Random nothings!

So another year, one more birthday gone by. There's something special about this day isn't it? As kids, we look forward to this day, when we are dressed in pattu pavadai in the morning, the customary visit to the temple, payasam lunch, namaskaarams to elders and gifts in cash or kind. Then in the evening, the pavadai is replaced with a lacy frilly frock, in pink and white, friends come to a decorated house to wish you and celebrate your day with gifts. Cake is cut and served, and you feel special. As we grow up, the customary visits to temple become a rarity, as you need to be in college, or school or work. Instead of frilly dresses, we wear something more sober, there are no parties held at home, friends want you to treat them somewhere else. Then as years go by, when you have a husband and a kid, your own birthday excitement takes a back seat, you are busy planning your kid's birthday, or a surprise for your husband. Nobody plans it for you. Friends write on FB, the ca...

The Emirates flight to Dubai was re-scheduled to 10:30 pm due to 'technical snag', said the lady behind the counter, quite uncaring for a Customer 'care' executive, with an acid tongue and cold eyes, fancy title used these days to shoo away customers.  "Humph!!" muttered  Anushka. She looked at her watch, three more hours, she walked around terminal 11B, went to the Crossword book shop zone, started browsing the best sellers, "Will pick up something light, no heavy stuff", she thought.  After paying the bill, she walked up to the Barista counter, and ordered a black coffee, she looked around spotted a place away from the crowd, and started with the book, when suddenly, "Hi Anu", she looked up, it was Tarun, her classmate fro St. Mary's, suave, handsome, spoilt brat of rich parents. She stood up, "Hi" she said."Wow, you have changed, you looked different in school" said Tarun.  She smiled,"I know what you mean...

One day I had literally nothing to do, so I switched on the tv, and mindlessly surfed the channels: star plus, Sony, colors, zee etc.. And spent about 5 to 10 minutes on each of them, there was a serial on Sony, where the lady of the house, is looking for a 'Sanskaari Bahu'for her US returned son. Son is 'friendly' with a girl whom he met in US and studied with her, she is shown as a Bengali, and she walks into the house dressed in jeans, top, a jacket and stilettos. Obviously, she was looked at with disgust, someone who was not 'Sanskaari' and hence was not fit to be a Bahu of a traditional house which holds its culture and respect on a high pedestal which obviously an educated jeans clad foreign returned girl can't understand, even if she is capable of being a better companion to the son, and is someone who can share his dreams and future. The mother obviously spots a simple girl in a village, who is in a Saree, singing a bhajan. The mother prays to th...

My cook is a bubbly, chirpy Bengali lady. She must be as old as me, or maybe a lil younger. She comes twice a day, and goes about her work, cutting, chopping, frying, clanking the pans in between. She cooks in about 10 houses, twice a day.  Her nimbu pani is to die for, and its the ideal thing in the dirty, humid summer of Delhi. I look forward to 11am, when she walks in I say 'good morning' with a smile. One thing that is constant on her face is her smile. Off late she has started opening up, she talks about her kids- a 14 year old daughter and a 7 year old son. She got married very early. She works hard because she wants her kids, especially her daughter to study, and not meet the fate as hers, daughter is intelligent, goes to good school, and has now got 100% scholarship because of her excellent grades.  She spends one hour in my house, and for that one hour, am also in the kitchen, drinking nimbu pani, which she happily makes, wiping the sweat, talking to her, doing a lil ...