Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The Weekend That Was...

Christmas, followed by the weekend, was rather eventful, here at home in Bangalore.

Our mostly empty house was noisy and bustling with people. Just the perfect thing to warm and cosy the house in chilly wintry December.

The kitchen kept serving out hot masala chai, to my parents and other guests. The aroma of crisp dosas and chutneys wafting out at breakfast, brunch, snacks and other times.

So mom and dad are visiting; L was also here with her family. The house was bursting with conversations; whispered and raucous; there was cartoon network blaring for the little boy, the news channels blaring 24/7 for the older people; vessels clanging in the cook, serve, wash routine; people scuttling about from room to room; water running in the bathroom. It was a welcome change from the quiet that A and me have been facing ever since Nov 2nd when A's parents moved back to Chennai.

There was a good amount of talking, tramping, shopping and gifting over these days- more Bang land landmarks put down for future references; movies being seen; actors being judged. I do this stuff all the time, anyways, but doing it with people who matter, adds that extra spring in your step and joy in your heart. Like L and Ma.

Current mood: Content.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Lessons Learnt !

While being invited to organise a birthday party for a 6 year old,
  • Be prepared to lose your voice calling attention to 25 odd kids, who are also yelling
  • Brace yourself for wee li'l lah-di-dah girls who refuse to wear the party caps, cos' it'll ruin their perfectly straight hair
  • Be prepared for kids clinging to your legs and demanding your attention
  • Also kids crying cos' they got out in Musical Chairs
  • Kids refusing to eat cake unless they got the 'Dora the Explorer' face or backpack part of the icing
  • Kids spilling juice all over your spunky clothes
  • Kids will puke without rhyme or reason, just for the sake of drama
  • Tinier kids pulling at your perfectly permed hair or terracotta jhumkas, whichever is more attractive
  • Kids drawing you into , ' Aunty she bit me, is she an animal?' discussions
  • ALWAYS ALWAYS carry your camera to these kiddy events 'cos they do the darndest things and hell yes, photo op dangling in your face


Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Today...

will be a day of new beginnings, in the lives of two good friends.I am not sure if the day is as significant to them. D said she was too drained running over numerous 'To do' lists to feel anything. L is coming home yet again, dragging her tired nomad feet to rest at what she hopes will be a life destination. Incidentally, these people will breeze past each other at the Mumbai airport - one on her way out and the other on her way in.

D is heading off to Cali to start a new life; actually to resume her idyllic life that was interrupted by several overseas projects, the lure of the great American dream and a several thousand miles of land and ocean . Enough resources by way of time, money, drained cellphone batteries, eyes glazed over by hours of typing away at numerous chat windows and numerous sleepless nights have been diverted into Project Lovelorn couple. D has never been more lucid about her choices. Over the last couple of years, I finally see her happy, relaxed and settling into her skin.

L comes home not knowing if she heads back - alone or otherwise, its another upheaval in all our lives as she will thrash through conflicted feelings towards family and society and career choices. I am bracing for several whys, what fors, and other soul searches. Nevertheless, her arrival is an event to look forward to.

Good luck children!

Monday, December 15, 2008

We have had a facelift!

Libra:Indecisive / changeable
Linda Goodman defines Libra as a rather vacillating sign, where a native is trying to find balance while moving through a whole gamut of unbalanced states. As such they may occasionally be quarrelsome, annoying, confused, depressed etc.

It took me a better part of an hour deciding on this template ; I'm still not sure it really reflects me, or even my current sentiment. I love the turkey background, but hey, Thanksgiving is long over and I'm a vegetarian, and it turned out a little too loud. Nevertheless, I may go back and change it when I'm feeling a li'il jobless.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Sometimes I wonder if God will forgive us for what we have done to each other,
Then I look around and realise that God left this place long ago.
~ Leonardo di Caprio, Blood Diamond.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Barkha Responds.

The media was accused of several misdeeds in their 70 hour coverage of the Mumbai terror on 26/11.
1. Breaching security by telecasting live military operations
2. Being insensitive by thrusting a mike under the noses of waiting relatives, friends etc.
3. Covering only the elitist Taj and Oberoi hotel situations and ignoring the CST situation

Lurking through my favoritest blogs , I chanced upon this link, with Barkha Dutt' s responses to the allegations
For those who have not seen it yet:
http://ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/showcolumns.aspx?id=COLEN20080075194 (Thanks to the Mad Momma)

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Who is Vishnu Zende?

While Satans took over Victoria Terminus (CST) , Mumbai on 26/11, a certain guardian angel was going about his life and work in the Announcements room tucked away in the throbbing mass of humanity, that is VT station.
This simple middle-aged man displayed tremendous presence of mind in beating those terror messiahs while they maniacally sprayed bullets around.
Hearing repeated gunshots around 9 pm , Vishnu Zende, peeked out of his cabin and saw injured people lying on the ground and some other panic stricken folks running helter- skelter.

A train was just chugging into VT station, with many more people. More potential victims of the mayhem that ensued.

Observing that the firing was focused near the front entrance, Vishnu announced that, people leave VT station from the rear exit. To avoid panic-stricken commuters, Vishnu firmly reiterated his instructions on exiting VT station from the back entrance, without revealing the seriousness of the situation. He repeated the announcement over and over again, for a full 20 minutes, until the terrorists started approaching the Announcements office.

Identifying the source of the announcements, the terrorists directed their attention to the cabin. Vishnu and his colleague, immediately switched off the electricity in the room and ducked down, just in time; a bullet whizzed into the cabin and exited through the back of the cabin.
The staff in the Announcements office lay low until the terrorists disappeared.

Yesterday he stood before the bullet scarred cabin talking to the NDTV crew. The mild mannered man, still visibly shaken by what he had seen quietly goes about his work even today. So do the staff in AH Wheeler, and the tiny Cafe Coffee Day Express kiosk in VT station. They say, ' kya karen, kaam toh karna hi padegaa na?', Uss din apna ek dost ko goli laga. '
Look, he is already bustling about his customers.

On that dark Wednesday, Vishnu did not realise how many lives he had saved with his public address system.
An instance of extraordinary courage from the common man. It doesn't take a uniform or a designation to step up, does it?

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/world/asia/02heroes.html?em

Moviemeter!

I caught Sorry Bhai the other day...
Its a sweet fluffy movie, nothing to write home about. The movie belongs to Boman Irani and Shabana Azmi and eye candy : Chitrangada Singh (SHE IS SOMETHING). Sanjay Suri and Sharman Joshi could as well be wall paper. Flaccid storyline, made watchable ONLY by Boman Irani's bittersweet humor, comic timing and his very presence with Shabana.

Also caught the not so new Music and Lyrics, with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. Again, sweet- a must see for lovers of Hugh Grant's very Brit humour and Drew Barrymore's complex screwed self esteem. And Hugh G does look delish in the gelled hair, medallioned , slightly aging musician look.

Friday, December 05, 2008

Post 26/11...

There has been a lot of cynicism in the last couple of weeks following the terror strikes. And justified too!
Though I'm not jumping with joy yet, there maybe light at the end of the tunnel. The powers that be are rolling some wheels into motion:
At Chennai station:
  • There are a sizable number of gun wielding Railway Police glaring down at you; mind you not chatting away!
  • All departures have their baggage screened at the Chennai Central entrance and a 'security cleared' tag affixed on it.
  • There are metal detector passages for the peoples and male and female guards who run their hand held detectors down your person
  • No hanging around. I was brusquely told off for waiting for A, post my security check.
  • Dogs were sniffing around trains and no there was no delay in departure, on that account.

I did feel a little secure but I'm not gloating yet.

I want to know, that this will be a permanent fixture and not just a ' in the wake of terror' or ' around the Babri Masjid anniversary' thing.

I want to know that this will happen at every railway station.

I want to know that the train doors will be secured by some hydraulic power each time it halts at signals in between stations.

I want the citizen to be able to propose a reforms bill to make all this happen. If it takes more money than the government has, I will not flinch or complain about more tax levied.

The anger at being violated as a nation will not simmer down into nonchalance as we settle into our lives with a , ' I know what happened was wrong, but MY life goes on.' Probably not this time.

PS: One can still walk through Bangalore City Station, with or without a ticket, with or without a weapon. There is a detector passage, and a gun wielding cop, but neither did he bother to ask for your ticket or even look at you. The TTE, was standing by, he too seemed least interested. What will it take, to shake up Bangalore?

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

3.12.08
Arrivederci- Chennai Central: 4:15 am.
Odor fest begins: Unwashed railway station smell. Collective bad breath of all arrivals including self. Consignments of fish stacked up on platform; arriving and departing fish. Fresh filter coffee from Saravana Bhavan. Smell of Dosas on the Kallu soaking with ghee, in prep for the 50,000 odd dosas that will be churned out in the course of the day. Lingering smell of mud in the wake of the rains that assailed the city, over the last week.

Surprise Surprise: PEEPS in sweaters, in CHENNAI. Point is, most peoples in Chennai dont own sweaters :-P.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Is this the path?

Understand
Recognise
Cogitate
Actionise
Do
Mobilise
Do

Scared shitless

Last night while at dinner, my mom calls from Mumbai. What ensued is:
Mom (apologetically): were you asleep , I know its 10:45 pm
Me: No ma, Out for dinner
Mom: Is A(better half) with you?
Me: No
Mom ( marked increase in decibel, almost borders on hyteria): What, are you mad, or stupid, you know how times are lately.
Me: I'm OK, I'm heading home in a bit
Phone beeps: Dad (SMS)- Call me when you get home, where is your sense of responsibility?
Nevertheless, I did get an earful from Dad.
~*~
At breakfast, skimming through TOI,
Me: He actually passed through the metal detector with a .32 tucked in his waist
A: Yeah. The guards did not hear it beep.
Me: Now, how lame will that sound if he had decided to fire a couple of rounds.
A: Its Mumbai babe, people are bustling about on their mission to earn bread and butter.
Me(angrily): It helps to look around once in a while. They can't treat their lives like this.
A: Are you making excuses for faulty metal detectors or non-vigilant cops?
Me: It helps if people are a wee bit more alert.
~*~
At the bank, while in a queue for stamp paper:
Me(in the head):What if someone bombs us here? It seems ideal, lots of people, main road etc.
Me(looks around): That man looks shifty- he keeps staring at us in the queue.
Me( shaking her head, as if to purge thoughts): Don't be silly, you are overreacting.