Scene: Me is sitting staring the the 'Compose' window, not typing a word. Other-Me is yapping non-stop somewhere in the vicinity of the brain. Other-Me's voice sounds strangely familiar. The sarcasm is definitely familiar.
Other Me: So, write something fantabulously awesome that'll shake the entire blogosphere and bring them all to your blog-step!
Me: Oh yeah? Like what?
Other Me: I don't know! But something really really cool.
Me: Ice?
Other Me: Funny?
Me: (dejected) No. But it's irritating when you have to convey something really huge and you don't find the words!
Other Me: Ok ok, don't go all polyglot-ic on me. How about google-ing for an image. It is equal to a thousand words you know.
Me: You think I didn't do that already, you knucklehead? Why don't you just shut the heck up for a while and let me think?
Other-Me: Oh, but I can't shut up. You know I can't. You can't shut up! How can I? Maybe you should just let me do the writing. Like you always do. *smirk*
Me: WHAT??!! HOW DARE YOU insinuate that I pass off your work as mine? How dare you, you..you cheater, pumpkin-eater?
Other-Me: Fine, fine. It's all your work. Now get to the work at hand. Write something good. But sweetheart, pumpkin-eater? Seriously? That's all you could come up with?
Me: *through gritted teeth* I will not swear or name-call on this blog, so shut it.
Other-Me: Oh right. Forgot. Did you wash the blog with turmeric and apply kumkum on it today? How about actually using that coconut you bought 2 weeks back? Can I get some camphor?
Me: Leave me alone!!!!!!!!!!!
Other-Me: Can't.
Me: Can too.
Other-Me: Can too not.
Me: You mean 'cannot'?
Other-Me: Whatever. *long series of beeps that can't be typed on a public domain*
Me: Ok!! No point resisting you. Give me one good idea and I swear I'll treat you like an equal.
Other-Me: God promise? You will?
Me: I will. *fingers crossed behind back - loophole for the promise*
Other-Me: You do realize I can know that you intend to cheat, right?
Me: *giving up* Fine fine fine! Tell me.
Other-Me: Considering the dire straits you're in, and considering the fact that your mental health is my mental health and considering the fact that I do owe you one from long time ago and considering...
Me: You know, I would like to publish a post on this blog at least before 2080 so...
Other-Me: *Dont-push-your-luck-too-far-or-I'll-have-to-kill-you look* considering the very obvious fact that your writing skills are fast drying up, I will give you one piece of advice.
Me: Which is?
Other-Me: Just say it.
Me: Er, what?
Other-Me: No big hungama, no party-ish shouting, no fancy pictures from Google, nothing. Just say it. Those few words. Say it.
Me: *bewildered*
Other-Me: What? You got a better idea, chum?
Me: No. This is it.
Other-Me: Then go! Now! Before they all leave. Go!!
So, Me is writing the following in the 'Compose' window and hitting 'Publish' -
This is my 200th post. I'm happy for me! (going 'YAY!!'). Thank you, my silent and not-so-silent readers, who put up with everything that I post here and who actually come back (God bless you!) and say nice things about what I write. It's easy to say that I write only for myself yada yada yada, but the honest truth is, after a point, it gets really lonely writing just for yourself (and the occasional spammer advertising engine oil). It could be no big deal for you leaving a comment, but if you're also a blogger you'll know it's a huge deal to see a comment on something you felt about and penned. And if I'm still here, still writing, still yappin', it's because of you. Yes you, right there, reading this line. :-) Thank you. You've been great, and I do hope I can keep you interested in Thought Process, at least for a little while longer. And I'll sincerely try not to get this mushy again. But maybe for my 300th post, no? :-)
Other-Me: See? That wasn't so bad after all, was it?
Me: *relieved* So now I have to treat you like an equal?
Other-Me: *strutting about proudly inside head* You bet, lady!
Me: In your dreams, you nut! *wicked grin*
Other-Me: Hey!! That's not...
Other-Me's voice fades out. Enter Bryan Adams with 'Summer of 69'.
P.S: 200! Two hundred! 2 followed by 2 whole zeroes. Yippie! Woohoo!!! I did it! I lasted this long! *goes away imagining Oscar statuette in hand, acceptance speech in mind*
It's that time of the year again. More specifically, OUR time of the year again!
Check out the things being planned by the Blank Noise Project in Bangalore -
This year on International women's day, March 8, Blank Noise supported by Radio Indigo invites you to WALK THE NIGHT!
We are meeting at rest house road, ( off brigade road) park at 6 30 pm. The walk begins at 7 pm. We conclude at 9 pm. All we need is you and your enthusiasm!
Please email us immediately at blurtblanknoise [at] gmail [dot] com. (Note: Please drop me a line in the comment space if you'd like to have the phone number. I'm a bit wary of putting up such information in a public blog.)
Bring along your friends, family, neighbours anyone, any age group! Fun. Thrill. Action. Guaranteed!
And if you're not a Bangalorean, then you can do this -
Last march 8 (Women'sDay), we had a blog-a-thon that asked you to blog stories of street sexual harassment. It began with an announcement on this blog that was picked up by bloggers across India, and soon in different parts of the world. We shared stories we had never shared before, sometimes stories we thought we had long forgotten, stories that we had often wanted to bury. We read each other, we linked to each other and we linked back to the Blank Noise Project blog. We were touched by each other's stories, moved by them, and, we like to imagine, drew strength and sustenance from the the long, cross-cultural chain of shared experiences.
It's this strength that we're asking you to share experiences of, on March 8th, 2007. The baton is handed over right here, right now! Announce this on your blog and on the morning of March 8th, 2007, share with us a story (or two, or five or...) of fighting back?!
When did you flip a situation so you could resist, when did you give back as hard as you got? When and how did you choose to confront? When did you become an Action Hero?
Action heroes have formed the theme of the last few Blank Noise interventions and it's this spirit we ask you to share and celebrate on March 8 , 2007!
So announce the blog-a-thon, and on March 8, share your action story!
If you are a male blogger and wondering how you fit in, tell us about an Action Hero you know!
You could also be an agent- the one that collects stories of confrontation/ of heroism from your mother, grandmother, cousins, domestic workers, people in your office, the vegetable vendor, the woman bus conductor...anyone!
To participate: 1. announce the event. 2. blog your story 3. email us about it and we will link you right away!
Please email us at blurtblanknoise [at] gmail [dot] com subject titled Action Heroes Online.
And if all this is still too much trouble or you couldn't care less, there's an even more simpler thing you can do - Hold hands with the woman you cherish most in your life and tell her how much she means to you. Could be your mother, could be your wife or girlfriend or just a friend. Could be your sister or a favorite cousin. Tell her you appreciate all that she has done for you and tell her you're always there for her, till the very end. If you can't say it to her, then write to her. Email her. Send her an SMS. Get her a Woman's Day card and don't forget to sign it. Send her flowers. Or chocolates. Anything.
Now if you still feel all these are just not your ways, well, then just spend the day with her, spend the day the way she wants to. She'll understand all those unsaid things.
For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning. ~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"
First things first - I'm going home for the holidays!!! Result: I'm way too excited to fix the critical bugs in my queue (I've always wondered what's with the spelling of 'queue'!!!).
Second things second - I'm going home for the holidays flying Air Deccan (for the first time, mind you). Result: I've heard contradictory things about flying Air Deccan. Most said it's ok, nothing to worry about. One said it's really dangerous 'coz their flights are under-maintained and some dont even have a licence to fly! Well, I'll know by midnight today (when I'm supposed to land in Chennai). I'm tempted to write something crappy like 'If I don't make it: It's been a great journey on this blogging circuit, thanks guys for making it so good!" - but I refrain from making pessimistic comments before I travel. Wish me bon voyage, would ya?!
Third things third - I'm going home for the holidays flying Air Deccan to meet my folks on Ugadi! Result: Happy Ugadi everyone!!!
Fourth things fourth - We watched Bluffmaster yesterday and I fell in love with Abhishek Bachchan. But Aishwarya Rai can rest in peace 'coz I'm married to a wonderful guy already. :-) Result: Everyone, if you haven't watched it yet, go watch 'Bluffmaster'. And hey, Priyanka Chopra was ok too. Boman Irani rocked. And, Nana Patekar! My god, when did we have such good actors all at the same time in Indian cinema (excluding Mohanlal movies - they always have big stars)!
Now to the main topic of this post - Ugadi! Also, Yugadi - Yuga + Adi - Beginning of a new age. (Celebrated this year on March 30)
Have I told you I like Ugadi more than Diwali or Sankranti? Yep, me loves it. Me loves the Ugadi Pachchadi and the mangoes and the yummy things that Mum makes at home. Me loves going to the Telugu Samiti programmes in the evening, spend an evening entirely surrounded by Telugu - it was a big deal then 'coz we were in Trichy surrounded by Tamil!
The Ugadi Pachchadi I made turned out sweet last year! :-) So was my year, actually (touch wood). There is a belief that the way the pachchadi turns out is how your year would turn out to be. So..for all those interested (I don't believe there would be many, but still...) here's how you make the Ugadi Pachchadi.
Ingredients Raw Mango - 1/2 of a medium size mango. Julienne or chopped to small pieces. Tamarind Black Pepper (coarsely ground) Banana Jaggery Neem flowers (yep, you need 'em for sure! No replacements!)
Optional Ingredients Honey Other fruits
Process: Soak the tamarind in water for 10-15 mins. As to the quantity of tamarind, a rough estimate would be 1/4th of the size of a golf ball. (I bet this recipe is one of its kind if it expects you to have seen how big a golf ball is!). Add the jaggery to this and mix properly so the jaggery melts completely in the tamarind water (remove tamarind pieces after extracting all the juice). Add the mango pieces, fruits, sprinkle black pepper, neem flowers and mix. The consistency can be thick like a chutney (add more banana and less water to the tamarind) or not-so-thick like payasam (more water with tamarind).
Ugadi Pachchadi ready! :-)
Simple, wasn't it? It's not mandatory to use all the above ingredients or use the above only. I'll tell you the significance of each and you can 'experiment' with it! The predominant tastes are sweet (theepi - jaggery, banana), sour (pulupu - tamarind), hot (kaaram - pepper) and bitter (chedhu - neem flowers). (I think I'm missing a flavor - is it vagaru? Telugu folks out there, inputs please!) The importance of Mango lies in the fact that this is that time of the year when you start to get cute green mangoes on most mango trees. You should probably know, this is also the time of the year when the neem tree starts to flower! So..its a mix of all the new things that come up around you and all the tastes symbolizing all the different emotions you go through in a new year.
There are lots of other things that come with Ugadi - Panchanga Shravanam (listening to the panchangam to see how the year would be for each zodiac sign), singing 'Maa telugu talli ki' (that's like the anthem of Telugu!), having umpteen flavors of the same ugadi pachchadi at a different friend/neighbor's place - it's such a cute festival, isn't it? No big brouhaha like Diwali or Sankranti!
So me off to Chennai to eat my Ammamma's Ugadi Pachchadi (among other yummies!)
Do not think, 'Oh, why does she boast?' Writing was something I've wanted to do most, So, went the whole hog, And got myself a blog - Welcome, people, to my one hundredth post!
I did it! No big deal in a cosmic sense, but for little earth people like me - sure made my day to see that magical 3 digit number on my blog. Is it weird that it feels like an achievement of sorts? Maybe because it amazes me that I was (am?) committed to the blogging cause for so long - I rarely do that, you know.
What started as a trivial thing I did to get over my homesickness when I was in the US has now, to put it mildly, become a part of my life. It does sound lame (ofcourse it is lame - it's a blog, for godsakes!), but then, there isn't much avenue to do something creative in my profession, so this is how I make it up. I'm glad I didnt take up writing full time though - would have been a disaster - I cannot imagine doing this for my daily idli (not a big fan of bread, so...)!
Seems such a long way from the '50 not out', but here I am! :-)
So..here's to me and my blog! :-) Yes, I can be this self-centered at times - actually, most times. I was born this way.
I'm not a burden anymore, not a big debt, I'm better than a son, yeah, you bet! I know what I want, I know how to get it. And I'll conquer all, sure, bit by bit.
Wife to a husband, sister to a brother, Daughter to a mother, someday a mother, Daddy's little darling, that'll always be me - I can be all at the same time, I am a woman, you see.
I will reach great heights, endless and carefree, Nothing in the world can defeat the girl in me!
Happy Woman's Day! Cherish the women in your life - they deserve nothing less.
Love is in the air. It's also in blogs, newspapers, hoardings on the road side, shop windows and also at work (I think a colleague has got some Valentine gift and she's all of a flutter!). Greeting cards the size of a Hrithik Roshan (or Rambo, if you're 60 years old) poster, cuddly teddy bears holding 'I love you' hearts, the omnipresent chocolates - and all the pink!! My god, what is with the pink color, people!!! Cupid just went blind with all the pink and red - and you would not want a blind God of Love going around shooting arrows at all the wrong people! Imagine the catastrophe!
I've nothing against Valentine's Day being celebrated - it's romantic, I agree - but isn't it also expensive and flashy and too artificial? I mean..we have 365 days in a year (we also get 0.25 days in between in some years) and there's this one day where you decide to get all mushy and senti and romantic about your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend! What's the outcome? Well, a restaurant might get an extra 1500 bucks for lighting a candle on your table. Cadbury just got richer by a billion dollars. Archies might surpass Bill Gates to become the richest conglomerate ever. The roadside florist banega crorepati. Ofcourse, all this if you survive the VHP and Shiv Sena dudes. Every channel on TV has a heart next to its logo. Atleast a thousand people would have got engaged (seriously, if I were them I would choose a normal day to get engaged - you got one more day to celebrate instead of clubbing that with V day right?!). And yeah, if you're a rich guy, De Beers, Tanishq or Gili would be smiling their way to the bank. Isn't it too much of a coincidence that aaaaaall these people also get to be happy (read: rich) just because you're in love (even if its just for a day)?! This is why it makes me think that Valentine's Day is one big advertisement gimmick.
And no matter how hard I try, I just cannot remember people celebrating Valentine's Day back in 1996. Neither did we have Mother's Day or Father's Day or Pet's day! It's good psychology that these greeting card/chocolate/gift companies use. Things that concern one's family are close to one's heart. You would never think twice about spending exhorbitantly when it comes to these 'special' days. Do you know how costly baby cosmetics are? Why? 'Coz you dont care how much it costs when it comes to your precious li'l one!! You'll just pay up and be happy that you got your baby the best. A cute li'l dress with frills costs more than a pair of Levis jeans (the last I checked, my jeans cost me around 1600rs a pair). So the same goes for Valentine's too - spending 9000 Rs on a diamond ring (minimum amount to get a ring with diamonds that are visible to the naked eye) might seem too much on regular days - but not today, no!
I'm not saying we shouldn't celebrate Valentine's Day. We should. Any excuse to celebrate in life is good. We need all the celebrations and memories to get us through when we are down in the dumps in life. It's just that, there are people who are very much in love but unable to take the pressure the advertisements put on their love. Imagine what will happen if you forgot or couldn't afford to get your girlfriend/boyfriend (I left 'spouse' out on purpose - 'coz it doesn't matter) something for today. Doesn't it raise a question on how deep or true your love is? (If it didn't, marry that person as soon as possible please.)
So, what's the big deal about today? Nothing. It's just a regular Tuesday (which comes after just a horrible Monday).
Oh, did I mention..I've already sent a card to my husband. He's getting me a brown teddy bear with a red bow. Chocolates are a necessity these days. And we're having take-out at home this weekend with candles and wine (yippee!!! red wine - classic V day material, isn't it!) . I've put in a request for a pair of diamond studs, it's under consideration (I love my husband a lot a lot a lot).
What was that? Hypocrite? Yeah - you sure got that one right! ;-)
Women: A wife was not at home for a whole night. So she tells her husband the very next morning that she stayed at her girlfriend's apartment over night. So the husband calls 10 of her best girlfriends and none of them confirm that.
Men: A husband was not at home for a whole night. So he tells his wife the very next morning that he stayed at his friend's apartment over night. So the wife calls 10 of his best friends and 5 of them confirm that he stayed at their apartments that night and another 5 are claiming that he is still with them.
Ah, men..
I had a great year (no pictures yet to support that though - there is just no limit to my laziness). I do not believe in New Year resolutions - if you really want to do something, you don't need a New Year to make you do it.
I'm going to ring in New Year on my blog 2 days ahead ('coz I won't be in a bloggable condition this weekend - me going home to meet mom and dad after god-knows-how-long!!)
So, here's to you and yours! Happy New Year!
Catch y'all on the other side of 2006 folks! As always, keep smiling (well ofcourse, not to the extent that people think you've gone..er..cuckoo)!
I was born on Friday, the 12th. 1980, if you must ask (cross my heart, I'm not lying!). It's not as spooky as Friday, the 13th - but it does have a different ring to it, doesn't it? Maybe you think it's the way I'm saying it ;-)
I've always had a special place for the number 12. And it's not just because it appears as my birth date and month. It somehow gives me the impression of being complete. There are 12 in a dozen, 12 months in a year, 12 signs in the zodiac..and there were 12 apostles. And, wonder of wonders, I was born on the 12th day of the 12th month!
And...Friday. It's like a magical word, isn't it? 'Thank God, it's Friday'. Nobody says 'Thank God, its Monday' - I personally would say 'O God, it's Monday'. Let's face it, it's a special day of the week. Not as special as Sunday though, but nevertheless...the week's gone..got 2 full days of fun ahead. It is a good day. And I was born on a Friday. And my mom stopped having fun ever since - well, that's beside the point anyway.
Where am I going with this Friday the 12th thing? Well..glad you asked. You'll know where I'm going in a minute - patience, my dear, is a virtue!
There have been a lot of times in my life when I have felt I'm a special person for God. (Wow, you believe I just said that??!!) All of us would have felt that at some point - agreed. It's just that I decided to put it on my blog. Ha! Now, what’s this got to do with my birth date? Well, get there! God chose a special day for His (or Her, c'mon, why shouldn't it be a Her? Coz Michelangelo painted it as an old man with white hair? Oh please!) special person. So..you kinda guessed it. This monologue is not about Friday or 12. It's about me. Me, me and more me.
I read this beautiful thing the other day, it went - 'It's not that God doesn't answer all our prayers. It's just that sometimes the answer is No'. I liked these words. It explained a lot of things to me. Like why I still don't own a Mercedes. Or the crown jewels for that matter. The answer was No. Makes sense, doesn't it? A lot of things in our life happen the way we want it to. A lot don't. We cannot change it - we can however change how we take it. Ok, I know what you're thinking - I spend time on reading her stupid blog, and now she's giving me advice? Well, mon ami, I'm not giving advice. I hate giving advice. I do it all the time. People do it all the time to me.
This blog is not completely about me. I'm not going to share my worst nightmare or my best dream on this blog. I'm not going to say how I met my husband. I'm not going to complain about the government or my boss (that's just coz he might read this). This is just my attempt to talk to the world and not have the world talk back (you wish, eh? you're gonna post comments, aren't ya?). Not about anything in particular, but about everything under the sun. And about the small and mundane things in the nooks and crannies that the sun doesn't quite reach at times.
Thanks for putting up with me so far. I really appreciate it. Let me know you visited - bouquets or brickbats - both welcome equally. I didn't mean it when I said I want to talk to world without having the world talk back. Would get boring for all of us, right?
Disclaimer: All opinions expressed here are my own and do not represent those of my employer. The fact that a particular comment is posted on this blog does not mean that I have endorsed it in any way or verified the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any such comment. I, in no terms, shall be held responsible for/associated with the content carried by the blogs I link to.
