Priyanka auntie. And yes, it did give me a moment's pause and I heard the horrid voice repeating 'Auntie. Auntie. Auntie.' in my head (like in that old hair coloring ad). Auntie. That one word had over-the-hill, unattractive, old, uninteresting and tubby all bundled into it. Isn't that what we have been programmed to think? It escapes me why we all think of growing old as bad, something to dread. The first gray hair, the first spotting of dark circles, or crow's feet - all spell disaster of biblical proportions. We all want to remain young, perfect, read, in the 20s. When we were kids we couldn't wait to be 20-something and when we are no longer that, we wish we could turn back time.
Have you all noticed how the Mom in all the advertisements have changed? Gone is the woman with her hair bundled in a bun and her saree pallu tucked in by her waist either slaving away at the stove or rinsing utensils. The new mom wears trousers or cut offs, doesn't wear a tikka and still manages the kitchen and cooks without seeming drained and tired. Drastic change, huh? Can't we have something that changes our definition like that for the word 'auntie' too, so that at least our kids won't grow up dreading the words 'auntie' and 'uncle'?

Ok, now picture this. Imagine if the woman in the skirt was actually a teen girl in a skirt, but overweight. What if the kid calls her auntie? Do you think the woman would tell her that oh, because you are overweight, the kid called you auntie? No, that is a sensitive issue. It is not politically correct nowadays to call a fat person, well, fat. The logic being that it is discriminating and insulting. Fine. Now using the same logic, how about not calling someone rail-thin, scrawny, painfully-thin, emaciated? If there is a 'normal' size, then thin and fat are two extremes and calling them that is discrimination, right? But then, I guess, the underweight people are overwhelmingly outnumbered by the overweight people.
It is not the word 'thin' or 'fat' that is insulting, it is the way people say it. Subconsciously, we are all programmed to accept a certain size as 'normal' - some of us don't even question it even when we are adults. Some of us actually envy people who are 'normal' without an effort, while we (the non-normal people, both ends of the spectrum, mind you) are not. I don't sympathize. I am sorry, but I don't. My genes - passed on my 'normal' parents and well-preserved grandparents - don't make me lucky or you any less luckier. If you don't want to be overweight or underweight, do something about it. Isn't 'accomplished' better than 'lucked out'? Exercise, eat right and if nothing works, accept your body type for what it is. If you still hanker for what you can't achieve, do it in private. Do you tell strangers in the hallway about your yearning for a fuller butt, non-jiggly body parts or lesser hair on certain limbs? Then please oh please, do not talk about your weight to me - the next time you do, you just might receive a 'Auntie mat kaho na. I am in denial!' wall hanging from me on the spot.

Of Mumbai and more... I

I had serious reservations about living in Mumbai two years ago - still have as a matter of fact. But the famous Mumbai spirit is ever present and infectious. But being an outsider, I observed that in spite of having the best bus transport in India (BEST), the traffic situation is terrible. And getting worse. A lot of contributing factors: bad roads, slow flyover constructions, terrible and untrained drivers, road blocks like filth, garbage, illegal parking, and sometimes just the humongous human crowds. What are the agencies who are supposed to provide for the public doing? Why are some of them thriving, while others are woefully fumbling and stumbling?

Recently, BEST, traffic policemen, firemen have all realized the importance of actually turning in a profit rather than just waiting for the government to wake up and allot them funds. Better late than never, I say. BEST has been the path breaker and how! They are already turning in a profit, adding new buses to their fleet every year, paying their employees a pretty penny, and making moolah from advertising space both on and in the buses. Add to that the fact that their buses are almost always clean, or maybe I should say, swept and seats wiped. It seems nigh near impossible to evade buying a ticket, so I guess, this is a big contributor, but be that as it may, they are really a shining example. Oh, they could do more, sure, but hey, when you take a look at, say, our locals, traffic policemen and firemen, well, it becomes clear how far ahead BEST is.

Generating a profit is not for the money part alone, it also means you are able to pay your employees a decent salary - enough for them to be motivated to do their jobs properly without resorting to bribes. It also means expanding your workforce, which in turn means a bigger profit. And if these agencies fight for it, they will soon have laws standing by them to make it easier for them.

Take BMC for example - their Keep Mumbai Clean act is wonderful. Everyday, on my way to work, I see scores of their personnel clearing the trash and even the human feces from roadsides and footpaths. And they seem to take their work very seriously. I travel by the Western Express Highway, JVLR and Powai. Every road that I see is clean. Admittedly, these are all arterial roads. I frankly have no idea about the smaller, more densely populated (and hence, more filthier) roads and areas. But this initiative is commendable, especially in a city like Mumbai, where trash and filth seem to have become a part of the cityscape.

If our traffic policemen can take a cue from BEST to raise funds here are some ways to go about it:

• Fine illegally parked vehicles. Double the fine for those who are double parked. No new law required for this one. Can be implemented straightaway.
  
• Fine vehicles which have broken down on the middle of the road. A large fine if broken down on an arterial road, a larger one if broken down on the highway. A hefty one if broken down on a flyover. (seriously though, why do these decades-old, smoke-belching trucks want to use the flyovers when they woefully lack maintainance and the power required to negotiate the flyover? once these trucks break down, you cant move them and these people start their repairs then and there and leave behind grease and oil to show for it. fine them. if they can afford to strike days on end protesting the fuel prices, they can cough up fines for not maintaining these vehicles too). Also, make towing a vehicle compulsory. People waste time sitting in traffic just because some idiot thought that he could flout laws and common sense and not service his vehicle for a dozen of years. He should be fined for causing offices and people loss of money and mental trauma!
  
• Fine abandoned vehicles - you know, the vehicles which have broken down and have been abandoned in the middle of the road - and include the towing charges as well.

Even if they implement this, their inflow will increase enough to actually recruit more who will help implementing these rules and fines.

For the BMC, well, things are not easy. They cannot fine people who defecate on the roadside as there is lack of sanitary services these people could turn to. And no, this is not to start the debate on how the slum dwellers are living illegally on government land or not. Bottom line is, it cannot fine them. So then, what can it do?

• Fine for dumping garbage right next to the garbage bin and not in it.
  
• Fine for leaving behind refuse and garbage after any and every festival and gathering - religious or political. If people can take organize gatherings, they can organize the clean-up as well.
  
• As it falls to the BMC to take care of our roads, they can also charge every single hoarding - whether lighted or on sticks, large or small; on the divider, near the footpath and of course, over the road. BMC could mint thousands during election time or when some political big-wig comes visiting. And lets not forget political hoardings congratulating their party head on his/her birthday, political scaffolding larger than the deity whose celebrations are on, wedding mandaps and more. Admittedly, this would be neigh near impossible to implement what with the BMC and local politicians being in total cahoots.

Local trains. No, I don't have any suggestions for this one. Why? Because, there is no separate agency which operates this for Mumbai! Centrally governed, how can anyone have any inkling of the daily hassles? Why not increase ticket fares? What about the poor, you say? They don't pay for the ticket when it so low either! Why not increase the ticket price, for people like me who actually pay for tickets? Why not recruit the beggars on the train to clean the trains every night? How about recruiting about 50 people whose sole job would be to close the train doors at night? Almost everyone who commutes by locals, has an opinion on how they could be better. But most of these would require dedicated and constant aid from the government which, woefully, we have come not to expect at all. So, the locals go on, overburdened and with nowhere to go. Let me backtrack a bit and state for the record that the daily job done by the Central and Western Railway is admirable. So many trains, crisscrossing tracks, high train frequency all must be a daily headache and miracle to manage so successfully [yes successfully, ever heard of a Mumbai local accident or derailment?]. Dirty trains and stations? Ever think twice before tossing that wad of plastic or paper on the tracks? Where can it generate money from with tickets as less as 4 rupees and scores of people traveling ticketless nonetheless? No, there is not one but myriad reasons why the locals are the way they are. And if we as citizens and users don't change some of our habits, well, we have no right to complain about these agencies and the way they work.

Why cannot these agencies aim for profit, when government funds are irregular and in short supply? Aren't these agencies supposed to work for the city and help it gain prosperity? But when will all this come together? When we, as citizens care to see and get it done. Which brings us all to another pet peeve of mine: citizen responsibility. But then, that is another rant, sufficient for another post.

Of reunions and nostalgia

All the nostalgia that prompted me to post my earlier two posts was this: I had a school reunion coming up. Read going through scrapbooks, searching for school pics and remembering that boy on the second bench who never used to speak. It was last Saturday (I know, talk about lazy me), but that nostalgic feeling still persists.

Most of us met up after a really long time - some of us hadn't met after the last day of school! What is it about school friends and college friends? Don't you feel more comfortable with your school friends than the college ones? No, ain't talking about more fun and stuff. Or is it just me? I dunno. I think it is to do with the fact that college is more about trying to find yourself, fitting in, mind games, getting ahead. So you make friends accordingly. School is more about studies, joking around, teacher cribbing, playing sports, and having fun in whichever way you feel like. So you make friends whom you actually share fun with and not just time with. And surprisingly, meeting up after so many years hasn't created barriers. If there were any, they flew out of the window the minute you met up.

Oh, on the face of it most of us have changed - people have put on weight, some have lost some pounds, some seem to have discovered the secret to a full head of hair and some the secret to shoot up for a mere four feet to almost six feet. Some have discovered first hand how the stress of everyday robs some of time to catch up with old friends and some of their hair. But mostly we are still the kids who tried to eat our tiffins in class coz we were really hungry! So you meet up with the guy who was friends with everybody in school and is the reason so many people are turning up at the reunion.And the person you really dreaded meeting and when you finally did, you didn't understand why he/she intimidated you so much in school. It is almost like revisiting the kid me and wondering what her daily thoughts and concerns were. So naive, innocent, and such high ideals and dreams!!

I am lucky to not have to go to the school and college reunions alone - my husband accompanies me. We have known each other since fourth standard and its on days like these (reunions) that we realise, yes, we have known each other since forever :) Funnily, shouldn't that make every day nostalgic??!!

Chai time

Wow.. 50th post! Yea!! Well, you would be happy too if you were the lazy, snoozy-all-the-time, compulsive-procrastinator that I am. For me, 50 posts in half as many months is nothing short of a miracle! So, am going to dedicate this post to the thing that is actually helping me write this - chai. Tea is one of my (long list of) vices and it is something I reach for in happy, sad, moody, sleepy and depressing times. Was watching Vir Sanghvi on Discovery Travel and Living channel last night, and he was on his own tea pilgrimage. He called the CTC (usual chai) that we Indians consume with such gusto - industry-strength tea. Chai is chai for me in any form - industry strength with milk boiled for minutes on end or the tea leaves steeped only in water with honey variety, I love it. There used to be a time, when in Bangalore, I was addicted to it.

This particular pic reminded me of tea and bun maska at the Irani cafe Good Luck in Pune. Don't you just love biscuits with tea?

Anyway, here are some bloggers who love chai so much that they blog about it exclusively!!
Chai pilgrimage THE site for chai lovers.
Archana posts photos of her cups of chai regularly. She is the fabulous blogger who finds time to update the four blogs she writes (including the great design blog Rang Decor).
Tea Blog is a one-of a kind project that I really love. Check it out.
Insani Tea - reviews galore.
Art and Tea - the name says it all.
Tea Pages is a blog that has a little bit of everything: tea, tea reviews and personal musings!
Another Tea Blog - don't be fooled by the name, the pics and the content are really good.
Love for Teas - again, the name says it all.
Tea escapade is another great blog about tea you could go to for reading about the different kinds of tea and how the author likes them!

Oooh and don't forget to check this out: Chai Time chais on sale at your Good Earth stores. Tapri chai, Railway platform chai, Dhaba chai all vie for attention among various types of single origin, masala and organic chai. Wow...

Play: The Wedding Album

I watched a play last weekend. My first play (that I remember of)!! I was, in a word, wowed.
We got an invite for this special screening (for ICICI Bank customers) of a play called, The Wedding Album. Written by Girish Karnad and directed by Lillete Dubey, said the invite. And front row seats.. Curiouser and curiouser. Hubby really wanted to go, so along we went.
And am I glad we did! The play starred well-known faces - Neena Kulkarni, tkarsh Muzumdar, Suchitra Pillai, Rajeev Paul, Amar Talwar, Deepika Deshpande and more.. And they were all good. Especially, Neena Kulkarni. She is a veteran, I know.. but I blown away by her performance.
The fact that impressed me the most was that how these actors did not even twitch one muscle when the whole audience was roaring with laughter. Nor did they betray an up-coming punchline by a flicker and delivered them quite straight-faced. I was fascinated the most, however, by how the actors did not even bat an eye or turn in the direction of an insensitive, obnoxious patron when his mobile started hollering in the middle of the play. Yup, even after repeated requests at the start of the play to switch the mobiles off, this jerk still had his on loud!!!
Am definitely going to watch more theatre. Problem is, I live in the suburbs (or should I say the 'burbs) and the plays are mostly in the city (read South Bombay) or at the nearest, Bandra. Since Rock On! I really want to live in South Bombay (if I have to stay in Mumbai, mustn't I stay in a convenient place?). Yeah, tell me about wishful thinking ;)

No subject.....

I forgot [:-O] my mobile at home yesterday!! Got through the day somehow. Don't you think we are relying too much on gadgets and software? Well then, with a show of hands, how many of us can't do without spellcheck these days for 100% accuracy? Why then did we spend so much time on English language at school? But then, I guess, someone has to write and verify the rules in MS Word. Thank God, its not me.
[Note to self: memorize 5 friends' ph numbers. And maintain a friggin' telephone diary. But what if I lost that as well???]

Sent from my iPhone

A story...

Jana gana mana
Adhinayak jaya hay....

The little girl jolted. She had, yet again, sleepwalked through the
bus ride to school, through the assembly bell, through the stupid mass
PT exercises, till the national anthem. This always woke her up. It
sounded more beautiful whenever this happened-which was often. It
always gave her goosebumps. It brought to mind the stories of the
martyrs that she read in her history books. (She was a serious girl.)
She thought that if they could give their lives so that our country
would benefit, she could also sacrifice some things every day that
would help her country. (Told you she was a serious kid.)

Years passed by. The girl grew up. Now, the only time she hears and
sings the national anthem is when she watches a movie in the
multiplex. It still gives her goosebumps. She still thinks of the
martyrs, the freedom fighters. And then she thinks of what is ails her
country. And how she has done precious little to alleviate the social
wrongs she witnesses everyday. And she wonders, shamefacedly, if
there is a way where she could bring glory to her country like Abhinay
Bindra. She remembers the idealism and optimism that was her
childhood. And wonders if maturity and growing-up robbed her of it.
And how it no longer feels like an epiphany to realise this. And she
sighs, shrugs and turns her attention to the movie. And the guilt
increases.

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