Wake up..

When i woke up today evening after a "short" afternoon nap my husband asked me to watch Mr. Abhijit mukherji (of the pranab mukherjee fame!!) being ripped apart by Arnab on a chat show for his "anti women" comments.
I did not feel like watching it. Why ? I feel "Rape" is just india's fresh craze of the season. Like cricket, IPL, scams  and many many more. For a nation that awaits constant drama, for its people who love to jab and suffer from short term memories, for TRP crazy TV channels and masala flavoured news papers, for the road side gup shup...its just a new flavour of the season. I see so many many protests - online n off it, activists, editorials on papers, tons n tons of rape and molest cases being dug out...right now i feel sick and tired of it.
For thousands of people (women included) who in our country feel women should have a "decent" dress code , stick with our "glorious" culture , be "homely and tamed", haaah...Mr Mukherji is only 1. Why trouble him Arnab? Probably his remark would deny his father a second term, nothing more to it! Hail India.

Oh yes, the assaulters do deserve capital punishment, be publicly hanged, stoned to death...anything. they just dont deserve another chance. But what punishment do you give others..the not so obvious culprits?

India, each day your women, her self respect , dignity gets "attacked " and "compromised" everywhere - on the road, at work, at home...just about everywhere in the hands of strangers, some who call themselves friends, some who are relations, some through relations of the heart. For she who copes with all this with "dignity" and silence survives when she copes to move on with a supportive family and friends. The ones who don't go many ways..some become rebels or are labelled so esp when there is an influential touch to the case; some are labelled as "deserving the treatment" due to their own "immoral" acts which include dressing and having a life style which do not stick to the Indian culture , few others catch the eye of the nation, sometimes as in this case become the nations tragedy after Nargis from mother india. It is only a matter of time before India forgets her "Amanat" who is now battling for life in another nation. Hail India.

Is this the history and glory of the so called holy land? It makes me wonder why most of the sages worshipped were men anyway. Did they leave their family at hands of a woman to continue their spiritual journey?

Does india only shelter and accept saree clad traditional women who stick to their kitchen, husband n co and produce heirs as shown in the long list of "kkkkkk" seriels ? I hope India wakes up some day...Hail India.

I will choose how i live my life. Period.
I will choose what i eat, dress how i like (even its just 1 Mtr Long), go where i want. Your half open shirt , flimsy white dhoti or a low fit jeans is just as provocative. It does mean there is a character problem. I can live as much as you do. Shoo away you B******. I deserve the freedom. I , the people. I , the woman. Just as any one of you.

My heart is with Amanat and with the anger of thousands of women who have gone through similar trauma. I can only promise you that i will try my best to tell the men in my life to give women the respect and freedom she deserves. Always.

mere yaar ki shaadi hein!

The guy in the red and checks shirt...got married today. :)
Sitting there in the mandap, with my little Sid, I  was recollecting our journey of 15 years or more ...together and apart. To me friendship, jovial, enthusiastic and a shoulder of support through thick and thin... is all him. He defines those words. There is so much more to write, but sometimes the words just don't come out. It is simply more beautiful to keep it locked up inside. To my best man and his one best woman...the beautiful lady named Anu...May you both have a wonderful life ahead.

Perfection

It seems yesterday that i turned around to look at my wonderful little cuddle bundle under the theatre lights post delivery. He was so tiny and all red. With spiky hair and tiny eyes he looked more a chinese!

Sid is now almost turned two and is a toddler. That time flies is so true. Every morning after I finish all the house hold tasks and my husband is off to work, its our playtime.
Once he finishes breakfast and bath we go out for a stroll around the apartment. We are both running - he after butterflies and puppies ; me behind him.

This whole week its been quiet hot and sunny so to restrain his outdoor urge i have been inventing games and tasks to keep him occupied at home. The criteria being that -it should be amusing to catch his attention, entertaining to keep him at the task for at least half an hour or more and simple for me too to perform the act.
His first love has always been drawing..crayons, color pencils etc etc. What i draw for him is standard - bus , cars , lorry and latest craze being jeeps. In all colors and shapes his drawing book is filled with the modes of transport. Boys start off early with their motor craze don they?

Today morning i decided i should introduce him to the art of paper crafts. In the beginning i was using different colored papers to create boats , planes , birds and all that i knew and remembered making. He wanted me to make a flower and a bus. I then took out the scissors and started cutting the paper into different shapes. Shapes that he loved the most - star, moon, flowers etc etc. Initially i was sticking them on to his drawing book, but slowly we attacked the wall in the living room. He enjoyed it so much, trying to touch them, identifying the colors , watching me carefully during the process of sticking it and all. 

I noticed that some of the flowers i had cut were not symmetrical. Imperfect butterflies, flowers , leafs and all came popping out of my production house. I could not stop thinking that in reality gods creations in nature are never imperfect. Every flower on the tree , every leaf all are perfectly symmetrical and in shape.  It is so beautifully done.
 Of-course over a period of time and with practice i agree that we all can become experts in what we do ; so is it that god took his time to become a perfectionist, and in our spiritual quest...isn't it that we all are looking to be perfectionists in each of our tasks? I wondered as i stuck the last one for the day , a yellow butterfly, on the wall.  I looked at Sid, his eyes full of awe and lips curved into a smile; my gift from god which is so perfect, that everything seems magical.

songs of the rain

There are recent hits that get your attention, catch ur nerves and leave you hazed. Its like a temptation that we succumb to. But then after the storm is over, we go back to the songs that we love the most, have touched our heart and soul, songs that remain for al ifetime close to your heart. Most of the such songs for me have the theme of water...like a lazy river flowing down the stream. When i listen to these ...its just the sensation of flowing with the river. Some of them...

Mazhaneer thullikal - From the movie beautiful. Its the sound of those drops that gets me drenched. The music leaves a feeling of a cold rainy night. The dim light of the candle ...the beautiful black bindi on the actress's and her teasing smile. Ever so inviting.

Varamanjal - from the movie Pranayavarnangal. The frame that comes into the mind even when i type is manju warrier opening the wooden window which over looks the kuttanadan paddy fields. What a lovely green frame. The song is a typical river flow..it starts...slowly...paving the way through the stones gently....and just when we lazily reach the end of the stanza..the beats from "chenda" (drum) start off as if we dived down along a waterfall...and then it lands and flows again...till ends into the sea. beautiful and serene. 

Savan barse - Dont remember which movie, but the song is shot on sonali bendre and akshay khanna ,two new lovers wanting to meet...on a rainy day. Beautiful frames all through the song. It oozes the innocence of a new found love. 

Margazhi poove - tamil song from the movie..don remember. the song is a nice blend of classical tunes with modern beats. A song which you wake up to on a rainy day. A song to listen to after the rains have left your gardens wet. 

i, me, myself

A friend of mine passed me on this song to listen to years back. And from the first time i heard it i loved the lyrics, its apt for me. For the person i am and for the thoughts that run in my mind.

Tune into "Boulevard of broken dreams" by band Greenday.
ahaan....ahannn ahaan...aahan...

i walk a lonely road, the only road that i have ever known.
Dont know where it goes but its only me and i walk alone....

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

Every other post on Facebook is a Friendship day wish. Don't we celebrate friendship every other day. Aren't they part of our daily lives...standing right beside you / over call/ over chat / in your thoughts. To me they are gods best gifts and blessed am i to have quite a few. All times spent in their company are magical and nostalgic. But there are few that come flowing into my mind when i think of each of them. To my closest buddies...

Anjana, Harsha and Nithin (Nath) - my oldest friends. From 1st standard to 12th, my partners in crime. 

Anju - i hope you still remember the number of dusters we made overnight to compensate for playing with them as punishment. Thanks to traitor Nithin :D oh mine..it makes me laugh. 

Harsha - we defenitely were not gay when bombay craze swallowed us. The shekhar and shaila acts. he he.

Adding to this list my first girls gang 007 -
Merlin ( naam gum jayega.- the song u sang in cca. each time i listen to it i think of you)
Sreeja (tuntun who wouldnt share her water bottle. i think i was the first person she met in the new school and i very carelessly forgot to befriend her on the first day :P)
Renju - 8th std photo, where are you looking girl?
Nithin - The honest boy who got us punishment, but stealing chocolates we got from JP Sir!

Bala - innumerable fights we have had for the bulletin board competitions. Thanks to his participation in extempore and debate , the guy can still speak 5 minutes about anything under the world.

Ganesh - the best man always and forever. there are just too many beautiful moments to write down here. Walking down the lane to walking around in IIT we have walked together a long way. the guy with the red and black check shirt riding the grey chetak. :D The unforgettable Pondi trip.

Rakhal and Mithun- i have lost touch with both of them. Both were the funniest guys i ever knew back then.

Strawberries - (Byns, Manjari, Shalu, Lekshmi and Sparu :D ), Arathi , Sindhu , Manju - I guess i will have write a separate blog for them.
Byns - The night before the first year civil exam. the result of our failed combined study!
Manjari - asha n kishore collections all night. Byns me and u enjoying parotta chicken curry from local store in hostel. :D whats in the background :P
Shalu - my first eyebrow threading experience! dee u still do that? :D
Lekshmi- our very very silly fight over nothing and a waste of four years on that :)
Arathi - more than you, i need to write about aunty :) :P
Sindhu - it has to be thaleepeeth episode. And, the girl walks all the way from chinnakada to college on saturday and then sleeps the entire Sunday with cramps!
Manju - Please open the door. The amazingly lazy bum.
arathi n sindhu - i need to mention our project which i don't remember ABCD about. But what i remember is  the red salwar we 3 bought, the amazing biryanis we had  and the juice we were not able to drink. err...i mean only sindhu was able to drink!

Nish, Saju, Chittaps, Rep, Suppu, Jiyas, Jaz, Reshmi- Though not very much in touch with any of them now , they were once my thickest friends in college and do need a mention here. We walk different ways now, but i guess when we meet we still might pick up from where we left.

The industrial visit to NTPC kayamkulam with all of the above. Man what a ride and what a day that was.

Malik - The craziest arts club secretary TKM ever had in my view. Singing Kaho na pyar hein a 100 times and making a whole bunch of people do that in the auditorium. But i have also got to learn a lot of good lessons in life from this amazing senior. Always smiling. Always.

Nipun - though there are many episodes in college what strikingly comes to my mind is the chappathis n peas curry meal at your place in chennai. The long walk beside besant nagar beach.

Anju, Mal, Rakesh, Sandy and Gov - at loss of words here. When i think of them, i think of the toughest three months in my life till now. When i literally i had no one to turn to or support, they stood by me like rock.
Mal - the sambar and avial we cooked on a sudden holiday declaration.
Anju - Do you still have the mail i sent you when u went to Philippines? I think around new year? That is the first time i realised i had a soul mate. The pondi trip with you and ganesh is my most cherished trip ever. We three watching sun rise together. What a beautiful moment it was.
Rakesh - sitting outside 44 and wondering why it should be an arranged marriage.
Sandy - how many hens did we kill eating biryani at feast of asia? And yeah how can i forget "Paida Karo" :D
Govi - ho the excitement and relief and joy in finding one familiar face at abu palace. Kismet connection!

Amit Kapoor, HSB,Ramya - my first cubicle mates. it was fun at work and Amit who always had a tip to do everything the correct way.

Rajiv - the guy was certainly not my type when i heard him comment " the world is so round". try and remember when (wink). The everyday fight i had over lunch with him. When did it all become right and perfect and this way...i don't know.

Nibu, Akshay-  all three of us playing football inside the cubicle and being fired "This is not college-act professionally" :D
swami - guide at work and guru for learning tamil :P. Always calling "enna nair"

Nitin - without an H. Though my schoolmate i got to know him better only much later. the "roof top" ride on that rickety bus at Mekadatu. Star gazing by the lake with lotsa mosquitoes for company in the Army college campus at Pune.

Sowmya - i literally threw her out of the house. and there she was sitting on the wall of 44 , not having anything to do on a very important day in my life. in fact life changing day i should say.

Deepti, Kishan- Sushens party, the ride back and the yedukumari trek. The only trek i have done till now , what an amazing experience with a wonderful friend.

Vishwa , Sujith, Ila, Poorna, Shankar ,Vidya, Alan, avishek - my moscow gang. If only i could post the videos of 168 it would be self explanatory as to how crazy the three months were. :)

Oh, the more i write the more they flow in -memories. The more they make my life beautiful with their little nothings. Wonder where to begin, where it ends :) As i sit here in this room and type this, i wonder if you get the vibes. Wonder if you know how special you are...to me :) 

just another scumbag

Yes...thats all that i am after all.
Happened to watch a man with a well running business, a modelling freelancer and a seemingly settled life, leave all that to head to his village somewhere in bihar to fight the caste system. He started a school to educate the young minds and shape them with brighter ideas. He fought for men (of a particular caste) who cremated dead bodies besides the ganges but not allowed to even touch the sacred water! What a man
And here i am , telling my friends why i like it here. Its closer home, easier life besides u get all indian stuff. I mean...all my life i have been wanting to be different and look at me.. all i am is just the typical scumbag. All nostagic and fond...but not wanting to get into the dirt and clean it up! tch tch dhanya!
to start with...i think id never repeat that standard reply of mine. where is all my KV blood?