I have been tagged back!

Onlineraga tagged me back! I think the essence of the tag is to encourage you to pick up a long-forgotten book and read! ...And it did push me to read this wonderful book. Its a collection of 'Selected Short Stories' by Rabindranath Tagore which is profound in some and downright funny elsewhere!

The rules of the tag:

• Pick up the nearest book.
• Open to page 123.
• Find the fifth sentence.
• Post the next three sentences.
• Tag five people, and acknowledge the person who tagged you.

" In the end, Ahir village also brought out a paper. They didn't mince their words. They hurled insults with such zeal and in such crude and vulgar language that the very letters on the page seemed to shreik before one's eyes."

Thanks Dhati, I had forgotten all about this book that I borrowed from my friend...to read!
I tag Ritu, Vibuti, Satyajit, Revathi and Cartoonist!

The Monsoons and a challenge!

The monsoons are here and I love the rains! Of course, I would be in bliss if i could sit at home, reading a nice book while sipping tea or watching a movie cuddling with S! However, there is something called work to be done in an office and I have decided to sacrifice that during the week...but weekends will be a different story!! :-)
...While I am very happy about the rains and the monsoons and the weather ensures that I get up with a smile on my face, it poses other practical problems like commuting to work on my bike can be very problematic and a drenched me! For some time, S has been grumbling, complaining, begging, threatening and every thing possible under the sun to make me drive! I can drive confidently if he is sitting along with me. But I am shit scared to take the car all by myself coz firstly, its a big car and secondly, i dont want to cause any damages to the car or anyone else on the road. But I cant afford to remain scared forever and refuse to drive the car. I know that! If I can ride a bike like a pro, the car will be easy too, with practice!

S is travelling to UK for 2-3 weeks and the car is at my disposal. So we have a deal, if I drive to work in the car in this period all by myself ( I dont have a choice!), I get diamonds. The materialistic side of me is overpowering and the lure of the diamonds are strong! I have accepted the challenge....I have a lot to gain, diamonds and I will dispel the fear in me....If i lose, big deal...HIS car is damaged... ;-) (just kidding!!)...I know i WILL do it...

I return home from work, enjoying the ride on my bike, smiling to myself as I can feel the cool breeze on my face, lovely mountains and beautiful clouds and think to myself how lucky I am to live in such a lovely locality, when I see a little girl sitting all cute wearing a stitched sari probably…and I want to tell her “Darling, You have a lot of time to be a woman when you MUST be fully dressed in sarees or any formal clothes…why don’t you enjoy your innocence and wear cute frocks or shorts and play with abandon…while you can!”…and I start reminiscing my childhood when I was carefree, spirited and innocent!

The Quirks Tag!

Vibhuti has tagged me and for the love of God, I cant understand why anyone would be interested in reading about my Quirks!..ahem, anyway here I go…

1. When I come back home from work, even if I am dog tired, the first thing I will do, even before I keep my bag down is to straighten the cushions or arrange the strewn newspapers. I am totally obsessed with my home and like it neat, clean and organized. Also, I can never get enough of cushion covers or artificial flowers…it’s almost like an OCD.
2. I prefer chat / SMS /E-mail conversations to phone calls or direct person-to-person conversations. There is a certain thrill in the virtual world as you don’t what is to come…it is like anticipating for the unexpected, very similar to how Life is! Philosophical, eh?
3. I don't trust men sporting a full beard ( not french beard, S has one! , I mean the full-faced beard!) and guys who wear kumkum! When I was in college, my professor said candidly that such men are not trustworthy and I blindly believed him! I still do...
4. I just detest, absolutely detest seeing someone brush their teeth, neither do I let anyone see me brush…I find it extremely gross!!! Why, you ask?...Ahem you asked for my quirks?
5. My hair has to be soft, silky and shiny everyday!!! On days, I don’t get the time to wash my hair, I imagine I look bad and am all fidgety and all I can think the whole time is that I should have washed my hair today as well, like I am feeling right now!!
6. When I get some new clothes stitched from the tailor, even if I have like a dozen ( I always have!) to be stitched and even if it means numerous inconvenient trips to the tailor’s shop, I will ALWAYS give only one outfit at a time. I have this intuition that if I give him more than one, he will spoil it! I feel he will lose interest by the time he gets to the second one. Yeah!! Go figure…
   
   Now, its my turn to read other interesting blogs with interesting quirks!
   
   The Meme rules --

• Link the person who tagged you.
• Mention the rules in your blog.
• Describe 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
• Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.

Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs to inform them of having tagged them.

Ritu

Preeti

Arundhati

Revathi

Themadmomma

Babies Anonymous

Boo

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

S and I had just got back from a pretty long stay in the UK, a long time away from home, our people, family and friends and we were in the midst of setting up our home here in Pune. S was off to work and I was left to do the arduous task of unpacking and arranging all our stuff, since I didn’t have a job to go to, at that point of time. I was feeling very lonely, bored and longed to see a single soul from my family or friends or even someone remotely familiar…so basically I was homesick!

As I was brooding and waiting for S to return all day, I get a call from S informing me that my friend Nikitha’s friend (She lives and works in Bombay) would visit me and pass on a parcel that she wanted to give me. So I tidied myself up to look presentable and decent for the stranger friend who would come home anytime. Within a couple of minutes, the doorbell rang and I greeted the stranger guy ( who happens to be a sweet guy by name sumit). He smiles and says here is the parcel and I see that his hands are empty! Out of nowhere, Nikitha springs up and gives me a big warm hug and you can clearly hear shrieks of joy from the union and I can’t stop grinning. I was overwhelmed with joy to see her, she stayed with me for a while chatting and left for Mumbai by evening. She had come all the way from Mumbai just to give me a surprise!
I had a warm fuzzy feeling all day and was full of smiles when S got back home and I eagerly started relating the surprise to him!! What a wonderful surprise that was, just when I needed it. Indeed, A friend in need is a friend indeed!! Niki is a darling friend of mine, she is like a charming little kid with the most warm smile and a loving personality!

'Kamala Sanyaas'...

I am someone who thinks about something or the other all the time, read worry sometimes too!! So in order to help myself, I had decided that I would not think too much about anything and just go with the flow!! It is indeed, really very difficult for me, but something that I am trying to cultivate for my own self!

A friend once told me that you should learn to detach yourself from self...no this is not the way to attain nirvana or anything, it is simply a technique to view the events or things that happen to you, as a viewer...detached from yourself. It is called 'kamala sanyaas'....similar to the 'Lotus' flower. If you notice a lotus closely, the water does not stick to the leaves....it remains detached from the leaf/flower, hence the comparison! So I try and keep telling myself not to think negatively or worry about something that I don't have control over...but I am so wierd...

..Like S once told me a story about a guy who would complain of headaches and go to a doctor regularly with the same complaint. The doctor figured that there was nothing wrong with him to cause any headache and realized its all in his mind...so he said everytime you suffer from a headache, take these pills...but try not to think about monkeys when you take them!!

Invariably, the guy would only think of monkeys everytime he needed to take the pill... :D

Similarly, I start thinking about why I don't worry about the things I used to...now...ya! Go Figure!!! :-)

Sappy wife thy name is yours truly!

I was flicking through our wedding album ( got hold of it only now, was with my MIL so long!) a couple of days back and could'nt help wondering where S and I stand today as opposed to our wedding day. Like everyone else, I dreamt of a loving partner, unfortunately I didnt get that....I got a wonderful partner who dotes on me like I was the last lovable person left on this earth!! ( Gotcha??)

Let me begin by saying that I did't instantly fall in love with him and I definitely don't believe in love at first sight. I believe love needs some time to grow strongly and to remain that way. Our relationship has evolved over the years and now we are so in tune with each other that we can complete each other's sentences or for that matter, to a large extent, know what the other was thinking about on a certain instance, without any of us uttering even a word about it.

Romance is not just about heart-shapes jewellery, roses or diamonds....the real romantic love lies in the small gestures that we do everyday...like when S covers me up at night when I am too deep into slumber to realize am cold or when he chides me for leaving my clothes on the floor sometimes, yet organizes my clothes in my wardrobe and ( I am much better at organizing my clothes now, thanks to him!) indulges in my gardening skills and gingerly pulls out the car to get some more potted plants for the nth time, or when he grudgingly shops along with me for artificial flowers or cushion covers, which he knows I can never have enough of....There are so many things I could write here...that he does for me! very thoughtfully I must add...in addition to making my birthday or our anniversary special!! :-)
I believe it is these little things that make us happy and certainly the fact that we have so much to share everyday, when we get back from our respective work-days. It is very nice to know and share each other's perspective about our respective careers at the end of the day.

I am a very hot-tempered woman, and I lose it at the drop of a hat... Being with S has mellowed me down in so many ways that sometimes, when I do control my temper, it amazes me. He is so much part of me, that even when he travels for just a couple of days, Urs truly is fully transformed into a pining and sappy wife! I don't think THAT is gonna change for years to come...for all the above said reasons and more...God bless...

true to the title of my blog...

I am just gonna ramble on here...Offlate, I have been having some really wierd dreams, so wierd that I can't imagine where to start....THAT wierd!

Anyway, you know I am this restless kinda person....and routine bores me like anything. I get up in the day thinking there will be surprises...of course i am only talking about pleasant surprises....may be something like an award at work or even better a promotion, a holiday to Newzealand, a gift? new clothes? if not, a new lipstick? or maybe even something as simple as a day off...Like back in school, when you reach school to find that its a holiday!! Its an awesome feeling...am sure everyone else feels that way too, Now come on, dont you? I read my forecast everyday in the paper, but I am that kinda optimistic types who thinks only the positives will work for me. If there is something negative, I always think 'Come on, there are other pisceans in this world, must be for them!!" :D

The trip that I spoke about here is happening and I am going to Pondicherry in June. Lots of poeple go " Pondicherry?? Why would you want to go there???" I dont know...I think it will be a lot more pleasant in those beaches rather than the Goa ones ( atleast the ones I went to..) where all you can see are hordes of people on dirty mattresses and young boys pestering you to go on one of those water sports thingies. Now, I am all for fun and frolic but its an overkill when you are not allowed to settle down or even decide what you want to do...So puhleez, Pondicherry anyday, thank you!! I had a rocking time there once when I went with my office folks, it was such a lot of fun and a really memorable trip. I loved the quaint little town. Also, the incentive for me is that I get to visit my folks and stay with them. Incidentally, their anniversary is the next day to mine...so one more special reason! :-)

All my close friends have had babies and I have not seen them all in a long time though I am constantly in touch through IM..dont know how many people I can visit in such a short while! Wish there were many more hours in a day to do all that I want to do or need to do...

Neend na aaye....tere bina....
Dil Ghabraye...tere bina..

....Its a Sunday evening, S has just gone to Bangalore.....and am left home in the evening We have been messaging each other ever since...I miss him! I know its only a couple of days, but i still miss him....I like to see him around...in the background, reading a paper, polishing his shoes, drinking coffee, listening to his music that I simply cant understand, talking to me, teasing me, cuddling with me watching TV, fighting for the TV, hell...even playing his games on his stupid mobile!...Hell, I MISS you dude...


....I am alone at home. The house is extremely quiet...and I look out the window as I write here...wondering where I lost something really precious that my hard working parents struggled to give me...and I feel like an ass...I hope to God I have not lost it and get it back!! :-( I cant stop thinking about it...apart from S!

Flashback...

A couple of years back, when S and I were living in Bangalore, S joined a gym and I accompanied him. The gym instructor was the typical macho guy with biceps, triceps and the works…I went up to him and enquired about the facilities, timings etc. and he was actually quite pleasant…

The next day, S came back home, not looking too pleasant….so I asked him what happened…and this is what he had to say…
S was working out in the gym when the instructor was making small talk with him…
Instructor: Sir, do you stay near by?
S: Yeah, sort of...( he is not the type to make small talk, he is usually quiet unlike me!)
Instructor: I have seen that girl pretty often on the road…the one who came with you yesterday…
S (doubtfully): is it?
Instructor: I was wondering about her?
S: as in?
Instructor: Is she your sister?
S: NO! ( an emphatic one!)…She is my WIFE!!!
Lol…I couldn’t stop laughing for a long time. To this day, it amuses me when I think about it…for some strange reason, after several such incidents, people tend to think we are siblings. For the love of God, I don’t understand why, coz we have very different facial features…but we are both tall and round faced!

Sometimes, I wonder what it would mean to have a sister. I have a great relationship with my brother and we are pretty close. When I see my friends with sisters, I see an easy camaraderie; almost a mother-child relationship without the formal frills and a lot of close friendship put in…its beautiful. It makes me wonder how it would be to have a sister…of course, as a kid, I didn’t want a sister coz the selfish-me didn’t want to share my clothes, accessories or anything with another girl who happens to be my mother’s first or second child! (Yup, that’s what I thought a sister could be. nothing more, nothing less!!)… I now know how wrong I was…coz it is like nurturing your kid, though it sounds clichéd, the idea of sharing your dreams, love, affection, parents, home, secrets, clothes, rooms and everything wonderful and happiness that only sharing can bring about…an almost selfless perfect love…

I must say I have always wondered when I look at sisters and if one of them is prettier or more successful than the other, do they feel jealous or have a low self esteem? But I always end up answering my own question. Do I feel jealous or envy my brother for being successful or for being happy? No, all I can feel is an immense pride and happiness to see him happy and successful…isn’t that how sisters would feel too?...But something that I am sure of is that girly conversations and late night talks definitely happens only among sisters….I have good fun with my brother and we share a few laughs and talk/support each other in times of crisis…but we don’t really talk about everything under the sun for hours together, I think it is something to do with women… I guess I will never know… There is no limit to anything that your heart desires, isn’t it? Brother or sisters, siblings are priceless and it’s a feeling that cannot be described easily in words…as a kid, there were times I hated having an elder brother….but fact remains that I cant imagine my life without him now…I proudly proclaim to this world that I am indeed blessed to have such a wonderful brother – the most caring and loving sibling anyone could have! J

Sheer bliss!

S and I had a very relaxed weekend. On Saturday, we decided to go to a different restaurant instead of the usual haunts. We went to this swanky greek restaurant called ‘Seasons’….the food was awful (the serene and beautiful ambience was lovely)…but the most important factor sucked big time, I can't stand bland food! Anyway, we ate in slow motion and on our way back had such an interesting conversation that S missed a turn and we ended up driving all the way to Satara! Got back home by midnight, was good fun though…

Sunday was very pleasant and a cool breeze kept caressing our faces, as S and I sat on the swing ( yup, I am crazy about that part of my home!), sipping cold coffee….we kept chatting and laughing about something that I cant remember now….most importantly, both of us were two shining happy faces reveling in the joy of a nice evening spent in our lovely home!! I felt so content and blessed…

...hmmmmm.....

I have been busy for the past few weeks with house guests, work and a few other things to be taken care of, at home. Though, I have been reading all the other blogs in the meantime, I did'nt really have anything interesting to write home about..

A little self-introspection I did made me realize that I have become so much calmer!! While, in the past I would have reacted immediately, in recent times, I have learnt to keep quiet and not say anything at all, which in itself is a big step for me....so I keep telling myself ' I am proud of you, girl!!' I have always been under the misconception that being outspoken is the right way to be... unfortunately for me, nope! it doesn't help...people judge you for it and the impression stays!! I guess I am getting older and its showing in my personality! :) My frequent reactions to most things is to smile, but my face gives me away as you can see myriad expressions on my face even if my mouth is shut! he he...come on, gimme a break...it takes time!!

On a tangent mode, and for some strange reason, I am longing to go to Pondicherry, maybe I will discuss with S and we can celebrate our anniversary there... By the way, I celebrate my fifth wedding anniversary this June, if any one can give me some interesting and unique gift ideas, please leave comments. I want to make something personal for S, not some expensive gift or anything please....something that I do with effort, straight from the heart kind of thing....and no! poetry is not something I am really good at....this is proof for that statement! ;)

I have started reading books and can't imagine why I have been wasting my time talking!! :D
Its sheer bliss to sit with a good book on the swing with the chimes and the sound of water gushing in the background...after the constant chatter at work for both official and personal purposes and of course, being ME!....the reading sessions are a welcome break. I cant believe am saying this, but I love the solitude! ( not more than a few hours, thank you!)

I am hooked on to this song by the band 'Fuzon', yup the same band that sang the lovely song...'Mora saiyaan'...in Hyderabad Blues 2! This new song is soul stirring ( for me!)...its titled 'Neend naa aaye' and really romantic!! Go listen to this song here and if you like it, go ahead and download it...you wont regret it! Trust me..of course, if you are the melody loving kinda person I am! :-)

I loved this Quote!!

Life gives Answers in 3 Ways...

It says YES and gives Whatever We Want,
It says NO and gives Us something Better,
It says Wait and gives Us the Best..

The birthday gift...was a refreshing break!

S’s birthday gift as mentioned here was a trip to Goa, except that we experienced the unexplored side with valleys and forests and I must say that though I was skeptical initially as we had to drive for more than 2 hours on long winding roads while it was raining cats and dogs!( God help S who had to bear the brunt of sharing the space with me in the car!). We stayed in a nature resort ( google for wildernest, Goa...for some strange reason the blog does not accept the web address) and our cottages had a beautiful view of the valley and you wake up among the clouds, literally! They have done an amazing job in developing this place and you have to go within the forests to reach your cottage. You can enjoy the nature as you read a book or go on mini-treks to even get to the restaurant. Nature enthusiasts will love this place…despite the fact that it is in the middle of the forest, it’s very well maintained with no insects or dirt whatsoever! The first day was filled with loads of activities….we reached there to witness a local folk dance by the village folk followed by dinner and we just hit the bed.

The next day we went on a trek to some caves with loads of bats. I reached the top and later came back coz I got shit scared of the numerous bats there….S insisted that they were blind and were equally scared of us, but that didn’t convince me! J …and I was the only one to slip every time and I have scratches on my arms!!

We got back to the resort for lunch followed by some mehandi and in the evening it just poured! We enjoyed watching the rain sipping hot tea and chatting away to glory. As usual, S and I kept to ourselves and didn’t go near anyone lest they start talking…he he…frankly, on a holiday, I am in no mood to make small polite talk with total strangers. We saw other couples and were really amused that they hardly spoke to each other at meal times while S and I were full of laughter and silly laughs like teenagers!

There were some couples with really small kids who kept complaining that it was a bad idea to come here! Honestly, when you come to a nature resort, you can’t expect 5-star facilities or any kind of commercial entertainment. People will small kids must refrain from going here as its really difficult for kids to enjoy this kind of atmosphere as there is no T.V. or any kind of play area or any activity to keep kids involved.

The next day, we hired a cab and hit the beach and soaked in the water for hours together and I was in seventh heaven coz I just loved the water. S kept saying that I look like a rock chick, with the shorts, bandana and the glasses. I was trying hard to protect myself against the sun…anyways, S got back with a ‘baked’ wife! Later, we did a bit of shopping and headed back right in time before it started raining again. The next day, we both soaked in the awesome swimming pool which overlooks a beautiful view of the valley.

All in all, it was a balanced vacation with a good experience of the beach as well as the mountains, I love the water and S loving the mountains respectively! I would rate it as say 8/10 (read super cool vacation!)

It makes sense to me...NOW!

I read an article on ‘Positive Thinking’ and I badly wanted it to influence me, so that I don’t have any low moments even on rare occasions. The article goes on to say that positive thinking can work wonders!! How? Well, it’s a simple logic which makes sense to me as well. Before we action on something, we think about performing the act first. For example, you think “ I am thirsty! Let me get some water” and then later, we get up and drink water.

Similarly, if you have happy thoughts and strongly keep telling yourself “Everything is fine….There is no reason to be sad”…Indeed, there is no reason to be sad and before you know it you are smiling once again!! J Now that I am “thinking” about being very optimistic and of happy positive thoughts, I will “action” on being positive and cheerful…the analogy works! Right? Right!! J

Birthday Update 2008

Another year gone by…and another year older (for me, it’s only a number. I don’t fret about how much older I am or anything. I mean it…honestly)…richer in memories…

I went to bed, wistfully thinking ‘Damn! I have to go to work on my birthday??!! (Since I got married, I have never gone to work on my birthday)…mostly; S and I spend the day together doing things I like… S surprised me with a birthday cake at midnight, while I was groggy-eyed and wondered if it was a dream…or was I really eating cake? He gave me a surprise gift, the darling of a husband plotted, planned and lied to me about my gift. He has booked us on a trip to Goa!!! Thoughtful dude that he is, he even booked us on a flight ( as I feel nauseous in cars and it’s a long journey from Pune to Goa!)… Goa, here i come....we go there next weekend, its a long weekend with the Good Friday? I love the beaches and I cant wait to soak in the beack for like...forever? I go wild when I see water. :)

Throughout the day he sent me SMS, called me, sent e-cards and when I got home, there was a huge bouquet of flowers with a card that reads ‘Love you baby’…and I went Awwwwwwww….. :) He may not be too happy about my sharing his personal feelings on the web, but I want to chronicle happy memories in my blog….so that I can look back and smile…tell my kids about their wonderful father.

Lots of people remembered my birthday with in-laws wishing me at midnight, parents singing to me early in the morning, to friends wishing me throughout the day in different modes of communication ( thanks to orkut and facebook reminders, i guess). It wasn’t half as bad as I imagined going to work on my birthday….I cut a cake…and my dear friends at work also wished me, gifts, hugs and kisses….I felt much loved. My dear friends Moni and Srija got me some lovely stuff for the house...something I most definitely loved!!

S, if and when you read this, you made me feel so special and very much loved, as always!! I love you with all my heart!! J (..and no, I am not such a private person!) Thank you my dear parents, inlaws and friends for making it a special day for me!

Edited to add: A colleague walked up to me and wished me. He also told me that his son's birthday was the next day. I smiled...He walked away and then as an afterthought, he came back to me and said 'I really wish he grows up to be someone like you -fun-loving, spirited and the happy person that you are...He made my day!' ( I told him so!)

Random updates...

• S gave me a pleasant surprise by wishing me on Women's day and by giving me flowers on top of that. Her highness is mighty pleased ;)
• I am hooked on to the music of 'Jodha Akbar' and 'Classically Mild' by Sonu Nigam...Its awesome and gives me a 'feel-good' sense. ( You can download the MP3 from www.songs.pk)
• 99% of the house is done as we wanted to...and I simply love it. The area is beautiful and I love my safe cocoon....don't know if it is an illusion coz its our own.
• Looks like I have lost weight...my pants are starting to hang loose!
• I have completed about 10 months in my current job...time flies when you are having fun and loads of laughter and smiles!