Homecoming...

Staying away from home is not easy....you simply miss the feeling of carelessness and warmth that only home can provide. Those fights over the TV remote with bro, Papa shouting at us (with no avail) that we should grow up and behave our age, Mom cooking our fav things which she had probably not cooked for quite some time thinking "bachche jab aayenge tab banaaongi" and we simply sneaking into the kitchen to take a bite of the garam pakoras making her yell "haath toh dho lo", "garam hain abhi, thande ho jaane do, warna muh jal jaayega!!!".

So it was simply a treat for mind, body and soul when I finally managed to take a break from my hectic schedule and was coming home on a 2 weeks vacation. Tell you something, no matter how much we grow up, our parents just forget that. We grow up, they don't. So before my d-day, I would still get to hear things like...."Pack your bags properly", "Don't forget your ticket", "Don't take a nap at the airport"...and well, i simply listen to all these advices. Do I have an alternate...or rather do I actually want an alternate?? :)

My usual day at home is spent in sleeping till my body signals me that it is too tired to sleep further, having gossip sessions with Mom, enjoying yummy food, watching TV, laughing over some stupid ads, doing some small home chores, helping Mom in the kitchen and just doing nothing at times.

Well, there's another side of the story also to this "kahani ghar ghar ki". When I am at home, I do sometimes miss the restlessness of my usual working day, kabhi-kabhi toh bore bhi ho jaata hai since I have nothing to do. I keep eating my Mum's head that let's go somewhere, may be for some shopping or just roaming around. And then, she comes up with this brilliant plan...."sabzi khatam ho gayi hai ghar mein...tu mere saath sabzi lene chal"....aaarrrghhh!!! "Ma shopping didnt mean buying groceries", I would retort. But then she promises to buy me an ice-cream...and yo! I would be as happy as a 3 year old..."okay, i'll come with you" and off I go....

I am very fond of applying mehendi on my hands and wouldn't miss a chance whenever I get it. So this time, while shopping for veggies with Mummy, I spotted a shop selling Mehendi cones, and I bought a cone. Since it was Rakhi next day so entire evening spent in applying Mehendi on my own hand and then my mom's hand. It came out pretty neat...and the colour was fabulous. Then Ma told me about good old days when she would apply Mehendi on my hands when I was a kid and then she made sure that I don't spoil it while sleeping coz I would make such a ruckus in the morning if by any chance my mehendi got spoiled...haha...such a lil brat I was :)

These small sweet things make staying at home fun. And yes, I am having loadsa fun!!!

Chak De, I-Day and Holiday

Awwwwwwwesssssssommmme!!! That was my reaction after watching “Chak De…India”. A few things to clarify…

• I am not a Shahrukh Khan fan
• I am not much inclined towards hockey as a game
• I hate getting up early on weekends!!!

and still…I did not regret losing a fair share of my Kumbhkaran sleep when I went for “Chak de” early morning show (well, 10 AM is quite “early” for me on weekend) last Saturday. I was hooting, shouting, clapping, laughing, sulking during those hockey matches (in spite of knowing that Indian team would eventually win)

The movie is a good way to show the vast regional diversity that India has….a nice way to convey that no matter how different we are in terms of behavior, culture and language….hain toh aakhir Indians hi. The characters in the movie are simply fabulous without being extravagant or glamorous. The regional idiosyncrasies of team members just make you rolling with laughter.

I still love cricket, would any day opt for Yuvraj Singh over Dhanraj Pillai and dunno how much the movie would help to the cause of promoting hockey…but that’s not the “point”. Bottom “line” is – Chak De rocks!!!

And not just hockey and India winning….I also loved the scene when the entire girl gang beats up a bunch of eve-teasers (“raakshason ki sena”….thats what a character in the movie calls these girls)…par sach mein…..aise idiotic eve-teasers ki pitaai hote huye dekhne mein kitna maza aata hai….only a girl can understand!!!

Now from reel life to real life…and from hockey to cricket, Indian cricket team won the test series against England (after 21 years)….dil khush kar ditta jawaano tumne!!! :)

This 15th August, India celebrated it’s 60th Independence Day. Since I am working in a KPO on US project, the holidays in our office are as per US calendar. That implies that we have an off on 4th July and have to come to office on 15th August. I know it sounds bad….trust me, it FEELS even worse….not being able to celebrate our own national festival.

But well….hum Indians hain aakhir. So on 15th August even though we came to office, me and my team mates made sure that we thoroughly enjoy our freedom. The working day started with sending forwards, talking, then going for lunch, yet again some mail trails…followed by an extended tea break. And the hit of the day was – we played Dumb Charades in office (well, not actually inside the office area…but in the garden area marked as “Smoking Zone”). The I-Day decorations in office added to the festive mood. We did eventually work after all the fun and frolic…but still it was a truly memorable day.

And now comes the icing on the cake…. I know many of you would be jealous to read this but even the sound digestion system of my body does not allow me to digest this news….I gotta tell it to you all………I got 2 weeks leave sanctioned….yipppppeeeeee!!!

I am going home…..and that too for TWO whole weeks. Mummy ke haath ke aloo ke paranthe aur Daal Baati abhi se meri aankhon ke aage kathak kar rahe hain…!!!

Kolkata….here I come (arre….ye toh Bryan Adams ka song ho gaya)
Well….chak de…who cares!!! I am all set to enjoy my independence from office work and enjoy a looong holiday!!! :)

Arbit Ramblings

Finally, I saw the movie Bheja Fry and it “moved” me a lot (literally). I was laughing so hard that all the contents of my last meal must be enjoying a salsa dance inside my stomach. Jokes apart, I had a real good laugh after a long long time, kudos to the director for such a clean fun movie.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I dislike all these horoscopes poking out their weird faces from wherever possible. My Orkut fortune says “You are a master of the situation” when currently I feel anything but a master of whatever is going on in my life. But I admit, in spite of total contradictory revelations on these horoscopes…I still read it. Kya karen…control hi nahi hota!!!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sometimes you just don’t get answers to certain most important questions in life. You don’t have control over certain circumstances. Sometimes even though things seem to be as bright, unruffled and smooth as Dimple Kapadia’s hair, they are actually as rough and pinching as a desert cactus. Sab kuch sahi hota hai…lekin phir bhi kuch theek nahi hota. They say there is light at the end of the tunnel…but what if the tunnel just doesn’t seem to end. Hope persists!!! Take things in your stride and accept whatever life throws at you (easier said than done…but worth trying nonetheless)…wotsay??!!!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Oh c’mon! I cannot end my post on such a philosophical note. Lemme tell you a joke…
On second thoughts, I don’t wanna tell a joke. Am I supposed to entertain everybody at all times and always try and keep a cheerful composure? Even I have mood swings…aur aaj mera joke sunaane ka mood nahi kar raha.

I would be back…on same blog….with another post. Tab tak ke liye Shubh Ratri, Shabba khair…and if YOU are reading this post then pls pls pls take good care of yourself.

Currently listening to a beautiful song: “Take me to your heart” by MLTR

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

As soon as you step into this world as a bundle of joy, by default you are gifted with a homepage (See…God thought of all these things much before humans did) and certain relations. Also known as “khoon ke rishte”, these involve your Mom and Dad, siblings (or would-be siblings….arre, chote bhai behen jo abhi tak paida nahi huye), Bua, Chacha, Mama etc.
But as soon as you start treading this journey of life with a lil sense of the things and people around you, there is one more category of relations that gets attached to you….they are none other than your friends. Woh log jinko aap kuch time pehle tak jaante bhi nahi the…..ppl who were complete strangers to you and just did not contribute anything to the “importance index” in your life, suddenly become an integral and undetachable part of you. They are now as important for you as your cup of morning tea and other routine morning activities (I know the comparison is a little sidey…..but am sure my frenz will bear with me….others, I just don’t bother!!!)

Aur ye jo dost log hote hai na…they are real sweethearts. You love spending time with them, you share your joys and sorrows with them…..they lift your spirits when you are feeling low….and when you are in a mood to celebrate, they would be all game for it. Not only that, boss ki bitching karni ho toh frenz, shopping karni ho toh frenz, movie dekhni ho toh frenz, pakaana ho toh frenz…..arre yahan tak ki email fwds bhejne ho toh bhi frenz ki hi jaroorat padhti hai. (Mujhe toh sardar jokes sunaane ke liye bhi inn doston ki jaroorat hoti hai). I sometimes really wonder how terrible my life would have been….without my support system called friends.

When I decided to leave Mumbai (after spending a decent 5 years time over there)…..little had I known that it would be so painful to move from a place which is neither my hometown….nor it is something that I can call home. I was just living a life of a nomad out there. Mumbai se nikli thi tab itni jyaada Ganga-Jamuna bahaai thi that my masi actually commented “aisa lag raha hai ki tu vida hokar jaa rahi hai yahan se”. And I was not the only one crying….my frenz who had come to see me off were all giving me tough competition (kya zamaana aa gaya hai….rone mein bhi competition hai yaar) Well, haven’t had the experience of an actual vidaai (the one that happens after marriage) as I am still single….and quite an eligible spinster (don’t raise your brows ok)….but yeah, probably leaving Mumbai would come closest to leaving my parents’ home.
I can go on and on about my experiences in Mumbai….but since this is a post about frenz, so Mumbai will wait (Don’t worry Mumbai….aamchi Mumbai ke liye ek alag se jhakaas post likhoongi baad mein)

Back to friends – yes Mumbai gave me a lot of these sweet creatures…..college frenz, office frenz, PG frenz….total masti thi. And not just Mumbai….I have really been blessed (thank God for that) to have some really good ppl kind enough to become my friends. Papa was in transferable job….so I never got the opportunity to grow up with the same set of people. Papa’s transfer would imply new city, new home, new school, new classmates and new friends. Jab bhi hum transfer hokar kahin aur jaate the, then apart from leaving behind my fav corner ice-cream shop…or the house which would have guava trees….or the walky-talky maid (thats what I call the maid who talks too much and is a chalta-phirta newspaper for all the colony gossip) and other such interesting and important things like that, I would miss leaving behind those friends the most with whom I was enjoying my life (gali-mohalle ke dost, school ke dost aur even Mummy ki kitty party waali aunties ke bachche bhi)

But these transfers made me adaptable to new places and also honed my skills in fooling people to actually accept me as their friend :) So the database of my frenz just kept on growing…..and I am still in touch with so many of my friends whom I have not met in ages and who reside in different corners of the world now (well, Orkut also deserves a due credit for this!!!)

But every rose comes with a thorn…and the sweet relationship called friendship has its own downsides. These very people who make your life worthwhile are the ones who make you hurt also. Since they rule your feelings and emotions, many a times they would unknowingly or may be un-wantingly make you sink into your knees and you start feeling hopeless and void of happiness. You actually start wondering how somebody who has always filled your heart with pleasure fills it now with pain equally intense.

If it is to be like that, so be it. People don’t stop adorning roses for the fear of thorns. Just that the thorn doesn’t prick as much as the hurt arising out of the matters of the heart.
But roses are still beautiful….and so are your friends. Cherish them….enjoy with them….love them and live for them (and you’ll realize that it is the best way to live for your own self)

For all those frenz who are away from me….the following lines are just to let you know that you are missed and you would always, always be an integral part of my life...

Kuch baat yaad reh jaati hai…
Kuch yaad khaas reh jaati hai
Door ho jaate hain hum jinse
Phir milne ki aas saath reh jaati hai…!!!

A very Happy Friendship Day to all of you :)