No. Not now, not ever. We are never where people assume we are or even where we assume we should be. So, what exactly am I talking about?! Time and age, to give you a short (cryptic?) answer.
I’ve seen it happen too often for me to ignore it. When I reached my 20s, I couldn’t believe that I was no longer a teenager. When I graduated with a Master’s degree, I couldn’t believe that I was a working professional and not a PIGS (Poor Indian Graduate student) anymore. Two batches of students had successfully started or perhaps even finished their Graduate study by the time I graduated! I was actually advising them about courses and I just finished being on the receiving end of the same advice!
My office colleague once told me, “You know, I was here in this play pen with my 1 year old daughter and someone there called me a mommy and I didn’t respond. It took me sometime to realize that I was the mommy now!”
Me? I am going to be 30 in a few years, the big three-O. Liquor Barn has a whole aisle dedicated to birthday jokes, caps, greetings that convey pretty much the same messageyou are no longer climbing the hill; you have begun descending the other side of the hill. Yes, I have heard the adage - You are as young/old as you think you are. And then again, are you? It would be quite silly of me to act like a teenager now but that's how I feel (want to be?)...
I remember when I received my first mail addressed cheerily to Mrs.Shah and I just did not make the connection. “Mrs? That mail is not for me. I am just a girl.” A girl trying to adapt to being a woman, still…8 years have passed since I was a teenager and I am still adapting. And before I can adapt to being a woman, an adult, I will soon be a mom and then an aunt and so on.
We are never there. Are we?
February 01, 2007
January 25, 2007
Are you really a vegetarian?!
So, this gets more interesting. That's why aunty *insert familiar name here* always used to say, while also waggling a warning finger, "Don't keep reading all that nonsense on the computer" - it was always "computer", not internet, the poor machine got the blame each time :)
So what did I read on the computer? Among many other websites, I have recently started reading the Mahanadi food blog and am hooked! She has a variety of healthy recipes that always surprise me with their flavors - I tried 4-5 recipes (notice how subtly I linked to my food blog here - so cool :p) so far and almost all of them have received a nod from k.
So, that's the background. Today, I was reading through her recipes for pasta and noticed her comment on how American foods that look vegetarian aren't really so. She lists table salt, sugar, cheese among other things. And I faithfully googled about animal products in day-to-day foods that I eat and shocked myself.
So, That's a whole bunch of paragraphs beginning with so, so to not lose the trend... :)
So, if you are among the few fighting a losing war (eating vegetarian food) and are interested in alternatives, here's what I found:
Sugar - try looking for labels that say that animal-cruelty-free or just look for organic evaporated cane sugar/juice and you should be safe. Regular refined sugar might use charcoal made from animal bones in the process of refining sugar. Brown sugar makes the cut though plus it is yummy!
Salt - haven't been able to figure out what animal product goes into making salt? But, for now, I have decided to switch to sea salt instead of regular salt. Heard many good things about sea salt, remember to look for sea salt with iodine though.
Honey - Reading about the procedure involved makes me want to puke, maybe I'll just switch to good ole' maple syrup or sugar and water instead of honey.
Cheese - Look for cheese products that say "no animal ingredients", rennin means the cheese is not vegetarian. You might want to just buy "Horizon Organic Cheese" - they declare - 'No animal products'and I trust them - hey! you gotta trust someone!
Milk, Yoghurt, milk products, pastries, cereal, jelly - Look for products/bottles that do not contain "gelatin". K or Kosher does not necessarily mean the product is vegetarian.
Fur, leather, silk, down - we already know the story here. So, I'll skip the lecture here.
Shampoo, conditioner, soap, pills - this is a tough one. Organic stuff in this category that say "not tested on animals" are usually pretty expensive and some pills might not have a vegetarian alternative. So, can't do much here. And don't trust those shiny red apples you see in the grocery store, who knows what was sacrificed for the sake of "shine"?
So before you throw a mildly-shocked look at me and declare, "Oh, I don't eat mushrooms or garlic. I am a pure vegetarian!", do take a look at these links.
Hmm...on second thoughts, you are better off not reading all this and feeling bad about it, ignorance is bliss. Indeed.
References:
http://www.boutell.com/vegetarian/sugar-honey.html
http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/OtherInfo/FoodContainMeat.htm
Organic Food Stores @ Lex (expensive! but hey you can buy yourself some peace of mind and that's definitely worth it!) - Good Foods Coop and Wild Oats.
So what did I read on the computer? Among many other websites, I have recently started reading the Mahanadi food blog and am hooked! She has a variety of healthy recipes that always surprise me with their flavors - I tried 4-5 recipes (notice how subtly I linked to my food blog here - so cool :p) so far and almost all of them have received a nod from k.
So, that's the background. Today, I was reading through her recipes for pasta and noticed her comment on how American foods that look vegetarian aren't really so. She lists table salt, sugar, cheese among other things. And I faithfully googled about animal products in day-to-day foods that I eat and shocked myself.
So, That's a whole bunch of paragraphs beginning with so, so to not lose the trend... :)
So, if you are among the few fighting a losing war (eating vegetarian food) and are interested in alternatives, here's what I found:
Sugar - try looking for labels that say that animal-cruelty-free or just look for organic evaporated cane sugar/juice and you should be safe. Regular refined sugar might use charcoal made from animal bones in the process of refining sugar. Brown sugar makes the cut though plus it is yummy!
Salt - haven't been able to figure out what animal product goes into making salt? But, for now, I have decided to switch to sea salt instead of regular salt. Heard many good things about sea salt, remember to look for sea salt with iodine though.
Honey - Reading about the procedure involved makes me want to puke, maybe I'll just switch to good ole' maple syrup or sugar and water instead of honey.
Cheese - Look for cheese products that say "no animal ingredients", rennin means the cheese is not vegetarian. You might want to just buy "Horizon Organic Cheese" - they declare - 'No animal products'and I trust them - hey! you gotta trust someone!
Milk, Yoghurt, milk products, pastries, cereal, jelly - Look for products/bottles that do not contain "gelatin". K or Kosher does not necessarily mean the product is vegetarian.
Fur, leather, silk, down - we already know the story here. So, I'll skip the lecture here.
Shampoo, conditioner, soap, pills - this is a tough one. Organic stuff in this category that say "not tested on animals" are usually pretty expensive and some pills might not have a vegetarian alternative. So, can't do much here. And don't trust those shiny red apples you see in the grocery store, who knows what was sacrificed for the sake of "shine"?
So before you throw a mildly-shocked look at me and declare, "Oh, I don't eat mushrooms or garlic. I am a pure vegetarian!", do take a look at these links.
Hmm...on second thoughts, you are better off not reading all this and feeling bad about it, ignorance is bliss. Indeed.
References:
http://www.boutell.com/vegetarian/sugar-honey.html
http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/OtherInfo/FoodContainMeat.htm
Organic Food Stores @ Lex (expensive! but hey you can buy yourself some peace of mind and that's definitely worth it!) - Good Foods Coop and Wild Oats.
January 20, 2007
January 18, 2007
January 11, 2007
Lex, KY to Lawrence, KS
I spent an interesting week in Lawrence, Kansas. Am going to be a lazy blogger and just upload a few photos and let them do the talking (I'll add my 2 cents inbetween of course!)
We rented a PT-Cruiser at Kansas City and drove to Lawrence. Man! People meant it when they said, "Kansas? The drive to Kansas is one long, flat, boring drive!" The PT-Cruiser was a different story though. Interesting attributes - a vivid purple body color and a funny shape (reminded me of Mater from "Cars" :p) The picture here should give you a better idea!
I didn't quite catch all the "Hawk" stores and "Hawk" street names (JayHawk boulevard) until I began to notice the slightly serious-funny looking bird everywhere on campus. I've asked p~ to get me a souvenir next time she comes to Lex. p~ (k's sister, Payal) gets to study @ the University of Kansas for the next two years. I wish I could go to school there, a nice literature degree or something, hmm...
For someone who has spent 6 years in a mid-sized (oh, alright...small) town like Lexington, the buildings at the University of Kansas seemed pretty grand to me. They have several libraries, some of them much bigger than our famous Youngs library (Sigh! And I thought we had one of the best libraries in the country).
k and I absolutely loved the cafeteria on campus - there was this "make-your-own-pasta" center where you get to pick the pasta, the vegetables to go with it, herbs and sauce of your choice. I tried a few, let's say, "interesting" combinations and it all tasted great. k had to be dragged out of that place. He wanted to have breakfast, lunch and dinner there and insisted that I click a picture of the best garlic bread he ever tasted!
While p~ had a lot of work to do, orientation and all that, we pretty much chilled and stuffed ourselves with as much food as we could. There was this one neat Thai place called "Zen Zero", if you don't mind oily but very-very tasty food, this is one great place to try. Err...you can't see much of "Zen Zero" in this picture, but you can catch our satisfied smiles :)
The temple at Kansas City was not empty, considering it was a cold weekday morning. Except for the slightly loud bhajan on the stereo, I enjoyed the visit.
We made a short trip to the Nelson-Atkins museum. We enjoyed the museum from the err...outside. It was freezing and the museum had closed :p The parking attendant returned our money back...talk about mid-western niceness! Inscribed on the walls of the museum were these words: "Art deals with things forever incapable of definition that belong to love, beauty, joy, and worship. The shapes, powers and glory of which are forever building, unbuilding, and rebuilding in each man's soul and in the soul of the whole world." 
How does that saying go? That you are never too old to fall in love?
Amen.
We rented a PT-Cruiser at Kansas City and drove to Lawrence. Man! People meant it when they said, "Kansas? The drive to Kansas is one long, flat, boring drive!" The PT-Cruiser was a different story though. Interesting attributes - a vivid purple body color and a funny shape (reminded me of Mater from "Cars" :p) The picture here should give you a better idea!
I didn't quite catch all the "Hawk" stores and "Hawk" street names (JayHawk boulevard) until I began to notice the slightly serious-funny looking bird everywhere on campus. I've asked p~ to get me a souvenir next time she comes to Lex. p~ (k's sister, Payal) gets to study @ the University of Kansas for the next two years. I wish I could go to school there, a nice literature degree or something, hmm...
For someone who has spent 6 years in a mid-sized (oh, alright...small) town like Lexington, the buildings at the University of Kansas seemed pretty grand to me. They have several libraries, some of them much bigger than our famous Youngs library (Sigh! And I thought we had one of the best libraries in the country).
k and I absolutely loved the cafeteria on campus - there was this "make-your-own-pasta" center where you get to pick the pasta, the vegetables to go with it, herbs and sauce of your choice. I tried a few, let's say, "interesting" combinations and it all tasted great. k had to be dragged out of that place. He wanted to have breakfast, lunch and dinner there and insisted that I click a picture of the best garlic bread he ever tasted!
While p~ had a lot of work to do, orientation and all that, we pretty much chilled and stuffed ourselves with as much food as we could. There was this one neat Thai place called "Zen Zero", if you don't mind oily but very-very tasty food, this is one great place to try. Err...you can't see much of "Zen Zero" in this picture, but you can catch our satisfied smiles :)
The temple at Kansas City was not empty, considering it was a cold weekday morning. Except for the slightly loud bhajan on the stereo, I enjoyed the visit.
We made a short trip to the Nelson-Atkins museum. We enjoyed the museum from the err...outside. It was freezing and the museum had closed :p The parking attendant returned our money back...talk about mid-western niceness! Inscribed on the walls of the museum were these words: "Art deals with things forever incapable of definition that belong to love, beauty, joy, and worship. The shapes, powers and glory of which are forever building, unbuilding, and rebuilding in each man's soul and in the soul of the whole world." 
How does that saying go? That you are never too old to fall in love?
Amen.
January 01, 2007
Cheers!
We all make ambitious new resolutions, promises for a bright future; we ask our friends to give us that gentle nudge when we digress from our well-thought-out plans to have a better, healthier, richer life. What we often forget is the need to congratulate ourselves for our small achievements, to give ourselves that little pat on our backs for small courtesies, good karma and any contribution by us to make some other person's day brighter. What we almost always forget is to congratulate ourselves and revel a little bit on obstacles we have crossed, on drops of sweat and tears that we have shed to give something away to gain something else, to take that difficult last step to reach a milestone...
Maybe it was to gain a degree, to build a house, to get a new job...maybe it was as simple as calling up an old friend to say sorry. Whatever the situation, we did forego our comforts, ego or perhaps sleep(!) to achieve what we achieved.
So, here's to all the small achievements in our lives. Here is a post not to make new resolutions but just to feel good about resolutions of the past that we have managed to keep up. Here's to our good intentions and hard days of work. A post to say, "Congratulations! That was good work. Take a break and have a good year ahead!"
Maybe it was to gain a degree, to build a house, to get a new job...maybe it was as simple as calling up an old friend to say sorry. Whatever the situation, we did forego our comforts, ego or perhaps sleep(!) to achieve what we achieved.
So, here's to all the small achievements in our lives. Here is a post not to make new resolutions but just to feel good about resolutions of the past that we have managed to keep up. Here's to our good intentions and hard days of work. A post to say, "Congratulations! That was good work. Take a break and have a good year ahead!"
December 22, 2006
Women! Go figure!
Women are supposed to be unpredictable, emotional, sentimental and way-out-there crazy at times. Being a predictable woman who tries not to make things too complicated by conforming to established notions, my range of moods fits the general category of women-moods. One womanly attribute that men can't seem to fathom is their ability to chatter about issues ranging from eye-brow tweezing and how much of sage or oregano to add to your soup to women's rights and questions dealing with existential paradoxes (I just made up that word but, man! it sounds so...intellectual).
This womanly chatter can range from a few seconds to a few hours, it's hard to say what captures our fancies at that instant. And I tell you, while men make great listeners, understanding spouses and flexible friends ("I want to eat only desi khana today, even if its greasy, fatty and is probably reducing my life-span by a considerable amount!" - they smile and nod and tag along, all for our selfish-selves), they just are not meant to understand or contribute to this kind of chatter.
"You spent an hour discussing what?!"
"Hair coloring. You see, we can use henna and herbal products and be oh-so-natural or we can for home-coloring-kits or we can go to the parlor and get a professional color shine if we are willing to spend a few dollars more."
"Ok, so what did you discuss for the remaining 55 minutes?"
"I just told you!"
Stuff like that. The purely girly thrill that we get by indulging in these trivialities is something that is beyond the grasp of your regular male brain. I don't often get the chance to indulge in girly talks but I always feel great after one of those rare, giggly, girly talks. And before you can snicker, let me point out that they are not always trivial talks, we also like to talk about issues facing women, women-power and how we need to stand up for ourselves. I particularly like talking about these issues just because of the here-she-goes-again look that paints itself on hubby's face. That's just a side-benefit, I am serious whenever I talk about equality between the sexes...but that does not mean we get to take the trash out and mow the lawn. But, I am serious about equality. Oh! and we also won't accompany our husbands to their bi-monthly hair cuts ("Just get rid of as much as you can" and my BP is waaaay up there!), but we would like them to accompany us to our beauty parlors so they can tell us if our new hair style and hair color accentuates our skin tone (whatever that means!) :p
Wise men (who have nothing better to do) are always telling us not to take life too seriously. Since, we are good listeners and we heed to good advice, we are just doing that. See, that's a whole new dimension to our chatter. A deep and significant explanation behind a woman's psyche (Catch me in the right frame of mind and I amaze myself by the amount and quality of nonsense I can come up with :)
So yes, the next time you find a guy rolling his eyes (with envy?) when a bunch of girls chatter away, just point him to this highly scientific explanation of why women talk...three times more than men!
This womanly chatter can range from a few seconds to a few hours, it's hard to say what captures our fancies at that instant. And I tell you, while men make great listeners, understanding spouses and flexible friends ("I want to eat only desi khana today, even if its greasy, fatty and is probably reducing my life-span by a considerable amount!" - they smile and nod and tag along, all for our selfish-selves), they just are not meant to understand or contribute to this kind of chatter.
"You spent an hour discussing what?!"
"Hair coloring. You see, we can use henna and herbal products and be oh-so-natural or we can for home-coloring-kits or we can go to the parlor and get a professional color shine if we are willing to spend a few dollars more."
"Ok, so what did you discuss for the remaining 55 minutes?"
"I just told you!"
Stuff like that. The purely girly thrill that we get by indulging in these trivialities is something that is beyond the grasp of your regular male brain. I don't often get the chance to indulge in girly talks but I always feel great after one of those rare, giggly, girly talks. And before you can snicker, let me point out that they are not always trivial talks, we also like to talk about issues facing women, women-power and how we need to stand up for ourselves. I particularly like talking about these issues just because of the here-she-goes-again look that paints itself on hubby's face. That's just a side-benefit, I am serious whenever I talk about equality between the sexes...but that does not mean we get to take the trash out and mow the lawn. But, I am serious about equality. Oh! and we also won't accompany our husbands to their bi-monthly hair cuts ("Just get rid of as much as you can" and my BP is waaaay up there!), but we would like them to accompany us to our beauty parlors so they can tell us if our new hair style and hair color accentuates our skin tone (whatever that means!) :p
Wise men (who have nothing better to do) are always telling us not to take life too seriously. Since, we are good listeners and we heed to good advice, we are just doing that. See, that's a whole new dimension to our chatter. A deep and significant explanation behind a woman's psyche (Catch me in the right frame of mind and I amaze myself by the amount and quality of nonsense I can come up with :)
So yes, the next time you find a guy rolling his eyes (with envy?) when a bunch of girls chatter away, just point him to this highly scientific explanation of why women talk...three times more than men!
December 13, 2006
Paper shredders are fun because...
You get to do this...
and then watch them do this...
but seriously, they serve a dual purpose, men (boys?) find it fun to play with the shredder (almost a gadget) , we get rid of paper-clutter (Fengshui and common sense tells us that's great for the heart :) and we beat identity-theft!
and then watch them do this...
but seriously, they serve a dual purpose, men (boys?) find it fun to play with the shredder (almost a gadget) , we get rid of paper-clutter (Fengshui and common sense tells us that's great for the heart :) and we beat identity-theft!
December 04, 2006
Mountains, molehills, leather, being a vegan and such things.
So, if you need to make your life more complicated, make even the simplest question more convoluted than your regular "Chicken or Egg" questions, need an ultimate answer to "Life, The Universe, and Everything", then you have chanced upon the right blog (well, I don't really know the answer to the last question, a wise computer once claimed it to be 42 :) Welcome to the world of "Yours confused".
Ok, enough noise. So, we set about on a simple task - buying a sofa. Now, how complicated can that be? thought Ms.Confused and set about on a bright and cheery day to a bunch of furniture stores. She liked almost all the sofas but took a special liking to the oh-so-comfy leather sofas and barcaloungers (Now, I get to watch Friends, sitting on one! - she thought and did not hear nature smirking at her over-simplification of life :p)
Then, she came home and had a weekend-get-together with a few friends and asked their opinions about leather sofas (This is when nature actually proceeded to hold it's stomach and laugh out loud at her). What started off as a general discussion on cloth vs leather sofas turned into a full-fledged discussion on morality, veganism, vegetarianism, wearing silk sarees at weddings and what not.
Since then, I have googled quite a bit about whether I should buy the leather sofa or not:
http://www.veganviews.org.uk/vv86/vv86leather.html
http://veganrevolution.free.fr/documents/itwfrancione.html
And found some suprising albeit upsetting comments, facts, opinions:
"There is probably more suffering in a glass of milk than in a pound of steak." and so on.
Now, I doubt I'll give up drinking milk because I read this website but I can give up a leather sofa if it saves cows...but then, what about k's leather belts, what about my wedding silk sarees? What about woolen winter-wear? Are we hypocrites because we claim we saved lives by not buying leather/fur while causing the same/if-not-greater pain to animals by just our daily activities? I mean, why not switch to soy-milk? Why not give up on silk-sarees and wear a nice, pink cotton saree for a wedding?
Anyway, so drop a line, leave a comment and I shall teach you the tricks on "How to complicate simple stuff" :-)
Hmm...I am not able to leave comments on my blog. Are you seeing that too? Well, I guess you can't tell me if you are indeed seeing that problem, so, I can take absence of comments to indicate either that you cannot comment or that you just don't want to :) In any case, if you can comment, do let me know, if you can't...I'll figure it out :)
Ok, enough noise. So, we set about on a simple task - buying a sofa. Now, how complicated can that be? thought Ms.Confused and set about on a bright and cheery day to a bunch of furniture stores. She liked almost all the sofas but took a special liking to the oh-so-comfy leather sofas and barcaloungers (Now, I get to watch Friends, sitting on one! - she thought and did not hear nature smirking at her over-simplification of life :p)
Then, she came home and had a weekend-get-together with a few friends and asked their opinions about leather sofas (This is when nature actually proceeded to hold it's stomach and laugh out loud at her). What started off as a general discussion on cloth vs leather sofas turned into a full-fledged discussion on morality, veganism, vegetarianism, wearing silk sarees at weddings and what not.
Since then, I have googled quite a bit about whether I should buy the leather sofa or not:
http://www.veganviews.org.uk/vv86/vv86leather.html
http://veganrevolution.free.fr/documents/itwfrancione.html
And found some suprising albeit upsetting comments, facts, opinions:
"There is probably more suffering in a glass of milk than in a pound of steak." and so on.
Now, I doubt I'll give up drinking milk because I read this website but I can give up a leather sofa if it saves cows...but then, what about k's leather belts, what about my wedding silk sarees? What about woolen winter-wear? Are we hypocrites because we claim we saved lives by not buying leather/fur while causing the same/if-not-greater pain to animals by just our daily activities? I mean, why not switch to soy-milk? Why not give up on silk-sarees and wear a nice, pink cotton saree for a wedding?
Anyway, so drop a line, leave a comment and I shall teach you the tricks on "How to complicate simple stuff" :-)
Hmm...I am not able to leave comments on my blog. Are you seeing that too? Well, I guess you can't tell me if you are indeed seeing that problem, so, I can take absence of comments to indicate either that you cannot comment or that you just don't want to :) In any case, if you can comment, do let me know, if you can't...I'll figure it out :)
November 17, 2006
'tis the season to be jolly...tra la la la...
It's that time of the year, warm, fuzzy holiday cheer, Santa-claus, colored lights, smell of cookies and brownies and Turkey! It's like this quirky bird has the whole country wrapped around her paws. On TV, in supermarkets and just about everywhere we see...Turkey-o-mania! It's kinda fun, you know...seeing turkeys everywhere means the holidays are not far away. It's interesting how just about everything around you changes...Halloween starts it all off and even before you have finished your candies and taken off the scary faces from your office, Thanksgiving sneaks up behind you and you see pumpkins and turkeys everywhere and then white covers the shades of brown and reindeers and Mrs.and Mr.Claus are everywhere!
As a kid, having digested a healthy dose of Archies for many years, I always wanted to have a christmas tree! Reading about Christmas in those comic-books made it all seem all the more magical - snow flakes, Santa's snowy beard, glittering Christmas trees and brightly wrapped gifts with enormous bows under the trees...I would have lived in that world, in my head a thousand times. I remember one particular story (after all these years!) - Archie's jalopy breaks down and they decide to stay overnight in what looks like a haunted castle, inside the castle, they find toys all around with cobwebs around them, and we see the invisible mom and baby ghost watching the gang, the baby having died before celebrating it's first Christmas. The gang unaware of all this, decide to celebrate Christmas in that castle, so they clean the toys, light a fire and decorate the old Christmas tree in the house. After a few hours, they fall asleep and the baby happily plays with all it's new toys and the mom and baby hug happily and leave the place to...heaven.I just loved that story...
Anyway, it is that time of the year and I wonder if I should go tree-shopping... :)
November 11, 2006
Dog Dilemmas!
"You will keep it tied when you go to work, isn't that a sin? How would you like to be constrained like that?
"Who will take care of it when you go on vacations?"
"Have you thought about how much maintenance goes into handling a pet?"
"You have to feed it Non-Veg!"
"How will you handle it when it passes away? You will have a void in your life..."
"Three walks a day plus you have to clean up after it!"
Jeez! What does a (wo)man have to do to get a pet?!
(Yes, I could just visit the Animal Shelter, get one and then let all hell break lose...sometimes I think I should do just that and see what happens! No thanks to my husband who got his parents and mine to support him on this issue! You would think your own parents would support you...:-(
"Who will take care of it when you go on vacations?"
"Have you thought about how much maintenance goes into handling a pet?"
"You have to feed it Non-Veg!"
"How will you handle it when it passes away? You will have a void in your life..."
"Three walks a day plus you have to clean up after it!"
Jeez! What does a (wo)man have to do to get a pet?!
(Yes, I could just visit the Animal Shelter, get one and then let all hell break lose...sometimes I think I should do just that and see what happens! No thanks to my husband who got his parents and mine to support him on this issue! You would think your own parents would support you...:-(
November 08, 2006
Kabhi, kabhi...
What more can I say about relationships that weren’t meant to be, love that hurts and the inability to love, when it is clear there is nothing else to do but to share at least a bit of the love that is submerging, almost suffocating you? And yet that is the one thing that you cannot do. How much will you bend to the unfair, overpowering demands of a heart that won’t listen? And finally, when the heart has had its way, all that is left is guilt, shame and a clarity even in tears of what love can be but is not…
Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna is all this and more. Sappy, sentimental, long, the movie may be but it has also managed to handle a complicated, difficult theme as delicately and realistically as the Indian audience would allow it to be. I loved the movie, the NYC background, autumn leaves, snow that blanket a whole new range of emotions…we often see movies dealing effectively in love, romance, tragedy but few take up infidelity and even fewer movies dare to make such a relationship succeed; not commenting on whether it is karmically right for such relationships to succeed, but realistically speaking, some of them do…Till the end, I kept waiting for something that would separate SRK and Rani Mukherjee, some contrived twist-of-fate ending where they can never live happily ever after and I was surprised by the ending. Also, Preity Zinta not immediately leaning on Arjun Rampal’s shoulders for support was a refreshing twist, so also Abhishek’s marriage to his American lady love. The big B took on a role that needs a lot more than just panache to pull it off without coming off cheap and he did a good job with Kiran Kher providing the right sensitive touch to their scenes.
Comedy was good, the bespectacled football-hating-kid was great, Abhishek as the doting husband evokes a tugging-at-the-heart sort of sadness...haunting music to go with all this and you have a blockbuster movie, alright!
So there, I said it, I really liked the movie! I would even see it again (oh, stop giving me that look, you should see the movie with me next time and then you’ll like it too :)
October 31, 2006
October 19, 2006
Jus' your regular dusting and mopping!
Gosh, I never realized how much useless trivia, random bits of information, absolutely trivial bits of conversations and memories I have stored in my head over time. So, now, am going to publish them here (what's the equivalent of "putting on paper" anyway? Am gonna go with "publish" for lack of a better sense of imagination and vocabulary :)
So anyway, here goes my list:
1. If you place frozen carrots on wet hand tissues, they will stick to them and the only way to separate the couple is to wash them!
2. One of my friends told me long back about how she fell asleep on her boy friend's arms and I remember thinking, "Wow! I thought that only happened in movies..."
3. The first time I watched DDLJ in the theatre, I didn't quite catch most of the dialogues because I cried throughout the movie. So, I went to see it again in the theatre. And then one more time to make sure I had all the dialogues memorized :) I was in 11th standard, I think...
4. 11th standard seems to have left a strong impression in my head...I remember feeling bad when one of my friends started crying during a Computer Science assignment and she said, "I know you think I am not as good as v~ or s~, if you don't want to do this assignment with me, it's ok, I'll understand..." I vaguely remember that we did finish the assignment together and managed a grade as good as v~ and s~ :)
5. The first time I flew to Atlanta from Madras, I did have trouble with my seat safety belt buckle. And then five years later, I heard a joke that was along the lines of, "Why do we need to listen to the same old safety instructions? Slide your seat belt into the buckle...even a two year old knows that!" and I remember finiding it funny but not so funny.
6. I remember my first ever potluck contribution - a strikingly yellow peas pulav, it had peas, turmeric, cooked rice and salt...and that was about it :)
7. I still remember my crushes in college and I still remember how I felt, I can't feel that way again but I know how I had felt then, isn't that weird?
8. Kids play favorites without guilt. I remember my neighbour's kid, Abhay, he was really smart about judging people, he could differentiate between those who spent quality time with him and those who got tired after, "Oooh, Abhay's so cute! Now run along and play with your friends, sonny!" The first one got a cuddly hug and the next one got a clear i-dont-like-you look. I wish I could do that too sometimes without having to offer an adult-ish explanation for my weirdness...
There, now that I have it on paper...err published, am going to try to clear these notes in my head and make space for more :)
Also, Happy Deepavali folks :)
So anyway, here goes my list:
1. If you place frozen carrots on wet hand tissues, they will stick to them and the only way to separate the couple is to wash them!
2. One of my friends told me long back about how she fell asleep on her boy friend's arms and I remember thinking, "Wow! I thought that only happened in movies..."
3. The first time I watched DDLJ in the theatre, I didn't quite catch most of the dialogues because I cried throughout the movie. So, I went to see it again in the theatre. And then one more time to make sure I had all the dialogues memorized :) I was in 11th standard, I think...
4. 11th standard seems to have left a strong impression in my head...I remember feeling bad when one of my friends started crying during a Computer Science assignment and she said, "I know you think I am not as good as v~ or s~, if you don't want to do this assignment with me, it's ok, I'll understand..." I vaguely remember that we did finish the assignment together and managed a grade as good as v~ and s~ :)
5. The first time I flew to Atlanta from Madras, I did have trouble with my seat safety belt buckle. And then five years later, I heard a joke that was along the lines of, "Why do we need to listen to the same old safety instructions? Slide your seat belt into the buckle...even a two year old knows that!" and I remember finiding it funny but not so funny.
6. I remember my first ever potluck contribution - a strikingly yellow peas pulav, it had peas, turmeric, cooked rice and salt...and that was about it :)
7. I still remember my crushes in college and I still remember how I felt, I can't feel that way again but I know how I had felt then, isn't that weird?
8. Kids play favorites without guilt. I remember my neighbour's kid, Abhay, he was really smart about judging people, he could differentiate between those who spent quality time with him and those who got tired after, "Oooh, Abhay's so cute! Now run along and play with your friends, sonny!" The first one got a cuddly hug and the next one got a clear i-dont-like-you look. I wish I could do that too sometimes without having to offer an adult-ish explanation for my weirdness...
There, now that I have it on paper...err published, am going to try to clear these notes in my head and make space for more :)
Also, Happy Deepavali folks :)
October 18, 2006
For Aditya.
Edited: Venky added a Digg link for more visibility.
Verification: The Cancer Patients Aid Association Case File for Aditya.
My brother sent me this email. No, it's not spam, Aditya's parents are friends of friends of his...
From the email: "Aditya Kumar, 4 year old son of Kumar S, is suffering from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a form of Blood Cancer. The only hope to give new life to Aditya is, Bone Marrow Transplant, from an unrelated donor. This treatment, unfortunately, is not available in India. And the cost of this treatment outside of India is approximately 70 Lacs to Rs 1 crore ( USD 150K to 250K) . Kumar is able to source Rs. 35 Lacs, through various personal sources."
What you can do to help?
From the email: "Donations to CPAA are tax exempt under section 80G (50% exemption). You will be sent a certificate of exemption along with receipt and letter of acknowledgement.
Apart from steps below, please also drop a mail to kumarsangatgmail.com and ravi2604atgmail.com so that we can track and acknowledge. This is important for us."
Ways to donate:
A. Through Internet
1.Visit http://www.cpaaindia.org
2. Click on picture of the credit card seen in the left pane.
3. It will take you to a https://donations.cpaaindia.org/ , where a Donation Form is available.
Please ensure that in the field, Specific Projects / Causes (if any) ? you mention "For Patient Aditya Kumar"
4. Make the payment through your Credit Card.
B. Through Cheque
* Send a cheque or demand draft in the name of "CANCER PATIENTS AID ASSOCIATION" to the address below.
* ( Please write "For Patient Aditya Kumar" on the back of the cheque)
Shubha Maudgal, Cancer Patients Aid Association,
Anand Niketan,
King George V Memorial Infirmary,
Dr. E. Moses Road, Mahalaxmi,
Mumbai-400011, INDIA
Phone: 0091-22-24924000/0091-22-24928775
Fax: 0091-22-24973599
URL: www.cpaaindia.org
Email: Shubha.Maudgalatcpaaindia.org
The above instruction is applicable for donations from any Country including U.S.
C. For Residents of US & US Citizens who wish to take Tax Deduction
Residents of USA and US citizens who would like to take a tax deduction in USA can mail their contributions by checks, wire transfers, bank drafts, etc., payable to
Cancer Patients Aid Association Inc., Fed ID # 34-2007461 at the address mentioned below:
Cancer Patients Aid Association, Inc.,
c/o Lachman & Lachman,
Certified Public Accountants,
444 Madison Avenue ,
28th Floor, New York , NY 10022.
Contact Person: Neil Lachman,
Phone (212) 371 8319,
Fax (212) 371 0707.
DO NOT write patient's name at the back of the check in this case. After mailing the check, please send the check details to kumarsang@gmail.com and ravi2604@gmail.com .
Please forward to your friends and family and let's help the little boy in any way we can.
But, what really broke my heart was this picture...do pray for the little one and his parents.
Verification: The Cancer Patients Aid Association Case File for Aditya.
My brother sent me this email. No, it's not spam, Aditya's parents are friends of friends of his...
From the email: "Aditya Kumar, 4 year old son of Kumar S, is suffering from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a form of Blood Cancer. The only hope to give new life to Aditya is, Bone Marrow Transplant, from an unrelated donor. This treatment, unfortunately, is not available in India. And the cost of this treatment outside of India is approximately 70 Lacs to Rs 1 crore ( USD 150K to 250K) . Kumar is able to source Rs. 35 Lacs, through various personal sources."
What you can do to help?
From the email: "Donations to CPAA are tax exempt under section 80G (50% exemption). You will be sent a certificate of exemption along with receipt and letter of acknowledgement.
Apart from steps below, please also drop a mail to kumarsangatgmail.com and ravi2604atgmail.com so that we can track and acknowledge. This is important for us."
Ways to donate:
A. Through Internet
1.Visit http://www.cpaaindia.org
2. Click on picture of the credit card seen in the left pane.
3. It will take you to a https://donations.cpaaindia.org/ , where a Donation Form is available.
Please ensure that in the field, Specific Projects / Causes (if any) ? you mention "For Patient Aditya Kumar"
4. Make the payment through your Credit Card.
B. Through Cheque
* Send a cheque or demand draft in the name of "CANCER PATIENTS AID ASSOCIATION" to the address below.
* ( Please write "For Patient Aditya Kumar" on the back of the cheque)
Shubha Maudgal, Cancer Patients Aid Association,
Anand Niketan,
King George V Memorial Infirmary,
Dr. E. Moses Road, Mahalaxmi,
Mumbai-400011, INDIA
Phone: 0091-22-24924000/0091-22-24928775
Fax: 0091-22-24973599
URL: www.cpaaindia.org
Email: Shubha.Maudgalatcpaaindia.org
The above instruction is applicable for donations from any Country including U.S.
C. For Residents of US & US Citizens who wish to take Tax Deduction
Residents of USA and US citizens who would like to take a tax deduction in USA can mail their contributions by checks, wire transfers, bank drafts, etc., payable to
Cancer Patients Aid Association Inc., Fed ID # 34-2007461 at the address mentioned below:
Cancer Patients Aid Association, Inc.,
c/o Lachman & Lachman,
Certified Public Accountants,
444 Madison Avenue ,
28th Floor, New York , NY 10022.
Contact Person: Neil Lachman,
Phone (212) 371 8319,
Fax (212) 371 0707.
DO NOT write patient's name at the back of the check in this case. After mailing the check, please send the check details to kumarsang@gmail.com and ravi2604@gmail.com .
Please forward to your friends and family and let's help the little boy in any way we can.
But, what really broke my heart was this picture...do pray for the little one and his parents.
September 28, 2006
Silly post by shorty.
About being short...Today, I became short. It's so hard to drive a car when you are barely looking above the steering wheel! So, I had to drop k off and realized that I didn't have my trusty height-booster pillow. So, I decided to be daring and drove back home without the pillow. As a result, more than three-fourths of the car was over my head level, the steering wheel was on the same level as my head! And you can imagine, how smoothly I would have managed the curb!
I had my height checked recently with one of those old-fashioned weight machines, (you know, the one that has a measuring scale built in) and I kept hoping I would be like an inch taller than before, 5'3.5" = 5'4" right? And the young Doctor turned to me and announced happily that I was a whopping 5'2" tall! I probably shrunk because of old age or something!
Anyway, it must be a lot of fun to be a tall person, no need for heels, no pillow needed to drive and when you are making a point at work, it's so much better to be looking down or at eye-level than craning your neck and looking up. All the time. That's not true actually. When my colleagues are sitting down and staring at their screens, I stand a few inches taller than them and that's one time, I don't have to look up :p
About Golu...Anyway, it's navrathri time and this time, we built a modest forest for our golu. Sowmya aunty had a very nice Andaal story depicted in her golu (see pic). Someday, I want to do that too...for now, pictures of our Golu will be up soon :)
About being fortunate, guilt, fate and serving...have you ever been served by an old Desi uncle or a young girl about your age at an Indian restaurant and felt guilty about it? You probably smiled a bit more, tried to act natural, maybe didn't quite meet their eyes or maybe...it's just me :) Not always though, I normally reflect what I see, I get uncomfortable whenever I see an uncomfortable waiter...know what I mean? Anyway, I wondered, what put me where I am and this pretty girl where she is, wearing slightly battered old clothes and trying not to meet my eye? Fate? I don't know. And why Indian restaurants in particular you ask? Because we as Indians have never given the art of serving the respect that it deserves; for us, it's always something we do because we have no other go...I guess. Remember what the head waiter says in 'Maid in Manhatten'? "Remember that we serve them but we are not their servants..."
About Ubuntu...This article says it all, am all for ubuntu :)
I had my height checked recently with one of those old-fashioned weight machines, (you know, the one that has a measuring scale built in) and I kept hoping I would be like an inch taller than before, 5'3.5" = 5'4" right? And the young Doctor turned to me and announced happily that I was a whopping 5'2" tall! I probably shrunk because of old age or something!
Anyway, it must be a lot of fun to be a tall person, no need for heels, no pillow needed to drive and when you are making a point at work, it's so much better to be looking down or at eye-level than craning your neck and looking up. All the time. That's not true actually. When my colleagues are sitting down and staring at their screens, I stand a few inches taller than them and that's one time, I don't have to look up :p
About Golu...Anyway, it's navrathri time and this time, we built a modest forest for our golu. Sowmya aunty had a very nice Andaal story depicted in her golu (see pic). Someday, I want to do that too...for now, pictures of our Golu will be up soon :)About being fortunate, guilt, fate and serving...have you ever been served by an old Desi uncle or a young girl about your age at an Indian restaurant and felt guilty about it? You probably smiled a bit more, tried to act natural, maybe didn't quite meet their eyes or maybe...it's just me :) Not always though, I normally reflect what I see, I get uncomfortable whenever I see an uncomfortable waiter...know what I mean? Anyway, I wondered, what put me where I am and this pretty girl where she is, wearing slightly battered old clothes and trying not to meet my eye? Fate? I don't know. And why Indian restaurants in particular you ask? Because we as Indians have never given the art of serving the respect that it deserves; for us, it's always something we do because we have no other go...I guess. Remember what the head waiter says in 'Maid in Manhatten'? "Remember that we serve them but we are not their servants..."
About Ubuntu...This article says it all, am all for ubuntu :)
September 16, 2006
31556926 seconds!
Wow. Three crore seconds. That's how many seconds have passed since our wedding. Hard to believe, isn't it? People keep telling me, "Really? One year has passed? It's like you just got married!" One bucket of three crore, many more buckets to come, each marking it's own milestone(s)...And what's an anniversary without red roses, huh? Even if they are bought hurriedly a few hours before the clock strikes twelve, along with an anxiously picked greeting card and a cart load of yummy white chocolates to make up for the last minute anniversary gifts ;) ?
And if you live in Lexington, check out this Italian restaurant, Giuseppe Italiano Restaurant, off of Nicholasville, a nice restaurant in a cute little alcove, good food and a warm, happy ambience, I really liked it :)
For a change, p~ and I decided to pick a guyish movie for the party - V for Vendetta rocks, I loved the play of words in the movie (even more after referring to the dictionary)...
"This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."
"Words will always retain their power...words offer the means to meaning...and for those who will listen the enunciation of truth."
"We are told to remember the idea not the man...400 years later an idea can still change the world. I have witnessed first hand the power of ideas.I have seen people kill in the name of them and die defending them. But you cannot kiss an idea or touch it or hold it. Ideas do not bleed, they do not feel pain, they do not love. And it is not an idea that I miss, it is a man. A man that made me remember the 5th of November..."
"I dare do all that may become a man. Who dares more is none - Macbeth."
"Symbols are given power by people. Alone, symbols are powerless but with enough people..."
Our local chefs, k and anm~ baked three pizzas yesterday for the party - pineapple, mushrooms, jalapenos, onions, italian seasoning and a crust from scratch! But our oven kind of protested after fifteen minutes and burnt the base, so our chefs launched upon an ingenious plan to scrape off the black layer on the bottom of the crust. Anyway, it all worked out in the end, pizzas were yummy (great going, you guys) and people hardly noticed the burnt crust ;) Pb~ decided to make hot rotis for himself with p~'s help and that worked out too, although he started off with amoebic blobs of dough, they turned out pretty tasty :)September 10, 2006
Totally disconnected, teary-eyed movie ramble.
Long weekend. Lots of free time. What do I want to do?
Exactly what the lady at the beauty parlour told me while making my eyebrows look more shapeless than they already are - "I am really looking forward to this weekend. I am looking forward to doing absolutely nothing whole weekend!"
Most weekends, that's what I feel like doing, add in a nice masala movie (romantic comedies especially) and you made my day.
While outdoor activities are fun, nothing beats cuddling in the sofa with one of those velvety throws wrapped around me, a hot cup of cocoa/coffee, shades drawn and a "Maid in Manhatten" or "The Devil wears Prada" style movie. A few days back, I watched "Chup Chupke", a typical Bollywood ishtyle movie and towards the end, I actually ended up crying - Kareena Kapoor is dumb in the movie (meaning she can't speak, you wise guys!) and there is a touching scene in the end and I kind of felt bad for Kareena in the movie and cried and all that.
This is one thing that k cannot relate to. How can I cry at a movie? I don't know, I think there is something to be said about getting involved in the movie, treating the characters in the movie as your own and crying and laughing with them and after three hours, rising to reality. If you are not doing that, you are missing the magic of movies...
I remember (yeah, many many years ago) when I was in 11th and DDLJ released then, I was totally besotted with SRK then and I had an important exam coming up, but I still went to the theatre with my family to watch DDLJ. I cried through most of the movie, my mom thought I had gone a bit crazy, my bro was highly amused that I cried so much...but I just couldn't help it, I mean, wouldn't you cry too if you knew Raj and Simran or if you were actually Raj or Simran? :) I remember when I boarded the TN express to go to Bits, I looked around to see if someone stood at the compartment door with a hand extended out...:p Actually one sardarji uncle did extend a hand towards me andd pulled me into the train, somewhere near Bhopal, but not in any romantic way. I was about to fall out of the train having boarded it while it was in motion (my wise cousin and I got down to fill water in our water bottles and suddenly we heard a whistle and the train was off...I rushed in with all the people and one of my friends accidentally used me as a support to get into the train, she used me to propel herself forward, equal and opposite reaction, you get the picture? So, she went into the train and I did a slow motion falling out of the train dance). That uncle blasted me for boarding a moving train, "Aap pade likhe nahi ho?" etc but he was really sweet, saved my life and all, so I was happy.
Coming back to movies, I think I first cried when I watched Anjali, then it was for Baazigar, DDLJ, more recently, BLACK, Chup chup Ke (stop laughing now), Life is beautiful, Alaipayuthey...man! so many movies made me cry...it's about time I watched a nice chick-flick!
Psst - talking about chick-flicks, you know what I think? I think, guys secretly like to watch chick-flicks, they just don't want to admit it :p
Quick update: I saw KANK yesterday and I actually liked it :)
Exactly what the lady at the beauty parlour told me while making my eyebrows look more shapeless than they already are - "I am really looking forward to this weekend. I am looking forward to doing absolutely nothing whole weekend!"
Most weekends, that's what I feel like doing, add in a nice masala movie (romantic comedies especially) and you made my day.
While outdoor activities are fun, nothing beats cuddling in the sofa with one of those velvety throws wrapped around me, a hot cup of cocoa/coffee, shades drawn and a "Maid in Manhatten" or "The Devil wears Prada" style movie. A few days back, I watched "Chup Chupke", a typical Bollywood ishtyle movie and towards the end, I actually ended up crying - Kareena Kapoor is dumb in the movie (meaning she can't speak, you wise guys!) and there is a touching scene in the end and I kind of felt bad for Kareena in the movie and cried and all that.
This is one thing that k cannot relate to. How can I cry at a movie? I don't know, I think there is something to be said about getting involved in the movie, treating the characters in the movie as your own and crying and laughing with them and after three hours, rising to reality. If you are not doing that, you are missing the magic of movies...
I remember (yeah, many many years ago) when I was in 11th and DDLJ released then, I was totally besotted with SRK then and I had an important exam coming up, but I still went to the theatre with my family to watch DDLJ. I cried through most of the movie, my mom thought I had gone a bit crazy, my bro was highly amused that I cried so much...but I just couldn't help it, I mean, wouldn't you cry too if you knew Raj and Simran or if you were actually Raj or Simran? :) I remember when I boarded the TN express to go to Bits, I looked around to see if someone stood at the compartment door with a hand extended out...:p Actually one sardarji uncle did extend a hand towards me andd pulled me into the train, somewhere near Bhopal, but not in any romantic way. I was about to fall out of the train having boarded it while it was in motion (my wise cousin and I got down to fill water in our water bottles and suddenly we heard a whistle and the train was off...I rushed in with all the people and one of my friends accidentally used me as a support to get into the train, she used me to propel herself forward, equal and opposite reaction, you get the picture? So, she went into the train and I did a slow motion falling out of the train dance). That uncle blasted me for boarding a moving train, "Aap pade likhe nahi ho?" etc but he was really sweet, saved my life and all, so I was happy.
Coming back to movies, I think I first cried when I watched Anjali, then it was for Baazigar, DDLJ, more recently, BLACK, Chup chup Ke (stop laughing now), Life is beautiful, Alaipayuthey...man! so many movies made me cry...it's about time I watched a nice chick-flick!
Psst - talking about chick-flicks, you know what I think? I think, guys secretly like to watch chick-flicks, they just don't want to admit it :p
Quick update: I saw KANK yesterday and I actually liked it :)
August 25, 2006
Many, many years ago...
Today, for some reason, I was reminded of my Bits ragging incidents. I didn't realize how much fun they were until later, but then I was a first-yearite, no longer a "freshie".
One of my favorite ragging sessions was when I was caught with another DAVia, S~. We were discussing Calculus and he was about to start explaining a particularly complicated problem when I noticed a bunch of "seniors" staring at us.
"Freshie?"
"Yes, sir"
"Nee DAV (pronounced Daaav) thaane?"
"Yes, sir"
"Come along. S~, neeyum vaa pa."
We followed them meekly, all thoughts of caluclus left far behind.
"Unakku eppadi ivana teriyum?" They apparently already knew S~.
"He was the school captai..."
Nooo, S~ whispered to me but it was too late. As soon as I said "captain", a flurry of comments surrounded us.
"School cabtaina? S~, sollave illa? Nee vaa ma."
I realized a bit too late why it was not prudent then to let them know that he was the school captain. The poor kid just got ragged more for that.
Anyway, it turned out to be a pretty pleasant session, I got my shikanji and S~ proposed to me (well, it was either me or a buffalo) with a blade of grass (my seniors asked me to imagine it was a rose, I tried, believe me :) and then S~ had to recite a poem for me.
Just to be on the safe side, S~ and I never discussed calculus after that.
*** ~ *** ~ ***
Then, there was the time when Radha caught me, she was a final year student and we discussed books for a couple of hours! I totally enjoyed the discussion. She did make me fill up her water-bottle which was cool with me (like I had a choice) as long as she didn't make me cry (I'll come to that soon). She had these thick glasses on, hair tied up in a bun and she was dressed in casuals, a capri and a tshirt. The next day, this pretty girl in a salwar kameez called me, "Freshie, come here!" I took my dinner plate and walked towards her table. A few of her friends snickered.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Adi paavi, you don't recognize me?"
"No, ma'am"
"You spent three hours talking to me yesterday and now you say you don't know me?"
The salwaar kameez, the pretty flowing hair, lack of glasses and nice bindi totally threw me off! Anyway, I thought she was cool!
*** ~ *** ~ ***
"What are your hobbies?"
"I like to read..." (I know...lame but hey, I am no singer or dancer!)
"How is it that all freshies like to read?"
*dumb*
"Tell me some books you like, authors you usually read..."
*decent-sized-list*
"Did you rehearse that to tell your seniors?"
"No, sir."
"Ok, tell me the story of Shall we tell the President."
I started telling him...five minutes later, he stopped me, convinced that I wasn't lying.
We talked for some more time and then he asked me if I would meet him again.
"No, sir."
"Why? Didn't you have fun talking to me today?"
"Yes sir but I would rather be at my bhavan studying." (I can't believe I said that but I vaguely remember that I was very intent on making a transfer to the Computer Science group then and it required a 9.0 GPA!)
He was quiet for sometime and then he said, "Ok, then go."
I wondered if I had hurt him by saying that but I really blurted out what I had been thinking all that time...
*** ~ *** ~ ***
Then, there was the time when a second-yearite caught me and asked me to name all the states in India with capitals. After a traumatic half-an-hour, I burst out crying and then she spread out a map in front of me and we went over it together. Whew! I never was that good in Geography at school...
The other time I burst out crying was when a couple of DAV seniors (again!) started teasing me. As soon as I started crying, they were kind of taken aback, they took me to C'not and treated me to a milkshake and tried to cheer me up (one guy even sang a song). I laughed a lot that day, after the initial crying session :)
*** ~ *** ~ ***
There was this guy who became well-known around campus for "catching freshies" multiple times. People wondered if he attended any classes at all. My count was 3, there was this girl who got caught 9 times, by this guy! Each time, he would talk, buy her shikanji and drop her back at the bhavan. Such a chivalrous dude!
*** ~ *** ~ ***
Other sessions included collecting different colored tooth paste blobs on a brush, fashion parade with broom sticks, explaining why more guys got into IIT, was it because girls were duh..."DUMB"?!
Hmm...those were the times. (Really, am only 27 ;)
*** ~ *** ~ ***
One of my favorite ragging sessions was when I was caught with another DAVia, S~. We were discussing Calculus and he was about to start explaining a particularly complicated problem when I noticed a bunch of "seniors" staring at us.
"Freshie?"
"Yes, sir"
"Nee DAV (pronounced Daaav) thaane?"
"Yes, sir"
"Come along. S~, neeyum vaa pa."
We followed them meekly, all thoughts of caluclus left far behind.
"Unakku eppadi ivana teriyum?" They apparently already knew S~.
"He was the school captai..."
Nooo, S~ whispered to me but it was too late. As soon as I said "captain", a flurry of comments surrounded us.
"School cabtaina? S~, sollave illa? Nee vaa ma."
I realized a bit too late why it was not prudent then to let them know that he was the school captain. The poor kid just got ragged more for that.
Anyway, it turned out to be a pretty pleasant session, I got my shikanji and S~ proposed to me (well, it was either me or a buffalo) with a blade of grass (my seniors asked me to imagine it was a rose, I tried, believe me :) and then S~ had to recite a poem for me.
Just to be on the safe side, S~ and I never discussed calculus after that.
Then, there was the time when Radha caught me, she was a final year student and we discussed books for a couple of hours! I totally enjoyed the discussion. She did make me fill up her water-bottle which was cool with me (like I had a choice) as long as she didn't make me cry (I'll come to that soon). She had these thick glasses on, hair tied up in a bun and she was dressed in casuals, a capri and a tshirt. The next day, this pretty girl in a salwar kameez called me, "Freshie, come here!" I took my dinner plate and walked towards her table. A few of her friends snickered.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Adi paavi, you don't recognize me?"
"No, ma'am"
"You spent three hours talking to me yesterday and now you say you don't know me?"
The salwaar kameez, the pretty flowing hair, lack of glasses and nice bindi totally threw me off! Anyway, I thought she was cool!
"What are your hobbies?"
"I like to read..." (I know...lame but hey, I am no singer or dancer!)
"How is it that all freshies like to read?"
*dumb*
"Tell me some books you like, authors you usually read..."
*decent-sized-list*
"Did you rehearse that to tell your seniors?"
"No, sir."
"Ok, tell me the story of Shall we tell the President."
I started telling him...five minutes later, he stopped me, convinced that I wasn't lying.
We talked for some more time and then he asked me if I would meet him again.
"No, sir."
"Why? Didn't you have fun talking to me today?"
"Yes sir but I would rather be at my bhavan studying." (I can't believe I said that but I vaguely remember that I was very intent on making a transfer to the Computer Science group then and it required a 9.0 GPA!)
He was quiet for sometime and then he said, "Ok, then go."
I wondered if I had hurt him by saying that but I really blurted out what I had been thinking all that time...
Then, there was the time when a second-yearite caught me and asked me to name all the states in India with capitals. After a traumatic half-an-hour, I burst out crying and then she spread out a map in front of me and we went over it together. Whew! I never was that good in Geography at school...
The other time I burst out crying was when a couple of DAV seniors (again!) started teasing me. As soon as I started crying, they were kind of taken aback, they took me to C'not and treated me to a milkshake and tried to cheer me up (one guy even sang a song). I laughed a lot that day, after the initial crying session :)
There was this guy who became well-known around campus for "catching freshies" multiple times. People wondered if he attended any classes at all. My count was 3, there was this girl who got caught 9 times, by this guy! Each time, he would talk, buy her shikanji and drop her back at the bhavan. Such a chivalrous dude!
Other sessions included collecting different colored tooth paste blobs on a brush, fashion parade with broom sticks, explaining why more guys got into IIT, was it because girls were duh..."DUMB"?!
Hmm...those were the times. (Really, am only 27 ;)
August 11, 2006
Me, k, food, rakhi, this and that.
People (men) say they have difficulty understanding women. While they have their own reasons to say that, I am going to say, I have a lot of difficulty understanding men! Now, I am not saying this to do something juvenile like getting back at them (after all, I don't even know them, why should I care what they say? Except if the men I know say that and in that case...well, in any case, they should read this post :)Here's why I can't understand men or why I find them curious, to say the least.
Disclaimer: This is based on my observations of the men I have come to know in my life. Hmm...actually, let me just narrow the target population, this is what I have observed in my interactions with k (there, no room for oppositions...I think). But, let me go ahead and substitute men for k 'cause it sounds cooler when I generalize like that...whew! All that talk for nothing, anyway, here goes:
1. Men can't multi-task. For instance, if k is cutting vegetables (which he does, like once in 8 and a 1/2 months) and I am asking him if he likes the song that's playing on TV, he can't answer while cutting. You know what I mean? He has to:
- finish cutting
- listen to the song
- express opinion on song
If he is browsing and I ask him to switch on the TV, they are discrete tasks for him, so:
- he will place his laptop down
- he will search for the remote
- he will then go, "Ramya, where is the remote?"
- he will then take the remote from me
- he will switch on the TV
- he will go back to browsing.
Girls take it to an extreme in the opposite direction, I guess :) I cook dal while cooking a curry and listening to a song, sometimes balancing a cell on my neck. k would have a nervous attack if he was asked to do any two of these tasks together.
2. Men can't remember movie names/scenes/actors/actresses. It's kind of like it is with directions for me. I remember the place, how it looked, what it sold but not how to get there. For example, a typical conversation between us goes like this:
k (while watching Kasthoorimaan)- "This Tam movie sucks."
rs - "Ok, I didn't expect it to be bad, I like Meera Jasmine..."
k - "uh uh"
rs - "Remember? She acted in the other movie that we liked? Sanda Kozhi?"
k - (expression-less)
rs - "Remember it had Raj Kiran? You said he acted well in Thavamai Thavamirundu?"
k - "Hmm..."
Sometimes he asks me questions like:
"Hey Ramya, remember that movie with that babe in it that I liked? What was the song that I liked in that movie?"
I usually manage to answer questions like that but still, it makes me wonder :)
3) Men can't search. Examples:
k - "Where are my car keys?"
rs - "In it's place."
k - "What is it's place? I kept it on the floor here! (He points to exact x,y coordinates)
After I hand him the keys, he goes, "Where are my spectacles?" and then followed by, "Did you see my coffee mug? It was here (another x,y coordinate on the floor)."
4) Men don't like grown-up parties (be it birthday parties, polite get-togethers, house-warming parties - anywhere, where it's necessary to be polite and mature). And if there's one thing they dislike even more it's buying gifts for these parties. I mean, we cannot go empty-handed to a birthday party, can we? (We can but not after we are 25+ ;)
5) Men don't like grocery shopping (see previous post :p)
6) Men don't like to be reminded of responsibilities:
k - "Am going swimming Sat morning"
rs - "Ok, but we have to call your parents Sat morn. We promised them."
k - "If it's such a big job, we shouldn't commit to it!"
rs - "??!" (A big job for you or for me?!) :)
6) Men like to have as few thoughts as possible in their heads at a time, women like to leave as few thoughts as possible out of their minds!k - (reading investment book)
rs - "Hey heard about this?..." and I tell him something interesting that happened at work that day. We then each start thinking about it. I have a 100 thoughts running through my head about what happened that day.
Five minutes later, I see k carefully scrutinizing a point in space and I ask him,
rs - "So, what do you think?"
k - "About?"
rs - "About what I told you."
k - "Oh...nothing."
rs - "Ok, what were you thinking between then and now?"
k - "Nothing much."
rs - "Nothing at all?"
k - "Well I thought it would be fun if I could make my robot start my microwave oven for me."
rs - "Oh and?"
k - "That's what I thought."
So...anyway, that's a lengthy post about a whole lot of nothing, so, I'll conclude it with some random pics (my culinary experiments and k's rakhis)!
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