My Favorite Quotes

• Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO, What a Ride' – Anon
• "Both tears and sweat are salty, but they render a different result. Tears will get you sympathy; sweat will get you change." - Jesse Jackson
• Love: It is a short word, easy to spell, difficult to define, impossible to live without – Anon
• Success is something when we get what we want and happiness lies in wanting what we get – Anon
• Life is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as the headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way. – Anon
• If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried. – Anon
• A conclusion is a place where you got tired of thinking. – Anon
• Love may be blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener. – Anon
• Success always occurs in private and failure in full view. – Anon
• 42.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot. – Anon
• If you think nobody cares about you, try missing a couple of payments. – Anon
• There are some things which money can’t buy.. for everything else there is MasterCard!

New Blog and other things.

Well, I know it’s been some time and most of you have been waiting for some updates about my son, but I have to confess I have become a lazy bum!
It would be wrong if I say I didn’t get time because of my son … (touch wood) he has been a very good boy till now. He doesn’t get cranky at all, and sleeps well during the night which is a blessing I am sure many mothers would agree. I have just been plain lazy. Being in mom’s house doesn’t help either. You get to order around and get pampered all at the same time ;-)
Now that two months are over since my son was born I have decided to wake up finally. Have to get back to not-being-lazy mode soon.

I have decided to start a separate blog to write about my son. Want to keep this one general. So here it is. It’s not too difficult to guess that updates on the other blog will be more than here ;-) but still I would want to keep this one to write about my general feelings and comments on happenings around me.

I have been reading reports of racism in Australia. I do agree that those have to be condemned and the Aussie police have to really wake up and take appropriate measures. But I cant stop myself but ask the question.. we raise all hue and cry when “others” (read foreigners) discriminate us, but don’t we do the same? We may not attack and kill but I am sure our “treatment” is no less traumatic. How many tourists have had a “safe” and “deceit-less” trip to India? Mysore boasts of quite a few foreign students. Palestinians, Africans, Chinese etc.., Ask them how many times they have been teased in public not only in their college campus but in general on road, in busses etc.
How can we ever forget our “casteism”? Isn’t it racism with a different name? Forget about inter-caste marriages, that’s a different topic altogether. But let us just look at our daily lives. How many of us allow maids to come inside the kitchen? How many of us readily eat in our neighbor’s house if they are of a different caste? I can go on and on... but I am sure you get the point. So before pointing fingers at other countries, let us first look at ourselves. First clean your house before dusting your neighbor’s house! I am sure there is no less “groupism/favoritism/casteism” in our own universities. Have we even given a thought to it? I am sure we would be the biggest market for fairness creams. What with our obsession to be fair. How many dark girls get good grooms easily? I think we better clean our house first before trying to clean our neighbor’s house! (I have to mention a kannada saying here “Avara yelili heggaNa biddidru pakkada yele noNa Odisdranthe!”).

I must also mention about the political scenario we have right now. I was at a loss for words when Mr.Karunanidhi was so bent upon getting cabinet births for all his family members! It was a mockery of democracy to say the least. I wonder when people of TN will ever realize that this man is in the game only for personal reasons. For that matter I wonder who is clean after all. I am sure we won’t even get enough candidates to count in our fingers! But at the same time, I am optimistic that things are going to change. I can see the change in attitude for most of the people from “I don’t care” to “I can do something for a start.. i.e vote”. Also I can see that there are more young faces (though it does not rule out corruption) who I hope will bring about some change.

On a totally different note, I wonder when people will ever be “satisfied”. I am sometimes at loss for words or expression when people expect things which are totally uncalled for. Suppose A was never talking with B, the moment A talks to B, B “expects” A to talk nicely. A talks nicely, then the expectation is that A tells everything to B and so on... it’s a never ending expectation-cycle if I can call it that! Why can’t B be satisfied that A is on talking terms? The situation gets more complex when there is C and D to mix up the mind of B! Aaaarrrggghhhh!!!

Now, to end the post on a bright note… I am finally slowly getting back to shape, after being shapeless for almost a year ;-)! Though this does not mean I am thin even in a remote way... but atleast I am getting back to my normal (read original) weight :-)

Rain Rain

Its that time of the year when you have to carry an umbrella wherever you go. You can never say when the rain gods will smile on us!These first showers apart from being extremely romantic brings back fond memories

• During school days, it invariably started raining at 4:30pm and we used to blissfully go back home completely drenched!
• Power cuts are inevitable during rain… this was story telling time to my sister mostly movie stories…standing near the window and staring at the rain.
• This is the time of the year when all the noses start running and hankies are liberally stolen in school!
• Rain during college days called for bike rides! No amount of persuasion from parents made us wear any raincoats or carry any umbrellas.
• Suddenly samosa, churmuri and masala puri tasted all the more yummy!
• The most dreaded thing was always making sure that our books did not get wet!

This rainy season also has some typical characteristics

• Most of the wedding receptions go either empty or people turn up very late “after” the rain and hence the party goes on almost till midnight
• If your house has a big portico in front, you would end up entertaining atleast 2 or 3 people every evening who would have come to take shelter from the “sudden” rain.
• Walking on a road after a rainy evening is a treat to your nose… every house smells of either pakoda or bonda or some other rainy-delicacy!
• Not to forget the horrible traffic jams. You are struck somewhere in the middle of nowhere for hours!
• Its also time for your slippers to go to the cobbler every now and then ;-)
• Not to forget the viral infections. Most of the doc shops are full during this time of the year.

Whether its something good or bad this season sure is specially romantic. To all rain lovers.. happy rainy days!