I am a Material Girl

Oh yes, I am! Its a typical Indian trait they say that we dont throw things away. We repair them, we squeeze every bit of our hard earned money out of anything and everthing... be it furniture, dress, utensils. And that doesnt make me one bit embarrassed. I am proud of it. And sometimes with time, when we do need to give them away or simply dispose them off, it takes away a part of us. But still there are a few things that have managed to stick with me over the years, and JLT, tagged me to let the world know about them.
So here I go :)
1) A bunch of cards/autograph book that transport me back to my college days. Those were the days when luckily Archies was a bit too costly and we were a bit too conscious to buy readymade cards. In order to impress each other, we used to let our creativity run wild, decorate the cards with all kinds of one liners and fill them with colours. The result of such efforts could not end in the dustbins, could they? So, they stayed. Its been a long time since I went through them and I guess I will do that right away after this post :) ... to relive the carefreeness of a teenager.
2) A dressing table that was given to me by my parents but which had come in my life when I was 10. It has withstood the test of time and although the mirror has lost its silver at places, it reminds me of that awkward little girl who spoke to herself for hours, and kept insisting to the mirror that she was indeed the prettiest girl around. Ah! those were some days! :)
3) A fairly new acquisition for me but a lifetime of memory for my inlaws in the form of a wooden cupboard which has six deep pockets where only a hand can go in, and 3 sections. The deep pockets have some secret hidden divisions too. It reminds me of the Nancy Drew books and I only wish I was younger to dream of some secret treasure maps there which I discover accidentally...lol.
4) Some of the books that remind me of my student years. I have carefully stuck the label that says Miss so-and-so, such-and-such prize, class so-and-so. I only hope it acts as a motivation to my kids.
5) My Inlaws Photo album that never ceases to amaze my children. "How young and beautiful paati looks", "how funny is thatha's trouser", "why are you wearing your saree over your tummy, paati?", "Thatha, was your hair really this black? and what a style" :) I have carefully scanned the snaps and made an online album for the same. Somethings are too precious to be lost. The same for the marriage album of my parents!
6) One of the newest in my collections is that sexy satin nightie that I had shyly and secretively bought for my marriage...lol.. and which I have outgrown long long ago. Maybe someday I will be able to fit back into it.

Hey JLT, I loved doing this tag, believe me. I wonder why memories become more and more priceless with time :) I wonder who remains to do the tag.
Dame, Suma, Lavs, Timepass, if you have not taken this up already, please do, its a wonderful experience!

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Back in action

That was a hectic month for me. Too much happened in too little a time.
First a sudden vacation. With a kid who is about to enter into the world of competitions, holidays was last thing on our mind but when an opportunity came knocking at our doors, we could not resisit and off we went for a 10 day trip to HongKong. I love travelling and seeing new places, meeting new people though my better half likes those lazy holidays where you can just relax and relax and relax....
Hongkong was a good experience. It requires another dedicated post which I shall try doing asap.
Back from the vacation and the preparations started for arangetram of my daughters. Yes, both my daughters are now graduates in Bharatanatyam :) The function was a super duper success and the kids did much better than I expected them to. There were times I felt I was pushing them too much, there were times I doubted their capabilities (and I feel awful about it), there were times I wondered whether I rushed into things... but the way the kids danced has made me a proud mother. I am beaming from ear to ear :) Hopefully its a good start for them and I hope they get good opportunities to learn more and showcase their talent.
OK so I am back and I see I have loads to catch up on.
BTW it felt very nice when some of you enquired my whereabouts ... I felt so wanted. Thank you all for making me feel special.

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Yours Wierdly

Long long ago, so long ago that noone knows how long ago... I was tagged by Parul to write about 7 weird things about me and then pass the tag to 7 more people. If weirdness and quirkiness is same, I have done it, yes yes... but then Usha and Lavs felt that I wasnt being honest enough.

So let me come to the point straight and try to be as honest as possible without scaring the people around.
1) When I was small, I used to eat the foams of soap. Please feel free to say "yuck". I think there must be some vitamin deficiency... or maybe since we did not have any TV soaps way back then.
2) I am capable of chewing my nails to the extent of bleeding them. Sadist you say? Even I wonder! And well the scarier the movie, the bloodier my nails!
3) I like the cream of milk even if its floats after the coffee has become cold. Weird I am!
4) I am an impatient soul. Now, if you say "that not weird enough", read on. Once in hurry, I put my kurta inside out and started to office... realised it before I walked out of my colony and rushed back. Phew! Once I even stepped out in my home slippers.
5) If the above points havent put you off, here comes one more. I have black tongue. I do not want to believe but I have sensed it sometimes that what I say comes almost true. I need to be very very careful.
6) Now heres a physical weirdity. My hands and legs are very thin and small as compared to my height and weight. My younger daughter is able to wear my slippers! She is 10 and I am in 30s. Imagine that!
7) I cant think of any more... Will get back and update it. Dont want to draft it and sleep on it for a month more.
As for passing on the tag, I tag all who are reading this, I doubt how many remain! Lavs, a spl mention for you, since you say noone tags you :)

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Indian Author Tag

Me and my tendency to procrastinate. When the whole world is up and buzzing, I wake up ever so gently. Yes, I have 206 lazy bones. I have been desperately trying to shake them and wake them, but the mass of fat that has accumulated around them only makes the situation worse.

I am digressing! So, coming to the tag, I have never been a voracious reader. Oh I love reading but my last 10 years have been totally devoted to the family and the needs plus the career building. Its only recently that the interest has been revived, infact favourably towards Indian Authors writing in english. With such a limited knowledge about authors, I am not the right person to write on this tag. Maybe I will just mention the few books that have impressed me. And yes, let me also mention in the passing that I am a pure and pure fiction reader. I stay away from self-help books (Robin Sharma, I am sorry!) as also philosophical ones. Swati, I am sorry for being so late. By the way, please come back to the world of blogging. I am missing you!

1. What woke me up was the latest novel by Shashi Tharoor that I am reading. Its called The Five Dollar Smile. Its a collection of short stories that he wrote while he was still in adolescence and early adulthood. Some of them beautifully bring out the mood of 70's. I havent yet finished the book but the story that has touched me the most is titled "The Pyre", and this deals with the trauma that a friend goes through after he survives an accident, wherein his friend died a young and tragic death.
I have heard good words about Shashi and his books, "The Riot" and "The Great Indian Novel" as well. Am yet to pick them up.
2. Chitra Banerjee Devakaruni. Till date, I have read 2 of her books. Sister of My Heart and Arranged Marriage. The first one is a novel that revolves around the lives of 2 girls who are brought up in the same home... their love for each other, the sacrifices, the trials, the tribulations. The second book is a collection of short stories. The stories have given the phrase "part and parcel" a new meaning for me, I felt part and parcel of them. I plan to read "Mistress of Spice" soon.
3. Shobha De: One of the most controversial authors, known for all wrong reasons and yet I have loved her Speedpost. Its basically a collection letters from her to her 6 children. It was hard for me to imagine a page-3 personality being a dutiful mom, but read it to believe it. I have liked "Spouse" too. One more I have read, of whose name I cant recollect. It was again a collection of short stories but i found it too provocative and lascivious.
4. Manju Kapoor: The only novel by her that I have read is “Home” and I found it a good read. Its light, it deals with all Indian emotions, and its something I could relate with.
5. Anita Nair: The only novel I have read by her and loved is Ladies Coupe. It beautifully describes the quest, the discovery, the celebration of being a woman. Can a woman not survive alone in this Man’s world? Such a simple question and such a beautiful answer by Anita.
6. Satyajit Ray: No, I haven’t been lucky enough to learn Bengali and read his masterpieces but I have read some translations and I can only imagine how good the original would be. His characters like Professor Shonku and Feluda are so far ahead of their time. They may sound very normal in todays world but lets not forget the time when this book was written. I can only marvel at his ability to think scientifically and write beautifully…. A rare combination.

The books that did not appeal much to my sensibilities. Blame it on my low IQ/EQ/RQ (Reader’s quotient!!!)
Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai.
Weight Loss by Upamanyu Chaterjee
Holy Cow by Susan McDonald (Not an Indian author but this is based in India!)

My wishlist? Other than some of the books I mentioned above, I have heard a lot about Abdul Kalam’s wings of fire. Then, Rohinton Mistry and his “fine balance”. Then ofcourse, I have made note of all the books that I have read in some of the blogs here.
In any case, do let me know if there is some book you strongly reco.

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Reality Check

As I grow older I realize that

1. 1. Honesty may not be the best policy. But if you still want to go ahead, you should know how to do sweet talk.
2. 2. Good feelings need to converted into words, especially if you are dealing with elders. Its people who are vocal, who get all the awards.
3. 3. Expectations to be kept to minimum. Life is not a fairy tale as you thought when you were young.
4. 4. Familiarity breeds contempt. You need a break once in a while to value others,and let them value you.
5. 5. If you want, you can find faults with EVERYTHING someone does. Yes, all the plus points somehow vanish in the air at such times.
6. 6. Its so difficult to admit that "I am wrong". It takes guts and courage and maybe some tears.

OK OK. I had some tiff today morning. It’s a bad hair day and my blog seems the only place where I can vent my feelings.
Sorry, if I am sounding low and morose.

Meanwhile, JLT thanks for the award that I am proudly displaying :)

My thank you speech is on its way and its high time I try to live upto the award

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