I remember this from the engagement ceremony of one of my friends. now anyone familiar with the north indian hindu wedding system must know what havoc and chaos this 1event must have unleashed over the entire family.

For the less enlightened...the madness begins much before the actual event. The news itself sends tremors across the neighborhood and the family clan that would put an earthquake measuring 5.1 on Richter scale to shame. Suddenly you start meeting/ talking to "relatives" you never knew existed. Worse? the first question they ask you is your name...not your to-be-spouse's, your own! Well you see they only know you as so-and-so's son / daughter. Your and his salary is of the utmost importance and a bigger public figure than your local celebrity. Over the next few months everything from your future savings, to which school should you send your kids to etc etc etc are analysed by the entire clan in detail. 15 minutes into the news and you already wonder if getting your parents to agree to the match (in case of love marriages) or going through endless "bio-datas" and meeting endless potential matches was after all, the easy part. Another 5 minutes and you are sure nothing except eloping would have been better!!

Exasperating as it is, and a blatant reflection of complete lack of privacy as well...to just an onlooker, it can be amusing to the point of being hilarious... here's an example

Setting: Engagement function

Venue: The Bride's house

Hosts: The bride-to-be, her parents, her 2 sisters, their husbands, and 3 children, 2 cousins, 2 aunts with their husbands...minimum 20 people in all. And mind you this is not a "function".

Scene: 5:30, everyone waiting anxiously for the guests to arrive...
Expected time of arrival: 6:00 PM

[and of course the entire conversation is a translation.. from hindi to english]

typical players in each setting
the inevitable just returned NRI who hates everything about India
the classic grandma, and her unfailing wisdom
the giggly younger sisters
the bride who is feeling f***** up with all the artificial make up and cursing her in-laws already
the tons of relatives, each willing to pitch in with their ideas for the couple's future
the poor anxious mother of the bride who hasn't had time to eat all day
the father who can't stop roaming outside the house thanks to his palpitations and ..well acidity :P

5:30

"I need some tea, i have a splitting headache"

"Wait for sometime, they will arrive in half an hour, we can all have tea together,"
"Yeah...uncleji meanwhile divert your attention you know..see my new DSLR..i got this st. from NY you see...fabulous uncleji I tell you..in India, this will cost at least twice, and then you don't even know if its the real thing you know.."
" arey Sonia ke daddy,you have the boy's ring with you right?"
"achcha waise where does the boy work? what must be his salary?"

6:15

"I think they are going to be late"

"Well yes did you really expect them to be on time? "
"ladke waale hain bhyee"
"you know auntyji this is what i hate about India..complete lack of punctuality..this would never happen anywhere abroad"

"haan, ji our Sonia also earns enoguh. I think together they will be able to buy at least a 2BHK in Faridabad at least, property is cheaper there, and within 5 years it will become like Dwarka...very expensive, I have a property dealer in mind, I will tell apni Simi,"


6:30
"May be they are lost"
"arey suno..just call them and see where they have reached"
[following a scramble takes place in which 5 phones come out in 5 seconds from 5 different directions, while the original addressee who was happily trying out the food in the kitchen comes out with a ]

"huh?????"
"arey..rehne do ji aap...jijaji you pls call and see where they are"

[ a pin drop silence, and a 2 min phone call ]

"i just did..they are somewhere here...they said they will reach in 10 min"
"arey sunoji...you come inside, roaming on the street will not help"
"Oh ji nahi ji, I am just taking a stroll, ate too much at lunch na so a little bit of acidity you see"

"haanji haanji bilkul, will be good if they buy a house before having kids you see, they are both young, they can wait 2-3 years for kids ji...settle down first, kya jaldi hai bachchon ki"

6:45
"hai-re, my headache will kill me"
"kya bade papa..[giggle giggle]....here the suspense is killing us, we haven't even seen our to-be jijaji yet...you are worried about your headache"
"oye hoye!! is this the way to talk to your elders? go make 1 cup tea"
"God knows where they are..."
"ladke waale hain bhyeee"

"waise Faridabad also had very good schools coming up you see. DPS also planning to open a branch there you see"

7:00
"didi why havent they come yet...hope nothing is wrong"
"arey nahi simi, dont worry i am sure they just started late only'
"ladke waale hain bhyee"
[muttering] "what the f*** is wrong with ashmit!!
[aloud] Let me give him a call"
"no no you leave it..are you mad!! you are the bride-to-be...what will the ladke-waale think?"
"but mamiji.."
"sonia!! no, you will not call them..."
[muttering again]"pfffff...F****"
[giggle giggle..] " see didi is getting so impatient to see jiju"
[at which the bride gives them a look...sigh...if only looks could kill]

7:15
the much awaited door bell finalyl rings
and everyone comes to order,
all aunties fix their sarees, all uncles get up simultaneously to greet the "ladke waale"
our dearly beloved NRI fixes his hair and gets his new "DSLR" ready
the 2 uncles finalising the next 10 years of the couple's lives get ready to bestow their unbeatable intelligence on the bridegroom
and of course, the inevitable ... giggle giggle giggle..

"madamji cablewaalaa" ,
"ye maraa cablewaalaa, what do you want at this time?"
"this month's bill madam"

[ this is the point, where an innocent onlooker like me has to rush outside and break in to splits laughing, but i dont need to...even in this anxiety, the Indian family has the good sense to laugh....dispelling some of the tension in the air ]

everyone except our annoyed bride, i.e. who is gettin more n more impatient. vowing to "teach" her groom a lesson the minute they get married!

7:30
"Mumma...can I please take off this one necklace, its killing me. And I can barely hold this saree, i am sure it weighs more than I do"
"Bete Sonia, why r u troubling your mother further. just wear it beta, it will be over soon"
[helpless n exasperated], " i'll kill ashmit"
"na beta dont talk like that, this is marriage it happens"
"ladke waale hain bhyee"

and so the drama continues, until the boy arrives with his family; only 3 hours late. the food has gone cold. there is of course no time for tea anymore. the bride's make up is all caky by now and the sisters' giggles have become subdued. but what to do...

"ladke waale hain bhyee" ;)

Capitalism: Through Michael Moore's lens

I have never seen any of the other MM movies, though i wonder why now. A friend introduced me to him a few yrs ago through his own blog. and i remember reading up about him back then, and resolving to see some of his movies. and then forgot :P


its a very biased movie, which says capitalism has done absolutely no good to this world whatsoever. agreed that in a movie one needs to exaggerate to get his point across, but a documentary i would suppose would need to b more factual and balanced than opinionated, and that too to this extent.

it is undeniable that the world is in this rut today thanks to pure unadulterated greed; and yet greed is not an outcome of capitalism; its the other way round. if it wasn't so, socialism would not have failed the way it did almost everywhere in the world. good or bad the fact remains that capitalism is the only system that has continued to work, the others, socialism, monarchy, communism have failed miserably.

in fact, a closer look at the movie itself carefully, the reason capitalism has become what is has today, it because it has started mimicking the monarchy / aristocracy system.

having said this, some of the facts shown in the movie were shocking, to say the least. especially the official memo leaked out by an employee said such things, that i was revolted by the idea of ever joining a bank. the details and facts overall were pretty rattling, even to the dedicated finance people who i watched it with, who themselves wondered if they wanted to join banks ever [ of course their confusion lasted only 5 min] but the truth remains, that this entire industry has become too infested with greed to be curable. It needs to be replaced completely,. with what i don't know

the big constant question on my mind is will we as a generation be ever able to avoid falling prey to this corporate greed after entering this world and doing all sorts of unethical things that we now so blatantly accuse others of having done.

keeping in mind the simple perspective, that this "organisational decay" starts with an increasing sense of entitlement by employees towards company's profits / earnings/ resources; the most basic examples of which are:

1. using personal internet in office hours because we think we spend so much time in office its okay to check personal emails or do some personal work;

2. bumping up our CVs with things we haven't actually done

3. Using office expense reimbursements for claiming personal bills

4. bankers justifying first class travel because "they work so hard"

and so on.

my idea is not to become too idealistic to be practical but keeping these patterns in mind...and knowing that this sense of entitlement grows with age, time and designation; i don't know if we will or even if we can, somehow, strike a balance; and escape going downhill completely.

Here's more about the movie though: http://www.capitalismalovestory.com/

I become a transparent eyeball

while i still struggle to find time to write the 100s of things running in my head, in the midst of maddening chaos around me i am glad i stumbled upon this, wondered why i hadn't found this before, was i meant to find this now....days in my life when i am stretched beyond what i ever thought was possible... i wud never know..but what i do know is that for an immediate moment, reading this did give me a break from the madness, it did give me a feeling of perfect bliss. a moment of exhilaration.


I Become a Transparent Eyeball
from “Nature”
By Ralph Waldo Emerson
Collected Essays, Penguin USA, New York NY, 1982

Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky,
without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune,
I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration.
I am glad to the brink of fear.
In the woods, too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough,
and at what period soever1 of life is always a child.
In the woods is perpetual youth.
Within these plantations of God, a decorum2 and sanctity reign,
a perennial festival is dressed,
and the guest sees not how he should tire of them in a thousand years.
In the wood, we return to reason and faith.
There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, -
no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair.
Standing on the bare ground,-
my head bathed by the blithe3 air and uplifted into infinite space,-
all mean egotism vanishes.
I become a transparent eyeball;
I am nothing;
I see all;
the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me;
I am part or parcel of God.
The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign and accidental:
to be brothers, to be acquaintances, master or servant,
is then a trifle and a disturbance.
I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty.
In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate4 than in streets or villages.
In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon,
man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature.


Glossary:
1 – soever: whatsoever
2 – decorum: dignity
3 – blithe: a happy, light-hearted feeling
4 – connate: congenial; agreeing in nature

for people who know me,...will see why i put it up here...
for those who don't, its because I couldn't agree more :)


> Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland,
> Ohio "To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught
> me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written." My odometer rolled
> over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
>
> 1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
>
> 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
>
> 3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
>
> 4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and
> parents will. Stay in touch.
>
> 5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
>
> 6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
>
> 7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
>
> 8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it..
>
> 9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
>
> 10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
>
> 11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
>
> 12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
>
> 13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their
> journey is all about.
>
> 14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
>
> 15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God
> never blinks.
>
> 16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
>
> 17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
>
> 18. Whatever doesn't kill you, really does make you stronger.
>
> 19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one
> is up to you and no one else.
>
> 20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no
> for an answer.
>
> 21. Burn the candles,.
> Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
>
> 22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
>
> 23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
>
> 24. The most important organ is the brain.
>
> 25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
>
> 26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years,
> will this matter?
>
> 27. Always choose life.
>
> 28. Forgive everyone, everything.
>
> 29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
>
> 30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
>
> 31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
>
> 32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
>
> 33. Believe in miracles.
>
> 34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you
> did or didn't do.
>
> 35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
>
> 36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
>
> 37. Your children get only one childhood.
>
> 38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
>
> 39..Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere
> 40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,
> we'd grab ours back.
>
> 41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
>
> 42. The best is yet to come. – (Always! ;-))
>
> 43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
>
> 44. Yield.
>
> 45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

I opened my eyes groggily, my head felt weird. it hurt but more than that, it felt twice its size. For some reason, I could see less from one eye. it took me a few seconds to realise that my eye was swollen. and so was that side of my forehead too. i would hear my parents murmuring, my father furious as always, my mother trying to calm him down..and failing, as always. i was on my bed and just decided not to try to speak at the moment. a few minutes of silent listening reminded me of the afternoon. i had been playing basket ball, in school, i was about to take a shot, when i felt my legs getting entangled into another pair...almost instantly i felt my head hit the hard cement, a loud thud and the world had gone black.

now I could hear my father furious and yelling in the other room. "I told you to stop her madness. Look where its gotten her, its her Xth boards...and there she is..."
I was feeling sick again, my head dizzy, I wanted to throw up.
"she'll be lucky if she hasn't lost her eye...what if her face is damaged in some way, look at her head...what are we going to do if there's brain damage, its all your indulgence"
I tried to call out to my dad and ask him to stop yelling, I was fine, I could see , hear and remember correctly, there was nothing wrong with me...
"She must never play again! ask her to focus on her studies, its her Xth boards. thats it!"
and the world went black again....


Flash forward 11 years.

sunday morning...NUS MBA last semester badminton tournament. I woke up cursing myself, dragging myself out of the bed..already on way to being at least a half hour late. Why did I ever register...and ruin my sunday morning precious sleep! I haven't so much as picked up a racquet since that day, let alone play!!!

As I showered, I remembered that fateful afternoon more than a decade ago, when my mother had softly told me, after I finally regained consciousness that I had taken a direct hit on my head, my eye was safe luckily but there was some clotting in my brain that would take some time to dissolve. till then i was forbidden to do anything, except lying down, for long hours. any long term implications would come to be known only with time but i might not be able to work long hours on a computer or make a career in flying. "okay we'll see that with time", i told myself.

and yes, I was forbidden to play.
"what! thats insane..i want to talk to the doctor ..this is ridiculous mom i am fine"
"yes, i know..the doctor is not forbidding you...in theory, you are never to play again...your XIIth results are very important for your career"...as my mother smiled softly and ever so slightly winked at me ;) I smiled and fell back to sleep.,.....I loved the way she always found a mid way to keeping peace in the family. I wouldn't have made it to the school team anyway....


Well of course all that had turned out to be much ado about nothing, I did make a career in computers, and I have travelled by air enough to know that, that at least would not have been the reason why I couldn't have become a pilot! ;) The only reason I hadn't played was because I had promised my mother I wont, and then just lost all interest over the years. and the only living memory of that fall is a faint mark on my forehead, which is visible only if i frown and some one is playing very close attention :P

As I stepped on the badminton field, and swung my arm, it felt more lifeless than it ever had. I couldn't help remembering the days I used to spend hours playing tennis. My tennis racquets were at least twice as heavy as this one. I lost my first match abysmally. A part of me just wanted to go back home. "You haven't stepped on to a field in11 years...stop wasting your time and just go and sleep!"

But then I picked up the racquet, and started playing what I used to love playing as a child...gully badminton. a few matches later..I was back to having fun. Yes I lost my second match too. But less abysmally. and had more fun while doing so.

on my way back, as AA and I tried to find our way back to our house...errm yes I had managed to get us lost again,...I smiled. I had forgotten how much fun sports really are.....even if you lose abysmally....coz you eventually start losing less abysmally ;)

पलकें बंद न करना
थमा हुआ समुन्दर चालक जाएगा
टूटे ख्वाबों के टुकड़े
सीने में चुभने दो
अगर वो भी गिर गए
तो फिर अपना कहने को क्या रह जाएगा...

one of my all time favorites

And I dont want the world to see me
cause I dont think that theyd
Understand
When everythings made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am...

(Click here for the Song)

(Read here for the lyrics)

Blessed

blessed are those
who have found their calling
for they know what they live for
they may be wrong,
but that matters not
for when the time is right
the truth shall behold
but until then,
their ignorance is bliss

and blessed are those
too ignorant to care
too caught up
in the process of survival
bound in their 3m peripheries
going through the rites of worldly existence
in time death shall take over
but until then,
their ignorance is bliss

blessed are those
who see that all is perception
and blessed are those
who define everything as reality

blessed are those
for whom everything matters
and blessed are those
for whom nothing does

blessed are those
unaware of the other side
and blessed are those
who have chosen to choose one
in time all shall diffuse
dissolve into the one and all
into the complete nothingness
into the ephemeral yet eternal
but until then,
their ignorance is bliss

what do i do from here
where do i go
what is it that i am to be
uprooted & deserted
am i too ignorant
or too aware of it all

for to me,
nothing seems to matter
yet everything does
nothing is too big
nor is too small
nothing too great
nor too petty
nothing possesses me
still everything does
forever torn into
perception & reality
the soul floating
above the body
a separate entity
of its own accord

perennially aware of both sides
unable to favor one over another
forever powerless to choose
am i the most blessed of all
or the most condemned.

A Seriously Wow answer!!! The most amusing and creative thing I have read in quite a while...this person surely has potential as the next comic script writer in Hollywood!!

The following is supposedly an actual question given on a University of Washington mid-term chemistry exam. The answer by one student to the bonus question was so “profound” that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Click here for the complete article

a couple of days ago my sister did something really nice for me. she stayed up late, gave up her ridiculous television serials that she is mad about, and mom's head massage [ and giving up that for the 2 of us is a big thing!] and well in a nutshell, she really went out of her way to make me feel better. and the first thing i said to her were the things she got wrong. it took me almost a half hr to realise that i never thanked her. 

its funny how easily and naturally we take the people who love us the most, our family, completely for granted. i mean here i am back home, supposedly to help out around the house, and its her helping me and taking such good care of me. and she is the younger one. and it wasnt the first time, ive been living away from home for many years, and she always does this wenever im back. and maybe it was because i was sick but i kept thinking of how as kids we used to fight over evthg and every fight ended with mom intervening. I kept wondering where and when did my kid sister grow up to b so responsible and caring and grown up..did I miss all that while I was away....

and hence consumed with guilt... I blurted out "Thanks!!" 

to which she yelled, " What??!!!" 

"I said, thanks!"

"What are you an idiot! What the hell is wrong with you..i had fallen asleep, you scared me you idiot"

"Hey talk properly i am your big sister"

"Oh shut up! No one even believes you are elder"  she is right..no one does...she is 2 inches taller 

"You know thats not a good thing..it just means u look OLDDDD"

"Shutup!! MOMMMMMMM"

...... :)  oh well somethings dont change..and thank God for that!!

Life is an endless wait. Or perhaps that’s how we live it. We wait to grow up n start earning. We wait to find the perfect job. Then we wait for that someone special. We wait for love to happen. Once it does we can hardly wait to get married. We wait to buy the perfect house. Then we wait to have children. And then we start waiting for them to grow up. When they do, they leave; and then we wait for them to come back and visit us. And then we start waiting to die and get it over with. In all this waiting, we forget to live. We wait for life to happen, forgetting that it is happening already.

Never give up on your dreams, however big or small. They separate living from survival

Dreams evolve as priorities change. Let them.

Don’t hurt anyone intentionally unless it is to prevent more pain.

If things are bad, find the silver lining; that'll make it easier to bear the pain.

If it didn’t work out, fret, grieve, learn and then move on.

Spread happiness. It’s a perfect boomerang.

People forget what you did; they remember how you made them feel.

Good deeds & kind words come back faster than you think. So do lies and deceit.

As a soul you have the potential to learn, grow and rise higher.

As a mortal, do the best you can to spread happiness, love n kindness.

Live your life to the fullest, you don’t know if you’ll get a second chance.

Laugh. Dance. Sing. Read. Write. Cry. Medidate. Pray.

Have faith. In God, science, yourself, destiny, anything. It helps.

Don’t bottle up pain and anger. They will rot inside.

Release them. Run. Walk. Work-out. Swim. Hold some one you love and cry.

Love. Don’t be afraid of losing; it will teach you much more if you lose.

Make mistakes. That’s the only way you’ll ever learn.

Grab each moment and make the most of it. Don’t die before you actually die. And don’t succumb to death till you have lived. On your deathbed, if you can look back and say you tried your best; and smile, it would have been worth it.

Live life. It’s worth the effort.

i used to think that there is some thing is seriously wrong with me.  remember my post, its ironical on my funny typing mistakes ??? well thats a problem that never resolved itself, so although i enjoy a respectable typing speed and accuracy, there are some mistakes i am stuck with. for instance, i have never, i mean never, gotten the word, "mistakes" right the first time [including this attempt] ...its always "mistkaes" the first time i type it. same for "htink" or "syas". However, a few days ago, I came across some typing mistakes that make me almost proud of myself :D

 

-> skin testing tools ......"sin" testing tools

 

Wow! That would make God's job easier!Imagine this..after a lifetime of good deeds, you also need to clear a written entrance to get through the Gates of Heaven ;)

 

-> artificial liver growth......artificial "lover" growth

 

Aha! Now here's a sure-shot seller. I wonder if there's a team of scientists somewhere trying this one out.

 

-> art of living...art of "loving"..

 

And I see traces of a certain Mr. Hashmi here.

 

...apparently there is a study that says that at the age of 25 human libido is at its peak. May be my source just turned 25! :P Well, I don't know about that, but these mistakes sure present some interesting R&D options for future science ;)

call it an eccentricity, but I landed in bangalore for no particular reason; except that I wanted to do a bit of travelling and thanks to my cousins and friends there, it was the only place I could afford to go to. So I arrived and declared that I wanted to see non-touristy places around the city. not that i have seen any of the famous tourist spots either, but as I said, call it an eccentricity. 

the first place to trace down was Melkote. a small village 133 Km off bangalore, 60 km off mysore, it was recommended by a friend for 

befuddled

So here's what baffles me, 

why would you name a bus service BIAS 

(that's Bangalore International Airport Service, FYI) ..but honestly, couldn't they have fudged the abbreviation a little so that it is a  little less ridiculous?!

Oh and btw, you need to pay a Rs 260/- "airport" tax, just as a passenger taking a domestic flight from the Bangalore International Airport. not to mention they dont have a domestic airport, so its not as if you have a choice. ofcourse except if you could take an international flight with a domestic stopover instead ;) 

(damn why didn't I think of this before paying the tax..grrr my dad's right, I am just not a good baniya!! )

and why does every mumbaikar, atleast all those i know, call their BST buses BEST ???

I mean I am all for patriotism, but honestly my friends, much as I admire your mumbai love,and much as I love mumbai myself, those buses are rickety at best! 

how can some one name their book "How to cook everything" without having the recipes for caterpillar manchurian, baby soup, cow nerves, frog toe nails,...and well grown up human beings too. why not, Everything comes under everything! and but for the last, I know for a fact that all the others are actual dishes.. and well may be except baby soup too :P

you know the hazard of knowing both your parents, and their extended families????

you never get a surprise letter or phone call announcing you the heiress of a fortune, and you never, NEVER get to be the Princess of anywhere...no matter how many diaries you write and how many times your dad may call you that!

yaya i just got off the movie, it hurts evtime I see some one being left a will by a hitherto unknown relative or inheriting an entire country...I am never going to get that! ..sigh...so much for close knit extended Indian families...pffff

but you know whats the most baffling of all??

a full grown 85 Kg woman jumping off her seat and climb the desk and start screaming because she saw a tiny little rat scuttering somewhere...try keeping a straight face when she does that. Not easy my friend, not easy. 

Its so imcomprehensible its hilarious. I laughed so hard my sides hurt, not to mention the poor rat's plight who got so scared I am wondering if it got a heart attack out of sudden shock. I am not fond of rats or mice or any of their kin, but seriously?!!

Ofcourse I am still in hiding to escape the screaming woman's wrath...as they say.."hell hath no fury like a woman laughed at" ...

;)

My Nani..

The creases on the forehead

show the wisdom of experience

the ones below the eyes,

the unshed tears of pain.

She gets up with effort

clutching to a stick

walks stooped , in obvious pain

an endless battle with life

has taken its toll

and yet there she is,

tired in body, vibrant in spirit still.

Happy to see me standing at the door

Her wrinkled face breaks into a toothless smile

Her once youthful beauty

transformed into timeless grace

With gnarled hands, she blesses my head

Her weak fingers run through my hair

Her touch effuses love

I am at home, at last.

Over tea which she insists on making

and brings filled with pride of love

She tells me stories, stories I've heard

Over & over since I was 5,

How she climbed the tree to steal achaar from her mom's kitchen

and how she jumped in Ganga for a swim with her friends

how she caught butterflies in the gardens

and How she met my Nanu...

he's been gone 30 years,

her eyes still brim with love at his mention

We are all grown up now,

busy with our own lives,

caught up in the rat race,

as she sits alone in the house

that always resounded with our laughter

She smiles as I get up to leave,

I turn back to look at her,

standing at the door with her walking stick

in obvious pain, but smiling

waving me luck and love

her eyes thanking me for coming,

asking silently when will I return

and have chai with her,

that she will insist on making

and bring filled with pride of love.

And I wonder...why can't I

Why have I chosen a rat race

over the people who matter the most

Silently quelling all these questions,

I, a mere mortal, move on.

for one of the most phonemenal women I have ever come across...a woman whose faith, hope, optimism towards life and belief in the general goodness of people, a lifetime of struggle and pain have failed to destroy....My Nani. A woman of true substance in every sense of the word

Innovation & Creativity

got this mail a few days ago. This just goes on to show that you are never too small a business to provide excellent customer service and differentiate yourself. and that innovation and creativity knows no bounds

first aid box on the left and a newspaper box on right (which had all hindi-english-marathi-gujrati and economic times)

a tv on the top with cable (colors channel) and below tat is the tissue box. on the left is the mandir types and dont miss the "Only gandhigiri" written there , below that is the calender and a notepad and pen along with a blue fan (which is blowing towards the customer who sits)

25% discount for handicap!! who on this earth can expect something like this from an autowallah!!

I am sure instead of rigging the meters and cheating customers , if all auto-wallahs in India started giving these additional services, people would be openly willing to pay a little extra! and you could technically take this approach on a macro level as well and who knows this world might become a better place!

Jab I Missed!!

Shameless, shameless take off from Jab We Met! but you will soon know why I learn the art of getting inspired from a certain Mr. Malik ;)

So I have a friend whose cutest little girl was turning 1 and of course we all were going to celebrate this occasion. So after a few hours of the best of time which always leaves you wondering why you don't it more often, we dragged ourselves out of his home and headed back. the only problem, we weren't really sure where exactly we were. taking advice from another friend, who has since then gone in hiding , told us "Just take a cab, its not that far off, u'll reach in 15 minutes"

so we took a cab, and this is where the fun began. and for those who don't know, Cabs in Singapore, specially at night , end up costing a fortune. which of course, students like me have no traces of :P

11:30 PM
My friend: We need to go A(his place) and then to B (my place)
CabD: A half-singapore la, B full singapore
both of us: speechless!!
my friend: do you know what time the last MRT reaches X (the nearest MRT)
I : let me call and find out
***----****
11:35 PM
I: 11:45 PM
My friend: please drive fast
CabD: No, no! no more fast la, speed limit ollreadyy
I: (muttering) Oh crap!! I wish this was Delhi!
My friend: Please please, we need to the get the MRT

***____***

11:44 PM
we both jumped out of the cab before it even stopped and ran. Before descending the stairs of course, we saw on the board "Last train to B - Leaving"
I: Dammit!!!

and so we ran back and fortunately got the same taxi.

My friend: Next station please. fast!!

By now I was no longer looking at the watch. the taxi stopped and we ran, across the street in Singapore, where Jaywalking can cost you $500. But of course we weren't thinking. the bulletin board read " Last train to B : Just arrived"

We ran down the stairs, pulling our cards out, punching them at the entry stiles [ it was the fastest I have ever been able to fish out my card from my bag, and never while running ] and we ran up the escalator and on to the platform

and the train left. inches away from us.

"Arghh" , I remember pulling my hair and throwing my hands in my face. After 2 minutes of silent condolence, we had a light bulb moment. The bus!!

The buses run for atleast 40 minutes later than the trains. With renewed energy, we ran out, cursing the lost $1 uncesserily at the stile, and reached the street, a major traffic light. Only, we had absolutely no idea which direction we were supposed to go in, where the nearest bus stop was, which bus we were supposed to take and what time would the last bus leave. and of course none of us had any helpline numbers either.

So we picked one direction randomly and started running. We hit a bus stop and saw it wasn't the one we needed. So off to another direction, and after 3 failed attempts, at 12:15 am , we finally found the bus we were looking for. We just had to cross the street, and take the bus. Err..last bus at 12:20 am!

So we decided to run again, only the traffic didn't let us. cursing the damn traffic, by the time we finally crossed the street, of course the last bus had come at the stop. So we ran again, only, we missed the bus!

Hopeless, we just crossed the street again, bought a can of coke each from the nearest 7-11 and flopped on the sidewalk. Deciding to make the most of it of course, then we got up and with our coke we walked the streets for a while playing antakshari, extending the time with friends, which always makes us wonder why we don't meet up more often and then finally took a cab home.

Of course the whole fiesta ended up costing us much more than even the "full singapore" woudl have and hence i am still looking for the friend who had said "its just 15 minutes"!! :)

i remember receiving my first letter from my then best friend. i must have been about 10, . we went to the same school and saw each other every day. and we obviously lived a walking distance away. but i still talked her into writing letters. having no phones and no medium to communicate, especially during holidays, made my task easier. so during the summer vacations, when she was visiting her grandparents in 'then' Madras, I wrote to her. the first letter of my life. i don't remember the contents but i am fairly certain there was nothing in it that was any different from our everyday chatter, the usual everyday chatter of any two 10 year old "best" friends. yet, writing a letter to her had its own exotic charm. an elated sense of privacy. it was like the first step to freedom, the first step to growing up. and though i don't remember the contents of her reply either, i still remember waiting anxiously every day for her reply; and feeling like on top of the world when i had finally received it.

for years after that we used to send cards on birthdays and other occasions to various friends and cousins...saving for months before a festival from school pocket money, going to the shop and spending hours picking out the right cards, wishing they weren't so expensive...there was such a sense of accomplishment after every festival, i still remember the happy feeling that lingered for weeks after that. with time that tradition too faded away

as the years passed the need to express freedom through letters disappeared. i got my own phone, email id, it was so much easier to just call, so much faster to email. it was excitement and convenience. but every once in a while, while cleaning the closet i would come across these old cards; they now looked silly and childish and yet so simple n happy. they always made me smile. and happy, wistfully happy.

it was almost 11 years after i wrote my first letter ever, when i finally ran into a person who was equally mad and who thought that in this age and time of instant communication, writing letters was still the best form of long distance communication. and after 11 years, once again i made a trip to the post office, bought a few inland envelopes and wrote my first letter. and i realized what i had been missing all these years in phone and email.

holding a pen over a blank piece of paper waiting to pour down thoughts and emotions, waiting for days to receive the reply, opening the mailbox to find envelope with a hand written address on it amidst all printed bills, a piece of paper with someone's handwritten emotions on it, irrespective of the contents...letters are a ritual..an elongated process that requires time, effort and patience and in return gives a feeling of belonging

a letter may not be unique in its sense of privacy..but it is, in its sense of intimacy.

its like running into an old friend by accident after years, having no idea that person would be there despite having him on ur facebook, orkut, linkedin , e-mail contact list and phonebook....