Random nothings!

The time of the year, when you say goodbye and welcome at the same time. 2014 has been one hell of a roller coaster ride for me. Relationships were tested. Loved ones were cheated. Some good things also happened. So, if I was to look at the year from a distance, I would say it has been an unforgettable ride. More than any other year, or should I wait before I say more than any other year. As I have no idea what the next year has in store for me. My personal achievement this year would be opening myself to the idea of getting a pup home, and I did. It's only after Buddy came home, I realized that all along I wasn't really averse to a dog. It was just a silly mind block that I had. Anyway, on the last day of the year, I want to put everything behind me and move ahead. Although, it's easy to say, but, I will try my best to do it also. For the last couple of months, lot of thoughts crossed my mind, and I kept making a list of resolutions mentally. Now I will just put a

This is a long pending post. I have to write it today. In the month of May, when the heat is driving everyone crazy. Two crazy women, that is my sis and me, decide to take a road trip to Pondicherry. While people were visiting colder places, to cool themselves from the scorching heat, we did the opposite. We decided to bake ourselves in the blistering heat, anyhow, we started on a Thursday morning. Our first stop was to be Chennai, the city that I don't really like. My grandparents, my maternal uncles and my aunts used to stay there. My grandparents passed away few years ago. One of the maternal uncle moved to Mumbai and my Aunt moved to Delhi. One maternal Uncle and his family were still there. We had met them in Bangalore 3 weeks before our trip, when they suggested that we spend a day with them, considering we hadn't been to Chennai since 2009. So, we decided, to leave on a Thursday and stay in Chennai. I started driving, till the time I hit the highway, I was a littl

Nothing cheers me up more than a string of dazzling lights, brightening up everything around me. That is why I love this festival called Diwali. Back in Bangalore after two years, it's fun again to throw the lights on the chikoo tree, the mango tree, the arched balcony, and the terrace. When I look out of my kitchen window, at night, I feel as if am seeing lot of colourful fireflies, just moving around in a line or doing some kind of a special dance. I am not too fond of the crackers. I like the spirit of the festival. I love lighting the diyas. I love the rangoli made beautifully by my maid. I wait for this one festival the whole year-round. This festival makes me happy, makes me feel nice inside. This year the festival holds a very special meaning for me. The myth holds that Diwali is celebrated as the triumph of good over evil and the return of Rama from his vanvas. This year, I hope it gives me the strength to fight my inner demons, and bring back the peace and calm I ha

So, the phase before the 'Teens' apparently is not 'PRE-TEENS' anymore. It's called the 'TWEENS', corrected by my 9 and a half-year-old, authoritatively. My my, today, I don't understand which phase of motherhood was tougher. Apparently, it's only going to get worse it seems, as one of my friends who has an 11-year-old boy, tells me reassuringly. I hated the confidence in her tone, and I even told her that. I was probably, expecting her to smooth-en the wrinkles on my forehead with statements like "Oh don't worry, he will be fine when he is 10", but no. The lines increased. Every day, every morning, noon, night I only hear "I am a BIG boy now". There is sulking, loads of it, lots of drama. My son and I have catfights now. My husband poor fellow has turned into an Umpire/peacemaker. Always trying to make us come to a common ground. He wants to do everything. He wants to butt into an adult conversation, as he has somethin

I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit. Khalil Gibran Ever since I understood the nuances, of life, relationships, God etc... I realized that I didn't like the categorization of people because of their religion. For a person, who totally believed in humanity first, it became complicated when my grandparents did certain things because they belonged to a particular religion, or, because in the Hindu (read: Brahmins) culture, it has been passed on from generations.  The silly superstitions like - waiting for 5 minutes incase a black cat crosses your path or not to ask "where are you going" to someone who is already at the doorstep. Or, not to talk or touch the maids as they are 'untouchables' and more used to irritate me.  The rebel inside me refused to accept the religious practices in the name of God! "So, who is God for you?" I remember my G

A friend once said, "for Godssake, wearing Jeans is not considered fashionable", to which I replied, "Thank God that am still wearing something that suits me". By the way, Jeans is the best fashion  invention ever. ;) I know a lot of people, who are very good at preaching, they can go on and on and on about their philanthropic  nature, and how they teach their children the importance of sharing, the next minute you would see them fighting with their maids for 100 bucks, and their children doing everything BUT sharing. Preaching is easy. A person once told me that my maid works for me, because she is scared of me, and I thought, in liberated India, where maids make more news than even celebrities, I definitely must be a cut above the rest, to have a  maid who works for me out of fear ;) If charity begins at home, so does racial discrimination. Fact: dusky models are the most wanted ones in a fashion industry, because of their features and flawless skin.

All along I have been anti dogs, not a 'hater' particularly, but somehow couldn't imagine myself living with a pet, who couldn't be caged, or swim in a tank. As a child, I probably did express my desire to have a pup to my Mum, who told me that I would have to leave school, stop playing or going out for vacations, as she wasn't prepared to take care. I thought then, 'how mean?!'. Ofcourse, when I was in my teens, I finally realized that yeah probably my Mum was right, what she meant was that it was too much of a hassle and a big responsibility. And I was happy that we didn't have one, since I was very happy with the way my teenage was going on. Laughing, bunking, playing pranks, secret crushes, gossips...You know how all this is a 'BIG DEAL' for a teenage girl!! And in the middle of all this I became an anti dog person. Well, life happened later, which is another story, not to be talked about on this post.  I got married. Had a baby. In that

As usual, sitting with a group of women in the park, in the evening, watching over our kids. One of the ladies in the group had a baby recently - second child. So, we were all coo-cooing over the lil bundle. And the usual, list of do's and don'ts followed.  The lady who had recently delivered said "Now I feel complete, as I am a Mother, twice lucky". And, yes there were emphatic agreements. I just watched and smiled, and returned home. I got busy with my evening routine of, checking the homework, giving dinner to my son, and settling him for the night later.  Since the husband was travelling, I had the time to myself after my son slept. The lines boomeranged, and I didn't quite agree. (Of course, to each his own, is my mantra in life). I started thinking.  I did not have a child because I felt 'incomplete' in any way. I did not get married so that somebody could 'complete' me.   Motherhood is just an extension of me, it's not my defi

So the whole shift happened from Gurgaon to Bangalore. Life is so weird, actually, not life, but we are so weird. When I had to move from Bangalore, I was upset, that I had to leave my house, my parents, my sister and move. When I had to move from Gurgaon, I was again upset, as I wanted a couple of more years in that city. So what was I going to miss really? I asked myself this question over and over again. The answer was not difficult, it was right there in front of me. My two friends, whom I met in Gurgaon, came into my life as just my son's classmates' parents. I never knew they would land up making such a huge difference in my life. This post is dedicated to those two wonderful women. I miss them every single day. Both are hands-on Mums, dedicated to their kids. Both are wonderfully awesome. To one, I became a self-proclaimed guide of Delhi, as she had spent her whole life in Bangalore, and I took her to all the major attractions of the city - the shopping attraction

A visit to the holy town of Amritsar was long pending. Finally, in November, we made a trip, set out with one more family. We traveled by road, in our scorpio. Delhi to Amritsar is almost a 6-7 hour journey, and with kids, you tend to stop frequently, we still managed to reach by 5pm. Being the impulsive sorts, when it comes to traveling, we just decided overnight, we entered the city without an accommodation. Thankfully, got rooms in a star hotel, which was not really expensive. Freshened up and set out to visit the Golden Temple. A step inside the Gurudwara, and you know in your heart that you have entered a place of tranquility. The 'seva' done by the Sikh community is overwhelming. Most of them, doing the 'seva' have their fancy sedans or SUV's parked outside, they are so humble inside, that it can put you to shame. From collecting slippers to wiping the floor of the Gurudwara, to serving the 'langar' or 'kada prasad', they do everything. No