It was peering at me,when i opened my eyes this morning.

"How do you feel ?"it asked me.
"well,just the same.What did you expect?"said I ,irritated at this early morning confrontation.
It laughed,a haughty half laugh,as if victorious and said"Well,all those who care, will remind you of me today,gently ,in their own way!!!!"

"And by the way,don't take too long to get used to me,I know you hate change."
"Shoo !" I tried to push it away.
"I'll be back next year,with more additions," it had a smirk on his face as it walked away.

"and oh ,BTW,HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!" it said turning around one last time.

thirty three came to scare me this morning,but i told it,what i tell everyone
(and i believe Mark Twain wrote this for me and me alone!!!)

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter

MAIDLESS !!!!!

Well, life in a metro like Bangalore, is tough, a replacement (house) maid has more attitude, than your just returned US EXPAT neighbor.I am maidless, and all those of you who are raising an eyebrow at the mundanity of the topic, please raise both eyebrows now and bestow a little pity, because, this is one crucial issue, and a formidable force of nature, which hits each one of us, no matter which stage of life we are in. Whether you are married or happy, man or a woman, this is one maid you can’t do without. Like at the end of every ordeal(2 full maidless)days, one has arrived at the following profound conclusions……

· A ‘no maid’ situation ,has therapeutic value, here I was down and out with fever and chills, barely able to blink and lo behold, the tragic news cures me of all aches and pains .MODERN MIRACLES !!!

· The maid does a lousy job of cleaning (realized this while cleaning yesterday), yet is more efficient than me, coz what takes her exactly 25 min took me more than an hour!!!!TIME MANAGEMENT WITHOUT ATTENDING B SCHOOL

· Am losing hair by the kilos. It can’t be anybody elses, coz the only other two people in the house, (fortunately) still sport near crew cuts!!!! HAIR THERE EVERYWHERE

We have too much furniture at home. It’s technically and humanly impossible to maneuver through the furniture, while cleaning the house. GO BARE!!! I mean reduce and reduce!!!

· 1600 sq ft is really too much of luxury to deal with or rather clean!!!! SIMPLE LIVING AND IN SMALLER SPACES WILL INDUCE HIGH THINKING…..i am convincing myself to believe

· The myth, that I was some kind of high endurance cardio queen in the gym, was busted, as one round of JHADU POONCHA took the wind out of me. WAS SWEATING AT 19 DEGREES CENTIGRADE.

·That I have the most adorable husband, as was taken out for dinner and from being MAID was given special treatment by both father and son as MAID OF HONOUR.

AN INDIAN EPIC !!!

Move over Harry potter and Lord of the rings,and all those who accuse Indians of plagiarism, for here is a movie ,which can be touted as the original ‘baap’ of all Fantasy, long before the genre ,ever came into fashion. If you thrive on Fantastical adventures, here’s one which will gratify all genres and tastes, as the ultimate masala movie, with a potent mix of Fantasy, family drama, costume (drama) and of course rib tickling comedy that will leave you crying(for NO more)

The plot of PATAAL BHAIRAVI is the story of a brave heart, poor lad(Jitendra) dressed in Greeko style,(GOD alone knows why)and the fabric of his dresses, alternates magically between suede…leather and embroidery, in love with our heavily ‘accented’ poor little rich princess(Jaya Prada),who in turn gets kidnapped by an evil ,satin obsessed Sorcerer, Kadar Khan, who strikes everyone with his rather ingenious, indigenous version of abracadabra……AAM PHAT !!!(You read it right aam phat) if Achilles’ had a heel, the key to all his (KK’S) magical abilities, lay in his……….his beard !!!!

One of the highest points(there being innumerable ones)in the movie,is the item number by the damsel in distress Dimple(kapadia),who is desperately trying to lure our chaste hero(a la Menaka style)and our VIshwamitra(Jitendra,who fights her off, with corny lines like….tum mujhe aapne vasna ki aag mein jalana chahte ho)and who has been ‘shraped’by an evil tantrik,and is freed by Jitendra.There are numerous other unforgettable characters like Asrani and the unmistakably large Amjad Khan, playing a la Astrik and Obelisk(with the horns) reincarnated in Patal Lok,who help thicken and unthicken the plot,and make this movie,truly a ‘CLASSIC’.Watch it to believe,the insanity !!!

DIL MANGE 'MORE'

· read 40% of the newspaper, at a stretch(which is quite a feat, considering low levels of concentration)

· took Anshul to the dentist(because bitter past experience has taught me that prevention is better than waiting endlessly outside the dentist's office)

· visit doctor for vaccinations(which have been so delayed that the doc suspects that I’m his foster mother,and the fact that I can’t remember whether he had measles or chicken pox,when he was a baby,acts as fuel to the doctors’ doubts!!)

· buy ‘GOOD’ vegetables, that everyone will eat(which actually leaves me with very few options, so easier said than done)

· Give clothes for stitching (for this is the ideal gap between post eid and pre diwali,and may be I'll be lucky to get them back in a month)

· Wind up pending job at the bank (which meant I had to remove my helmet, sun coat and scarf AGAIN!!!...coz with all these on ,the security guard would not have let me in)

· pick up pamphlet from ranga shankara,about theatre festival,(so that one can plan much ahead and not miss the plays…YET AGAIN)

Seven major errands done and seventy more pending at home. If there’s one complaint I have against god, it is that he gave me just 24 hrs in a day. I decide to reward Anshul with a pack of kurkure, for he is extremely upset at being ‘pricked’, without adequate notice!! We park ourselves on the J.P Nagar II Phase curb and sit down to enjoy, a tight rope walking act,by two little girls, in the middle of the street(much to the annoyance of passers-by).
As the little girl accepted the 10 rs reward from us with a smile, I marvelled at her ability to smile, despite the kind of life she lived. Maybe I was being unfair and selfish by complaining about walking on a tight rope, juggling small time assignments (which can hardly be called as work) family, gym, holidays, friends, watching plays,reading, attending guitar classes, housekeeping(where the maid does 80%of the REAL work).

I guess it's just a habit and in fashion to complain about ones’, severe lack of time and to lament about the undone than the done. We all complain of tight schedules and the growing TIME –LESS syndrome, we grumble about how we are never able to do MORE...
Well here was someone who did that not for more, but just to make ends meet.

The to-do list is endless, 24 hours in a day; never seem enough to finish what is...or rather is intended to be done. I have decided to look back and see and feel happy, more about the DONE this time…!!!
As I reached back home, I gave myself a pat on the back,for having kept the lunch ready, for there is nothing like a good lunch waiting at home, when one is really hungry and felt thankful to be in a situation where I could take a break from work to sit back at home, to do MORE or LESS NOTHING!!!!

As for the list of things still undone, because I sat down to write this post.....
Tomorrow is another day, which promises a full 24 hours......

PICTURE THIS

LIBERATING OR SUFFOCATING !!!!!

the view from the 11th floor ,clearly my favourite place in the entire house

but sometimes the growing concrete jungle tells me,that very soon ,there will be no more 'JUNGLE' left

'PICTURE THIS'

MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL,

HOW DID I BECOME SO THIN AND TALL,

TALL IS THANKS TO THE GENETIC SELECTION

AS FOR THIN,I SHOULD THANK THE FUNNY MIRRORS SECTION........

(vishveshvaryya science museum,Cubbon park)

'PICTURE' THIS

THE OLD AND THE NEW CO-EXIST

while the new 'steels' away the attention,

the old lures you with a coat of red lipstick.

(venketappa art gallery and the TVS towers near cubbon park)

An inquisitive mind is often the victim of punishment.I knew teachers believed,and executed, this adage,but here the tables were turned,and was punished when I questioned a blogger,about the what and how of TAG......AND GOT TAGGED IN RETURN.

Frankly ,would have never responded to the tag.However, it's true that the question,
what are the 5 random things that people don't know about me...quizzed and hounded me for days.....is it that i am so transparent,that there's nothing which people don't know about me???OR is it that i would have to dig out my secrets and desires and fears and put it up!!!!!!
Found them five points to ponder!!!!!

1. Have a miraculous ability to oscillate between being an introvert and an extrovert.....how and why it happens i don't really know......love being with people,never really care about saying things which are politically correct,but somehow, intensely worry myself silly about why I said it and whom I said it to,????maybe I'm an ambivert or just plain old indecisive!!!!!

2. intensely hate plastic bags......they have a rare chemical ability to raise my BP to abnormal limits.It does embarrass family and friends,when i carry my own bag everywhere,and don't leave any opportunity to lecture people on shunning plastics.....shopkeepers,shoppers caught unawares,school kids...i drive my Eco lessons anywhere and everywhere....It amazes and irritates me,when i see people ask for a huge 5 kg plastic bag,to carry home 1 solitary nimbu !!!!!
"polythene dena bhaiya is every Indian shoppers' fav line."

3. am hopelessly patriotic.....romance,lovers dying to meet in heaven,motherly love...nope....nothing gets the senti out of me as much as a dose of desh bakhti.Strangely,can never sing the national anthem,without feeling tears well up in my eyes.India's struggle for freedom remains my fav.lesson,and often get emotional teaching it.

4. Don't want to sound psychic,but have a rare ,and sometimes irritating ability of receiving vibes from people.....good or bad.....which warns me or pulls me towards them......99% of the time....... I'm correct.Also have an insanely high level of expectation from the people whom I call F.R.I.E.N.D.S.....lethally high.....(don't know how the two things are connected....but am getting a vibe that they are)

5. Cannot do without my daily dose of exercise......whether that daily dose of exercise leads to any calorie depletion(and mostly it does not)...is a fact ,i don't bother...but the satisfaction and exhilaration,whether in a park or the gym ....is a mood elevator for me..... working up a sweat is worth ,every trickle of sweat.