Eight

Eight months of this year have gone by! E I G H T months! How time flies! I was mid-way through fixing palak paneer for dinner when this realization dawned on me. Once I was done with cooking, I sat down and tried to remember the various things that happened this year and I could not remember how one month seamlessly faded into another one. Admittedly, this year has been insane at work- my team and I have not had even a single day's reprieve! It has been back to back engagements with not even a day's break in between. No wonder everyone on the team looks burnt out, including me! I am sure last week's offsite helped in some way to ease the stress that everyone was visibly showing, but that was just one day and that it is unlikely to have an everlasting impact, neh?


In other news, holidays are being planned- one in September and one, possibly, in December. Also, home improvements have been happening. Poo talks about some of the stuff that we have been up to in that department. Movies and TV shows are being watched by the truckloads. We are in the process of plowing through Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot and it has us gripped! Up next are the rest of the Sherlock Holmes episodes and the hitherto-unwatched Famous Five DVDs that we'd picked up in December.


September 2009 is when I will complete six years of blogging. See, there is a reason why I am suffering from an endless season of Bloggers' Block! After doing this for six years, I think I am out of things to share on a blog. So, in a way, this is goodbye. Until later? I am not sure. If I am back, I will let some of you know. Else, it has been great doing this, this sharing of the inane and the mundane and the hilarious.


Take care of yourselves and be good!

A To Z About Me! Rhymes, eh?! :)

AmitL has tagged me to do this A to Z tag and so, here goes!

A. Attached or Single?
Single, baybeh!


B. Best Friend?
They know who they are! *muah muah*


C: Cake or pie?
Why do I have to choose, eh? I like both. Okay, so, if I simply have to then, cake it is!


D. Drink of choice?
Fresh fruit juices, milk shakes and coffee :)


E. Essential item you use every day?
Sunblock, kajal, Lush's Sweetie Pie Shower Jelly and all the other essential "getting ready" type things, I guess...


F. Favorite color?
Red than tends towards rust


G. Gummy bears or worms?
Neither.


H. Hometown?
Bombay Meri Jaan!

I. Favorite indulgence?
30 mins of quiet breakfast time with my coffee, toast and scrambled eggs :) Usually, I am running late, so don't get to do this everyday...Sigh.

J. January or July?
July! Monsoons, sales and this whole feeling of half-of-this-year-is-done!

K. Kids & their names?

Not Applicable!

L. Life isn’t complete without?
My sister, friends, books, music, family, movies and laughter.

M. Marriage date?
Not Applicable! (Which single-unfriendly person has come up with this biased quiz?!)

N.Number of Siblings?
1, and you all know her! :)

O. Oranges or Apples?
I love it when some stupid sh*t tries making comparisons between the two! I am not being literal, obviously! :)

P. Phobias?
Lizards, needles, women clad in polyester (or whatever that shiny, synthetic material is!) salwar-kameezes! BRRR!

Q. Quotes?
"Not all who wander are lost." JRR Tolkien

R. Reasons to smile?
Loads, really.

S. Season?
Winter. Scarves, sweaters, hot beverages, the occasional breakfast muffin. What's not to lurrveee, eh?

T. Tag people:

Anyone who wants to do this.

U. Unknown fact about me?
I have a very, very low tolerance for fools of any kind. And I let them know of it!

V. Vegetable?

Almost everything, except bhindi..okra!

W. Worst habit?
Not being as politically correct as I should.

X. X-ray you've had?
Left ankle- when some quack thought I had a fracture! Chest- during the usual, comprehensive health check-up

Y. Your favorite food?
Anything Italian well made never fails to cheer me up. Ditto for a well done biryani! :)

Z. Zodiac sign?
Scorpio.

Love and The-Much-Talked-About Connection

Tearsanddreams left me an interesting comment on the previous post, which said that she was reminded of Mixed Messages while watching Love Aaj Kal. In the sense that, there is a 'Connection Guy' and there is a 'Nice Guy' and that the former is usually confused and a big jerk and the latter is, well, nice but there is no sizzle and all of that. Actually, I did not look at Love Aaj Kal from that perspective at all. I should have, but I couldn't.


There were several reasons for that, but most of all, I was weighed down with one big, boulder-sized load of 'expectations' even before I started watching Love Aaj Kal. You see, I have always liked Imtiaz Ali and his work- even before he hit the movie scene, he was involved with these one-hour 'love stories' on Star Plus. I forget what they are called, but he wrote and directed a few of these love stories and I quite liked the ones he had directed. So, when Socha Na Tha released, CD and I went and watched it in the theatre. In the first viewing, I totally hated it! I said to myself, "Who is he basing Abhay Deol's character on?! Can anyone really be that confused?!" I guess, events that happened in the lives of some close friends in the next few years went on to conclusively answer that question. Yes, guys our generation ARE really that confused!


When Jab We Met released, I wasn't too keen on watching it, mostly because of the star cast. I mean, come on, Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapur?! How good could this movie be?! However, once a few friends watched it and liked it, Poo and I went on to watch it too. And guess what!? Kareena notwithstanding, we loved the film. It was sweet and fun and I think one of the nicer (Bollywood) rom-coms in recent times. So, all of this led to the big, boulder-sized bunch of expectations from Love Aaj Kal.


Having established that men our generation are a confused lot, who, often, would not know love if it hit them smack on their faces, Love Aaj Kal should have been a movie that made perfect sense to me- given, I am in the process of writing something around the very same subject. Unfortunately, something, somewhere was missing with Love Aaj Kal and as a viewer I just could not see what any evidence of a massive 'connection' between the two. Did Meera and Jai have chemistry? Yes. Did Meera and Jai know each other's quirks and habits/behaviours? Yes. Did Meera and Jai have soul-wrenching connection of the kind that merited what Meera did to Vikram? In my opinion- NO. And here's what I thought was the biggest flaw of this movie.


(Spoiler Alert: Some plot twists and turns will be written about ahead. Please stop reading if you have not watched Love Aaj Kal yet and intend on watching it soon.)


So, this is the plot- Meera and Jai have been together for two years or so and have had a lot of fun together. Their career aspirations take them to different continents and, very sensibly and practically, they break up rather amicably because they don't want to do the long distance thing. Distance, however, does not ever break deep connections, well, especially if the people concerned are still in touch via chat, email and SMS on a daily basis! So, Meera and Jai are still each other's go-to people for most things and they find nothing wriong with that. Well, until Meera meets Vikram who asks her out and Jai feels bad but does not really analyze what that implies! To cut a long, annoying story short- Meera marries Vikram and on the very second day realizes that there is still "something" between her and Jai and so, she leaves Vikram to go talk to Jai. Jai, at that precise moment, gets his dream job, which happens to be in San Francisco and takes off. *whew* So, net-net, eventually, Meera divorces poor Vikram and waits around till Jai realizes that he loves her, which he does after being mugged in SF. And all ends well.


There is so much wrong with this whole movie that I have now lost the urge to write about it. But, here's what is important up for discussion- is connection really that important that it is worth giving up on a marriage? Is connection/inexplicable magic that important that you forgive someone who hurt you? Is it that important that you wait, potentially, indefinitely for that person to realize that he/she loves you?!


If I had asked myself these questions even five years back, I would have said YES! And YES! And more YES! Of course, connection is everything. Connection is the only thing. And aren't we all seeking that elusive, inexplicable magic?! *grin*


While I am not big on "compromising" and "settling for" someone with whom there is no magic, neither I am a big advocate of waiting around for someone to "realize" something and in the process feel mind-numbing amounts of pain on a daily basis. I think love demands that both parties involved feel this connection thing and acknowledge it. Love, real love, does not leave any room for confusion. Love also does not make the guy believe that there is someone better out there. Love is (or it should be!) just all-consuming, isn't it?


If I were Meera's friend, I would tell her to marry Vikram if she even "like-liked" him and cut all ties with Jai. Guys like Jai are not good for you. They don't let you go because at some level they need you and they are dependent on you. They will keep popping into your life and bring with them not only all the confusion and questions but also the dreams and hopes that you had once pinned on them. So, Meera, Jai had his shot and he blew it. You've now met this great guy, who you've dated for a year and if it feels right, go ahead and spend the rest of your life with him! Also, would you feel this way about Jai if you'd just had a clean break and had not kept in touch with him at all?! I doubt it! So, wake up and stop being an adolescent!


That was my take on this connection business. And yours?

Awww!

This post by the Poochkin has left me all teary-eyed!

You gotta love siblings- they are the best!

Belovedly Pookins,
Like I mentioned on your blog, I never have wanted a brother. Even when you were a little, itty bump in the mater's tummy, I told everyone, but everyone who cared to listen, that I only wanted a baby sister! I also said, very categorically, that if the baby was a boy, I would drown it/throw it in the gutter! So, I have always, always wanted you and you, my sweetie, are much, much, much more than a sister to me! You are my best friend, my #1 confidant, my partner-in-crime and someone who's always got my back.

I love how we can discuss the deepest philosophical-esque things and then, suddenly, start talking about something totally inane and giggle like manic monkeys (in the best way that there is!). I also love how we have similar hobbies and interests; for instance, we both do craft-y things (and also crafty things!) and we dig movies (good and bad) and books and fashion; also how we laugh at all things lame. Any place on earth can be fun with you- remember some of the very traumatic train journeys we've had to endure?!

I lurrveee you, you make us giggle! (Hyuk, hyuk)

XOXO,
DiTtY!

P.S: Thanks for reminding me of the ridiculous version of Raksha Bandhan practiced in our wonderful Lucknow school! I still remember the Raksha Bandhan in Class XII when Noop bunked because he was dead certain that K Ma'am was going to make K tie him a rakhi! :) Good times, good times!

Tonight's The Night!

Apparently, Rakhi will choose her "life partner"/"sapno ka raajkumar"/*insert suitably corny word implying spouse here* tonight! It promises to be an extremely hammed up, lame and an obviously doctored show! I don't think Rakhi will actually end up marrying any one of these guys and that this whole Swayamvar thing was a sham.. a publicity stunt!

Anyhoo, we'll know in a couple of hours!


Till then, all we can do is hold on to our chairs/couches/cushions and laugh our butts off! *grin*

Reference To Context

Who said to whom and when?!


"Mere paas namm hain, famm hain, paisa hain. I have avreetheeng!"


Leave your answer in the comments! The winner get lots of taalis! What?! Were you expecting a gift voucher?! The recession is still on, you know! :)

Support From Bizarre Quarters

It was almost 10 pm and I had just ended a 16 hour workday. I stepped out of my office building debating if I should have called an EasyCab/Meru Cab rather than take a chance with finding an auto so late at night. I decided to give the autos of this city ten minutes of trying before I went right back inside and called, and then waited, for an EasyCab to arrive.

Luckily, after just two minutes of waiting, an auto showed up. After agreeing to the astronomically high rate that he'd quoted for a relatively short distance, I got into to the auto and pulled out my iPod, hoping to listen to some soothing music on the short drive back home. However, auto fellow had other plans. I had barely pulled out my iPod when...

Auto Dude: Madam, aap IT mein kaam karta hain?

Me: (not bothering to explain) Haan.

Auto Dude: Aapko kam se kam 30,000 salary milta hoga?

Me: (say nothing)

Auto Dude: Aap har roz itna late kaam karta hain?

Me: (immediately reach into my handbag for my trusty pepper spray) Nahin. Aaj kuch zyada kaam tha.

Auto Dude: Aap married hain ya bachelor?

Me: (deciding to play it safe) Married

Auto Dude: Aapko dekh ke nahin lagta!

Me: (ERRR!)

Auto Dude: Abhi aap ghar jayega, toh khana ka kya?

Me: Khaana main banungi...

Auto Dude: Aap banayega? Abhi? Itna late? Aapka husband help nahin karega?

Me: (playing the dukhiaari woman card) Nahin, husband ko khaana pakana nahin aata..

Auto Dude: (sounding most annoyed) Aisa kaise, madam! Aap office bhi jaana, aapich khaana bhi pakana.. Usko sikhao. Usko bolo, maddad karo mera!

Me: (putting pepper spray away.. this is no stalker... this is a feminist of sorts!) Theek hain, main bolungi..

Auto Dude: Haan, bolneka! Yeh ekdum theek nahin ke ghar ka bhi kaam aap karo aur office ka bhi....


Of all the chatty cab/auto walas that I have met in India and outside of it, the memory of this auto dude and his vehement insistence that my (fictional) husband help me out in the kitchen will always stay with me!