Monday, May 27, 2013

Incredible Bharat!! (27th May 2013)

British ruled India for almost 200 years and along with alot of bad things and culture brought some good things as well. I think the best thing they have given to India is the ENGLISH language. If it was not for them, we would have never been able to command this language the way we have done right now.And definitely Indians have an incredible characterstic to adapt!!
Ironically, though we have adapted English as our basic language of communication, we are still miles away in written English. A call center employee speaks English in British and American accent fluently, but still writes "NICE" when he means "NIECE". A dear friend of mine who can beat British with his spoken english still writes "FREINDS" instead of "FRIENDS". Right from the roadside dhaba which has amusing spellings like "BATTAR" for "BUTTER" and "CHIKHAN" for "CHICKEN" and "PALLAV" for "PULAO" and "WISKY" for "WHISKEY" and "VADKA" for "VODKA" and "CHAPTI" for "CHAPPATI". To the state of the art offices parking areas where "NO PERKIN" and "NO SOMKE" is left to the readers imagination to interpret.





        

Worst part is these days mobile and laptops have this amazing dictionary feature, thanks to which none of us really care about our spellings. The common mistakes like "RESTURANT","CRAP","ENGGINER" and  "AKWARD" go unnoticed even by the most learned lot. And words like "CHECK" for "CHEQUE" are now acceptable even as official language.
   












Like calculator has wiped out quick mathematics or rather simple mathematics also from our generation altogether.Similarly, sooner or later, "u","t","Txt","mrng","chtng","osum","f9"and many such chat lingo will be our official lingo. Our kids would need to do RESEARCH/PHD on spellings to know the actual spellings of simple words like "PRIVILEGE","ACCOMMODATE" forget "PNEUMONIA" and "YACHT" and "SOVEREIGN".


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Khushi's dose of the day!! (21st May 2013)

Our domestic maid did not turn up today and the full time staff I have had to do all the household work at home. Khushi saw her doing all the work and said
Khushi: Today Sujata didi did not come, so Kanak didi had to do all the work
Mummy: Yeh, why dont you help her in the household work when Sujata didi doesnt come?
Khushi: Ok, I will do that. But what work should I do?
Mummy: Any work which Sujata didi does and you can do with your little hands!
Khushi: I know brooming, I can do that but I dont know mopping!
Mummy: No problem, if you dont know that, you can learn it!
Khushi: Oh Ok!! I will need to go to mopping classes now!!

I love the spirit of our kids these days. If they want to learn swimming, they say I will join swimming classes, tennis then tennis classes, painting then painting classes, theater then theater classes, newest is cooking and mopping classes. For them every skill can be learnt and in their times they have the everything at a click of a button. We researched for one small project for months together and these days kids just google and oogle everything in couple of hours. Most of the skills were either inborn or inherited at our times, classes meant only coaching classes for SSC and HSC at our times. Kids have soo much exposure to things and they already know if you are not born with it, you can learn it!! WOW,, WHAT NEXT? 

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Khushi's dose of the day! (13th May 2013)

Khushi is very fond of malai kofta and masala kulcha from a restaurant nearby. We generally get it home delivered once or twice a month.
This Friday while eating her favourite dishes at home she quietly put a little water from her glass of water in the white kofta gravy. Initially I thought it was by mistake she dropped it but then realised she was mixing it with her kulcha to mix it evenly. So out of curiosity I asked
Mummy: Khushi what are u doing?
Khushi: Actually the consistency of the kofta gravy was very thick, so I am making it correct!
Mummy: My little Masterchef the kofta gravy is always thick so it is correct only
Khushi: Mummy it's fine for Kulcha but it will be very thick when I mix it with rice, so it should be PATLA for rice u see...

I rest my case My Lord, I have done the heinous crime of doubting the prompt n logical mind of my 4 yr old! And afterall how many 4 yr olds follow Masterchef more than their cartoons? I am sure if Sanjeev Kapoor reads this he would personally want to train my little Masterchef!

Khushi's dose of the day!!(12th May 2013)

Khushi(4 yrs) is a very loving n giving Didi to Avani (1 yr). It's mostly the rowdy Avani who bullies Khushi n pulls her hair, bite her n pinches her all day! Khushi is instructed that unless Avani turns 2, nobody should scold her or apply any force on her. And taking undue advantage of this Avani starts howling even if khushi tries to play with her toys without interfering in her matters!

One day Avani was really behind Khushi and Khushi got mad on her.
Khushi: Avani no doing that. Don't trouble me
Avani continued to bully so she complained to me
Khushi: mummy pls tell Avani something. She is testing my patience now!

These are the lines I use, when I get really mad on Khushi!! She doesnt even know the meaning of "Testing patience" but then she knows when and how to use it. Incredible association again!! :)

Monday, May 13, 2013

Incredible Bharat!! (10th May 2013)

We have an excellent gym facility in our new office. So I and my friend went to inquire about it this evening.
After the initial information shared by the instructor cum manager of the gym he suddenly started looking at me. Then he paused and started telling me that I have to wear gym wear while coming to gym. I nodded in agreement but he didn't look satisfied and he told me gym wear is tracks and tops or t-shirts. Then he told me I should come from 4 to 5 as that is ladies time and no guys are allowed that time!
Actually it was one of those rare days wore a salwar suit or ethnic dress in office! He assumed that I am a salwar suit wearing bharatiya nari who might mind wearing gym wear and coming on a common timing with guys!

We Indians judge people so much on the basis of outfits and gender that unknowingly we encourage discrimination. Who says a salwar kameez wearing girl can not wear a track pant and not come during common working out hours with guys? How do you conclude that the clothes decide what a person thinks and how he is? Now its high time we respect our ethnic wear and not judge a saree wearing or a salwar wearing women to be backward and home bound. You define your clothes, your clothes should not define you.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Khushi's dose of the day!! (8th May 2013)

I was scolding Khushi for something(don't even remember now).
Khushi: I am 4 yrs now.
Mummy: Don't deviate the topic!!
Khushi: I am a BIG girl now.
Mummy: What do you mean?
Khushi: You should not scold me now. I am a big girl now! You should never scold a BIG girl!

I couldn't control my laughter and forgot all the irritation I had for her :)
Right from my perfume, my lipstick, my shoes to my outfits, she wants to use them all as she thinks if Mummy can use them, why not me? And when I tell her, she is small, she refuses to agree to that!! 4 yrs girl  is a BIG GIRL!!
I have read this preaching in books and articles that you should not scold big children but I thought the definition of BIG was TEENAGERs, I think I need to confirm my definition once :)

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

One crazy trip to Coimbatore!!


The otherwise boring routine of office are made fun with the presence of friends in office. The tea time discussions, the long lunch debates, the evening snacks live comedy sessions have become  a part of life. Slowly and steadily we had become friends from colleagues. Birthday parties, Bowling outings, lunch treats have become the spice of our lives.

Five people from completely varied background are now best of friends. Friends which you can call FRIENDS FOREVER!!

So among us is Preeja, who was going to get married on 6th May 2013 in Coimbatore. I would have never in my randomest thought planned a overnight trip to Coimbatore leaving my two kids home, if it was not for our 6 yr old friendship where we were day in and day out together in office. And if it was not for my other awesome friends Aparna and Pawan who literally sailed me to Coimbatore. I didnt know when the cab was booked, I didnt know when the accomodation was arranged, I didnt know when they packed snacks for the journey, when they negotiated with the vendors etc, the only thing I did was packing two pair of clothes for myself!

So we had decided that we will go to Coimbatore on Sunday morning and attend the wedding on Monday morning and reach Bangalore back the same day. This short trip was planned keeping in mind my restrictions on leaving kids alone for more than a day. After crossing the World war 3 and World war 4 I finally boarded the cab with them.

I still wasnt able to fathom we have actually started for Coimbatore, but it wasnt a dream!! I was sure, we would not get bored even for a moment when we have our all-time entertainer Pawan with us, but I didnt know that there was much more in store for me. A casual one day trip to attend a wedding would become one hell of a time with friends. It would be like reliving those crazy college days when all you wanted was to have fun, laugh aloud and do crazy things!

We chatted, listen to our favorite songs, laughed, cracked jokes, played antakshari, had lunch, had tea and enjoyed the lovely weather. The roads were awesome, the weather was perfect, we were the most comfortable with the people around (ofcourse apart from the cab driver :P), there was no prejudice about the trip, the mind was free, we were having a gala time. We were enjoying the journey so much that we didnt want the journey to be over. But every good thing has to end, our journey also ended.

We were booked in a hotel nearby the Kalyan mandapam where the wedding was going to be conducted. After the intial checkin formalities, we relaxed for an hour in the rooms and then planned for some sight seeing. We contacted some local friends and the hotel helpdesk to get an idea of the city.

We were told the most happening area in Coimbatore is the Gandhipuram area. They had malls, theaters and restaurants out there and at 8 in the night, that is the only place we would find buzzing. So with great enthusiasm we drove to Gandhipuram.

Gandhipuram was like the Commercial street of Bangalore. You can find everything on earth on that street, but we were looking for window shopping and in that hot climate getting down to a busy street was the last thing we wanted to do. The  girls in the team were not interested in shopping!! Unbelievable but TRUE!! So we just drove past the street and headed to another street. In the middle of the place we saw huge Jailalitha's picture,,sorry,, huge pictures of JaiLalitha and we were curious to know what's there. To our surprise there was a "MELA", local carnival or temporary amusement parks in full glory inviting us. The last time I had visited that kind of "MELA" was in my hometown some 15 yrs back with my parents. So we decided to try our luck and see if we can enjoy some rides at that hour.

We felt born lucky when the MELA seemed nowhere near the closure and we hopped into the MERRY GO ROUND. We spoke about the safety, the hygeine, the crowd blah blah but at the end the fun element won over our inhibitions and we enjoyed the full ride like kids. We shouted our hearts out and teased Pawan. He was the one who was most scared of the group and pretending to be the braver one :P. After that we went to Colombus the best of all. Everytime the ship drifted to our end, we were in the air and could feel the miracles of gravity in every bit of our body. The carefree moments we spent shouting, screaming and enjoying those rides would never be bought for a million bucks. The child in us was not ready to accept that we are grown ups and we are not allowed to shout and scream like this. We did zig zag round rides, then crazy cups etc and finally thought we are done of the rides for now. Then the mother in me wanted to get some gifts for the kids which would make them happy. So I bought some gifts for both the kids.

The magic of incredible Bharat shone once again in its full glory. A rajisthani girl from Maharashtra, who has travelled to Gujrat and staying in Karnataka was buying a Chaniya Choli (Ghagra) from Tamil Nadu's small local MELA. Its amazing how our diversities of states are adapted so beautifully in every corner of the country.

Then after shopping a little bit we headed to THE RESIDENCY
for dinner. It is supposed to be the best 4 star hotel in town and known for its food. They had one Indian and one chinese restaurants and both of them looked quite classy. We decided to go for the Chinese version.

The Chin Chin Chinese restaurant was very well designed. The ambience and the upholstery was brilliant. The dim lights in the hall and the china clay pots gave it a very authentic look. The Chilli Paneer and Crispy baby corn was brilliant. We had shots of Tequila with lime and salt. This was my first experience of Tequila shots, I must say they really shoot you for couple of seconds. The funniest part of the Tequila experience was none of us knew the exact procedure of having a Tequila so we asked the steward to give us the steps. He would have thought we are crazy, but that's what we were at that time.

We had some Fried Rice and assorted veggies in manchurian sauce and had a great FRIENDS time together. After the food we clicked some pictures in the cozy lobby of the hotel and made sure all the staff there remember us after we go. (Basically harrassed them to click pictures all over the place).

We never thought coming to an alien city, having 2 hrs in our hand we will have such a good time. The MELA was an out of the world experience and then dinner at The Residency made up our whole experience memorable forever.

We returned to the hotel, relaxed for sometime and then enjoyed chatting and dancing till 4 am in the morning. We were short of time, not short of topics for blabbering. Other friends, our irritating driver, our friends wedding, our lives, our past, our present, our future etc etc we had discussed everything in those 4-5 hours. The quality time we spent with each other would be cherrished forever. Our persistent Aparna did not join us while shaking the legs, but enjoyed the funny steps we showed her. Finally we thought we need to rest and look good for Preeja's wedding the next day.

We put up our best traditional outfits and went to attend Preeja's wedding at 10 am in the morning. The wedding was nothing similar to the North Indian weddings I have attended in the past. This was my first experience of a South Indian wedding, Mallu to be specific!

We reached at 10.15 am to the wedding hall. Wedding hall was decorated minimally. Women wore Kanjivaram silk sarees with gold jwellery(not as much they shown in Mallu wedding pics) and Men were mostly in white/cream dhoti and shirts. The Groom looked simple and was sitting without the attitude of being a groom which our north indian grooms show on the wedding day. Preeja entered at 10.25 am,she was looking beautiful. The dark pink Kanjivaram saree with a perfect hairstyle suited her. She wore some 4-5 layers of gold necklaces and 10-15 strings of flowers covering the hair. She looked beautiful, she looked like a perfect bride. I was very nostalgic when I saw her, I remembered my D day when I shared similar emotions. The joy of getting your life partner and the pain of leaving your childhood behind.
Preeja carried a plate full of goodies (saree, fruits, flowers etc) and took 3 rounds around the fire and gave that plate to the Pandit. Then the Bride and groom exchanged garlands and boquets. After that he put sindoor in her forehead and tied a necklace. They took blessings of Pandit and by 10.40 am the marriage was over. They started clicking pictures with the relatives and friends in next 5 minutes and by 11 am people started having lunch. I was amazed to see the efficiency of south indian weddings and the simplicity in which they carry out every ritual.
The most interesting part in south Indian wedding was the food for me. They call it "SAAPAD". Salt, garlic chutney, three different vegetables(Bottle guard, potato and beans) with coconut, butter milk, white rice, sambhar, TAWA(thick Tuar dal), rasam and Avial(mix vegetable in curd gravy). The highlight was the awesome paysam(kheer) and dal paysam. How can I forget the Apalam(Udad dal papad). It was a soul satisfying lunch. No flashy continental, pan-asian or european delicacies, but still very satiating and soulful!
After a hearty lunch, we had to return back. The return journey was again full of fun and frolic. I can never forget the Dumb charades we played on our way back. As the moment of reaching back home arrived, I started having mixed feeling. There was a happiness of reuniting with my little dolls and at the same time the wonderful time spent with my friends was going to be over very soon. I am not going to forget this journey for lifetime.It was one crazy trip with few crazy friends.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Khushi's dose of the day!! (3rd May 2013)

Khushi is taking some anti-allergic tablets once a day. The tablets are chewable and it is supposed to be yummy for kids. From last couple of weeks Khushi has been chewing the tablets regularly without needing any water. Suddenly she asked for water after having tablets yesterday, so I was curious to know why??

Khushi: Give me some water, we should drink some water after taking tablet!
Mummy: Why? These are chewable tablets, why u need water? You take this everyday without water, now all of a sudden who told you that you need water after having tablets?
Khushi: Roli told me that you should drink water after having tablet!
Mummy: Whoz Roli?
Khushi: Roli!! Roli!!
I knew she doesnt have anybody named Roli around her, so I got alarmed. Ohhh, she was talking about Roli in Sasural Simar ka(some stupid daily soap where everything is very dramatic). I dont watch any of the saas bahu serials, but my daughter sub consciously has picked up few things from the snapshots she sees when my staff watches these golden Ekta kapoor types serials!! Kuch aur seekhe na seekhe, nakhara she will learn for sure!! Thankfully she hasnt learn their flashy dressing sense which I HATE!!!! EKTA KAPOOR "KABHI TO SUDHAR BHI JAOO..."

First Fifty Dates!! Wow, what fun!!

When I saw 50 First Dates (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_First_Dates), I thought WOW!! What fun it would be to relive that moment again and again and again!!The adrenaline rush one gets on the first date cannot be compared to anything you have experienced earlier.

Imagine if you can have the love of your life wooing you in different ways everyday, how much fun life would be? Would you ever need any other high in life? Most of the problems in relationships happen because we take each other foregranted and then the spice in life is all gone.

Everybody likes surprises and everybody needs to feel special.If you are made to feel special everyday, wont it be your dream life? After the initial chocolates, flowers, teddy bears and cards, the creativity will flourish. Its asking a little too much from the not so creative men, but no harm in dreaming.

Especially in India with all the TABOO attached to dates, its a big deal to go for dates. The small small cheesy cute things attached to dates are as much fun. Getting the right dress in which you look a little slimmer. The exact matching nailpaint and eye liner. The shoes to match your love interest's height. The perfect hair which will look brilliant but not parlour made. Then selecting the right gift which will show your interest but not the desperation in getting into a relationship.

The thought process attached is also very funny when you think of it after few years. Is he interested in me or I m just a casual friend for him? What would be he like? Table manners, etiquette, grooming? What will he dress like? What will we talk? Talking as friends is different, but now you have all those butterflies in the stomach, so now its going to be different! What if I dont like him? What excuse will I make? What will he gift me? Will he gift me at all? Hope I dont get pimples that day. Hope he is not those flirty types. Will we gel well? Hope he notices the trouble I have taken for him. But I should not look too much into him, else he will think high of himself. Ufffff,,, EXCITEMENT, ANXIETY, THRILL, FEAR all at once. You so want to meet him, but as the moment is nearing you get more and more nervous!

The dates dont turn out to be perfect always, so how wonderful it would be if we can repeat the whole process, the whole excitement over and over again for the rest of our life. And best if we can forget the previous day and start afresh. So, like the girl in "FIRST 50 DATES", it would be a new experience everyday. It is not only true for dates, its true for some friends as well. Sometimes when you meet the person, the circumstances, the external factors, the internal factors are not very conducive for your relationship. You might like or dislike person depending on the surroundings, your prejudice, your inhibitions, other persons behavior, appearance etc. Later after many years you realize, the person is not that bad or good as you thought at the first meeting. They become your best friends with time and sometimes your best friends become your worst mistakes of life. So if we have a chance of retakes, it would be wonderful!!

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda