Its almost time

that I went away...to a new life, a new beginning. A life now to be shared with a husband who means a lot to me. I am looking forward to living in an apartment with a view. To making khana for the man in the house. To learn to adjust to a different temperament - one very very different from my family (where everyone yells and screams and makes too much noise). To hold hands and explore a different city and a very very different culture.

So much to look forward to. So much to learn. So many photographs waiting to be taken with a SLR!! YAAAAY!! Husband dearest has been very kind with regard to donating his SLR to me and my sis-in-law - one step up - giving me camera lenses as wedding present :D

I am going to miss my crazy family no doubt and my friends but with technology as I keep reassuring myself - it will be like no space-time continuum exists.

So yeah here's to new chapters, meeting new people and making a fabulous new beginning :)

Line of the day

I read a whole report about a protest outside the Empire State Building about its refusal to mark Mother Teresa's 100th birthday with blue and white lights, in honor of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning nun.

An Irish long-time resident of the Queens, Bridget Cagney, 73 had this to say, 'I woke up this morning, and there was blue and white skies, so it didn't matter. She had her own lights right up there'

:)

To know more, read here.

Travelling on

So I did Dali (as some of my friends call it) - didn't do anything exceptional but visited Gudgaon (yes yes this is the way I pronounce it) and oh man...its a maze of steel and concrete and Metro stations and big malls with really good microbreweries and half decent roads and no breakfast places which open at 9 am!! I mean wtf, I ended up eating masala dosa in bloddy Gudgaon man!!! My father laughed his ass off when I told him this over the fone.

Oh I am also recommending Kingfisher to anyone for a breakfast flight - I had the best upma (and that is saying something considering my S.Indian genes) on that flight. I don't know who made it but god bless that man/woman really! Soft and crumbly and just about perfect, I should have taken a photo to show the world really!

Ok now in order, took KF and watched Mallya and Yana what's her name do their thing. I thought Deepika became the brand ambassador (as an aside I hope she gets together with the younger Mallya - the best darn decision she will make in her lifetime!) so then why is Yana still saying 'Abhi cabin ki batti dim ki jayegi'!

Landed in Dali airport and the man ahead of me had a thick gold bead necklace like one of those Egyptian ones you see only in the movies on gunda types! Totally mins wot eet ees! So I thought to myself, 'Welcome to Dali yaar'! Took the Meru where the aircon didn't work!! Ghastly heat hit me from every angle possible and I angstily ended up calling the Meru driver 'Boss' which I am told is a big no-no in Dali!

Anyways, friend lives in a beautiful colony (please pronounce Dali way jee) - extremely green but like you have no car, you get screwed over! But it was nice and we walked and I took photos of all these garden furniture things. Oh and the maids come to work in a bicycle - imagine pulling that in Mumbai!

And then main course - alcohol happened in the night :) Which was supra fun. We didn't get drunk at all, promise! And ate yummy food which friend slaved over - very simple chicken mince with pasta in red sauce types.

And the next morning the breakfast travails began ending with the masala dosa misadventure! But the best part about this morning was the visit to the microbrewery - Rockman's. So Rockman's is a pretty cool place - all vats and barrels right there for you. But the best part was this

I mean how cool is this! They give you shots of beer to decide which one you want to have and its so light and fresh. Can't get over that! Food was hideously expensive so we decided against eating food. But I actually managed to consume almost a whole pint of beer (much to my amazement considering am not much of a beer drinker) so thumbs up for this particular experience.

Saw Aisha post this which was very henh & very Dali in some parts but I totally loved the fashion in the flick! So decent watch types and Abhay Deol rocks as always so go watch it for him for sure :)

Post that we did the drive back to Dali and this time propah Dali dahlings like Greater Kailash types. Had a very relaxing time and had the best mutton kebabs ever - the meat and the masala was just soo yummy .....makes me salivate thinking about it.

Morning brunch was at American Diner where my friend got hit on at like 11 in the morning! So totally not happening! But we had a fun brunch and ate and talked lots so all good. Went off to catch up with another friend in Kalkaji where I was spending the night. And guess what dinner was - aloo tikis!! Bahut hi changa tha jee!!

My last morning in Delhi saw me headed towards DLF Promenade which is uber-snooty and uber-if you are not rich, don't show your face here types! But I had brunch in the most awesome interiored place 'The Stonehouse Deli' - see photo below for more.

Met friend whose getting married in November and whose wedding I am going to miss - but hers sounded so crazy and frazzled, it made me nervous about mine! And I don't seem to have done half the stuff she has so total yargh.

And then I traversed the course of Dali to get to CP where I was supposed to meet a friend but ended up meeting two ex-colleagues from the old workplace which was nice.

All in all a good trip. My Pune treep has been cancelled again (I am telling you its jinxed for whatever reason!) on account of ill health. Sigh..so no more trips for me now..only wedding preps...

But can't wait for September to start..yaaaay ...looking forward to becoming Mrs :)

The best laid plans....

are bound to fall flat on their face. So my Pune trip got cancelled. My dearest darlingest sister came down with malaria one day before I was scheduled to leave for Pune. Such is life and such is fate. So in the interests of all, I did give up on my plans and have postponed the trip to end of August now.

But I am meeting up with old college friends this week - we have been friends since 1997 so the memories are so many and we end up reminiscing no matter where we are, so much so that the company with us gets bored to death! Kya karen 13 years is a long time to know someone no. I have a friend whom I have known literally since my chaddis time - Junior Kg or L Kg as they call it in some places. So that means bar 2-3 years of my lifetime, I know the dude like forever which is slightly crazy in my opinion.

I am actually going to make a list of people I need to catch up with before I leave in a couple of months and start crossing them off :D

Will be travelling out next week to Dilli and going to be in Gudgaon and drink Bloddy Mary's so that should be a whole lot of fun.

What would we do without friends? Donne was right when he said, 'No man is an island' but in my case, I swim in a veritable ocean of friends :)

As a last aside, we did something fun at work - planned Chelsea Clinton's honeymoon. Yep yep, crazy or not, we had a lot of fun doing it - I wrote out most of the content and the big boss man helped me with suggestions and it came together quite well I thought. Don't believe me, check it out here!

All my bags are packed, I am ready to go

And I am going travelling again. Starting Pune this coming weekend, I am heading out to Delhi next month and hopefully going to make it to Amboli as well for a weekend trip. And I can't wait.

I do 'heart' travelling a lot and luckily future husband does too. So yaay on that. I am going for these trips to hang out with friends. Have been doing that ever since close friends moved away and this is my way of travelling and making sure that I am connecting witht them - two birds with one stone!

In one of my earlier posts, I had mentioned that the 'sense of urgency' is becoming stronger to make sure I connect as much as possible with the people I care about and who have become my support system in this city - to eat, drink, bond and bitch about life happenings.

I used to bitch about work - thank God that urge has passed now! :D This working from home I tell you is brilliant stuff especially in this horrendous monsoons! No travelling in the trains, getting stuck and lord knows what else! And the ghost of 26/7 lingers on still in any true-blue Mumbaikar's mind. Don't think it will ever pass.

Enough rambling. Chitra has tagged me in this post. I am going to have think of different things to say from when Shalini had tagged me before :) So hard to think about stuff which are normal mundane things about yourself in some sense but make up who you are.

Can't wait to begin my journey...

The Murder

Sourced from Wikipedia

It had been in the planning stages for quite a while and now that the plan was coming close to fruition, they were suprisingly nervous. The English bastard had it coming for sometime now. He had no place poking his foxhound like nose into their business. They loaded up their guns and drove the Vauxhall out.

Silence reigned in the car. They were men on a mission with history.

The house at No. 1 Plein 1813 had been acquired by the British Government in 1984. It stood as a symbol of the enemy in their minds and their biggest one was about to be eliminated.

British Ambassador Sykes was looking forward to his day at work. His office had almost made a breakthrough to get the main man responsible for financing the Irish bastards in Holland. He was eager to get on with it.

Karel had had a lovely time last night with his girlfriend. He was only 19 but had got the job of valet six months back. Luckily the 'Big Man' as he referred to the Ambassador was a good bloke. He was saving money to go on that trip to India which he had always dreamt about. Another six months to go is what he thought....

The Big Man walked through the door and waved a good morning to Karel. Karel was walking one step behind the Big Man but ensured that he got there just in time to open the door of the Rolls for him. Sykes got in and seated himself comfortably.

The bullets came fast and furious. Four bullets. One in the chest, one each in the shoulder(s) and one in the stomach. Karel was shot near the heart and one on the shoulder.

The blood flowed, much like the blood of their mates in Belfast, thought the two men as they fled the scene.

Inspired from this age old newspaper article here.

I am walking away

I'm walking away from the troubles in my life
I'm walking away oh to find a better day
I'm walking away from the troubles in my life
I'm walking away oh to find a better day
I'm walking away

Craig David is humming in my head. I am walking away from the troubles in my life which are at this stage slightly miniscule. The marriage madness has not started yet. So am Skyping a whole lot and those two hours of video talking make me extremely happy.

I had written earlier about starting up a new house and we have got our fabulous apartment now. So am totally happy about that and can't wait to see it real time which should be approximately 4 months from now.

Today has been a retrospective day of sorts. Of letting go of old hat and letting it fly with the wind where no one sees it or catches it. Of knowing that good things can and do happen to people who wait patiently. Of catching up with friends who will not seen awhile and sorely missed. Of knowing that happiness can come by anytime it chooses to. You just need to be there to grab your moment and not let go and squeeze it for all its worth.

Life as eet ees is taking a new turn :)

And my 29th is upon me

And like seriously this will go down in history as one of my least socializing buddays :) First, it is a Monday so don't get me started on that. Second, my fiancé is not here which totally sucks - but on the flip side, we are going to spend his together so that makes it all good in my mind! Third, all this working from home means that I am slightly money-less (atleast this month) but hey I am working from home and not commuting in the ghastly rains! So yipee yaay on that!

This year has been a strange good year. I started out ever so randomly but sure that I would be quitting my job. Hit Goa in the first month itself - so happy that trip made me. Got a new job that gave me the flexibility to spend time in the house and bond with the family. Conversely, these are the last few months in my city for me too. I will be moving home and hearth come November and that is a move I am totally looking forward to - an apartment with a view is what 'we' have been dreaming about and hope that really really works out.

I lost a friend, figuratively and literally. I didn't know when the year started that this was written for me in 2010. It hurt. I lived through it. I moved on. Losing someone who is the same age as you makes you more than aware of your own mortality.

It makes you realise that life is too short and you gotta do everything that you have ever dreamed of doing - take risks, plunge into ravines of self-doubt and make sure you climb your way to the top. You are bound to get injured but when you realise what you have achieved, the feeling is mindblowing!

Some things left to do for 2010:

1. Get married :D
   
2. Jumpstart my own house which fills me with trepidation and excitement
3. Do bungee jumping
4. Travel more (of course)
5. Catch up with friends - the sense of urgency I feel is greater now
   
6. Get back to writing and photography (both have been sorely neglected)
   
7. Get a new tattoo and I even know what I want to get - question is will I do it before my wedding and face the wrath of all the South Indian mamis of the world :D
   
8. Leave family and friends behind in India (who will be sorely missed) but in today's connected world you can hardly call it leaving behind

And yeah that is about it. Hitting 29 the year you are getting married is something special in my mind. This year's budday is my most memorable and am kicked as hell about it. And ain't no one gonna tell me any different!

May ends

bringing to a close a month of happiness for me. I met someone who turns out to be the love of my life (you know like the films), get engaged to him and will begin a new life with him in the next five months.

If someone had even told me in January this is how my life would have turned out, I would have point blank laughed at them!

Life brings with it strange, extraordinary twists and turns. I went with the flow on this one and am extremely happy I did so. Believing that things would work out given what our odds were was quite simply a leap of faith and one I was more than willing to take. Knowing in real time that this is something that will last a lifetime - well its like the Mastercard ad right, priceless :)

Here's to life then. Cheers....

The 10 quick steps to eternal happiness

A dear friend on Flickr - ganobristol - just tagged me on this post. Stuff like this makes you stop and think. What does happiness mean and where do I find my happiness really? What makes me happy in 10 quick steps are as follows:

1. Photography - the mood hits me and then sometimes I just know its a perfect shot and like honestly screw what people think about it. Par example, like this one below which is also the subject of a previous post.

2. Rains - Sitting at home and experiencing the rains is what makes me happiest. Ghar pe amma will make chai/kapi and sometimes (rarely actually) bhajia - wah wah moments

3. The sea - Nothing makes me happier than being close to the sea. And I love getting a sun tan so it is all good in my mind. Prawns are my fave sea food and there is something awesome about sunrise-sunset by the seaside.


4. People - Family and friends - make me happy. I have a strong support system who encourages, cheers and holds my hand, figuratively and literally when the chips are against me.

5. Filter kapi - sigh - what would I do without kapi? My life would be an empty, barren husk I know! First thing in the morning, a cup of filter kapi uplifts me like nothing else can

6. Cooking - I am a late bloomer here. I like cooking - the smells, the effort and let's not forget the sweat :P And of course the mostest happiness is derived from people's burps afterwards :):)


7. Reading and listening to music - Two pleasures combined guaranteed to enthrall me enough that I can get blinded to the world outside.

8. The colour green - I loveee greeen so much so that some friends started calling me the 'Green Goblin' at a point!!! I have green earrings and green outfits. I used to have green shoes but they died on me!! :(


9. Whisky - :D I don't think I should say more. Nothing like a small peg and boy is that guaranteed to uplift the spirits (sorry could not resist that one! :))


10. A life partner - Lifetime of guaranteed happiness I have been promised and if nothing else -I get a house and some LV bags in return he says :):)

The light check...the beads check...shadows..check..

The light check...the beads check...shadows..check.., originally uploaded by KittyKaht.

Sometimes the perfect shot comes along without you knowing it. Sometimes life happens without you knowing it. And going with the flow is just as good as thinking and planning it. This shot is like that- with the flow - taxi stops in town at a traffic signal, the light pours in this extraordinary fashion, the beads glitter, and my hand automatically reaches for the camera.

One day, I want to have an exhibition of my photographs. I would like that to happen for me. I am not yet confident that I am that good. I work with a point and shoot. People compliment me. But I know I am just as good as the next person. To be better, I need to learn.

Life teaches you lessons. Sometimes you learn well, sometimes you forget and make the same effing mistakes. And that too is a learning experience.

This post in that sense is a nonsensical one. The photo inspired me to write. I like using photos to complement my writing. You can read Flash Fiction about how that works. I think Micky is doing a great job at supporting people who write. More people should write - gets their angst off their chests and wherever else it is hiding :)

Ok enuf said. Time to do I reckon...

A commitment for a lifetime

Life has a funny way of working out she thought to herself. The sari lady was putting the final touches on her pallu. Her make up was in order (for once she thought!) Everything was perfect.

How had this come about - this eternal happiness she expected for herself? She had met him sometime back. Common friends etal. They had got talking. Something had clicked. She had cold feet. So did he.

But standing here today, she was surprised to see that it had all fallen into place. Her usual cynicism had no place here.

She heard the call of the nadaswaram outside in that fine AC hall her amma-appa had paid for with a lifetime of savings. She smiled and stepped out with the confidence that was born of belief that they could make it together - that they could be...

The height of nonsenseness

You know the end is near when the bells start tolling

Figuratively of course in your head

Well sometimes you might even be in a cloister

And they would toll

But that would not necessarily mean your end now would it?

Well unless it was a spy movie and you were James Bond

And the Sister Superior was actually the Bond girl

Who has latent talents for sex and murder….

Well then it would be your end then…

If you were the villain of the series

But being the villain doesn’t necessarily make you bad

It just means you can plead extenuating circumstances

Your mom got murdered, your dad got battered

All sorts of ed things happened to you when you were

But a child suckling at your mother’s breast

Oedipus complex etal

However will not explain why you do the things you do

Why you make me mad

Why you make me sad

Why our lives revolve in circles – sometimes crop circles too

Mysterious, threatening, reassuring

The end

A Coffee Moment

A Coffee Moment, originally uploaded by Chitra Aiyer.

Bittersweet the memories are

A cup of coffee
can mean so much
and so little

A nodding acquaintance,
a lover who could not give more
a parent left behind

The joy in the deep brown always endures
You can immerse yourself in the aroma

Learning how to live
Is a coffee moment.....

porta do céu, originally uploaded by zenog.

The Queen walked down the path
It bristled green
The insects scrunched under her feet as she walked
She was tipsy – the gin had been a bit too much for her

She swayed a bit – the afternoon sunshine was gentle on her face
The path seemed to wind on forever
But it had been a blissful morning
Full of bright laughter and happiness radiating from all the faces

Well she knew they would not be happy forever
The gin had contributed to that slightly giddy feeling

The gate was almost upon her…

Some lagers can cause all the trouble

Portishead, Bristol.

The day had begun innocently enough. He was 15. His Dad had done the runner ages ago. His Mom didn't care a piss about him. The slapper was sitting cozy in Scotland with that wanker! And of course his bro, cuzz me, the half-brother...the dirty filthy copper, what a tosser he was!

He opened the fridge and there sat the lagers waiting for him. 3 perfect lagers - cold and the taste just the right hint of bitter. He didn't think too much about it- just grabbed them off the shelf and ran off to meet Jimmy. Jimmy was his best mate- always ready for taking the piss.

Jimmy met him near the corner store run by the currywalahs. The smell permeated the whole street. Every time, he entered the shop, he tried to nick something. They always knew he stole things but were afraid of him - the blue eyes always glittered in contempt . The brown eyes didn't have the strength to match the sneer etched permanently on the chicken pockmarked face.

Jimmy saw the lagers in his hand and knew that today would be a good day. They both ran towards their favourite hangout - the parapet near Mrs Brown's house- where they sat and stared at all the posh girls from the private schools. Taunting remarks from the parapet were always met with studied silence from the girls.

They started on the first of the cans, gulping it down with relish. 20 minutes was all it took. The cans lying abandoned on the road - not even an attempt to place them in the garbage bin near Mrs Brown's house.

They were walking down the street - happy- the lager lay warm in their stomachs- when they heard the first of the sirens wailing....

This not-so-good story was inspired by a true life story which be read here. Some of the slang which I had forgotten comes from here.

The beginning of the saga

His smoking hot whisky eyes

That was the first thing she had noticed and the quick grin of course

The rain was pouring down in sheets and she thought,

‘What a quirk of fate, I seem to meet my destiny every time it rains!’

Her car had stalled – something or the other had given up its life

She was sitting all alone – feeling the loneliness coming off in waves

She heard a quick tap

And fate she smiled her wicked grin

Irene rolled down the window pane

40 years blurred in her gaze

Looking into Iyer’s eyes

And his story well now that makes a separate rhyme….

Iyer and Irene

From much before and for ever after

Irene blazed her wordy guns at Iyer’s accent

Iyer disdained to reply

He looked away and sniffed at the air

Asked, ‘Where is my thair sadam?’

The smile that lit Irene’s face

Equivalent to a thousand candles it was

She stopped, looked at him and

Decided to end the battle as it were

‘That my love, you’ll have to make

For yourself’, said she.

‘I intend to have my whisky first’

In married life continues Iyer and Irene's saga

A small episode

Her hair fell softly on her brow but the malevolent smile that twisted her face would have done the Dark Lord proud. She inched softly and surely towards the sacrifice waiting at the far end of the hall. The victim was unaware that her brains would be smashed to smithereens with a silver bullet. The Nazgoid-277 was built to destroy the scum that walked her planet in the name of human beings. It was a weapon, pure and pure - built for one purpose only - annihilation.

Her footsteps echoed eerily in the vast cavern of the corridor. Her silver jumpsuit glittered- it was meant to accentuate every inch of her figure. The victim would be a willing one.

She stopped at the anointed one's door and knocked. A screen fell across her face - charming smile, blue eyes heightened by the tension. She waited. The door opened. An abyss stared back at her. Her head spun. Her reflection looked at her and asked, 'So you have come finally?' Then without a trace of irony, 'It does feel like I have been waiting for millennia.'

The Nazgoid-277 slipped from her hand in slow motion. It hit the carpeted floor with barely a thud. The bullets seemed to discharge of their own volition destroying the perfect face in the mirror. The reflection wavered for a minute or two before vanishing. Its purpose had been served.

Oh fish!

Oh fish!, originally uploaded by Pixychik.

vairy whale
said the fish to the sea
the sea opened her arms
she welcomed the wee one

scary mother you are sometimes
but i don’t intend to be here very long
this is but a fleeting visit
inspired by the man behind the dark side of the moon

that man he sits on the edge with his fishing rod
forlornly
and wishes for an evening star
it comes and twinkles at him

it says vairy whale
why don’t you visit the sea sometime
she seems to long for you

the man looked at the star
a glimmer of recognition shone in his weather-beaten eyes
vairy whale he said
its time i left this land anyway

the man jumped off the moon into the waiting arms of the sea
the world heaved a sigh of relief
the splash that occurred echoed in the corridors of the universe
reverberated across the galaxies
whoooosh it went till every denizen on every planet
felt the same desire

as the man who used to sit behind the dark side of the moon