Note: This blog is not going to make sense to anyone. Its completely random.
I woke up all fresh and energized to start a brilliant day - a long day with exciting work and a nice cup of steaming coffee at the near-by cafe in the evening with a friend. My idea of a perfect day. But apparently, Someone up there (I don't really believe in these things!) had other plans.
When I came to work, I found out that a colleague had a major argument with the boss last evening. He is not very happy about it today. Looks like I am about to lose another colleague soon! (Just 2 days back, another colleague resigned). I checked my mails only to find that my application for MBA had been rejected. Met a couple of friends online. All of them have been worried sick about:
1. Current jobs
2. Finding new jobs
3. Exam results
4. Finding new place to move in
And now I am worried sick about:
1. My company closing down and locking its shutters (and literally mean shutter because we don't have a door to enter. Just a hole in a shutter which needs to be unlocked and is usually accompanied by a lot of clanking sound of rusted iron!) for ever.
2. In which case, I have to start looking out for a new job.
3. My MBA applications
4. And my career! (Thats what everything is all about)
Then I got into an argument (friendly) with a colleague who said, "All guys think about how to make money. And all girls think about how to get guys with money." Ridiculous nonsense!! See, this is what is exactly called mind-set - something that is difficult to change. People just don't understand that some people can be different, can beg to differ. Because I do. I want to make money. Enough so that me and my family can live comfortably. I don't even want to talk about the husband-earning-for-all-too factor. I don't even know if I will marry, yet. And even if I do, what I earn is what I earn. I have sentiments, a feeling of great pride attached to it. I am financially independent. Yes. That's what I want to be. Financially independent.
But this is not what I am blogging about. Its just that about a week back or even less everything was perfect, just perfect. I would not have imagined that things could go so TWANG in the span of a week!! What happened? What happened? Why the sudden sullenness, dejection, frustration? This is the first fortnight of the new year. Things, events, people are supposed to be good during this time (at least according to me). Then why are they behaving otherwise?
I don't like all this. I want to go to bed tonight and wake up tomorrow as though all of this was just a bad dream. Alas, this is my reality. Such is Life.
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Saturday, 12 December 2009
2009 - The Year That Has Been
I don't know when, where and how 2009 breezed by. There were LOADS of things I decided to do at the beginning of this year - on the professional and personal front. Hardly a few have been completed. And some have not even been started! Such as:-
1. Cleaning my room to make it look perfect (I like to be optimistic!)
2. Shopping for clothes I will USE
3. Writing my travelogues
4. Finding the treadmill wire
5. Buying a new cell phone
6. Dining at Basilico (Its Shridhar's fault, not mine, that this has not yet been completed)
7. Blogging regularly
8. Reading all blogs I decided to follow
9. Completing reading all books / articles on my reading list
10. Searching for the said books / articles
But I have managed to:-
1. Learn how to use Facebook effectively
2. Start making lists like Mia Thermopolis
3. Design and decorate my alcove
4. Fall asleep while reading a book with the lights on in my alcove
5. Got recognition for my work (That is one professional accomplishment)
6. Read a bunch of e-books while at work and still got a thumbs up from my boss (for my work, not the e-books)
7. Attend wedding ceremonies of two friends and enjoyed them thoroughly
8. Take the GMAT and score decently
9. Feel surprised and have even resented, at times, at the changes I have observed in me and the people around me and not show it on my face.
10. Talk to a friend after a long time :)
All in all, not a bad year. Just a fast one with me and a couple of cousins pleading for it to slow down, month-wise ;)
All in all, not a bad year. Just a fast one with me and a couple of cousins pleading for it to slow down, month-wise ;)
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Maya - Re-visited
Lately, I have done a lot of retrospection, thinking about various people, places and incidences. And I thought of Maya!
For those of you who do know her:
I have mailed a couple of people asking about her, but no leads. She has disappeared! Totally! I would have liked to follow her, though.
And for those of you who do not know her yet, get to know her! Following is a mail I sent more than two years back and a dear cousin (Muah!) saved it for me in the form of a blog which I am happy to copy-paste from her! :)
I still get that mixed feeling of admiration and heart-wrenching happiness when I read it. And for all this, I sincerely hope she is very happy.
" Maya, a lady in her late 20s, probably 27 - 30. She is a 8th standard drop-out from छबिलदास School (Rucha, its a school which was ONLY good during our आजी's schooling years and probably a few years after that!). Her family lives near Curry Road Station, very near to लालबागचा गणपती. Her mother works as a cleaner at Mumbai airport. Her father probably does a similar kind of job somewhere. She looks after patients who have very little hope of survival or extremely old people. She was a so-called nurse for a kid with lukemia. She was jobless after 5 years as the patient was no more. Then she was offered a similar position with a family to look after their very old grandfather. She was and I think still is with the same family.
Do you know where she lives? In the Heart of Central London !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Her second employer was so happy with her work that he sponsered her work permit and since she already had been in the UK for the past 5 years, he even helped her with her residentship.
Today, a very proud Maya is one of the official residents of the Queen's country. In these 11 years, she has travelled to Nigeria, Spain and Italy. She converses very well in English, though not that very fluently, with a bit of an accent !!!! She knows Marathi, Hindi and Gujrathi - reading, writing and speaking. She cooks very good Gujrathi food (it was a part of her second job). And of course English for her daily life.
I met her when she had come to meet माधवी मामी. When she registered with मामी's marriage bureau, मामी told her that she would not accept any registration fees from her as it would be entirely मामी's pleasure. But when she completed the form and left, she had quitely slipped 100 pounds between the pages.
It was संक्रांत and Mami gave her गुळाची पोळी which was generously soaked in ghee (there is no तूप here !!). That was the first time she said she had tasted a real गुळाची पोळी!!
I sent a usual Sunday nite mail to aai and just as I switched off my laptop, I remembered I forgot to mention the most important event of the weekend. I was sleepy and thought I would do that from office tomorrow and with that I turned off the light at midnight. But for the next 40 minutes, I just couldn't concentrate on sleep. Somewhere in my mind a voice was saying, "Send the mail NOW! Tell everyone NOW ! " So now its 1:00 am, Monday morning and as I finish writing this mail, I feel completely relaxed and genuinly happy for Maya. My Sunday evenings are generally spent in thinking about the boring week ahead or which company have I left out for job applications. But I couldn't help feeling absolutely happy for Maya today !!
3 Cheers for her."
For those of you who do know her:
I have mailed a couple of people asking about her, but no leads. She has disappeared! Totally! I would have liked to follow her, though.
And for those of you who do not know her yet, get to know her! Following is a mail I sent more than two years back and a dear cousin (Muah!) saved it for me in the form of a blog which I am happy to copy-paste from her! :)
I still get that mixed feeling of admiration and heart-wrenching happiness when I read it. And for all this, I sincerely hope she is very happy.
" Maya, a lady in her late 20s, probably 27 - 30. She is a 8th standard drop-out from छबिलदास School (Rucha, its a school which was ONLY good during our आजी's schooling years and probably a few years after that!). Her family lives near Curry Road Station, very near to लालबागचा गणपती. Her mother works as a cleaner at Mumbai airport. Her father probably does a similar kind of job somewhere. She looks after patients who have very little hope of survival or extremely old people. She was a so-called nurse for a kid with lukemia. She was jobless after 5 years as the patient was no more. Then she was offered a similar position with a family to look after their very old grandfather. She was and I think still is with the same family.
Do you know where she lives? In the Heart of Central London !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Her second employer was so happy with her work that he sponsered her work permit and since she already had been in the UK for the past 5 years, he even helped her with her residentship.
Today, a very proud Maya is one of the official residents of the Queen's country. In these 11 years, she has travelled to Nigeria, Spain and Italy. She converses very well in English, though not that very fluently, with a bit of an accent !!!! She knows Marathi, Hindi and Gujrathi - reading, writing and speaking. She cooks very good Gujrathi food (it was a part of her second job). And of course English for her daily life.
I met her when she had come to meet माधवी मामी. When she registered with मामी's marriage bureau, मामी told her that she would not accept any registration fees from her as it would be entirely मामी's pleasure. But when she completed the form and left, she had quitely slipped 100 pounds between the pages.
It was संक्रांत and Mami gave her गुळाची पोळी which was generously soaked in ghee (there is no तूप here !!). That was the first time she said she had tasted a real गुळाची पोळी!!
I sent a usual Sunday nite mail to aai and just as I switched off my laptop, I remembered I forgot to mention the most important event of the weekend. I was sleepy and thought I would do that from office tomorrow and with that I turned off the light at midnight. But for the next 40 minutes, I just couldn't concentrate on sleep. Somewhere in my mind a voice was saying, "Send the mail NOW! Tell everyone NOW ! " So now its 1:00 am, Monday morning and as I finish writing this mail, I feel completely relaxed and genuinly happy for Maya. My Sunday evenings are generally spent in thinking about the boring week ahead or which company have I left out for job applications. But I couldn't help feeling absolutely happy for Maya today !!
3 Cheers for her."
Sunday, 4 October 2009
What's Your Time?
I am wondering if you know what "time" you live in? Are you "with times", "ahead of times" or "behind times"? And by 'you' I mean the society in general.
Our society is such a varied mixture of everything thrown together, all mixed up and confused! And then that same mixture of confusion thrown back at us in different forms, that I sometimes wonder how we (or at least I) manage to stand up again after a new series of this throwing and catching game of mixed confusions takes place?
All this has confused me beyond limit! :) But what I really want to say is that how do we manage to survive peacefully in all this mess that we call the 'traditional Indian culture'? Or is it just me bothering about apparently insignificant things?
At least that's what MY society is like - the people I meet everyday and those that I don't.
To quote a few unique examples... the first one that comes to mind is a former colleague - a classic case of timeless confusion! A simple, plain-Jane, good girl and starved in the name of religion. So starved, that I thought her to be much younger than she actually was when I first met her. Plain-Jane fasted for most days of the week not knowing (1) the significance of the day, (2) the deity/God she was supposed to be fasting for and (3) the 'rules' that are to be followed during a fast! When asked why she bother about all this when she didn't know answers to any of the above, all she would say was, "That's the way it is. I can't help it."
And do any of you (yes, you, the reader) have answers to any of the above? Are you aware of the 'rules' that I am talking about? Maybe not. Here are a few:
And do any of you (yes, you, the reader) have answers to any of the above? Are you aware of the 'rules' that I am talking about? Maybe not. Here are a few:
(1) When a person fasts for one day, that day is counted from dawn to dusk.
(2) Coffee and not tea is allowed during a not-so-strict fast because coffee beans are not native crops/plants of this country. Same for potatoes, sweet potatoes, peanuts and chillies. (Yes. Thank Mexico for all the spicy chillies.)
(3) God does not come to your rescue if you do something stupid like wait in queue for long hours in scorching heat outside his temple (which he NEVER claims, by the way) while fasting and then faint on your way home.
The cherry on the cake was Jane not eating red-coloured potato papads on one of her fast days because I told her she could not have them if she was fasting! I said thay because the papads were fried. Not because of the colour. But she thought it was because of the colour (She told me so).
The next case is of a friend trying to be 'ahead' but is in fact between 'with' and 'behind' times. While finding a suitable wedding present, I came across a beautiful set of earrings in silver. But was advised not to buy those (by Aai) because (according to Aai & I fully trust her with such things) she and her family are a little conservative and such people usually prefer the newly married girls in their families to wear gold jewellery. Silver jewellery is for the younger, un-married girls! "What crap!", was my immediate reaction. "If silver jewellery looks good with an outfit you are wearing, then you wear silver jewellery! What has that got to do with your marital status? And does jewellery not symbolise wealth?" All Aai had to say was, "These girls wear outfits which only go with gold jewellery."
The cherry on the cake was Jane not eating red-coloured potato papads on one of her fast days because I told her she could not have them if she was fasting! I said thay because the papads were fried. Not because of the colour. But she thought it was because of the colour (She told me so).
The next case is of a friend trying to be 'ahead' but is in fact between 'with' and 'behind' times. While finding a suitable wedding present, I came across a beautiful set of earrings in silver. But was advised not to buy those (by Aai) because (according to Aai & I fully trust her with such things) she and her family are a little conservative and such people usually prefer the newly married girls in their families to wear gold jewellery. Silver jewellery is for the younger, un-married girls! "What crap!", was my immediate reaction. "If silver jewellery looks good with an outfit you are wearing, then you wear silver jewellery! What has that got to do with your marital status? And does jewellery not symbolise wealth?" All Aai had to say was, "These girls wear outfits which only go with gold jewellery."
This same friend will soon be leaving her job as she is moving to a different city after marriage. Given the current economic and job scenario, I casually mentioned that continuing with her present job till an equally good one is at hand will be wise. Hers is a love marriage. So I thought a little adjustment will neither be a problem nor a mis-understanding. I was gently reminded that it was impossible to work out such a situation and it was best not to discuss it further!
I understand that such changes are not possible overnight. But why don't we use our own brains while deciding what is good for us and what is not? Afterall, we have been given the power to think so that we can employ it for our own use and betterment. Not for Nature's amusement!
All said and done, I wonder which "times" do we live in? "With", "Ahead" or "Behind"?
I understand that such changes are not possible overnight. But why don't we use our own brains while deciding what is good for us and what is not? Afterall, we have been given the power to think so that we can employ it for our own use and betterment. Not for Nature's amusement!
All said and done, I wonder which "times" do we live in? "With", "Ahead" or "Behind"?
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
For September's Sake
I have waited the entire month to find something to blog about. Nothing seemed to be remotely interesting. So on this 29th day of September of the year 2009 (शालिवाहन शक 1931 or विक्रम संवत 2065), the following is for September's Sake...random pictures taken on spur of the moment which I shall never upload anywhere else.
My hyper-active, clever nephew, Raadnya
A born drama-queen, my cousin, Shreya, on her 4th birthday
Thankfully, I just got half a blue-coloured worm painted on my nail as against the WHOLE earthworm in black that my cousin got!
A new beginning amidst the concrete forest?
My photo identity card when I visited Pfizer. Apparently, these cards are issued to EVERY visitor EVERY day. Their office building has just 3 floors - ground + 2 - and they still have a lift! The company has SO MUCH MONEY!! But will they pay us??
Two of my friends discussing their exam.
And the remaining. This was after a seam-splitting dinner of chicken and fish taken from a good phone camera by a not-so-tech-savvy मावशी! But I like it all the same :-)
Friday, 21 August 2009
Starstruck !!
"Captivated by famous people". That is what I am. STARSTRUCK!! :) And the star? A new author (from as much as I know) - Monica Pradhan. For those who are lost, she has written a really cool, contemporary novel about how the ABCDs* are ABC-ed. Actually, there is less of the confusion part and more of the "finding a new meaning to life"- cum -"mid-life crisis"-sort of situations. With mouth-watering recipes thrown in at intervals, this book is a great read. Specially for mothers and daughters. Not that guys are banned from reading it, but well...they are guys! I am not going to review the book here. Making it a 'compulsory read' for Mum, my aunt and cousins is a review in itself! But what I am going to write about is the starstruck part of the entire thing.
Blame it on my efficiency or recession, I found I had nothing to do (work-wise) yesterday morning at work. Since I was reading Meg Cabot's blogs (another fantastic writer!) and was very much into books (when am I not?), I decided to Google Monica Pradhan. Not getting satisfactory information, I FB-ed her. Something got into me and I sent her a message (& a friend request which embaressed me A LOT as I couldn't undo it). But YAYYEE........ she not only replied back promptly, but also accpeted the friend request. So YAYYEE........ again !! And that is why I am starstruck!!
After the initial bubble of excitement ebbed a bit, I decided to blog (Mind you, I am still floating!). But for my initial reactions, read along:
"This is just so cool you know. Because Meg Cabot, J. K. Rowling, and so many other favourites have a huge fan following. They can't really take time out and reply. But this lady is just GREAT !! Besides, you know, I have never joined a fan club or some thing like that. Nor am I a celebrity-worshipper. But this is so cool!! :) She is a proper author and now a 'friend' (YAYYE... :D). And she seems totally cool about adding me as a friend!! And all this is so exciting because:-
1) Most of the authors that I like/love are dead (except the 2 mentioned above and they can't reply for the reasons stated above) so they can't reply as it is !!
2) And this is just so cool...saying "Yeah. Monica Pradhan...nice lady... A friend of mine you know..." (Oh so cool. Sounds super cool when I read it!)"
Can't stop grinning ear-to-ear!! Imagine this: My name has been added to a good author's friend's list on a social networking site !! Wait till I tell Aai.
*American Born Confused Desis.
Blame it on my efficiency or recession, I found I had nothing to do (work-wise) yesterday morning at work. Since I was reading Meg Cabot's blogs (another fantastic writer!) and was very much into books (when am I not?), I decided to Google Monica Pradhan. Not getting satisfactory information, I FB-ed her. Something got into me and I sent her a message (& a friend request which embaressed me A LOT as I couldn't undo it). But YAYYEE........ she not only replied back promptly, but also accpeted the friend request. So YAYYEE........ again !! And that is why I am starstruck!!
After the initial bubble of excitement ebbed a bit, I decided to blog (Mind you, I am still floating!). But for my initial reactions, read along:
"This is just so cool you know. Because Meg Cabot, J. K. Rowling, and so many other favourites have a huge fan following. They can't really take time out and reply. But this lady is just GREAT !! Besides, you know, I have never joined a fan club or some thing like that. Nor am I a celebrity-worshipper. But this is so cool!! :) She is a proper author and now a 'friend' (YAYYE... :D). And she seems totally cool about adding me as a friend!! And all this is so exciting because:-
1) Most of the authors that I like/love are dead (except the 2 mentioned above and they can't reply for the reasons stated above) so they can't reply as it is !!
2) And this is just so cool...saying "Yeah. Monica Pradhan...nice lady... A friend of mine you know..." (Oh so cool. Sounds super cool when I read it!)"
Can't stop grinning ear-to-ear!! Imagine this: My name has been added to a good author's friend's list on a social networking site !! Wait till I tell Aai.
*American Born Confused Desis.
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
"Its all about the liquid Ma'm!"
An hour at a beauty parlour is a good way of expanding one's knowledge on a wide range of topics - Bollywood gossip, latest films, household remedies on infinite problems, train crowds and rush hours, latest numbers of piggy-flu deaths, weekly offs, pollution, diseases, latest on the daily soaps and reality shows, scandalous marriages, children, rains or no rains, senior colleagues who are not present, junior colleagues who are present, rising costs, un-availability of vegetables, problems with in-laws, .... and it goes on! During my last visit, little did I expect that I would learn more about biochemistry!
While getting my hair trimmed, the hair-dresser started commenting on greying hair at early ages. For those of you who know me well will know that I have a lot of white/grey hair ever since the last of my school days. Now, this kind lady was patiently explaining that one should not pull out grey hair. I nodded (to the extent possible to let her know that I was listening) thinking, "Of course not! It would hurt a lot!" But she had a different story to tell.
"People always pull out their white hairs Ma'm. But you know Ma'm, it is not good to do like that. You know, there is a liquid at the hair roots (I beg your pardon?). When you pull out you hair, this liquid spreads to the surrounding areas and goes into the roots of surrounding hair (I was silently crying "Miracle" by this time). And they also become white!" (I couldn't control the hysterical burst of suppressed laughter any longer, so I said aloud, "Really? Incredible science!!"
And I was thinking, why do they not teach this at college-level? Its all about controlling the spread of that stupid liquid! I mean, if science can control spread of harmful rays, water pollutants, virus (up to a certain extent), then why not that damned liquid?!
While getting my hair trimmed, the hair-dresser started commenting on greying hair at early ages. For those of you who know me well will know that I have a lot of white/grey hair ever since the last of my school days. Now, this kind lady was patiently explaining that one should not pull out grey hair. I nodded (to the extent possible to let her know that I was listening) thinking, "Of course not! It would hurt a lot!" But she had a different story to tell.
"People always pull out their white hairs Ma'm. But you know Ma'm, it is not good to do like that. You know, there is a liquid at the hair roots (I beg your pardon?). When you pull out you hair, this liquid spreads to the surrounding areas and goes into the roots of surrounding hair (I was silently crying "Miracle" by this time). And they also become white!" (I couldn't control the hysterical burst of suppressed laughter any longer, so I said aloud, "Really? Incredible science!!"
And I was thinking, why do they not teach this at college-level? Its all about controlling the spread of that stupid liquid! I mean, if science can control spread of harmful rays, water pollutants, virus (up to a certain extent), then why not that damned liquid?!
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