Week without K

K left for Chennai leaving Chiyaa and me to be at BBSR. He was to enjoy 'bachelor-hood' for a week, while I was to savor all the pampering I could at my maika.

There were invitations to visit left right and center. The food that was laid was simply to die for. One of my Chachi ji even made pani puri  as a starter knowing my undying love for the dish. There was a dahi bara aloo dum party which was a rocking hit. I hosted a lunch (rather invited to a hotel) for my cousins. We ate like famished pigs. Literally for 2 hours, we just kept on eating. We made a trip to my maternal granny's house which was a very lively day. I am always amazed at how much emotion a baby can evoke. People in their seventies start bouncing and jumping around. Bless them! 

Every single day at BBSR was made up of family, food and fun. There was no end to it. Chiyaa was carried on shoulders, bumped around and she also fully participated in all the action. She was so eager to play that she would barely touch food. It was a real challenge to make her eat! But then we used to join forces and somehow make her have something. 

Like all good things, the stay at BBSR drew to a close. We started wrapping up things. With Chiyaa around, the whole aura of gloom that descends over me when I leave BBSR was not there. Her chores kept our minds off the fact that soon the time to bid goodbye would come over. And that time came :( With all its heaviness. It was a nauseating feeling. Papa was too emotional and could not restrain his tears. Mummy was more practical assuring everyone. But I know she was being cut into half inside. As we walked towards the departure terminal I looked back once at my family, their faces wretched with grief. It was a strangulating feeling. 

I thank God for K beside me which made the tears stop way sooner. One wonderful, surreal, ethereal leg of the vacation was over. Memories were all I could carry.

Now day 2?

Day 1 at BBSR was a buzz. It came and went filled with lively chatter, tasty food and of course the hullabaloo around Chiyaa. The next day my parents were hosting a get together of close family and friends to 'show off' the new baby :) By my parents's standards, close family and friends ended up being - err- 200 :D

The day started early with my Aai (which is maternal grandma in Odia) coming over. Now she was the Super Aai now, being promoted to the stature of great grandmother :) She was beside herself with joy on seeing the little one. Pity she did not have much energy to carry her, but I could see the joy with which she followed the little one with her eyes. People kept coming and going and Chiyaa was perfect celebrity. She went to everyone, no qualms at all,even pulled a few chains of some aunties and specs of some uncles. She was at her gregarious best. The person I was waiting to meet was my dear hum-naam Amrita :)  She is a blogger whom I follow since forever. Lately my sis kept raving about a 'friend' Amrita. And I was like kaun hai yea ladki. She went on to give some details, and I was like ting ting ti ting. Rings a bell! I asked if she writes blogs and sis said,  yea she does, keeps sending me links which I read sometimes :P Then I happened to check her profile on Facebook and there it was - her blog url blinking at me. I was like yeayyyyyyyyyyy Sherlockkkkk!!! So we became friends on the ubiquitous FB and the rest  as they say is history :)

It was real nice of her to come over, even though she had a flight to catch. (Yes really) The din continued and little did we realise that it was 1600 already and we were yet to have lunch! We scampered and had the fare - pulao, mixed veg, chutney, aloo gobi, malpua, rasgulla, gulab jamun, pakode. Shuddh Odia khana! So hearty. Mere to aansoo aa gaye! 

Towards the evening there were only a few close family members remaining. That's when my best friend Sam called over, that she could drop by in another hour. Sam is my sounding board. Our friendship if I choose to quantify it - is 17 years old. But there is nothing in that number. It fails to exemplify how precious a person she is. (I don't have much friends :( There are only 4 people I liberally associate with that word. It is a very niche term for me :)  ) Anyways, she happened to be in town that day. In fact she had a trip to another city, but she made sure she came over with her mom. Now how splendid is that! We could not actually have our jibber jabber - but that she came, that I could see her after 3 years just made my day. Seeing her mom, awakened all those old memories of school. Aah nostalgia!

Sam and aunty had dinner, after which they rushed back. K was to start the next day back to Chennai, leaving me and Munchkin to lavish in all the glory at BBSR. We had no idea what a week lay ahead!

Now this one is easy :)

In my last post I waxed eloquent of the pani puris in Orissa. Now how about a glimpse of heaven?

The set up

Hard at work

Ufffffff

Bring em onnnnnnn

Aaj to sach main dimaag ek dum khaali tha

Like seriously. Generally there is some budding thought but today I am at a complete total utter loss as to what to write.

After a lot of thought I realised I am yet to complete my chronicles of the India trip. Hmmmm so where was I ? I did write about the initial bits. Now for my fav part - BBSR!

As soon as we landed I could not wait for the baggage to come - for I could see my dad eagerly waiting at the entrance. I grabbed the munchkin and rushed out. He held Chiyaa and hugged her. I was so touched I nearly had tears. I know my dad has a lot of fondness for daughters and having a grand daughter he has become very emotive. Earlier I have always seen his stern disciplinarian self. But since Chiyaa I have seen the self that sneaks upon my sisters iPhone to check videos of the baby, the not so computer savvy person who keeps pestering everyone to log onto Skype and the one who keeps asking for updates on Chumki every now and then. Yea he calls her Chumki and I think that name is going to stay :)

Stepping into home was aahh!!! Home! Period. The pictures of lord Ganesha adorning the stairway, the handicrafts mats on the floor and the general air of the hard work mom puts in everyday to maintain it just fills me with joy and satisfaction. Once a bit refreshed sis took the onus of lunch. We got ordering like crazy from a local takeaway. The food was simply awesome but we were looking forward to the evening when we would make the haloed trip forrrrrrr pani puri!!! Woo hooo!!

Now I am a pani puri connoisseur. I have had it across the length and breadth of India and reached the conclusion that the awesome-st yummie-st divine-est and just out-of-the-world-est happen to be in Orissa ! ( Call me chauvinistic and yes you have full rights to disagree and you may even tout your state's fare as the best)

We made a trek to the place that sells the best pani puris in the world. I could write poems about them, I could wash the feet of the vendors, I could build statues of them or I could just keep on eating them. One crunchy puri filled with spicy potato filling dipped in the sour n spicy tamarind water - zannat kahin hai to yehin hai yehin hai yehin hai.

We scooted home and retired quickly for the next day would be long.

I wanted to try this too

I had read some where about a lady who wrote about 4 good things that happened in a day for a month. Again as always I wished to try that too. Now what better opportunity than this blog-athon.

These are Sunday's highlights : -

• It was brilliantly sunny !
• Had superbly tasty chicken biriyani at a friend's place by virtue if an impromptu invitation
• Tried a new venture today ( details on it in another post :) )
• And K told he needed 4 hours at work but came back in 1.5 woo hooo!!!

Lemme try this

I am generally a bundle of thoughts. There is some chain of thought or the other running through my mind. Fed up with these voices in my head, I think I started blogging. And now I have even taken up this err.. blog-athon. 

Now I suddenly see thoughts vanishing. Come onnnnnn! Don't give up on me now!!! I was wondering if I could post my din-charya (too lame), my kiddos din-charya (uh ho.... ) or menus I cooked or..... Urgh. Then I just stumbled upon this - why don't I write a movie review.  I have not done that in this space. I am very critical of movies and mostly I end up strongly disliking movies that are popular. Dark Knight Rises, Kahaani, Vicky Donor for instance.I whole heartedly enjoy the Bol Bachchans, RA.One and We Bought A Zoo though. Weird - yep.

Now coming to the movie I watched - it was English Vinglish. Hmmmm.... !!!SPOILER ALERTTTT!!!

I don't think I can sufficiently review the movie without spilling some beans :( 

Ok here goes --

• What's with learning English in New York. What about Rapidex English Speaking Course, Veta, British Academy for English Language?
• Completely beats me that a woman who could not order a cuppa coffee in a roadside restaurant ends up taking a subway to her classes.
• She was a superb mom and stuff, but I think she really forgot to teach her daughter some manner. Ek laafa lagane ka tha and she would be proper grounded.
• Why did she have a bone to pick with her hubby all the time? As in seriously when he hugs her goodbye at the airport, she retracts as if he has a contagious ailment. And this was the woman complaining about not being hugged. Duh!
• The mild romantic angle with guess who - a French. Yawn! Come on are we done with stereotyping here?
• She was going to English classes only not pole dancing. The need for keeping it under cover was?!!
• Wearing the over coat only after placing an order in full English. Hmm why may I ask?

These were the bits that were so jarring, that I felt like Hmpf! But then overall - I did not feel like running away :) I really appreciate these movies with a female protagonist, after Kahaani this again was one which hinges on the central female character. Way to go Bollywood! 

Well... that's how my thoughts are on movies. :) Totally off the mark.

Now comes the tough part

I had heard/read somewhere - the start is easy, its the continuation that is tough, especially the second day. I feel truer words have not been said. Be it anything - a study routine, a diet, morning walk, saying a prayer - the first day is done with such band baaja. With a sure shot hope that, everyday is going to be like this. I am going to study like this and complete all chapters and even have time for revision this exam. Nevaaa evaaa happenedddd in mah lifeeeee - revision karke exam likhne ki feeling kya hoti hai aaj tak nehi pata mujhe. I hope I get to write some exam in my life where I would have revised.  Amen to that :) This just gives me a cheeky feeling to brag a bit about myself. I always wished I would get 100 in an exam - always. There were many bright brains in my class who would bag a 100 as if it was some random number. But for me, it was always like 70 is brilliant! But then finally in my ripe old age, I wrote a certification. This one to be precise -->. And I got a 100!! Ahemmmmmm! Once it was over, all I was thinking about was getting to work. But then my manager made my day saying - 100!! Many people never get to see that. I was like yayyyyyyyyyyy yippppeeeeeee!!!

Anyways let me stop basking in long forgone glories. Same is the story about diet plans with me. I am not a proponent of dieting. I feel eating is one of the simplest pleasures of life. Just like sleeping! But then sometimes, my comfort eating goes a bit over board. I again derive comfort from the simplest of foods - tea and biscuits. Yep. I know empty calories and lots of calories. But what joy in breaking a nice crisp biscuit into 2 and dipping it in a hot mug of tea and savouring the soggy sweetness. Hmmm.... Thank God I just had a huge jug of tea else I would have left this post mid way and run to the stove. Back to my ramblings - to keep my inane cravings under a limit, I decide upon diet plans - which I start with alarming alacrity but somehow see my resolve shaking by day 2 (bas 2 biscuit main kaise guzaara hoga? Ek aur basssssss ek aur )

Morning walks,exercises,the  less said the better. I keep making and breaking schedules at break neck speed :) I was having similar doubts to this blog-athon that I picked up. Day 2, second blog, hoga ki nehi? But lagta hai this is one speed breaker handled :) 

Lets see number three :D