What be up, what be down

Highlights of the day, so far...

• Bullie giving me her muffler in the morning
• Toblerone
• The file with no number that hasn't been traced yet
• A huge mango tree that fell outside SW's house, trapping her inside on her birthday, the day she'd taken leave from work, intending to hit the town and whatnot!
• The battery of this phone which now pretends to have hardly any charge
• Sandwiches

So I now work in a sarkari daftar, where there are way more computers than I had anticipated. However, they don't believe in using a UPS. And the files aren't half as dusty as I'd thought they would be. So that's another dashed hope!

Nothing in particular

Five minutes to go... I've already gone around telling everyone that we aren't allowed to work after 5.15, and that they must shut down the comp immediately. They seemed to find that amusing, but sounded happy about it too. That's what office does to you, I guess!

Today I was sick and tired and sad and silent inside, but not particularly dissatisfied or 'itchy,' so to say. This inner silence is nice, of course... much nicer than the kind of storms that come with mood swingsy baggage. But it isn't a pleasant silence, so it isn't something I'd like to cultivate.

Ok, time's up
It's time to go
It'll be dark and bleak
And a cold wind will blow
Till I reach home
And I'll be warm again
But how do I warm
The silence within??

The latest in the wedding countdown...

I'm sitting in front of the comp with Chandan paste smeared all over my face. I shall now explain how it all happened.

We had gone to INA market this afternoon to get jazzy blouses stitched, only to be turned away by the tailor-man, who said the 'master-ji' had gone back to the village!!! Rather disheartened, and not a little hungry, we decided to get some other work done while we were there (read: Visit Durga Masala Shop, where all Kashmiris go for their most basic needs, such as monj-achar). While mom got the guy there to put together a nice big pile of things for us to take home (including monj-achar!), I did what I always do there: look lost, look around, and give all the other Kashmiri aunties there a surreptious once-over. You can never be too careful.

It was in between trying not to catch the eye of one such fellow-customer, and wondering why mom couldn't have pretended not to have seen the turnips at the veggie-vendor, that the Chandan sticks were discovered. Of course, I had already got myself one of those, but what will you do when a whole bag of the same peeps shyly at you from between hokh-syun and vaer? Nudge mom and watch her add it to our pile of stuff, of course!

The helpful masala-man seemed pleased with our purchases, and as a bonus, he informed us that we could get a stone chakla just around the corner. Now, this piece of information was invaluable, since the only thing between me and perfect skin (apart from all the dust and pollution and whatnot) was the absence of an appropriate stone to make the paste on! So I sat and after half an hour of hard work managed quite a decent amount of the stuff... which is now smeared all over my face, special emphasis on the various eruptions which do so much to distract the disinterested viewer from the fact that my face has other features as well!

A Tag!!

Work has changed a few things in my life. No, nothing substantial, really. Just that I now have a legitimate source of income. No, it's not like the money I earn has corrupted my innocent mind and rendered literary composition impossible. It's not even like the sometimes shockingly badly written articles I get to read everyday at work have completely numbed my brain. It's just that I have to sit in one cubiculum all day at work (which is ok only because my office reminds me of a lemon), and don't have the energy left at the end of the day to feed my muse anything, so nothing gets written here! And just when I was despairing of ever being able to blog... here comes a Tag!

RULE #1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

RULE #2 Tag 6 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by continue this game by sending it to other people.

1. If your lover betrayed you what would your reaction be?
Stunned disbelief, I guess... then I'd cut all cords, bless him, and more importantly, me!!!

2. If you could have one dream come true which one would it be?
The one about my peaceful sunshiney cottage with the garden and books and happiness and love

3. Whose butt would you like to kick?
My brother's, sometimes

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Donate half of it, set up trusts and so forth
Go meet masi
Buy a camera
Travel
Spend my time healing, cause then I would have enough money not to have to think of work!!!

5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?
Probably

6. Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?
Both... being loved is essential in life, but can get creepy if you don't want to be loved by that person, I guess!
But even if it isn't reciprocated, it is extremely important to be able to love someone deeply, cause the deeper that can go, the closer you can get to knowing yourself.

7. How long would you wait for someone you love?
Depends.. do they want me to wait? In that case I'd wait for a while and then make things happen.
Will my waiting prevent them from getting on with their life? In that case, I'll get on with mine and let them get on with theirs!

8. If the person you like is secretly attached, what would you do?
Move on!

9. If you could root for one social cause which one would it be?
Improve and spread education, and take care of orphans.

10. What takes you down the fastest?
A person. People, generally.

11. Where do you see yourself in 10 yrs time?
Playing with children, making people happy and being happy

12. What's your fear?
Not being loved, and not being able to think

13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
Out-there!! But nice :)

14. Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?
I'm not likely to be poor, so I may as well be married!

15. What is the first thing you do when you wake up?
Look out of the window and look at the time!

16. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously who would you pick?
Lol!!!! I'd give it time, and cut myself from both; the one I can't help but like despite everything, and the one who actually likes me back equally, wins!

17. Would you give all in a relationship?
Oh yeah, if the other person can take it!

18. What's eating you now?
Irritation and indecision! and a cold, and a few mosquitoes (how did they enter my room!!??!!)

19. Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?
The thing is, my preference doesn't come into play at all. I exist in a state neither here nor there, nor likely to be anywhere!!

20. Tag 6 people...
I don't know enough people to tag!!!
But still..
Sim
Sangee
Mindy
Pinkerton
Madhula
Suk
Oh, ok, I do know six people to tag!

Thought

Weekends are so nice. Just the word makes me think of rest and relaxation, of warm, comfortable days and a nice book, and baked apple and ice-cream! Since I started going to work, and realized that it's just like going back to school, I believed that my days of longing for the quiet laziness of weekends were back. Strangely, however, these last few weekends have been anything but restful...
There is just so much to do in life!!

Peace, Inside

And suddenly, the storm
has stopped raging as fiercely
The noise within isn't nearly
as deafening as it was
Such a clear thought
Such a simple feeling
But bigger and stronger
Than the chaos of weeks!
An inner pool of peace,
Roots strong and deep
Sprung from the same source
And all will be well!

Unrelated

It was so green!!!

This has been a very strange time for me. This whole year has been strange actually, but some parts of it have been stranger than the rest, and then again, some parts have been strange in strange ways. The absolute unsettle of the last month especially, has been troublesome. Sometimes, it feels like things are not so bad, it doesn't matter so much after all, it's just a little bobble on an otherwise smooth texture, etc., etc.. Then again, I wonder if I'm just being stupid.

Mist

I'm lost, what shall I do?

 Do? Why, keep walking, thats what we all do.

But what if you fell? 

 There is no lower we can get;

 There is nowhere for us to fall to!

Look, oh, look! See, there's light!

 What, can you even see at that height?

But it may be shelter, it may be warm

They may take us in, feed us...

 Ha! Feed a vagabond? Yeah right!

Oh, slow down! We're so lost, why the hurry?

 You're lost, follow me, else you'll be sorry!

You are as blind as I, this is a grey world

I shan't let you lead, I am as able as you!

 Do as you will, then, and don't expect me to worry.

The silence stifles me, won't you speak at all?

 Humph. I knew you would have to call.

 Come, then, we shall talk and walk.

So where do we go, have you a clue?

 We'll let the string unravel the ball!

The mist has left you Crazed!

 What rot, it is you who are amazed!

What string do you hold, then, mad person?

Ah, let it be, you are after all a dolt!

 Dolt or not, let us move, unless you want to be dog-chased.

What is that sound?

It must be.. water? Is that what we've found?

 Oh no, you've lost all reason!

 We've walked through water all this while

 In fact, we've all but drowned!

Oh do stop it!

You're contrary and rude

Bossy and perverse

 Ha! is that how it is?

 And how polite are you?

 

Yes, yes, random poem. Just got written for no particular reason!

So Blue

I was so fascinated
I took a step forward, and another
And never even knew, unthinking

It had such a rich colour
And then the hues would change...
Even as I watched, unblinking

It swallowed me up, I knew not when
And suddenly I awoke

I was changed, I was tinted!
Then it cast me away, just in time to see
How beautiful the colour was for me

It was a rainbow, and it was all the same
Within me, around you
It was all so Blue

Solo

Sometimes, being accessible to others makes one inaccessible to oneself.

a year later...

In the one year since you left us, we have constantly felt your presence with us, guiding us, helping us through our most trying times, and though we miss you so much, we believe you must be following your habit of doing good to others even in heaven! Love you!

[Recently, there had been talk of putting up one of those 'in remembrance' things for nani in the Koshur Samachar. Being the youngest, the job of drafting a fitting tribute fell into my lap. However, as we needed something somewhat solemn, I really didn't have much chance of writing something suitable! Ultimately, a rather touching poem was chosen and it all came out quite nicely, I believe. For this space, I'm putting up my tribute to the memory of an adorable person.]

What a strange morning

What a strange morning. At about six or so, I was sleeping and rather enjoying it; I can't remember the dream anymore, but I remember that it was one of those highly entertaining ones, with action, suspense, and some human interest thrown in.

It was cut short, however, by an awful scream and the sound of what sounded like the contents of our entire crockery cupboard crashing to the floor from a height. I don't even know how, but the next thing I knew was that I had swooshed out of bed and into the kitchen, with my wits hastily but rather well gathered.

And what do I see, but dad, standing in the middle of a mess! He was just standing there, all the spoons and forks and things were strewn across the kitchen floor, there were tea-leaves, dry and wet, on the counter, the floor, even at the other end of the room!! I asked him rather calmly if he'd managed to spill the tea, and as he turned I realized he'd dropped most of it onto himself! I convinced him that slipping and dropping tea were issues we could discuss at length after he'd figured out how badly the tea had burnt him!!

So there we were, with a nice long stretch of leg turning a very bright shade of red... while I cleaned up most of the mess, mom sat and healed the burn, so that by the time I strolled in to check on dad, I found that there was only one spot near the knee which was still red. Even before I could ask what he was doing waking me up with blood-curdling screams, I had been dispatched back to the kitchen to make some tea!!!

Then mom had to get ready to go to school, so she told me to continue healing dad, so I did, but after a few minutes it really hurt my hands, which is strange. Ultimately I decided that all dad needed was me to sleep beside him, and he'd be ok :D

I woke up after a nice hour and half, where I'd dreamt that someone was healing me and sure enough, my hands now felt fine again! I was just admiring how delightful I looked despite all the distressing activity of the morning, when dad started jumping around again, talking of nothing but breakfast... the upshot of it being that there was no bread, so shouldn't we get some!

Since it had started raining I told him I'd run down and get whatever it was that he wanted. And then I walked to the shop, with the rain really coming down like it meant business, and I splashed through as many puddles as I could find. And now that we've had cheesey-toast for breakfast, watched a random TV show, and sent the maid away, I think I shall go back to sleep for an hour or so!!

Clouds

A sea on earth, another high in the sky
And look, we cruise along...
The upper crust of the upper ocean!

Soft piles of clouds outside, glistening white and wonderfully soft and clean!
They go on and on, carelessly tossed around...

Some Thoughts, Or Musings

There have been many good things that have come out of the mess of the last few months.

One of these has been the bonding between dad, mom and of course, little me. It's come to a point where it's potentially dangerous for the three of us to be together in a public place, for we can not help but see the ridiculous in any and every thing around, and knowing that the other two are as aware of the absurd, we must yet loudly ensure that they don't miss it by some oversight. Add to this the fact that we have the use of a language that is somewhat unlikely to be overheard and easily understood practically everywhere (unlike, say, Bengali!! :P ), and we talk in code besides, and you might begin to comprehend why we sometimes find it hard to stop laughing, when the codes sometimes start teetering off the edges of inanity and insanity. I apologize to those who are not in on this joke, but for those who are, I would like to mention the case of 'noshpao' just to refresh your memories.

Besides this, the other good thing has been the travel. Dad and I definitely prefer the train, which is why next months journey shall take place in one, but we are quite fond of traveling by air too, especially since mom gets so frantic about reaching the aero-port on time that we generally reach a good two-three hours in advance and then spend that valuably gleaned time poking each other in various ways. Once in the plane, there are other fun things to do, like wonder why, when there are a million flying institutes all over the place now, can none of the people who hog the mike on-board speak with any amount of clarity? They all sound as though they've learnt English from Rapidex, but that doesn't explain why their Hindi is just as atrocious!

Apart from all the Delhi-Bombay travel, we've also packed in three trips to Shirdi in the last four months, once via Pune. The parents also sneaked off to Bangalore without me! And since the rains started, the journeys to Shirdi have been increasingly scenic and strangely, increasingly short. Something which always makes me want to cringe is when there are huge lines to get into the main shrine there, and instead of spending that time, especially in line for the morning aarti, peacefully and contemplatively, people push and squish you from all sides, and constantly scream in your ears... I'm sure saying jai etc is all good and we shouldn't judge the way other people pray, but why don't people stop behaving as though there is a huge rush, just in case God pops out of the statue and gives something awesome to someone else!! Another thought related to this was the way huge numbers of people were present in Shirdi all three times; we even went midweek, thinking it'd be less crowded, but no, it was as bad as ever! And what is with the news channels??? All they did the last week or so was run sensationalized 'stories' about Sai Baba, which really left me with nothing to do but wrinkle my nose after the first twenty times of their repeating the same line in varying tones of 'this-is-big-news-people!'

I shall go tidy some beds now, which happens to be a passion with me, and something I'm remarkably good at, besides!

:)

A Gift.. for someone you love!!

What Goes Around...

The day was warm. Though still early, vehicles had started fighting for space on Delhi's busy roads. Dust and other unpleasant particulate matter hung in the air, giving everything around a rather dull glow.

That was how a layman would have registered it, anyway. To the eyes of one person that we know of, however, the day was bright, the trees were green, the sky was just the right shade of blue, and there was remarkable beauty in the most commonplace of things!

Ah, you wonder, Who could this person be? Well, let's just call her 'She Who Must Not be Named' or (S-wmnn, or even Superwoman). Hmmm... yes, that has a ring to it!

And there she is, in the mirror, with Ringo peeping over her shoulder! You remember Ringo, of course.. As to why the two of them are standing around doing such blatantly narcissistic things in public places.. we'll get to that in a bit. This story is about more than the two of them.


Let us begin here. It's a tomb. On this bright and beautiful/ dusty and hot day, S-w happened to give in to one of her strange whims, and ignoring the various autos jostling for her attention and patronage, chose to walk. And since she was in a whimsical frame of mind, it isn't surprising that she decided to check out the desolate and sad looking tomb.



A sometimes-enthusiastic historian with a passion for crumbling monuments, she was quite pleased that she had decided to visit the place, and had quite a pleasant half hour poking around. Since the general frame of mind was upbeat that day, she managed to view all the blatant encroachment, neglect and general pathetic-ness with much equanimity.

There was so much to do that day!!! After months, most of her friends were back in town!! So she made her way out of the little lane behind the tomb, and walked on!

Whipping out her trusty phone, she started locating her friends. Ringo, Singo, Sammy, Pammy and even Simba was back!! But as usual, it was painfully difficult to come up with a plan that suited every one... soon it became obvious that hoping to meet everyone in one place at one time was a bit too ambitious!! Apparently that kind of thing is something you just can't manage once college is over. Oh well! It was time to rush back to college where Ringo and Sammy would meet her!

Ah! It was so good to be back in the Cafe, where so much time and money had been spent, so uncomplainingly, and the effects of which were still reluctant to let go of some of their waistlines! Ahem. As they joyfully recounted all the latest happenings in their lives, they also ate and ate and fed the cat who wasn't adrak, but might have been! There was so much to say, so many people to crib about, but alas, too little time! Ringo and S-w scooted off to meet Simba at haat, leaving Sammy to finish off some random work...

Stuck in traffic with a rather slow Autowalah for company, Ringo and S-w were in a suddenly pensive mood. It probably happens as an immediate effect of extreme happiness. So they continued to discuss their lives, focusing this time on the more pensive aspects of it... A number of flashbacks and general hugs and sympathy later, they discovered that they were at haat!

But where was Simba? It takes a bit of looking to find people in haat, specially if they have a tendency to stop at every other stall! And that applies to both the searchers and the search-ees.

As we all know, there is not much that can be done to stop people from admiring bright baubles or fancy footwear... even the sad fact that there is never enough money to buy stuff doesn't stop anyone from trying on as many things as possible!!

In such places, it is logical that much thirst is the direct result of such activities, and very soon the two friends too, had to pause for refreshment. And what a lucky choice of food-stall, for who should they see sitting on a bench looking adorable, but Simba! After a few kulhad-wali-chais and chaat and such things, they were ready for more!

More conversation, that is.

In the meanwhile, Sammy was done with her work, which included playing with kids and getting some 'colour' in her cheeks.

Time now to hop onto a bus and meet the others!

Why does the bus you need to get onto always have to be the most crowded?? Sigh!!

She was startled when she got a phone call from S-w midway to haat, telling her that the plans had changed again, as she had to go meet Pammy! So she did the smart thing and put her foot down! As usual, S-w just smiled and did as Sammy wanted, cause there are things in this world that you just don't argue about!

And now it was time for Singo to appear on the scene! Showing off her brand new kolhapuri chappals! Ah, the joy of victory over haggling shopkeepers was writ large on her radiant visage!
And of course there was the unbelievable happiness of being back in Delhi, and of sinking into the cushy chairs at their favourite coffee-place, and that too, in the company of her friends! Doesn't this sound as though it was written by someone longing for simpler, happier days spent in the company of some really good friends? Oh fancy!

I think it's best to leave the story here. You know how it is, one gets all sentimental and soppy after a while! Let's just say that they all had a really good time, and were thoroughly tired at the end of the day! That's Sakura-chan, saying goodbye!

Look!

It happens every so often... you look at something casually and then there is the double-take moment, cause there are things you just can't believe you really saw!!

Exhibit A:
'Please do not spit'

In the waiting room at Bombay Hospital, squeezed between cramped rows of chairs and a few dustbins of the overflowing kind.

Exhibit B:
Cow in box
or
Bisleri headed Bovine

Actually I found this somehow cute and hilarious at the same time. Ah, the beach, the beach, however filthy it may be, there will always be something to uplift your spirit!

Exhibit C:
'शुद्ध गोमूत्र'

Yes it really was, right next to bottles of rosewater and packets of incense and whatnot, in a posh departmental store!! After I'd laughed long enough, I took a picture, but I think I was still shaking with laughter cause I noticed later that it wasn't quite as sharp a picture as it deserved!

The Delightful Doings of Dad

While the title of this post may not go down as my most amazing attempt at alliteration, I do believe it captures the spirit-of-the-thought-that-inspires-this-post most admirably.

It is just one of those things. You know, appreciating things that were, once they've ceased to be. And we had hardly noticed that dad wasn't the laid-back life of the party anymore. There was so much else to think about, worry about, get stressed about... parties and such like seemed to belong to another galaxy. And then we got a wake up call. The kind that really wakes you up.

Like all things in our otherwise humdrum life, we made the most of the big shock, and came to Bombay to fix things. The way things were unfolding seemed to have a pattern, but before we had danced to that tune for a bit, we were thrown by all the new razzle-dazzle that cropped up every so often. Really corny most of it, and yet unexpected, for who would expect bad drama in their own life on a daily basis!?!

Yes, indeed... there was the melodramatic (picture mom doing an Amitabh from Deewar... at the temple, you know) and the psycho-dramatic (mom again, dragging me to a corner of the hospital room, and showing me the glass slat in the window that she was convinced dad had tried to remove). Oh, but this is all about mom! Let us shift to dad already!


Milk!!!

So, Late at night, the night after his biopsy, mom and I were just about falling asleep in the rather depressing hospital room when we were summoned to the ICU where dad was spending the night. Frantic, we ran all the way to the other wing of the hospital, only to find dad sitting up in bed demanding coffee. The little nurse was at a loss. Oh, this is the time for a little dialogue.

Mom: What happened? Is everything ok? Should we call the doctor?
Dad: (cherubic grin) I think i haven't been fed anything. (pout)
Me: Hi dad!
Mom: Ok... you're hungry? Shall we bring you something to drink?
Dad: (imperiously) Yes, I wouldn't mind a cup of coffee.
Me: chuckle
Mom: (coaxing) Where will I get coffee so late? They don't have room service in this hotel, you know! Would you like some milk maybe?
Dad: (condescedingly) Ok, I could have some milk.

Nurse-ling ran around and managed some milk. Dad drank it all up and decided he ought to have a little more. Mom and nurse-ling huddled together frantically to discuss the lack of milk-at-hand. I hung around poking dad companionably.

Finally, it was decided that we should both go down and explore the by-lanes around the hospital to try and discover some milk for a hungry dad. And so we walked, late at night, asking at every shop that wasn't already shut, getting redirected by every shopkeeper, until we finally stumbled upon a dauntingly built man overseeing the boiling of a really large amount of milk in the largest kadhai I'd ever seen. Mom tried unobtrusively to push me behind her (just in case any of them happened to fancy me for their second wife, I suppose). Soon we were hot-footing it back to the ICU with a packet of newly boiled milk, praying that dad hadn't come up with any other demands in the meantime.

We really should have known better. He had snuggled into bed and was sleeping like a baby, barely deigning to open an eye to acknowledge our efforts.

Rooster-man

Some time later, we moved to the brother's little house, which is quite cute, and nicely located right next to a mini-basti. Just under the bedroom window is a little open space flanked by some kind of a shack on one side, and some tin sheets on the other. It is customary for a group of barely clothed kids to spend much of their time inventing games such as climb-the-shack and other such, which all involve much squealing and merriment. Dad rather likes it.

Apart from the kids, the little open space is also used to tether two goats who are rather quiet most of the time. But the star of this little circus is undoubtedly the rooster. When I was younger, I always had the impression that a rooster somehow always managed to cock-a-doodle-doo at sunrise or even at six am, and I always imagined people could set their watches by it. Was I wrong!!!!!! This rooster sings out at whatever hour of day or night it feels like, be it midday or two in the morning. Right under our window. Loudly!

I had managed to ignore it pretty successfully, and assumed the rest of the family did too. And then, one night, dad sat up in bed sometime in the middle of the night, looking concerned.

"I can't hear the rooster... They must've eaten it up!"in such a sad voice that mom and I could not stop laughing... To put his mind at rest, the kind rooster chose that moment to announce its presence.

After that, their affinity became more pronounced every passing day! Mom and dad were doing their little bit of healing, and throughout the rooster kept up a loud accompaniment to their voices. This prolonged the healing time of course, because dad would keep laughing everytime he heard the rooster, which was everytime anyone said anything!

Mom says we may as well adopt the rooster and take it home.

'The Happy'

Up and down
Round and round
Tra la la
Tum tee tum
Jig a jig

Hop hop hop
Swing swing
Skip and twirl
And hum to the tune
That vibrates through me

:)

Darkest night

A melancholy evening, spent in indecision and an excess of grief had taken its toll, and sleep eluded her. It wasn't entirely unproductive, that first night. She came up with the most lucid expression of the inner turmoil she was being put through... the latest in a seemingly unending list that fate had in store for her, she thought, sighing deeply. But oh, she liked what she had written... it had such pathos that she felt pleased. How well she expressed herself!

Trees are probably proud of their sourest fruits too.

The List

It's been a while since Sangee tagged me with this one, and finally I am in just the right state of mind for it!! The tag requires that I list out my favourite Georgette Heyer Men(GHM)... characters from books who actually made us go starry-eyed and weak-kneed and induced us to spend some appreciable time spinning pleasurably exciting dreams about them... You get the picture...

The one thing that I did realize as I got thinking about the Men-In-Books(MIB) that I liked, was that I actually didn't like too many after all. In most of my all time favourite stories, it was the heroine who made all the difference; the men were usually either not as entertaining, or just not distinguishable from the rest of the vast gang of MIB..

Even so, some of them rose high above the rest...

First, I just have to have Heathcliff on the list... Wuthering Heights always affects me very deeply for some reason, and he is one of the biggest 'some reasons' around. This was one of the few books where the female characters really didn't leave much of an impact on me!

Then of course, Pride and Prejudice gave us Mr. Darcy(swoon, swoon...) who was typical in many ways, but had everything necessary(and in just the right proportions) to turn young girls' heads and put their hearts a-flutter.

This list is getting horribly typical I think, but how can I not add Mr Rochester to the list? He was one of the most interestingly believable characters in Jane Eyre, and I don't think I need to go on about it, except that I thought I'd mention that I loved that conversation between Jane and him where he said that thing about a cord linking the left side of his body to a corresponding area in her anatomy, or some such.. I found it a fascinating thought.

Ok, now for some hard-core GHM, of the GH variety... Many enjoyed These Old Shades a tad more than Devil's Cub, and while I agree that Justin was a much more interesting personality, he was , I feel, a bit overshadowed by Leonie! Hence, he gets an honorable mention here... Vidal however, I found somewhat cool!

Then there was my all time favourite, Sylvester(or the wicked uncle ;) ) who was just so ... everything that he should be, plus he and Phoebe complemented each other perfectly! And ahem... Ridicklus Gudgeon!!!!!

But I was most partial to Sir Tristam Shield, who refused to ride 'Ventre-a-terre' to the possible deathbed of Eustacie, but agreed to do so for Miss Thane! I really never got over that ridiculous bit about the balmy night air... even in November, for to lovers all night air is balmy!! (and all lovers barmy, presumably)

And oh, I also have rather a soft corner for Joss P. Weatherby, who may be found amusing himself in the pages of Quick Service, and while he shares traits and such with some other Wodehouse characters, he definitely appealed most favourably, I almost know-not-why!

I am not going to write too much about Aragorn(book or movie), because after all, it's almost a given! But while on LOTR, I have to add Gandalf to the list (Gandalf of the book, not the movie!)
And I thought Faramir was one sadly underplayed character!!!!

Ahhh.. no more for today, I am somewhat fatigued!

Etc..

Classic hai na!!

I was feeling unsettled today, so I wasn't up to posting anything deep/ meaningful/ marginally longer. The next post will, I suspect, be the tag about GHM(you'll know what that is when it's up... or when you check out Sangee's blog, whichever is sooner).

However, I've been thinking of how sad it is that I don't let myself post some rather amusing pictures that I've taken over the last year. Every time I go to Bombay, I keep going back there and taking another few. There happens to be this amazing lingerie shop.. 'Glorious'...

Ignore the fact that the shop is nothing fancier than a stall in a tiny by-lane; they actually manage to provide a trial room/stall/box. And more importantly, they have the most horrifyingly fascinating displays. Or maybe they just have a special 'something' that makes them catch my eye, ignoring the scores of other (possibly) equally hideous displays slugging it out for my horrified (but undivided) attention. I have still not been able to forget the black-leather-glove-and-string concoction.. I almost regret not having photographed that!! But there are so many more, each worse than the last... even the wire-and-feather... or the glitzy electric blue thing... The most striking thing of course, is that since they continue to display this kind of stunning 'creation', it probably means that someone actually buys some of this stuff... I wouldn't have believed it possible.. I always thought it was humanly impossible to even try to don one of those things(specially the ones with all the string and ribbon... you'd get entangled faster than you'd know, and then what would happen to all those plans, eh?) but apparently one of my resourceful friends overheard a conversation between shady-man and his girlfriend (we presume) where he actually asked her to find out how much one of those would cost!!!! Erm...

Three Empty Cups

Three empty cups
Disposable
But tastefully arranged
To artistically evoke some deeper truth
That may exist only within them
What could it be
But that they were and are
Empty
And hence entirely
Disposable

:)

Morning!

The sun smiles benignly outside my window, while a gentle breeze plays with the curtains. Sakura-chan seems to be in a good humour, and a substantial part of yesterdays loot lies untouched on the table. Besides, I rediscovered last night how nightshirts become me, and realized as I had never done, how comforting it can be to have some one sleep by your side!

Diary

07/03/08: I am feeling unsettled this morning. This is a strange way for me to feel right now, because my room is looking beautiful, the little plant on the desk is flourishing, and even the toys in the room look pleased with themselves.

08/03/08: (morning) I am feeling mildly irritated, which may have something to do with people.

(afternoon) I feel sick!!!!!!!

(evening) After basking in the warmth of mommy, I feel much restored, though still rather under the weather.

(later evening) On our way to mom's colleague's daughter's sangeet (the highlight of which was to be an item number by some of the teachers of the junior school; the rumors of daring clothes added some interest as well.. mom would only darkly hint at 'backless and topless' tailoring) the cab stalls on a lonely, deserted stretch of road. No streetlights. Five minutes later, we are on our way again, the driver having done some fiddling with wires.

(ten minutes later) Cab stalls once again, this time on a well lit, rather busy stretch of road. To be more precise, the driver brings it to a smooth halt at the side of the road and proceeds to tinker under the hood. He says "In-Jun sarak gaya hai ji'. We are twiddling our thumbs for over half an hour. Mom gets fed up and we tell the guy to drive us home pronto.

So much for car not working properly... we experience a smooth drive back home, which takes us about fifteen minutes.

(a couple of hours later) After dinner, in the process of doing something slightly silly which left me a little sadder and a little wiser, I filled another page of the sketchbook with a lot of crayon. I am now tired, so I will sleep over it, and assimilate the wisdom which I've been trying to understand in various forms the last few days.

The Story - I

"What makes a good mystery story?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "Now, why would you want me to tell you that?"

"Stop being a pain, and just tell me!"

"Well, ok... some kind of a mysterious set of events leading up to an unexpected conclusion."

"Ah, now we are getting somewhere," she said, with satisfaction.

"Umm... that was a pretty basic and rather obvious observation, you know," he asked somewhat dubiously. It wasn't like her to be so easily pleased.

"Oh yes! I do know. But it'll do for now." She flashed him a half smile.

"For now??Oh, so there will be more of this presently, eh?

"Yeah, and next time you'll have to move up from that school-level answer to something rather more insightful."

"Ha! Will I? Maybe you will have something better to do before that happens! You really should do something productive with your life you know... Start taking concrete steps towards your goal... get yourself a goal..."

His sage advice was interrupted by a short laugh and a question. "What makes you think I am wasting my time? I happen to be engaged in a very important task - or I was, before you started trying to give me boring advice." She ignored his look of patent disbelief, and continued "I don't really ask too many completely pointless questions, you know!"

He couldn't help but laugh at her look of self satisfaction. "And what makes asking me silly questions qualify as an important task?"

"If the questions are so silly, you shouldn't answer them. But since you ask - I have decided that I shall write a book - a mystery story. Now you see why I asked you that particular question, don't you?"

"Since everything you say is about as clear as mud, I'm sure you will end up writing the mystery of the century! How does my answer in any way help you write? What you need is a good, sound plot, not sound bytes from me!"

She looked at him pityingly, though a discerning observer would have noted the slight heightening of colour...

"It isn't just the plot that makes a good mystery, you know. Don't under-estimate the power of good storytelling - the simplest of plots can become gripping..."

"If you say so," he interrupted. "But do you have any ideas for even a 'simple' plot?"

"What's eating you?" she asked slightly surprised. "That dame of yours had called, or what? Well, don't take it out on me! And as a matter of fact, I do have a good plot in mind, so stop doubting me!"

It was hard enough convincing herself that she could write something good enough to be published, without having people like Him questioning her as well! If he hadn't been her friend, she thought darkly, he really could be insufferable! Once her story was written, though, then he would have to admit that she really had done something worthwhile. Maybe he'd even shut up about that woman he kept talking about when she really didn't want to know!

His voice brought her back to earth. "Why do you always think it has to do with Her? Maybe I was just feeling hungry, and that was my stomach snapping at you! Anyway, tell me the plot that you've thought up."

"I changed my mind. I shall write it out and then you may read and admire as much as you like."

"Oh come on! You know I'm not the greatest reader on Earth! Just tell me... you'll get instant feedback!"

A wicked glint flickered in her eyes. "But you won't understand what my idea for the plot is - I don't explain very well - you always say so!"

"Oooooh so now we've come to that have we?? All right, I don't want to know. Don't tell me!"

"Fine! I won't"

She didn't know whether to laugh or be piqued with his response. There was silence for a few moments, then a new thought popped up and an animated discussion ensued... as always...


A single crack in the curtains let a narrow beam of sunlight into the room. It wavered somewhat weakly over the carpeted floor, like an uninvited guest, unsure of the welcome it would receive. There was a corresponding shudder which seemed to run through the room, at this unexpected presence of the long forgotten phenomenon of sunlight. The light caught on dancing particles of dust which seemed to pause when they realized they were in the glare. Slowly, an arm stretched out and then with one quick movement of the wrist, ended the drama...


That night, as she sat down to write out the idea for her story, she had to focus very hard, for as usual, her mind insisted on building fantastic scenes, imagining great lines that could be written, all without any anchoring-force to the story... It was almost as though they lived and had their own being, which refused to wait to be set in place within a larger narrative. When the small bits believe that they are big enough to Be the narrative, what really gets written has this strange thin feeling about it - as though it was being pulled apart even as it was written down.

After struggling for about twenty minutes, she sighed and decided to give up for the day. It just wasn't flowing out of her fingers, though it seemed to be buzzing around in her head, desperate to get out!

Sprawled in bed, she let her mind wander... it took the expected route, and soon she was rehashing everything they had discussed, everything he had said to her that day... She didn't even know when sleep swept her chaotic thoughts into bizarre dreams that kept her entertained all night long!


It was almost like the really bright flash of a camera, which blinded for a moment even as it revealed everything to the eye. Trying to control the slight trembling of the fingers, she looked at the mess revealed by the bright sunlight. How could this be?


Ummm...... To be continued!!!!!!

Today, I attended class after ages!!! The course was on World Theatre, and I learnt the following:

When something that essentially evokes emotion is to be understood, it helps to use parameters which go beyond the gross ones of the tangiable world.

Life can't be lived using an academic approach. You can try to understand it that way, though. Then, if you are good at that, you can be called a theorist.

And here are todays photographs...

At full stretch, as you can see...

And, ah, that expression!!!

That be all for the day, folks!

Ramblings-II

I need to find out the easiest and most effective way to build a dam, and it'd help if it turned out to be long lasting as well. Any suggestions, world?

Rambling

What is particularly demoralizing is that it takes so little, and of such little real consequence to cause so much havoc.

Falling In Love Again... :)

Recently, I saw this totally fun tag on Poo's blog, and decided that I wanted to do it too!! And the perfect opportunity presented itself this weekend, when I was sitting by myself in Dilli Haat enjoying a plate of momos and the kind attention of a rather friendly cat! Here's the mood...


It's pretty simple, all you have to do is put your ipod/ mp3 player on shuffle mode, and answer each question with whichever song plays next!

I found most of the answers hilarious and some just bizarre; Do feel free to comment(do I need to say this at all? :P)

1. If someone says 'Is this ok' you say....
Ek main aur ek tu.. dono mile is tarah.. aur jo tan man mein ho raha hai.. yeh to hona hi tha!!!
(khel khel mein) gosh, what must people be thinking! Blink-blink!

2. What would best define your personality...
Road trippin' (RHCP) hmmm.. interesting, this.. 'These lonely eyes are just a mirror for the sun', indeed!

3. What do you like in a guy/girl...
Spanish-guitar song from the Desperado soundtrack (Los Lobos) Ooer! it's all Spanish to me!!! oh, does that explain why I have no clue? :P

4. How do you feel today...
Makes me wonder (Maroon5) Wah, most of this seems unbelievably apt.. the day i did this tag, I was actually feeling all that... :-O

5. What is your life's purpose...
Summertime (Shaggy) hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6. What is your motto in life...
Pour Some Sugar on me... (Def Leppard) Woah.. really? ;) In the name of love, indeed!

7. What do your friends think of you...
Always a Woman (Billy Joel) I Love this song!! What girl doesn't!!! Hehehehe... if this is what they think of me, I'm thrilled!

8. What do you think of your parents...
Baaghon mein bahaar hai.. (Aaradhana) Ooer..

9. What do you think of very often...
Inhi Logon ne..(Pakeezah) Lol.... the drama queen in me Will not be subdued!

10. What is 2+2...
Maaeri (Euphoria) In other words, mummyyyy!!!!!! I dont remember any maths!! help!!!

11. What do you think of your best friend...
Suerte (Shakira) Since the English of this is 'Whenever, Wherever', I think it's going to confirm a lot of suspicions people already had :P

12. What do you think of the person you like...
On the Radio (Nelly Furtado) Ahaa... that doesn't sound too promising :-O

13. What is your life story...
Behind Blue Eyes (Pearl Jam) No one knows what its like...? Oh yeah!!

14. What do you want to be when you grow up...
Vague Arabic Song That I Don't Even Know The Title Of. Haha!! My future is as clear to me as a foreign language?

15. What do your parents think of you...
Jaane Kyun (Dil Chahta Hai) Eh?

16. What song will you dance to at your wedding...
Singin' in the rain Ah, now this I'd dance to anywhere!

17. What song will be played at your funeral...
Cloud no. 9 (Bryan Adams) O Well...

18. What is your hobby...
Rivers of Babylon (Boney M) ???

19. What is your biggest secret...
Ajeeb Daastan hai yeh(I forget the movie's name) Hmmm... Don't even want to get into how that could be it!

20. What do you think of your friends...
Video Killed the Radio Star :-O

21. This should be posted as...
Fall in love (Cliff Richards) :) I love this song!!

There we are! My firstest tag! And I tag the regular suspects.. Sim, Sangee, Suk, and whoever happens to see this and wants to do it!

For Sim!

This post comes as one of many little things that make up a Birthday Gift for Sim.

Every year, when the fifth of January approaches, I find my creativity automatically goes into some kind of supercharged mode. I suddenly look around and find all these nice things that’d make nice presents, and most surprisingly, I actually seem to have money for the same! Which is all very nice and convenient, you know, cause two of the best share the 5th as a Birthday!

This year was a little different, however. For one, I was broke like I have rarely been broke before. Not that it really affected the ultimate outcome, ‘cause the old routine of money-appearing-from-nowhere to pay for the presents-which-appeared-from-nowhere thing still happened. But you can imagine, I’m sure, how it affected the initial outlook of the shopper (me).

Besides, this year I really had not even the haziest notion about the kind of gift I was looking for... so I wandered unsure outside bookshops, places selling fascinating knick-knacks, sidey looking stalls at Dilli Haat… Plus the two birthday girls weren’t too helpful when it came to this. One wanted a book which the other one planned to give her so that left me at point-non-plus. The other one asked for ‘dher saara pyar’ which is what she gets anyway, so that didn’t help much either!

Ultimately, I figured out a series of gifts for Sangee (just wait till I get to Bombay!!), and Sim actually came up with a list of things I could give her! This list included things like another picture story, which shall appear here in the next five days (as soon as I get back to Delhi and my store of pictures!), and a post dedicated to Sim (all good things about her). Of course, there are many other things I’ve lined up as a surprise for this wonderful girl, but here goes…

We met in college, like so many people do. It was a great time for me, ‘cause I was having the time of my life discovering myself. School suddenly seemed like some dream, best forgotten, for reality was what I was living out in those three years. Apart from finally studying exactly what I really wanted to, I was surrounded by people I seemed to have known forever, and I’ll never forget those afternoons in the back lawns of college, when we talked about everything under the sun, and when we really should have been learning some French!

Despite our best efforts at bunking and the temporary teachers’ best efforts at boring us to death in third year, we passed!! And suddenly we weren’t together in MA. That was a bit of a stunner, really. But hey, voila! It turned out that proximity wasn’t all that our friendship was about, much to our relief.

In fact, everyday since we met, we’ve been redefining what our friendship is all about (excluding the long weeks and occasional months when we didn’t speak on account of some or the other fight). And at the end of it all, there is still no easy way to talk about you. I mean, I could go into those long-winded descriptions using clichés, but you know I can’t, right. You’re beyond the cliché. I honestly don’t know how else to put it! Why you need to be self deprecating is beyond me, of course.

Oh oh... this is turning out to be harder than I'd thought it'd be! Let's just say that you are the best, most perfect You, and leave it at that... And while this was supposed to be the 'Happy Birthday Sim' post, it clearly isn't quite that, so I'll stop trying to use words to describe her. Words aren't everything.

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!