Wonderful people of my life - 1

It's true that some people will always be remembered in one's life for various reasons. Today I want to write about those few people who will always be a part of my memories that connect me with the past as well as make me feel good in the present.

The first found friend :
When I moved to hostel to pursue my bachelors' degree ,I was put up with 10 other girls in a dorm (freshers were always put up in a dorm).I reserved a cot along with a newly found friend and was waiting to see the rest of them. Once everybody started to occupy their cots,I saw a 'Laurel and Hardy' kind of a pair walking inside in a hurry to reserve the cots for them.A huge(she's actually not huge but looked like that to me who's not even 5 feet tall) tall girl with curly hair that looked a small nest on her head along with a tiny girl who looked like a baby and was quite hesitant to even speak. The duo talked among themself in a gush and reserved two cots for themselves before they left.They were quite amusing to me.

We started our dorm life and the days passed interacting with each other,knowing each other and making friends.The tall girl with the bush on the head was quite funny,in fact hilarious and had a funny voice,she didn't know what fashion was (just like me,that was the first common thing I noticed) and was very disorganized. We were in different branches,different was our study material and the way we moved around with people.Even the kind of friends one made were different from the other.

Lest did I know then ,she was the first most beautiful thing to happen to me at Hassan(the place where I graduated) and would remain with me forever.My opinion about her changed as I got to know her.She was hilarious and she could dare to laugh at herself.One of the good things I noticed about her was,she would make fun of herself instead of people around her.She was disorganized but 'what you see is what you get ' was true in her case,there was no manipulation.She had her head firmly on her shoulder.

Though our expressions were different our thoughts were similar ,hence we could connect to each other quickly and easily than any newly found friends of us.Later we became room mates when we moved out of the dorm. I owe a lot of things to her,especially the laughter she lent to me many a times and the warmth she spread when she was around.

Years later when she attended my wedding,I realized how beautiful she was.She had only changed her appearance and the rest remained the same.Though she's miles away from me, she makes me feel just as good by sending emails.

You are one of my assets Pali.

The second asset :
When I was in first year,as I said earlier I was in a dorm. There were 3 seniors who were staying next to our dorm,one of which was quite strange.She was short ,had a boy cut(not veg cut exactly),big eyes,strange way of walking and looked like she cared less about anything else.She even had an intolerable voice when she sang but as I said earlier,she cared less about such things.Most of the time,I would find her doing no nonsense except for that horrible singing.

I was on the stairs,looking for my way out on one of the evenings and that's when I saw her for the first time.This alien was walking up in her own world singing 'Aankhon hi aankhon me ishaara ho gaya ...'. I was in a hurry but I had to slow down as she came before me from nowhere.I tripped,looked at her balancing on my feet,so she did and we moved in our directions within a fraction of a second without fussing about it or exchanging stares.

There was one more warm person like Pali who was staying with this alienated girl.She got along with all our dorm mates easily and on one fine day ,in my absence,she chose me as another roomie for them as one of the 3 had completed graduation and was leaving.I had no complains, neither had anything to resist so I moved with them the next year.These two were my roommates for an year and once they left after their graduation Pali joined me for another 2 years later.

One good thing about moving with them was,I had less of visitors in my room to disturb me.Hehehehehe,it was all because of that alienated girl that my friends were scared of.I got along with the warm person too soon and we would even travel together to Bangalore.She was my unofficial god mother.As the two were in final year(5th year Architecture),they were busy with their final projects and the one I got close to ,would spend more time In Bangalore to complete her project than the other one.That's how I had to spend more time with the other one and our story began to form.

I don't remember when the barriers fell and we got along very well and she was the other good thing to happen to me at Hassan.We would speak about anything on the earth and soon we realized that both were not biased about anything which let us speak our mind out without any hesitation.Being the two different individuals we were,we would accept the other without any restrictions or conditions.Strangely,this one was Pali's favorite as well.

After couple of years,we moved to a rented house where both of us stayed while working until each one of us got married and moved out with the respective spouses. We are still the same good friends and would love to have couple of drinks whenever we find time.

I have couple of other friends but not all at once !

Walking across memory lane !

On a second thought I felt there's nothing silly here.Whatever I do may look silly to my older generation just as it looks to me when the next generation does something.The same pranks I played when I was a teen now look silly to me. Whoa ! am I growing old ? Let's keep that aside as I don't want to make that as the topic of discussion here .

Those girls in teen, who boarded the bus today, put me in thoughts. It reminded me of my 4 golden years at Engineering college and my stay at hostel.Meeting new people,managing life all by self,new experiences and new lessons were the take aways.

I remember the way we used to manage our monthly finances.Re.1 Khara bun,0.50 paise Banana were multiplied by 30 when preparing the monthly budget for evening snacks.The money saved was effectively used for celebrating b'days,buying gifts,treating friends and for outing.It was so effective that my balances of mess bills increased drastically.To clear all the bills at the end of the term,I told my dad that there was a certain amount of money fixed as donation to the institute and with the donations he made I sincerely cleared all the bills. Just as they said 'Charity begins at home' ,eh !

Those crank calls made to the hostel and how we never let go off even one call without answering.Actually,as there was no cell phones in abundance like now, we couldn't afford to miss calls to return later so we promptly answered all the calls including our hostel mates' boyfriends' calls even at 3 or 4 in the morning without complaining.We became workaholic types and our hostel management was so impressed they even offered the post of receptionists as a part-time job.Those midnight gossips which were seldom targeted at girls who returned to the hostel promptly but mostly at those girls who never returned until next sunrise,feeling jealous about those daring ones who put the rest of us thinking what could they have done the whole night.

Planning for college fests,what to wear,how to impress boys(these men now were boys then).How to make them say those 3 words and who would get to whom.Once all done,we would come back and those who lost would talk 100 things about those who succeeded in their plans and those who won wouldn't talk anything as they would be lost in a different world.

Those starry nights,all girls' night outs.Even when the heart is all set to pop-out,trying to pose like a superhero by showing off to the rest of them that drinking and smoking is no big deal, while looking at every corner to make sure we were not caught doing it.Talking of a past relationship which never happened in real and how easy was it to handle boys.

I'm in touch with most of them with whom I wanted to keep contacts.When we all get-together there's no better thing than recollecting these to cherish the moments.

Another (Black)magical movie !

This movie was so slippery it just slipped my mind but it's an amazing movie.It's amazing because I couldn't really make out the intentions of the film maker even after watching the complete movie. I'm sure you want to know the name of the movie and even I want to tell you the name of the movie which I cannot recollect now. Give me sometime and I bet I would be successful.

So,I watched this movie alone as my clever hubby made an excuse of playing cricket and left home early in the morning.No silly,I didn't watch that movie early morning,I watched it when I was waiting for him to return the same afternoon and I was,indeed trying to entertain myself.

I must admit that the director's focus never deviated through out the movie and he maintained the same color till the end of the movie.The clothes,the boat,the building,the trees,the roads,the bridge,the walls,etc were always shown in one color only.I'm sure he's not a color blind and he had a purpose behind doing so which I never understood.

When we(my friends and myself) were discussing about towelaria i.e lead characters shown in towels always looked hot or not. Many agreed(most of my males friends did) so I want to recommend this movie to all of them as they might enjoy watching towel mania unless they are straight (male friends). Female friends will also like it unless they are not straight (and this ONE time I wouldn't mind saying I'm not straight).Now I remember the name of the movie,yes it's Saawariya.No,it's not Ranbir Kapoor in towel who reminded me of the name.Is it true that men with muscle have no muscle upstairs? In fact,I got to witness some strong evidences about this when I happened to watch Mr.India contest while switching channels.

There are these two people in lead who look like just out of film school and as everybody says they are following 70% learning while on the job.Good going guys.There's this offline information that this supposed-to-be cute athletic Sonam might be casted in Terminator-N as a I'm-so-shy robo.After learning her Hollywood debut our Indian film makers are alarmed so there's also this news that they might drop Aishwarya and cast this one in Rajnikanth's next movie named 'Robot' as a lead robo opposite Rajni.One advantage being,she doesn't have to try and act as a robot.Oh what a relief to audience. Thanks to all the brainy guys in the film making world.

Then it was Sallu's turn to complicate things.He appeared for no reason and so did he disappear.I couldn't understand his motto but I could relate to it with his life's motto.There are these ladies whom he gets linked up starting from Somi ali till the recent one who appear with him in public and disappear quickly but I'm sure they have better reasons to disappear .I'm glad they are not directed by Mr.Bhansali.

Rani was also there for the same reason as Sallu i.e,for no reason.I guess the female actors have a feeling that a role as a 'call girl' will make them versatile and more talented.I don't know when will the male actors realize this secret of their profession.Anyway,I guess Mr.Bhansali should stop trying to persuade Ms.Merchant on screen and take up a off screen script to do so.I hope he succeeds in conveying the message to her effectively.

Most of the time,I got more and more confused as everybody looked like painted in the same color.I couldn't separate them with anything around them and it looked like an entirety.Anyway,don't ask me about the story.I have no clue and I hope at least Mr.Bhansali has some clues about it.

On my hubby's return,I told him I watched a movie and I couldn't understand anything neither did I remember anyhting.I also told him I could only see blue color all over the screen.He was amused and asked me quickly with a mischievous smile "Tell me the truth what kind of a movie did u watch?"

Seasonal Wedding.

When was the last time you attended a wedding and what did you go through before attending it?Mine was very recent, so recent that it looks like yesterday to me every time I recollect it.

It was actually for the wedding reception at 7pm we were invited to.It was an arranged marriage which was arranged by the bride and the groom.As per the information from our insiders,groom's parents didn't like to go for it so they were not attending the wedding and bride's parents were ready to take an advantage(??!!!) so they readily agreed after groom's continuous pleading.


After my hubby came back from cricket we were in our parents' place till 4 when he received a call from the groom asking us to be there by 5pm as there was some ritual which was supposed to be conducted from groom's brother and SIL. As there were no relatives of his were attending the wedding except his friends and colleagues he thought we best suited the role (actually,it was last minute arrangement as his another friend-couple ,who were already booked for this didn't turn up).

Since both of us had to be formally (I wanted to avoid the word decently) dressed and we didn't have our clothes and accessories there,we managed with whatever we got from them.My hubby is known for punctuality,his punctuality is a birth right as he was born right in time.So we reached the hotel (Royal Archid) when the clock struck at 5 to find nobody.

I checked with my hubby if that was the venue,before he could answer he got a call from the groom.Once he was done answering the phone call,he told me that the groom was not yet reached as he was supposed to reach after 'Rahu Kala'. It was a very exciting thing to wait for the host sitting in the lounge counting how many arrived and how many left.Trust me,they even offered a supervisor role to me as I kept an eye on everybody walking around but I declined stating it was not on my IDP (Individual Development Plan).

The groom was scheduled to be arrived after an hour and by then he had called up his bride ,whose folks were already there,to receive us. Once the lady introduced us as Groom's 'Boss' and 'Boss's Wife' they all looked at us in disbelief looking at a huge monsterly figure (my hubby) and a small sparrow like figure (me ),they all sighed once and forced a smile one their faces.I told Eddie that we should have brought our wedding certificate.

I was actually very sympathetic towards the groom as there was no relative of his was present.Actually that's not the only reason,the fact that he was being dragged around and made to sit and stand at the bride's father's and brother's left finger(!!???) which was glorified by the Pandit's victimization in favor of bride's parents. It was then I realized why did he reach late.I'm sure he wanted to squeeze in more time for himself to relax and prepare for all these things.

After all the rituals,it was time for the couple to fall on the feet to check the heat.Her folks asked them to touch our feet first.Oh my,just imagine a 6 feet guy is falling at a feet of not even 5 feet lady who is readily mistaken for her husband's child all the time.Anyway,we didn't want to stay over for the reception too,so we wished them and returned home.Her folks wanted us to have food and I was almost dead by hunger but my hubby didn't want to stay back as he was petrified that might also be another planned ritual,so he dragged me away from the dinner table.We ran for our life ,didn't stop till we reached our parents' house.We only stopped by to change and more importantly to hog food.

All of them were looking at us whether the wedding we went didn't include a dinner or not.Like we care !!!!!

Anti-Societic(??!!) Elements !

When was the last time you were thrilled,happy,excited,skipped a heart beat and forgot to breath till you realized you couldn't keep your eyes open,etc at the same time??!!! I can take an easy guess...you want me to tell you now? Of course,it has happened very recently when ,for the very first time India won the series against Australia,a victory in the grounds of Sydney after 27 long years,so long that we had even forgotten we longed for it.

Do you remember what you spoke when you were watching the match or whom you spoke to? Did you care how you behaved while enjoying it? 'No' is the answer and I can bet anything.All you remember now is,the facts and the numbers of the match.Even if you are weak at multiplication (I meant,mathematics only),surprisingly you calculated how many overs/players were remaining and how many runs were required at a blink.It was such an anxious situation that someone diabetic forgot something and he had to discard it in a huge quantity at a stretch the very next moment after the match.(No offense meant to diabetic people,I'm sure you all are sweeter than rest of us).

So when something like this was going on,it was something similar at home with us (not the diabetic ones).Eddie (my hubby) and I were so involved watching this historic thing happening,we didn't remember what was bestowed on us.After the match when we came out of the house to hog something (obviously,neither of us were interested in cooking during the match and definitely were not in a mood to cook after the match),our neighbours looked at us as we were some obnoxious elements of the colony. At first we never understood neither did we care,the victory was still lingering in our hearts,ears,eyes,mind and all over.

After couple of days,I realized all of a sudden what we spoke(shouted) while watching the match,though that could not be the reason for the kind of looks we got ,just want a second opinion from you guys so some of lines what we spoke during the match are quoted below .

"Oh no,oh no..c'mon...yes!"
"There it is.You got it baby" --------(Looking at the player).
"I can't see the ball,let me move closer." (I was referring to the TV when I wanted to move closer due to my eye sight issues).
"What a catch. Ohh ,that's awesome."
"How many balls remaining now?........ oh, look at that, just missed."
"Sooooooooo beautiful,yes baby you can do better.C'mon".

and the best thing was, "Great,what a shot !!!!!!!!! "

We haven't spoken anything non-societic,have we? So I just confirmed by recollecting what we spoke. This is what I could recollect,I'm sure we haven't troubled our neighbours to get that look.It was only some periodic screams but we made sure our TV volume was low.Even Thunder was quiet,after all he was also watching the match !

So what has cricket done to you?

My analysis and derivation !

On a serious note, my hubby actually made me think why I liked Phantom.

So here's my analysis;

1. Whenever I was listening to the stories told to me in childhood,my world of imagination would come alive and I could effortlessly relate the hero of the story to a figure like Phantom as it was unique and easy to remember.Just like how you always try to relate to a figure even today if you hear about a person you haven't seen.


2. He was portrayed as not only a brave but someone who was intelligent enough to break any kind of riddle.He didn't wait for a miracle to happen and there was no supernatural power involved. It was him,though he was projected as the 'Ghost that walks'.He was in flesh and blood.


3. The climax of his stories ended really well. Truth and right things made way,like 'Sathyameva Jayathe'.It had a very positive effect and for someone who grew up listening to this would definitely have a positive frame of mind.


4. Most importantly,he always went back to his family at the end of every episode.He was more people oriented than process.He had a family which was always important to him and hence he went back to them always.

Now,after the analysis I want to remember these points and will include these if I ever try to write stories for Children.

1. Something very easy to associate ,either the name or the appearance.


2. Resolve using brains and be brave.Do not wait for miracles to happen but be one.


3. Positive ending.


4. Return to family.

If I have a baby girl,I wouldn't want to tell her stories about the cursed princess who was rescued by a prince instead, I will tell her what did a princess do to save herself than waiting for an unknown angel who might have not even existed.

Thanks Eddie,Now I know what I liked when I read Phantom.

My childhood Hero

As a kid,if you have admired a character from the books you have read they form the base of your idols,ideals and interests.Close your eyes for a while and try to recollect who was your favorite character/hero during your childhood days (it's very natural,if you are at work,to think of the deadlines,coffee/smoke breaks,performance ,etc when you close your eyes).

I told my hubby that Phantom was my favorite hero during my childhood days and he still is.To which his response was "Is it because he wears it outside?" . His naughty smile encouraged me to speak more so I said " As long as he has one on,it doesn't make any difference to women".

He continued " I guess Phantom was a model those days..."
I asked happily : " Why? Because he had a great physique?"
He winked and said : " No he could wear different brands and show off easily . I don't think he even needed a green room."
I retorted : "Like anyone needs it now.It's even become a fashion under the name of wardrobe malfunction."
He was not the one to stop : "So Geeths,tell me what would he do during emergencies....you know as in...."
I cut him off : " Why would you care?,if allowed you guys will have a BPI project done and make a presentation as well."

My hubby knew he was getting on my nerves so he wanted to calm me down,he said " No sweets,not like that.I know you are not liking this. It's alright baby,we won't make any presentation" and turned the TV on only to find "The Phantom" on HBO at which both of us laughed.

A movie that is so magical !

"Ooops I(he) did it again....." He reminded me of those 'M' letters again;Magical,Marvelous and Mesmerizing.This man is a magician and his each magic trick clicks on the screen.Wondering whom am I talking about? It's none other than Mr.Ashuthosh Gowarikar and the recent magic I was talking about is,yes you all guessed it rite, it's "Jodhaa Akbar".

I care a damn if Akbar's wife was Jodhaa or not.I don't think it could have done any less magic if her name was 'Stella Mary" or "Big Momma". Thank God I'm not in school and I don't have to write my social study papers again.I have no clue why people want to make a silly thing a big issue and why it never occurred to them when this was taught through the text books.Akbar having 100s of harems is not a matter of controversy but him having a wife whose name is misquoted is an issue. But I like these people who make a big issue out of nothing because these genius people give me a complex....a Superiority Complex.

Anyway,coming to this wonderful movie,it did fulfil my expectations as well as the money I paid.What more can I ask for ? I don't know if Akbar and Jodhaa had romanced like this then but I enjoyed watching a clean movie with sensible screenplay.At some point of time I did feel that Rani(Mukherjee) would have been a better choice nevertheless it's a nice feeling.

Now-a-days,the meaning of romance is completely changed.I ,by mistake happened to watch "Mumbai Salsa" and got so frustrated by the time I was done watching the movie.The moral of the story was "Or***m is like a lucky draw.Everybody sneezes but not every one who sneezes is lucky to get it." The great people of India don't like to oppose such movies but a clean movie like Jodhaa Akbar becomes an issue. Did these guy think Asoka was a more realistic movie with Kareena dancing in less than half clothes?

None of the Indian movies have won Oscars. If the people of the nation here don't believe in the kind of movies made here which guy with a different skin would appreciate it outside?Common sense is not common among us,I wish there was a school to teach such things for these differently abled group of people and those who don't need these teachings,please watch Jodhaa Akbar,if you like it or not is purely personal as long as it's not an issue for you.

A lost teacher.

It's not now that I thought of writing about this great personality, I have been wanting to do this since 3 to 4 months and today I just let the cat out. I was never so fond of this man and I didn't think he was my role model or could be anybody else's. No negative thoughts but just that he wasn't that impressive till I took up reading about him.

He was a lawyer by profession but he took teaching over arguing, I bet it was more difficult for him than playing devil’s advocate! I said that because the kind of pupil he chose to teach were not innocent, meaning not kids but ignorant. You know how difficult it is, don’t you?

• Let me quote some of the things that he had said and done around 60 or 70 years ago;
  His view about religion – Morality is the basis of all religion and truth is the substance of morality.He was not here to spread religion. Around 60 or 70 years ago in India I don’t really think people had tolerance for other religions especially when it was close to the movement of independence and it was spoken around then.
• When he was punished by the White Govt., all he said was “I’m only sorry for their ignorance and their narrowness.”This is something we believe Jesus Christ said and Goutham Buddha said. My point is not who said it first but he was one among those great souls. It’s not easy for one to say something like that when self is experiencing that kind of treatment.
• When he was a student, his regard remained the same for his teacher though he came to know many failures of that teacher.This is something which doesn’t exist now at all. Especially those teens who try to judge every person they come across have lost the values for individuals. If you cannot correct somebody you shouldn’t be negative as well.
• Today in our schools, the teaching starts with slant lines, straight lines, inclined lines and so on. This style of teaching is absorbed from west and is implemented now. This man had already penned down his thoughts about them long ago. He said “Children should be first taught the art of drawing before learning anything else to improve the hand writing”.
• He was also against corporal punishments.

These are a very superficial examples but this lawyer turned teacher has done a lot to the country that we have failed to recognize as our view and opinions are totally different. Tell me, who would want to leave the fame, wealth, and good contacts behind earned in a foreign country like South Africa and return to the motherland when it was a slave? Except for The Gautham Buddha and The Ashoka ,I don’t really think someone else could do it.

We may say a lot of things today that how differently we could have got independence but had we done even half of what he did to save the country probably we could get the eligibility to talk. He drove the entire nation which amazes me today to learn that he had such great powers. In a team of 13 to 15,how many can we get to listen to us to commit to work and perform? There was a leader in him.

He was a Baniya whose kids were never so famous and we have another Baniya whose reliant kids are spending crores to buy cricket players today which means his motto was improving people of the country and not accumulating wealth.It could have been a different scene but why can’t we appreciate whatever is worth doing.

I salute to this teacher Mr. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and it was a good learning to read “My Experiments with the Truth.”

Another Male in my life !

Not often we believe things that we hear until we experience it.This is one of those things that I never believed to happen ....to me until it really happened which is, 'Love At First Sight'. I'm not quoting the title of any romantic novel,trust me it's something I experienced at this phase of my life.

This happened last Saturday.My hubby and I kept on planning to meet him but could not make it earlier as my hubby's friend was too busy to take us there.I was very anxious to meet someone I had been listening about.I guess I was destined to meet him this Saturday.

When we went to this place to see him,he took me by my heart at first sight itself. I was lost looking at him.I couldn't resist myself so I touched him gently and that was the first time he looked at me and I felt something changed in me.First,he felt my finger tips then he slowly took out his tongue to lick my hand while his eyes were fixed at me. I was on cloud 9.I made another move,kissed him. That was it,he started licking my face all over and I knew he was the one I was waiting for and I didn't know I would do something like that after 2 years of marriage as I never wanted to do it anytime before.

When we left from there I was longing to take him with me.Same day,in the evening we went to attend a wedding reception.I somehow couldn't stop thinking of him. He had filled even the smallest corner of my heart and I could see nothing but him.Even when I was pretending to be normal I knew I wasn't. I couldn't get over thinking a zillionth time how he felt me.You know women generally fall for how they are felt by their loved ones.

I didn't want to delay so I told my hubby about my decision,to my surprise,he agreed.Today,we have a 2 months old Boxer puppy at home and we have named him Thunder. Pics??????sometime later :)

The Misinterpreted Title

Not-so-warm breeze,sight of the beach,coffee and 6 in the evening with mom was one of those rarest occasions for Avni.After a long time she was on vacation with Mom and 6 year old daughter. Minnu,Avni's daughter got busy watching her favorite channel as her Mom and Grand mom settled outside the cottage talking to each other.Avni and her Mom Aditi were busy watching the waves and the strenght it brings to hit the rocks.They were admiring the optimism in it each time it hit a rock.
" So what are you writing about now-a-days?" It was Aditi who broke the silence. " I'm still thinking mom,I need something interesting to write about. I want to write about those moments that couldn't have had any names." Avni said as she smiled.
Aditi : " Like?,Like what?"
Avni : " Hmmmm,like you know mom....something which you might have enjoyed for that moment but haven't gone too far."

Aditi fell silent like it disturbed some old memories.Avni was not the one who would let go off " So tell me Mom,let me start from you. What was it?" Aditi managed to smile " Nah ,not all that interesting,forget it." as she completed she looked at her daughter only to find a perseverant look on her face. She gave up and looked at the sea for a moment and spoke after a while.

" It was after 6 years of your father's death.I was in my late forties and was travelling to Manali to visit you at your college. I was in the A/c compartment and there were only 3 of us inside.A girl in her late twenties and a Man in his late fifties,his name was Dr.Polanski.His father was a Russian.Healthy built,fair complexion,spectacles with thick black frame,clean shave,brown hair and was carrying a briefcase and a big book...."

Avni cut her mom off and asked " What was the name of the girl?" .Aditi tried to remember the name but in vain ,so she said " I don't remember now.It was 10 years ago." Avni had a mischievous smile. " Oh really? what was the name of the book he was carrying?" Aditi replied " Fingerprints of the God!" " Avni smiled at her mom and asked her to continue.

Aditi tried to remember the conversations they had and continued after sipping some coffee." Initially the girl and the Doctor got along well and they were talking in general till the girl said she was expecting and was a 4 months pregnant. Doctor seem to know very less about gynic and neither did we ask him about his specialization. That was when I pitched into the conversation. I told her it was not safe to travel until 4th month is completed."

" So mom,you were trying to impress him? eh?" when Avni said with a wink Aditi blushed but didn't respond to it verbally. She continued like she didn't hear the daughter's comment. " After a while the girl was tired and she slept off. So I moved to the opposite berth where the doctor was sitting. He was a very warm person but I found him not so good as a subject matter expert as he hardly knew anything about medicines. He knew more about music than his profession

...."As Aditi paused Avni spoke suddenly " I know you are not a music lover.Hehehehe and you still liked him? I mean liked talking to him?".


Aditi replied to this " Even I wonder Avni. It was his mannerism that drew me to continue conversations. He was polite,warm and caring.We casually switched to talking about his family and that's when I thought his Doctor degree might have been bought as his parents were stinking rich.I felt sad about the part that he lost his family,wife and children in a major road accident. I didn't want to ask more about it. He said he was staying in some ashram in Bangalore and was travelling to Manali for some musical program.For the number of years of experience he had as a doctor it should have brought more knowledge to him than he actually had..."

Avni interrupted again " Oh Mom. Poor him.Why are you stressing on it so many times. Why don't you just continue my sweet Mommy." Aditi paused and sighed. " That night I spent talking to him was the best of all. In fact,we hardly spoke to each other. It was not one of those teen days or falling in love sort of a thing but the warmth that was spread was amazing. Looking at each other in a sealed compartment,just smiling now and then and trying to build a polite conversation was an ecstatic feeling in itself. The girl woke up in between and spoke to her family over the phone to say she was fine and told her husband to receive her next evening.But lest did she know what would happen by then."

Avni got more curious now," what did happen Mom? Did he turn out to be a beast". Aditi continued " As we were awake through out the night I was asleep by sunrise. When I woke up it was around 12 in the noon.Doctor was awake and was busy with the book,he looked at me and smiled.The girl was looking a bit unwell.After I got refreshed and came back to my berth I found the left overs of the Papaya fruit.I asked him about it and the girl replied it was her. It was alarming. Papaya to a pregnant woman is like poison. It aborts the foetus and especially any woman needs to be very careful till they complete 4 months.I got worried and panicked,asked her how was she feeling and she said she was not feeling all the good.I even got to know that the doctor had bought it for the lady at some station when the train stopped as the lady felt like eating one.

I was furious at the doctor but he looked like he never had a clue about all that. I never gave him a chance to speak as I was worried for the girl. By the time we reached Manali the state of the girl was worsened and she kept on throwing up. All these while the doctor was following my instructions but had hardly done anything on his own.Once we reached Manali station,I looked for her husband and told him what happened upon meeting him. I went with him to the hospital but they could not save the child.The girl also had suffered a lot of bleeding. I was mad at that man and could not forgive him any day. I don't remember when we separated.He had given me his # to contact and the address,I was so furious at him I even tore the card off"

Avni recollected her mom when she had come to visit her. When Avni asked her whether anything was wrong Aditi hadn't said anything then as she was supposed to meet Valmeek who was in love with Avni. After that neither of them had spoken anything about that. Aditi added " That was the day I realised good looks are not as important as the knowledge you possess."



Both of them hugged each other tightly. Later that night Minnu, with her mom,was showing her photo album to her grand mom. Aditi stopped at a picture and asked Avni about it.Avni said it was Minnu's classmates from music school and the old man was the founder of the music institute.She said " He is..I mean was Bhargav,he had great knowledge and even had received Doctorate for his achievements.Dr.Bhargav Polanski". as Avni completed something struck to her.She looked at Aditi and found her nodding her head in acknowledgement.Avni knew that very moment that her mom was regretting for her assumptions.

Media Movies and Family

It's rightly said that movies and media change the thought process of people for good or bad. My 8 year old brother (if you are wondering whether I really have a 8 year old bro then you haven't read my prev post about my family) always enjoyed doing his homework after 8pm for the reason that he would get less beatings from my mother while doing it as she would be more interested in watching her daily soaps than helping my bro do his homework. My brother is not always happy to see my mom watch her favorite TV programs,when it's his Pogo time or time for his favorite cartoon show he tortures my mom like anything.

The other day I asked my mom about her daily soaps and asked what was so interesting about it. She said it had drama,emotions,thriller and they even ask for valuable votes of people who watch.My 8 year old brother quickly said " Then you can watch any News channel.You even get to watch different people". My mom couldn't say anything and she just stared at him helplessly. Thinking my brother was too smart I took him to watch Taare Zameen Par (if reader's haven't watched the movie,it's about a dyslexic kid),after having watched the complete movie my bro said " Don't you think just letting him not to go to school would have solved all the problems?" I felt sorry for myself for having conveyed the wrong message to him.

He watched this movie 'Cheeni Kum' recently when it was telecasted on Sony TV sometime ago. When I went to visit him he said he wanted to watch a 'A' movie,thanks to Swini Khara(the kid who's in Cheeni Kum).My eldest bro was waiting for my response ,i'm sure it was him who passed the bucket to me. It was my turn to look helplessly at my Ma and Pa.As my eldest brother was very irritating by deliberately putting me in that situation and kept on adding to the fire now and then I decided to buy a CD for my youngest bro. After a few days ,I went home when my eldest brother was also there and handed over the CD.As I removed the cover,my bros couldn't get to know what was it.Even before my little brother open it,the big one got so excited and snatched it from him only to run to his computer room. After couple of minutes he returned with the CD looking very disappointed. I winked and smiled at him and now my I handed over the CD to my mum " Ma,it's a 'A' certified movie,'The Passion of the Christ',the entire family can watch together."

My little one didn't know the difference and switched the channel to pogo.I had a broad smile on my face when I looked at mum only to find her in deep thoughts.When I asked her about the same she said " I'm scared now,your Pa has also watched Nishabd" !

A love story at midnight !

My phone rang around 11:30 in the night. Now-a-days 11:30pm is not too late to call but for me,who's now at home with a child, it is late for a phone call. Anyhow,when I looked at the display it showed the name of an old friend who would often call when she needed a change of topic or some juicy gossip.

I felt sad for her and answered the call. She felt tired but spoke in single breath " I've a lot of office work to complete but I'm sleepy. Wake me up somehow and chase my sleep away. I'm in for some spicy gossip." I tried saying I wasn't good at gossiping but she was not the one to listen to.

" There were two people who went for a dinner-date. The man was already married and so was the lady but this was a special night. They were in so much love ,just like they say 'head over heels'.He asked the lady whether she wanted to drive and She said she would love to walk hand-in-hand with the moon looking upon them.And so they did.

When they reached the hangout, they chose to sit away from the crowd where it was dimly lit. It was a special day for the  man as it was his lady's birthday and special for the lady too as the man took time off from his busy schedule to spend some time with her on a weekday.That's what the lady always liked, the way he made her feel special.

My friend interrupted ," Sounds very romantic but tell me one thing, was the man bored in his life and wife or was it his ex?". I replied " Ma'm would you like me to continue or want to investigate on the issue now?". She quickly said " No No,you continue."

" They spent some quiet,romantic moments holding hands,teasing each other while having food. She was surprised to see that the man still remembered what she liked so she  pointed it out to him. He leaned forward, you really think that's what we men do? Forget what our lady love likes over a period of time? Time is not a factor at all. If it was so, how could you be still so beautiful and do the same magic?. She kicked him gently under the table saying ' What are you trying to do? flirt with me?You are growing old ,why do you try these tricks?'.He laughed playfully and said " Really? women like old men, am I right? So are you trying to tell me that you are falling in love with me again ?"

" Their coochi-cooing continued till the end of the dinner. When they were waiting for the cheque, he pressed her hand gently while handing over a gift pack and said "Would you mind?" She smiled and tore opened the shiny red paper. Just as she opened,she let out a cry and looked at him with tears in her eyes " Geeeeees,this is the best gift I've ever received...." and she couldn't utter anything after that.He touched her wet cheeks and put his arms around her before they got up on their feet."

And I stopped but my friend was not done yet " Hey,tell me what was in there? and tell me who they are.Tell me,tell me tell me. I won't let go until you reveal that." I glanced at the wall clock and then said " Woman,you need to be grateful for telling you a story at midnight.  I'm sleepy and you just rejoice in gossip and not the story.Just enjoy the feeling" and I disconnected.

I moved the blanket and felt the copy of 'Pinch of Salt' wrapped in a shiny red paper,turned to my sleepy hubby,kissed him and said " Thank You dear." He opened his eyes,smiled and said " Happy b'day to my wife again before it strikes 12" !

A Trip to Coorg

In December, we went to Virajpet (Coorg) to celebrate our anniversary,so naturally it was just two of us. It was a very nice place and could hardly find anything associated with city including good eat-out,transportation and a guide.This cottage where we stayed was looked after by a great army man and I guess he believed in one man army so he had only one man to cook,to serve,to house-keep,to gate-keep. He was like the opposite of 'Master of All..'. There was also a dog with him.

As it was away from the city and there was nothing close to civilization could be found we wanted to know about the security factor. My hubby asked about the dog to this guy and he said " hehehehhe, no saar. It's a nice dog,it doesn't bite anybody.Very soft." We looked at each other as he said that.He added that he would keep the gate in his house in the night for safety measures as he had to do a bit of gate-keeping as well.

Whenever he felt like preparing food he would appear before us to ask what we wanted. My hubby being a pure non-vegetarian (pure because he drinks Cauvery water) and me a vegetarian in purest form ( I boil Cauvery water and then filter it using the water filter) would ask him for our favorite dishes.That round guy would wait until we completed and would tell us what would he want to make.He would always say " Saar I will make Keema for you " in his classic style. My hubby heard it as " Saar I will make Keema out of you" the very first time he said it and after that he never disagreed with the guy through out our stay.Since he couldn't say " Ma'm I will make daal out of you", I was brave enough to disagree with him and sleep empty stomach.

As the round guy wouldn't make good coffee my hubby wanted me to make it in the room.So we went to buy milk as we had seen plenty of boards saying 'Illi Nandini Haalu Siguthade' ( Nandini Milk is available here).We went to a house where they had hung that board and asked for half a litre Nandini milk. The moment I asked the man sitting outside, he shouted " Nandini,come here.We have customers asking for milk." My hubby gave me a frightened look and walked two steps back. He said " Chellom,you get the milk and walk a mile before you catch up with me."As we moved on we saw another such board but 'Mother Diary' suffixed.My huby looked at me in disbelief and asked " What's this chellom?" to which I said "Family business, baby".

Once we reached the cottage,the round man smiled at us and came to greet us. My hubby was looking for the key and said " Where's the chavi(key)?". That round guy didn't get what he said so he asked him to repeat. My hubby asked again " Chavi...mmm as in Key.." even before he could complete ,the round guy said " Ohhh,Kee? as in Keema?" We looked at each other in amazement.

How do I relate to whom?

I'm the second kid to my Mum and I'm also her Sister-In-Law. I have three nephews and at the same time they are my brothers. They can either call me Maami or Akka. When I have a kid, it can call my Mum either Grand Mum or Aunty (Atte) depending on how I relate to her. So what will my nephews or my brothers will be to my kid???? Is it all confusing????? That's what I'm coming to now. Wherever we all go, we create confusions to everybody.

It's actually like this. My hubby has an elder sister who's my Sister-In-Law. Since she's very fond of me she couldn't see me happy anymore and adopted me as her daughter giving birth to all these confusions. Now you all can relate however you wish to.

One good thing about this confusion is, since the day it began ,visitors at home have reduced to nil. Initially whenever someone came home, they would address each one in the house with respect to their age and would feel comfortable that way but now they are all afraid of getting lost in figuring out how to address and whom to address. Some of the distant relatives have gone another mile away trying to relate them to us. Thanks to Chechi (that's how we all call my Mum I mean my SIL.)

This one time, one lady said “This is what happens when you get married at the young age. Now you already have such a Big son (he is big, believe me), married daughter and 2 more kids after her." We both looked at each other.In fact,she has only one 8 year old son and the other two nephews are the sons of other two SILs.

There was this another time when my eldest bro's friends came home for Christmas and he introduced my hubby(his uncle) as his BIL and the guys were shocked." He was your brother like till yesterday and when did he become your BIL?" to which my bro said “since he married my sister." They continued arguing “when did you have a sister?" . “Since my Uncle married her " said my bro.

Is it all still confusing? Don't bother, we are all a family and we have names, does it make it simple?

Switching roles with Mom !

When I was in school I would wait for summer holidays as any school going kid.Along with the joy of missing school and studies it was the excitement of visiting my Uncle and Aunt that used to make me more anxious. Let me tell you the reasons as well. I'm from a small town and had hardly enjoyed the city life,weekend parties,big theaters and parks ,more so because my parents were teachers and always considered all of the above as not so good sign for upbringing of kids.Even during parties at my uncle's place we were locked in a room and would be let out only next morning.

My mom used to be on our guard whenever she took us to my uncle's place. There was this time when we went to a park one evening hoping to have fun.Myself and my cousin had just stepped into teen and were fun loving. When we entered the park,we surveyed through our eyes not letting my mom know. Mom and my aunt took us to the place where the kids were playing which was quite embarrassing. The kids who were playing merry-go-around ,see-saw looked at us and it looked like we were very amusing to them.We were too old to play any kiddie game and were too young for everything else. We both had learnt to manage our moms. We chose to sit on the swings and would swing ourselves high and when we were in air we would try to look around trying to find something interesting in the park. The couples coochi-cooing,the girl blushing and the guy holding the girl's hand in fear.All these would be seen when we were in air. We always loved to look at them and look at each other which would be followed by giggles.

During one of the party eve,I somehow got hold of a list which had some uncommon names on it and was not at all familiar.My mom caught me with the list and snatched the list from me within no time.Upon asking she said it was the names of the guests invited for the party.Little I knew what was it then so I completely trusted my mom.

After so many years,we have switched our roles. Now I lock my mom in the room till next morning when I host any weekend parties.Now I know the importance of proverbs and I tell my mom often that every dog has a day and my mom tries to remind me that I'm a human.Anyway,last week we hosted a party at home and the evening before I was making list of the necessary things. My mom was around and she was helping me with the list when by mistake she got hold of a list and started reading out 'Jack Daniel's,Johny Walker,Chivas...' and I stopped her and asked her to return the list unlike her.She did return but asked me innocently what was the list consisted of, to which I said 'Names of the guest invited for the party mom'. Just then dad folded the evening newspaper and I could see him smiling in silence.

Socializing with Neighbours

As I was working till October 2007 I didn't have time to socialize with my neighbours mostly because of my odd shifts. I would be awake when they were asleep and I would be asleep when they were awake. Now I have ample time to invest in gossipping,talking about other families,discuss the daily soaps and all these under the name of socializing.

After the wedding season was over I had time now to clean my house. I realized it was domestic violence as there was no maid to do the household work. What I meant was, I realized it when I started doing all by myself but never thought of it when my hubby was doing all these by himself. Anyway now that I'm home I started sweeping,mopping,cleaning dishes and cooking. Poor me?? is that what you are thinking, I agree !

One fine day, I swept my house and mopped the entire house all by myself and rearranged my clothes in the wardrobe. By then it was 4pm and I hadn't had lunch. Though I was hungry I wanted to take shower.Once I was out of the shower and about to prepare lunch,there was a knock on the door. When I answered ,I found my neighbour and her 2 and 1/2 year old kid. I checked if she cared for some tea and snacks but she said she had just finished her lunch and came up as she was not feeling sleepy. I smiled with great difficulty. She said she got a haircut for herself and bought new diapers for her daughter.The topic was very exciting but my stomach was not ready to listen to what she was saying.I know it's not stomach that aids hearing but my stomach switched roles with my ears temporarily.

I had changed the spread on the seater in the hall on the same day and the kid was standing ,jumping and having all the fun without even taking her shoes off.My neighbour smiled and said " My daughter never takes off her shoes as she feels cold and she wears it everywhere." I smiled speechlessly.She continued " She likes writing as and when she gets a pen and she has written on all the walls in my house".Just then the small wonder found my hubby's favorite pen and started drawing modern art on the walls.I was dumbstruck at her talent and was at loss of words again. I was happy for once that she was not on my new white spread.

Then she started complaining that her daughter had not yet started speaking and comparatively it was late for the kids of her age. She said it was hard to understand what the kid spoke.Just then the daughter tried to say something but before the Mom could understand she wet the floor. That was not it.She started walking on it and then jumped on to my new white spread.By then her hubby called and she wanted to leave. Kid was not ready to let go of the pen and I was not worried about it at all. I gave the pen cap as well and was happy to see them off.

Now I know what it takes to socialize with neighbours !

When I became a detective

When I turned the last page after reading the entire series of 'Sherlock Holmes' for 3 hours I felt like none other than but him. Something that you all must know is I'm more or less like him,very smart at discovering things and I'm sure that's why my hubby calls me the brand ambassador of Discovery Channel and not because of my looks or behavior.

After I kept the book aside I realized my home was at dreading silence. Due to the aftereffects of reading the book I wanted to take up this issue very methodically to discover the off-scene facts,no no it's not obscene I know for sure it's off-scene. I started analysing the situation to find out the vital few.

The kid of my neighbour was screaming it's larynx out,my land lady was shouting at the maid,the boys who work in the opposite security firm were fighting over the gender of bobby darling,the labours at the construction next door were being shouted at from the contractor but still my home was at dead peace. I turned on the TV and some video about funny animals was being telecasted on Discovery Channel. It struck to me right then,it was my Kuppu who was missing from the scene. (For reader's clarification only: Kuppu is my kitten which is a month old.) When Kuppu is at home I get a lot of visitors,very frequent being the street dogs.

I put on my glasses,held a lens in my hand and wore a woolen cap (I looked for a leather hat and a smoking pipe to get a detective look but couldn't find both). Kuppu's favorite hideout could be any small space where she could push herself in though it was not possible to get herself out anytime in the past.

My first target was the shoe stand as per Kuppu's priority.I looked inside every shoe in vain. Then I wanted to look behind the fridge but the space was too little for me to get in there. As I was trying to get inside in that 1feet gap,my fridge was pushed forward and I realised that was the easy way to get inside but by then I could see from where I stood that Kuppu was not hiding there. I tried to push the TV stand up thinking it could move just like the fridge but the moment I tried to lift the TV stand entire thing that was on it fell down. I tried to see what was on the TV stand but there was nothing more than just the TV.

Now my search took a serious turn. At any cost I wanted to find her so that I could convince my hubby that I was methodically trying to get Kuppu and how I succeeded. Though there was very little chance to hide in the balcony,I wanted to take this chance so I opened the door and looked once in right side and then in left side slowly turning my head(Slow movement was to add the thriller effect). While I was still looking outside,I felt a kind of movement next to me at the ground level. I looked down in fear only to find kuppu standing next to me looking in the same direction as I was looking slowly turning her head in both the directions. Then she looked at me as if she wanted to know if I found what I was looking for.

That night when I my hubby came home ,I told him about my victory. He had a smile on his face but only until he came to know about the TV :(

An insightful journey.

" We are always taught to run and compete. We are always told there are only two things in life 'success' and 'failure'...." he continued as I nodded my head in agreement. He asked me all of a sudden " are you working?" to which I said " I was but not anymore." He didn't make any reference to it but said " We compete when we are studying, we compete when we are working,we appreciate knowledge and intelligence only when somebody achieves victory.Looks like we have forgotten to respect other aspects of life and neither do we consider other emotions.We always want to show the world how strong we are but whom do we consider as world?" .

His last statement reminded me of something that happened couple of weeks ago. Not sure whether I wanted to show off that I was very strong or not but I didn't want to cry before anybody. I showed it to the entire world(?) I was strong and I was least affected with whatever happened at work and now I was happy not being associated with work.This didn't last long,the moment I met my hubby at home I broke down and he had to comfort me ,console me and assure me that nothing was lost. He stepped in for my mother which he always did. If I said he was my world then whom was I trying to show off that I was strong.

He continued " There's nothing like success and failure in life,it's all series of incidents that may happen to anybody as long as they have life. Having life is entirely different than just living. The kind of incidents and number of occurrences depends on the type of actions you take and the kind of reactions you produce.Since the beginning we are not taught to learn from them but we are only taught to categorize them as success or failures. "

He sounded more like a management guru but a completely different one,so different than anybody who had published N number of books so far. I was learning the lessons now. We wouldn't share a bad news or a sad emotion with any friends as we think it would burden them.

He said " If you cannot share such a thing with a friend then you can never grow stronger. This only means you don't have enough people with you and without your own people you cannot grow. Remember any work is a team effort at any point of time and this is what everybody learns in the initial stage but fails to remember till the end ." I was travelling alone to meet my parents and met an old man in the bus who was in his late 60s. This was a small talk over something we initiated which I don't remember now but the lessons are unforgettable.

An old man,a young woman and the life's best lesson !

Treadmill Vs Jogging

As we decided to follow the trend, my hubby and myself checked into the shop to buy a tread mill. While we were on our look out for a " how may I help you? " breed,this guy from nowhere appeared and he had his trade mark on his face to mean that it was him we were looking for, a broad smile. He showed his teeth when he smiled and said " how may I help you Ma'am?" .

I was really offended as he asked me and not my hubby. I asked my hubby " Listen, do I look fat?" my hubby said hesitantly " Bol India bol" . I didn't follow what he said but we moved on.When we asked him to show the tread mill he showed a good looking model ,I meant the tread mill and started explaining the features. I looked at my hubby and asked him to check for the price. He said it was around 40,000/- and he smiled for free showing all his teeth. I wanted to ask if it was a new set. But as I heard the amount I was at loss of words, I looked at my hubby and said " Bol India Bol " but it looked like he was looking somewhere else.

All of a sudden I remembered we had a small house so I told my hubby that it would be difficult to accommodate the treadmill inside the house. Sales guy suggested to keep it outside ,we both looked at him in pity and said " Now-a-days people are very health conscious and our neighbours are very jealous by nature. They would want to use our treadmill and may not give us a chance to use. Lot of obligations you see." Then my hubby said we could keep our refrigerator outside but I had to explain him that winter was never good for these products. Moreover it had been raining since a few days so didn't want to take a chance. What if the rain water took away our fridge? and then I asked my hubby if we could keep the TV outside for which he said that along with the TV we would also need to sit out and when it was raining and so cold outside it was a bad idea to shift outside . Moreover I myself changed my mind as we couldn't afford to sleep outside for reasons that my hubby would snore so loud and I didn't want to hear it from my neighbours about it. At times ,the night watchman would visit us in the morning and thank my hubby whenever he had to go on vacation.

Somehow ,we told the sales guy that it was not because of the price of the treadmill but the size of our house that we were unable to buy one. He showed his teeth again and asked us to come again.We said confidently that we would return once we shifted our house to a bigger one and he believed. We got back home and decided to go for jogging which would work out cheaper. My hubby and I decided not to tell anybody about this treadmill incident. Just then the door bell rang and as we opened the door our owner and another tenant family who were the residents of the ground floor walked in and asked us about treadmill incident.

We looked at each other in dismay and decided to check for ears in the walls once they all left !

Laaga Chunari me...

There was this angel who sprinkled ideas when people were running out of ideas during weekends. You don't believe it? do you? I bet you will after reading this.

My hubby and I somehow decided on watching this lovely movie called 'Laaga Chunari ....' so now you know there must be someone out there to give you such ideas ,right? Let me share those unforgettable moments with you all. Though the idea was to watch this movie in the theatre the god of rain deprived us of that opportunity hence having left with no option we rented a DVD to honor the earlier thought.I agree it was still raining but we asked this angel to help us out with that (c'mon yaar,now stop asking such silly and not-so-easy to answer questions.)

It was a lovely movie. Like SRK was projected in KHNH,so was Rani portrayed in this movie.Looked like she was the foster daughter to Yash Raj but I didn't think that was the case between SRK and Karan. The story and everybody else revolved around her,for sure the movie director should have been a choreographer in the past. Rekha Nigam,the screenplay and dialogue writer should have been an attorney in her past and that was the reason 'dignity of labour' was proved well and not sure which profession were they trying to promote though. If Ekta were to find this concept ,no doubt this would be 'The Ghar and Baahar Ki kahani' for an eternity. I guess this crew was not as experienced as Ekta.

Between all these exciting melodrama the only boring scenes were those with lively Kunal Kapoor and the charming Aby Baby. Due to the non-availability of free package gift Yash Raj could not cast the Big B hence he managed with two long legged He-Men. (I wonder why do they say He-Man, can it be He- Woman any day? my inner voice is shouting some name 'bobby darling' and I'm clueless).

By then I heard someone knocking at the door and when I looked at the TV and DVD player ,found them all in power saving mode.I yawned once and looked at my hubby to find him rubbing his eyes. He got up to his knees to open the door when I looked at the clock to know the time. It was 11:30pm and our owner was at the door to tell us our bike was still outside the gate. My hubby thanked him and went out to keep the bike in and I looked up to see if the angel was still up above to sprinkle any more ideas for the rest of the night.

So when are you planning to watch this movie?

MAKTUB - It's written !

I could see couple of them waiting at the entrance to get into a cab to go to the parking lot as it was raining. The cab carrying me stopped at the entrance and people waiting outside got inside as we vacated. As I got out I noticed this friend of mine who was about to step ahead but stopped when he saw me walking towards him. Something said he was upset.

As we worked in different shifts, I was doing an early morning shift and he was doing an evening shift. He would generally leave office after 5 am and I would start working around 4am. I had reached office by 3:30 that morning and I was back after a week's sick leave.I was not in a great mood to get back to work. " Why are you leaving so early?" I asked him. " Signs are not all that good" he said coldly and I could see he was flooded with thoughts and I tried to read what was not spoken by him.

I stood there with him for a while looking at the rain drops. He spoke " I have a gut feeling that I'm not going to be in here for a long time now." He was assuming,I thought. Why would it happen to someone like him? and my heart refused to accept any such thing for a friend so close. He muttered couple of things which made sense but I still wouldn't accept it was going to happen.

I knew he was breaking inside and looked miserable. It was too much for me to withstand though I didn't think it was going to come true. Trying to be composed, he pulled my cheeks as always and said "Look at you, I can see your eyes now. Your cheeks don't look swollen,have you lost weight chubby?" . As he completed with the same mischievous smile he started to walk in the rain.

The very sight of watching him walk away lost in thoughts made me feel guilty. The survivors of nuclear explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki might have felt something like how I felt that day looking at him.This happened couple of months ago and it was raining again just like how it did the other day. I might of recalled it N number of times but today when I went home I was smiling for the first time when I thought about it. I knew it was a terrible thing to happen to anybody and I have felt bad but I didn't know how he felt that day.

I wanted to call him today to tell him that now I knew how he felt. But what would I get by reminding anybody of such moments???? Being very positive, I thought to myself " I'm truly a good friend. I'm sharing everything including the fate of the closest of my friend." I smiled as I thought. Now that's what I call Maktub !

In between,anybody wants a lite?....I'm just fired ;)

Groom wanted from Mars

Last week I visited one of my colleagues as she was on leave due to illness. When I went to her house she looked better and spoke normally. Her parents had gone out and therefore we were at our best comfort level talking about anything on earth. When we were talking about her parents' look out for a match for her, she said " Oh , my mum is just not happy with ANY body. Looks like she cannot accept any man on earth as her son-in-law. So I gotta wait until I get some alien."

Just as she completed her parents walked in and she introduced me to them. While having coffee her mum asked me if I was married to which I said yes and she asked where was my hubby from. Keeping what my friend said in mind, I tried to gain her acceptance so I said without a delay " He's from Mars." and to convince her that was true I looked straight in her eyes smiling. She looked excited and said " Is that so? that's very nice to know. Even I feel it's better to get someone from there" and now she shifted her focus to uncle and said " right?". He looked pitiful and nodded his head vertically. Then she asked me another question " so what does he do in Mars?". I wasn't prepared for this neither my friend had told me what her mum liked. I looked around hoping to get an idea and just then uncle switched the channel to a sports channel. I said instantly " he plays cricket." Her mum looked even more excited " Wow,is it famous in Mars as well?"

I followed uncle's method but couldn't do it with perfection as I was not used to nodding my head.So I nodded my head once horizontally and then corrected by nodding vertically. Her mum first looked confused but then she didn't have time for clarification as her cell phone rang. I exhaled. No it's not any ad for Vicks.

For sometime, peace prevailed in the hall. All 3 of us were involved watching 20-20 but everyone knows that the good times don't last long. Her mum got back cribbing about the amount of work she had next week at office. While speaking, she was looking at me so I didn't have a choice but to constantly keep nodding my head in all directions. Ahhh! you all must know how much my neck pained when I got home that evening. She said she was responsible for everything that happened at work and men at work were just not worth being there. She had to take care of everything beginning from coffee machine till the tissue paper in the stack. I asked innocently " So aunty, are you in house keeping?" . She laughed sympathetically at my ignorance and made it clear that she was an admin. I had to nod my head again.

By then, my hubby's nephew called me to check if I was leaving as he had promised to pick me from my friend's house. He being just 3 year younger to my hubby he was next on the list for the look out at home and I told my friend about the same when we continued talking after I answered his call .Her mum heard me talking about him to her and for some reason sounded more interested in that. She started bombarding me with questions and the last one was " So dear, what kind of a girl are you all looking for?" .

I heard his bike roar outside the gate and as I walked to the door I said to her " Aunty actually we are looking for a girl from Venus." My friend winked at me as I sat on the bike.