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Snobbery…

>> Tuesday, December 9, 2008

She could hear their muted whispers as she walked past them. How much she had changed over a matter of few days. Today she didn’t even bother to turn and smile at them, they said. Yet she continued walking, looking straight ahead.

Snob; that was the word they had used. It had hurt her too much. They hadn’t bothered to check with her about her misery. They had just drawn their conclusions. She didn’t bother to correct them, she believed in keeping her woes to herself. This too shall pass she knew, time would reveal the truth to all!!





Only if the people around her had realized that the new found snobbery was thanks to a real stiff neck developed over the weekend!!!

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Of Ironies and Iron men!!

>> Wednesday, December 3, 2008

He hurried to get dressed for work; he was running late which was unlike him. His roommates had already left and the room looked like it had been hit by a hurricane. He smiled as he remembered how they had teased each other over girlfriends and crushes at the club last evening.
He blushed as he stuffed his wallet, she did look pretty in that but he knew that smile would turn to a scowl if he forgot her birthday next month.

As the bus sped down the road, his colleagues talked about their plans for the upcoming holiday. He had planned to catch with the many movies he had missed. Slowly as they neared their destination, all talk in the bus turned to work. They focused on the day ahead.

The bus screeched to a halt, his day had begun. Then it was a just a non stop flurry of activity. By the look of it, it already seemed a long say in office.

Little did he know it would also be his last!!

A small tribute to all the brave men in uniform who walk into danger knowing what awaits them. Who have their dreams and aspirations at the back of their minds but give it all up for people they don’t know, but just know the fact that they are their country men, irrespective of the region they belonged to.

Tears will be shed, peace marches held, but that birthday card will always remain not sent!!

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Kaleidoscope

>> Friday, November 14, 2008



"The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.".. Don williams Jr


I had been planning a vacation since quite some time. Finally I decided to pack my bags and leave to my home state , God's own country.....So come join me as I take you with me on our escapades...



There is a rule while going on vacation, you are not fully packed and done till you have actually boarded your train. The same goes with me too, last minute scrambling and rushing to stores for all the essentials , and still when I unpacked and looked for stuff, many of it had mysteriously disappeared.
We had booked tickets to Kerala by train, a long 32 hour journey. However we were in for a hearty surprise, the Indian railways keeping our drudgery in mind, had upgraded our train to make it a “Nature trail /Eco tourism” special. The main attractions were the mighty cokroaches. We had a field day observing their behavior in extremely cold (read AC) conditions. Few of my co-passengers though were more interested in the rat family nearby and their hourly squabbles over the fact that the cockroaches were stealing the thunder!! (Yeah, they have ego-trips too!!)

The first week whizzed past in a whirlwind of weddings and temple visits. The divinity being a little exasperated with me after a while though. I visited around more than half a dozen of them in a day and they were fed up with the same conversations I had with all of them (You see they had no variety to chit chat over high tea that day except me!!). The elderly relatives fed me till I had food coming out of my ears…complaining “You have lost weight.” (Yay so my weight concealing outfits were working… I rejoiced!!).

Then there was the dreaded M word (marriage for the uninitiated). From birds and bees to the tallest coconut trees, all wondered aloud why “good luck” was eluding me. The only end result of all this being a new “Zen –like” expression on my face and more temple visits!!

The next leg of the journey was a fun filled week of back packing across southern part of Kerala with a few friends. It was a slightly unplanned trip; we had just the places we wanted to visit in mind ….a la Anthony BourdainNo Reservations!!

The first place we went to was the majestic Padmanabhapuram Palace. The beautiful sculptures and wood work had us spellbound. The palace is breathtakingly beautiful and well maintained. We had our funny moments though … when my friend innocently asked one unsuspecting guide .. “But why didn’t Marthanda Varma, the king get married? Wasn’t he an eligible bachelor?” The look on the guide’s face was priceless and the rest of us were almost ROTFL. (psst we did have some cheeky answers from another friend for above question …but since this a family blog… ;) )
Kovalam beach was a major disappointment though .And what do I say about the Veli tourist village .. the sculptures or whatever you can call them were just best left to wild imagination …


We left for Alleppey the next day. With no train tickets, and me being a first time back packer, I was shivering when the ticket collector asked us to get down at the next station. I am sure he wanted to throw us out, but looking at the mountains we were carrying in the name of luggage he didn’t bother to test his muscle strength. So we were stranded in no man’s land in Varkala for a while, with the locals eyeing us with looks they only reserved for aliens.
We stayed at a wonderful home stay option at Alleppey. The hosts provided us with a cosy room in their house and lovely meals. Trust me, the way we were devouring food, I am sure they would do a background check the next time around… “Starvation victims will not be entertained!!”
The backwater cruise in the lovely houseboat however made up for all the missed trains and crowded buses. It was like a trip to another world, a journey we all will never forget in a long time to come.

The next stop was at Kottayam. The plan was to visit the Kumarakom Bird sanctuary. Visit it we did, but the birds seemed to have gone on a wedding reception or a party, leaving behind just a few hens and crows. I am sure they didn’t get our letter announcing our arrival, else this wouldn’t have happened.

Our final pit stop was at Cochin, rather near Cochin, in a quaint city called Thripunithura. My pal A and his parents were our hosts. Hosts would be a rather formal way to put it, the reception they gave us was like family, though we were meeting them for the first time... It was like an instant connection, like we had shared some bond long ago. We visited the Thripunithura royal family at the Hill Palace and went on a wonderful ferry ride across all the islands in Cochin. We had so much fun, with the jokes aunty cracked, for in future whenever I hear the word “Adulteration” I will think of her.( ok that’s an inner circle joke.. cant explain). As I waved them good bye, I felt I was leaving my folks behind. :)

As our train chugged out of Ernakulam Town station towards Pune and we waved out to A, I suddenly felt something was about to change... and it has indeed.. for better or for worse!!
I had one of the best trips ever. Made lasting friendships, one tiny grouse though being a miffed friend .. still wondering what went wrong in a matter of 12 hours.. I wish I knew... :(

As this post is on a journey, can baggage be far behind, considering we had loads of it . I’ll end this with a quote I read in Anita Nair’s book “Mistress”

“Baggage I suppose .. he said softly. None of us is free of it, and yet if we were, we wouldn’t be who we are”
Add Image

P.S: Two learning’s from the trip:
1) It is not necessary to just own a camera.. You should know to use it too!!! (Yeah all my pictures look like they have been shot by a 3 year old)

2) Malayalis are very disciplined people, don’t believe me … ok then check the disciplined queues at the Beverages Corporation outlets.. even army drills will be put to shame.

Acknowledgement : I thank "god" for the first pic ;) in the post

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Path to Redemption!!

>> Sunday, November 9, 2008

She looked forlorn…. There was no reply even today. In the past she had brushed off his lack of response to being busy and distracted by truck loads of work. Her patience seemed to be wavering now and she had no idea whom to turn to.

Strange thoughts seem to pass through her head. Where had things gone wrong she wondered? Everything had seemed so hunky dory in the past... at least most of the time.
Everyone around her seemed so happy, what had she done wrong that things had taken such a grim turn.

So many mails had gone unanswered, so many conversations turning into monologues… She slowly nodded her head, picking herself to face another day in isolation. To be ignored, she thought is not a very nice place to be in!!



Why was God not returning her mails???
Had God really created a rule that sent all her mails to a special folder called “Trash”in his MS outlook … (the bane of being born in a tech savvy generation she rued …atleast there were no firewalls and rules at heaven.com earlier ;)!!)
But as these thoughts flitted through her head, she sat down to write God her next mail…
For she believed.. “Hope Is a Good Thing, Maybe the Best of Things, and No Good Thing Ever Dies.
(Shawshank Redemption)

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BA!!!

>> Monday, October 27, 2008

There is this constant itch for a quick fix... she had this glazed look in her eyes which no one could read. Her mind was muddled. She wanted to go out to her world. Her world of distant friends who seemed to now be a part of her being. People she had never met in her life time.

Why is that drug addicts and computer aficionados are both called users?

I am on vacation folks and just 2 days without the internet and I am missing this blog world like crazy. I feel the need for BA (Bloggers Anonymous or rather Blogohholics Anonymous ;)). So long till my next fix folks ;)

Wish you all a very very happy Diwali!!

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And I looked on with stars in my eyes.....

>> Tuesday, October 21, 2008

He came, he performed and battled a thunderstorm. The world to which he belonged to,watched with awe as he grew from strength to strength. His blitzkreig left most of his opponents gasping for breath. But the respect he got from one and all , proved that all good things come in small packages :) .. He stood out not only for his game but for the standards he set for off field behaviour.

Fame is a bee; it has a song, it has a sting. Ah too, it has a wing! "
Emily Dickinson

And he didn't let fame touch him ... not even a wee bit!!
As the whole world looked at him, waiting for him to take one wrong step... A little girl looked at him with stars in her eyes , with absolute adoration ...






Not every promising player accomplishes as much as he promises. Tendulkar has. Let us celebrate that. His record will be broken. But his impact will last. (Courtesy : Cricinfo article)


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Different.. Yet so similar

>> Tuesday, October 14, 2008

They met by the quirk of fate at a hospital room. From that moment on, both their lives changed forever. They reveled in each other’s company, each watching the other as they took small steps towards their chosen fields. Helping each other as their steps faltered.

However as years passed, their relationship hit the adolescence roadblock. They argued on lengths, one thought that anything above waist length(hair ofcourse) was extremely short, while the other thought a bob was way too long!! They had loud debates on the advantages of talking softly ....

One believed that a penny saved was a penny well spent while the other believed every penny was worth spending.
The major concerns were regarding encroachments…of the wardrobe kind…. So, one had a firewall which blocked all the communication packets if it had the word “Clothes”. The “Tattoo” word was once uttered, what followed was a icy cold stare… which almost melted the Himalayas!!

Their rock wars were legendary, would have put even the gladiator to shame. It began with the advantages of adorning the bling n rocks in keeping with the neighborhood slogan of “Neighbor’s envy Owner’s pride” but ended with firework display … one with verbal missiles and the other relying on the tried and tested tear missiles ;)

So like the Coffee Bite ad says, the arguments continued!!!

But if one fine day, one of them sitting all alone at home, is hit by sudden burst of dreams going bust syndrome and breaks down in to a pool of them so called salt water. The other one comes back after a day of so called hectic social commitments (read navratri poojas), just glances at the supposedly scrubbed (to remove tear stains) face and asks, “Were you crying?” That’s when the phrase “bound by the umbilical cord” actually hits you with such a force that it takes your breath away!!




They are around to soothe your pains and to help you with homework and skin your hide when comic books mysteriously appear between textbooks And to say with a straight face “Your belt just walked past, if you walk faster, you might catch up….” :)
Mothers and daughters…. Alike but yet so different !!
P.S.: Please dont tell my mom i wrote this, for more than once she has told me if I didnt look so much like her, she would have been sure there was a mix up at the hospital!!

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