A fine balance

I love anything Indian - cuisine, couture or culture. Same goes for books too. I simply love Indian authors. R.K. Narayanan is an all time fav with others like Shashi Tharoor, Jhumpa Lahiri, Amitav Ghosh being authors I love going back to. Last week when I finished reading "A fine balance" by Rohinton Mistry, I had another name to add to my list of "wow" authors.

A fine balance is the story of four people from different background who end up having a strangely symbiotic relationship. Its a weird juxtaposition of Dina Dayal, a Parsi widow; OmPrakash and Ishvar, two tailors and Maneck a student. Its an odd ensemble, but the way life makes strange partners is something to be watched out for. I loved the backdrop of each character that the author provides. Its elaborate but not boring in the slightest bit.

There are a host of supporting characters - 

• Shankar - the limbless beggar who is strangely optimistic inspite of his physical deformities
• Beggarmaster - the one who employs Shankar and ends up having a link with the four main characters 
• Maneck's mom and dad - who rue the loss of pristine mountain beauty in their quaint hilly town and somehow end up distancing Maneck as a result  of misplaced angst
• Rajaram - a slum dweller with the tailors who again ends up having a lot of say in the flow of things.
• Ashraf Chacha - the guru for the tailors

There is a lot of characterization and a lot of sub plots. It ends up making the book 614 pages thick, but somehow there is not a bit which feel extraneous. Every bit is relevant and ties up neatly. Some of the twists and turns might seem  a bit too fantastical - but then the book is a work of fiction. Set in the 1970s, the backdrop itself is an interesting revelation. 

Being a die hard optimist, the book's macabre turn of events and pathos did not bog me down. But then, some episodes may put off the very emotional ones - cos there is only so much suffering one can see. Taste for yourself and see, if this Booker nominee  ends up painting the world in shades of black or shades of grey for you. 

End tak sab acha ho hi jaata hai

Disclaimer : Philo post ahead :P

The other day I was with a bunch of people who were reminiscing about days gone by and about India. I was going with the flow for sometime after which they lost me.

I am ok with musing about by-gone days. But then the optimist in me, somehow feels, things work out for the better not for worse. Don't they? In our childhood there are not much burdens to carry and studies and games make up life. There in untold fun in it but studies are utterly painful too ( Gosh I cannot fathom how I ploughed through all the huge chapters on Dravidian history and Indian Independence struggle! and I can never ever surmount entrance examinations) It works up to a joyous worklife. Deadlines are dreaded and Monday morning blues are a norm, but then the joy of splurging at a mall, being able to get something extra special for parents 25th wedding anniversary are things we can do only now. All leads up to getting married and setting a family. Its horrendous cleaning someone else's mess and having chores for additional people but then the sense of belonging is not something that cannot be done away. The stage of building one's nest and then seeing the young ones fly is tough work, but then don't they say, they are rocks in the river bed which give the river its song. The retirement phase might spell boredom for many, but then is'nt this the time to help the young ones grapple with their lives and catch up on all the wonderful reading in the world.

Maybe I sound annoyingly optimistic and maybe I am looking at the world through rose tinted glass which have an extra film of gloss for me. I do not deny that life is tough in each and every stage. But then I see more sense in seeing the good rather than the bad. I do understand the feeling of homesickness and ruing about life back in India, but I feel its healthier to enjoy the good at any place while the opportunity presents itself. Once back in the home-land, its time to savor the delights for it would mindless to wish for life else where then. Same goes for any situation and scenario, is nt it better to keep the good parts and forget the, er... not so good ones?

Ek aur Diwali Khatam

And I am waiting for a next one already.

No matter where I am festivals pep me up. I am at my chirpiest best and can somehow feel the gigantic vibes of good will allll around. Call me silly. But thats just me :)

This Diwali was no less special. The sun shone splendidly! In October having the sun shimmer down tireless in the land where the sun never rises is awesome. The morning was spent in quickly catching up with friends. K wanted to whet his feeling of nostalgia and asked a couple of friends to go closer to the bursting crackers so that he could savor the sound of them. He was in no mood to work and said he had spent most of the day making calls or chatting with colleagues. The British counterparts did bring up some sweets and savories which were matched by the Indian colleagues. There was a lot of munching and grubbing going on which added to the festive splendor. 

Amma was in full throttle and had started making sweets 2 days prior to the event. There was besan barfi and coconut laddus to be savored. She also make some kheer on the day of Diwali. I had plans for kachori and chole for dinner. Once K was back, he got on with helping me in getting stuffs in order and lighting up the candles as Amma made a trip to the local temple with some neighbors. 

I had called over a colleague of K's who has turned out to be a bit pally with me. Once she came over, she too helped me with bits of the cooking. While we were engrossed in dishing out the food, the heat of the candles and the cooking did make the fire alarm go off. But after some time when I suddenly turned to see the diyas, I noticed one of them burning with a big flame. And within the blink of an eye, it spluttered and another one started burning with a big flame. K was playing some computer games, and I thought it might be better to handle the situation silently. And I poured some water over the candles. It resulted in a conflagration! (I read up later in the internet that one should not try to extinguish a wax fire with water. And more over, the flames were getting bigger because there was some melted wax too which was catching fire) Now this caught the attention of K even though he was engrossed in a game. He came rushing and doused the fire by putting a thick towel over the candles. Then he gave me a look - which said - Woman you had nearly set the house on fire. Since we had a guest at hand, he spared me the sound hearing which came lashing down as soon as she stepped out. The judgement was passed that there would be no candles going forward and I either had to manage with some sort of electrical lighting or ask some one from India to get some authentic diyas for any occasion I wanted to light up things. All said and done we had a happy and safe Diwali. Wish everyone else too had an amazing time! 

The festival of lights done for this year, waiting for another gorgeous one! 

Life has gotten me to a stage

1. Where I do not fit into any of my clothes. So much so I have to rampage K's wardrobe to the extent that he runs out of stuff to wear
2. I am not bothered about the waist - at all! In spite of not fitting into clothes (Imagine!!) And I keep gorging on humongous amounts of food. The food just keeps on coming and I am not complaining. 
3. I was one who could sleep at a stretch for like 8 hours, but then its been forever since I slept at a stretch. I simply have to wake up at least twice at night :( I hate it but then there is no escaping. For some reason or other, to get into a comfortable position, to eat some more :D or simply to use the washroom - I HAVE to wake up. 
4. I keep a tab on days, weeks, months like crazy! 

Thank God for small pleasures

They say, when one has got nothing useful to speak about, one talks about the weather. And this is going to be my second post about the vagaries of nature. Call me boring :(

The weather has gone berserk, it has gone crazy and in the very very very good way. Its sunny!! (I feel like going and kissing the sun - a la Hanuman style) Yeyyyy! Literally every single day since Monday I have been jumping in joy seeing the bright sun. While last 2 weeks had made me bring out my autumn jacket, this week has me roaming even without a light sweater. Its hello floral skirts and summer frocks! And flip flops. There is no ear piercing autumn wind, there is no dampening rain, its just sunshine and lot of warmth all the way through. Touchwood! Seems like Bhagwan ne meri sun li.

Somehow the weather reminds me of home sweet home. This is exactly the sort of 27-28 degrees temperature that remains at my state during Dussera. This is the time for Puja Pandals with huge mandaps being erected with extravagant statues of Goddess Durga. The general work atmosphere would be lax around this time with people taking time out to visit family and friends. Nights would lead to illuminations and popular Bollywood music blaring out of loudspeakers. The food on the streets is to die for. I have not tasted street food which can hold the mirror to what we get during Puja anywhere else (I might be sounding way too chauvinistic, what to do, I am a bit too attached to my quaint little city). It is also this time that winter slowly sets in, with the markets getting slowly loaded with cauliflowers, cabbages, peas and carrots. This in turn ushers in the season of fried rices, gobi and matar ke parathe and gajar ke halwe. Yum yum yum, the tongue is on cloud 9.

It is as if God has snatched a bit of those joys here. With the sunshine, the crowds are back on the streets, colourful clothes have made a comeback and everybody is surely smiling. And I am ever grateful to Him for this.

Whats wrong with me

I simply hate any form of precipitation. Rain, hail, snow - nothing agrees with me. I cannot fathom how people can go poetic over rain and cloudy weather. I see them as spirit dampners and as a major inconvenience.

But yesterday something really weird happened. I was walking back home from an errand and it started raining. It wasnt the normal drizzle which is so rampant in this part of the world. It was as if someone was pelting huge liquid stones. Then the intensity increased. It was nearly like a huge thunderstorm. People who were trying to save themselves from the rain, accepted who was the tougher contender. Wet passerbys exchanged smiles which said "Some rain mate!". It was first funny to watch people frantically tries to maintain their umbrellas against the gales. But then it seemed somewhat heart warming. I nearly let out an "Aww" at the fate of the flimsy umbrellas at the hands of the mighty winds. Even mine was being blown haywire and I had to hold on to the fringes of it.

Coincidentally I had some rain related Tam song on my ipod. I did not understand it, but somehow the feel of the song pepped me up. That was bizzare behaviour on my  part by any standards. As if to reward my happy approach towards something I have always regarded as disgusting, the sun shone all of a sudden. With the shining sun along with the torrential rains, there came - Yes a SPLENDID rainbow! I could not help but smile ear to ear at the sight of it!

A good weekend

Just done with a long weekend and it feels great! Most weekends are made up of K going to work as usual, so they never give me  a feel of being any different from the other days. The only difference might be K runs down to have his lunches. But then its all the same with some time spent on books, some on the telly and others chatting and lazying around. But this weekend was fulfilling to the hilt. I spent Saturday in going back to cooking like I had not done in a long time. I dished out Puris, Jeera Rice, Chole, Aloo Capsicum, Gajar ka Halwa and Raita. I wanted to eat a huge meal and I left no stone unturned in cooking one up. we lapped up the dishes not knowing there was more food coming our way. One of K's colleagues extended an invitation for dinner. Hmm.. more more food. We were groaning literally like pythons but the food was so scrumptious that we took one helping after another of Dahi Vadas, Dosas and Idlies. Oh boy, gluttony is so so sinful. We all had a really good time and it was at 2300 that we finally hit home.

Now the bank holiday weekend had SVU top 10 episodes. And thats what we got latched on to once we reached home. Inspite of being sleepy and stuffed, we braced up and watched one nail biting episode after another.

Sunday K had to scoot back to work, while we saas-bahu took it slow. I had a good long chat with folks back home. In the evening it was Cowboys and Aliens (a movie not to be watched at all!!).  Once back it was late night TV with SVU again :)

Holiday Monday was jam packed. Mil took over the kitchen while I got busy with doing stuff around the house. After a weather-wise cold and damp Sunday, Monday looked sunnier which pepped me to no end. Then the best part of the day came up. Roomie dear called me. It was such an amazing pleasure catching up with her and realising how we still have so much in common. :) It was simply brilliant. After having a lunch which was to die for, I took a quick nap. Then along came another of K's colleagues who is a good pal of mine. And off we 3 went for some shopping. It was an exclusive 'me' shopping with both mil and B giving me a barrage of choices. Its so easy to shop with females, men simply do not understand the nuances we see. A really exhilarating shopping session later, my wardrobe was richer by 4 items while I was poorer by many many pounds. The good run continued as we all sat down for tea and lots of gossipping. We literally set the house on fire till K came back. The evening saw the consumption of mooli parathas and the top 3 SVU episodes.

The weekend was satisfying and relaxing in every way possible and I loved every bit of it! (Touchwood)