Song Tag

Shruthi tagged me. A song tag. It took me a while to do this because it took me that much time to decide on the "one song" that is "our" song. The catch words here are "one" and "our".
As I have told a million times now (my regular readers will kill me if I say it again... pavan and s.b even have a contract for the same *sigh*) P and I are kind of opposites.
So moral of the story? It's impossible for me and P to have just one song as ours. He has some songs which he feels suits us and I have my own opinion (I try my best not to be partial with SRK songs). Here's the list.

1. The first song which P dedicated to me was Yaroon Dosti Badi Hi Haseen Hain. It was a kind of first date when we went to a small snack counter and he gave me the cassette as a gift. This will definitely be a special song for me and for him too (ah! some similarity...)
2. Khamosh Raat will also be special for the same above said reasons.
3. There is one song which both of like a lot and *surprise* it happens to be a SRK song; And that's none other than Suraj Hua Maddham He likes it so much that it's been his mobile caller tune for almost a year now!
   
4. Both of us love Bryan Adams songs and we play them in full blast when we drive down to Mysore
5. But one song which I can proudly say as our song is the Shaan version of One Love! **I hope P agrees with this though ;-) **

Ok that's it. Let me now get back to listening "my songs" !

where are we headed?

I thought I was dreaming. In the dream, P actually asked me to write a blog post! Yes the same P who rarely reads my blog that I sometimes have to tell him myself to please read where there are some references of him. By the way he wants me to write about Ram Sethu and even provided me with related links!! Thanks P, and here is the much awaited post.

I purposely didn’t want to write about it. I strongly believed that it had nothing to do with Ram or Hinduism. It was plain dirty politics. I was convinced I was right. My theory: MK is sure that congress will not be in power next term. He wanted to be out of the alliance, yet did not know how to say bye. (He has not seen Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna itseems!)So he played this game. Yes he invited a lot of trouble. But indirectly it’s the central govt that’s facing the storm. They can neither publicly denounce him and his comments nor can they openly go ahead with Sethusamduram Project. Congress is doomed which is what MK also wanted.

Things turned a little sour when he (as foolish as he is) made some stupid uncalled-for statements.

“Raama is a fictional character and neither he nor his bridge ever existed”

“Was Raama a civil engineer to have built that bridge?”

…so on and so forth. I ignored these as well; one of his ever famous stupid comments against religion. (Particularly Hinduism because nobody has the guts to say anything against any other religion in this country)

Isn’t it ironical that neither the British rulers nor the Mughal emperors questioned the existence of Lord Ram? They were the so called foreigners, invaders who came to loot and destroy India. But our government is doing it. The very body which is supposed to protect us is questioning our beliefs itself!

I am not saying that everybody should believe in Ram and accept him as the supreme God, but we are a secular country right? Shouldn’t we respect each others beliefs?

Though I didn’t write about it, I was really intrigued. I wanted to find out more about this bridge. Just one NASA picture was not going to satisfy me.

If we just look at it with a religious eye, there are no second thoughts. You cannot just go and destroy a religious monument; Not only in our country, but in any country for that matter.

Let us keep the religious aspects aside for the time being, because there is no “debate” on that. I want to look at it scientifically.

The reasons given “for” the project are as below

1. Obtain a navigable sea route close to the coast, with a reduction in travel distance of more than 350 nautical miles (650 km) (for larger ships).
2. Expected to provide a boost to the economic and industrial development of coastal Tamil Nadu
3. Development of other ports can be done once this project is complete.
   

So, as clearly seen above, the main “aim” is to reduce travel distance and hence boost the coastal business.

Now, let us see why this project fails to achieve even the stated purpose.

1. The depth of the canal is proposed to be of 12 meters. This is “enough” only for small ships but not at all enough for larger ships (which is what they are aiming for). The larger ships need atleast 17 meters.
2. The time saved is just 2 hours. How much of a difference that makes in the naval world? This is because ships cannot travel at the same speed through the canal as they travel on open seas. Also there will be pilotage delay; meaning a pilot will board the ship at the entrance of the canal and get off at the exit to “guide” the ship thru the canal. We know how much time it takes for a ship to come to a complete stop and start again for the pilot to board and get down the ship…. So!
3. It’s not economical for the ships to pass thru the canal either. The pilotage costs are huge. Why would a shipping company pay those pilotage costs, when it can travel cheaper around SriLanka?
4. The canal is in shallow waters which is a high siltation and sedimentation area. There would be annual dredging costs to just maintain the canal.
5. Security. The coastal lines of this canal are till date in control of LTTE. What they would is unpredictable and hence risky.
   

It’s obvious that there are too many scientific reasons which seem quite obvious to even a common person like me, without any deep technical knowledge in this area which go against the proposed project. But still there is heavy pressure from the government to continue with the project. Why?

1. The dredging cost which I have talked about is a constant source of revenue to the dredging company. They have tied up with the govt to go ahead with this. More revenue for the company and hence more under the table revenue for the Govt.
   
2. MK wants his name to be etched in history (now it’s already done for all the wrong reasons anyway!) to be known as the man behind the Ram Sethu. This project was first conceived in early fifties; he will surely get the credit if it gets done in his tenure.
3. It’s a huge project and hence lots of employment opportunities to a very large number of people which inturn formulates into hefty contracts for some companies. (Any idea which companies and what contacts they have with MK?)
4. MK wants to send a strong message to his DMK community that he is anti religion and does not give importance for religious monuments (specially Hindu monuments because he has no guts to oppose other religions. Hinduism is a very easy and susceptible target.)

These are my imaginative reasons for them vouching so hard for the project. I might be right or wrong. There might be some other hidden agenda.

Interestingly here is a link which kind of proves that Ram Sethu is man made.

But at the end of the day, I am scared to see the path we are taking. Today it is one MK, but tomorrow there might be 100s of them. We have Muslim terrorists plotting to kill all of us, we have our own leaders against our religion… what more threat can we ask for?

Update:

References :

1. A Mythical Bridge to Voters
2. The Adam Bridge
3. The Nautical Details
4. Save Ram Sethu
5. The wiki story

and so on...

Will somebody love me please?

Scenario1: I got married at the age of 12. The next thing I knew I had 2 children, my two eyes. My whole life revolved around them. I did everything possible to make them feel comfortable. Did they need new pair of clothes? Or some shoes? There is a new brand of chocolate in the market; I should buy them for my children. My son wanted to try his hand in the film industry. My husband was dead against it. He said it is very risky and only school dropouts try it. But I fought with my husband to give our son a chance. Let him try his luck; I persisted. My husband was very angry, but I gave my son some money and he left for Mumbai. He is not anywhere near famous now… so you have guessed it right. He was NOT successful. But it took him almost 10 years to realize this. I kept sending money for his sustenance. He fell in love with a girl who finally made him realize the importance of having a stable job. She refused to marry him until he has one. He then completed his post graduation and found a good job. It took him another 5 years to settle down. I supported him all along; be it money or love or care... you name it. In the mean time I got my daughter married and she settled down. My husband was always busy with his work and though he cared a lot about all of us he would not spend too much time with us. I was the one who was always there for my children. I was so happy with them. Even though it was so much of a responsibility I never felt it as a “burden”. I looked after my son for 35 years and my daughter for 25 years. 35 years of my prime time… just for them.
My husband finally retired and we settled down in a small flat. We did not want to live with our son who now had a family of his own. Everything was just fine in it’s own place. Slowly my husband’s health started worsening. I was not so young any more, so we employed a nurse to look after him. The medical bills started getting fatter.. with none of our children willing to spend on it.. we decided to sell our flat. He died eventually leaving me all alone. Nobody was willing to give me a house for rent. I was old and it was dangerous they would say. Left with no choice I reluctantly asked my son. The answer was a firm NO. First he could not afford me (oh!), second he wanted privacy (a old woman in a corner of the house will be too much of a disturbance).
I lived with a neighbor for 45 days till I found an old age home which would take me.

I live here now. He does not even call once a week. I don’t hate him. But I often wonder is this justice? We take care of our children by giving everything we can to them. Can’t we expect 20% back from them? Is it too much to ask for 2 meals a day and a place to sleep?

Scenario 2: I used to live with my son and his family. We got along quite ok. There were no major hassles. My son got an onsite opportunity to go to USA for 3 months. He left me here saying he will be back soon. Its 2 years now and I have not heard from him. One of my relatives says he is in town and has purchased a big bungalow. I am still waiting for him to come and take me home….

Scenario 3: I don’t have a son. I thought I was lucky since I don’t have to suffer in the hands of a daughter-in-law. But last year, my daughter threw me out of my own house after I had written the entire property in her name. I was out on the street with just the clothes I had worn. I didn’t even have a single rupee. I don’t know why but I just walked to the railway station and sat there till the morning. A coolie saw me and must have somehow guessed my state. I told him my story, and he got me here. People here have time and again told me to complain against my daughter and get my wealth back. But I don’t want it. I have friends here; I have people who care for me here. I don’t even want to see her face again... not even in court.

“I” am a senior citizen; an unwanted burden on this earth. I worked till I dropped dead to bring up my children. Now, I just rot in a corner. I don’t need your money; I just need your love. Will you love me please?

These are NOT fictional stories. Every year on my Paati’s death anniversary, my mom goes to an old age home and sponsors a day’s meal for them. These are the stories which they tell her. They long for a touch… they crave for a hand which holds them. They cry if you give them something to eat. Some just sit in a corner and mourn without talking to anybody.

Oct 1st was world elders’ day. Is this what we want to give back to our parents who gave so much to us? Even if we don’t love them for whatever reasons, atleast lets not be inhuman. Let us be kind to them just as fellow human beings. Please…. Not everybody is lucky to have their parents alive for a long time… those of us who are lucky enough, let us thank God for it and let us try our best to keep them comfortable in the last days of their lives.

To Sirs and Madams (Miss’) with Love.

Disclaimer: This post is a little belated. But then as the wise men say “Better late than never!”.

I owe this to my teachers. Its Teachers Day month and it’s only appropriate if I thank each one of them who have touched my life in some way or the other. The list below is in chronological order and not in the order of importance... I would never be able to choose one from other.
This one is going to be a very long one... since there are so many to thank.

1. Amma: Mine and everybody’s first teacher. Our teacher at home. She taught me how to eat, sleep, play, talk... you name it. A BIG thanks to you Amma :-)
   
2. Paati: My grandmother. What my mother didn’t teach me, it was taught by my paati. I love you paati... wherever you are, thank you *hugs*.
   
3. Nandini miss: My kindergarten teacher – I didn’t cry a single day to go to school. She was so motherly and cheerful! She was the one who facilitated my smooth transition from home to school….
   
4. Mani miss: My LKG and UKG teacher. Whenever I think of her, I remember Mother Theresa. She was just like that; so compassionate and caring. She used to roam around the school keeping us (students) in her waist… we used to eagerly wait for our turn to be carried by her around the school….
   
5. Primary School (1st to 4th class)
   
• Shyamala Miss: Not only did she teach us the normal subjects, she encouraged all of us to participate in all extra curricular activities.
  
• Puranthar Miss: She was extremely strict at times.. and yet extremely funny on other occasions. Our favorite past time would be to guess her mood ;-)
  
6. Middle School (5th to 7th class)
• Ramamani Miss: Our class teacher. The best anybody can have. She taught us everything; English, Science, Social Studies and Maths! She made sure we not only just finished our homework, but also understood each and every word of it.
• Skandavalli Miss: Our fashion teacher ;-) She was a fantastic science teacher, at the same time dressed immaculately. We girls used to admire her day in and day out. Our role model for looking good.
  
7. High School (8th to 10th)
   
• Miss Leena: The most beautiful woman I have seen till date. Our English teacher and extremely strict of course! She taught very well but at the same time her tests were very difficult.
  
• Miss Beena: Science teacher. She used to clear all our doubts with enthusiasm. I am sure she will remember me forever as the most doubt-asking girl in class ;-)
  
• Sister Cristella: Her smile, her charm, her energy. I was a kind of teachers-pet with her ;-)
  
• Miss Vasundara: Maths Teacher. Not a fantastic teacher, but a very good human being. We were family friends. Was always ready to help somebody in need.
  
• Miss Chandrika: Science teacher again. Known for her beautiful handwriting. She was kind of monotonous at time. She used to teach in a same leveled tone…. Afternoon classes were a challenge to stay awake ;-)
  
• Miss Sukanya: Taught Hindi. Though I never took Hindi. She was famous for her two plaits. The funniest part was she used to dye her hair only on the top. The line where she used to take the partition to form 2 plaits was still white ;-). The test books which she used to correct was full of red lines… not because the students would have made mistakes.. she used to read the answers by underlining them!
  
• Miss Srimathi: Sanskrit teacher. One of the most wonderful teachers I have had till date. Her lessons were a pleasure. Not one day was boring. Thank you miss! Because of you I am still fascinated by Sanskrit :-)!
  
• Sister Clarabella: Our Headmistress. THE sister! Known for her strictness at the same time fairness in treating her subjects. She managed the school fantastically.
8. P.U.C (11th and 12th):
   
• Sambashivayya Sir: The fantastic physics teacher. Even today his voice rings in my ears. The way he used to teach.. every single concept is in our blood. Seriously! The only danger from him was for the short people (first benchers).. if he got angry with “anybody” he would actually hit the person sitting in the first row! Poor people!
  
• GSS: Maths. Teaching and all was fine. He was good at it. But I remember him for other reasons! His son was in USA… yes THE USA. This son supposedly sent chalk (yes you heard it right! *chalk*) from America for his dear father to boast about it in front of his students! He made it a point that we never forget the generosity of his son and hence repeated it every time he got a new parcel from THE USA! Also he had two pet (I mean very very pet) students in our batch; PP and S. Whatever they said was “fantastic” and he wished they were his children. It simply got funnier by the day when he started taking “permission” from then to rub the board lol!!!!
  
• Sanskrit sir: I am extremely ashamed that I forgot his name. But I have not forgotten his lectures. It was fabulous to say the least. I have heard that people who had taken other languages used to come and sit in his class just to listen to him narrate Kalidasa’s “Abhijnana Sakuntalam “. Ah! Simply superb!
  
9. Engineering
   
   Most of the lecturers were good. But then in engineering colleges I guess friends influence you more than the teachers. I have very fond memories of our outings, group studies, etc etc etc. Will write a separate post on that sometime…

So all in all, Teachers, Thank you… Thank you for making me what I am today!

P.S: People like these really need some good teachers ;-)

1. Somebody please gift her, an Atlas!!

2. Killing is the only solution to all problems

Alliance Invited ...

Disclaimer: I do not mean any offense to anyone. Post to be read on a lighter note.

Came across this “Alliance Invited” ad recently. Some portions of it, which I want to highlight, are here.

The would-be groom…

- Should be Vadama Iyer (preferably from Chennai) – Any area specifications also? I personally don’t like caste based searches, leave alone sub-caste. But then will just give this a go, seeing the ideology behind it being that the girl’s parents hope that even the guy is also born and brought up in a similar environment so that the compatibility is higher. What the heck! will just give in ;-)

- Has to be masters or PHD – In “anything” will do? And how does having degrees qualify the guy to be a good husband material?

- Should be simple caring and jovial kind of guy – Are there any guys at all who are like this?

- Should not have any bad habits. - It is implicit that they mean smoking & drinking. I wonder why they ignored to mention past girlfriends…? I also feel picking your nose in public is also bad habit. So should the guy not do that also?

- Should not be living with Parents – Now what did those poor parents do even before marriage?

- Should not have pets at home – What a dog or a cat (the usual pets) can/will do to the new bride... anyway!

- Annual income should be greater than 6 lakhs – Aww that was very generous and thankfully a comparatively low/feasible expectation.

- Preferably should be the only born. 1 sibling is still OK. – *Ahem*

- Should be willing to relocate to girls' choice of location – I always thought location preferences could be “worked-out”? Quiet a demanding criterion isn’t it?

- Should be fair tall and handsome. – what ever happened to TDH? Specially the “D” part! With all these men’s fairness creams also in the market, I don’t have words for TDHs…

- Should have gone onsite and should have more opportunities in the future – well… this has always been a standard “request” from the brides side huh? “NRI” son-in-law is a matter of pride. Gives ample scope for show-off in front of neighbors!

Pheee Pheee Stop Stop!

I got a speeding ticket in India. In Bangalore (OK near Bangalore)... can you believe this?

It happened 2 weeks back. I was driving down to Mysore from Bangalore and bhang! in the middle of the road I am stopped by a cop with a cane ready to hit my car!

I get down to see if they are stopping me for some drug trafficking or something (exaggeration huh?)...

But alas! he says "madam neevu thumba fast aagi oodistheera!".. Well 65kmph is "very fast" in India (at least in Karnataka). The speed limit was 50kmph on a state highway :((( There was a board it seems .. I didn't even see that!

I made it a point to see that while coming back.. and believe me it was half worn out already.. couldn't even make out the lettering.

There goes 300rs. BUT I was happy :) no shark has not gone crazy.. I was happy the police had speed guns and stuff.. that they could "record" who went at what speed and also their number plates and stuff. They didn't give a sheepish smile and ask for 200rs without bill. I got a proper bill. I was let out in 5 mins without any hassles. India is progressing after all....

Milestone reached.

And that was my 100th post! Congrats shark.. you made it! You made it!
OK enough of exaggeration. I know it’s not a big thing. But I have seen bloggers write such kind of self congratulatory posts … so I guess it’s the in-thing now.
I have also made my point.

Thank you readers, for reading my blog… not so thanks to those who read but don’t comment on my posts :P. No thanks at all for those who don’t read my blog! (hah! As if they will come to know about this… anyways!). Lots of thanks to those who regularly visit my blog and also comment on every post… thanku thanku *bows*.

Illige blogprachaaravu mukthaayavaayithu. Namaskara!

Law Lessons

So when did shark get an L.L.B you might be wondering after seeing the title..? Let me correct it. Its in-law lessons :-)! After 7 months of marriage and living with in-laws here’s some Gyan for future daughter in-laws…

• Mothers are simply blindly in love with their sons ;-) The sooner you accept it the better marital life you will have. Whatever the son asks for he gets it. If P asks for coffee/tea even 100 times in a day, his mom will make it for him... and that too with a smile on her face :-) I wonder if I will do that even for my son without cribbing about it :-/. Sometimes it gets a little uncomfortable seeing a grown up man being pampered that way :P I wonder why mothers don’t do the same for their daughters? My SILs come to our house... but they cook and clean and help… never have I seen them being pampered by my mil ;-)
• Never display your love for your husband in front of them physically. First of all they are older generation people and don’t approve of physical display of affection even inside the house. Second of all, such gestures cause instant insecurity that the other woman enjoys more closeness with my son types.
• Accept it. She knows the best about her son. What he likes to eat, when he wants to go out etc.., as wives, we naturally tend to force our taste on our husbands. I mean, I like having healthy breakfast... like cornflakes and fruit... things like that. But P is not brought up that way; he likes to have rice (lemon rice, puliyogare etc) for breakfast, which I consider very heavy. When we were living together without our in-laws I used to force my “health-food” on him… poor P. But now his mom just knows what to make for him and makes it... and of course scores 100s of brownie points ;-)
• Never “tell” what your husband has asked for you to do. Simply do it. Else it will get done faster by your mil... and more points for her :P. Just to cite an example, last Sunday P wanted to have oil bath and asked me to massage his hair with oil. I kept the oil on the stove for warming and told my mil to switch it off in 2 mins, as I had to use the bathroom. By the time I came back she had already started massaging. There goes my much-dreamed-about romantic oil massage experience ;-).
• Praise her as much as possible. My mil is a fantastic cook... I simply adore her cooking. But she can’t make north Indian dishes... that’s my forte *ahem*. But the moment I make something different, she says “Oh this is very easy, I can also make it from next time”… So I tell her, “No amma, I will only make these things. If you make these things also fantastically, then I will be left with nothing to be called my own”... she is very happy that I have accepted her as the Mistress of the Kitchen :)
• They will and always will talk about children. Listen to them, smile and say yes. That’s it. Even if you have other plans. It was just 3 months since we were married, but the whole family (including my side) couldn’t stop asking “so when will the good news come”.. I am like aaaarrrrgggghh! Why can’t it be left to us to decide? Is having a child the very next step after marriage?
• Most of all set the expectations right the first time. No need to go on an impressing spree in the beginning and then start cribbing that you can’t live up to it. Every small thing matters.
• Wearing slippers at home. Not many elders approve of it, but I get cracked feet if I don’t… so I made it clear in the beginning that they will have to please excuse me for this.
• I don’t wake up “early” on weekends. I am totally zapped by the end of the week... (You have seen my schedule here!) I need to catch up on sleep over the weekends. Now everybody at home have late breakfast on weekends (Since it’s my cooking time over the weekends :-))
• Cooking: I offered to cook, but I can cook only in the night as that’s when I get time. But since my mil stays at home, she prefers to make fresh food in the morning... which is fine with me. But then I can’t help her in the kitchen... and this she knows.
• Make your priorities clear: Like, I give lot of importance to my career. Just make it clear to them, lest they expect something which you won’t be able to fulfill.

>

• Last but not the least, treat them just like your parents. After all, you don’t agree with everything what your parents say... but you still live with them lovingly. It’s the same way here; just that there are little more differences because of obviously different upbringing. The key is, just say yes the first time, then make your point and say no if you feel like. They will always take it better than a big no in the beginning itself.

Happy wooing your in-laws ;-)

Tit Bit Updates

Its fifteen minutes since I came to the bus stop. Usually there is a bus every 5 minutes, but looks like its holiday for bus drivers... and that too must be a common occasion. Whatever! Finally 2 buses come together to the location and they stop. I walk over and climb the first bus. Some people decide to take the next bus, for whatever reason. One particular girl is still undecided. First or second? She moves two steps towards the first bus and then decides second one is better (maybe there is a window seat available?)
She goes towards the second one, but driver starts off… so she walks back to towards the first one, but by then this driver has also started off. Generally these drivers wait if they a see a person coming and this has happened many times with me only. But for some strange reason he doesn’t want to wait today. He also moves on. This girl has now missed both the buses… For a moment I thought she was waiting for someone… so maybe she didn’t take either of the buses. But guess what? An auto comes to a screeching halt in front of our bus after 3 stops… and who gets out? Lo and behold! The same girl… At last she decided to take the first bus after all! :-)

I arrive at my sil’s(Sister-In-Law) place at 9 in the night. It is almost 2 weeks since I saw her kids. Just as I step into her room, the younger one who is just over 6 months old, starts goo-gooing and smiles heartily at me. I go a little near to him, and he raises his hand as if asking me to pick him up. I oblige… my pleasure sweetheart !:-)
Ah then the display of affection starts… he drools all over me... he holds my hair and brings my face near to him... and starts licking me on my face… oh my!my! cute little darling might have mistook me for his mom… but then the pleasure was all mine!
I had always heard “jealousy thy name is woman”, but it’s different in this case. The elder one who is also a boy is now jealous, that I am holding his brother and so happy with him. He insists on playing with me then and there! Well OK, so the playing starts, he wants to box with me, he wants to show all his toys and I am supposed to play all of them at once ;-) So we start off... he is now super man (equipped with his superman t-shirt and all) and he wants to climb over me! He does it even when his mom is asking him not to. Then it was time for bed, and he insists that I tell him a story… I do and he sleeps with a smile on his face… Ah! The simple pleasures of life…

And most of all P will be back in 3 days time. Yippee! I had never missed him so much before in my life. It was always the other way round ;-) I was out on long onsite trips and he was in India. His trips were always very short; max 3 weeks. But the sad part is he will go back again after 2 weeks for another 3 months. Booo hoooo…..

Last week was emotionally taxing. One of my aunt with whom I thought I was very close with didn’t invite me for a function at her home. I think I know the reason, but I am surprised that strong relationships break for silliest of reasons! People rather prefer to hold grudge that mend the break. I tried my best... but then if people don’t want to hold the tie I am not the one who is going to force it.

Mini-shark (my sister) will be visiting India this month. Awww I have missed her terribly. She will be here just for a week to attend our cousins wedding, but just the thought of seeing her and sharing so many things with her makes me jump with joy. Phone and email just cannot give that personal touch.

Of Nightmares and SweetDreams

These are some of my night time memories, often repeated. I know there are people out there who can conjure up some meaning out of this, but I don’t want to know… what if it says something bad. Ok I am paranoid about knowing the future. I like to take life as it comes. Anyway read on… as the tradition goes bad things first.

Nightmares:

1. I am in a public place and suddenly my legs fail me... I am no longer able to walk, people don’t come for help. I start crawling on the floor, and my clothes start tearing. I am afraid I will go nude before I reach home… but the dream “always” stops at this point.
2. I get up and see myself sleeping (which means I am dead?)
3. 2 or 3 of my dead relatives are mix-and-matched, like body of one with head of other etc and they come and sit and talk with me …brrrrrrrr
4. I come inside the house and see shadows moving all around the house, and suddenly the whole house becomes completely dark; again I always get up at this point drenched in sweat and feeling terribly scared!

Sweet/Funny Dreams:

1. Sri Satya Sai Baba of Shirdi comes out of the picture (which I have in the pooja room) and gives me a dAswALa flower.
2. I am running in a yellow flower field (remember DDLJ?) and I am extremely happy about something.
3. I am on a stage speaking something, and 1000s of people are cheering me.
4. I go to buy milk, the milkman is milking the cow there and as soon as I reach there pista flavored milk starts coming from the cow ;-)
5. My aunt comes to our house wearing a noodle strap top and a mini skirt (FYI, she is very fat and not exactly the good looking types). No offense meant but she does look real funny... I can’t help it ;-)
6. I am some 10 years old and I hide my father’s glasses. He can’t see a thing so me and my sis sit and watch TV on “mute”… lol! (My father wears specks, but he can definitely manage without them. And oh ya! TV was absolutely forbidden during our school days except for the 9pm DD News :-)) – It’s been a million years since I was 10, but still this dream doesn’t seem to leave me.
7. My mom is being chased by a robber, and instead of running on the road, she is into hurdle race, jumping over our neighbors’ compound walls!
8. My cousin gets up one morning only to find all her hair eaten by a bunch of rats (She is a sweet cousin of mine, but keeps boasting of her long thick black curly hair… dreaming this might be my revenge ;-) )

The news that pain me

1. I had dreams of one day becoming a “Dr”. Initially it was the MBBS doctor, but since that has not worked out, I thought I will do a PhD at least someday. But now I have dropped that idea! If a person like Shilpa Shetty gets a doctorate, I just don’t want to be in that circle anymore!!!!!
2. Are you a female? You are useless… If I know your gender before birth I will kill you; else I will utilize you only for physical pleasures (household work and sex) and all I finally want is “male” kids from you!
3. He is going away… The “Intellectual” man, the children’s man, the intelligent face of our nation, the scientist, the rational thinker... Mr. President, Dr. Abdul Kalam. Goodbye with a heavy heart...
4. Mafia’s associates are “free” and are out in the open. She walks out free even though she had “fake-passports”! And all Monica Bedi had to give was Rs25, 000 as bail amount. What is that amount to her... peanuts?
5. Women have to walk naked on the street to get “attention”, for what? For people to wake up and “listen” to their dowry harassment stories.

I can go on and on… my mood is anyway spoilt, don’t want to do the same for you guys, so THE END.

Pleasure thy name is Music

Was listening to this song today after a very long time.. and I am simply bowled all over again by the simple yet deep meaning lyrics. I am sure it sends anyone who reads this; or better who listens to this song into a deep trance.

Song Name: Mokshamu Galada
Composer: Saint Tyagaraja
Raaga: Saramathi
Thala: Adi

mokshamu galadA bhuvilo
jeevana mukthulu gAni vAralaku

sAkshAthkAra nee sadbhakthi
sangitajnAna vihinulaku

prANAnala samyOgamu valla
praNava nAdamu sapthasvaramulai baraga
vINA vAdana loludau Sivamano
vidha merugaru, thyAgarAja vinutha

And the translation (to the best of my knowledge) goes something like this…

Is salvation (moksha) conferred on anyone in this world?
or is it attainable only to realized souls ?

Is salvation (sAkshAthkAra) attainable without true devotion in you?
can a music-illiterate realize you?

Without life (prANA) and fire (Anala)
there is no Omkara (praNava)
From Omkara, the seven notes (sapthasvara) of divine music emerge
Lord Shiva derives indescribable pleasure from playing viNa
Is salvation obtainable to those who are not able to perceive this?

Basically Sri Tyagaraja is trying to tell us that we can attain salvation through Music. Isn’t it amazing to see the powers of Music? Be it any form, any kind. It’s left to the person to “vibrate” with any kind of music that matches his frequency.
I have myself experienced this amazing power...

I feel energized to start a new task when I hear something in nAta rAga.

When I am sad, I listen to varALi rAga, and each and every time tears flow down my eyes and makes my heart light.

Nothing puts me in an upbeat mood more than the rAga kadanakuthUhala.

kalyaNi and bhairavi are evergreen and can be listened to any time.. anywhere

I can go on and on…..

For me it is Carnatic Music, but some may feel the same with movie songs or even hard rock. Music is music... be it classical or pop or jazz or whatever. As long as you have felt it... you are blessed. Salvation is very near.

If any of you have not experienced this power of music.. then you are missing something really beautiful… just go and immerse yourself in this ocean of divine pleasure

Can I have 36 hours in a day please?

As boring as it may sound, here's my itinerary of an average day

6:00am : Wake up - with great difficulty and sheer willpower of course!

6:20am to 7:30am : Daily activities, Make coffee, Read Newspaper, Get ready, Do Pooja, Leave to office (The initial 20 mins is for actually getting up ;-))

8:45am : Reach office, have breakfast at the desk itself and get to work...

12:00pm to 1:00pm : Lunch

1:00pm to 1:30pm : Time pass, like blogging or checking forwards etc...

1:30pm to 5:15pm : Work again in full swing, with an in between coffee at the desk. Leave for home

6:45pm to 7:30pm : Reach home, have coffee, freshen up and relax for sometime.

7:30pm to 8:30pm : Study time. I have some certifications/entrance exams lined up :(

8:30pm to 9:30pm : Prepare (basically heat sambar;already prepared by my mil, and make chapathis) and have dinner

9:30pm to 10:30pm : Serial time :) and some chit chats with in-laws during breaks ;-)

10:30pm to 11:00pm : Prepare for the next day (wash my tiffin, iron clothes etc)

11:00pm to 12:30pm : Study some more... the last 20 minutes is just falling asleep, but trying to be awake and read something else will feel guilty the next day.

Now that you have seen the schedule, I still have LOT many things which I would want to do, but just don't have the time for it. Some of them being,

• Social Work (Involve myself in the activities of an orphanage or an old age home)
• Practice music/ play veena (I feel ashamed sometimes that I have almost lost my touch!)
• Go to dance (Bharathanatyam) class
• Do some painting (I was very interested in this in my school days.. but after that have hardly had time for it)
• Call up old friends (Except for very few with whom I interact regularly, I hardly keep in touch with old friends...che..che..)
• Visit my cousins (Some of them are very young, and I would love to spend some time with them.. but where, pray tell me where is the time?)
• Go for some concerts (Ah! It's almost ages since I drowned myself in some good carnatic music concert)
• Read some good books, religious and philosophical (Somehow I do read novels during my bus journey to office :).. long live traffic jams!)
• Experiment some good recipes (ya.. I am very fond of cooking... as long as there are people to eat them ;-))
• Play some games (me and my sis used to play badminton/Chess/Carom etc in the good old days.. now?)

*sigh* I know! I know! you will tell me.. what are weekends for?... Here's what it is for

• Shopping - The necessities like groceries and other house hold articles... and sometimes if there is a necessity to shop for personal stuff like dress or shoes... some function on the way. Gone are the days when I used to shop just for fun... ah! the bliss of bachelor life :)
• Cleaning the house - This takes away most of the time! But I love it :)
• Urgent or mandatory visits - Have to give something to somebody, someday had a baby, somebody is ill, some function, kind of visits.
• Studying and oil bath activities :)

So there you go.. weekends go faster than the weekdays, even before you realise it's over :(

In the midst of all this, questions have subtly started coming in about my plans of starting a family... hello! *knock* *knock* Where is the time? "IF" I can feed my children "while" I am studying, if I can play with them while I am cooking, If I can make them to do homework while I am cleaning and closing the kitchen for the day, if I can help them with their school project work while I am in office... they can come and be a part of my life anytime ;-) But, till I get this great multitasking ability... kids.. you have to wait...

As much as I LOVE kids... I also want to give 100% of myself to them... so till I can do that, they can't make an entry.

OR oh ya.. if I can have 36 hours in a day....

P.S: If only some of my relatives could read this blog ;-)

Our Rashtrapatni ji?

Pratibha Patil became a celebrity overnight when the UPA alliance proposed her as a presidential candidate. Before this nobody even knew that she existed!

Anyway all said and done she was proposed for the first citizen post. One thing which did irritate me was the “woman” tag that she had. The newspapers started boasting of first woman president and all that. It set me thinking, is it important to have a woman as our president or is it more important to have a capable person out there irrespective of their gender?

To some extent I have to agree that the President of India does not have as much power in his hands as compared to that of the Prime Minister. But still, it is THE most respectable post. Is it not then the responsibility of the parliamentarians to choose a capable candidate?

I have nothing against Prathibha Patil, but can she ever be compared with the intellectual Mr.Kalam? This looks more like yet another move from Ms.Gandhi, so that she can remote control this post also! If we remember the Office-of-Profit bill faced much resistance from Mr.Kalam and irked Ms.Gandhi to an extent. All this looks like Ms.Patil is expected to be another pawn in the hands of that Italian woman, to make things come more “her-way”.

Lets have a look at Ms.Patil’s resume

• The bank which she had set up for the so called welfare of women “Pratibha Mahila Sahakari Bank”, had it’s license revoked in 2003 for misappropriation of funds.
• It is believed that she falsely testified as a witness to protect her brother in a murder case.
• The factory “Sant Muktabai Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana” of which she is the founder directory failed to repay a bank loan and was sealed in Jan 2007.
• She claims to have had a communion with a dead guru.
  

These are only some of her achievements which I am aware of, who knows how many more are there.
The point I want to make is, is she a good successor to Kalam? He who was so respected for his intellectual thoughts… and she who is already full of controversies!
Alas! We do have to agree that if we look at our parliament today, we will not even find one clean (as in without allegations) man/woman, but this woman just didn’t strike the cord for a presidential candidate.

Wish “we” could elect our president!

SE with PM

What the SE (Software Engineer) might be doing with PM (Police Man)

• Guess the company has fired him. With nowhere to go and no money to invest he is doing consulting job on the footpath.
• It's xxx company that has run out of space after hiring too many people. This guy is from that company sitting outside the campus and working.
• This is another HCL guy who was supposed to go abroad on a “Life Sciences” project … He is telling the policeman how they built the traffic management system! (remember the ad?)
• Maybe an IT Engineer who cannot afford high rents in the city
• The techie is sending a reply to client…..(very urgent u know! so he sat down as soon as he got a call)
• Hes telling the policeman, “look at these dots here?? , those are the policemen supposed to be managing the traffic, u see this rogue dot here? That’s you” !
• He is showing the scanned copy of driving license to the cop. His vehicle is parked behind due to traffic (Atlas Cycle).
• He is booking the tickets for "Sivaji" the boss as soon as the website opened. He has booked for 2 tickets
• Techie is playing solitaire and is thinking about his next move. Policeman is trying to help him for this.
• OR...

Scene 1
The man standing is the offender..
“No lamp in the cycle”. Traffic police caught him and kept him behind the pole (bar). Cycle was seized.

Scene 2
Stop a techie (commuter) and enquire about laptop, wifi, Airtel/Reliance/Tata data card. Logon-to Karnataka traffic authority website and lodge a compliant, which will be sent to the offender.

Scene 3
The website sends an acknowledgement as SMS to the cop.
Meanwhile offender calls his wife and narrated the story and she is on the way.

Scene 4....

Courtesy: Lots of people ;-)

in-law... in-home

Finally I am getting to live with my in-laws. Since P is in Europe on official trip, my in-laws decided to move in sooner than planned earlier just to avoid me staying alone.
I feel guilty, because for me they had to virtually “abandon” their home town to come and stay with me. I told them that I am used to living alone… but now that I am their bahu, it’s their responsibility to look after me it seems. Choo chweeet (you guys don’t even dare to put nazar!)
I thought my blog will have some spicy stuff from now on, some saas-bahu dramas… but alas! No such thing readers, my saas is as docile as you get them. She gets up earlier than me and makes me breakfast and packs lunch… dinner is ready by the time I get home (no nazars pleeease!!!)
I have thrown the weighing machine out of the window. I am scared to even step on it. With all this eating and not doing any work at home, you can imagine the consequences.
The only issue at hand is to keep my mil from getting bored. With no friends or relatives nearby, being new to the city so not confident enough to roam around on her own… she is virtually under house arrest. My fil somehow manages with short walks around and things like that.
To somehow balance the situation, I have now ended up discussing all the serials with her :-). She watches as many as possible during the day and tells me the story when I get back home… well as long as it keeps her happy I am game for story telling!

Foot note on a lighter Note : A poem (not original of course!)

He didn't like the curry
And he didn't like my cake.
He said my biscuits were too hard...
Not like his mother used to make.
I didn't prepare the coffee right
He didn't like the stew,
I didn't mend his socks
The way his mother used to do.
I pondered for an answer
I was looking for a clue.
Isn't there anything I could do
To match his mothers shoe
Then I smiled as I saw light
One thing I could definitely do
I turned around and slapped him tight...
Like his mother used to do!!!!!

Advice needed

I have a maid in my house. She has 2 children, boys. One is in 9Th class and the other in 8Th class.

It's new academic year for them, and they study in good schools (which is nice). The cost of purchasing books for each of them for the year is around 1200rs. They have to buy this in the school itself.

My maid is a very nice woman. Always has a smile on her face and does whatever work I ask her to do without grunting or anything. She somehow found the money to get books for her elder son and he started going to school from today. But she is yet to get books for her second son, so obviously he is missing a week or two of his school because of this.

The problem: I want to help. She has not asked me for any money. Not even as a loan. But I feel like buying the books for the second son. But, she is just 2 months old in my house and I must confess I don't know her very well and all. And I don't want her to take undue advantage of my help. I am not expecting money in return, but I don't want her to expect I will help always.

So what do I do?

Exam results are here… Suicides are here too…!!!!

Come April-May, most of the boards declare the results of the exams conducted for the year. The newspapers are filled with photos of toppers, best performing schools, inspiring stories etc. BUT you cannot miss other news items also along with these, especially those of suicide reports. Last one week I have seen on an average 2 suicide incidents reported every day! I wonder how many more happened un-noticed.

Some common reasons for these cases:

• Extreme Case: He/She failed the board exam. (So what! I know it’s not a fantastic news but there is always a next time. It’s not the end of the road anyway.)
• Sad Case: He/She didn’t score “as expected”, meaning got less marks. (Now, pray tell me what in life happens as we expect? We expect lots of things, but things don’t always happen our way... learn to face defeats my dear boys and girls…)
• Sadder Case: He/She didn’t meet the expectations of “others”. (This is the real killer. Why can’t all these “others” just shut up and mind their own business instead of comparing one child’s results with all his/her elder cousins/nephews/neighbors whatnots!)
• Surprising Case: He did well. Secured 91%… in fact is the school topper but still committed suicide! (Surprised? Read this).
  

What do we make out from this? Whatever the reasons might be, but a common underlining factor is insecurity. These children need help. Who else but from their own kith and kin!

This is an appeal to all the parents out there who have their children writing board exams in the near future. Please, please and pretty please give strength to your children. I agree it is required to make them study and work hard and all that.. but set your own and their expectations low. Make them realize that exam is not the end of the world. If not this, then something else… You can either make them or break them. Choose what you want finally, your son/daughter or a fantastic score card?

May the souls of all these children rest in peace!

Footnote: I am simply bowled over by the %ages achieved by the students who have fared well…. 99% aggregate in a board exam? Simply beyond my imagination! One of my cousins got 88% and had to run from pillar to post to get a seat in some good PUC college L Is 88% a bad percentage..? I thought it was distinction…. It seems the cut off in these colleges are 94%... can you believe that?

Did you know?

• The muscles in your heart have the strength to shoot your blood 10 meters in the air?
• Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump. (as if they can even if they try to!)
• The body’s strongest muscle is our tongue (specially for a woman I think ;-))
• Statistically, people are more afraid of spiders than they are of dying (for me it's cockroaches any day!)
• All polar bears are left handed
• Crocodiles cannot stick out their tongue (how will they then mock at each other- I wonder!)
• Butterflies taste with their feet.
• A cockroach can live 9 days without it’s head. It only dies because it cannot eat. (Bah! Why is it born in the first place!)
• A duck’s quack has no echo, and nobody knows why (wow! that's definitely interesting.)
• Each King on playing cards represent a King in real history:
  Spades: King David.
  Clubs: Alexander The Great.
  Hearts: Charlemagne.
  Diamonds: Julius Cesar.
• It is impossible to sneeze with your eye’s open. (Reminds me of one of the calvin strips, where he tries to bust his head off by sneezing with his nose closed.. he..he..)
• Multiplying 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321 (Note: The result is first 1 to 9 and then reverse 9 to 1. In case you haven't noticed dumbo!)
• Starfish have no brains (who needs them anyways)
• A statue in a park with a soldier on a horse with it’s 2 feet in the air means the soldier died in combat. If the horse has only 1 foot in the air, the soldier died of injuries from combat. If the horse has all 4 feet on the ground, the soldier died of natural causes.
• Mosquitoes have teeth.
• Thomas Edison was afraid of the dark. (Ah! Tell me about it....)
• The word "cemetery" comes from the Greek "koimetirion" which means dormitory (he..he..)
• When the English settlers landed in Australia, they noticed a strange animal that jumped extremely high and far. They asked the aboriginal people using body language and signs trying to ask them about this animal. They responded with ’’Kan Ghu Ru’’ the English then adopted the word kangaroo. What the aboriginal people were really trying to say was‘’we don’t understand you’’, ‘’ Kan Ghu Ru’’. (Ah! The English were always dumb :-P)

Beardy Misery

I am fed up trying to get P shave his beard regularly! What's with you guys? What's so difficult in shaving a simple beard? I have tried every known technique to get him shave his stupid beard regularly, but till now not one has been successful! He shaves only when he wants to!!!

Below are some of our conversations. My "requests" followed by his responses (denials) in italics.

• P, why don't you take a shave today: "No ma, it's not grown enough, I will surely do it tomorrow"
• (Next day) It's already 6:45 we have to leave in another 20 minutes and you have to take a shave P, why don't you get up?: "Oh come on! from when did a shave become more important than my blissful sleep? I need rest, I had a tiring day yesterday."
• (2 days later) P, I think today you HAVE TO take a shave, see I didn't bother you yesterday also... please sweetheart (notice the "maska" words...) do it na : "Dear, tomorrow it's Saturday.. weekend. Who will see me over the weekend except you? So why do you worry.. will do it once and for all on Sunday so that I can go fresh on Monday. Please..."
• (Come Monday again) Will you do it today at least? (no maska now... a little irritated actually) : "Oh! Didn't I tell you? My colleagues told me I look good with a beard, so I have decided I will keep it after all!" (My reaction: what!!! who are those morons who thinks a beard looks anything other than dirty...grrrrr)
• (That evening) You know what P, nothing turns me ON more than a clean shave face.... (This is the max I can do.. hoping for some positive results) : "Why didn't you tell me this before... will surely do it tomorrow **sweet smile**!!" (Ah! you may think I am a very happy woman after that.... fat chance! notice the word "tomorrow"... and tomorrow never comes...!!!)

Yesterday, one of my old friends called after a long time and he suggested we have lunch/dinner sometime together. He is also recently married. I mention this to P, and guess what he says "Ah! That guy, his wife is very beautiful, let me know in advance when we are going out together.. I will take a shave that day." *ahem* well! At least now I know what is the incentive for the much needed shave!!!!!

Celebrating Life and Death

Before last week a family of 7 died in a road accident. They were distant relatives of P. We went to express our condolences to them at night. The scene was horrifying to say the least.

I had not seen a dead body in my life until the day of my Pati’s sad demise. The scene is still etched in my memory. The way they bought the “body” into the house, and when I touched my Pati, she was all hard and life less… For the first time in my life I got scared of touching her! That was 10 years ago.

Yesterday’s memory will also remain forever. People who die in accidents die horribly. Bodies crushed… parts not recognizable…. I had only heard of these things before. Saw it yesterday. Having a soft heart doesn’t help the situation either! The surviving members of the family were inconsolable! Loosing just one member at a time itself is horrible… just imagine loosing 7 at a time. I don’t know them... so I was just a mute spectator, but though I was not emotionally attached to them at all... I could not control my tears. I don’t even know the names of who have died, but I cried with their family. I just could not help it.

Came home quite late and as expected had to take head bath and wash all the clothes which we were wearing. Finally settled down to sleep… since we had just taken bath at that time... sleep was still far away. So P and I started discussing about life in general.

Isn’t it quite surprising that we never realize that we can get a “call” anytime? But still we fight to be here. We fight for petty things.

• Daughter In-Law fights with Mother In-Law to have more control of her husband (what will she do with it? When he or for that matter she is “gone”?)
• Siblings fight for money from their parents. Will they take it when they go?
• We work day in and out to save money and build a new house and make it as comfortable as possible with all the amenities. Just to be gone without anything one day?
• People murder other people if they face failures in love or business. Will they take their partners be it business or personal along with them when they go?
• When people die “suddenly” they would not have even said a proper “bye” to their near and dear ones. But when they are alive they don’t have time to say “Hi” to the same near and dear ones. How ironical!

Having thought about all this we realized we are not celebrating the God given “life” to the full extent. We should thank God for every single day he gives us and live it the fullest.

LIVE LIFE LOVE LIFE… who knows when we have to let go?

I am bored

Yes. I am! I want something interesting to happen in my life. I know I know I am being greedy out here... but lets just accept it I am greedy!

I am badly missing my sister. She is in Australia right now and I have no female company in the house.

P has been extremely busy these days with his work and invariably comes home late.

We go to Mysore in the weekends to my in-laws place. But then, my in-laws don't let me do any work and so I sit around the house all day long with absolutely nothing to do! While P blissfully goes off to meet his friends.

Work is good, but unfortunately my whole team is in an another office and I sit all alone in a cabin and just do my work! I hate this! I need teams to work with.. it is more fun!

How I wish mini-shark was here! We could go for some window shopping or we could watch some movies at home.. or simply gossip about all our family members ;-) Aaaaaaaa why did she have to go! grrrrrr

Moral Policing: Just ban/ don't implement anything against "Indian" values.

Yes, it’s long time since I wrote post. Being a married working woman is not an easy job you see :-) There are lots of perks to it too. Just the thought that someone is waiting only for me at home makes me smile and go home. Anyway that’s not the subject of the post.

It started with Madhya Pradesh, followed by Karnataka, and now even Maharashtra seems to think on the same lines. AND THE STUPIDITY CONTINUES…

• Basic question: Why are we being so hypocritical? What is there to “hide” in this? These kids will anyway come to know about it through TV and Internet. Why ban the “legal” means of communication?
• Denial: For heavens sake, grow up :-) What makes these people think that the kids won’t indulge in it if it is not taught in school? Infact curiosity will lead to more dangerous situations!
• Biological Vs Moral: Somebody wise said, “Half Knowledge is more dangerous than no knowledge at all.” Why don’t we teach our kids the “complete” process? Let us for the time being, forget about the morality aspect of it. It’s always debatable. And there are parents who will/should take care about teaching proper moral values to the kids. Let the school just teach the biological aspect of it.
• Safety: Most of the children, who indulge in such activities for whatever reasons, fun, money or any other thing, have no clue about safe sex practices. So AIDS and other STDs are spreading like wild fire! Isn’t it more prudent to tell our children about the safe-practices so that they don’t expose them-selves to danger?
• Prevent Abuse: We have heard of many cases, where the children don’t even realize that they are being sexually exploited. This is because they have very little knowledge about these things. How will a small child know what parts of the body can be touched and what are really private and not be encroached upon?
• Alternatives: They say yoga should be taught in place of sex education. It upholds Indian values more it seems! Why should yoga be an “alternative”? Why can’t yoga be a part of the curriculum along with sex education? Lets accept some basic facts here, teenage children are by nature distracted … you make them meditate, they will meditate about something else altogether! We are asking teenage children to control their minds and urges when we haven’t been successful in making grown up men and women to do the same?

Besides, I think even if the political parties play their stupid politics, the parents should take the onus and give some basic awareness to their children, with child molesters lurking around just about everywhere; we owe this to our children and school goers.

Let sex education begin at home. Let’s keep our children safe.