Indulgence is bliss
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Will she start..
Will she not ?
Will she start..
Will she not ?
Its a ridiculous mellifluous rhyme being met out to me by my dearest friend as she agonizes the waste of blog space.I just want to let her know I come by & for lack of words or lack of ideas I pass by too. Well my past effort really yielded zero output over the last several months, but if she keeps up that rhyme of hers...well I have little choice but to keep coming back here and keep the updates rolling.
The monsoon appears to have struck earlier this year relieving us of the dreaded burning heat of the summer. We've been indulging ourselves with huge cups of ginger chai and trying hard to avoid terribly calorific, hot & spicy fried pakoras. But, when is an Indian monsoon ever complete without the deathly kiss of the pakoras !
As the rain pitter-patters on my window & doesn't relent, my mind tells me to stay put & watch the rain pass by while the other me wants to savor the rains with...hmmm...And so we indulge again. Indulgence is bliss !
The monsoon appears to have struck earlier this year relieving us of the dreaded burning heat of the summer. We've been indulging ourselves with huge cups of ginger chai and trying hard to avoid terribly calorific, hot & spicy fried pakoras. But, when is an Indian monsoon ever complete without the deathly kiss of the pakoras !
As the rain pitter-patters on my window & doesn't relent, my mind tells me to stay put & watch the rain pass by while the other me wants to savor the rains with...hmmm...And so we indulge again. Indulgence is bliss !
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Liken them to bra burning feminists or chaddi-chors ? Call 'em whatchya may they're a combination of Munna's Gandhigiri & women-activists-gone-bonkers. I completely understand & even empathize with the intentions & inspiration of the "pink chaddi" movement but I just wish the ladies were represented by better spokeswomen on the media who can rebuke clowns from the moral brigade in kind.
What lady in her right mind(like me of course ;) ) wouldn't love to enjoy a chilled sweating mug of beer in a pub that plays the perfect music on hot evening ...like today !
What lady in her right mind(like me of course ;) ) wouldn't love to enjoy a chilled sweating mug of beer in a pub that plays the perfect music on hot evening ...like today !
Monday, February 02, 2009
Sometimes its so much more easier to just drop things the way they are when they come to a dead halt and start afresh. Like this classic example of my blog. The internet does offer the luxury of anonymity despite the advantage of shrinking the world into a lil' window ! But...I'd rather pick up this thread where I left it off & accept the challenge of being a little more regular & even disciplined and keep jotting 'em gazillion thoughts !
A year's a long long time. The world's essentially changed all around us with the global financial crisis, the US electing the first-ever African American president, the Chinese quake, the summer Olympics and how can I not include the profligate Mr.Raju. Beyond this worldly wisdom, we have the Doc surging to new highs & a soon-to-be-married kid sister, whirlwind trips to roads less traveled by yours truly, happily pregnant friends, new mommies with their very cute lil' ones & of course some interesting developments at work. Like I said, picking up the threads, has definitely more meaning plus in the case of this poor abandoned blog space, has definitely tons of more meat in it!
A year's a long long time. The world's essentially changed all around us with the global financial crisis, the US electing the first-ever African American president, the Chinese quake, the summer Olympics and how can I not include the profligate Mr.Raju. Beyond this worldly wisdom, we have the Doc surging to new highs & a soon-to-be-married kid sister, whirlwind trips to roads less traveled by yours truly, happily pregnant friends, new mommies with their very cute lil' ones & of course some interesting developments at work. Like I said, picking up the threads, has definitely more meaning plus in the case of this poor abandoned blog space, has definitely tons of more meat in it!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
We drove down to Mahabalipuram on one of the weekends. This was one of the many roadtrips we've undertaken over the last 3 months or so. We stopped at the Crocodile Farm on the way for a short while to see the reptiles.
This fellow just sat there, basking in the sun with his mouth wide open.
And they were simply adorable...
Especially this lil' one and...
I simply adored the smile on her pretty face !Why English is sooo BAD ??
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
So my sister's finally finished her dissertation and has moved to Bangalore to work. Having been apart for a long time, we were catching up and one of those conversations took us back to good ol' Sacred Heart School in Jamshedpur. We suddenly remembered a poetry recitation competition she'd participated in as a little girl and actually penned down the entire poem after Google returned a zilch!! And so here goes:
Lil' Sister begins reciting: Why English is So BAD?
Lil' Sister begins reciting: Why English is So BAD?
We'll begin with box, and the plural is boxes;
But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes.
Then one fowl is goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
The cow in the plural may be cows or kine,
But the plural of vow is vows, not vine.
I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
If I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth, and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?
If the singular is this and the plural is these,
Why shouldn't the plural of kiss be named kese?
Then one may be that, and three may be those,
Yet the plural of hat would never be hose;
We speak of a brother, and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
The masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine she, shis, and shim!
So our English, I think, you all will agree,
Is the craziest language you ever did see.
But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes.
Then one fowl is goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
The cow in the plural may be cows or kine,
But the plural of vow is vows, not vine.
I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
If I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth, and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?
If the singular is this and the plural is these,
Why shouldn't the plural of kiss be named kese?
Then one may be that, and three may be those,
Yet the plural of hat would never be hose;
We speak of a brother, and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
The masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine she, shis, and shim!
So our English, I think, you all will agree,
Is the craziest language you ever did see.
Milky Mo(o-v-e)ments!!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Shot this one in Goa. It was amazing to watch the bovine heap move all together from one end of the street to the other, horns, hooves, calves, tails, flies and and all !!
I left the title blank for not wanting this to be yet another one of those "yipeee...I am back" posts. So what did I do all this time.
- We did really take a very well deserved and long awaited vacation to Goa. A day of some rain and three wonderful days of sunshine combined with the lots of free flowing and inexpensive yet great liquor and food by the Arabian Sea was extremely fun and well very fun!!
- I finally managed to get our living room spruced up with some new and wonderfully colorful plump cushions and cant help gloating at this accomplishment :)
- Long conversations over the endless cups of good tea on dull rainy weekends are always so perfect, though only next to great evenings with good food and wine and merry making with great company !
- Watched a few very forgettable movies that I would not even care mentioning !
- Finally, got to my blog and approved the comments :) and have posted my replies :)
B'lore traffic "rules"
Thursday, July 12, 2007
I am not going to be claiming that I am back with the "bang"(Lore...pssst the "d" was silent)!! So much for a pathetic joke.
Well, the last couple of weeks were spent over-hearing some interesting "expert" advice on the golden rules that prevail while driving in Bangalore. Two of our colleagues who've recently moved to India finally acquired the much dreaded liabilities - their cars. These wannabe 4-goody-tyres are truly the bane of this very over-burdened city. Its a pain driving around the streets of this place. You not only have poor & hazardous roads to drive on but you also have to bear the brunt of non-existent lane discipline, extremely rude drivers, completely bizarre traffic management "officials", terribly egoistic public transport drivers and...Jeez!! the list is endless. If you are smart enough though you could get by just fine, just like all those others who get along perfectly.
Heres some precious piece of overheard advice if you want to drive in Bangalore.
Well, the last couple of weeks were spent over-hearing some interesting "expert" advice on the golden rules that prevail while driving in Bangalore. Two of our colleagues who've recently moved to India finally acquired the much dreaded liabilities - their cars. These wannabe 4-goody-tyres are truly the bane of this very over-burdened city. Its a pain driving around the streets of this place. You not only have poor & hazardous roads to drive on but you also have to bear the brunt of non-existent lane discipline, extremely rude drivers, completely bizarre traffic management "officials", terribly egoistic public transport drivers and...Jeez!! the list is endless. If you are smart enough though you could get by just fine, just like all those others who get along perfectly.
Heres some precious piece of overheard advice if you want to drive in Bangalore.
- If you're a woman and you're a driver, be certain that you will curse the day the treacherous and quintessential "Y" jilted you ! Be bold, brazen and well truly forget femininity and all those associated niceties/jazz around that.
- Buy your car but please ensure it does not look really new(meaning get those initial bumps and scratches for the effect...) the moment you hit the streets, you would've earned a few brownie points and respect of the other drivers!
- Forget about your recent splurge at the dentists for a polished & cleaned set of teeth. Forget the fact that your smile makes you look nice and happy. You will never regret it. Start your day by gritting your jaws, bring on the frown and acid on your tongue and fire away with aggression. Once you reach your destination, you will know that your efforts paid off. Smile to your hearts content. A frown everyday will brighten your day!!
- Get rid of both those rear view mirrors or keep them shut-in. Shocking but true...they are pretty much considered expensive and truly unwanted "accessories". I have never however managed to get rid of this horrid addiction to my rear view mirrors. Apart from looking all the way around when I turn to make sure my "blind-spots" don't deceive my vision. I really have to turn "cold turkey" on this terrible terrible vice. Well, what do they say about "when in Rome...."?
- When in need HONK and HONK and HONK again. The louder the better and the more frequently you use it you will be sure to rule the streets.Oh! and you must try the latest in the market, they're now the louder than ever before. This nasty noise maker is sure to dissolve all your traffic woes. It doesn't matter if the decibel levels cannot be tolerated by the minutest of living beings. But if you're going this route remember deafness is also here to stay. The deafer you are the better off you are!!
- If its a one-way street towards the north today, beware; it is likely to be one-way towards the south tomorrow. So please do drive in the opposite direction on a one-way street, it will pay off. Also, if theres a cop watching, please ignore him he doesn't know a thing at this point you simply jump to #10 below !!
- Perhaps the driving school taught you how to use your indicators. But remember just as you did learn lots at college but had to unlearn and re-learn everything in your first job, kick your driving-school teacher hard on his/her backside. They never taught you the right the thing at all. Heres how you do it here. If you want to turn to the right:
- Indicate about a mile in advance, remember do not turn off the indicator,
- Stay on the extreme left side of the road, especially when you happen to drive a huge trailer/truck/bus,
- The moment you arrive at your turn, just swish your wheels to the right and cut across like the Atlantis.
- Disadvantage: You need to be prepared for lots of unparliamentary language and actions, Advantage:You have your way and feel realllllly "Godly"..And its the whole feel good factor - you're sooo smart & cool & superior, you freaked out fifty others around you and fooled them didn't ya!
- Ensure you get fancy tail lights/parking lights/reverse lights on your vehicle, in a manner that they flash very fancily and all together irrespective of whether you're driving at night/hitting the brakes/reversing; its a cool, slick, trick! Oh you wicked devil you...you really got them this time didn't you?
- You've probably heard of headlights and perhaps know how & when to use them.Simpletons like yours truly, use them at nights/fogs/rains and in the low beam. We poor folks were also taught to flash them to overtake/warn other drivers. But hey guess what I learnt today...you're supposed to install halogen/fluorescent lamps and drive on a high beam especially when you site someone coming in the opposite direction in a poorly lit street. Thanks! I now know what "Zap" means and can articulate "dazzled" really well.
- Here are a few final aces.
- Get some awful looking bumper stickers with devils/skulls/charging bulls and lots of messages painted sort of like "Oh evil-eyed one, may you face be blackened!*" OR "Himmat Hai To Side Se Nikal, Warna Bardasht Kar**" OR socially meaningful ones that promote birth control "we one ours one/two***";
- Overtake from the wrong side
- Be really quick to show your hand in a very offended manner to every passer-by whether or not there was a problem. Believe me you will scare them away.
- Finally, remember you are always right !! Just drive straight and focus only on your getting to your destination before everyone else. Do not, I repeat, do not look around you under any circumstances, other drivers are obviously responsible for their own lives even if they get hit; after all they need to watch and drive carefully ! Didn't they come in the wrong direction ?
*Popular bumper stickers on trucks in India:
- *Oh boori nazar wale tera mooh kala - This one wards off the "evil-eye" a popular superstition
- **Himmat Hai To Side Se Nikal, Warna Bardasht Kar - If you have guts, overtake me or tolerate me
- ***Hum do humare ek/do - a family planning message, preaching to couples to have either one or 2 kids only
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
