Daag acche hain

Yesterday was a funny day. It started with a big quarrel with K and that too for a petty reason. The reason being - my cell phone had gone kaput!

My Sony Ericsson W580i had been giving me lot of troubles. It used to hang intermittently, mostly when I needed it most :| - so much so that many a times I had to remove the battery to re start it. Removing the battery itself was a tedious task and a separate story in itself. Sometimes removing the battery and re inserting it would not work, and we had to take it to some store for repair. Some pricks and pokes by the mechanic, and it used to come back to its senses. As I am writing this, I remember, the very first day I carried the phone, it got stuck by the time I reached office! After some months it had stopped charging from the ac charger. Well, not a problem, I used to get it charged from the USB charger - a process that used to take 10 times more time than a standard ac charger. But me being lazy and the cell phone being pretty much indispensable, decided to go ahead with the arrangement.

But................ yesterday the cell chose not to get charged from the USB point. It in fact decided to get discharged when connected to the USB port! ARGH!!

I lost my cool and was fretting and fuming about loosing my communication channel. Since the phone was a recommendation of K, he took it personally that I was indirectly blaming him for all the inconvenience. This lead to a war of words, some hurtful some sarcastic.
We started for office after the peace resolution was passed.

But then, the whole incident had kinda bummed us out a bit.
Evening coincidentally, we were able to meet up at a common point. And guess what, K had got paan for me - something which I have a weakness for :) And as we were walking to our home, K said shall we have dinner there? And by there he meant a street side place which served noodles and other dishes which could be made in a jiffy. We were an oddity there, in our formals and office luggage, and sitting on run down plastic chairs with most of the other clientele being there for the pricing of the food ( which is very pleasing to the wallet ) was a good experience. It was an impromptu plan for us and the food there turned out to be too palatable. It was a treat worth having.

After savoring egg fried rice, cauliflower manchurian and one plate of scrambled eggs, we marched forth home. Thats when K gave me the choc he had bought. :D A walk through the streets of Besant Nagar while munching on a choc - Awesome is the word for it.

Sometimes if minor tiffs end up in such superb evenings - I think its worth the pain. You see Daag acche hain!

PS : This post was meant to be posted on the Thursday - the 4th of Decemeber. But work at office held me back. So yesterday in this post refers to 03.12.2008

Recent update - I have given my cell phone for repair, I miss it tremendously :( Am using a Nokia oldie model and that in turn makes me realise how used to I was to the facilities of the other phone: seems water had gone inside the charging pin and I will hopefully be getting it tomorrow.

Bangalore Express

I like Bangalore a lot. That's the place I got some real sweet and sad and warm and tingly memories associated with. And with my best friend A being there, it makes the city all the more welcoming.

Last weekend we made a short trip to the place. And it was a trip full of sweet nothings.

Friday evening was remarkable enough, when all of a sudden, dark clouds gathered and it started raining. And some rain it was, with blinding lightening and ferocious winds. I was all prepared and agog to scoot home soon so that we could be off to catch the train with lots of time to spare and I had promised A some snacks and savories, but seeing the downpour I felt dejected - it was gonna be a close call yet again :( with no time for purchases.

Then all of a sudden, I spotted a girl. Seemed to be a faintly familiar face, someone I had met while traveling in share autos to office. I gave her a buck tooth smile, but she never returned it. Ahem! Wrong number mebbe. Then after sometime she came up and said, did we meet before in a share auto or something? I was like Ya Lady! She was pretty petrified by the way the downpour was shaping up and tentatively asked me - shall we try to get home in this rain? I told, if you have an umbrella to get us till the main gates without soaking like rats, I think I am brave enough to face this rain. So off we went with a flimsy umbrella... and that poor thing was twisted beyond redemption thanks to the winds :(

We managed to get autos and reach till the penultimate stop for me. It was a pretty interesting ride too where I got to hear her love story, wedding plans and future programs. Once I reached the stop, my cell phone was ringing and guess who was it?! Hubby Gubby! He was close to the terminus.

So we met with the music of La la la la la la la la la la ( music of Sagar movie fame) :D We had tea and bread pakodas at a tea stall..... Hmmmmmm mild drizzle, K for company, warm tea in one hand and bread pakoda in the other ........ hmmmm heaven was close :)

Grub done, we ventured ahead. Caught the bus which would take us home in the nick of time, so much so that, we stepped into the bus at the same time and were stuck for a few seconds at the door :D Making a fool of oneself and still smiling at it - I am excelling in this talent I feel.

Journey itself was a little bit painful since all of a sudden I was having a headache - maybe a sinus prone person like me could blame the rains for it.

Sat morn as soon as we reached Bangy, the ever food loving K escorted me to a restaurant near the railway station. We shared a plate of uttapam while the most lilting songs wafted. The song that made it all the more special was Dhaage tod laao from Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. A personal fav.

Reached the destination and woke up dear darling A. And got on with the usual chatter chatter yak yak. A apart from sharing many of my opinions and tastes, also shares a penchant for getting the cold virus. Achoo Achoo Achoo she went hitting sixers and boundaries till noon. Thats when we decided to have a low key day. 3 of us generally lazed around in front of the TV, chatted and dozed intermittently, ordered and had some delectable sandwiches and noodles. Finally at 2000 we stepped out of the house to have death by chocolate - a lovely sundae at a nearby shop, which is a major hit with K since it was the very first dish I had shared with him. Once back, we guzzled generous portions of awesome ginger tea and emptied quite a few containers of snacks and savories :)

Time passed just like that, chatting,surfing the net, seeing pics of each others friends on Orkut, that A and I scarcely realised it was close to 0300 by the time we hit the bed.

Sunday started late, cos obviously we woke up late, were super lazy and there was some or the other thing on TV which was making us sit in front of it. Finally at 1400 we set forth. Again rains played spoilt sport. But inspite of it, we managed to make quite a few purchases. With her wedding coming up, A had quite a bit to do. But alas:( Still, what we accomplished within the 5 hours, was no mean feat.

Back home packing done, we had some pastries and puffs at a nearby bakery. It was really nostalgic to say goodbye, hmm, goodbye to miss A for the last time.

At the station, both K and I were reminiscing the 2 jovial days, we did not do anything, but still the time spent was so special. In the reverie we noticed that there was no sign of the train, though it was expected to depart in 15 more minutes. Thats when I spotted that we were facing platform number 6 rather than 5 (The setup is a bit weird, you cant see the platform number 5 though technically its just behind you. ) So we sccccccccccccccccccrammed to the other platform and got into the train Jab We Met style ( Ahem no no the train had nt started yet :) )

The rains and cold climes had forced me to take a couple of medicines to ward off the headache et al. But thanks to them, I slept like a dead decayed log!

When embarking on the journey, I had armed myself with the fully charged digicam for a lot of clicks. Ironically, dont have a single picture - but enormously precious memories.

Friends are the family you choose - you are an integral part of mine dearie.

Register thy marriage

Yesterday we had gone to register our marriage, a formality to be completed within a year of wedding.

We had the form nicely filled. I had in fact filled it in my neatest bestest all caps handwriting. We had double checked it and taken utmost care to fill it as if our life depended on it. We went to the main window, which had a Lady Don sitting on her golden throne. She had a good thick glass wall shielding her from the spit of the people who come to (beg/appeal/scream/scold/sob ) get their land or marriage regsitered. She gave us a cursory glance as if asking, hmmm Now I have to dirty my hands for these commoners.

She so much as just scanned the application form and pat came her review comments:-

• Put parents age for both bride and groom in the form
• Put parents profession for both bride and groom.

Now, after filling in the whole family saga of both K and I there was hardly space to write anything else. But then, a command is a command, especially coming from a government official. So we some how cringed the ages and professions of both peoples. I think the paper just extended a bit because we were actually able to fill in both nicely.

First change request successfully added.

We gingerly approached the client again. Ahem said Lady Don, give proofs. I was like :O Is it this easy!? I expected she will make us dance salsa before assenting. Then she checked the proofs. My passport was issued to me long ago when I was doing my graduation, so it had my hostel address. Now her demand was, the address I had put for myself in the application form was supposed to be that address. We looked at each other and at the 3 witnesses we had asked to assemble (one being mom in law and 2 family friends ) Then Lady Don calmly said - get a new form.

Wokay .. :| We got a new form and filled the whole Ramayana yet again. This time K had the honours. She had also asked to give in the initials for all the names in the form, the initial signifying the parents name of the person. So I was B. Amrita since my dads name starts with B and similarly every single persons name there, mine, my parents', K's, his parents', every ones name got an extra letter. Weird? You bet. This is called Tamilicization of names :S :(

Whole 999 yards covered again, we went to her - on tenterhooks. She looked. Same look of utter disgust and contempt on her face. Looked at us and said -go to the registrar and get the signature.

Now registrar happened to be a rolly polly man with a lot of chandan on his forehead, seated with atleast 5 idols looking over him. Quite a contrast to Lady Don who was cold and sardonic. He placed his signatures on all the documents while asking under his breath - hope you guys have submitted all the proofs. We said yes in unison. Then his eyes fell on the invitation. He said BHUBANESWAR!??? Who is from Bhubaneswar? Looked at K and asks Neenga? (Means you with respect in Tamil) K said no and said she. But Gollu Pollu chose not to hear that and ask ed me Neenga? I nodded yes.(I thought, if not me then who else MAN? K does nt have a doosri biwi! ) Then he said oh Bhubaneswar has a veryyyyyyyyyyyyyy famous temple. I suggested Lingaraj? He chose not to hear it( Gollu had a mind of his own, and was very choosy in what is important enough to get his ears! ) Then K helped Puri? Jagannath? Gollu Pollu lept from his chair - YESSSS YESSss Yess. I was like - Hello!!! Puri is a good 3 hours journey from Bhubaneswar and a separate city - but if you want to club them together go ahead - but get our marriage certi done :S . Then Gollu Pollu said Very good! Long Live. You are from that place!

I was like ahem thanks ... Long live the King who built the temple and thanks Jagannath - you saved the day :)

Was it pathos?

Yesterday I took a cab from office back home. It was around 2145.

On the way, there is a particular junction which manages to have a decent crowd till very late hours. There my cab was slowed down by a bus which was not standing at its designated point. The bus was supposed to stand near the terminus to pick up people, but this one was standing after it had crossed the terminus, as if waiting for some frantic person to run up and board it. I didn't see any one hurrying towards the bus, so I was a bit perplexed as to why the bus was parked in the weird fashion, causing inconvenience to the incoming traffic. Then as my cab slowly managed to cross the bus, I saw - two people waving their hand vigorously, but approaching the bus at a slow pace. And between them was a man, I guess might be in his sixties - who was blind. I did not fail to notice the white stick with the red tip in his hand. He was walking a step behind his escorts and taking careful measured steps. Something told me, the blind man was not related to the two people beside him, but was merely being helped by them.

That sight stayed on with me. Dont know why, I got tears. I had a blob in my throat with the pent up emotions. And I was unable to be normal till some 10 minutes or so.

I dont know why was it so. I saw the man for a fleeting moment - did I feel pity for him? Or was I utterly touched by the selfless way two by standers were helping him? Or was I amazed by the way the blind person trusted them? Or was I emotional because I saw the vulnerability of the old man? Or did I just realise how blessed I was......



PS. I wrote this post to remember the emotion for posterity. Economies world wide are slumping, people are loosing jobs, yesterdays necesseties are becoming luxuries today. But still, I feel we should never stop counting our blessings. Yes, there are people who seem to be having all the good luck with all the goodies coming their way. But, there are also those who have all the bad luck, for whom everything is down in the dumps. So keep counting the blessings, if theres nothing now, count the ones you had, and if you never had any be sure you will have to do a lot of counting in the future! Keep the faith.....

Finally at peace

Small small things make a big picture I feel.
Ever since I came back from my vacation, I was so ill at ease... And there was no big trouble behind it. Only small matters, trivial things.

I did not have a decent pair of shoe for all my outfits. For a person like me who chooses which shoe to wear it was a problem of catastrophic proportions! I had just one "wear worthy" shoe! And cos of that I had to ration my clothes. I had to keep some of them at bay, cos they would not go with the only (yes only) shoe that I had. Boy it was so agonizing in the morning :( I felt all the more terrible because there was one particular darling black shoe that I had got with so much fervor, but it was being an unbearable pain. It used to give me terrible shoe bite in the heel. So there I was all dejected and gloomy, with one stupid shoe :(

But then on the weekend before the one that went by, I went shoe shopping. I had no hopes to get a good pair, but my lone shoe had borne the brunt of a week's incessant rains, and I couldn't be certain of its health. What if it breathes its last during an all important office day!! I could be beyond redemption. So I made an iron will and thought, no matter how the quality, I will get a pair for backup sakes at least. But at the shop, I picked not one but 2 shoes and both to my choice. Anddddddd surprise surprise, I also got transparent heel pads, which I could use with the bitter black shoe :) and voila!!! Since I already had 3 in my kitty, I decided to give a long discarded sports shoe a goooooood wash so that I can be choosy on friday mornings as well :D . Woo hoo! :)

Apart from that, it had been 2 months since I did any sort of exercise. I was feeling like the fattest person on earth. For one reason or the other I had not been able to renew the gym membership. During the Dusshera vacations I had eaten like a properrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr glutton. :( And I was somehow not able to summon the will to re join. I coaxed K to join me to motivate me. But no. For him the early morning slumber was way too important. I was waiting for some divine intervention, some push which would make me turn towards some form of exercising. K said, join after Diwali. Enjoy the onset of winter as long as you can and there is no better way of doing so but wrapping oneself up in bed. Hmmmmmmmm very pleasant thought and verrrrrrrry tempting, but then with tyres and radials shaping up, I again had to give so many items on the wardrobe a miss :(

I was waiting for 1st Nov all the while, but that day also I felt lazy in the morn :( When we were out for some shopping, K turned towards the gym and said, cmon, go pay the membership and start from tomorrow. You will like it. Oh how I love my hubby!! :) And from 2nd Nov, I was back on the treadmill. Feels great you know!

The long pending bed for mil was finally assembled together. The bed has the typical make of stuff from my uncle's factory, which makes me feel as if I am at my paternal house!! The room looks awesome with the stunning bed right in the center of it. With a new mattress right in place, I feel so satisfied giving my mom in law a lavish bed as a Diwali gift!

Diwali itself, though it was a much anticipated event for me, went a tad off key . Some minor mis understanding ruffled a few feathers in the morning. It was supposed to be a great event for me, cos the first Diwali after wedding is a much celebrated affair. The issue was resolved no sooner than it happened but then, the very fact that it was there, left a sour taste. Hmmm well who said life is a bed of roses.

Right now, the weather is taking a turn towards winter, and I think I am getting the groove back.

Sh*t happens

Sh*t happens. And sometimes it happens a lot.
The weekend that went by was a typical example of that.

We had a lot of things on the to-do list for the weekend. One major thing was a bed which we were getting for mom in law. Since one of my uncles has a furniture factory of his own, we had decided to get the cot from my place. It seemed an easy job, all we needed to do was to book a packers and movers, pick the stuff from the cargo dept at the train station and get it home. Fix a call with a local carpenter to assemble the bed again and voila! We had confirmed with a mover and packer nearby. K was on a compensatory off on Friday and had decided to finish off this task that very day. He placed a call to the movers and packers and asked them to come over some time later in the day so that they could pick the cargo. But they did not show up even till the evening. A very irate K said that they better show up the next day else he would be forced to cancel the reservation.

The next day also till 9:30 in spite of numerous calls, they responded only by 10:30ish. In the meanwhile we were frantically looking over the telephone directory to find a replacement. But no one was willing to do it on such close notice. Finally when K went all ballistic, the truck reached home at 11:30. That was not the end of the stumbling blocks. There was a political rally by an actor who was turning into politician and launching his new party. K called me around 12 noon and said, there's a proper standstill out here, don't think I can make it before 4 in the afternoon. I was really restless at this news and just hoped for the best. Mercifully, they were able to reach the station an hour later as the traffic budged. K came back with the bed around 1430. He had his own struggle saga to tell about the very corrupt officials at the cargo section. Thanks to Diwali coming up, they took a bribe of 250 bucks. Sometimes some pests are to be endured I suppose, there is not cure for this rot.

Once K was refreshed we had a sumptuous lunch of aloo parathe and onion raita. After that we started on our appointments to a coupla docs, for the general coughs and sneezes that come with changing weathers. Since the houses of a couple of relatives was on the way, we made a pit stop at each of them. Then there was some itsy bitsy grocery shopping and when we came in home, we realised that it was some 5 hours that we had spent just like that loitering on the streets :)

The next day, started on a low key. We had to get some stuff for K for the diwali. Cos of the dull and cloudy weather, we were generally lazy and did not get started till 1400. The first few shops were duds but then we ended up shopping a lot from one into which we had ventured just to check out the stuff! They happened to have such a good collection that my joy knew no bounds :) Pepped up by this, we ventured to go on a bit further to pick up some shoes for me from a showroom. We were close to destination X, but - the bike had a flat tyre all of a sudden. ARGH!! Luckily for us, K s grannys place was nearby. We reached there, managed to get a mechanic and within 30 minutes were raring to go! Another road block - it started to rain cats and dogs and mice and what not! After a good 75 minutes the rain showed some signs of abating.

We thought rather than wait for a dry spell, it was better to speed off and get home in the light drizzle. The drops were like snow flakes. But a few kms from our home, it turned into a downpour. I hate rains from the bottom of my heart. I simply loathe them. I detest each and every aspect of a rainy season - the dampness, the not so crisp feeling on the clothes, the inconvenience. Ok ok rain lovers, I understand your feelings - K is one! So we have daily arguments on the pros and cons of the rains. But yesterday once it was raining like there is no tomorrow, I just gave in. And I loved it when we splashed through the puddles and gave a wash to some cars :D , the vacant road with us being probably the only people in a two wheeler :D , the blinding rains which fogged Ks spectacles, but he would nt stop to clean them but somehow managed to do so while driving itself and the chill in the winds which gave one goose flesh :) When we came home, we were given a dressing down by the geriatric watchman and we felt like errant kids being reprimanded by a senior.

Back home - with steaming cups of ginger tea, some savorioes and Ice Age 2 on TV - I felt yea sh*t happens but the rains come in soon to wash it off :D

Return to normal state

This time of the year, always gives me the same kind of feeling :(
The feeling of emptiness.
Its the end of the Puja :(

For me Durga Puja/Dushera is not a festival per se... its a culture. Its a time, which fills me with a plethora of feelings. And its a time no matter where I have been and how I have been, for 5 odd days at least, I am happy, contended and strangely at peace.

This year puja was a pretty well planned out event and I was all enthu for it since July. Everything was going too smoothly. My holiday was to be with my husband and mom in law. I was to visit relatives, make trips and be with my parents after 9 odd months!

But I had planned an important event a day before the vacation was slated to begin. And somehow that very important task did not get accomplished. It left me a bit shattered and very very disappointed. I could not see the reasoning as to why it should have happened, a task involving pain staking effort over months- but then some things are supposed to happen and when I am able to fathom no rhyme or reason, I leave it to some ultimate power. Maybe that thing was not supposed to happen so it did not.

The next day was a flurry of activity which included a lot of shopping. And in the evening when we were all adding final touches to the packing et al, we got a minor glitch. A scenario which demanded instant decision and which would disrupt our plans. There were raised voices, high tempers and tears as the three of us discussed, debated and deliberated. Finally we decided to bid time till we are back from the vacation to get the final plan of action. But in spite of that, there was a sense of anticipation. We set on the journey with questions, uncertainties and hope- hope everything will fall into ultimately.

The on ward journey to my home seemed soooooo long and tedious. I could barely contain my irriation when the train slowed a bit. Finally we chugged along and reached bhubaneswar after 22 hours of travel.

And homeee ah! home was home. Perfect, spacious, welcoming. The lights on the streets, the tinge of coolness in the wind, the warmth of being surrounded by my mom, dad and sis!! - nothing can beat that feeling.

The next day onwards, there was no end to the invitations we had to accept- friends, family, relatives, each and every one had to share a moment of fame with the newly weds :) This being the first trip K and I made home, we were given celebrity status :) And boy cant go on to describe the calories we gorged on. Food was delicious, so did not have the heart to say no. I am a miserable failure when it comes to saying no anyways; any aunty says - itne pyaar se tere liye banaya hai - bas - I should have a heart of lead to say no.

We made a trip to Puri and stayed at the same resort where K and I had had our mini honeymoon. This time with the whole bunch with us, it was even more fun. I am not a great fan of the Puri Jagannath temple. But this time for the first time, I felt His aura! It was so humbling. It was like, God has chosen me to be convinced of his divinity. I could completely understand why the temple stands to be so popular in spite of the utterly obnoxious attitude of the priests there. I could fathom why there are innumerable songs, which go on lauding the Lord. I could understand the depth of the words I used to just like that sing when I was learning Hindustani Vocal. I felt touched. But the best part was yet to come. I turned to see my mom in law - and there she stood - dumbfounded and flushed with her eyes nearly on the verge of tears. I did not want to break the spell, and only after some seconds, I went ahead to touch her shoulder and escort her closer to the idol of the Lord.

Hmm.... quiet an experience I must say.
The days that followed were too fulfilling and satifying. But then all good things come to an end. This time it was a bit less painful since I was traveling with family. Bidding goodbye to my parents and sister was heart wrenching - but then since we still did not have one confirmed ticket, we were in the middle of a bit of confusion, which took our minds out of the pain of parting. At last when I lied down to sleep, with no thought , the tears poured in.

The return journey seemed so lacklusture, and I remarked to K - hey returning seems so boring, it seems faster, but still its kinda numb. He said - yea return trips are like that - they lack purpose na!! Hmmmmm those words stayed with me.
Reaching the house in Chennai, we had to get on with some setting up cos the working week began the very next day. So while there was a lot of hustle bustle through out the evening, the night seemed deadly silent. When I called up home to check out how my folks were doing, I learnt the conditions were no better there. Every one was missing us a lot.... :(

Today morning, when K mentioned he was feeling a bit bummed out and feeling out of place. If he could sense the momentum of the change, imagine my state. Hmmm it felt terrible in a word.

I am in the most depressed state now I suppose... feeling as if there is nothing to look forward to. I know it takes some time to come out of the hangover of such a good vacation. Hmm just hoping to keep myself real busy and get rid of the blues soon........