Life's Good!

Bought a new LG CTV and a Philips DVD Player on Sunday!
My bday gift from Prasan :D
(Yeah right - I bought 'him' a Washing Machine on his bday and he gets 'me' a TV and DVD on mine... ;) ajab bday gift ki ghazab kahani...)

Welcome!!!

Appa and Amma - welcome :) to unlimited access to internet and therefore to blogs (he he, mine and deepa's, ofc :)).
Clap clap clap - to the net savvy family!!!
Courtesy: Seeru-Deepa and their old PC :)

p.s my European sojourn shall soon find a place in this blog world :)
time constraints for the time being! (Meenu SLOGS from 9.30 am to 8.15 pm everyday in office !!! :'( sob sob sob )

Rathiri... navarathiri...

Navrathri 2009 - One of the most memorable Navrathris :) and in the Maximum City :)
Until this year, my 'navarathiri' centred around Amma, dolls, dhavani-pavadai/pattu sari, paatu problem! But for the last one, the others were fun!

You see, just like TamBram boys have to wear a பூணல், all TamBram gals have to know ஸ ரி க ம ப த நி!!! நம்ம தான் musically impaired ஆச்சே :D... ask Raji! 'எந்தன் நெஞ்சில் நீங்காத தென்றல்' ன்னு பாடினா, அது 'சின்ன சின்ன ஆசை' மாதிரி இருக்கும்!!! Not that I bothered – The maximum repercussion would be had in my valuation in the marriage market... Undervalued and target price cut ;)

Recapitulating, Navrathri 09 was a world apart from my earlier 'Navarathiri's! Mumbai had more to do with colours, sticks, naach-gaana (for a change, not the மருகேளர ஒ ராகவா gaana gharana)... Nights here were noisier and a riot of gaiety and colours – of red and yellow bandhinis and chaniya cholis, clinky metal and shell jewels, dancing garba and dandiya!!! Shaking a leg to Filmi music… in other words, it was disco night (one disco where stags are preferred over couples ;)) with God’s approval (kadavul than enaku nalla budhiya tharanum :D)

So this time, Meenu danced to the tunes of Garba - once in a bright blue lehenga choli and once again in a bright red gujju saadi :)... thank you paati :)

Boy, did I love it! ;)

Sore points - missed Amma and Prasan immensely and never let it show! :(

Meri marzi...

Ever since G's marriage topic came up, ppl have been asking C (yes yes, C - no typo... u see, G and C are best buddies and close family friends... more like twins :) ) - some nudged her subtly - "ponne, ini nee than baaki"; "nee G oda friend thane? unaku eppo?"; bolder ones adviced "intha vayasula pannikama 30 vayasulaya pannika pore?"; the nosey ones - aka 'nalam virumbis' - went a step further "enna ma, yaarayavathu love panraiya??"

C's crime? - she is 26 (ofc she cant help aging every year), successful (read as well educated and employed, good looking, abundantly talented, very idealisticon, on her road to fame...), single (happily so :))! Now you know!

Me thinks, she – in her heart of hearts, has a notion that she would lose her independence after marriage… or may be she hasnt felt any need for a man in her life!

If you ask me (Thats the problem - nobody asks ME! :P ), whats wrong if she wants to stay single and independent…she might think marriage is a curtailment, of sorts and married women might think she is missing out on something big in life… The grass is always greener the other side ('this side', in this case)… As long as she is happy, what more can one possibly ask…

This question has always ravaged my 'not-so-informed' mind – why does the conscious decision of staying single (hey dont let imagination run wild - C hasn’t decided on anything; she is the Que sera sera gal :) these are just my deep-ramblings) prompt so many arguments and judgments??? Coming to think of it - does marriage matter much these days? Only in close knit societies like ours, which attach a pedestal-high importance to marriages and family, would a personal choice of this stature find many naysayers and critics.

But why oh why, should people - women, in particular - not stay single? They hardly have to make major compromises, in terms of career, actions, thought processes, sartorial statements, lifestyle, parents and siblings, finances; you can live life by your own terms… All the world’s your family… You can adopt lovable, adorable kids (though one might not be radical enough to become a biological parent, out of wedlock)!

And, on the contrary, what do these single people choose to compromise? The soothing company of a loving, non-judgmental, impartial, logical and feel-good confidante, play mate and companion (am not accounting for those unlucky married ones, who do not find even a single such characteristic in their life partner)… darling biological kids (lets discount the few who are not so blessed with this God’s own gift!!!)… an extended set of family, that’s ready to do anything for you (we shall again discount in laws who set the daughters-in-law aflame)... more importantly, solid company during their second childhood!!!

I cant unequivocally say family and matrimony are NOT hindrances to non-domestic success. They, of course, come with a lot more responsibility – a woman, for instance, has to take care of two families (her parents’ and her in laws, in addition to her immediate family!) And juggling a task as demanding as this, with careers/other creative pursuits, that are equally if not more demanding, is certainly a tight rope walk!!! Am sure there are scores of women who have done it – Ranjana Kumar, Margaret Alva, Sushma Swaraj, Indra Nooyi, Chanda Kocchar, P.T.Usha, Sharmila Tagore (Sudha Murthy gave up, by her own choice, what could have easily been a flourishing career, for the sake of family; so did Jaya Bachhan)… and there are quite a few who have done it the other way too – JJ, Padma Subramaniam, Rekha, Sushmita Sen (so far)…

Am I being shortsighted, when, from the bottom of my heart, I say, people can be happy – with or without their spouse (I cant and I don’t want to be… thats a different perspective)… after all, you cant miss what you haven’t had/known!!! Dint sanyasis and sadhus find peace and salvation without even a mere thought of matrimonial and domestic bliss?

I dont think am mature or enlightened enough to analyse and bisect the meaning, purpose, goal or objective of marriage... but what i do believe in is happiness! என் சிற்றறிவுக்கு எட்டிய வரை, all that matters at the end of the day, is what appeals to ones own heart – and shall most likely remain to appeal forever!!!

After all, doesnt happiness lies within oneself!!! If you knew of the Bushman tribe, you wouldn’t dispute it!!!

Nalam nalam ariya aaval...

One of the most noteworthy incidents in my life was (wait, am not gonna touch upon poignant, life altering, touching, or even shocking incidents such as my wedding or the glow of pride on my parents' faces at the Delhi Awards Ceremony or my first sight of my niece or the death of a young class teacher or the emotionally packed night repartees wid Deeps) when I, well, snubbed a lady of my neighborhood!!! :) wow... what a cheap thrill... wat a sense of victory adn accomplishment - trust me, even the Gold Medal or the All India First dint feel so good :)...

Thank the intruding and annoying habits of the previous generation (not the madisaar clad madi maamis, but sari draped, cell phone wielding aunties)...
Their dogma in life is that the first wedding anniversary should always be celebrated by the couple with a two-month old kid(my math is impeccable!) - preferably a son... ! Their antenna (read as math) gets worked up all the more if they live in an agrahaaram like mine and get to see such a 'chamathu (maatu)ponnu' like me...
(yuck, i hate the label, but i guess i have earned it unwittingly and now, unwillingly :( )

My fault? I defied traditional 'wisdom' and convention - celebrated my second wedding anniversary alone (not even wid my better half, let alone an infant ;))
Now this lady - we will call her Madam Nalam virumbi - a self appointed moral policewoman, whom i have hardly spoken to once before (well, she has spoken to me on a number of occasions - "emma skirt podara??? decent a chudithar poda koodathu?"... "en ma ipdi kovilla fast a suthare? ponnu madiri medhuva nada" !@#$%!@#...) runs into me at the temple... (with her, i rein in my ready-to-burst-at-its-seams smile)
Namma Nalam virumbi asks me, indignantly - "enna, pullai killai pethukara ennam illaya"!!!

Horror of horrors - something my own mother wouldnt dare ask me - my own athais and maamis wouldnt reproach me... this woman has the GUTS, the self-importance and noseyness to confront me!

Meenu, mustering all her wit (limited stock), rudeness, indifference, arrogance adn local tamil, retorted - "oh, pombalai thaniya pulla pethuka mudiyuma...purushan oor la illama"! கப்பு சிப்பு... அந்த பக்கம் sound e காணோம்...
On second thoughts, i guess I did sound crude ,vulgar and may be even promiscous, but the expression on Nalam virumbi's face - price less :) !!!

A head full of brain..er...mane

Hair - a very intriguing phenomenon and Murphy's close relative:

When I wanted to grow it long - it grew one inch in six months;
And now when I want to keep it styled and 'step'ped - it grows one unruly inch in less than one month!

Nostalgia

Remembered a beautiful song my 7th std. teacher had taught us...
Pls put aside theological sentiment and merely bask in the essence!!!

If I were a butterfly,I'd thank You Lord for giving me wings.
If I were a robin in a tree,I'd thank You Lord that I could sing.
If I were a fish in the sea,I'd wiggle my tail and I'd giggle with glee,
But I just thank You Father for making me, me.

For you gave me a heart and you gave me a smile,
You gave me Jesus and you made me your child,
And I just thank you Father for making me, me.

If I were an elephantI'd thank you Lord, by raising my trunk.
If I were a kangaroo,You know I'd hop right up to you.
If I were an octopus,I'd thank you Lord for my fine looks.
But I just thank you Father for making me, me.

If I were a wiggly worm,I'd thank you Lord that I could squirm.
If I were a fuzzy, wuzzy bear,I'd thank you Lord for my fuzzy, wuzzy hair.
If I were a crocodile,I'd thank you Lord for my great smile.
But I just thank you Lord for making me, me.

And the answer is...

http://www.iqtest.com/prep.html?test=final

Because I have a constant fear of becoming mentally inactive (chaar saal se tho bus Ctrl C Ctrl V karthi aa rahi hoon ;)) and of letting my hare-brain rust away to glory, one fine day I took this IQ Test (Google threw this up first – Tickle seems to have closed down).

What followed was thirteen minutes of suspense and mental anguish (what if my IQ had drastically lowered, after more than 50 golden months of idleness???)

Phew… 121…read as (http://iq-test.learninginfo.org/iq04.htm) Superior to 90% of the population (he he, let me please bask in my moment under the sun; we are merely discussing statistics you see… not actual accomplishments :))

And yeah, pretty much in the same percentile as to what it was four years ago (discovery courtesy – Tickle score mail stored in a near extinct, wiped-from-the-face-of-earth(internet) mail id – checkout_aparna@yahoo.co.in)

Work is when somebody makes u do it!

Have some work am in no mood to do

Deadline in an hour or two!

Intezaar... ho rahi... mere 'aapu' ki

Do you know how irritating it could be to wait for someone! - Am sure you do!

But do you know how embarassing it could be to make someone wait???
Especially if the 'someone' panel reads like a Who-is-who in the context of an organisation! Something like, say, the Group Operations Director, Group Head and another Group Head, Group Lead (to be read in a top-down approach in hierarchy) and alongside the CLIENT!!!
Well, now I know!
Why did they have to be 'humble' enough to visit me?! Why couldnt they simply have asked me to pay them a visit! How and why does nature beckon me at such inopportune moments?
EEEKSSSS! Why me oh why me???

I went a deep crimson-RED! The client must have mistaken my embarassment for a Red Indian complexion!

Ganpati Bappa Morya - II

Cash donations at the Lalbaugcha Raja - Rs 3.57 CRORE and counting, with an auction of Gold and silver donations still pending!!! (kya ji... kisine kuch recession ke baare mein kaha??)
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOINEW/navigator.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&AW=1252303695968

Monday - Aug 24 - was a sight... the 14 km journey from office to home took exactly 2.5 hours - 6.45 pm to 9.15!!! Why? See, the funda is that 1.5 days after Chaturthi, the golu-molu-cho-chweet-Elephant God has to reach his destination - the sea :) (its alright if other golu-molu-cho- chweet ppl like me, sitting in comfy buses go home a tad later than usual) he proceeded in all forms - dancing Ganesha, Shiv-like Ganesha, Murlidhari Ganesha - adn in all modes - Wagon Rs, Sumos, Matadors... followed and 'prologue'ed by a retinue of band-baaja, aam/affluent janta-turned-dancers!

1.5/3/5/7/12th day 'visarjan', Traffic diversions, blaring loudspeakers... voila... this city should be renamed Ganpatiya! (how come the think tank never thinks of asking ME for advice?)!
I heard even Diwali doesnt come anywhere close to this electrifying celebration!
Anyway, am glad was a part of and a witness to the festivity!

Ganpati bappa morya!!!
Mangala moorti morya!!!

p.s: MY pics in the pipeline (due to technical flaws, the pipe is still being laid - typical Indi fashion ;))

I came, I saw, I was conquered!

Cadbury Dairy Milk - खुश है ज़माना आज पहली तारीख है
Nestle Munch- खाओ बिना तारीख देखे

Put = புட்; Cut = கட்; Cute = க்யுட்

Yes, at the risk of repeating what scores of others have already stated - I categorically 'pronounce'- English is indeed a funny language!!! I realised, its cos, in English, we do not write things the way they are read, unlike in most Indian vernacular languages!
Now sample this:
Use is yu Z; used is yu Sd; Are there looSe ends or am i a lo'Z'r?

After 14 years of convent education, I still dont know :)

Didya knw - enthusiasm is actually pronounced In-thyu-ziazm. I can be an able (ஏபல்/ एबल) person, but my abilities (அபிலிடீஸ்/ अबिलिटीस) could be limited.

Well, if vision has to be pronounced vi-zh-un, why cant they write it so? If nymph is to be pronounced the way it has to be, wont it be simpler to spell it 'nimf'?

I, am a genius! (Courtesy: Sid the Sloth, Ice Age 1 :))

Ganpati Bappa Morya!!!

So here I am, in the land of SiddhiVinayak, celebrating Ganesh Chathurthi!


My first big festival (couldnt do justice to Lord Krishna on Janmashtami which, though technically my first, fell on a working day), celebrated sans the guidance of the seniors, in 'apna ghar' in the city of dreams :)...


Well... dint have a grand opening though - the pullayar idols cost a minimum of Rs 400 (the cost cutting juggernaut hadnt spared Him either - for the Rs 200 version of Ganesha was slim and trim, sans His charming belly!) so we decided to make do with the ubiquitous idols and photos that adorn our living room, swami room and our bedroom!

Anyway, the puja did turn out well (though Prasan had a tough time - to my merriment adn his chagrin - chanting verses from the 'sanskrit slokas in thamizh' book and yours truly had to assist him through) and, more importantly, the prasadam tasted decent too (Guarantee: Prasan or Anna)!!! Vella Kozhakkattai, Ulundhu Kozhakkattai and sakkarai Pongal!


May the reigning deity of aamchi Mumbai, bestow upon all His children, peace, prosperity, health and happiness :)


p.s: sorry, forgot to add that the entire city looks like a dulhan.
...Teen feet idols of the Elephant God in every street corner, frequent 'gale lagana' and social visits to friends and relatives, Bal Ganesh on air, brisk business in sweet shops, cries of Ganpati Bappa Morya and sound of drums and bugles! Well, well... this is jus one half of the story... the visarjan is still more than a week away :) on Sep 4, to be precise!

Madras... nalla madras

Aug 22 - Chennai Day...

Two and a half months since I stepped on "thamizh mann" !!! and the longest that I have stayed away from Madras (Tambaram IS part of Madras, whether you agree or not!)!

No, am not the mushy-mushy, lovey-dovey, basking-in-the-past soul who'd miss something terribly... am not cut-out for that; by the time i miss something from the past, i have already been catapulted quite some distance into the future :) and by then, all i have is fond memories and very lil emotional attachment...

Aamchi mumbai has already become home :) but it still is home, away from home!

Hmmm... fine... whats it about Chennai that captivates me, when am living in this retro city, the city of dreams?

1. Amma, Appa, Ram Daya, friends, relatives, my Pushpak (he he, aka TVS XL Super :))
2. தமிழ் - I cant pack enuf punch in English or Hindi while abusing a customer care fellow!
3. Anjaneyar Kovil (insiders, i know you know :))
4. The Contemporary mentality - not too modern, not too cocooned - eggzactly like ME!
5. The train rides :) :)
6. Central Station
7. Pondy Bazaar, Naidu Hall, Ratna Cafe!
8. Auto பேரம் :)
9. Mylapore maamis' jolikkum vaira thodu and Rangachari madisaars
10. The innocent illusion of/pride in LIC - as if it were the Petronas
11. The IT Corridor
12. Bessie beach (Marina ofc, rocks)
13. My AIR and Madras Univ visits by PP51.
14. Nandanam signal :)
15. Beach view from Beliciaa
16. Eng bus nos - 5A, A51, PP51, M15, 12B (dont scoff!- here, ५ looks like a shaken 4 while my mind reads ६ as AND)
17. The probability of bumping into atleast one schoolmate/coll mate/acquaintance!
18. Uninterrupted பொதிகை, Vijay, Mirchi, Suchi!
19. The Hindu Metro Plus - எவ்ளோ தான் online edition படிக்கிறது?
20. Karpagambal and Vadivudai Amman
21. ஆடி தள்ளுபடி
.... ... ... ..
Oops... started talking about the City adn ended up listing mostly about MEENU in MADRAS :)
"சொர்கமே என்றாலும் அது நம்ம ஊர் போல வருமா (tan ta da tan ta da tan)...
பல தேசம் முழுதும் பேசும் மொழிகள் (சென்னை) தமிழ் போல் இனித்திடுமா ஆ ஆ ஆ"

ek chalis ki last local

Two months in Bombay, atleast once inside the Andheri Station everyday- but never been in a 'local'!!!

I should be ashamed of myself - how can i not have travelled by the famous (read as crowded) Bombay train??? Well, thats how things stood, as of Saturday (Aug 8)... and what better way to open my account than on a Saturday (Appa says, 'sani perukkam' - Saturn increases and therefore Saturday augurs well for most activities)...


Well, coming back, my caro sposo wanted to go to the Town (imho, in Mumbai, town revolves around the axes of Dadar, Victoria Terminus, Churchgate and Nariman). Hence we set forth on this journey to the centre of the earth, oops, the heart of the city :), in a train.

The equation was right for me;

A Saturday afternoon + Opposite direction of the general flow of traffic + a Fast train = an easy ride... (so much so, it left me wondering, whats all this gung-ho about the train trave(ai)l? Everything seems so innocently quiet and at peace :) )

Add to it, the nostalgic pleasure of a solitary train travel in the ladies compartment (no offence meant to my better half, who seemed better off in the General)!!! but sigh... 20 kms covered in as many minutes... i wouldnt have complained if it had taken an extra ten minutes...

On a broader note, my contention has been that, if a train starts from some place, it invariably reaches its destination at more or less the appointed time - there is no question of traffic jams, processions (flooding in the tracks could be a plausible excuse; but a flooded road is worse off than a flooded track, I presume, unless the rail network decides to shut down).

And yeah, the ladies compartment - is a haven of sorts... when I run the risk of being sandwiched, i can be grateful that am being squeezed by people of the same species (Men are from a different planet, you see :)) and the multitude of vendors who have mastered the art of getting into and out of crowded trains, propose a welcome treat to the eye (to the purse also???)

No pollution, no back pains; sheltered stations, higher frequencies, better communication, more standing space, fourth seat comforts... numerous are the attractions of a train, over a bus (how we would travel three hours (close to ninety mins by train ) to attend a four-hour evening College!!! )

If you think five years of incessant train travel and a couple of years of intermittent but back-breaking bus travel (all in Chennai) has made me prejudiced towards trains - think again. Has there been a soul amongst us, who has not been captivated, at some point of time in life, by the sight of the great caterpillar plugging into/out of a station???
(Heard about the kid who wanted to be an engineer cos he thought, an engineer's job is to in an engine(train? this kid did turn out to be an engineer, whose goal (succesful, too) in life was to travel by both the TGV and the Shinkanzen!)
Ofc, not everyone is a freak who spends sleepless nights crouching in the lower berths, merely in analysis of the direction and union of tracks... but am sure, there is hardly a kid who hasnt quarrelled for a corner seat in a train!!!

But then, the charm of a train is unparalleled; dont take my word for it, just ask a kid... child IS the father of man :)

Lost :) and found :(

Lost a kilo, last week :) ... found it back on me today :(

Writers Block

Yet another blog in a world of zillions, but the same old story... huh!

A couple of months back, I laughed at my cousin who asked me to consider blogging (after all, dont i suffer from a writer's block, perpetually!!!)

Cant help it though... Had this germ of an idea for a long time now, never taken seriously… until... until, i was so 'jobless' that I had to do something to keep my little brain from rusting away in toto.

I know, I am not a coherent person, am a very confused character (or am I???), I don’t have a way with words… and am really late into the world of blogging...

Eh come on, what the heck… I write cos I wanna sound myself off :D
The more I think of it, the more feasible and exciting it sounds… (typically like me – a strong anathema to new ideas, change, innovation.. but will eventually warm up to it :))
Let me atleast give it a shot… Even if I fail (excuse me, can somebody define failure in blogging?) I haven’t much to lose… I had atleast tried it…

My dear blogspot (and poor readers), here i come...

Me signing off (with loads of love, regards, ideas, words, queries and question marks) ... for how long, i know not...