Out of reach

    Down with fever and cold since the past two days. Have to go to Delhi on Sunday for training. Everyone around has been cautioning about the cold. Well, should be able to manage. Packed one suitcase with winter wear. Wish me good health. Won't have Internet access for a month. Will be back by Christmas. Till then, happy winter everyone!! 

Happy Diwali!!

Festive season

   It is that time of the year when festivals are back. It was dusshera, then karva chauth, diwali, new year, our wedding anniversary, A's birthday, Valentine's day and so on. The best of all being karva chauth. It was my first one. All the  knowledge I had about the festival came from watching Hindi movies. So, I had been really looking forward to the day. A's parents are visiting us. They came one day prior to Karva chauth. We went shopping. A bought me a very beautiful sari. The next day, we spent the whole morning in kitchen making different dishes. Mostly A's mom was making and I was helping her. Then I went and got mehendi applied. I slept for a while in  the afternoon. Soon it was evening. I spent quite some time dressing up. Even though I didnt eat anything the whole day, hunger seemed to stay away. The we did a puja and took some photographs. Finally at around 8 pm, we went to the terrace and waited for the moon to show up. Finally at 8.45 the moon came. I felt happy, just like the way they show in movies.A had an extra class at his MBA course and he came back only at 9.15. Damn the MBA!! I did the whole filmy routine. I looked at the moon, looked at A. Poured water. Then A gave me water and fed me a piece of sweet. It felt so nice. I leave you with a picture. Happy Diwali to you all. Waiting for the festival of lights to light up our home!!

I need help!!

     After nearly six months of managing on our own, A and I decided that we need help. Domestic help to be precise. We had to hire a cook and a maid. Lots of experienced people advised us not to hire a single person who does the whole cooking and cleaning. If she doesn't turn up, you are doomed. It is best to distribute work among people. that way you don't run into a major risk even if one of them doesn't turn up. A said, let's start with one person at a time. We will hire a cook and see if we can manage her, then we will think about others. 'Manage a cook' is going to be cakewalk. My poor husband didn't know that or thought otherwise. Anyways, after I gave my assent, we told the watchman to send a few people who were interested in cooking for us.The watchman finally gave a look of  "Oh finally, you have come to your senses".
Since the time we have moved in, he has been continuously asking if we need domestic help and we have been refusing all along.
     I told A that I am going to interview prospective cooks. I will lay my terms and conditions to her. I just prayed that I shouldn't inherit my mother's luck. She couldn't manage to keep a single maid for more than two months. Finally, the day arrived and our first interviewee was a woman aged in her mid-twenties. Before I could begin, A asked her "Can you make north Indian food?" She gave him a big smile and said, "Yes bhaiya, I am from Bihar. We settled in Karnataka and have been living here since 10 years." Not to be left behind, I asked, "Can you cook south Indian food?" "Yes bhabhi,"she said giving a wide smile. " I will come at six in the morning and go at seven. I work in a school, so I need to leave by seven. On Sundays and other public holidays, I will come at eight. I will not cook for any visitors. It is 1000 per head. So since you are two people, I will charge 2000." Okay A said enthusiastically. I raised my eyebrows and looked at him. "What?" he said irritated at the interruption. "We need to negotiate," I mouthed. He ignored and said, "You can start coming  in from tomorrow." "Ok bhaiya, and one more thing, by the time I come everything must be kept ready. If you want rajma, then boil it and keep so that I can start cooking immediately."
      I was dazed. Did I hire the maid or did she hire me? A looked at my distraught face and said, "We are lucky, it is difficult to find north Indian cooks in Bangalore." I meekly agreed. "Why don't we interview a few others?" "Why? I finalised her and she said she would come form tomorrow." Fingers crossed!!
      She started coming from the next day. Exactly at 6. So it meant that I would get up half an hour before her and make sure everything was in order for Her Highness. Sometimes I would ask A to get up. He was the one who had hired her in the first place. So, we are cruising along with her since the past three months. Everyday springs up a new surprise. Yesterday she made lauki-panneer sabji. Authentic North Indian food indeed!!

Guessing Game

      Before any movie releases, I generally guess as to what the story might be about. Sometimes I don't even have a clue about the movie. A finds it really funny. So, now that Student of the Year released, I thought I might as well make a guess about the story. I have seen the promos and I am surely going to watch it. I told A, " One guy will get the award and the other will get the girl. The guy who gets the award will realise that it came at the cost of love." But A can never agree with me. So he came up with his version. " There can be only one hero in Indian cinema. So, one guy will get both the award and the girl. The other will lose the girl in his race for the award and eventually he will lose the award too." Quite possible! But I didn't admit to A right away. Fingers crossed. I am not reading any reviews until tomorrow. We are going to the movie tomorrow.
      Here I will have to add a little about my story guessing skills. When "Bol Bachchan" released, I just knew that it had Abhishek Bachchan and Ajay Devgn. I didnt have any clue about what it was about and neither did I watch the promos. So I said to A, " I think Abhishek Bachchan's name in the movie will be his real name. He will be dumb and won't be able to speak anything. Unaware of his situation Ajay Devgn will keep saying Bol Bachchan to him." Well, the movie turned out to be quite different, altogether something else. Back then I didn't even know that the phrase 'Bol Bachchan' meant something.
    But this time, I am sure I am right. 'Disco Deewane' will be like 'Koi Mil gaya' of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and one of the guys will realise he is in love with the girl. And 'Ishq wala love' will be like the title track of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Let's wait and see. Will review the movie after watching it!!

Ishq wala love

Ever since this song has been aired, I have been humming “Ishq wala love”. I am totally in love with this song. Eagerly awaiting the release of the movie too. Last weekend, we were on our way to the railway station. A was coming to drop me off. I was listening to this song in the car. I turned towards A and said, “You know all these days, I was searching for words to tell you how much I love you. I love you more than the words ‘I love you” can express. Now, I found the right thing. I ishq wala love you.”

After this romantic confession, I expected A to say “I ishq wala love you too” or at least, “so sweet of you.” As an anticlimax to my efforts, he said “You have completely lost it.”

Well, not something new. Whenever I come up with something incredibly cheesy he feels that I have lost my mind. On some occasion, he said, “Do you want to go to Noor Manzil right away or after a few days?” In all innocence, I replied, “We will go next week. Are we going on a holiday?” To which, A had replied, “No, I will drop you and come back.” Then he started laughing uncontrollably. Only then did I realize that he was up to something.  After prodding further, I came to know that Noor Manzil was a mental asylum. I had assumed it to be some monument like the Taj Mahal.

Price of Love

Courtesy: Google Images

When you love someone a lot, someone else pays the price for it. Confused? An example will help clarify my point. There was a father, who loved and respected his father. So, when a son was born to him, he named him after his father. It would have still been okay if the name was a common one. However, the name in question was, Kurapati Veera Venkata Suryanarayana Murthy. In the era when names like, Rohan, Raj and Sam are common, this little fellow had the burden of a long name. Needless to say, throughout school and college, his friends mercilessly teased him. When he complained to his dad that he wanted to change his name, his dad was furious. How could he even dare to dislike his father’s name? The kid has to pay the price for his father’s love.

                Similarly, suppose you fall in love with a guy. You get married to him against your parent’s wishes. Or, you get married to him after a struggle, with their half hearted acceptance. He has a language, culture, customs, food, etc different from you. You are open to make all the adjustments because you are deeply in love with him. But your parents have to adjust too. They are a generation old and have been accustomed to a few things. Suddenly they are shaken out of their cozy cocoon and their comfort levels are put to a test. The parents have to pay a price for your love.

                There are two girls who have been best friends since childhood, say ‘A’ and ‘B’. Both of them fall in love with the same guy. The guy likes one of the girls,’ A’. She comes to know of her friend’s feelings towards the guy. So, she asks ‘B’ to marry him. She keeps her feelings a secret from ‘B’. Citing her love for her friend, she convinces the guy too. So, the hapless guy has to pay the price of ‘A’s love for her friend.

                These are not major things. It is not as bad as killing someone. This is just to show that love comes with a price. And the price has to be paid by someone else. So, try not to impose your love on someone else. This doesn’t happen consciously, but it is always best to keep your feelings in check and to know where to draw a line.

The weight-loss bug bites me!!

Courtesy: Google Images

I have been putting on too much weight lately. Though I noticed, I didn’t really take any action. I read somewhere that an expanding waistline is an indication of a happy marriage. Happy couples are not under any pressure to look attractive for their partner. Taking refuge under the theory, I was happy that we were a happy couple and let my waistline expand.  Even A’s waistline was expanding. It was expanding more than mine was. Therefore, it meant he is happier with the marriage. Last week, when my body refused to fit into my favourite pair of jeans I pressed the panic button. It was the green jeans, which is in trend now. It wasn’t even skinny.  It was like an alarm call to take action.

                I hate it!! I don’t want to go on a diet. I don’t want to exercise. I don’t want to look fat either.  I had to do something. I decided to cut out all fast food. There will be no restriction on home food though. A and I decided to go jogging on all days when I am in Bangalore. Because of the holiday season, I am spending around 12-15 days in Bangalore.  We stay close to IIM campus and it is a blessing. We are using their playground for reducing our flab. On Sunday, we woke up at 6 and went for jogging. At the end of half round, I was panting and felt breathless. It was another alarm call reminding me of my low fitness levels.  If the jogging for 15 days a month doesn’t work, I will have to continue that in Hyderabad also. Damn! Why can’t I get a transfer to Bangalore soon? There can be nothing worse than exercising alone!

                Anyways, like all people, I work better with deadlines. So, the deadline is a cousin’s wedding in December. I should reduce my waist by three inches and my hip by four inches. Wish me luck. Maybe peer bloggers pressure will keep me going. Your suggestions are welcome, as long as they don’t relate to more exercise and a more controlled diet. Till then, happy weight loss to me.

Stringing and singing along

Courtesy: Google Images

      There is a guitar lying around in our house. It was there with A for months before the wedding too. A friend of  his left it with him, never to collect it back. I was getting bored. Most days when I am in Bangalore, Ayush is either in office or in college pursuing that never-ending MBA. I generally go to Crossword and read.I was feeling particularly lazy and didn't even want to walk up to the bookstore. So, I was going around the house listlessly. My eyes fell on the guitar.I can learn how to play the guitar!! These days with the internet replacing the teacher, it would be very easy. Why didn't I think of it before? I would have been an expert by now.Ok, maybe not an expert but I could have played a romantic song for A. He would have looked at me in awe and praise me. He definitely would have praised me. He generally appreciates all the little things I do. Even after eight months of marriage, every time I make him a cup of tea, he says 'Mast chai bani hai'. So sweet!! (Kala tika!! I don't want to jinx it).
       So, I picked up the guitar. Cleaned it.Sat in front of the laptop and googled. I found one video, particularly useful. I held the guitar accordingly and tried to imitate what the instructor was doing. The sound that I produced didn't sound the same. But, I was never really great at identifying sounds. The chords were difficult. I had to place three or four fingers on the strings at the same time. Then the realisation hit me that my fingers didn't stretch so much. Not losing heart, I found a song that had only two chords and started strumming it. I could do one chord at a time, but couldn't do them successively. So, it sounded like a bit of music,followed by a long pause. The song was 'Neele Neele ambar par'. Leave alone others, even I couldn't make out that that was the song that I was strumming.
     I got exhausted and started playing randomly. I was just moving my fingers on whatever strings I felt like and whatever position I felt like. The music seemed really good. It was a lot better than my earlier futile attempts. To increase the rockstar effect, I started singing along. To my ears, it felt as if the music was synchronous to the singing. (both are very bad,but they synced well).It was literally music to my ears. I spent the next one hour stringing and singing along all the songs that came to my mind.
    Loving the guitar and am currently spending a lot of time with it. A however doesn't seem to appreciate the fact that the music and singing is in sync. But I insist,it sounds perfect. Not everyone has an ear for good music. 

Banking Woes

I had to take a Demand Draft urgently. It was the last date to apply for something and I needed it immediately. So, I didn’t go through the online mode of ordering a DD, which will be delivered at your door step. Even otherwise, I belong to the old generation thinking and like doing things offline. So, I reached the bank at 10 A.M. It was closed. The timings were from 10.30 AM to 4.30 PM. People were already waiting outside for the gates to open. I joined the hordes of people outside. As soon as the clock struck 10.30, the doors opened, and everyone moved forwards. It was like witnessing a human mass flow in a particular direction. There were four counters and serpentine queues formed in front of each. I felt a little lost. I approached one lady, who looked like one of the staff.  I said that I wanted to get a DD issued. “Fill the form and pay the money,” she said, handing over a form. I had to get a DD issued for an amount around 2 lakhs. Since I didn’t have the cash, I decided to first withdraw money from my account.

                Here starts my journey. I wrote a cheque on my name and waited patiently in one of the queues. After 20 minutes, my turn came. I handed over the cheque. “For amount above one lakh there is another counter,” she said. I went to the designated counter. Thankfully, the queue was short. Actually there was no queue. People were huddled outside a room. Inside the room, a lady was disbursing the cash. After 20 minutes of waiting, I realized that she was never going to call me. So, I jostled with the crowd and made my way inside. She took the cheque and handed over a receipt. “Get this signed by the officer in the last counter,” she said. I went to the last counter and again stood in the queue.  A stern looking man was seated. He signed the receipt and kept it with himself. “You can go, I will send it,” he said. I did not want to wait any longer. I politely suggested that I could take it with me. However, he didn’t agree. Having no choice, I went back to my place outside the door. Some boy came and handed over a few receipts to the lady. Eagerly, I pushed my way forward and went inside the room. “Your receipt hasn’t come. I will call you,” she said. Resigned, I went outside again.

                Finally, she called me inside. She first counted the cash using the currency-counting machine. Then she manually counted all the cash. It took her nearly fifteen minutes to verify my passbook, count the cash and hand it over to me. I took my hard-earned cash and came out. Then I took the receipt for DD and filled it. The bank now became even more crowded. I stood in the queue again, waiting for my turn. My legs had started to ache. Last step, I told myself. I will finish it soon and can go home. My turn came after an agonizingly long wait. The stern man (yeah the same one who signed the receipt) looked at me and said, “For DD exceeding fifty thousand rupees, we accept a cheque only. No cash.”   I was at my wits end. I enquired as to what could be done now. I didn’t have enough balance in my account to write a cheque. The only alternative left was to deposit the money again and then write a check!! I took a form for making a deposit. Deposits above one lakh had to be made to the lady in the room. The same procedure was followed for making the deposit. Handover receipt, take signature of stern man and deposit cash, which was counted meticulously yet again. It was Saturday and the bank closes at 1.30. It was already 12.30 pm and I had to hurry to get the DD.

                After making the deposit, I approached the stern man. This time the other people in the queue let me approach the counter directly. He took the cheque and the DD form and asked me to wait. After half-an-hour, he called out my name and handed over the Demand Draft. Phew!! It was 1.00 PM. Mission accomplished. All these days, I thought it was hard to earn money. But I realized that encashing my hard work was also hard work!! 

Good movie, great food and an awesome weekend!

        A's sister and her husband had come to Bangalore to visit us. Oh! By the way, A stays in Bangalore while I work and stay in Hyderabad. More about this later. So, we had gone to the movie " Ek tha Tiger". I am a huge fan of Bollywood movies and almost like all the movies. This movie was too good. It had all the ingredients for success mixed in the right proportion. Music was great. Katrina Kaif looked pretty. She had some action sequences to her credit too. Salman Khan was at his best. The humor was nice. Locations were scenic. So all in all, highly recommended. Go and watch it, if you haven't already.
       After the movie we went for lunch to a place called Ruh. It is situated within stone throw from Central at Bellandur. A and I had been there a couple of times earlier. We go there for the ambience. It looks straight out of Arabian nights. We can sit cross legged on plush seating, with candles lit around. There is water surrounding. It really is an oasis of calm and beauty. I am generally not very particular about food. Give me a bowl of curd rice and I will lap it up in five minutes. I am non-fussy like that. But if someone asked me to try a new dish, I am totally against it. Even if a hundred people vouch for it's taste, I would rather prefer to remain hungry. I am kind of fussy like that. So, A and I have mutton shorba and share a plate of chicken biryani. As I said, we don't go there for food. This time on the SIL and BIL's insistence, we tried the Mediterranean cuisine. I was still apprehensive, but I thought I shouldn't be so rigid. I can always order the chicken biryani. We ordered a platter for starters. It had pita bread, some cutlet kind of thing, some sticks ( like the ones they serve on Rajdhani, with soup; only they were much yummier) and some other thing which I don't remember. I should have registered the names. They came with three dips. I liked the dips more than the starters. We liked them so much that we even asked the waiter about the ingredients each contained. Basic everyday stuff cooked in olive oil. It tasted out of the world. For the main course, we ordered two kinds of rice. Some sun-kissed something. Yeah, I know I am being very vague. But it has been my first time and I didn't pay much attention while the food was being ordered.I just thought whatever! One looked like upma and the other like poha. The poha thing was so rich and delicious. Amazing meal!! I want to recommend it to everyone. You can miss the movie, but don't miss the restaurant.
         By the time we finished lunch it was already 4pm. We rushed home. There was a reason for that too. My SIL had a ten month old baby. Oh boy! He was so adorable. So the rest of the evening was spent playing with him. He looks so cute when he is smiling. He looks cute when he yawns too. Actually he looks cute even if he is not doing anything. You get the drift.... I just spent the rest of the evening  looking at him. Watched a good movie, had great food and spent an awesome weekend.
        

The 'Just Married, Please Excuse' Contest

    I have been following Y's blog for quite some time. When the contest was announced I already knew what I was going to write about.

Here is my entry!!

After our wedding, there was some puja at my husband’s place. All his relatives swarmed around me. Each one was asking, “Do you understand Hindi? Can you speak Hindi?”  I am a south Indian and my husband is a north Indian. North Indians still find it impossible to believe that South Indians can speak fluent Hindi. My language skills vastly improved due to my friends’ circle and also due to my husband’s never ending effort. I answered all their questions in Hindi using English words only when absolutely necessary. They broke into fits of laughter whenever I pronounced something wrong or used a wrong word. I was providing them free entertainment. Then came a new challenge, I had to go and speak to my husband’s dadi. She was a little hard at hearing and didn’t speak very clearly either. I sat next to her and strained my ears hard. I almost felt like a dog, with ears cocked up. She also spoke in a slightly different dialect. So, using my natural common sense I was steering the conversation forward. She asked something on the lines of working. I said that I was working. Then she said something like when are you leaving, or it was something that I presumed she asked. Promptly, I replied, “baarah dadi”. Everyone around me started laughing very loud. I didn’t have a clue as to what was wrong with the answer. I asked a cousin as to why she was laughing; she controlled her laughter with great effort and said, “Dadi asked you how many kids you wanted”. Apparently, she said “Kitne bacche?” and I thought she was asking “Kitne baje?” Our flight was at two in the afternoon and we were leaving at 12. So I had replied    ”baarah”. I also joined in the mirth. The incident acted as an icebreaker and helped me forge stronger bond with the family. Needless to say,  I am dadi’s favourite now, since I wanted to give her more than the desired number of great grandchildren.

Everyone must marry!!

Courtesy: Google Images

Yet another friend of mine got hitched. The divide now is almost fifty-fifty. Nearly half of my college friends are married, and the other half is slowly coming onto our side. The conversations haven't changed much. I talk about the same things to both the married and the unmarried girls. There is a difference of just one question though. I end up asking the unmarried ones, "So, when is your turn? You might be the next one in line." And to the married ones I politely ask, "How is the husband doing?" This has become a routine of sorts.

         I was having one of the usual conversation with a very dear friend S. After the gossip was exchanged, I asked ,"Why don't you get married?" "And do what?"Not really the reply that I had expected. I mean, she could have said "Let's see" or" I will keep you updated if there is something." To say the least, I was taken aback. When I further inquired, she replied, "i don't want to give up everything I have and move to a new place with a new person." What she said made sense. Two of my friends resigned their perfect jobs to follow husbands who were chasing their own dreams. One moved a continent apart, while the other moved a state away. Even I felt bitter that girls are expected to sacrifice. I often feel blessed that A doesn't expect stuff like that from me.
         Ok, I am digressing from what I wanted to say. I told S, "You are not aware of the advantages that marriage brings along. You are seeing just one side of the coin. Not everyone has to sacrifice a career."
"Oh okay, so do enlighten me," she said cynically.
I began enumerating the benefits.

• You can go to a late night movie, without your parents asking you what time will you be back.
• You have someone who buys you a sexy dress and says that you look great, even  though your love handles are bulging.
• You can go to exotic foreign places for honeymoon and holidaying  thereafter.
• You don't have to carry your bags wile travelling.
• You can have hour long conversations on the phone and no one throws you dirty looks.
• You have a chauffeur at your beck and call.
• You can have wild sex and not worry about the condom ripping.
• Your parents will themselves encourage to go out more often.

 I was about to give her more reasons. But she stopped me midway. "Yeah, but you have to do all that with the same guy".
"Yeah, that's true" I added wistfully. Maybe, to be single is more fun. Nonetheless marriage life currently is more fun. Notwithstanding S's argument against it.
To have the last word, I said, "You will know when you marry, even if it is just one person."

A New Beginning

Courtesy: Google Images

It's been a couple of weeks since I celebrated my birthday. I decided to start blogging. This is in sync with the new phase of my life. I recently got married and what best than to share the travails of being a newly married wife. Coming back to my birthday, A ( my hubby) was under a ot of pressure to do something special for me. After all it was my first birthday after marriage. Beginning June I was pestering him everyday to come up with something unique. " It's a one time occasion," I said. " It will come again next year" he replied, unaffected. Being stubborn, I persisted. I even asked a well meaning friend to give him a call and ask for his plans. I thought he was keeping it a surprise. I was shocked when he answered " The first birthday should be a low key affair so that it doesn't set any precedent for future  celebration."
       Disappointed. That was an understatement. How could A act so casual?I started a sermon on how it was his duty to be a good husband. I wasn't his girlfriend any more. The cake and flowers wouldn't be enough this year. A was quiet and said he would see about that. Ironically, the week before my birthday, A had a release coming up at office and was extremely busy. Taking my wifely duties seriously, I didn't nag him. A nagging girlfriend is supposedly cute, but when it comes to a nagging wife, it is a strict no-no. I was left with no choice but to wait for a miracle. On the day before the D-day, A came back early from office. He bought a bouquet of flowers and a chocolate cake. Ok, so nothing surprising or special. At ten, we sat down to watch a movie. We were trying to stay awake till midnight, cut the cake and sleep. The cake lay in fridge while I lazed on the couch. I was struggling to stay awake. I usually sleep by ten. Just the cake didn't seem to justify my staying awake, but I didnt want to hurt A. Finally it was ten minutes to twelve. A suddenly got up and instead of going towards the fridge, he asked me to stand up. Feeling drowsy and lazy, I refused to budge from the couch. He dragged me up and led me towards one of the bedrooms.
    Let me digress a little. We had a three bedroom place, but two of the bedrooms remain unused. We even kept them locked, to save ourselves the effort of cleaning them everyday. The place was taken to accommodate both sets of parents, if by negligible chance decide to visit us together.
So A led me to one of the unused bedrooms. He pushed the door open. I was still confused. Why can't we cut the cake in the living room? Surprise!! A said. The room had a newly made bed complete with mattress ,quilt and matching cushions. I had seen that at a furniture store some time ago. We didn't really need a bed so we let it go. It was exactly as I pictured, if it were in our house. The whole room was filled with balloons. On one wall was written " Happy Birthday R." I was pleasantly surprised.More than that. Totally unexpected. So, A did plan a surprise for me. The best part being he managed to keep it a surprise. He set a very high precedent and I can't wait for my next birthday.
   You might wonder what had I done for A's birthday. Well, his birthday was just a week after the wedding. We were on our honeymoon. It was a new place and I didn't even know where to get a cake. So, needless to say, I did nothing.
  Anyways I am loving being a wife and this is the best journey ever.