My Universe on a new revolution.. :)

Life entered a new phase on April 20th 2007 as A and I got married. Its been 7 days since then and life has changed a lot, yet remained the same. We are now in the process of figuring out a million details from laundry to travel, as we have a few more days of travelling coming up before we can return to our new home in Chennai and finally start 'settling down'.

Weird that they call it 'settling down' when anything but that happens after a wedding. Things are all awry, schedules need to be followed, and so on..ad infinitum. At this point it seems like it will take forever for me to settle down.

Life these days is full of the following:

1. Conversations in broken Tamil to get everything from a milkman to a newspaper delivery boy
2. Cooking. That sums up all the numerous experiments that go into making a meal. I was told today that I'm a "7 on 10" in the cooking department. ;) I felt almost like Sanjeev Kapoor on his first successful cooking assignment! ;)
3. Heat and humidity
4. Interrupted sleep
5. Erratic timings
6. Packing, unpacking and repacking
7. Laundry

.... and on and on and on. :)

Must run now to do some more travel packing. Will be back middle of next week.

Till then. :)

Phone Bhooth! ;)

The more time I spend on the phone the more I realize that different people use the phone in different ways and for different purposes. Like the Hutch talk size ad that's on air these days, people can be described in small, medium and large categories. But that's not just it. The other day I was on the phone with an old friend and she wanted to know something and I was telling her about it. After the conversation got done, she switched to basic pleasantries, how's life, how's everything..etc. As I was telling her how my life exactly was, I could immediately sense her switching off and like a tape had been switched on she kept goin, 'ahan, ahan' all the time. Just to see if she was paying attention, I threw in details like, 'And that's how I had dinner with a dinosaur last night' and still got an 'ahan, I see' out of her. I had caught her not paying attention. I didn't bring it to her notice, but it made me think a bit about the purpose of phone conversation in general. I think its about exchange of information, but its also exchange of thoughts and feelings, and a whole lot more. If a caller is not interested in talking to the callee (in this case, me), I'd rather not get a phone call from him/her than make such trivial conversation. I as caller, therefore always make it a point to ask if the callee has time for a chat or if I should call back later. Its a practical thing to do, and saves me the trouble of making conversation when the other person is busy.

Here's to more meaningful phone conversation! :)

Sadakchap Saravana versus Mr.Lawrence and Mayo..

Scene: Old, crumbling building, housing the office of a transport company.
Stars: Two harried people..AJ and M talking to the guy at the desk about a delayed consignment. (Flashback: M has reminded AJ many times over that he needs new glasses, preferably from Lawrence and Mayo, now the reminder has become a legend in itself and is called the Legend of L&M.)

So as they talk to the desk clerk regarding the parcel yet to be delivered,the guy, barely in his 30s, and looking younger, pushes up his specs to his nose, and is busy filling out some forms. After the form filling gets done (he meanwhile continues to talk to AJ and M), he puts on an all important air, whips out his spectacle box with the words 'L&M' clearly etched on it in gold. He lovingly takes the specs wipe from inside the box, cleans his specs and puts them back into the box. AJ and M can only stare at each other as this routine continues in a slow, deliberate, unhurried manner. That's when M quips, "Even HE's got L&M! And we seem to be the 'Sadakchaap Saravana' types, since we do most of our shopping at the S store."

And that's the latest on AJ and M, a new moniker, 'Sadakchaap Saravana'..kinda like a cross over Hindi film with Rajinikanth as hero, mouthing lines in Hindi. ;)

How to be a good cook..my take..

1. Be curious (Dennis the Menace kinds.."what happens if you push this red button?")
   
2. In line with the above point, innovate, try creating your own recipes (these create disasters from time to time, but are a good source of energy to try and improvise the next time). I for one hate wasting food, so if there are leftovers, you will find me creating something out of them, for personal consumption only, unless approved by the FDA (aka Family playing Devil's Advocate!) ;)
   
3. Learn to eat your mistakes as they say. Try not to subject family to it too much ;) Retain a sense of humor about them, no one is born with being a good cook, one just gets there..trial and error. :)
4. Go by instinct. Even as a novice cook, one tends to have gut feelings about what ingredients are likely to go together and what are not, listen to your instinct. I realize for example, that my instinct about cooking comes from watching a) my mother cook b) watching/reading recipes. These tend to get absorbed unconsciously and might emerge when one tries cooking oneself.
5. The first couple of times, its going to be rough trying to cook up a meal, but working with someone who is good at it, or asking them questions, or even just observing them is a good way to learn. For example, last weekend I re-learnt how to make a tomato dal, in a traditional Andhra way, it was vastly different than the way I am accustomed to making it. I realized I need to observe more keenly about how stuff is made, and yes get the right ingredients for it.
   
6. All of us like food and enjoy eating, over time if we are aware, we can eat and tell what possible ingredients go into the making of a certain dish, and perhaps even figure out which of the ingredients was fried, roasted, sauteed, etc. Good way to figure out a recipe. :)
7. Keep trying! ;)
   

Desiderata

An all time favorite..and worth a re-post. :) Eternal truth..

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

Horoscope for today..

There's a wonderful feeling of liberation that you get when you don't care what anyone thinks about you -- so why are you worried about seeming perfect? The stress caused by always trying to dress the right way, say the right thing and be the right kind of person takes a lot of energy out of you. To really start feeling good, give up the useless quest for perfection. Let yourself do what feels right, and you will become the kind of person you can be proud of.

KITCAT..refresher

1. Burnt rice in cooker-cooker burnt beyond humanly possible levels of cleaning
2. Today burnt milk in vessel-forgot it on the fire too long-once again a tough cleaning challenge

Hai koi aisa dhulai powder jo mere bartanon ko fir se chamka sake?!

(Refresher: KITCATs are those amazing pranks that kitchen gods play on the unsuspecting novice cook..KITCAT-Kitchen Catastrophe) :)

What we don't need: (in random order)

1. Rude people
2. People who say 'Guess who?' on the phone
3. Boastful people
4. People who miscommunicate messages to others
   
5. Gossip mongers/"Speculators"
6. People with expectations higher than Mt.Everest
7. Hypocrits
   

What we need:

1. Clarity of thought
2. Support
3. Understanding
4. Patience
5. Cheer
   

All our problems are 'people problems' and can be solved by some very simple things. I wish simple things were that simple after all.

Respect for wealth or respect for people?
A life of power, fame, glory or a life of peace and quiet?

...Eternal questions with no easy answers.

A blank mind, nothing to write, no words or ideas emerge
Is this a case of nothing in, nothing out?

Haven't been reading a lot lately..barring the usual excuse for news/infotainment, other than that been busy with stuff. Must start reading seriously again.

Blogspot resolution! :)

reflections..

Life's milestones reached and crossed
Memories created
The years roll on by, one day at a time
As the clock ticks every minute of every day, we realize how much closer we are to attaining our life's dreams

Men are from mars, women are from shopper's stop!

Typical scene at a busy shopping mall..

Woman, eyes lit, thrilled, checking out stuff on display, buying this and that after careful deliberation of style, color etc; man, looking dazed, handing out credit/debit card as and when the bill payment time arrives, feeling not unlike a hostage in a hold-up situation; babies crying/cranky/asleep from all the crying and crankiness, kids running helter-skelter in the shop like bulls on a good day at the stock market! ;)

Shopping with me: me quickly getting things needed on the list, budget issues topmost in my mind, looking to get things done as quickly as possible. Are there more women out there like me?

The change is tangible. Growing up, we had no concept of shopping malls, or of visiting a beautifully decorated place just to get weekly groceries. Our groceries came from the neighborhood dukaan, with friendly shopkeepers selling us things for daily use, the interaction with the shopkeepers almost as important as getting the things themselves. With the potential entry of Walmart, or its desi cousin, Reliance fresh, shopping for groceries is going to take a on whole new meaning, and is set to become a totally different experience.

Ditto with watching movies. Gone are the days of hot and stuffy theaters where the projector would have problems midway thru the movie. Enter the multiplex with its surround sound, so that you can hear every bit of Shah Rukh Khan's chatter as if he were sitting right next to you.

Hmm..times are a-changing!

Shopaholics on the loose

As THE date draws nearer, the inevitable shopping madness has unleashed in our collective lives. The shopping areas in town seem like home these days, and one spends waking (and sleeping!) time comparing material, color, discounts and such, for a wide range of products and services, all because of one grand event in our life. With the all important milestone approaching, life seems overtaken by people (related and otherwise!), things (classified roughly as bought and pending on the list) and phone calls (from people, related and otherwise, about things, bought or pending)!

Chennai appears to be THE destination for the avid sari shopper. I would have never described myself as a shopper, leave alone being a sari shopper, but sometimes we do the most unexpected things in life. I think my life is the ultimate example of the unexpected! ;) Anyways, I'm digressing. I am (half!!) seriously considering a revamp of my wardrobe in favor of all those lovely saris found in the sari shops in town-be it the reversible design sari, the denim sari or the one with the Ravi Varma Painting woven into its pallu, I'm a big fan of them all.

Hoping and praying for the Shopping Gods to guide us through these hectic days in our life. :)