dee-dah-dum!

Loony tunes

2012-02-15T00:34:00.000-08:00

As it happens, I did go out for Valentine's Day. Yes indeed.
Minus the romance. All we wanted to do was the girly stuff. Eat. Drink. Gossip. Bitch. Diss men. The usual.

But the server thought differently. Our sushi arrived with a special touch of love.

A little carrot heart. We looked around, none of the other tables had a heart prettying up their tables. Our server was either:

A proponent of equal rights for all (yay!), or
Taking pity on the two girls out for dinner with each other.

In any case, it made our dinner extra special n' oh so so cute!

Then I came home and made tender love to my cup of coffee and a warm banana chocolate chip cookie. Satisfaction.

Guaranteed.

Time after time

2012-02-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

Three years ago, there would have been a Facebook wall post saying "Happy Birthday!"
PS: I went back and checked. Oops. Let's start again.
--

Three years ago, there was not even a Facebook wall post saying "Happy Birthday!"

Three years (or two and a half, if you want to be precise) seems a long time ago. The words remain the same, but meaning is deeper, richer, like good extra dark chocolate. More complex, like a bottle of mature Malbec. Sweet, like those pancakes.

Happy Birthday, Bestie.

I have no clue if its going to be all smooth sailing ahead (probably not), but I promise to share my lifeboat with you when choppy waters hit.

And then, we will go get drunk, dance, make merry and be gay.

"You know you are mad and I still love you. I hate to love you"

~ Bestie.

Flashbacks of awesomeness!

2011-12-31T22:35:00.001-08:00

January - Happy 2011 start in India.
February - Birthday parties. Lots of.
March - Skydiving. Enough said.
April - Grad party. More stress than I needed. Almost over.
May - Graduation. Vegas. Alaska.
June - Bye bye Miss AK. Washington DC. NYC.
July - Boston and alcohol with my fav men.
September - Miss AK is back for a visit!
October - Niagara! Thank you bestie and Miss AK.
November- San Francisco. KP and piggyback rides. Roomie time. Cooking TG dinner with friends.
December - Portland. Christmas. Seattle. Food, nature, friends, cold.

Welcoming 2012 with people me hearts. Priceless.

Splenda-h!

2011-12-19T01:55:00.000-08:00

If emotions had a taste, I went through the entire spectrum last week. Sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami (I think umami fits better than the traditional pungent, bear with me). The week started off as vanilla as possible - coffee, sandwich, muffin. Yay! Meetings, readings, assessments. And then, boom.

Unexpected news. Bitter. Sour. Salty.

The thing about unpleasant situations is that, if you are lucky, you find something sweet. I am lucky. My savior(s) came in, swooped me away and gave me not a free minute to mope around. In the truest sense of the word, शान्ति .

That, and food, and shopping and some MI4 action, all combine together, and leave me with umami. Somewhat impossible to describe, but overall pleasant.

PS: If you are wondering whats with the Splenda, its a story about how the girl woke up to the smell of coffee and pancakes. Oh-so-good-looking pancakes. Mmm. One bite of those fluffy pancakes, and the world went boom again. But bestie's sweetness showed through even those bitter pancakes, and the cake later in the night more than made up for the Splend-id disaster. Overall, umami.

:)

Let it be!

2011-11-02T16:50:00.001-07:00

Why write?

a) It takes me to my happy place.
b) It makes me focus on the writing and not other random thoughts.
c) There is nothing left on TV to see.
d) All of the above.

Any guesses on which option I would choose as my answer tonight?

The only hurdle being, that my brain refused to focus.

So I went poking around for some inspiration. Found it in my chat history logs. A few days ago, I was talking to a friend and telling her to define "boundaries" between the things she can help, and the things she cannot. In the true spirit of '(don't) practice what you preach,' I was doing exactly what I grandly advised her not to.

While writing this, I am making an attempt to internalize my own advice, trying to weigh if the fight is worth the person, or am I just losing myself, to myself, in the battle? Answer (and the same as before) - A fight against indifference is not worth my time. Thank you brain, for at least being consistent!

Reflection is sometimes good for the soul. Closure definitely is. And so, about a year after I originally posted the Serenity Prayer, I look back and read it with renewed interest.

"God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as He did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next."

In a year, so much changes, yet so little actually changes.
Let it go. Let it be.

Fair?

2011-09-28T01:52:00.000-07:00

http://mimiandeunice.com/2010/09/15/life-isnt-fair/

Indeed! That is how a seemingly boring weekend evolves into going out with friends, meeting more friends, some new public and night-long associations with questionable substances. Pause. Cooking for an appreciative audience (who were dead scared of cats!). Rinse and Repeat.

The cherry on the cake? LA Chocolate Salon. Chocolate. Wine. Catching up with Gossip Girl. Too much of a good thing ain't that bad!

Mine. Part III.

2011-09-23T03:57:00.000-07:00

After doing all the keeda-kaand she could in the Motherland, the girl decides its time to shift countries. Welcome to Amreeka, ji. No more Old Monk and Kingfisher. Sad. Welcome to the land of JD and microbreweries. Yum. Always interesting to move so far away from home. The things you took for granted, no longer are. Relationships need more work. Finding new friends, harder than finding housing on Craigslist. But, we have established that the girl is awesome, and hence minimally troubled. What helped?

Stories and rumors and hope - make life so much more interesting and keep the girl going. Maybe they were about the guy with the green car, or the one with the curly hair, or the workaholic. The green car boy - lost cause; Mr. curly hair - still cute. Now, the workaholic. Heart-beat skip causer. Random sweet and sensible words-sayer. Spontaneously funny. The root cause that made the girl look back and remember all the crazy men she knows. Also unattainable, at last check. Oh well, that's the way the girl rolls (not).

Oh, and how can she forget "shared property" or the "open relationship"? If the girl's life was a twitter feed, shared property would be #FAIL. The open relationship on the other hand, would be trending very well! One facebook status change, made on a dare was all it took. That, and the fact that the girl and the bestie gained great laughter from fanning flames. Equally evil, those two.

When the girl looks back at the last two years, she realizes she doesn't know when the bestie became the bestie! Knowing the girl, it probably helped that he cooked. Very well. Water - the girl loves to be near it, the bestie loves to jump in. The walks. The drives. San Diego. Malbec. Surprise(s)! Car-Bar-Net. Maybe the bed they shared, or the friends. Ink. Cards. Dancing. "Wild". San Fran. Long phone calls. Silence. Safety at 30. Red. The times when they thought, if only they were not so similar. The times when they are forever grateful for those similarities! Acceptance. Understanding. Most importantly, love.

Man o' man, by no means the girl thinks that this is a comprehensive list! The girl hasn't even mentioned the distant cousin she was linked with, and the distant cousin who wanted to marry her. Hey, don't blame the girl, the bawas are a small community! The sandwich-wala, who was the most important person around for 2.5 years. The girl is a slave to her stomach, also to be blamed on the bawa genes. The internet friend-of-a-friend, turned good friend, who the girl tried to hook-up with her BFF. They shared a love for slightly wonky late night conversations, peppered with references to 'mayo' and 'hunny'. The supposed asshole, who has never been but super nice to the girl (maybe it's her charm!). He was even nice enough (and drunk enough) to offer her an ill-fated piggyback ride. What fun! Oh, and the Army captain she met on the train? The girl had lunch with him on her visit home, played the perfect smart young woman, and there started another round of rumors. Fun fun fun.

Who else? The girl also met a very open-hearted, ever smiling, amazingly humble person. The closest to a wise elder brother. Did she mention the other bawa guy who was her senior, and her nephew at the same time? Who fleeced the girl to get free tel-maalish? Also, the spiky haired guy on her team for the last one year. Brave man that one, to be the only guy in a 5 person (aka crazy women) team, but still afraid of insects. And the neighbor, alternating between being hot and being a slob. His cat, who ruled the girl's house for the past two years. Sidenote - If the cat was a human, it would have become the despotic ruler of the Earth-wide Kingdom of Godot. Scary stuff, that.

So the girl concludes, she is blessed. She looks around, and sees never-ending sources of inspiration, strength and love (and food and alcohol). Most of whom are okay when they see the girl break out into the trouble-creating evil grin. Almost all of them celebrate(d) the fact that the girl isn't a helpless maiden. And almost all of them are slightly scared of the girl's daddy dearest, because my Daddy strongest!

Mine. Part II.

2011-09-14T02:30:00.000-07:00

And so, the girl keeps writing. College was an exciting time, so much to do, so much to see, so many people to meet. Oh, if none of this makes sense, do read Mine. first. Don't hold me to a strict timeline though!

When the girl came back to the big city for college, the first classmate she met was pouring over the entrance test results, wondering if he would get what he wanted. Couple of months later, he thought the girl looked super pretty in a saree. The shortest relationship ensued. Through the ups and downs, they remain friends and tell each other the most random stuff. Weird, but feels quite okay. Looking back, I am unsure if the guy ever got exactly what he wanted/envisioned. Life has a way of throwing him very interesting punches, leaving us with a repertoire of amazing stories! Manic Monday. Terrible Tuesday. Whacky Wednesday. Terrific(?) Thursday. Fantastic Friday.

It was also in college that the girl met the sweetest person she knows. Unflappable. Looks like a wrestler, is a marshmallow. Such patience this man has, to put up with what is now 6 years of ribbing by a set of friends who have all been generously sprinkled by the devil's dust. He is one of those people who will always be blessed, for he will have a child-like innocence with him forever.

While the girl was powering through college, she felt a need to explore an alternate world-view, partially because a close friend was immersed in it and the girl was bored and curious (in equal parts). So she went and did a short course with this international organization that claimed to change her and the way she saw the world. Yoga, social work and the lectures about living a good life were fine and dandy, but then horror of horrors! They wanted the girl to shirk her love for meat and alcohol. In desperation, she looked around for support. Found a pair of twinkling eyes. They shared a smirk, a "someone save us from these holier-than-thou people" look. Scooted closer and plotted to go out for a drink immediately after. So opened a world of hanging around in the heart of Mumbai and learning to understand Marathi. Going to small hole-in-the-wall places to eat fish(y) delicacies. Khooni paanje. Kala khatta golas. Conversations about Physics and Biology. An unforgettable holiday. Fights. Blame game. Constant pestering. Volatile emails. More pestering. A full circle, back to a tenuously held together friendship.

Once you start thinking about the people that have touched your life deeply, you realize that there are many more to go. And so, the girl will follow a friend's advice: "Today was a fantastic day, tomorrow will be better, if you like to write, don’t hesitate, if you like to draw don’t wait, whatever it is that makes you happy pursue it today for tomorrow today shall be a memory, a fading memory lest you capture it in your own special way…."

Mine.

2011-09-13T04:46:00.000-07:00

There is always a little sweet spot in our heart for some people. The special ones from the myriad collage that makes up our lives. Old friends, friends you met only once, people who were such an integral part of your lives that you forgot all about their value, the shared mischievousness, the family bonds. Also, relationships that were not meant to be or will never be. As the years go by, sometimes even after things go bad, don't work out or maybe don't even really begin, they leave behind little pieces of memories that make you smile. Bitter-sweet as the smile may be, this is my journey through the smiles and (in this case), the men who made them!

A long, long time ago there was this girl who had the devil as her personal adviser. She was always the little perfect child in the presence of elders, but when in the company of her peers, the devil was let loose. Great many children were beaten up in the battles for food, game-time supremacy, kites, toys and attention. And then, a prince walked into the warzone, ready to face her. They clashed and fought, but realized that the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. So together, they ran headlong into mischief, co-conspirators against the boring world of the parents. Together they became teenagers, and discovered the first bloom of romance. Alas, the evil world of studies and Board exams interfered. The first bloom remained exactly that, and life went on.

Her travels took this girl to a new city where she was thrown in the midst of these strange big city kids. Too much free time and a love for bike rides got her together with this another guy. So different from her prince, this one was a crazy, unrepentant wild-child. So much potential for so much fun, and the devil told the girl, go live. She did. Even today, it brings an evil, evil smile to her face!

Oh, and then there was the competitor. The guy who wanted to challenge the girl in everything. They got into fistfights at fifteen, and stories abounded in the small town they call home. The girl took the ultimate revenge. She went ahead and charmed his parents. Practice helps!

First day in college. Girl sees a guy with an odd vibe, just lurking around, being unsocial. Somehow, over innumerable cups of chai, classic milds, pegs of varying alcohols and other adventures, they went from being awkward friends to this another plane of friendship. The one where the fact that you didn't really speak for a year and a half does not really matter. You can catch up over 3 days and 3 bottles. Bliss. Thank you, God.

Still in college, the girl meets another guy. This one was highly amused by the girl's attitude, her tendency to be the laziest in a pack of lazy, willingness to fight and propensity for using very colorful language. The exact opposite of what he thought a perfect girlfriend/wife should be. Then he discovered that she was willing to get yummy sweets from her hometown, just for him. Instant magic recipe for an everlasting friendship. Bike rides. Floods. Rainy days. Food. Chai. Alcohol. More bike rides. Gossip. Pretend study sessions. Xerox frenzies. Screaming matches (the girl won). Concern. Affection. A lot of laughter.

A chance online meeting. An instant connection and a decision was made. The girl met this complete stranger, one late evening, in the middle of her exams. Passed those, couldn't pass up on him. Shared a common love for coffee, food, cinema, and exploring their city. Could not tolerate each other's music choices. The girl made him smile, and his smile made her feel like a princess. But if you think they were a boring sweet couple, think again. There was this sparky current between the two, and well, life was very interesting. Though time and tide found its way in between them, an email is all it takes to remember the time the girl scared the daylights out of him. All it took was a bumpy ride on the roads of Goa, with the girl driving the two-wheeler.

The girl has more stories and more people to write about. She will too, soon.

Shor

2011-08-31T06:15:00.001-07:00

I laud the fact that Anna Hazare and his co-workers could exercise their rights for freedom of speech and expression to extol the virtues of the Jan Lokpal Bill. If nothing else, this makes me glad to be an Indian, rather than a citizen of the multitude of countries where the whole gang who have been arrested, and/or executed.

But being a citizen of a democratic republic can be quite a double-edged sword.

I lament the fact that Anna Hazare could publicly fast for 13 days, and in effect hold the Government at ransom. Call me heartless or unpatriotic, but weighing the wishes of one organization against the actual good of the 1.2 billion people we have does not quite make sense to me. What I do applaud AH & Co. for doing is bringing the issue of corruption to the fore-front. On a more practical level, does it actually stop people from paying off the policeman, the babu, the clerk, the conductor, buying a movie ticket in black and the other small "chalta hai" corruption we see and actively participate in? Not really. Did the hunger fast make a lasting change on our mindset? I have my humble doubts.

As I understand it, these three demands have been tentatively met: Lokayuktas in every state, citizen's charter in each government department and inclusion of lower bureaucracy under Lokpal, with some others under discussion (I apologize if I misrepresented any facts). My do paisa views on them:

Lokpal/Lokayuktas: To expect one "God-sent" (Anna-sent?) Ombudsman to take care of the corruption that happens everyday around us, is logistically ridiculous. As is the idea that this one authority would be able to dig deep into the lives of our political and bureaucratic elite and reveal the corruption that lies there. So this person would need to be surrounded by staff members, in essence, another bureaucracy. Has anyone thought about running this organization or are we expecting it to materialize out of thin air? Who will elect/select/nominate people for this post? Will we have another election for this, and if so, who will fund it? Also, would will investigate the corruption in the Lokpal's department?

Inclusion of the lower bureaucracy: Many of the same issues as above. We have this whole convoluted, multi-office bureaucratic system. From my experience of trying to work with it, most of it involves corruption, either by money or by "influence". Monitoring the activities of this giant, and handling the complaints that are likely to float in from the public is daunting. Also, the Lokayukta will only investigate the complaints, the trial and prosecution rests in the hands of the over-burdened judicial system. So how does that improve the efficiency of getting an actual result?

Citizen's Charter: Eh? Let me ask you this, as an Indian, the most binding Charter on you is the Constitution of India. Now I don't expect you to know it in any detail, but do you remember maybe the Preamble or the Fundamental Rights and especially the Duties of the Indian citizen? In case this makes you go "of course I do", when did you last actively follow through on any of them? Except the right to talk and blog, we do that incessantly.

Now that I have finished my rant, I admit that the movement, and the power of the Indian public behind the movement is admirable. What I question is the effect of these on the public, after the shor, the noise has died down. The issue is larger than AH's fast and demands for a Big Brother bill.Tackling corruption by increasing bureaucracy is a self-defeating cycle. Putting the power of the public behind a movement to increase the transparency of the existing babudom may yield better results. Modernizing the way our country is run is important, as is making the government servants accountable for their work. Six sigma and lean management theories, anyone?

For our sake, I hope the whole Lokpal movement brings a positive awakening within the public, within us. But if I can't bribe the Customs official at Mumbai airport, how will I smuggle in the extra iPhone and the bottles of alcohol into the country without paying excise? Quite an ethical conundrum, ain't it?

Maudlin

2011-07-14T04:41:00.000-07:00

Change is the only constant. These are the five much brandished, amazingly clichéd words, meant to comfort ourselves and others about all the funky changes that make our lives as interesting as they are. For me tonight, right now, there is no comfort in hearing these words. Tomorrow may be different, who knows? In the last two months, life as I knew it went spinnin'. For an almost control freak, this realization is even more scary. None of these changes are unexpected, but since when did anticipating something make it easier to swallow? (;-))

I graduated from a Masters program which embodies "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger." Since this is not my ghost typing this out, I guess it worked. One of the ritual rings of fire we pass through at KGI is a year long project with a company. To say that my project turned me into a caffeine fueled fiend would not be very wrong. But it was the journey and the people I shared it with that made it amazing. We had our good days and the bad days (and nights), but we rallied. "Blow their socks off" was what we lived by and worked for. Done. Oh, and then we all graduated. No more waking up to urgent team emails, sharing the 'crazy eyes' look, eight hour marathon meetings, late late nights working , driving down to get animal-style In n' Out, or the team's collective eye rolling at Dee's innuendos. Damn, I miss all of that, and all of them.

Graduation time = Family time = Emotional roller-coaster. This reinforced my belief that family is an entity best loved from a distance. That way, its easier to say "I love you" and forgive and forget. Just when things were settling down, it was time to bid adieu. Fast forward to the next few days, and I was back at the airport to say bye to a dear friend who was shifting countries. I don't think I have yet fully absorbed the fact that she is no longer a 25 minute drive away. Her apartment and the long conversations we had together always gave me the peaceful sense of being at home that virtual communication just can't match up to. Fast forward to the next few days, and I was back at the airport to see myself off on a cross-country trip to meet old friends. Conclusion: I am good business for the US aviation industry.

These were also turbulent times for many of my closest friends, and I think we all came through without too many scars. In the true spirit of the drama that my life is, there were some highly charged, emotional revelations. A few relationships were broken, some new ones made and some old ones remain unfixed. Sadness, hope and regret, all in a flux. I gained new perspective on old wounds, and was gifted a pair of rainbow colored glasses to view the world with. True story.

Its wonderfully humbling to realize the emotional strength of people around you. Its also wonderfully depressing to realize that you are not as strong as you imagined yourself to be.

I think I need more vitamins. Plus some Jack and maybe a smoke.

BART-er thoughts

2011-05-27T01:01:00.000-07:00

Why do we make "friends"? Man is a social animal, agreed, but why are so many emotions involved in a friendship? There is all this love, joy, anger, jealousy, with some shine and glitter sprinkled around. Yes, we need people to talk to, share stuff with and just hang out, but why do we have a need to invest in them? Apologies for the multitude of frivolous sounding questions, but hang on and help me understand.

Psychological studies say that if a person can't form friendships they lose the ability to connect with society, and gain a label: misanthrope. Society frowns upon a person who has only casual acquaintances and relationships. You think not? Think about a girl who does only one night stands, and the label that comes to your mind! Not very polite, were you? I wasn't, at-least not initially.

To me, it appears that a vital element of friendship (or any relationship, for that matter) is reciprocity, the act of responding to a positive action with another. Simply said, its like give and take, without which very few relationships survive. So is friendship really about being selfless and all such other lovely "goodness of my heart" emotions? Or is it a barter, with strings attached? Me thinks its about being comfortable enough with a person that the act of reciprocity becomes effortless. In essence, a sugarcoated barter!

All of this leads me back to my original thought - if we can conduct business as a barter, why isn't the relationship of friendship the same way, minus the messy emotions?

Help.

---

Riding the BART in SF always makes me think strange. This is what happens when one of the most common announcements you hear is "Don't use your child's pram as a doorstop". If a parent-child relationship is one of give and take, what isn't?

Contribution!

2011-03-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

http://mimiandeunice.com/2011/02/01/contribution/

Time flies!

2011-03-09T23:12:00.000-08:00

I had a set of scribbles and drafts from the past months, which I decided to condense into the Cliff Notes version(s) of multiple posts, with my retrospective thoughts!

November:

Diwali time! Another Diwali in the land where you are legally prohibited from bursting fire-crackers except when you can. The child inside me wanted to rebel so bad it was almost painful. The adult part just smiled a serene (?) smile and spoke about the need to reduce pollution. I am looking forward to attending the Euphoria concert and my first Los Angeles Lakers game. Go Kobe!

PS: The Euphoria concert was an unique experience. A small crowd of about 250-300 people, mostly Indians, a high energy band, listening to old favorite songs, standing on my seat and singing out aloud, overall pretty darn good! The game was predictive - Lakers had to win! For those in the know, and wanting to challenge my wisdom, they were playing GSW. Its a moot point - Go Lakers, all the way!

December:

Mumbai in 5 days. Home in a few days. It is a feeling that has not completely sunken in yet. I am looking forward to the sights and sounds of my absolutely favorite city. Getting to see my family and friends after a long while is exciting, and somewhat scary. What changed, what did not? I am definitely not looking forward to the customary "she has changed after going to America...." dialogues and the like. Also there is a marathon struggle to get done with (too much) school work before the vacation can being; and thats the reason why I am writing a blog instead of a report.

There is something beautifully alluring about those then-common, now-special things which beckon to me so temptingly. They say "come home to us" - the simple pleasures of having chai at a tapri, with a garam cheese toast butter with extra chutney, company of old friends over old monk+coke and papad in the as creepily welcoming as ever Nimantran. Train rides with the breeze of the Vashi creek in my face, going to Colaba and having the freedom to bargain my way out, a cold Kingfisher, eating pizza from Joey's, coffee at my Juhu Barista, a walk along the beach, meeting school friends - those special people who keep me centered, meeting the newest members of my extended family; a very fast, very long ride on my Dio, and more. India, brace yourself - here I come!

PS: Those 21 days at home made me realize - time flies. It was a rude slap in the face, but brought along the comfort of knowing, for certain, that some people, some relationships and some places do not change. I don't want to imply that they are in status quo, but just that their essence does not change. I am quite sure that I have seen this before, but I guess this is a lifelong learning? Or maybe I like my illusions too much? Whatever, don't know.

January:

Dee has faced a grand realization: Home is where there are no "well-wishers." Absolutely no one who is concerned about my life, career, marriage and child-bearing potential. Home is where I are comfortable with myself, and not under a highly judgmental microscope to be dissected by society at large.

I missed my Claremont "family" and was surprisingly happy/excited to be back here. Maybe time flew by too much, too fast and I lost my place in Mumbai/Ajmer in the larger scheme of things. I will take help from the wiser - "All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." - Anatole France

Seahorses and empty houses

2010-10-31T04:17:00.000-07:00

What does a seahorse symbolize?

In the last couple of weeks, I have been asked this question often. After my diligent Internet search, I believe the answer is that a seahorse represents an independent, free spirit; unattached and untethered. Yet, seahorses have a strong protective instinct towards their family! Going by this, seahorses and I are a perfect match, and for that I am glad!

It has been a while since I felt like writing just for myself. Whatever writing energy I had in the past two months has been directed towards reports, plans and exams. Hey, I am a student, and I have the right to bitch about it! But there is definitely something about the Halloween weekend.This post celebrates just about a year of writing for me, and I am glad to have stumbled into the blogosphere. The blogging experience has often been like talking to the *imaginary* friend. The idea that someone may read what I am saying and understand what I am feeling is quite liberating, and exhilarating! Oh yeah, and it is often very scary! But somehow, its working out for me.

So what has changed in a year? A lot, but definitely not enough. Did I change? Yes, I learnt that I should know how to pick my battles. Like the prayer goes (read below), I hope I have learned that fighting a one sided battle for some things does not really help. I love a good fight, but indifference? That just pulls me down and I am not going there anymore. In no way does this mean that I run from my fights, but it just limits the resources I put in them. I don't know about gaining graceful acceptance (actually I have been told I pretty much suck at that, at last check); but, well, hopefully I have time left still.

There is something about an empty house with a sleeping cat who refuses to acknowledge my presence, and also refuses to leave that makes me write. A year ago, it was a house with two roommates sleeping inside.

Nothing really changes, does it?

For anyone who is interested, this is the (commonly accepted) original version of the Serenity Prayer:

"God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as He did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next."

Mera Bombay, Aamchi Mumbai!

2010-08-25T23:25:00.000-07:00

Which is your favorite city? Mumbai!

Where are you from? Bombay, and Ajmer!

Do you want to go back to India? Yes, to Mumbai!

What do you call the city? Mumbai or Bombay?

I call it my city, my home.

My city has such a firm foothold in my heart that these answers are very easy! But the one question I have not yet been able to address eloquently is why. Why do I love Mumbai? One would think that reasons would come pouring out, but surprisingly, they don't.

The real reason is so intrinsically tied to the Spirit of Mumbai, that elusive lady who wraps you in the cocoon of her charm even before you realize it. She is strong, sensuous, scandalous, surprisingly sweet, oh and she is fast! Actually, I don't think she travels at anything less than breakneck speed, and somewhere along the way she invented the "time is money" motto that rules life in her city. She gets hurt often - riots, bomb blasts, floods, shootings - but her recovery rate, like everything here, is accelerated!

Emotions run deep in Mumbai - may they be joy, victory, festivity, or anger. Mumbai does not celebrate any festival half-heartedly, we are crazy about our Govinda, we pray and then go eat at Mohammed Ali Road during Ramadan, we love our favorite Ganpati bappa, we burn Raavan's effigy on Dussehra, we dazzle on Diwali, we adore the midnight mass on Christmas, we party to bring in the New Year, and we are awash in color on Holi! If that is not enough celebration, we also also do our Sankranti, Easter, Chaat Pooja, Hanukkah, Navroze, Rakhi, the Prithvi Theatre festival, the Kala Ghoda festival... and on it goes!

And before you tell me, yes there is Dharavi, Asia's biggest slum. Yes, the trains are crowded. Very crowded. The traffic is terrible. I also know about the potholes. Yes, sometimes not speaking Marathi can be a problem. Yes, the heat and the monsoon floods. The hawkers and the beggars. Blah blah blah.

Did I ever say it is the perfect city?

There are numerous reasons why I love Bombay, now that I think of it. The problem is, if I start listing them out (I tried), it reads like my personal Lonely Planet guide to Mumbai. That simply does not capture the friendliness of the people, nor does it capture the calm feeling of sitting by the sea with the breeze in your face, and it absolutely does not capture the whirlwind of colors and lights that decorate the city! There is this energy that sustains the city, gives it that extra zing, and pulses in every nook of this metropolis. The word on the streets is survive, and the word in the boardrooms is succeed; both often interchangeable.

I miss the trains, with hands that extend to pull you in, the aunty who grabs you tightly because she is worried that you may fall off, the "I am living an adventure" feeling when only about a fourth of you is actually in the train! I miss the freedom of being able to walk out at 2 in the night and take a rickshaw ride along the sea on Carter Road, saying a quick prayer at Mount Mary, and returning home again, perfectly safe. The bargaining sessions at Colaba Causeway and Linking Road. The revitalized feeling I get after spending an hour in my favorite Agyari. I miss eating coconut ice-cream while sitting next to a celebrity, and other similar small pleasures!

Oh, and I deeply, viciously, miss bombil fry and Joey's Pizza.

This and more, is what I love about Mumbai!

ऐ दिल, है मुश्किल जीना यहाँ; ज़ारा हटके, ज़ारा बचके, ये है बम्बई मेरी जान!

dangers and desires, in the dark

2010-08-04T01:18:00.000-07:00

Some conversations in the middle of a lonely night bring about more revelations than hours of chatting in the sunlight. There is something about the sinuous embrace of darkness which makes thoughts easier to share. There is an illusion of safety which allows hidden feelings to bubble up, over and out. No wonder, moon-lit nights are preferred for stealth and serenades alike!

I believe that we all are alike in our desires, deep down. Unless you are a misanthrope, we desire to meet people who are similar to us, emotionally. Oh, there is a complementary 'opposites attract' theory also. As I see it, these opposites stem from the same source, and therein lies the similarity.

'Its a dangerous thing to know someone like you (or me) is out there.'

This remark of a friend made me think how vulnerable we are to this innermost desire of finding people who 'connect' with us. I hope you are lucky enough to find such people, may they be friends, family, a teacher, or a random stranger on a train; and that you are smart enough to realize it. The bumps on the road ahead will be less bumpy thanks to all the extra support you have under your tush!

Along with the charms of such cozy links, come the dangers of being open and vulnerable to another person. It ain't easy to let go of the inhibitions, and once I let go, I expect the same from the other person. An inability to do so, is danger #1. The thought of rejection, as if the other person doesn't care, is danger #2. The painful part is, that rejections bring back all the clamps and inhibitions, multiplied. That after this cycle, I will withdraw even more into my emotional shell, is danger #3. These people are in the trusted circle, so any backlash in unexpected. This unseen danger, is my danger #4.

Now why am I gushing on about this?

I have been blessed as at each stage of my life, I have found people who I could share my innermost feelings with! Oh sure, this has backfired a couple of times, leaving painful scars. Time goes on, scars heal. New places, new people, new friends meet. Old friends call, chat and email. If you are lucky (like me!), these intrinsic connections remain.

Live, love, laugh; and life goes on!

I Love SF

2010-07-15T23:37:00.000-07:00

Its been a month since I have been in San Francisco and I am luuuuving it! The energy and the diversity of the city remind me of Mumbai (my one true love), and so do the beautiful views of the SF bay. Moreover, the last few weekends reminded what it is like to live in a city again! Oh, and I found my own place to stay. So glad the search for that is over!

One of SF's claim to fame is the super-liberal environ in the city and there is no better celebration for that than the Pride Parade! Oh. My. God. - It was such an awesome experience! We walked on the streets and took a look at the very colorful lives and the history of the LGBT community in San Fran. There was real 'pride' here, with thousands of people along to support the rainbow movement. There were also random Christian preachers holding loud debates with the non-believers, magic brownie vendors, some very very hot gay couples, some not-so-hot naked guys and plenty of ladies displaying their charms. It was an over-whelming, sense-saturating, super-fun afternoon and I am so glad that I was a part of this quintessential SF experience!

And then there was the food adventure. Apparently, finding a nice place (close by) to sit and eat lunch on the Pride Sunday is next to impossible. So we ended up walking through a maze of streets trying to find places that Google Maps assured us would be there, only to find them shut or not open for lunch or sometimes, not existing at all! Eventually it all worked out and we ate and wine-d and beer-ed our way into a perfect Sunday. All the more reasons to love SF!

Blown away!

2010-06-17T23:55:00.000-07:00

I am blown away, by a cold summer breeze.

It is a new place with some old friends and lots of new people. Life's changing a bit. I am in a new city, and I am lovin' it! Spending a year at KGI can really drain you. But an internship ain't easy either. I now get to work at 8 (oh my god!), hope that coffee will help me stay awake through meetings, grab a quick-ish (but yummy) lunch, go back to coffee and reading stuff and then hope I don't miss my shuttle!! Get home, hang out with friends, enjoy the Lakers win with some good wine; these seem to be the good times. Then I crash, and now I understand why some 'old' working people don't want to do late nights.

What else is up? Well, another realization: I freaking hate house hunting. Hate it. Especially when I am being picky, and there ain't much choice to pick from. Grr... And the cold breeze... I kinda like it when I am all cozied up, but when its unexpected.... Brrr...

We went to a street fest in downtown SF last weekend. It was the Haight-Ashbury street fest, and man, it was an experience! The area there has a colorful history- it was (probably still is) the center of sex, drugs and roll n' rock in the 1960s. It had very interestingly named shops/hotels like the Vapor Den (sells legal Marijuana), Amoeba, Mad Dog, the Grateful Dead house and many more. Look it up :)

Now my first week here is over, but the mind-fuck I was stuck with earlier simply doesn't leave me. Its the same stuff over and over, all sad and soppy. Brain, get out of here before I drown you in alcohol. Consider this fair warning! This reminds me: A, K and yours truly had an interesting night out partying. It was a great send-off guys (even though it wasn't meant to be one!), and I miss you all! And I am super-sad that I am missing AR Rehman's performance live in LA :(

Ta-da till the next!

Free fallin'

2010-06-06T02:45:00.001-07:00

I am falling and I am flying high....

I can't decide which! My brain switches from one to the other without warning!

For the past week or so, I was hit by the worst case of nostalgia/home-sickness/feeling sorry for myself in a long time; and then I had an amazing Friday. One hour and five minutes was all it took to flip my luck on its head! So now, Dee is going to spend her summer in San Fran, and is so super excited about it! But a part of me is sad, there were certain aspects of staying back in Claremont, which promised to be as much fun, though in quite a different way. There is this contradiction in me which I have not been able to figure out yet: I am so unattached to so many things/people, and so attached to only a few. I am not even sure what the selection criteria is; it just is!

The past couple of weeks have been an endless series of people moving in, people moving out, people graduating, and moving on. Two weekends=Two graduation ceremonies! Standing next to these fresh graduates (with stars in their eyes :P) makes me proud of what they have achieved. I am looking forward to when I will ask them to be with me for my graduation. There is change in the air again; it exciting, fun and scary at all once. Then last weekend, we got together (B, C, K, R and me) to go to Solvang. It is a pretty little town full of settlers from Denmark. Yummy Danish food, great trinkets to shop for, a cycle surrey ride thru' the town and some wine tasting. Throw in a beautiful drive by the coast, a gorgeous lake and a waterfall; with great conversation, laughter and Skip-Bo --> supreme perfection.

My biggest hope amongst all these changes is that this tenuous thread of friendship should not die off. Its very easy to let time and distance do their evil magic; it takes a lot of sweat and effort to maintain relationships. It is something that is weighing on my mind. Not to say that I am an expert in this; actually, judging by the present state of events, I suck! But I want a chance to try, and (hopefully) to try again. Maybe I will get one, maybe I won't. This time, I want to make it work better!

So now, for my own sake: Fingers crossed. Also, I am putting the smile back on!!

Snip-Snaps from the months past...

2010-06-01T01:19:00.000-07:00

Looking back on my posts, I seem to have missed a few steps between doing crazy fun stuff and bidding adieu to my seniors. Which was fine till I had the all-powerful excuse of KGI wringing the life-blood out of me. Damn, but I miss the place and the pace when its all over for the semester. After a year, I am glad that I am happy to be here, anyone who is still having doubts has been undergoing unnecessary torture! Coz this is the place where people have wacky ideas and do super-fun things together, like 12 girls setting off on a chick trip to Las Vegas! Woo-hoo!!

Ah, the pleasures of not having men along with you. No one to hog the shower, nobody to protest when you spend time to get your make-up 'just right', being with people who appreciate sexy heels, no waiting in lines anywhere, bartenders getting you your drinks first, even better- guys offering to buy you your drinks, and the best part: girls encourage you to shop. Till you drop. Then they pick you up, get you a coffee, and send you out again on a mission to activate the pleasure centers of the female brain. If all those benefits don't sound enough, we also heard lovely comments like "Oh Ladies, you make this place look so pretty!" Sweet!

Vegas was exactly like it is projected to be, just much more alive and vibrant; and smack in the middle of bloody nowhere. Actually, that sort of makes it all the more impressive! Vegas has this way of luring you in with her charms, and spinning this fantasy web all around you. She tempts, and there is no escape from her temptations! The KGI ladies ate, drank and danced our shoes away. Then, to refresh our tired eyes, we went to enjoy the "Thunder from Down Under" which is basically a show with very hot, almost naked Aussies! Lasciviousness at its sizzling best! To top up the experience, the two bawis stayed up gambling little bits of their money away all night long! Hell yes, it was crazy, and worthy of being turned into a Kappa Gamma Iota tradition!

Oh, did I mention that the evening before going off to Vegas, I went to see John Mayer, live in concert? No?

Now that was another amazing experience. The crowds, the music, and the artists! Such energy! Our only regrets: we forget to take a poster of Ms. Aniston (we were hoping the guilt would make JM perform another song!) As with all great artists, his passion for creating music shows. At the end, JM treated us to a guitar solo which was smokin' hot, both musically and literally! The guitar was down on the ground, JM's intensity was palpable, and it was simply awesome. Very very wow!

There is more to come, a mish-mash of words and emotions waiting to be let out, but I thought these two good times deserved their own post. So here it is, with the pakka promise of more!

Re-Birth!

2010-04-17T02:14:00.000-07:00

Genesis and new beginnings are recurring themes in our lives, there is something new at the end of every path. Tonight we had a party to bid adieu to our seniors, a "Re-Birth" as we called it. Such an appropriate theme, as none of them were same as the people who walked into KGI two years ago! The metamorphosis is worth the sweat and blood that you are regularly expected to put in here (they keep track of the Gallons). This is the way we evolve, by going through a constant cycle. Reminds me of a line from a dedication I wrote for my seniors in school "... this is the end of a beginning and the beginning of a new end..." and may God grant you safe passage along the way!

A year has passed so soon, and at the end of it, I have realized a few things. I met (and re-met) a few people who are such an important part of my life now, and I hope that stays constant even though the distances are going to increase quite soon. I also realized that there are a lot of people I have met in this past year, but I actually know nothing about them. It kind of makes me sad that even here I haven't been able to get rid of my own barriers! Dee's aim for this year: Try harder. And then, there is this ultimate paradox of knowing, and not knowing a person at the same time. This has been the most difficult to deal with, but we'll survive!

This post is about reflecting back on the past year, and there are so many thoughts running through my head that I can't put down here! If I could, then I would be back home in Mumbai, living the relaxed life. Lab in the morning, arguments about lunch at noon, kadak chai at the tapri, inhaling the second hand smoke of a Classic Milds, traveling to Town to see a movie at Sterling, with dinner at Churchill's and dessert at Theobroma, or hanging out in Dadar, having a cold beer with bombil fry followed by a kalakhatta gola! No worries, no tension.

What worries me here and now is that this simple life may not satisfy me anymore. Sure, I miss it and I want to go back to it, but I don't know for how long will I be able to stay. Change is scary, and I can see it in me and my batch-mates. We will soon step into our new roles as seniors and mentors to the juniors who are going to here soon. I would be moving into a new house and with new roomies. I can also see the change all around me, with people moving on and away. Even through all this, I hope we get the time to put in the effort of keeping our love and friendships going. Goodbye dear KGI Class of 2010, and good-luck. Let Your Light Shine!

"Don't be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is before you can meet again. And meeting again after a moment or a lifetime is certain for those who are friends."

- Richard Bach

Friends

2010-04-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

The edge of anything really good or bad manages to invoke words out of even the wordless.

He was like a breeze,
She was the warmth,
He was the care,
She was the complaints,
She was always in my hair,
Most of all they were mine.

It feels like a decade since the world spun the right way
Some zillion years my nights use to be my bright day
I now know there is no word like forever or even ever

I have found new friends and in them I find peace
Nostalgia,courage and compromise now nest in me
I wish we could keep everyone close and around for eternity
As we grow older our maniac egos do not give such liberty

Some voices have grown an accent
Some bellies have put on weight
Some hair loss is visible
Some new companionships their destiny await

Golden times and dark days we have all lived
We have loved and hated and tolerated
We have held each other and pushed each other away
We have more impotantly been "we".

While we rush through life through new trains,people and places
I take a moment to remember all the faces that filled my spaces
I almost heard a crushing sound of a string "breaking"
I almost see the known faces fading

Rememeber me as I remember you
Both love and hate you
Things might change
Change is inevitable
But I would love to know you all over again

Dont make promises,
Promises just break..
But promise me you'll try to make the promise
Of being and trying to be "we" for a tad longer
Thats all I need to have from you my friends.

- This is an original composition by a very talented friend, Niyati Nagar. I found it very touching, and she graciously allowed me to share!

Spring!

2010-03-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" ~ Robin William

So, we did!

It has been a lovely (and much needed) fun and friends filled couple of weeks. Spring break at home was a week-long orgy of great food and relaxing the evening away with friends (Thank you: C, V, B & K). Appams to paranthas to stir-fry veggies to dal dholki, we were on a gastronomic journey via our kitchen!

The break started off with us visiting the Joshua Tree National Park, it is quite close-by, and it showcases the beauty of the desert in all its glory. I am so going back once the cacti bloom! Yes, I find deserts to be breath-taking in their expansiveness and very soothing to my soul. Side-effects of growing up next door to the Thar desert. We found an oasis smack in the middle of nowhere and were led on a merry chase by a naughty, camera-shy rabbit! Kinda like life, isn't it, full of surprises where you don't expect them!

But then, what would life be without surprises? -- so blah!

Next up was the pseudo-surprise birthday party weekend for 'loco Reggie' (All of us, A, P, R & F), super-fun times!! More good food, yummy cake, smashed-in-your-face-cake, a special surprise, and a carefully chosen gift by the DY gang! Click sessions, games, gossip and random, freaky PDAs. Oh, and we had a poetry recital session in the morning with Jhansi ki Rani crossed by the Ancient Mariner. Very, very random and reminded me of 6th/10th class in school, where I had to do the same, and it so was not half-as-much fun as this! We made the budday baby(!) bunk class, and come bowling with us where we all got our asses kicked by super-B! Finger-licking South-Indian food was a perfect end to an amazing week!

Now this is where I get into the bitch-bitch crib-crib mode again, KGI caught up to us and demanded reading and submissions from us hapless people. I have such a love-hate relationship with deadlines; I hate them when they are there, but thats when I love to work! Craaaaazy!

And then, it actually turned Craaaaazyyy! That is a story thats still unwritten, but coming soon :)

My Name is........................!

2010-02-15T16:56:00.000-08:00

My Name is Khan, and I am not a Terrorist.

My Name is Thackeray and I am morphing into one.

Again, what's in a name? To quote Shakespeare (who does make it sound so much better),

"What’s in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet"

But the wisdom of the 16th century does not apply in the 21st. But then, why should we expect it to? No one ever claimed that evolution of the psyche would occur with the evolution of the species, though there are distinct signs of devolution!

Some believe religion was established by God / God's Prophets, some say religion is a man-made phenomena. Whatever the case maybe, how has it been made into a killing machine? Growing up in a highly cosmopolitan* environment, I have never, ever heard (from common people-classmates, friends, neighbors) about any religion advocating hate crimes and reckless murder sprees.

So, why is this happening? What, or rather who incites these common men and women to turn into communalist and racist bigots? Why are we educated, smart young people still falling into this trap laid out by the power-crazy "leaders" and "godmen"?

Too many questions you say, well, can you give me an answer?

*Cosmopolitan: I am a Parsi, educated in a Christian missionary school, from Ajmer, which is a pilgrimage point for Hindus, Muslims, and Jains. We also have a huge Sindhi population, a sizable amounts of Sikhs, Jews and Buddhists.

Number of riots since 1985: ZERO.

TwentyTen!

2010-01-28T01:51:00.000-08:00

Ahhh.... The first time the writing bug bit me in 2010... I must admit, I love the symmetry of "2010".. sounds so funky! Makes me anticipate 2020, which I hope would still make me think of cricket. If it doesn't, shoot me dead. After all, it is my fav spectator sport!

If all that sounds even more weird than its normal for me, pardon me. Blame it on the residual effects of intoxicating metabolites and the shock of having to do readings and homework again!! And yes, I saw the 'Phir mile sur....' video just before this. The visual torture has effectively fried my brains, though I didn't mind the music so much. It was time for a change, and really, how many of the younger kiddos have even heard (or heard about) the old version. I also believe 'Mile sur...' is a classic, and that they should have tried to compose something new!

Holiday hollers: I love the cold, but January hasn't been my fav month for a few years. This year, I think I have made my peace with it. I was off to San Diego in the first week of Jan. It's such a lovely place, and the Seaport Village made me physically long for Mumbai. The coastline feels the same, but the sea smells different back home, for whatever reason. Ohh Marine Drive and a garam chai, how I miss thee (yes, I am addicted). The simple pleasures of life are the ones you tend to miss the most..... :)

So, I got back, the rest of my household got back, and then due to some quirk of the weather Gods, we had a week full of rain. Dull, deary rain. Arrrgghhh. To brighten things up, we had a mast birthday party, with the guys putting up quite a show..... ;) And then we were off to Palm Springs for a conference (blah blah). It was pretty place, sunny, slightly cold, with snow on the mountain peaks and so many shops with such pretty n' expensive useless collectibles...

And now school restarts with a vengeance, and, surprise surprise, I am looking forward to it. Last year, this date, I was on the tender mercies of Western Railway while travelling to Ajmer. Time flies by, and it takes you along. The ride was crazy, fun, a bit bumpy, with quite a few very pleasant surprises and I am so very delighted to be half-way across the world in 2010!

Live, Love, Laugh. It solves everything!

Christmas in Claremont!

2009-12-27T03:11:00.000-08:00

So its Christmas time, the wind's howling in the trees, there is snow on Mt. Baldy's peak and I am on a break from KGI. It is an altogether different matter that I end up in KGI almost every night. After all, it has the pool table AND the projector... Studying in the lecture hall may be difficult after meeting with Mr. Jack Daniels and trying out amateur karaoke in there :)

Have "guests" over.... Jen and Rags are here, and Godot has been loaned to me. Taking care of a crazy cat who doesn't want to return home at night and thinks hiding in obscure corners of IHV is fun, is........interesting, to say the least! Also realized that I am absolutely not ready for the responsibility of a pet just yet!!!

Christmas dinner was at Uncle Marco's and Aunt Yanny's place. They are an amazingly open-hearted family, who have welcomed us all, sharing their time and affection and making us feel at so at home. By the way, is it weird that even after five months here, I don't feel homesick? I guess home is where the heart is, and I think my "extended" family keeps me centered. Love you guys :D

The year draws to a close and I am actually surprised at how fast time passes by. This time last year, I was in Jodhpur, enjoying Marwari khana, with bajre ki roti, maakkhan maar ke. Today, it was "spicy" paneer tikka at Handee. Worries about are admissions over, (I should be) worrying about an internship now. The heat of Mumbai is a distant dream in the much appreciated cool climate of Claremont. D Y Patil is buried deep down in my memory covered by layers of "awesome" KGI stuff..... So many things change, and thank God that so many don't !!

Bye-Bye 2009. You were a wonderful year, bringing with you a jolly bag of changes. Will miss you when you are gone, but looking forward to having even more fun in 2010 !!

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
~ Lord Alfred Tennyson

Merry Christmas !

2009-12-25T17:29:00.001-08:00

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Live, Love, Laugh !

2009-12-15T00:19:00.001-08:00

Funny that this blog comes after the craziest week I have had in a long long (ever??) time... KGI does that to you... I have almost developed an attachment to yellow/green/blue walls, coffee that tastes like mud, running away in the middle of the night to stare at the stars... Having innumerable cups of tea (n missing tapri ki chai), pretending to eat healthy while gorging on an unholy amount of gooey, satisfying food, sleepless nights, sleepy weekends....and loving every moment of it !!

Having birthday parties every weekend (yeah, we got lucky !!) and getting the chance to vent out frustration via the time honored tradition of giving birthday bumps, at times to totally innocent people ... Can you believe that we actually decided to skip the tequila and rum shots and save them for next week ?? Btw, the bottles were right in front of us !

Also, the weather is so absolutely beautiful... I am enjoying the snow in the best way possible, away from me, on the peaks of the mountains up north !! The air is chilly, makes me want to go out for a walk and come back with a cuppa steaming coffee... mmmm.... The rain is the blah factor here, and I simply do my best to ignore it !!

The week will end soon, and the real fun will start !! I am super-excited on meeting 87 and Jen after almost five months, will also be seeing other friends, a couple of trips are on the cards, so is exploring LA and a walk up the mountains. Taking a break from KGI sounds to be almost as much fun as KGI :)

26/11/2008

2009-11-16T17:57:00.000-08:00

26/11/2008

One of the few nights in my life I want to forget. Unfortunately, I can visualize it far too well. And the feelings of angst and anguish, remain.

My Taj burnt (yes, I am a proud bawi first !), my city's blood spilt. Landmarks defaced, innocents murdered. Heroes made out of normal men, bravery seen from our much abused Brihanmumbai Police and the Mumbai Fire Brigade. Men from various agencies risked life and limb to get the young and old out from the Leopold Cafe, CST, Cama Hospital, near the Metro square, Taj, Trident, Nariman House...

My role in all of this? Keeping the memories alive for me, and for everyone who reads this.

I was at home, 11:20 in the night, studying for my semester VII final exams. I remember getting a frantic call from my uncle (who was in UK) demanding to know where I am. His sigh of relief when I told him I am at home and "not dancing around the town". Thats when I switched on the news and saw how 12 men were ripping my city apart. From there on, it was a series of calls. Calling up my dad and telling him that for a change I was actually home ! Calling up a friend who stays at a 3 minute walk from the Taj, and being thankful he didn't go out for a walk ! Glad a friend had just finished her shift in the evening, but praying for her friends on the night shift. Worried about our exam, life in DY was unpredictable, if nothing else...

I also remember when the shock actually set in. Next evening, a friend and I decided to go to our regular Juhu barista to grab a coffee. We walk out into an eerie silence. Never ever have I seen Mumbai so quiet, not even at 3:30 am in the suburbs. Yes, that is when the pall of mourning that was in the air became real for me. We just got back inside the house and to the comfort of Nescafe.

And now, on 26/11/2009, I am away from my city, and I wonder what has been done. The normal: Politicos going about reforms and upgrades, Pakistan talks about prosecuting a couple of minor players, US and the rest of the world condemning the attacks, DCPs shouting about more training, Ram Gopal Verma planning a movie with Ritiesh (or whatever), Mumbai Police telling citizens to be aware and alert (the contact link on their website still doesn't work), MNS still wants the north Indians out, the Mumbai/Bombay/Bambai argument goes on along with the other usual hoopla-hoop.

But what has been done?

The moongfali-wallahs are back at Gateway, the chai-wallah paddles his way around, the horses trot with the colourful 'Victorias', the awed tourists still pose in front of the Taj, the lights from the Trident gleam bright on Marine Drive, CST is as busy and probably more crowded than ever, beer guzzlers and dragon chicken lovers are back at Leo's (went there with a group of friends and toasted the three bullet holes in the glass pane with our draught, see pic!). Mumbai's spirit lives on in the lives of its people, who have absorbed the repeated attempts to hurt their city, regrouped and recouped (showing the figurative middle finger) and lived, loved, laughed and cried there, embodying the eternal Mumbai spirit.

Love this pic clicked by a friend, Kirti. The lights and speed of Mumbai captured beautifully along Marine Drive!!

Mumbai, miss you. Bombay, love you.

Those days..........

2009-11-03T00:50:00.000-08:00

Writer's block ??

Not so soon.... Shall be pushed away by the force of my awesome willpower .... ARRRGGHHH !

There goes !! :D

I seem to be living in and surrounded by a constant world of nostalgia these days.. Which isn't too bad, but makes me wonder: what will I miss about KGI? The yellow walled corridor or the green walled one? nope.. The fake library? probably not... Seeing movies in the lecture hall? maybe.. Free coffee/tea and losing zillions of ping-pong matches? Yeah, that sounds about right ! Oh, also the freedom of having beer and wine in an academic institution ! Who would have thought that possible back home ?? :P

But however I may brush it off, DY had its moments... crazy, frustrating, traveling 4 hours a day (1/6 of my itsy-bitsy day), clawing at vicious women to climb in from kurla and getting nailed, clawed, hair-pulled and once memorably.. bitten !! Running to catch the Andheri direct.. Going out- to our dearest Centre One, newest Belapur CCD, a lazy afternoon at Ashwith/Nimantran with a beer, seeing movies at meghraj (ahh... the unparalleled cramped toilet feel), and feeling so proud when the new malls cropped up !

Walking into class early at 8:15, late at 8:25, or juz plain bunking it! The days when plagiarism was juz a long word in the unused dictionary.. Playing X and O's and join the dot game in the maha-boring lectures.. Time-pass in the garden.. Tapri-wale bhaiyaji ki chai(s) and "ek cheese toast butter, do veg cheese toast... ek mausambi-shakkar nai-bafar jayda, ek banana, ek collllld coffee aur ek classic milds".. Canteen anna ki special chai/coffee, aur khaas garam vada pav "ekdum fresh" !! Omelette-bread and another cold coffee at Sidewalk Cafe, "bhaiya thoda jaldi!!"

and Species... abso-fucking-lutely unforgettable... The days of kicking ass, often my own ! The random galli spray from Taklu Deanie.. The nights in the main campus, eating the most disreputable chinese food ever... Making sure the staff doesn't see anything they aren't supposed to.. Getting totally sloshed/shit-faced/high/horny in the basement on the last day, and the fantabulous hangover the next... Ahhh bliss....

Those were the days of DY past !!! *sigh*

a Push and a Shove !!

2009-11-02T03:08:00.000-08:00

Hello Blog-World !

Why am I typing this out? Because a smart chicka told me thats the best way to start!

Thank you gkam.. for the Push and the Shove !! :)

Basically, I am trying to find a new source for my entertainment.. Also, because I have these weird random thoughts.. Hope someone gets a kick out of reading them.. Yes, as you can make out, I am doing this for the greater good of mankind and the world.. *angel halo*

While on angels, Halloween just went around the corner.. My first Halloween! Woo-Hoo!... I decoded the mystery... It's the one day in the year when society gives you license (almost forces you) to do whatever you want to.. dress up/down, play beer pong, get shit faced, high/low, on top or the bottom (your choice ;)), make-up, make-out.. its like.. Just do it! Another first, a green fairy came in with Absinthe ! Ahhh... bliss!

Had two candy-high kids knock on my door in the evening. Got to spread the chocolate joy! Next up, is Thanksgiving.. Lets see what surprises does that bring !

On a lil different note, saw New York I Love You. Nice, though I personally think it was a bit too disconnected for my taste. But I can and most probably will see it again. Have a feeling it will be better the second time. I recommend, it's worth a dekko!

And now, the laziness is catching up.. So long, everyone, till next time :)