Language?

It had never occurred to me before until someone said it was the "language" problem.
Some people behave rude or dont explain their weird actions. You keep wondering why and cant think of anything. Then someone tells you that this person is not very conversant in English and hence does that. There have been times when I have spoken to people with whom I have no language in common, like a vegetable vendor in Chennai. Atleast I tried. I feel the giving up part is the problem and not the fluency in the language. If you care a little for someone, even a stranger for that matter you go that extra mile to make an effort. Blessed are those people who can just ignore others when a response is expected out of them and act like that is the most natural thing to do.

Looks and likes...

I feel I need not look good every day. You know what, I get bored of it. Its ok to have greasy hair, sleepy eyes and wear what feels comfortable, and not always what you think looks good on you. You guessed it right, today I have sleepy eyes and greasy hair! While on my way to office I looked at some hoardings and saw how good those people looked. But they get paid for it! Thank god I am not a celebrity who cant reuse her wardrobe, thank god I dont have to work hard to look good. Moreover these are short term careers, the day they look their age they get chucked out! This may sound like the grapes-are-sour stuff. But not looking so good is also as "real-me" as "good-looking-me". As long as I am happy inside, and neat and clean outside, nothing else matters. Yo!

Its just her...

There is this one person who takes immense liberty in your life to repeatedly to tell you all that you have known, treats you eternally like a kid, annoys you with so many questions, seems proud of every small thing you achieve, always has her way with things. You can shout at her once or twice, she doesnt mind! Then you give up. She is persistent. She has a mind of her own and takes her job very seriously of being your mother! I for the umpteenth time in my life am having cold and my mother still tells me what I need to do. For I change it feels soo good!

Secret...

Highly recommend that you read "The secret" by Rhonda Byrne. No, its definitely not one of those self help books. "You attract all things in your life by your thoughts!"."Find your joy and live it!". There are more such simple yet profound thoughts. I would not say you have not read this before or heard these before. Its just that its all in one book. It looks more of a compilation of the best thoughts. Pondering about those thoughts itself seems wonderful. Read the book at your own pace and have fun...

10 things before the next Olympics...

I read recently that it helps to put down plans and keep looking at them once in a while to motivate yourself, to think about them and do something about it. Let me try...

1. Attend the next Olympics in London. Was very motivated seeing 3 young Indians materialise this dream. London seems not that far and doable. Need to find out how to get the tickets for Olympics. Can it booked online, I wonder.
2. Get a book published - any kind of a book, a novel, a compilation of short stories. (If not anything at least a self help book or a cook book! - sigh) - doable.
3. Have at least a few country visas stamped on my passport - especially want to see a few places like Istanbul, Athens, Venice, Paris and some in India like Nainital, Guwahati, Jaipur, Ladhak. Planning needed, but doable.
4. Want to go alone to some far off place, for a vacation - just a crazy idea, but deep inside it is going to mean so much. I will be proving so many things - not to the world, but to myself.
5. Want to go bungee jumping. I am very scared of heights, thats why its going to be fun!
6. Get a masters degree. - very doable, so do it.
7. Be a good cook. I always feel, if I put a little effort I can be a good cook.(Reason : My mother and sister are excellent cooks - dont ask me what kind of reasoning is this.) I keep nodding when my mother gives me tips on cooking and sometimes she even asks me to tell her recipes of some dishes she has taught me(something on the lines of Viva) and finds them ok. But I know very few things and only simple ones. Rest all I have a theoretical knowledge and so need to push myself to practise more. - Again very doable, so why dont I do it!
8. Get my investments right. Whatever I have already done looks messy and not very smart moves moneywise. I want to learn how to invest in stocks and shares and make a lot of money! Sigh!
9. Run a full marathon(42kms) - the runs I have done so far can hardly be called marathons! Will need a hell lot of practise, but I love running and so should be doable.
10. Volunteer for things that make me feel good. I know I have a lot of energy and if not channelised will go waste.

Ah well, the list seems very doable. And the only person it depends on is - ME! What a realisation!

Funny, whacky, crazy things...a Ton of them!

This is going to be my 100th post! One more reason to celebrate!
So I have decided to pen down(ok type) the most craziest/wackiest things that I have done and thoroughly enjoyed doing. They are not in any chronological order or arranged by the craziness quotient, just random.

There was this nice friend in office who stayed close to where I am put up. While in the evening shuttle(office bus) I came to know it was her last day in office, she had got a job in another company. It was around 7.30pm. I asked her if we could chat for a while over coffee. There is a Barista close by and we went there. We talked about many things, about work, people in our office, our plans for the future, our families, hobbies and God know what all. I noticed one of the guys in Barista uniform pulling the shutters of one side of the store. I told her and we both looked at the watch. "What the hell!" It was close to eleven! We both were very scared. My mobile in the bag had some five/six missed call. We lived in different mains in the same block. We held each other's hands and walked sheepishly on the main road. I kept telling her to call me once she reaches home, then she reminded me I was the one who had to go farther! After she turned to go her way, I reached my house in record time! I must have literally run, I dont remember! Although I was very scared while on my way home, I remember it for the wonderful evening we both had, for all the girlish talks and for the little adventure.

My roomie H and I had completed kind-of-milestones in our careers. She had completed one year and me, two on the same day! We had planned for a celebration. We agreed to come early and have our favourite - wicked brownie that evening. When H came back it was close to 9. She asked me to get ready and go. Me, being the cautious one(of the two I mean!) said "No, its quite late, tomorrow". I sometimes used to act like her elder sister and she let me be. After dinner it was close to 9.30pm when she again asked "Shall we". She must have read my thoughts, I said lets go(9 is late not 9.30!). Two girls in their T shirts and pajamas went to Barista when it was close to 10pm for a small celebration. It was less than 5 minutes walk and we had a great time!

It was early in the morning, a friend of mine and I were driving to my sleepy little home town on a saturday morning. It was around 7am and we were 15 kms from home. There is a CCD on the highway. My friend had just mentioned about apple pie with Vanilla ice cream tastes awesome and I suddenly remembered I owed him a treat! (Yeah if you want me to treat, you just need to ask, am most often ready for one!). We stopped there and had apple pie with ice-cream followed by some coffee! My friend told me it was the earliest he ever had an ice cream, I said "same here". Try it sometime, ice cream at 7 in the morning!

I have a bunch of friends from my home town, who were with me from kindergarten and I love being with them, as I feel I have a lot to share with them. We dont meet that often and that makes the meetings even more something-to-look-forward-to. We all met one evening for dinner. By the time we finished, it was quite late. And it is customary to have ice cream after dinner for the group. It was raining and quite late. So what, we have to abide to our customs. So we headed to Corner house(which we call "Moole Mane"!) and we were not alone. There were quite a lot of people considering the time we went! We relished our desserts and the drizzle made it memorable.

We had been to "Wonder La" from office for an outing. We were a group of five girls and had decided we are going to have a great time. We motivated each other for all crazy rides and falls and shouted our lungs out while in some of the stomach-churning rides. In one particular ride I was high up in the air and turning upside down - and they(the ones operating the Giant wheel) kept us like that for a few moments(which seemed very long then) before they continued with turning and twisting machine. I could see the whole landscape upside down and was very afraid I may fall off! I kept screaming! When I got down I felt on top of the world(and on my feet atlast!).
A bunch of friends, from school days, had gone to Jog falls last August. We were climbing up the steep stony terrain. It was drizzling. I was hungry and tired. Since it was getting darker because of the cloudy weather, we decided to see whatever had to be seen and then go for lunch. It was late afternoon and I was very hungry. The drizzle was beautiful and was soothing. While climbing up, I was holding onto small plants or rock and would pull myself up! It was getting slippery and I had a "Y" shaped stick in one hand for support. While holding onto one such shrub and pulling myself up, whatever I was holding to came to my hand! I lost balance and was about to fall back when a friend above me held my hand and another supported from below. Of the two, he gave me a nasty look seeing what I held in my hand and guessing how I ended up doing it -his look said "Cant you be a little more careful? What if...". She was more worried than angry and looked at me as if to say "are you ok?". We mumbled something appropriate to each other. Had I fallen, I would have ended up somewhere some 800 feet below!

Hurray!!!

We have won an individual gold medal in Olympics for 10mt air rifle event! Finally. What a way to start off our independence day celebrations. I always wondered why we dont win as many medals as many other smaller countries do, but there must be reasons. Without getting into the politics of sports, lets celebrate a much deserved, much needed gold in Olympics! Way to go Abhinav Bindra! Hope we get a few more this time!

Food tips for myself

1.Drink plenty of water. Especially when angry, help yourself for a glass of water("Gussa pele", like in Chak De!)
2.Drink milk for stronger hair and bones.
3.Have green tea whenever you feel like having coffee or tea.
4.Whenever you get lots of chocholates, share them, good for the heart and the waistline!

A novel idea...

I have always wanted to write full time someday. A novel bearing my name as the author on the cover page has been a fantasy for a while now! But even if I can think of a story line, I wonder how can I make it into a novel. Sometimes I think I should write short stories and publish the compilation. But I cant get any new story. I can clearly know where the story is coming from, inspired from some readings, somewhere in the newspaper. It doesn’t seem original. Are there any original stories I wonder. So far I have written only one story and am quite proud of it also. But it is heavily drawn from experience. May be it must all be drawn from some experience, not necessarily one’s own. I remember distinctly that I could not sleep that night properly when the idea of the story was born. I had this urge to switch on the light and scribble something on paper. The next day when I got to office I was feeling very restless. I finished the morning work with great fervour and stretched the lunch break to put it in black and white (typed it I mean). I never ever have experienced that feeling again. That restlessness to put it down on paper, that flow. I also have another problem, until I feel very passionately about something, I can’t write something interesting, it will be very mundane and boring. When I re-read some posts much later I can clearly tell what made me write which post and I like the ones which had some deep feeling associated with them. Like the words had to come out at the time to provide that relief. I have read autobiographical works by R.K.Narayan ("My Days") and Somerset Maugham(The Summing up), who happen to be my favourite authors. These people used to spend hours everyday writing, reviewing and reading when they became full-time writers. I have heard people travelling to far off places and write in seclusion, like I read that Kiran Desai went to Mexico and stayed there for long while writing the book “The inheritance of loss”.
What gives them ideas? Are they just more observant or do they travel extensively and seek newer experiences? Are there characters a combination of many real people they have met and not purely imaginary? From what I gather from my various readings, some writers socialize to get more ideas/subjects/stories and once an idea gets into their head, they confine themselves and start writing...
How does it all work? A restless person like me will become crazy if I turn into a full time writer and have a writer's- block! huh, scary thought. What do they do and how do they reinvent themselves as writers? How can they spin stories after stories without repeating themselves? I wish someone could help me with that...And wish I get a novel/book published by the next Olympics! Hmmmmm nice thought!

Where are we heading?

I read the editorial of "The Hindu" a couple of days ago where the editor described the terrorists blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad as "Metro terrorism". It is no easy issue to deal. People in cities are very very vulnerable to such attacks. Most terrorists look for places where the number of casualties is likely to be on the higher side - which makes cities so convenient.
No sane person can ever reason out their intentions in causing so much of pain to absolute strangers and say they do it for a cause or to please God of such things or even better- for peace!
But the cities which are supposed to be lands of better opportunities, of dreams, of higher pay packets, of a better life not only for oneself but for one's family are turning out to be so very unsafe.
When they appear to offer no security to individuals it all seems an illusion. Did one come that far away from home only to be killed by an absolute stranger to whom you did no wrong? What about the children. A blast is not discriminating. It hurts and kills anyone it can afford to.
Would I want my family, my children, my parents to be in such an environment where I cant even guarantee them safety? Did my small town education not offer me enough to turn me into a decently educated person? Wont that do for my kids? Are there no opportunities in small towns or we just turn our backs to them because of peer pressure? Is it just a knee-jerk reaction to the recent blast right in my city that makes me think on these lines? Will it pass?

Five things I got to know...

I sometimes read "five things you dint know about me" in the newspaper featuring some celebrity and many are not things you would want to know anyways! Like would you want to know if this person likes cats or dogs, or what this delicate actress is most afraid of. I mean no one gives their number there! But after seeing a nice photo of theirs I still go ahead and read it! Here are a few things that I dint know(or noticed) about myself till lately:
1. I like to finish the omlet as quickly as possible as I dont like the smell of eggs! - I am a "vegetarian" in the sense that I also eat egg. Once in a long time when I smell omelette on the frying pan, I want to have it and then once I starting eating it, I cant stand the smell of egg, to my horror I feel like puking! Its probably not the smell of omelette that is pleasing to my nose, its just the onions and the masala, I really dont like having eggs that smell like eggs! In pastries its not a problem.
2. When I boiling from inside I have a lot of steam!(huh sounds very funny). When I am very angry, I have a lot of energy. These days if I channelise this energy, although not intentionally, I can walk 6kms on the treadmill or wash a bucket full of clothes in one go, read half a book in one sitting, make the wardrobe and so many more things. At home(home as in the place where I grew up) I used to throw tantrums when angry and sulk till I find something interesting to do!
3.I dont find ironing clothes taxing. I had ironed several times right from childhood, but only in emergency - when my mother had not got it done by our local "dhobi".(Although we gave washed clothes for him to iron, he was still called a "dhobi"!). Also when it comes to some delicate clothes or the ones that I like I somehow would not do it, for the fear of burning them. I had never ironed a whole lot of clothes till recently. And two male friends of mine who had recently been to foreign countries on official trips were saying the most difficult chore is to iron one's clothes. In someway this was also a trigger to try it out. I am not sure if the male wardrobe is made of "difficult-to-iron" dresses, but mine were pretty easy to do and I did not find it taxing!
4. I was under the impression that washing my hair at night would give me a running nose the next day! My mother once told me so when I was a little girl, and I never gave it a shot until a couple of years ago when I started gymming. Since then I have done it a great many times and only a couple of times caught cold!
5. Without this thing or person, it would probably be difficult to cope - was what I used to think. Life goes on. Mine is no exception! -This bit I have known, but often forget...

Chennai...

Had been to Chennai last week. I had been told about the heat and the soaring mercury levels, but my roomie had told me it would be much better during this time of the year as the monsoon has set in. I hoped it is so. But the first feeling that I had coming out of the AC coach of Chennai express was, "Is the pantry coach right beside this one, how come I dint notice while getting in?". I felt I was standing in front of a hearth. The humidity adding to the heat is what is very discomforting. The rucksack that I was carrying immediately seemed more than I could handle. My father's only discomfort seemed to appear in his knitted brows, rest of it he was dealing pretty fine. I regretted wearing jeans, why had I not thought of an-all-cotton-ware. Every sweat gland in my body seemed over working. Adding to that I was shocked to hear an auto driver tell me he would take us to our hotel which was just 6-7 kms from the station for just Rs.150? Even the prepaid auto cost us Rs.85. The thing is standing in the Chennai sun would make any sane person offer any amount of money to just get away from the heat. To my surprise the auto drivers, whether they are standing out luring passengers or driving, dont sweat at all! And most locals dont sweat. I know I shouldnt be very surprised as the locals are well adapted to the weather, but when you appear like a container overflowing with water, it kind of seems offensive that the hosts dont even sweat! On a more serious note, the city has its own pluses and minuses, like any other. The roads are good, food is good, buildings are ok. But the auto fares are atrocious, no foot-paths on many of the main roads! And then I could not understand this bit at all!
We wanted to explore T.Nagar, where we were put up, on foot. It was late in the evening and much cooler than the day. Some of the streets had footpaths. The walk was quite pleasant until we ended up on a main road with no foot path at all! The next morning we were careful not to choose the main roads and stuck to the smaller roads. The weather was very pleasant and we enjoyed the walk.
I have heard that Chennai is a great place to shop for clothes. The next time I go will probably do it. I must have been very biased about the city as I was comparing it with Bangalore in every aspect, which probably is unfair, but which probably I cannot help. But the overall experience was enjoyable. The next time I visit the city(I may need to go there for a week or two in a week or two on some official work again!), if I get to stay a little longer, I will definitely try to see it in a more objective way.

Long lasting connection...

It looks like having the same mobile for a long time is a big deal indeed. I got congratulated on being a long time customer from my network provider! And co-incidentally it happens to be the only number so far. Have seen a lot of people keep changing their numbers for various reasons. Changing the handest is also not something I do often. I have got various people calling me and asking for other people and when I tell them it is not the number of the person who they are looking for, they tell me the number and then it happens to be mine. There were some bank people always calling on my number and asking for certain Mr. Mishra! A guy asking for a girl called "Amanath"! Whom do these people think I am- some kind of an assistant to the people they are "trying" to reach! I seem to have patiently stuck to the number despite all this and so they probably feel I have deserve to be congratulated on this account! Even they must have been surprised that I have, despite the network not reachable from remote/rural parts (I am not sure if my office locality qualifies for one of these - sometimes I am not reachable here), having small issues here and there, I still continue to be their patron! So it has been quite a long lasting connection!

How boring...

Boredom can do interesting things to one's life. Through my growing up years I have acted on and reacted to boredom in different ways.

As a kid, who used to love going to school (mind you, we had no exams and tests in our school!) and liked my teachers and friends, I was not very keen on summer holidays. Going out of the station was only for a few days owing to father's business and having pets at home. The hot weather forced sane people to stay indoors, but not me. I used to creep up the "compound wall" and no one at home had a clue I was out until lunch time or the maid told mother I was seen with some kids in so-and-so's compound or down the street.(Yeah we kids played more on the street than the not-so-far huge playground, I wonder why?) When at home, I read many many books or just bothered mother and would not allow her to do household work. When I was bored I would become a little devil(some of you would not agree with "would become" ). To keep me away from my devilish deeds, my parents would send me to "summer classes" where they taught me the same English grammer, science projects year after year. The bharatanatyam classes were more frequent during summer holidays(not sure if parents had any hand in this). During one of the holidays, I was sent to swimming classes, during another - Veena classes, during yet another - music classes - none of which I learnt fully. I showed very early in life that I had to be kept occupied, else people around would feel the heat(not entirely because it was summer!).

Then came the two most traumatic years of pre-university, when every Tom- Dick and Harry tells you how important your second PUC/12th Std is. The boredom was in being forced of being a successful rat in a rat race. There was peer pressure, there were lecturers who always wanted us to do well, parental expectations to live upto, being compared to your cousins, what not... The only people who dint put pressure on me with their expectations was my father and sister. But it seemed so alien not to be expected that I would sometimes wonder why they are not normal. When the tension got on my nerves I would watch TV non stop for hours. There were all kinds of tests every single day - unit tests, chapter tests, surprise tests. Crazy system, crazy people. Although now I look back with a lot of indifference, for a few years after my PUC, everytime I read in the newspaper that PUC exams are coming up, I would sigh with relief that mine is over! The vacation that I went for to Munnar and Thekkady after these gruelling two years seem wonderful even today.

Then in engineering boredom meant studying subjects that did not interest me. The college days were good. Going to college was mostly fun. But when the study holidays started, boredom would start. I would lock myself up in my room and read all the newspapers and magazines. I would lie in bed hours awake doing nothing during the afternoons, studying only when I had whiled away as much time as possible. Then suddenly when there was only a week or so, I would feverishly start studying, feel guilty to watch TV and start going to temple on saturdays and praying that I clear all the labs, let alone the theory papers! I would not venture into the street or go and meet friends thinking people would know I was not studying(how very rediculous!)! The study holidays seemed endlessly boring!

When I started to work, it was very interesting to learn new things. But after many months doing the same thing however critical it seemed to the customer, was boring. It seemed the same old (mis)configeration, same old problem, same old approach. But late hours, less sleep, getting fat only in the wrong places, not able to eat when hungry all seemed rediculous. There was a month when the only expenses in my salary had been paying bills. I felt miserable that I had not shopped or seen a movie or gone out with friends. When you had just got that financial indepence you need to excersise the power until you get a hang of it. You need to buy that not-needed stuff as much those very-much-needed ones. Use it, misuse it, abuse it and then the equilibrium of saving for the rainy day and future should come. So, when I did not get enough chance to use it and when finally I had some time in my hands for it, it was too late. I had started investing!
Boredom has taught many things. It is as inevitable as occupation. I have loathed it, I have avoided it, have enjoyed it for short intervals, have learnt immensely from it. I think about things that usually I wouldnt spare a thought. I introspect. I blame myself and anybody if it suits my convinience at the moment, for things leading to boredom and how much better I could have made use of the available time. But even the way I handle boredom has changed over time. I have learnt that boredom exists in life whether we like it or not. At times I have either waited for it to go off or done something actively. It doesnt stay if you dont want it to. But it definitely comes back to see if you are really happy doing what you do...if not, it will stick around until you find something interesting to do!

Number game...

When I was a little girl, it was a habit while travelling, to see the vehicle numbers of the vehicles that pass by. From the registration number I could guess from which part of India it was from. Also if it had a Karnataka registration, which district is it from. Like from KA-01 to KA-05 is Bangalore registration, KA-06 is Tumkur, KA-07 is Kolar and so on. Dad had taught me this and I would surprise my Mom with the "skill" that I had acquired. Just yesterday while stuck in a traffic jam in Jakkasandra I noticed so many vehicles with registration numbers which were not from Bangalore and kept smiling at the fact that I had not played the guessing game for a long long time.

Food show...

I like this show called "Highway on my plate" on NDTV goodtimes. Its hosted by two food loving guys Mayur and Rocky. I like their sense of humor. These guys dont go to posh looking restaurants and give you their take on the cuisine there. They travel on highways, get lifts from trucks, carts and any other means of transport available and take the viewers to the dhabas, hotels and street side food shops. It may not be the best food. I dont know what attracts me to watch the show. Given the fact that I have some reluctance for road side food(yeah, may be because I studied biology till twelfth) it seems very interesting to see the road side food shops. Of these guys one is a vegetarian - Mayur and the other is a "pure" non vegetarian - Rocky. From what I gather from watching the show they have known each other for a long time now, a few decades in fact. They share a great rapport which makes the show fun to watch. I have a strong feeling there is no script as such for the show. They also show some interesting places like a palace or fort or the market place, whatever is famous in that particular city/town. There were some episodes in busy market place where they are selling chaats or sweets. They talk to the locals and ask them where they love eating and sometimes go there as well. The places visited are not based on whether they are small or big enough. Its just whatever comes up next on that highway which has some "good" food on offer - or thats what it looks like! There could be some obvious connection between the highways, trucks, food and travel,humour and me! Thats what makes me watch it I guess!

IPL...

There is one thing about the IPL that I am liking. It is definitely not the cricket(Bangalore team's dismal performance is not the reason!). The Ads. When I saw the "Manu-Ranjan ka baap" ad, I liked it. It has all the spices of bollywood exaggerated! And the pepsi ad with - Em Es Dhoni from Chennai who has Rajnikanth istyle and says "All you fast bowler rascals, you may have the ball, but I have the bat! - Miiiiind it" is also good. Shahrukh's cheer song for his Kolkata Knight riders is also comical. Ads seem to be no longer about catching the viewer's attention and selling the product, it is also turning into entertainmnet. Whether the quality of our entertainment(well "quality" is a very vague term) is improving or not, ads are definitely getting cooler...

My two cents...

I feel I would have enjoyed being an activist. Yeah. So, there is this plea going on in Cyberia about saving the Olive Ridley Turtles from Mr.Ratan Tata. Well dont get me wrong, he is definitely not hunting them down. The story goes that Mr.Tata is keen on building a Port, along with Larsen & Turbo on the northen coast of Orissa, which happens to be the largest nesting grounds for Olive Ridley sea turtles - an endagered species. You can show your concern by mailing Mr.Tata and voicing your concern. Log onto http://forum.greenpeace.org/int/showthread.php?t=4915 and go ahead and share your thoughts. Each one of us can make a difference and here is your chance. I am told that it is already making a difference - a mail from Greenpeace says "In a big blow to the project, banking giant BNP Paribas has said -- following an independent assessment of the Dhamra port's environmental impacts -- that it's no longer thinking about financing it."

I have always felt industrial growth and wildlife conservation are very difficult to be balanced. One always seems to affect the other. We need to think beyond the immdiate benefits. In the name of growth and development of an area, the eco system cannot be compromised. Its as much ours as it is of the rest of the animal kingdom. I remember one of my dear teachers telling me being concerned, being sensitive to issues itself goes a long way and someday materialise to action. Hope intelligent people come up with the workable solutions. Meanwhile, see what you can do.

My nastiest best!

Looks like have hit the rock bottom, groping through a never ending tunnel. I feel am becoming into some total stranger. Am no more myself. I am full of pessimism and hate everyone and everything. The worst part is am reacting badly to kind words. God! at this rate am going to lose a lot of nice people. They say one's character shows in times of adversity. Is this what I really am? Is this even a time of crisis? How would I say am sorry? May be I deserve every bit of.

When I saw....

I recently watched "Jab we met", a second time. I had heard it from my sibling and some of my friends that it wasnt a great movie. I beg to disagree. I like the sheer passion of Geet's character (played by Kareena Kapoor). I am not a Kareena Kapoor fan. Geet is eccentric, hopelessly romantic (she is in love with her fantasy of love than anyone), stupid to get off the train an unknown place for a total stranger. Agreed. But she is true to herself every single minute of her life. She knows it and does not regret. She does what she wants to do. Its ok. Most of us are not comfortable having such eccentric people around, and some of us cant even tolerate them in our fantasies, but tell me if fantasies cant be tolerated in bollywood movies where else would you do it? After all, all that happens in "Jab we met", has a low probability, not impossible like "Kuch kuch hota hai" or unbearable like "Kabhi khushi kabhi gam". I felt the songs were quite meaningful, tunes quite good, characterization particularly of Geet was very good, and yes, there was a story(Like I said, whose reality quotient shouldn’t be a great deal considering it is a movie). The dialogs were enjoyable and apt, though they may not have been very original. There was nothing extraordinary about the entire movie, but it was packaged well.

The first time I heard the title, it dint go very well with me. I felt mixing up two languages is totally bad idea. In “Hum ko maaloom he, ishk masoom he” song from “Jaaneman” I was very fond of the tune and to some extent lyrics(as in, whatever I could follow) till I heard some English words sprinkled here and there. It was a total turn off. And when I first saw the promos of JWM, I wanted to watch the movie. When people said it wasn’t great, I wanted to watch it for sure (When I think a movie is good, or I should watch it, reviews or what people feel doesn’t make a big difference. Only after watching a movie can I rate it, is my logic). So, yes. I liked the movie and would not mind watching it one more time.

Am game for it!

It is not everyday I play badminton so well. I was hitting hard, serving well, found some good gaps, timed the shots and communicated well. We(my partner and I) lost the game by a point, but thoroughly enjoyed every bit. There was a particular volley which made me go to either ends of the court, I managed to pick it up when my opponents least expected and placed between them. There were a bunch of five or six guys(I am the only girl playing badminton there these days, mind you!) watching the game and they all cheered in chorus. I enjoyed every bit of it!

I take this opportunity(yeah, big by my own terms) to thank Vinu for getting me to play the game, and MU for getting that extra racket for me to play everyday and of course all those guys who cheered for me today. Hey, I love badminton!

Going green...

Today is world Earth day. And women in my company have donned the role of "Green ambassadors" - So there was a sapling plantation program organised by the "Green ambassadors" in which even men could participate. We went to a place near electronics city called Bettarayapura. We planted "honge" tree saplings in the government school premises and also along the path leading to a small hill on which there was a fort and a temple, of Lord Timmaraya. The holes were already dug and saplings kept beside each of them by the time we reached there, thanks to some of the villagers, gardeners and some volunteers. It was about ten in the morning (bad idea!) and quite hot already. To help us there were our (our as in our company's) gardeners in green uniforms and company tags. We were about hundred and fifty people and there were about 400 saplings (according to organisers). There were not many shovels and water sprinklers for all of us. But it was nice to see enthusiastic people use there hands to push the earth while planting the samplings. It was a nice two hour outdoor activity and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Appreciated the idea as well as all the people who made it all possible. Hope many of those saplings grow into trees.

Happy Earth day folks!

To RP...

RP is someone who makes it fun coming to work everyday. Lately I pester him to accompany me for tea and lunch (he insists he does it by choice and am glad he does!). The greatest pleasure is our pointless arguments which do not leave any residues of any sort. We fight like kids, argue about topics we may or may not be very aware of, give each other fundas(he always has an upper hand), pull one another's leg, compliment each other, hurl insults at each other and laugh a great deal. He makes things look light and bright. Having a great sense of humour does wonders to conversations. Check out these:

* I was about to step on a bee lying on the ground and he asked me to watch out. Was a little taken aback and asked what is it. He smiled and said "A bee that was about to be not to be!"

* Me: Why do you always walk to my left?
Rp: I want you to be always right!

*Me : Oh am sorry!
Rp: I thought you were Pratibha!

*Me: Want some Marie biscuits?
Rp: No thanks, I think its made of sawdust and sugar!

*Me: I dont care two straws for it!
Rp: Why should you not say, "I dont care two idlis for it!"

*Me: Oh yeah, I am touched! (mockingly)
Rp: Sorry, I dint mean to touch you!

He thinks certain Miss Zinta looks like a bull dog, south Indians swear by their curd rice..and always gives me a lot of fundas. But I really do not mind although I mostly act like I do. I have so much to thank him for. For giving such a patient hearing when I am at my ranting best. Making me smile and sometimes laugh hysterically when I really am(/want to be) quite angry. Like yesterday he was not giving me a chance to speak! (Yeah, really!) Then when I threw him one of my “nasty” looks, he told me what was on my mind and then said that’s why there is no need for me to talk – how mean! I started smiling and then couldn’t pretend to be angry, so gave up. Sometimes he can tell you things about yourself that your conceited self would not have noticed! And also he minds his P’s and Q’s.

And all I taught him was to say “aiyooo”, GL, SU!

Our search for “greener pastures” may lead us to part ways in a few days. Here is wishing RP a rocking career and a great life. I pray and hope he gets all that he deserves and succeeds in every way he wants to.
“Hey RP, You make people feel wonderful. Keep that million watt smile going! Enjoy maadi!”

The painted veil..

I read the cover of this book and decided to read it. It is by Somerset Maugham, one of my favourite authors. This novel has characters that are very natural. No emotion/character seems is loud. The story is about a women, Kitty who rushes into a marriage with a bacteriologist, Walter Fane, and later feels trapped as she finds out that she does not love her husband. She falls for another man and justifies her actions by her own reasons. When her husband comes to know about it he asks her to accompany him to a cholera ridden city in China! Why he does that and why cant she refuse to go, despite the fear of being killed, you read and find out.
I may not be a great reviewer people, but go pick this book up and read...its very good.

And there is a line from the peom "An Elegy On The Death Of A Mad Dog" which is used in book to covey something. You can read the poem here : http://www.online-literature.com/oliver-goldsmith/2090/
This is just to make you get to the book faster...happy reading!

ನನ್ನ ಮೊದಲ ಕನ್ನಡ ಲೇಖನ.....

ಇದು ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ನ ಮೊದಲ ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ಇದನ್ನು ಟೈಪ್ ಮಾಡುವಾಗ ತುಂಬ ಖುಷಿ ಆಯ್ತು ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಕನ್ನದ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೃಷಿ(!!!) ಮಾಡುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಮಾಡುವೆನೆಂದು ನಂಬಿದ್ದೇನೆ.
ಇಂತಿ,
ಪ್ರತಿಭಾ

P.S : As a friend of mine suggested, have decided to do all my kannada writing experiments in another space...am grateful for the idea.

Hindi lessons!

As a kid I found it very very difficult to understand, speak and write Hindi. We were taught Hindi from Class I and when everyone else our age in other schools were learning to read and write words, we were expected to read and write small stories! I cannot exactly remember the reason for the difficulty, but it made me miserable. I do not remember such difficulty for English or Kannada. We had a good Hindi teacher who had a good Hindi accent. I used to adore her. There are some distinct things I remember about my adventures to learn Hindi in the primary school:

1. Once we were asked to listen to the Hindi news on TV(there was only DD then) and list out some five difficult words as an assignment(We got innovative assignments!). Hindi news was telecast at 9pm if I remember, which was very late at the time for me(must have been in Class IV or V). So I had listed five words seeing a serial at 3pm(when I came home from school!). My first word was the name of the serial(ya, that was really stupid of me!). It was called "Junoon". My teacher knew instantly my source the next day when I read my list of words!

2. A Kannada actor Shankar Nag recreated R K Narayan's "Malgudi days" on the small screen with many kannada actors from the small and big screen. My dad insisted that I watch it. It was amusing to see Kannada actors speak a language I felt was very difficult, so effortlessly(Many years later I felt their Hindi was not exactly effortless, it had south Indian accent cropping up, but suited the story well - as in, the setting was in a village down south- it was fine). I did not understand much but liked watching Master Manjunath and pestering dad to tell me what was happening!
I also remember watching "Osheen", the story of a Japanese peasant girl who strives hard to become a beautician(not sure of the title or the storyline- but it was japanese for sure!)

3. At a little later point of time, in the afternoon(may be 3.30 pm) a new comedy serial started. Many of my friends came home after school as it was at a stone's throw and when we switched on the TV there was only one channel then and we happened to come across this serial called "Dekh bhai dekh". We were not a TV watching bunch but I remember clearly we loved watching this one! I must have realised it was a comedy because of the background laughing for every joke! It had Shekhar Suman, Farida Jalal and a bunch of other good actors. And I enjoyed watching this show for sure..

4. There were these Hindi exams that were popular in my school days. Mysore Hindi prachar samithi and Madras Hindi prachar samithi used to conduct exams and certify one's Hindi prowess. I happened to take(had no option, it was from school!) the first exam called "Prathama" in Class III. Given the fact that I went to school that did not have exams, exams never scared me! It did not make me anxious. I loathed the last few days when my Hindi teacher made us read and write a lot of stuff! I managed to scrape through the exam! My mom said I should be serious the next time around. My dad told me I had done a good job, as I had got more marks than him for the same exam!

I started speaking Hindi in high school - this was not due to any books, it was mostly because of TV! My Hindi even today is clichéd. Have a feeling native speakers of Hindi dont use the flamboyant phrases and words that Hindi cinema employs. I can say things like "Kaafi nek khayal he". I cannot think of another usage of the word "nek", since the TV/ films did not popularise other usages and my Hindi is not sourced from reading Hindi literature. It all seems funny. A south Indian feels I have a decently good Hindi accent, but the truth is my Hindi is very filmy and mostly grammatically incorrect. Like many things I do, I speak Hindi quite confidently and that seems to make up for the grammar (or the lack of it)! I did make some effort to read some literature in school but it seemed a lot of effort.

Partnerships...

Life is all about partnerships, good partnerships lead to success and happiness and bad partnerships are a part of the package, which help us learn faster... All the things that one enjoys could be the result of being with someone, of a good partnership.
Two things triggered my thoughts on these lines. One, while playing su-do-ku with mom, I usually feel the "hard" ones are really hard. But mom said we can do any of it with a little more patience and thinking out of the box. She dint exactly say this. She doesnt get into lecture mode, since am not very receptive when people are preaching me. In her own sweet way she convinced this and we ended up doing it in quite the same time as any other "medium" or "easy" puzzle. It felt great and most of the "hard" part of the puzzle seemed to be in my head.
Also the recent Indian cricket team's victory against the "mighty" Aussies in two straight finals. Wow what a way to drive home a point. I was mightily impressed. It served the most arrogant foul mouthed team that have seen in international cricket. I felt it was the way our players stuck together, believed and celebrated each other that lead to the victory.

It could those board exams you cleared with good grades - a partnership between a child and parent or child and teacher, it could be enjoying shopping/going out for a movie/chatting over coffee - a partnership with a friend or sibling. There are these people who love us and help us win, help us face many a challenge, pray for our welfare. So most of our success is not just a result of our hard work. It could have big contributions in the form of trust, faith in one's abilities, prayers, wishes, time of your loved ones - parents or friends or siblings.

Good partnerships make life interesting, open up new possibilities, make you realize previously “impossible" things. They make life wonderful.

Doctor Who?

There was a time when I thought I was not into reading sci-fi novels. Not very long ago. As in two weeks!When a friend suggested I could borrow some of his sci-fi books, I almost had to hide my contempt! How could I imagine reading some aliens attacking planet Earth and some hero recues. Wow impressed! I cant bear them on TV(ok folks, those of you who like it, sorry but its true), how could I read them. That was two weeks ago. One evening just when the library was about to close, I rushed in and asked the librarian to suggest a book quickly so that I dont waste his time browsing to pick one.All I said, "want something light and funny". When he picked up the book, I almost showed him my disappointment about his pick. He said it is a hit TV series and the back cover had something about aliens. I forced a smile, took the book telling myself its ok to keep the book over the weekend and if I dont like it can take something else on monday. The book was called "Wishing well" of the Doctor Who series. In two weeks I have read three of these books and last night I was up late just to ensure I finish reading the book. And in months I have not devoured books at this rate!! I have taken best sellers, critically acclaimed books
and either half read them and gave up or took weeks to finish them. I was wondering whats up with my reading, until I read these books! Things never are like they seemed..And why did they seem the way they did in the first place? I can neither explain my contempt for sci-fi stuff before nor the craze for it now!It all sounds so crazy, but I admit its wonderful reading the Doctor Who series!

High school highs...2

There was this game in school that we were all very crazy about. We used to call it "Grandslam". Very similar to hangman. But every letter has a clue. And more points for guessing the entire word. And even after the word is guessed, sometimes we can continue to play for the each letter clue.( Except for the basic rules, the game had highly evolved thanks to our collective synergic enthu for the game). The whole class would be divided to two groups (usually two) and there were some occasional fights, as someone thought someone else was cheating! This added drama to the game. The best part of it was the entire class would be animatedly excited to play the game. Some of our friends used to prepare it at home for the rest of us to play. The game is in fact as simple as I have put it here, but it used to be real fun. If any teacher asked us a "tricky" question for which none of us had an answer we would all cheerfully suggest "grandslam"(ok make it shout - our history teacher called us "barbarics"!!). So the teacher had to write all the dashes and give us a clue or two for us to guess the answer (not many would let us play the entire game – so give us some easy clues and finish it off). Not many teachers liked the idea, as it would not only eat up some time, but also since it would also make us happy and noisy!! As far as I remember it was our English teacher, Jyothsna maam, who showed equal enthusiasm to play the game when there was a chance for one. During the "extra" hours, lunch breaks, "game" periods, after school, before the classes began in the morning...we were game for it anytime. We played grandslams in history, geography, literature, biology...you name it we had played a grandslam on it! It was pure pleasure!

May I have my change please....

There is a lot of unrest. I feel I want a CHANGE - of place, of work, of people, of habits, of food(except for "uddin vada" ofcourse).
I am feeling tired and running slight temperature right now. Wondering could that be the cause..
Hope either the change happens or the restlessness passes away - whichever is convenient for the guy up there...

High school highs...1

I always wanted to be working when I grew up. I had made the assumption. Probably a teacher, but none the less a professional. I was probably in class 8. There was this debate in class(We used to have many at the time). The topic was "Should mothers be working?" or something on similar lines. I remember the teacher. Her first name was "Aktar". I have always liked this name. It sounds sweet when said. There were many participants as usual. But none of us wanted to argue saying "mothers should work". The teacher asked me to argue for the topic. I reluctantly agreed. Some of the arguments were so callous, like "If they are so interested in working, why should they even start a family"!!! Deep inside even I felt the same(ok I know, but its true). When you agree so much with your "opponents", to express disagreement convincingly is difficult! I, like most of the class was just thinking "Would I be liking it if my mother started working?".

I was not even liking the idea of me going home after school to an empty house. Then waiting for my mom to come. It was nice as it was. She waiting for me, and asking me how my day at school was - and me giving her every detail I could remember, right from whom all I quarreled with to what interesting thing I leant that day.

I argued saying "If women are talented and educated it will get wasted if they do not work. Even they have dreams and aspirations, so they must be allowed to work". The very tone I adopted made it obvious, I never saw myself in that position years later!! And I had not seen our teachers in this light! Most of them were women and many of them were mothers! All of us had let our teacher down. When she shared her thoughts we realized we had said all these things before a “working mother”! She was saddened by the way we thought - how possessive we were about our mothers and how selfish, how shortsighted.

What I enjoy doing these days...

1. Playing badminton with Vin.
2. Playing su-do-ku with Amma on weekends.
3. Car driving classes
4. Sleeping most of the time on saturdays.
5. Praying.

To Kitty, with love...

Her eyes were bright with some strange joy and there was a child like excitement in her face! She must have also felt the same about me at the moment. And we kept staring at our hands, she at mine and me at hers. Her hand looked so very much like mine. We were looking at something on her monitor. She was seated in her chair and I was leaning from my chair to see something she was pointing out at. My hand was resting on her chair's arm rest. While discussing something we realised this and we seemed so excited about it. Exactly the same shape! I kept my right hand along with her left and we both giggled like little girls! Her hand was slightly bigger and had long beautiful nails(my nails are very short).
This post is dedicated to my hand twin!

Last evening...-2

The world is a very unfair place to be.(Ok I will keep saying it because it IS an UNFAIR place to be!). This has nothing to do with the below passage.

Another friend called me after a long time to check if I continue to exist - precisely thats why some friends call me up for. We caught up with each others lives. In the due course I suddenly realized (because my friend pointed it out to me), that I had made some remarks about relationships and marriage. All this advice was not even targeted at him, for he is a mature guy himself. We were just discussing about something and I got into the lecture mode unconsciously. This is what I had said(it cant be exactly the same words, and since I was the one who said it, I have the license to...) :

There are a lot of things in this world which you do to prove a point. Marriage is definitely not one of them. Dont marry to prove anybody a point. There are a few people involved whose life will get affected by the decisions that you take. Be practical, be reasonable. In the height of ecstasy, when high on love, people dont think of the practical implications. You must think about the consequences. If you are content with the way of life at home, if you are proud of your roots(and you enjoy a lot of the vernacular stuff) , if you are sure you want your everyday things to be how they have always been, do not try anything drastically different in this area! Just imagine wanting to watch a kannada movie/play and hoping your spouse, who cannot follow kannada, could appreciate it, when initially it did not even seem like a requirement for the relationship! Think. Because this will be having an impact on your partner as well. If you are the kind who would end up with such unrealistic expectations(they become unrealistic in this particular situation, otherwise having such expectations from people of the same backgrounds is very valid)and are convinced it’s a reasonable expectation to have, then cross-language and cross-culture marriages are not for you. This will be a very unfair thing to do for a person whom you have “loved”. Things will not continue to be rosy forever. Get real. Don’t make your old parents go through difficult times adjusting to the new person-new language-new culture(This will not be a problem if you are from a cosmopolitan background). Marriage should stabilize life not add more confusion! And more than everything it depends on fate (yes, I am a “practicing” hindu!!! LOL!). If things do not happen the way you want, they were just not meant to be. Blame nobody(This is easier said than done!)…….

There was one thing very surprising. I have never taken a stand on this matter before. I did not even know I think on these lines(now). I have always claimed to be a hard-core romantic – as in, you cannot help falling in love with people (and falling in love somehow translates to marriage, thanks to my conditioned mind!). It was a great eye-opener to myself!

Last evening...- 1

This world is a damn unfair place to be. This was what I was thinking when I my mobile beeped last evening. I felt very strongly it was from my mobile service provider. They send me messages to pay my bill ten days well in advance of the last date, and that too some 3-4 messages per day - buggers. It was from a friend saying "I forgot to tell you - she got the Visa! Thanks." A smile lit up on my face. It was a strange feeling infact. I had not done anything that can be called a "favour" to deserve the "thanks". But I felt very happy,warmed and nice. This is what had happened.

I saw this friend of mine logged in early on the messenger. After exchanging pleasantries, he suddenly asked me if I could do him a favour. I said ok. He said his kin has applied for a Visa and she needs to get it, for she is needed there. "Can you pray for her?"

Now this took some time to register. Is this the favour he is asking? And this is a "favour"? It qualifies for a "favour"? I could not help smiling at the child-like-innocence of the request. So simple and so straight. (There are times when I wonder do I deserve such niceness? - yes, I am the same person who maintains the world is a bloody unfair place.)

After a while I managed to ask him if that was THE favour he had asked for. Saw a "Yes" pop up on my messenger.I said "Ok, sure, can do that for you". Seeing my confused state he gave me the explanation "If I do selfish requests(to God), they dont happen. If I ask Him something for other people it usually happens. So want you want you to pray for her." It could not have got simpler. I prayed.

Makeovers..

There is a show on TV that interests me a great deal. Not being a regular TV viewer, I keep surfing through the channels and stop mostly for songs and ads! And while surfing through the channels I catch this program mostly and it has to do with "makeovers". Two people, either spouses or friends or siblings are given a "makeover" by a team of experts - dress designers, hair stylists and the kind. Initially I was a little skeptic about this show, as in "would I not know what I look good in, why should someone else tell me" kind of attitude. But then what are experts for, and there is always a scope for improvement. Also, there is a pattern that I have noticed among most people. Most of us look for comfort when we select our dresses, which is very good. But more often than not we do not experiment. So we stick to the same colours or fabric. And our wardrobes are full of similar kind of clothes. Be it cotton salwar-kameezs or shirts of all shades of blue! And like everything else in life, we probably resist changing the way we dress. After these “makeovers” some people really turn out to look much better.

After watching this show, I let myself imagine giving makeovers to people around. I find myself telling, had this person worn a lighter or darker shade it would have been better. May be this colour shoes dont look good on this. I imagine how a person would look with shorter hair (For girls I like short hair or long hair, in between lengths don’t look that good, now don’t ask me how else would you expect it to get long otherwise…I never had long hair, ever!) I have always been experimenting with my clothes. I mix and match and see if it looks good. People say it takes a lot of confidence to carry of clothes, which you are not used to wear or colours you have not tried before. I never force myself, experimenting comes to me effortlessly – its as simple as, I get bored if I look the same for long! (LOL!). And many a time I would have bought the dress myself, so no question of forcing also. When people give me second looks, the first thing I feel is “now whats wrong?” (this is the confidence building activity I put myself through for all the effortless experimentation!)

But sometimes making small changes in our look does loads of good. And surprisingly enough all that, that is given in these “makeovers” involve giving a neat haircut, manicure and pedicure, and clothes and shoes that the “experts” think suit you well. And if we notice carefully this is what we were taught as kids. Presentable meant wearing neat clothes (yes pressed), keeping your hands, feet and hair clean, and wearing neat footwear(remember those polished shoes and clean socks..). These days a lot of emphasis is given on personal grooming. And it is so very interesting also! A little thought, some interest and some genuine effort and you well end up looking “groomed”.

Just wondering...what if...

When passion becomes vocation one becomes successful… may be. Dont know what makes some people successful and some not. Other than the perspective ofcourse. And the best part is people whom the world recognizes as "successful" mostly were not even looking for it. They probably followed their hearts, did just did what they liked. I was wondering what I would have ended up being (Currently other than fixing bugs for a living, I am a full time whiner).

Was wondering what would I have been had I followed my heart. I would probably be a dancer. Had learnt classical dance for four years, but at that time was too young to enjoy it. The classes were in the evenings and always felt it eats up my play time. And I was not a kid who appreciated discipline (okay dont think any kid would). Classical dance seemed very methodical and tiring at that time. Standing (or was it sitting!) with your knees bent through the entire rendition was traumatic(for a kid that is). I gave lame excuses to bunk classes, hardly practiced at home and gave up, or rather finally was allowed to give up. It was much later that I realised if there was any music I enjoyed I could neither recollect the lyrics nor the tune. But to my amazement could find a movement to each beat of the song if I happen to hear it again. At home while listening to music cant resist moving my head or tapping my feet. Sometimes I even increase the volume, sing aloud and dance. The only regret is I did not learn any form of dance.

I also like probably would love to be a TV anchor for a travel and food show. I always envy these people. They get paid for doing it! Imagine being the host for programs like "Best spas across the globe" or some such fancy named show, "Foodie" or some such food-travel program. You go around meeting people, learning facts about the place. Good food, nice places and everything free and what more you get paid for doing all of it! Ok, agreed am over simplifying the stuff, there may be a lot of research going on behind every episode, lot of effort in making sure the information provided is as authentic as one can get under all the prevailing constraints. And unlike presenters of olden days who probably got the script ready, these days if one goes by the titles displayed at the end of the show (see, I care to read them!) say that the presenter does a lot more than just presenting the show. But then the point is when you enjoy it, you enjoy it!

When I was in school, I used to like VJs and thought that was a “cool” job. But I grew up to be more misanthropic as days went by and the idea of talking to absolute strangers seemed such a turn off! For a while Astro-physics seemed interesting. I was a part of a sky gazing club. We spent evenings on a terrace near my house spotting constellations, stars and planets. But research needed far more discipline and really good grades. So ruled out!

Then I loved reading. Thought if I become an editor of a publishing company I could read manuscripts – books before they came to the shops, thats how I saw them at the time! But then there would be scores of people writing like me(not demeaning myself, but people who write more for pleasure than as a career, well how does that matter?, ok whatever), may be getting a good material is like searching for a needle in a hay stack..not sure why, but dint take up the idea seriously.

As a kid I loved my teachers. My love for people depends far more on them than myself (same applies to dislike as well, this is my theory so no questions entertained.) These were interesting wonderful people who made me feel teaching was a great job. I cant explain why, may be peer pressure, may be glamour quotient(!!!!) associated with it, or God knows what I did not become a teacher. Whatever little I know on anything, I still find myself good at explaining it to others. And surprisingly I remain patient when someone asks for a re-run of the explanation (may be I hear it as “once more”!!). Enjoyed going down the memory lane..and luckily still believe in the self-made thumb rule in life…I may whine, I may be unhappy for a while, I may think a lot, I may do anything I chose to at the moment about something from the past but then, ”No regrets, whatsoever”.

Here comes the new year!

My resolutions for the new year..Well though will not have any, but then on seconds thoughts, which I always have, have come up with this list:

1. Not to take anyone(including myself ) seriously.
2. Not to have any expectations from anyone. This I guess will be the toughest one. God help me with this.

This should do. These can infact can I bet ensure a life time of happiness. But then, I need to also learn to let go of things gracefully, gracefully being the point. Ok wishing myself loads of luck for this and all the folks on blogosphere a very happy new year!

P.S: Losing weight somehow dint make it to the list, and am glad about that one!