Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. . . . I will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause, and no one interest. . . . When I place my hand on the Bible and take the oath of office, that oath becomes my highest promise to God. -Mitt Romney December '07.
The Bharatiya Janta Party,was formed in 1980, a major right wing Indian political party. It portrays itself as a champion of the socio- religious cultural values of the country's Hindu majority. - Wikipedia.
But because I am a Catholic, and no Catholic has ever been elected President, the real issues in this campaign have been obscured--perhaps deliberately, in some quarters less responsible than this. So it is apparently necessary for me to state once again--not what kind of church I believe in, for that should be important only to me--but what kind of America I believe in.
- John F Kennedy.
For the first time in the history of TamilNadu, three members from the Vanniyar community have been given representation in the government and given important portfolios. - Chennai Online.
"I think we make a mistake when we fail to acknowledge the power of faith in people's lives," Obama said in his speech.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's own mentor was M G Rama-chandran. Now we have Sita-ram Yechuri in CPI-M. This should make Karunanidhi see reason behind Ram Sethu, instead of questioning the very existence of Ram - rediff
I can go on and on. I rest my case.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
An idle brain is the bloggers workshop
My husband and I watched Om Shanti Om last weekend and it was one heck of a movie. I think that Farah Khan has created a genre unto herself. Spoofing movies of the 60s and 70s. Her movies are never intended to be serious and are just my kinda movies. Where you sit and laugh for 2 hours, eat some popcorn and come home with a smile on ur face. Her songs are shot on sets and she doesnt use foreign locations. She uses the best cast money can get (helps if SRK is producing the movie) and the best in costumes and music. I noticed that subtittles dont do justice to her jokes so maybe non hindi understanders mite not laugh as hard as the others. About the movie Deepika Padukone was a stick in costumes. She cant act, she cant dance (her steps look like she is counting 1 2 1 2 in her head). She should go back to doing what she can do well - Ramp Modelling where the focus is on the clothes and not the person in them. SRK rocks as the looser. I think no one else can play a looser as well he can. Karon Johar's costumes looked great on SRK. Manish Malhotra did a good job with the heroine. A special mention is needed about Kiron Kher. She acts well, but I feel she doesnt look good in close up shots. Her age and probably some years of drinking show. Nothing Botox cant fix but I dont think Botox is big in India. Shreyas Talpade could have had a meatier role considering the wonderful actor that he is. This movie seems like his effort to enter mainstream Bollywood.
Coming out of the movie theatre in freezing cold (32 deg) I had a smile on my face. For several reasons.. I was reminded of the joke in Boys where Bharath asks some dude in the bus stop about his preferences. "phil collins number" and the like. The boy answers "naan kadaisiaga patha english padam Sholay!!!". Sometimes, movies are just for fun and forgetting all anxieties and angles and artistic touches. Its just about falling off your seat laughing and tapping your feet to the music.
This was my first Deepavali ( I wont call it Diwali!!!) after marriage. I made some sweets.. (see this is y its fun to be a child or live in ur parents home - u dont need to make sweets to eat them, someone else does) and lit some candles. But what was somewhat weird for me was discussing with N about what to make. She and I have been best of frnds and discussed a whole lot in life, but never once swapped recipes. I felt that our frndship has grown with us and now entering a new phase. It was one of those moments for me!!!!!
Reading Catch 22 and its one of those books which cannot be "data streamed" as my husband calls it. As in, you cant read it in the loo, while cooking, on the T etc. You need to sit with the book and some peace and quiet. also read "the home and the world" by Tagore. That was a really nice book about the freedom struggle showing a new angle of the wife supporting the Swadesi movement and being an idealist and the husband is practical and realizes the downside of the movement and its inherent flaws.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Veritas
Veritas, Roman Goddess of truth. Verity meaning truthfullness.
They maintain a high standard of educational quality and a whole bunch of individual schools inside. Initially it was called the "the new college." (on a tangential note - there is a para cheri porriki college in my area in Chennai called New College). A guy named John Harvard donated half of his estate - around 780 pounds and some 400 volumes of books to the New College set up in Cambridge. This New College was founded in 1636. Cut to some years later. 1674 to be specific. There was a massive fire which destroyed all the 400 volumes our man donated along with all pictures of him (God bless the poor guy). When they rebuilt the college they decided to name it after its major benefactor - Harvard and just decided to call it university.. Chumma for peethals sake...
Now in the middle of this wonderful school is a statue. I can aver that is the most photographed statue in Boston (atleast Cambridge!!) Tourists rub the toe of this statue for good luck. Harvard students pee on it. But I am not here to write a blog post about Harvard University... You can read about it elsewhere or come and visit it... But what I do want to talk about (this is probably when you want to switch to a different page..so I am getting to the point) The statue reads "John Harvard, Founder 1638."
John Harvard dint found Harvard. Some other dude did..He just donated money because he had no children and dint know wat to do with it.
Harvard University or for that matter New College wasnt founded in 1638 but in 1636.
I saved the best for last... In the big fire which razed the campus, all portraits of him were razed too!!!!!!!!!!! So who is this guy who is sitting there taking credit for wat he dint do... No one knows... Some guy who probably got paid $10 to sit for a statue. he he he.. Wait.. before you say it could be his son John Harvard the fifteen hunderdth!!(brit humor) JH dint have any children, which is why he donated the money in the first place.
Now coming to Veritas. This is the motto of the Harvard University. Easily the most prestigious school in America and probably one of the most prestigious schools in the world.
They maintain a high standard of educational quality and a whole bunch of individual schools inside. Initially it was called the "the new college." (on a tangential note - there is a para cheri porriki college in my area in Chennai called New College). A guy named John Harvard donated half of his estate - around 780 pounds and some 400 volumes of books to the New College set up in Cambridge. This New College was founded in 1636. Cut to some years later. 1674 to be specific. There was a massive fire which destroyed all the 400 volumes our man donated along with all pictures of him (God bless the poor guy). When they rebuilt the college they decided to name it after its major benefactor - Harvard and just decided to call it university.. Chumma for peethals sake...
Now in the middle of this wonderful school is a statue. I can aver that is the most photographed statue in Boston (atleast Cambridge!!) Tourists rub the toe of this statue for good luck. Harvard students pee on it. But I am not here to write a blog post about Harvard University... You can read about it elsewhere or come and visit it... But what I do want to talk about (this is probably when you want to switch to a different page..so I am getting to the point) The statue reads "John Harvard, Founder 1638."
John Harvard dint found Harvard. Some other dude did..He just donated money because he had no children and dint know wat to do with it.
Harvard University or for that matter New College wasnt founded in 1638 but in 1636.
I saved the best for last... In the big fire which razed the campus, all portraits of him were razed too!!!!!!!!!!! So who is this guy who is sitting there taking credit for wat he dint do... No one knows... Some guy who probably got paid $10 to sit for a statue. he he he.. Wait.. before you say it could be his son John Harvard the fifteen hunderdth!!(brit humor) JH dint have any children, which is why he donated the money in the first place.
Now coming to Veritas. This is the motto of the Harvard University. Easily the most prestigious school in America and probably one of the most prestigious schools in the world.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
You Know You Grew Up in the 90s iF
Hilarious list of things...
1) You know the words to ‘In-pin-safety-pin’ and ‘akkad-bakkad’ by heart
2) Cricket is almost a religion for you, and you idolize at least one of Kapil Dev/Rahul Dravid/Sachin Tendulkar/Saurav Ganguly
3) You have read at least some Chacha Chaudhary or Tinkle comics
4) You’ve watched Shaktimaan on TV at least once in your life. And you can immediately recognize the character when you see him.
5) You have some ‘NRI’ relatives.
6) You couldn’t wait for it to be December so you could have the Toblerone chocolates your NRI relatives brought you
7) You watched Cartoon Network, and then the late night movies on TNT that came after Cartoon Network ended.
8) You watched corny dubbed versions of Small Wonder, Silver Spoon, and I Dream of Jeanie
9) You were THRILLED when McDonald’s opened in your neighborhood (or even eight kilometers away)
10) Your first burgers were at Wimpy’s or Nirula’s.
11) A visit to Pizza Hut used to mean a special treat
12) You have seen Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun at least 5 times each
13) You still remember the theme song to Hum Paanch.
14) You have played hours upon hour of Pukdam-pakdai, oonch-neech, kho-kho, ‘Doctor, doctor, help us!’, ‘Lock and key’
15) You have played ‘Uma Joshi’ more times than you can remember.
16) Dog ‘in’ the bone was your favorite co-ed game.
17) Much of your free time in school was spent playing UNO.
18) You collected trump cards of wrestlers, cricketers, and airplanes, and did not quite understand why your younger siblings were obsessed with Pokemon and the other Japanese trends that followed.
19) Your summer vacations were often synonymous with visiting your grandparents
20) Your parents, at some point, told you ‘Dark Room’ was a bad game to play. But you still loved playing it.
21) Bole mere lips, I love uncle Chips!
22) You know the song ‘Made in India’ by Alisha Chinoi
23) You have seen many many many episodes of ‘Antakshri’ on Zee TV and know the only thing constant in the show is Anu Kapoor.
24) Many evenings have been spent watching little kids gyrate vulgarly on Boogie Woogie on Sony.
25) You were the coolest thing in class if you had a computer in your house while it was still the 90s.
26) You learnt LOGO in school!
27) You couldn’t wait to start 4th/6th standard so you could start writing with PENS instead of with pencils!
28) You often you terms and phrases like ‘kutti’, ‘abba’, ‘same to you, back to you, with no returns’, and ‘shame shame, puppy shame, all the donkeys know your name.’
29) You most probably saw Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge at the cinema at least once. You also fantasized singing songs in mustard fields like in the movie.
30) You have seen David Dhawan and Govinda movies and laughed at them.
31) You have said ‘haw’ or ‘haw ji ki pwji’ when you saw people kissing in English movies
31) You have seen Titanic at least 12 times.
32) You thought seeing English movies and speaking English made you the coolest thing ever.
33) You remember the Orissa cyclone, even though you didn’t know what a cyclone was.
34) You remember the Gujarat earthquake very clearly and could possibly tell everyone EXACTLY what you were ding when the earthquake occurred.
35) Barbies for girls, and GI Joes for boys were the ultimate status symbols. You just wanted more more more and more. And how can I forget Hot Wheels, for both boys and girls?
36) You have worn Osh-Kosh B’gosh and United Colours of Benetton clothes while growing up. And you thought ‘imported’ clothes were definitely way better than ‘made in India’ clothes (never mind that a lot of clothes brought from overseas by NRI relatives were actually made in India, before ‘Made in China’ started appearing on EVERY existing thing)
37) You know the words to ‘Posham Paa’, and like it better than ‘Oranges and Lemons’ even though you’d sing the latter to sound cool (see 32 above).
38) At some point or other, "cool" was your favourite, and therefore, most overused word.
39) Captain Planet was your first introduction to environmental consciousness.
40) You have tried to convince people around you to not burst crackers on Diwali, and then gone straight back home and burst them yourself.
41) You have had endless packets of Parle Gluco G biscuits, and of Brittania Little Hearts biscuits.
42) You loved licking off the cream from the centre of Bourbon biscuits.
43) There were no Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Puma- Bata and Liberty was the way to go for your sports shoes.
44) You have probably consumed more Frooti in your lifetime than there is oil in Iraq.
45) You watched Baywatch on Star World even though (or because) your parents said you shouldn’t watch it.
46) You bought packets of potato chips for the specific purpose of collecting Tazoa. And you had Tazos depicting everyone from Confucius to Daffy Duck to Daffy Duck dressed as Confucius.
47) For the longest time, the Maruti 800, the Premier Padmini, THE Fiat, and THE Ambassador were the only cars you saw on the road, and the Contessa was cool because it was bigger.
48) You would literally jump up in excitement if you ever chanced upon an imported car (Oh my gosh, is that really a MERCEDES?)!
49) You spent a good part of 1998 drooling over the Hyundai Santro and the Daewoo Matiz , debating which one was better.
50) You used to chew Big (big) Babool and/or Boom Boom Boomer chewing gum. They were bright pink and disgusting tasting, but you loved them for the temporary tattoos.
51) Talking of temporary tattoos, you sometimes had contests with your classmates about who had more tattoos on their arm, leg, knee, hand, forehead, wherever.
52) You thought Mario and Tetris were the coolest things ever invented, especially if you were a boy.
53) You knew that having the latest Hero or Atlas bicycle would make you the coolest kid on the block.
54) You can imitate Sushmita Sen’s winning gasp to perfection.
55) You have, at some point of time, worn GAP clothes (real or fake) like SRK in KKHH.
56) Seemingly senseless acronyms like SRK, DDLJ, KKHH actually make sense to you.
57) You have at some point debated who was more beautiful- Aishwarya or Sushmita.
58) If you lived in Delhi, you went bowling at Essex Farms, or Go-Karting at 32nd Milestone and couldn't think how you could get any cooler than that.
59) Baskin Robbins ice-cream was THE thing to have!
60) You know what Campa Cola is. And you also knew that Coca Cola was THE drink.
61) When you would watch WWF keenly every evening/afternoon and really think that Undertaker had 7 lives and he made an "actual" appearance in the Akshay Kumar- starrer Khiladiyon ka Khiladi.
62) When all backpacks (or 'schoolbags') and water bottles and tiffin boxes had strange cartoon characters that were hybrid versions of seven or eight different characters, and you still bought them, because a green man wih a water pistol, boots, a jet-pack, Johnny bravo hair, a rajasthani mustache, gloves, and underwear (long johns) over his pants, called 'Mr. X' was OBVIOUSLY a status symbol.
63) You remember the Nirma tikia jingle.
64) You remember the Nirma girl.
65) You remember the 'doodh doodh' ad and also the 'roz khao andey' ads.
1) You know the words to ‘In-pin-safety-pin’ and ‘akkad-bakkad’ by heart
2) Cricket is almost a religion for you, and you idolize at least one of Kapil Dev/Rahul Dravid/Sachin Tendulkar/Saurav Ganguly
3) You have read at least some Chacha Chaudhary or Tinkle comics
4) You’ve watched Shaktimaan on TV at least once in your life. And you can immediately recognize the character when you see him.
5) You have some ‘NRI’ relatives.
6) You couldn’t wait for it to be December so you could have the Toblerone chocolates your NRI relatives brought you
7) You watched Cartoon Network, and then the late night movies on TNT that came after Cartoon Network ended.
8) You watched corny dubbed versions of Small Wonder, Silver Spoon, and I Dream of Jeanie
9) You were THRILLED when McDonald’s opened in your neighborhood (or even eight kilometers away)
10) Your first burgers were at Wimpy’s or Nirula’s.
11) A visit to Pizza Hut used to mean a special treat
12) You have seen Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun at least 5 times each
13) You still remember the theme song to Hum Paanch.
14) You have played hours upon hour of Pukdam-pakdai, oonch-neech, kho-kho, ‘Doctor, doctor, help us!’, ‘Lock and key’
15) You have played ‘Uma Joshi’ more times than you can remember.
16) Dog ‘in’ the bone was your favorite co-ed game.
17) Much of your free time in school was spent playing UNO.
18) You collected trump cards of wrestlers, cricketers, and airplanes, and did not quite understand why your younger siblings were obsessed with Pokemon and the other Japanese trends that followed.
19) Your summer vacations were often synonymous with visiting your grandparents
20) Your parents, at some point, told you ‘Dark Room’ was a bad game to play. But you still loved playing it.
21) Bole mere lips, I love uncle Chips!
22) You know the song ‘Made in India’ by Alisha Chinoi
23) You have seen many many many episodes of ‘Antakshri’ on Zee TV and know the only thing constant in the show is Anu Kapoor.
24) Many evenings have been spent watching little kids gyrate vulgarly on Boogie Woogie on Sony.
25) You were the coolest thing in class if you had a computer in your house while it was still the 90s.
26) You learnt LOGO in school!
27) You couldn’t wait to start 4th/6th standard so you could start writing with PENS instead of with pencils!
28) You often you terms and phrases like ‘kutti’, ‘abba’, ‘same to you, back to you, with no returns’, and ‘shame shame, puppy shame, all the donkeys know your name.’
29) You most probably saw Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge at the cinema at least once. You also fantasized singing songs in mustard fields like in the movie.
30) You have seen David Dhawan and Govinda movies and laughed at them.
31) You have said ‘haw’ or ‘haw ji ki pwji’ when you saw people kissing in English movies
31) You have seen Titanic at least 12 times.
32) You thought seeing English movies and speaking English made you the coolest thing ever.
33) You remember the Orissa cyclone, even though you didn’t know what a cyclone was.
34) You remember the Gujarat earthquake very clearly and could possibly tell everyone EXACTLY what you were ding when the earthquake occurred.
35) Barbies for girls, and GI Joes for boys were the ultimate status symbols. You just wanted more more more and more. And how can I forget Hot Wheels, for both boys and girls?
36) You have worn Osh-Kosh B’gosh and United Colours of Benetton clothes while growing up. And you thought ‘imported’ clothes were definitely way better than ‘made in India’ clothes (never mind that a lot of clothes brought from overseas by NRI relatives were actually made in India, before ‘Made in China’ started appearing on EVERY existing thing)
37) You know the words to ‘Posham Paa’, and like it better than ‘Oranges and Lemons’ even though you’d sing the latter to sound cool (see 32 above).
38) At some point or other, "cool" was your favourite, and therefore, most overused word.
39) Captain Planet was your first introduction to environmental consciousness.
40) You have tried to convince people around you to not burst crackers on Diwali, and then gone straight back home and burst them yourself.
41) You have had endless packets of Parle Gluco G biscuits, and of Brittania Little Hearts biscuits.
42) You loved licking off the cream from the centre of Bourbon biscuits.
43) There were no Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Puma- Bata and Liberty was the way to go for your sports shoes.
44) You have probably consumed more Frooti in your lifetime than there is oil in Iraq.
45) You watched Baywatch on Star World even though (or because) your parents said you shouldn’t watch it.
46) You bought packets of potato chips for the specific purpose of collecting Tazoa. And you had Tazos depicting everyone from Confucius to Daffy Duck to Daffy Duck dressed as Confucius.
47) For the longest time, the Maruti 800, the Premier Padmini, THE Fiat, and THE Ambassador were the only cars you saw on the road, and the Contessa was cool because it was bigger.
48) You would literally jump up in excitement if you ever chanced upon an imported car (Oh my gosh, is that really a MERCEDES?)!
49) You spent a good part of 1998 drooling over the Hyundai Santro and the Daewoo Matiz , debating which one was better.
50) You used to chew Big (big) Babool and/or Boom Boom Boomer chewing gum. They were bright pink and disgusting tasting, but you loved them for the temporary tattoos.
51) Talking of temporary tattoos, you sometimes had contests with your classmates about who had more tattoos on their arm, leg, knee, hand, forehead, wherever.
52) You thought Mario and Tetris were the coolest things ever invented, especially if you were a boy.
53) You knew that having the latest Hero or Atlas bicycle would make you the coolest kid on the block.
54) You can imitate Sushmita Sen’s winning gasp to perfection.
55) You have, at some point of time, worn GAP clothes (real or fake) like SRK in KKHH.
56) Seemingly senseless acronyms like SRK, DDLJ, KKHH actually make sense to you.
57) You have at some point debated who was more beautiful- Aishwarya or Sushmita.
58) If you lived in Delhi, you went bowling at Essex Farms, or Go-Karting at 32nd Milestone and couldn't think how you could get any cooler than that.
59) Baskin Robbins ice-cream was THE thing to have!
60) You know what Campa Cola is. And you also knew that Coca Cola was THE drink.
61) When you would watch WWF keenly every evening/afternoon and really think that Undertaker had 7 lives and he made an "actual" appearance in the Akshay Kumar- starrer Khiladiyon ka Khiladi.
62) When all backpacks (or 'schoolbags') and water bottles and tiffin boxes had strange cartoon characters that were hybrid versions of seven or eight different characters, and you still bought them, because a green man wih a water pistol, boots, a jet-pack, Johnny bravo hair, a rajasthani mustache, gloves, and underwear (long johns) over his pants, called 'Mr. X' was OBVIOUSLY a status symbol.
63) You remember the Nirma tikia jingle.
64) You remember the Nirma girl.
65) You remember the 'doodh doodh' ad and also the 'roz khao andey' ads.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
No I Dint Die
No I Dint Die and go to heaven. I am very much alive and kicking. Lots been happening in life lately.. But have observed that certain other bloggers too haven't been active of late.. Raju of Raju's Blog, TTG though he does have a new post up now, Suze etc.. Been reading a new blog lately, a certain cookery blog, link is on my page.Prema's Cookbook. Have tried out a couple and must say they were quite awesome and easy to make.. I started a cookery blog decades (read few months ago) and havent written a single post yet..Will get started on that asap.. Even if it means I have to put on a few pounds trying new recipes.. Well its all for a good cause. What did I do in the past month and a half u ask? Well for one I learnt a lot of big new words which I am intentionally not using in this post. I learnt to write good essays. Again, I am refusing to use it (explains the lack of paragraphs), travelled across the country visiting loads and loads of places.. Mite never do the road trip again but it was fun while it lasted... Took me a month to want to eat a sub again.. Found and moved into a new apartment which rocks by the way.. We have an awesome view of the Boston skyline from our bedroom.. Please do read my other blog vantagadhi in a few days, I should get something up by then,please do keep reading my blog, I promise not to die without notice..
PS If u notice any flaw in this blog gramatically or otherwise I am tryin to un-learn what I crammed into my head the past month..I shall return to my normal coherent self soon!!!
PS If u notice any flaw in this blog gramatically or otherwise I am tryin to un-learn what I crammed into my head the past month..I shall return to my normal coherent self soon!!!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Auld Lang Syne
Pic- Sea-Tac Airport with Rainier In the Background
Should an old aquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind
Should an old aquaitance be forgot and Auld Lang Syne
AS a little girl in Madras, I had one dream.. That was to come to the States and study. AS I grew up and Madras became Chennai, the dream modified a bit. I would come to America to set up a family and study!! You get the drift. It was never to visit Disneyland.(Was never too much into cartoons.) Never to see LA or Vegas or Niagra Falls etc.(K I am rambling on here)
Finally one day I came into live here. During one of the most brutal winters Seattle has ever had. Edmonds to be more specific. (City north of Seattle). This city taught me soooo many things I cant even begin to list them. Helped me undergo an experience I cant put down in words. I have realized inner strength I never imagined I had.Started the studying I was dying to do(Maintained a 4.0 mind you) And now I am leaving this place in 1 week, and it struck me. I might never come back to Edmonds and my wonderful 1st floor apartment that my husband and I so lovingly furnished. Here is a few of the wonderful snaps of Edmonds.
My temporary Alma Mater - EDCC
Pike's Place Market
Space Needle
Edmonds Ferry
I-5
My hangout.. University of Washington
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Material Girl
Ok the title sounds MOKKE!! But what I am trying to convey is that I am in love with the city. Any city. Cities in general. With malls and theatres and clean public toilets and fruits and veggies sold in packets. I know, I know India is an agricultural country(yeah right!!!) and most of the country is in its villages, but that is not me.
I was watching this show about Glamping. What is Glamping you ask? Glamarous Camping. For about 200 odd dollars per night you can live in the woods but feel like you are living in a 4 star hotel. With antique mirrors, monogrammed sheets so on so forth. Now that was taking things a bit too much. I wouldnt mind a bed and maybe some mosquito repellent and a clean bathroom. Then the woods wouldnt be such a bad bet for me atleast.
I dont need glamping. I can live in a town for a maximum of 5 days. After which the lack of cable will frustrate me, the lack of theatres will distress me further and the lack of cell phone network will just drive me up the wall and I will want to go home. Normally on hiking trips after 30 min into the trip I will be irritating my husband beyond words. I am sometimes surprised why he doesnt leave me there and drive back home!!!
I am quite sure that is something that isnt exclusive to me. Yes, I did my research on it.(what some people do when they have time on their hands!!!)If you look at the five things I cant live without column on Orkut. Here is how the list goes for most people esp those in the 15-18 group(first of all these arent allowed on orkut but whatever!!) here was the list.. Cellphone,Music,Internet,Laptop and then comes frnds and families. Family isnt a thing but ok.. What is the youth of today coming to? We are sooo caught up with wants that they are slowly becoming needs.
I was watching this show about Glamping. What is Glamping you ask? Glamarous Camping. For about 200 odd dollars per night you can live in the woods but feel like you are living in a 4 star hotel. With antique mirrors, monogrammed sheets so on so forth. Now that was taking things a bit too much. I wouldnt mind a bed and maybe some mosquito repellent and a clean bathroom. Then the woods wouldnt be such a bad bet for me atleast.
I dont need glamping. I can live in a town for a maximum of 5 days. After which the lack of cable will frustrate me, the lack of theatres will distress me further and the lack of cell phone network will just drive me up the wall and I will want to go home. Normally on hiking trips after 30 min into the trip I will be irritating my husband beyond words. I am sometimes surprised why he doesnt leave me there and drive back home!!!
I am quite sure that is something that isnt exclusive to me. Yes, I did my research on it.(what some people do when they have time on their hands!!!)If you look at the five things I cant live without column on Orkut. Here is how the list goes for most people esp those in the 15-18 group(first of all these arent allowed on orkut but whatever!!) here was the list.. Cellphone,Music,Internet,Laptop and then comes frnds and families. Family isnt a thing but ok.. What is the youth of today coming to? We are sooo caught up with wants that they are slowly becoming needs.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
This brought a smile to my face
1). The Lecturers don't teach... The Students don't study... The only guy who benefits is the one who owns the 'Dhaba' next to the college.
2). Rules are made to be broken.
3). Promises are made to be broken.
4). Deadlines are made to be extended... ALWAYS!
5). Guys always think the chics in the next college are more beautiful.
6). The geeks are the most pampered lot during the internal exams.
7). The lab assistants are the most respected people (During the lab exams i.e)
8). The watchmen are the people who are bribed the most.
9). The HOD is the person most respected! (Heights of sycophancy here :D)
10). The Principal is the person who is abused and insulted the most! (Behind his back... Obviously!)
11). Dropping subjects is 'Cool' (Arey yaar... Drop the idea of dropping subjects plz).
12). There is always a lecturer in the college who can't speak proper 'English'.
13). Night-out is the second most important tool to ace the exams.
14). The most important tool... the Bhramastra... is the 'Chit' in which the words can only be understood by the person who wrote them (in most of the cases i.e)
15). The freshers are the most sought after people in the college... Be it in the canteen, during the 'free' periods or for completing the records, assignments.
16). The second-years are the ones with the 'I am the don-of-the-college' feeling.
17). The third-years are the ones with the 'So-many-backlogs' feeling and the poor souls get down to studying after bossing around in the college for so long. But the fun still continues.
18). The fourth-years have no connection with the college whatsoever... With no interest in ragging, pulling each other's legs, the b'day parties, the b'day bumps which they enjoyed so much all these years till now. All they want is a good placement and a '1st-class' tag attached to their resume.
19). The first three years are spent in cursing the college, the people there, and the system.
20). But towards the end of the fourth year, people tend to feel nostalgic about the pure unadulterated fun they had for 4 years. The very system they disliked, the very canteen they cursed, the time that they spent there, the b'day bumps they suffered... All these become the best days of their lives...
2). Rules are made to be broken.
3). Promises are made to be broken.
4). Deadlines are made to be extended... ALWAYS!
5). Guys always think the chics in the next college are more beautiful.
6). The geeks are the most pampered lot during the internal exams.
7). The lab assistants are the most respected people (During the lab exams i.e)
8). The watchmen are the people who are bribed the most.
9). The HOD is the person most respected! (Heights of sycophancy here :D)
10). The Principal is the person who is abused and insulted the most! (Behind his back... Obviously!)
11). Dropping subjects is 'Cool' (Arey yaar... Drop the idea of dropping subjects plz).
12). There is always a lecturer in the college who can't speak proper 'English'.
13). Night-out is the second most important tool to ace the exams.
14). The most important tool... the Bhramastra... is the 'Chit' in which the words can only be understood by the person who wrote them (in most of the cases i.e)
15). The freshers are the most sought after people in the college... Be it in the canteen, during the 'free' periods or for completing the records, assignments.
16). The second-years are the ones with the 'I am the don-of-the-college' feeling.
17). The third-years are the ones with the 'So-many-backlogs' feeling and the poor souls get down to studying after bossing around in the college for so long. But the fun still continues.
18). The fourth-years have no connection with the college whatsoever... With no interest in ragging, pulling each other's legs, the b'day parties, the b'day bumps which they enjoyed so much all these years till now. All they want is a good placement and a '1st-class' tag attached to their resume.
19). The first three years are spent in cursing the college, the people there, and the system.
20). But towards the end of the fourth year, people tend to feel nostalgic about the pure unadulterated fun they had for 4 years. The very system they disliked, the very canteen they cursed, the time that they spent there, the b'day bumps they suffered... All these become the best days of their lives...
Monday, June 18, 2007
Creative low
I have hit a creative low. An official low point where there is a desperate urge to write but no topic good enuf. Loads happening in my life but when I sit in front of the laptop with blogger open in front of me I am hitting a blank. There is a certain pressure to write about something that is not trite and also something that is funny and captivates you and makes you relate to it. Phew!! what pressure on a house wife!!!!
Anyways, I want to bless my cousin another one to get married later this week. Pretty much covers the whole bunch. Hard for me to believe it but a whole generation just grew up. The images that run thru my head are of us all lining up in front of tatagaru to take our muti-vitamins. Or M standing behind tatagaru and me stuck in front of tatagaru listening to some lecture and he running around making fun of me. Or M and me sitting on top of the tank trying to identify stars. Or M and me writing a letter to M telling him to stop bullying his little sisters and dropping it in the mail!!! Not the one year that I spent in Hyd but the childhood memories stick. And we all just grew up!!!! God Bless her and the new life that she is about to embark on.
IF you wondering what the hell there are soo many M's in the family. Well our parents made some amazing freaky co-incidence decision to name us all with the letter M.
Well I saw the movie that was almost 2 years in the making.It was apparently the most expensive movie made and yadda yadda. And for three hours the Umerican Desi's left all their dignified Umerican-ness and yelled and screamed and threw paper in the air and generally had a ball. Yead the movie was Sivaji.Like my better half says " you can feel Talaivar's screen presence". I say" Yeah if he is on the screen for pretty much most of the movie you cant miss him"!!! Vivek did a great job according to me. He looks good and acted hilarious.
We are at the end of the our lease agreement so we are house hunting and someone called me Matthews. I have been called a lot of things in life but never been called Matthews!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The course I wanted to take up in summer was cancelled. CANCELLED!! Now why would they do that. I wanted to do it real bad.
Wow!!! I managed to get out a post. And I thot I was at a creative low. Nothing hilarious but definitely trite. Well maybe about the M part of our family. And Oh Oh Oh I am cooking interesting things and they are tasting nice.
God bless and Wish that wonderful cousin of mine a Happy Married Life.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
Coffee and my tryst with it
Lingering over a cup chatting with friends. Sitting near a window staring out and contemplating over life in general. Gulping one cup down quickly before sitting down for loads of work. Sitting down with one before a long night of studying. And of course the large steaming cup to help reduce the headache. I am sure that most of us use our cup of joe for the above mentioned reasons and a whole load more.
I stumbled upon coffee when I was 19 at a kalyana mandapam where they served nothing but coffee and tea.(ie no milk!!!) and fell in love with it. The sights and smells of coffee give me a high (of the non alcholic kind). To me coffee is not an addiction.. As in, I dont need it to survive or start my day. But I do have an extremely hilarious addiction. I need coffee at weddings. Maybe it has something to do with my inception to this drink. As most are aware Telugu Weddings are at absurd times of the night and the only thing that will keep me going is coffee. 2 30 muhurtam..no problem, if i start drinking coffee by 11 by the end of 5 cups it will be 2 30. Dont look at me like that.The cups at the kalyana mandapam are usually really little. My wedding was at 10:11 in the morning. But I dint want to break the tradition (bad karma et al) . So I had my shots of coffee. 5 minutes before muhurtam with the sheet between TTG and me when he couldn't see me I had my coffee.
Back in my Wipro sojourn 16 hour days usually meant coffee at the end of 8 hours. And another one at the end of 10 hours. By which time they would shut the coffee machine. And I am not a big fan of the instant variety that the Lipton vending machine dispenses. Half of its water anyway!!! I need my black coffee with milk. More black than milk. The best coffee I have had is a a huge giant tumbler that an aunt made for me in Bangalore, when I was interning there.
I do get a lot of the caffeine thing and back when I was in India and un-married I used to get the coffee makes you darker thing. I also get the coffee can be addictive thing and the general coffee is not good for your health thing. But what the heck. I am not addicted to it. Just need it like a bit of adrenaline now and then to get me through activities. That is not wrong is it? (Gawd, I am sounding bad even to myself)
However here comes the problem, I dont make good coffee. Well, atleast I dont like my coffee(that is the coffee I make). I make great tea. However, I dont like tea!!! Recent solution that I have hit upon. TTG (though he doesnt drink it) makes a really good cup of coffee. I also discovered a StarBucks within walking distance from home (heck, I wouldnt go if it was further, I would just loose the urge for it)
I am a strong liker ( big fan) of small bistros or the friendly coffee shops where you can sit with ur cuppa and chat and eat a whole lot of cookies or biscuits. There is something about the ambience and the smell which gives me the "feel good" feeling. But till I discover that, TTG I am depending on you to tide me through the migranes or if we do attend any weddings around here.
A little mokke that I thought of.. If you dont get coffee, eat tiramisu.. haar haar haar..
I stumbled upon coffee when I was 19 at a kalyana mandapam where they served nothing but coffee and tea.(ie no milk!!!) and fell in love with it. The sights and smells of coffee give me a high (of the non alcholic kind). To me coffee is not an addiction.. As in, I dont need it to survive or start my day. But I do have an extremely hilarious addiction. I need coffee at weddings. Maybe it has something to do with my inception to this drink. As most are aware Telugu Weddings are at absurd times of the night and the only thing that will keep me going is coffee. 2 30 muhurtam..no problem, if i start drinking coffee by 11 by the end of 5 cups it will be 2 30. Dont look at me like that.The cups at the kalyana mandapam are usually really little. My wedding was at 10:11 in the morning. But I dint want to break the tradition (bad karma et al) . So I had my shots of coffee. 5 minutes before muhurtam with the sheet between TTG and me when he couldn't see me I had my coffee.
Back in my Wipro sojourn 16 hour days usually meant coffee at the end of 8 hours. And another one at the end of 10 hours. By which time they would shut the coffee machine. And I am not a big fan of the instant variety that the Lipton vending machine dispenses. Half of its water anyway!!! I need my black coffee with milk. More black than milk. The best coffee I have had is a a huge giant tumbler that an aunt made for me in Bangalore, when I was interning there.
I do get a lot of the caffeine thing and back when I was in India and un-married I used to get the coffee makes you darker thing. I also get the coffee can be addictive thing and the general coffee is not good for your health thing. But what the heck. I am not addicted to it. Just need it like a bit of adrenaline now and then to get me through activities. That is not wrong is it? (Gawd, I am sounding bad even to myself)
However here comes the problem, I dont make good coffee. Well, atleast I dont like my coffee(that is the coffee I make). I make great tea. However, I dont like tea!!! Recent solution that I have hit upon. TTG (though he doesnt drink it) makes a really good cup of coffee. I also discovered a StarBucks within walking distance from home (heck, I wouldnt go if it was further, I would just loose the urge for it)
I am a strong liker ( big fan) of small bistros or the friendly coffee shops where you can sit with ur cuppa and chat and eat a whole lot of cookies or biscuits. There is something about the ambience and the smell which gives me the "feel good" feeling. But till I discover that, TTG I am depending on you to tide me through the migranes or if we do attend any weddings around here.
A little mokke that I thought of.. If you dont get coffee, eat tiramisu.. haar haar haar..
Monday, May 07, 2007
Another mile stone - Big Dreams
You know when you are really little -people who went to college were big people.And you couldnt wait to go to college. And then when you come to college - married people are uncles and auntys and only friends of your parents are married. And when you graduate and start working you are sort of stuck with this awkwardness of whether to call ppl aunty and kids call u aunty.(what is the fixation with aunty!!!!!!!!!!!) Well, I have graduated so I am a big person and I am married so I am an aunty. And I am gonna turn a year older in less than a week!!!
In the last one year I have seen loads of things and grown up ages. I gave up a gothram and took up a new gothram, I got a whole new family along with my own, I moved to a new country and started a certification in management (Wait all that happened in the last 6 months) In the 6 months prior to that, I changed hair colours, I worked maniacal hours, I wrote my TOEFL and forgot my glasses at the test center, ate out of cartons (to avoid washing dishes) and worked 14 hour days. Phew isnt that a lot to be doing over a year. Gone from one extreme of the spectrum to another. I would definitely say that I have grown a lot in the last one year. I think I have done justice to the whole year and made the most of it.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
In the bazaars of....
What do you sell O ye merchants ?
Richly your wares are displayed.
Turbans of crimson and silver,
Tunics of purple brocade,
Mirror with panels of amber,
Daggers with handle of jade.
What do you weigh, O ye vendors?
Saffron and lentil and rice.
What do you grind, O ye maidens?
Sandalwood, henna, and spice.
What do you call , O ye pedlars?
Chessman and ivory dice.
The poem doesnt end here but I just put it an exerpt. The first city I fell in love with. As the train was coming toward the Mouala Ali station I could not contain my excitement. Visibly more joyful I would wait for the station to come. Couldn't wait to go to Ammamma's home and drink Boost and eat Idly. Then sit with the paper and decide what movies to watch. In case you wondering what place I am talking about, its Bhagyanagaram.
Richly your wares are displayed.
Turbans of crimson and silver,
Tunics of purple brocade,
Mirror with panels of amber,
Daggers with handle of jade.
What do you weigh, O ye vendors?
Saffron and lentil and rice.
What do you grind, O ye maidens?
Sandalwood, henna, and spice.
What do you call , O ye pedlars?
Chessman and ivory dice.
The poem doesnt end here but I just put it an exerpt. The first city I fell in love with. As the train was coming toward the Mouala Ali station I could not contain my excitement. Visibly more joyful I would wait for the station to come. Couldn't wait to go to Ammamma's home and drink Boost and eat Idly. Then sit with the paper and decide what movies to watch. In case you wondering what place I am talking about, its Bhagyanagaram.
Yes this place was called Bhagyanagaram some several years ago. Now its called Hyderabad. This city is important to me for several reasons. My first nursery was here. My first memories of playing with friends was here. My first movie without adults was here. My first job was here. My first attempt at serious cooking. The first time I spoke to my husband was here. My first house is/was here.
Its one of the most welcoming cities I have been to. You can get a mix of sorts in this city. From amazing theatres to the para local ones. From Salarjang Museum to Kutub Shahi Tombs. From Necklace Road to Madhapur. From Mega Star to NBK!!!!! From chaos at Punjagutta junction to the calms of Banjara and Jubilee Hills and of course Bawarchi/ Paradise Biriyani..
Its one of the most welcoming cities I have been to. You can get a mix of sorts in this city. From amazing theatres to the para local ones. From Salarjang Museum to Kutub Shahi Tombs. From Necklace Road to Madhapur. From Mega Star to NBK!!!!! From chaos at Punjagutta junction to the calms of Banjara and Jubilee Hills and of course Bawarchi/ Paradise Biriyani..
I am dedicating this foto blog to my favourite city Hyderabad
Qutb Shahi Tombs
Most movies were shot in the above location. Horror Movies to Historical Movies.
Buddha Statue By night
This statue was supposed to be placed in the middle of the Hussain Sagar Lake. It fell into the water and lay there for several years before some noble souls hauled it out and placed it in its true location.
Birla Mandir
Amazing view from here. First temple where my office tag was placed. Once you climb this temple you can get a view of almost the whole of Secundrabad. Right across from the Buddha Statue.
Eat Street
My favourite eating spot in Hyderabad. On the banks of the Hussain Sagar Lake. ALL FOOD is here. AND I MEAN IT.. ALL..
Cyber Towers- HiTech City
The first place set up to handle the IT boom. Increased the economy of Hyderabad by leaps and bounds.
Wipro Madhapur. My Work Place (ex)
I can go on. Give you more and more places where you can visit. The most important thing about Hyderabad is Seshu Mammayya's house.
No post abt Hyderabad can be completed without this.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Will Sivaji be a hit?
If more people focus on a particular thing and wish for it to happen real hard will it happen. The power of positive energy.
Does barter system work with God. You do this for me and I will do this for you!!!
For a person who doesnt have anything to do with a particular place can he imagine he has memories there.
Can your troubles seem magnified a decade after they occur. That is when you look back at them do they look bigger.
If a lie is repeated several times does it become the truth.
Can we re create Genesis. Can Genesis be done in a lab.
Why do we have to ask why? Would we never be satisfied with a given explanation. Why do we have to touch wet paint on a chair to accept the fact that its wet paint?
On a lighter note, Will Sivaji be a hit???? Or Dasavattaram???
Does barter system work with God. You do this for me and I will do this for you!!!
For a person who doesnt have anything to do with a particular place can he imagine he has memories there.
Can your troubles seem magnified a decade after they occur. That is when you look back at them do they look bigger.
If a lie is repeated several times does it become the truth.
Can we re create Genesis. Can Genesis be done in a lab.
Why do we have to ask why? Would we never be satisfied with a given explanation. Why do we have to touch wet paint on a chair to accept the fact that its wet paint?
On a lighter note, Will Sivaji be a hit???? Or Dasavattaram???
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
As usual... Unedited!!!
Is it wrong to want something???
Is it wrong to work toward tangible benefits???
Is it wrong to think that this "I am the best at what I do" and to play up those positive aspects???
Is it wrong to tell the world that "all i want is everything"???
Anyone who expresess desire for something is censured by society in general. Its wrong to want. We should be happy with what we get. Think of the millions who dont have it. So be thankful. Well ok, I am thankful. But what if I want to work towards making my life a little better. Where is the better u ask me? Where is the level of satisfaction? A good home, good food to eat, money to take yearly holidays etc. Is that satisfaction? Or is it a meal, some shelter over my head? Or is it a chance at a better education? The answer is all of it... To some it might mean the first, to some the second and to some others the third. So when I was told to think about the starving millions, were the starving millions told that they have to be thankful for the fact that they are alive as opposed to the dying millions!!!!
Wont society be a better place if everyone worked toward their wishes. Aim for the stars. Ok so everyone isnt an astronaut!!! (haar haar haar..thought i might introduce some humor into my otherwise serious post) But aim high. Work towards that goal. Turn all the forces toward it. Focus all of the mental forces and physical forces toward it. And once its achieved then the next goal and then the next. As it was told to us as babies "God helps those who help themselves". This way I think we can have Utopia. Everyone works hard and honest(sorry forgot to stress this earlier- wont help if the robber works really hard) If you work toward something without stepping on people you are entitled to it. Enjoy it and work toward it...
Maybe this is why Ayn Rand is criticized soo much. Atlas Shrugged (I am sure now u got where the post came from!!!) talks about just this. If I work toward something and aiming high then I am entitled to its benefit. If I make a ton of money I will use it the way I choose. I dont need to make sure everyone else gets an equal share of it. Read the book if u can go through a lot of similar speeches. You will either love it or hate it( as put by my loved one). It took me over a year and a half to read it. Had to put it down several times. But I loved every bit of it. What is the worst that can happen - you will hate it. Even then you can show off sayin you read an Ayn Rand and you hated it...(its a status symbol to hate it too)
They have big words for it. Objectivism etc.. I am not really sure what it means. But I think wants and desires are the reason we are human and not otherwise. We have a duty to do. Lets fulfill it.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
A slice of Kaindi
I nagged and nagged the husband to take me to visit this new restraunt in town. And he gave into my nagging and drove some 30 miles and took me there. It gave me a bit of nostalgia. It reminded me of a little dhaba that one might find on the way back home from college or some such thing.Where you are expected to sit at a "nawar mancham" ( I donno what its called in any other language) and eat. I have been to one of these places on the Pune - Mumbai highway years ago where I drank Milk out of a bathroom mug and the chappati - pan was cleaned with a broom!!!! Well to put it in one word it was LOUSY!!!! The husband and I pretty much spent the remaining portion of the day alternating in the loo and ended the night with a Gelusil each!
The service was terrible. One doesnt put a notice near the plates saying "please use a fresh plate each time" and NOT clear the used plates from the table!!!!! Another basic rule of running a restraunt- Make sure that the water glasses are filled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And if you decide to make Mutter Paneer make sure that there is some Paneer in it. I really had to fish for it and finally got one elusive piece.
The food itself was quite innovative. You know for a South Indian Veg Cusine it served a strange variety!! It wasn't your typical "American - Indian" cusine. You know the channa , fried rice, vada, poori combo. For starters the food was arranged weirdly. You know the appetizers were near one part of the desert(Carrot Halwa) and the other part near the plates (Payasam). Half the dishes were empty and the hostess or usher (or whatever u call them - u know the person who seats u at ur table ah yea Maitre'd) person doubled in for the person who fills the dishes once they are done. And only her mind you. No one else filled any of the dishes. There was Yellow Pappu and some Aloo Palak. And beans and beet-root!! Yeah well.. And rice and fried rice that looked surprisingly like Indian- Chinese. There was some sad looking ice- berg lettuce that served the purpose of salad. And broken pieces of idly!! I mean there wasnt any round idly. You know how its when you make idly in the microwave in a bowl and just eat it like that. Well this idly was just like that. And I dint go anywhere near the sambhar and rasam. But from husband I heard we had to be told which was which. In the middle of the entire buffet was a large pan of roasted veggies with an empty bowl in the middle. Apparently this was their idea of chat. Toward the end of the meal that empty bowl was filled with gravy in which channa was found floating. Dont even get me started on the curd rice!!
My husband and I shared a water glass because the waitress dint bother to give us refills. Toward the end a frustrated me just yelled to her for some water. No one came to us with the cheque and so we thought maybe we have to go to the counter to pay( like the '60s) and that was just what we did.
The people who came in were very interesting though. A married couple next to us. A family in which the mom refused to belt the son into the high chair and therefore had to keep running behind him all over the eating place. A couple sitting at a table and making conversation with the lady at the table next to her. I dont think they came together coz they dint leave together but they were talking to each other ALL the while. And two sets of onsite PMs and their families( Onsite PMs of offshore Indian companies) and one extremely Interesting family. There were two men (one of whom my husband recognized from grad school) and a mom and dad( straight off the plane from India. You know Saree over wind - cheater and Pondy Bazaar purse) and a female with long oiled hair ( i donno how she managed it coz even after loads of shampoo I cant seem to get it off.. Long live Shiakai!!!!!) and chunky gold earrings ( they had GRT written all over them) and Jeans and a T and no jacket.... ( quite a brave girl I must say). My husband and I spent quite a part of our lunch wondering if she was a wife to one of the men or a sister. And she for some reason was eating out of her neighbor's plate!!! I swear she dint have a plate of her own...For reasons best known to her.
All in all I dont know what to say. One of the strange times when "Cogito Ergo Sum" cant find a concluding sentence. I just dont know. and to call it a slice of Kaindi.. I think would be offending Kaindi coz the food there is soooooooo yummmm..
The service was terrible. One doesnt put a notice near the plates saying "please use a fresh plate each time" and NOT clear the used plates from the table!!!!! Another basic rule of running a restraunt- Make sure that the water glasses are filled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And if you decide to make Mutter Paneer make sure that there is some Paneer in it. I really had to fish for it and finally got one elusive piece.
The food itself was quite innovative. You know for a South Indian Veg Cusine it served a strange variety!! It wasn't your typical "American - Indian" cusine. You know the channa , fried rice, vada, poori combo. For starters the food was arranged weirdly. You know the appetizers were near one part of the desert(Carrot Halwa) and the other part near the plates (Payasam). Half the dishes were empty and the hostess or usher (or whatever u call them - u know the person who seats u at ur table ah yea Maitre'd) person doubled in for the person who fills the dishes once they are done. And only her mind you. No one else filled any of the dishes. There was Yellow Pappu and some Aloo Palak. And beans and beet-root!! Yeah well.. And rice and fried rice that looked surprisingly like Indian- Chinese. There was some sad looking ice- berg lettuce that served the purpose of salad. And broken pieces of idly!! I mean there wasnt any round idly. You know how its when you make idly in the microwave in a bowl and just eat it like that. Well this idly was just like that. And I dint go anywhere near the sambhar and rasam. But from husband I heard we had to be told which was which. In the middle of the entire buffet was a large pan of roasted veggies with an empty bowl in the middle. Apparently this was their idea of chat. Toward the end of the meal that empty bowl was filled with gravy in which channa was found floating. Dont even get me started on the curd rice!!
My husband and I shared a water glass because the waitress dint bother to give us refills. Toward the end a frustrated me just yelled to her for some water. No one came to us with the cheque and so we thought maybe we have to go to the counter to pay( like the '60s) and that was just what we did.
The people who came in were very interesting though. A married couple next to us. A family in which the mom refused to belt the son into the high chair and therefore had to keep running behind him all over the eating place. A couple sitting at a table and making conversation with the lady at the table next to her. I dont think they came together coz they dint leave together but they were talking to each other ALL the while. And two sets of onsite PMs and their families( Onsite PMs of offshore Indian companies) and one extremely Interesting family. There were two men (one of whom my husband recognized from grad school) and a mom and dad( straight off the plane from India. You know Saree over wind - cheater and Pondy Bazaar purse) and a female with long oiled hair ( i donno how she managed it coz even after loads of shampoo I cant seem to get it off.. Long live Shiakai!!!!!) and chunky gold earrings ( they had GRT written all over them) and Jeans and a T and no jacket.... ( quite a brave girl I must say). My husband and I spent quite a part of our lunch wondering if she was a wife to one of the men or a sister. And she for some reason was eating out of her neighbor's plate!!! I swear she dint have a plate of her own...For reasons best known to her.
All in all I dont know what to say. One of the strange times when "Cogito Ergo Sum" cant find a concluding sentence. I just dont know. and to call it a slice of Kaindi.. I think would be offending Kaindi coz the food there is soooooooo yummmm..
Friday, February 23, 2007
Cable
Hey all, nothin much to report... We got cable!!! Yay!! Yay!! So now I can finally go beyond the Judging Community. For those who dont know.. I am a TV addict. I do just about everything with the TV on.. From cooking to cleaning to being on the computer!!!!!
Happy Days are here.. Wish us happy viewing..
Happy Days are here.. Wish us happy viewing..
three things that the country is obsssessed with right now.
Britney Spears
Britney Spears without hair
Britney Spears in Rehab
Another three things its obssessing about
Anna Nicole Smith
Anna Nicole Smith's baby ( God help that poor child)
Anna Nicole Smith's romances
Seriously!!!! Everywhere I go.. Gym, TV, magazines, websites.. look at this
Friday, February 16, 2007
Sometimes In Life
Lots of new things happening with life.. The primary thing being cooking on a daily basis.. I have always prided myself in being a reasonably good cook. Well turns out I can stand by that statement.. 2 months of cooking and neither my husband nor I are having any serious health problems of the food kind... (though yours truly can afford to shed some pounds) But last night was my biggest disaster in the history of cooking.. I normally am not one for wasting food.. I hate throwing food into the bin or down the sink or whatever.. But this time without any qualms, I threw the whole dish into the sink.. What was this big disaster? UPMA.. I followed the recipe as my mum told me.. but for some reason it was sooo terribly bad, maybe one of the reasons being that we ran out of salt... So techincally maybe it was not my fault.. Maybe it was the salt.. Or so I shall say and console myself!!!!!
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Speechless
It keeps bothering me and therefore I keep writing about it. Y is the marriage system in India so archaic.. Heck 20 years ago the girl and guy look at each other and it still works the same way today!!!!! I still know in this day and age where marriages are decided in a matter of 15 minutes.. Are life changing decisions made this fast. Think about it...In 15 minutes a person has to decide if he/she is the best spouse. How on Earth can a person decide over coffee or Coke if that person is right for them. How about other things that actually make a marriage.
I am a product of an arranged marriage that was fixed in 15 min 28 years ago!!! I am also a part of the arranged marriage.. As in, my marriage was arranged 2 and done 2 months ago. But it wasnt fixed in 15 minutes.. People require time to get to know each other and even then not everything is known. There are things that one learns to live with after marriage.. But 15 minutes!!!!!!!! I dont even judge a person's physical appearance in 15 minutes where would I judge my husband in that period of time..
God save the world and wish u luck my wonderful frnd...
I am a product of an arranged marriage that was fixed in 15 min 28 years ago!!! I am also a part of the arranged marriage.. As in, my marriage was arranged 2 and done 2 months ago. But it wasnt fixed in 15 minutes.. People require time to get to know each other and even then not everything is known. There are things that one learns to live with after marriage.. But 15 minutes!!!!!!!! I dont even judge a person's physical appearance in 15 minutes where would I judge my husband in that period of time..
God save the world and wish u luck my wonderful frnd...
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
One of my serious posts- Goals
"Going to college and getting a degree are all goals. And I am working toward attaining my goals!!!!" This advertisement for a certain educational institution shocked me beyond words. Where I come from these aint goals.This is something I just did. I was amazed that people actually wanted to do something else.Heck what else can you do??
I guess this is the difference that exists between countries,continents, the east and the west, whatever which way we choose to put it. In India at age 3 a child is put in school and the child continues until he/she finishes it and then goes on to college to obtain a degree(atleast most middle,upper-middle class families work this way). After the degree he/she finds a job and settles down in life. This is life as I know it and this is how it exists. However here in Umerica going to school and finishing it is apparently a goal!!!!!!! Why is this such a glaring difference. Is there a total lack of regard for a formal education in this country. Is basic education not required to get ahead of life. A knowledge of the history of this country, basic math , chemical formula of water, sulfuric acid and organic chemistry are all this a total waste of time and money and brain space??????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!
Is it because the basic needs are provided to any person in this country that education doesnt seem that important. In India we had the mid day meal scheme, and also free and compulsory education for all children until the age of 14. Hasnt a place like this come up with schemes like this to keep children at school.I am not aware of any. Would incentives like that work here??
I guess this is the difference that exists between countries,continents, the east and the west, whatever which way we choose to put it. In India at age 3 a child is put in school and the child continues until he/she finishes it and then goes on to college to obtain a degree(atleast most middle,upper-middle class families work this way). After the degree he/she finds a job and settles down in life. This is life as I know it and this is how it exists. However here in Umerica going to school and finishing it is apparently a goal!!!!!!! Why is this such a glaring difference. Is there a total lack of regard for a formal education in this country. Is basic education not required to get ahead of life. A knowledge of the history of this country, basic math , chemical formula of water, sulfuric acid and organic chemistry are all this a total waste of time and money and brain space??????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!
Is it because the basic needs are provided to any person in this country that education doesnt seem that important. In India we had the mid day meal scheme, and also free and compulsory education for all children until the age of 14. Hasnt a place like this come up with schemes like this to keep children at school.I am not aware of any. Would incentives like that work here??
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Rush
I want to write a book.
I want to be a business analyst.
I want to be a gud wife.
I want to curl up into a ball and sleep.
I want to eat a big bowl of ice cream
I want to eat masala dosa with chutney
I want to host a dinner party
I want to loose about 100 pounds.
I want to be worthy of someone's expectations.
I want to get through Atlas Shrugged
I want to make a movie.
I want to act in a comedy movie.
I want to dance with gay abandon.
I want to sing a song fully.
I want to eat pizza.
I started to read i post.I was like "Hmmm!! what do I write about??" And all these thoughts came through my head. So I thought that I shall put them all down..So here goes.
Peace on Earth
I want to be a business analyst.
I want to be a gud wife.
I want to curl up into a ball and sleep.
I want to eat a big bowl of ice cream
I want to eat masala dosa with chutney
I want to host a dinner party
I want to loose about 100 pounds.
I want to be worthy of someone's expectations.
I want to get through Atlas Shrugged
I want to make a movie.
I want to act in a comedy movie.
I want to dance with gay abandon.
I want to sing a song fully.
I want to eat pizza.
I started to read i post.I was like "Hmmm!! what do I write about??" And all these thoughts came through my head. So I thought that I shall put them all down..So here goes.
Peace on Earth
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Valla- man!!!!
I just recently watched the movie Vallavan and it set out of a series of thots(as usual--- sometimes I wonder why most of my posts start like this)
Anyways comin back to the post..Yeah Vallavan.. Wat the hell was going on in Silambarasans mind.. Friendship,love, and revenge.. As a 22 year old girl who went to school, went for culturals , heck who went for the Le Park Culturals I can state that that sort of ridiculous revenge doesnt exist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It might be that "I want my school to win" or "yay!! i get to miss school". And HELLO - no 15-17 yr old will have this shitty "nee ambalaia irrunda" crap. It sounds sooooo fake and silly and stupid.
Let me share a secret(with most men, grls already know it) if u really really love somebody u wont want to take revenge on them, but u wud want the best in life for them...So there goes the entire concept wrong..And the other secret is that a woman needn't be looking like a silly stupid idiot to take revenge..Her silences will give her her victory.
Coming back to the post..I feel that it brings out Simbu's insecurity.Is he scared that a woman can dominate.I am actually surprised that someone like him who actually went to school(and attended the same culturals) knows how these work..Come on..People arent that stupid..Its not just this movie but even his prev work like Manmadhan- women cheating on the guy, 2 timing etc...
Its not just this movie.. I havent watched Timmiru but from what I have seen of the trailers of it, I think Sriya Reddy has also been portrayed as this female reekin revenge on the hero for being jilted in love.Chiranjeevi over Nagma in Gharana Mogudu, A certain Hero over a certain heroine(risk of domestic violence is causing me from abstaining,but i cudnt go without mentioning it). Is the South Indian film industry setting a silly trend that most women arent going to like.. I am not sure..
Just wanted to put across a point I had in my mind abt 10 seconds after watching Vallavan..
On a tangential note there was this Hindi movie called Pyar Tune Kya Kiya(made by Ram Gopal Varma) where Urmila gets obbsessed with an already married Fardeen Khan. There is no revenge, she just wants to be with him, the movie ends with her in the assylum. The movie had great music but a huge flop.
Anyways comin back to the post..Yeah Vallavan.. Wat the hell was going on in Silambarasans mind.. Friendship,love, and revenge.. As a 22 year old girl who went to school, went for culturals , heck who went for the Le Park Culturals I can state that that sort of ridiculous revenge doesnt exist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It might be that "I want my school to win" or "yay!! i get to miss school". And HELLO - no 15-17 yr old will have this shitty "nee ambalaia irrunda" crap. It sounds sooooo fake and silly and stupid.
Let me share a secret(with most men, grls already know it) if u really really love somebody u wont want to take revenge on them, but u wud want the best in life for them...So there goes the entire concept wrong..And the other secret is that a woman needn't be looking like a silly stupid idiot to take revenge..Her silences will give her her victory.
Coming back to the post..I feel that it brings out Simbu's insecurity.Is he scared that a woman can dominate.I am actually surprised that someone like him who actually went to school(and attended the same culturals) knows how these work..Come on..People arent that stupid..Its not just this movie but even his prev work like Manmadhan- women cheating on the guy, 2 timing etc...
Its not just this movie.. I havent watched Timmiru but from what I have seen of the trailers of it, I think Sriya Reddy has also been portrayed as this female reekin revenge on the hero for being jilted in love.Chiranjeevi over Nagma in Gharana Mogudu, A certain Hero over a certain heroine(risk of domestic violence is causing me from abstaining,but i cudnt go without mentioning it). Is the South Indian film industry setting a silly trend that most women arent going to like.. I am not sure..
Just wanted to put across a point I had in my mind abt 10 seconds after watching Vallavan..
On a tangential note there was this Hindi movie called Pyar Tune Kya Kiya(made by Ram Gopal Varma) where Urmila gets obbsessed with an already married Fardeen Khan. There is no revenge, she just wants to be with him, the movie ends with her in the assylum. The movie had great music but a huge flop.
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