Has to be the weirdest tag ever!

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
“Damn! Nalla kani…which means the day’s gonna be bad!”

2. How much cash do you have in your wallet right now?
Rs 2.50…and an electricity bill for 500!

3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
Bore…that’s what tags are!

4. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?
I always delete miss calls from my phone…(I get those more than calls because I’m never near my ‘mobile’ phone)

5. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone?
Kill Bill

6. What are you wearing right now?
T-shirt and skirt.

7. Do you label yourself?
Oh yea…am my favourite

8. Name the brand of the shoes you’re currently own?
Nike

9. Bright or Dark Room?
Medium

10. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
Happy (she just found a job!)

11. What does your watch look like?
Duh! It looks like a watch!

12. What were you doing at midnight last night?
Sleeping

13.What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
“Haha i didnt even enquire. Wait by even ill let you know whether i’ve done it”

14. What’s a word that you say a lot?
LOL

15. Who told you he/she loved you last?(please exclude spouse , family, children)
An anonymous sms! don’t know who the sender is!

16. Last furry thing you touched?
My hair…when I went to Chennai, my usually smooth hair became furry!! I  blame the coastal climate!

17. Favourite age you have been so far?
7 and 8 — at Guruvayur!

18.  What was the last thing you said to someone?
“Njaan Facebook-il UNO kalikkuaa” (means, I’m playing UNO on Facebook)

19. The last song you listened to?
Ikhtara — from Wake Up Sid!

20. Where did you live in 1987?
Thiruvananthapuram (was too young to venture out alone — I was 3.)

21. Are you jealous of anyone?
Naah!

22. Is anyone jealous of you?
Of course! Who wouldn’t be? I’m the most perfect anyone can be

23. Name three things that you have on you at all times?
Bindi, dress and watch

24. What’s your favourite town/city?
Thiruvananthapuram!

25. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
Last July — to my dad and mom — just saying I love them a looooot and that they’re the best parents ever.

26. Can you change the oil on a car?
Depends on where the oil is

27. Your first love/big crush: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
first big crush: is in the USA (currently in india on vacation);
first love: am not quite sure which that was; think i should play safe and say I’m married to him

28. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
Nope! But it will, soon! Am gonna pierce my nose

29. What is your current desktop picture?
Me n the husband

30. Have you been burnt by love?
Yep — whenever I cook for the husband!

And here goes: Verbivore, Ramya, Vimmu, Mahak and Smita

P.S.: Edited after Reema commented: You’re tagged too, girl!

just a tumbler of water

It isn’t often you feel like a potential murderer. Well, today seems to be one of those strangely different, out-of-the-ordinary days!

When I read murder stories, I always marvel (in the most negative way) at the ease with which people plan to and successfully murder someone; similarly with movies. But in those cases, there’s always the consolation that it’s not for real. The shock is when such reports come in the news! And I just sit around wondering “How can a person ‘kill’ someone!?” And for someone like me who refuses to kill even an ant, it’s the biggest mystery. So, when today, I was the one scheming and planning, the shock knew no boundaries!

It’s been sometime now, that I have been contemplating on a murder. And every passing day makes me more and more determined to commit this one. I know it takes one hell of a stone-heart to even think of something like this — but I’m sure I want to do it — yes, you read it right: I want to do it.

So, now you must be wondering why the hell I’m writing about in a public forum. I do not intent to murder and act like a saint. I am totally willing to accept the consequences. I’m doing this only because my object of ‘affection’ here does not deserve to live. If I allow it to, I’ll be responsible for the wreck of two other lives. The love that existed all along will be forgotten: slowly, but steadily. And a day will come when these two lives will be totally dispensable for the other. I cannot allow for that. Better that this one dies.

I opened a Google window and started typing “how to murder a” and immediately the following options popped up:

• how to murder a man (it’s not a man I want to murder)
• how to murder and get away with it (not my intention; you wouldn’t be reading this if it were!)
• how to murder a millionaire (why’d anyone wanna kill a millionaire unless you are due to receive all he’s got!?)
• how to murder a rich uncle (if he has no kids and loves you the most, fine; else, isn’t it more sensible to be his fav nephew/niece?)
• how to murder a and not get caught (again, i repeat, not my intention!)

Well, the option I was looking for was clearly not available. I discussed with a few close friends
– and finally decided that it should be a death-by-water! After all, most people wish to have a sip of water before they die!

Now I know how easy it is to kill. All it takes is some amount of hatred, some amount of despair and a huge amount of determination and reckless disregard for all value — monetary, moral and emotional! In my case, I’ll need just one more thing: a tumbler of water.

Once I’m done, and this post is crawled over by the search engine, Google will add one more item to its current list of “how to murder a”. It’ll have an option for “how to murder a television”!

Alphabets…as they tag along in their world! ;)

Thank you, AV, for the award. Am quite late in putting this up — but that makes no less of how honored and thrilled I am!

But am sure you needn’t have passed on the tag to me. I so don’t like doing them But well, since you bribed me with the award, here goes!

The rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you. AV
2. Display award on your blog with these rules (done!)
3. Reply to the questions below (grrr…done after loong. boring thoughts!)
4. Tag 7 people deserving the award according to you
Verbivore
Smita
Sakhi
Mahak
Alice
Jayyasurya
Pallus
5. Come back to BLoGGiSTa iNFo CoRNeR (PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE THIS LINK) at http://bloggistame.blogspot.com/ and leave the URL of your Post in order for you/your Blog to be added to the Master List.

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And here I go………………………………………….

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A – Available/Single? Both are the same, right?
B – Best friend? Jaya, Archana, Anjana, Shayana, Anjana, Swetha, Anjana…well, too many (anjanas, esp.) to mention. Miss them all
C – Cake or Pie? Cake.
D – Drink of choice? Butter milk
E – Essential item you use every day? Water.
F – Favorite colour? Was blue once; now green
G – Gummy Bears Or Worms? Fried or boiled? Well, either ways, neither!
H – Hometown? Thiruvananthapuram
I – Indulgence? Looooooooong baths
J – January or February? May
K – Kids & their names? None. Yet.
L – Life is incomplete without? everything I have now.
M – Marriage date? 17 Nov.
N – Number of siblings? 1 elder (bestest) Brother
O – Oranges or Apples? Mangoes
P – Phobias/Fears? Claustrophobia
Q – Quote for today? A line is a dot that went for a walk.
R – Reason to smile? Anything.
S – Season? Flat 50% sale
T – Tag 7 People? Again??? No! I kill this tag here!!!
U – Unknown fact about me? I hate losing sleep, no matter what!!!
V – Vegetable you don’t like? None. I’m a fultoo veggie!
W – Worst habit? Hot tempered / Forgetful (It’s a nice combo, trust me.)
X – X-rays you’ve had? Many My malayalam star is chathayam; i do total justice to it, all the time!
Y – Your favorite food? Amma’s. Anything “keralite” and mom-made
Z – Zodiac sign? (Pseudo)Scorpio

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Phew! Done!

a “Spicy” Onam ;)

Yey!

“Onam’s here again…” was featured in BlogAdda’s Spicy Saturday Picks!!

Oh boy! Was I thrilled! I registered at BlogAdda ages back, fully knowing that I’ll never hear from them again! It felt great to have been so wrong!

Thanks a lot, BlogAdda team…it’s a privilege to have been featured on your list!

Yey!!!

P.S.: Incidentally, this post happens to me my first ever 55-er

Onam’s here again…

Yet another Onam’s here — and this year I don’t get to celebrate it at all (for one year, we’re off all celebrations ‘coz granny passed away). My first Onam after marriage and there it goes down the drain! Hmmm.

All these years, when we ‘had’ Onam to celebrate, it never was a big deal for me. I used to love getting all decked up in the Kerala traditional wear, have all the relative buzzing around, have that sumptuous sadya…but well, Onam was always just another festival. But somehow, this year, seeing everyone else celebrate makes me feel weird — and guilty for letting poor Onam never get that importance and high-office!

And to add to all that, the husband is totally down with fever — high temperature and body pain and all that. And I am also sneezing my way to the same condition. I read somewhere that if you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib; if you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die. Surprisingly, I’m still alive, and my ribs are in perfect order Hope it remains so for at least another week — because my parents are coming tomorrow! Yey! The only thing I can say about continuous sneezing is that it makes you look like a drunk, sleep-deprived Chinese! (The red eyes, small and squinted)

Anyway, yesterday a friend popped up on chat and asked whether I had a bath in the morning and went to the temple after that. Well, when I told her Onam had no religious connections, she asked me why, then, Mahabali roams around with a “kuri” on his forehead. I told her it was the then Devas‘ and Asuras‘ version of our modern bindi

Well, Onam really has no ‘religious’ aspect about it. It is the day the Asura King Mahabali comes up from the underworld ‘Pathalam‘, to visit his beloved Kerala and the ‘citizens’ there — a once-a-year allowance granted by Lord Vishnu . The day when all of Kerala is dressed at its best, is laden after a good harvest and awaits a grand year ahead. (The story behind all this will give enough material for 3 posts!!)

Onam, therefore, is significant in two ways…
One, it is the commemoration of the community at large and celebration of past history, the Mahabali legend; and two, it is the celebration of the harvest, tied with the memory of the golden age of prosperity. Onam is the time when Kerala is all set to welcome back its favourite King for a day of feast and enjoyment. After the monsoon drenches this beautiful state for almost all of the Karkidakam (the Malayali’s ‘dark’ month — when nothing inauspicious is taken up), Chingam walks in,bringing with it spring and auspiciousness. Chingam signals harvest, which is celebrated in the form of Onam!

This sense of joy, prosperity and merrymaking is celebrated traditionally with folk games, family get-togethers and lots of sadya.

The best part of Onam has always been the Onakkodi. People gift one-another and wear new clothes during Onam. ‘Vastra’ (dress) also stands for ‘heart’. So, new dresses signifies the ‘renewal’ of the heart with new thoughts, cleansing it of all bad memories!

Atham pathinu ponnonam… Onam celebrations start on the day Atham (the Malayalam star) falls — 10 days before Thiruvonam (another Malayalam star). A huge circle made on the courtyard, coated with cowdung (to keep the flowers in place), is beautifully decorated with flowers and called ‘Onapookkalam’. In most houses, this is done with great mastery and ends up being a beautiful work of art!

On Thiruvonam, before Mahabali comes for his yearly visit, houses are cleaned and decorated with flowers and traditional lamps. A beautifully enchanting display of fireworks and lighting turns the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram, into something of a fairyland!

Sumptuous sadyas are spread on the greenest of all plantain leaves. The sadya is an important part of Onam — its the yearly feast even the poorest person in the state doesn’t wish to miss. “Kaanam vittum Onam unnanam“, they say. It means that to have a share of the Onasadya, one should be willing to sell even the bare necessity he owns! The sadya is a full course meal, served strictly in the following order: 3 pickles (ginger, lime and mango), a thoran, a kitchadi, avial and koottucurry on one side of the leaf; on the other, banana chips, banana pieces dipped in jaggery, a small banana, pappads, rice and parippu. Then follows sambar, a milk-payasam with boli, a jaggery payasam with banana, and finally, a bit more rice with pulissery, rasam and then buttermilk! (The sadya varies from district to district in kerala; this is the Thiruvananthapuram style and I know only of this!)

Different parts of Kerala celebrate Onam in their own different ways: Athachamayam (a cultural procession in the royal town of Tripunithura); the Thrikkakarayappan further north; Kathakali dancers in gorgeous costumes enacting the legends in Valluvanad;. an impressive procession of elephants adorned with their nettipattoms in Thrissur, where masked dancers perform the colorful Kummattikali; the famous Aranmula Vallam Kali in Aranmula; Pulikali (Kaduvakali) all over the state..everyone has one’s own concept of Onam! And, these are but a few of the various traditional activities that are enjoyed during Onam.

The swing, one most important part of Onam, is enjoyed by everyone:  decked in their best, they sing Onappaattukal, swinging to and fro from high branches.

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Oh! Good ol’d Onam. I miss it sooooo much this year…and when a friend send me a pic he clicked of the lit-up roads in Thiruvananthapuram, I saw nostalgia run across the room and take a huge leap on to me! Sigh!

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Happy Onam, everyone! Have a great day today…and a graaaand year ahead — while I head off to sneeze in piece peace!

Image courtesy: Google Images. In the spirit of Onam, forgive my borrowing your images; if you do not like it being posted here, put in a word; they shall be promptly removed

“Light; it plays an incredible game of hide-and-seek with us.”

“Light; it plays an incredible game of hide-and-seek with us.
The earliest memory of my childhood happens to be a very happy one – sitting on my grandfather’s lap, listening to stories of our mythology, of demons and gods, of good and evil and walking down with him to the library to catch up on the adventures of Mickey Mouse.”

And as I first read these words sometime in the middle of a busy mid-2008 afternoon, I was awed! Awed by the author’s ability to play with words. Nikhil; he plays an incredible game with words!

When the story ended as abruptly as it had begun, after scrolling down just 4 or 5 pages, I was left in a confused state of mind. I was lost — I knew I just had to read the full story.  When I pestered him, he told me that was the full story; he’d written that to send in for some short-story-writing competition, he said.

Now, almost a year later, when I clicked that nice little “Download” button on his blog, all excited to be reading his new book, I saw myself reading those same words…and wondering where I had read them before. To have been able to read what led to and what followed those words was one of the best things to happen.

After I read it, I told him that “Simran” had left me all confused…and a bit torn apart. Confused, because such serious and mind-numbing words were from a guy whose posts are always a slapstick, humourous entertainer. Torn apart, because one could almost see and feel Nihal’s agony and loss.

“Simran” is a beautiful story that cajoles you lovingly to go forth and get yourself right in the midst of that fierce battle between emotions and logic; mind and heart. It’s the story of a passionately intense relation between the protagonist, Nihal, and the mysterious Simran. From life, love and passion, to hurt, anger, hate and death, Nihal travels through an entire spectrum of emotional turmoil — while Simran becomes the testimony for all that.

Definitely an ‘unputdownable’ work of art! And rightly so, because you live, love, get hurt and hate along with Nihal and Simran. When a reader empathises with a character, it’s undoubtedly the result of a  brilliant author’s incredible penmanship!

Well done, Nikhil! Look forward to the next one!

the day I almost thought my last thought!

August 14: The day I almost thought my last thought! The day I thought about a lot of things in such a rush, for fear of never being able to think about anything, anymore! The day I thought I was dying. Gosh, I guess I’ll never forget this day!

August 13: Went out with my brother to Garuda Mall, Bangalore. Walked around for a looong time…in and out of shops, without buying anything, driving the sales-people crazy, until I got myself a sprained muscle on my left shoulder. The pain kept bothering me, but I gave no heed. Cooked dinner, made idly batter for the next day (one helluva job, I tell you!), saw part of some incorrigible movie, quarreled with the husband for some silly reason (I blame the pain for the irritation) and went off to sleep.

August 14 (again!?): Woke up with the pain again. Made breakfast, by the end of which I realised I couldn’t adjust myself to a lot of positions, thanks to the pain that sent me buckling every now and then! Had loads of office work, which I managed to (grossly uncomfortably) complete by 4.30. Meanwhile, I checked the Internet for symptoms of appendicitis, kidney stone, tumor and what not. The only disease I didn’t check for was swine flu, thanks to the half dozen mails that keep pouring in everyday on the subject.

I was in pain — breathing in and out, sneezing (mere thoughts of sneezing, even), burping, laughing, walking, lying, sitting, standing, crying, yawning…just about everything I’ve learnt to do in life hurt like hell!! Till about 5.00, I managed to sit around with my brother, trying to laugh at myself and my antics, without moving my belly. Then I retreated to my room, decided to lie down. And oh God…in the next 10 minutes, the pain shot up so bad, I hardly had any voice. My brother, right in the next room, couldn’t hear me whimpering, crying out in pain, calling out for mom!

In the next hour, the husband, back from office, came in with my brother to see me in tears, writhing on the bed. And of all the things in the world, he asks to no one in particular “Is she really in pain or is she just trying to pull my leg?”  I’d been pitying myself for almost an hour, taking in the sad fact that I would be alone and in pain when I die…with no one to even share my will and last wishes…when he asks if I were pulling his leg! Bah! (Well, in his defense, I must admit that when I called him up, asking him to come home fast, I was laughing and trying to keep the pain at bay.)

Anyway, the next 2 hours flew by. I was almost carried to the car, taken to a hospital (where I managed to crawl up the stairs and settle myself, screaming and moaning and whimpering) which turned out to be just for preganant women, turned out, again carried to the car, rushed to another hospital, given an injection and sent for an ultrasound abdomen scanning. Turns out, it was just a plain old muscle spasm. Anyway, the doctors doubted a possible infection in the kidney and prescribed a urine test. After 4 full glasses of water, hopeless PJs, incessant laughter (which still hurt, by the way) and relief over being “alive”, we left the hospital, leaving the receptionist and her colleague laughing over my adamant bladder that refused to refill itself.

There’s slight pain, still. A deep breath / or a sharp one before a sneeze, still hurts. But it feels great to be alive! It feels great to not be in pain! It feels great to be able to blog about it…and laugh about the pathetic condition I had been in yesterday! The husband says I’m like a car with perpetual ‘patch work’ — it’s either backpain, or memory loss, or headache, or some sort of problem! Health seems to be the only blessing I was never endowed with in abundance by God!

But whatever! Yey! I am alive

P.S.: My idea of adopting a child has been reinforced since yesterday’s incident I just cannot take any pain.

a strange weekend…actually, two!

No no… I did not disappear again. Had made an impromptu trip to Trivandrum, my hometowncity.

The trip turned out to be one of those “totally unplanned, outright fun” ones! All the cousins and second cousins and uncles and aunts were cooped up under the same roof — and we all had so much fun there! Apart from marriages, Onam, and a once-in-a-while first-birthday party, we don’t get together like this: and I can’t really remember the last time we all were together like this…the last time we all had such fun. About 40-odd people — adults and us ‘kids’. Everyone forming tiny little groups in every single space available and chattering, laughing (and even singing), merry-making…

Occasionally, when our laughter crossed the allowed decibel level, aunts and uncles came barging in, admonishing and ordering us to behave ourselves. Yet, at the same time, we could see the ‘elders’ in the family sitting around and sharing old-time stories…their childhood and their pranks — and laughing their hearts out!

But it was all very strange throughout — this merrymaking in the family; the neighbours must all think we’re a bunch of sadistic, barbaric  tribals! Well, can’t really blame them: because it was not really one of those “planned get-togethers”; and I was not really on an “unplanned, fun” trip. I had hurried off to Trivandrum to attend my grandmother’s funeral…

Grandma’s death was much anticipated…and entirely “prayed-for”, I might say. She was slowly entering a phase of immense suffering…and everyone was hoping she’d be called away before too long. So, in a way, we could defend ourselves, saying we were celebrating her ‘escape from sufferings’ or such crap.

Granma

There! She was the last member of that generation’s lot. Now, apparently, “we all” will never ever get-together like this anymore. Grandma had perhaps been a unifying factor: the reason why everyone got together under that roof occasionally. Now, each to one’s own.

Guess it’s true; four of my cousins are in the middle east; one’s in Delhi; one’s in Cochin; one’s planning to go off soon to Australia; two of us are here in Bangalore; one is off to UK…and God knows when we’ll all see each other again. Unlike those good old days, none of us seem to be really pulled home by force, excitement and urge to attend to weddings and childbirths in the family any longer. We all have our excuses: projects to be completed; horrid bosses who grant no leave; new job, so no leave; exams, so can’t skip school/college; low attendance, will get into the professor’s black list ; out of the country, can’t be bothered to make a presence…and so on. Somehow, a death seem to bring a jolt to each one of us (and to the bosses, teachers and professors as well, God-knows-how!) and everyone turns up somehow or the other.

a small part of my much bigger family

So, maybe sub-consciously, we all knew it was one of those “this-wont-last-too-long-and-may-very-well-be-the-last-time” times together…and must’ve taken full advantage of it. Bonded with each other asap…sang, danced, wrestled, fooled around, had palmistry sessions, had PJ-sessions…had “tonne kanakkinu fun, fun” (like the tagline of a local radio station goes)!

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Now, its all over. Everyone’s gone back to whatever they were up to before 3.00 a.m. on July 16th!

…and I thought there was nothing as contagious as a smile!

C (Customer): Do you sell smiles?
SK (shopkeeper): Yes. But they’re quite costly.
C: Ah, not a problem! Please give a box of them to that lady there; it’s on me!
SK: Oh, sorry! You’re not the first to try…but I never have any that fits her!

So, does a smile cost a lot, really? Or, is it just a matter of no-size-fits-some?

Been wondering about this for a while now. There is this neighbour of mine, at whom I’ve smiled a million times — without fail, everytime, she turns around and hurries into her house.

image courtesy: www.savagechickens.com

Either its my buck teeth which she isn’t too impressed with; or her smiles are damn expensive and she knows I cannot afford one ever in my life!

Well, I’ve never bitched about her on her face (not even to other neighbours), never made faces at her, never tried to flirt with her husband, never tried to make her kid shoot her with his plastic gun…so I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why I get such a cold response to one little, innocent smile.

It’s been 9 months, now. But well, irrespective of all that, I still smile at her every single time.  It’s a simple principle I follow: It’s always there, right under my nose, and it costs me nothing! So, why forget it’s there?? Well, I believe there’s always a smile at the end of a 14-muscle stretch!

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P.S.: Well, to those whom it matters: I do not have buck teeth — I smiled at my maid’s kid today and she didn’t look scared…not a bit!)

Hybernation’s no fun…

…especially if you spend all that time being so busy you can barely spell out “Hybernation” to a kid!

And I must say, I had been in one of the busiest phases of my life! Due to a persistent backpain (an injury that has promised to be with me through thick and thin, right till I reach my grave; the result of a clumsy fall I had a few years back–i tripped on my own patiala and fell on the steps ), I stopped commuting to my office (which is 13 km from home) and began working from home.

I then found another job closer to home, joined there, quit within a week and went back to freelancing for the previous company. Alongside, I found out this great website where I could write, and earn in the process (alternate income, yey!). A couple of places where I’d went for interviews but had turned down (they were all either too far, or they couldn’t afford me) asked if I’d like to freelance for them…and I boarded this roller-coaster of jobs. Officially, unofficially and as a freelancer, I now work for 5 places

Though I was apprehansive initially on how to manage such diverse jobs together, well, I must admit it is fun…esp on those rare days when I have to commute to the office for special meetings — one day, I went almost halfway to the wrong place, before I figured out where I was intended to be.

Anyway, though all these required me to be online full time, I must say that I never found a moment’s time to open my blog! A few days back, someone commented on my blog, saying they had a hard time figuring out my contact id, and had hence decided to put in a ‘comment’: it was about yet another job opening (which, of course, I have no time to take up)! That’s when I realised I’d totally abandoned AlphabetWorld! I felt like someone who abandoned her favourite dog for a bunch of silly cats!

Anyway, with out much ado, I have come back to blogging…I will catch up on all your blogs pretty soon. And this time, I will stay — no more “i hope to be consistent” and “i hope to post regularly” and all that. Just a  simple “I will stay”!

Howdy, people?

P.S.: By the way, I love these new smileys!

P.S. of P.S.: My blog turned 1 on the 13th, last month. Poor thing didnt even get a B’day bash! Lemme at least wish it: Happy Burrrrday, AlphabetWorld!