I’m 28 today :)

And I feel great 🙂 Not worried about the 30s looming ahead, I’ve no clue why. I’ve heard just too many of my friends worrying about being close to turning 30. Just finished chatting with a cousin, who said she’s terrified she’ll be 30 in two years 😀 Well, so will I; but I’m not bothered. No worries at all, about having turned a year older. In fact, I don’t even feel 28. I still feel 22. That’s when I first got out of the comfort of home and hometown, and stepped into a new city for good, and joined a college for my post graduation course. Ever since, it’s been a string of “new”s…be it cities, companies, job roles, people, situations. So, every new thing that comes along, makes me feel what I felt when I was 22. I’m stuck there, and I like it 😀

So, on to the birthday news…

I got wished close to 18 hours in advance by Hobbes. For some reason I just don’t understand, he seems to think I have a special kind of birthday that extends from start of 1st Nov to end of 2nd Nov. Interesting. Anyways, when I laughed at him for doing this every year (well, last year he was in the U.S., and he said it was because of all the timezone disorientation 🙄 ), he said he was in Goa, and time zones work differently there because of all the alcohol in the Goan air. And also, that he just wanted to be the first one to wish me, that’s all. Veenidathu kidannurundu, athra thanne. 😀

The Queen of Subtlety, when I texted her last night saying I’d be working from home today (for obvious reasons, birthday and work), threw a fit saying I was lying, that she knows I just want to avoid office on the second of November. Well, we all avoid office on our birthdays, she also did. So I was a little baffled by all the accusations. Anyways, after that she sneered at me with a “you wont be awake at 12, I presume”, to which I let out a deep, long sigh and quietly said “lol, yes I will. pls call (to wish)”. I was falling off my chair by 11 itself, but I thought I should stay up and wait for Her Majesty’s call.12 came and went. 12.01 came and went. 12.05 came and went. 12.10 came and went. 12.15 came and went. Well, you get the drift, right? So, me being me, called HER up. And guess what? She did not pick up 😀 So I called again. This time, after the 4th ring-ring, she answered. This conversation followed:

She: Hello…
Me: What behaviour IS this!?
She: Ehe ehe…I am so sorry, I slept off. Happy birthdayyyy.
Me: Yeah, I thought so! After making me stay up, you useless [in my mind I added ‘piece of shit’]
She: You won’t believe it…I stayed on till 11.45, telling myself it’s just 15 more mins…and next thing i know, there’s drool and my phone is ringing…ehe ehe
Me: Yeah, I figured!
She: But I still love you.
Me: I’m supposed to be telling YOU that!
She: Ooops.
Me: So much for being surprise queen, you bloody…I’ve never been THIS surprised before. I’ve got to be the first one to call someone to make them wish me! Pffft.
She: See, this is what happens when you don’t like surprises…this was all planned, this was my surprise for you.
Me: Realllly?
She: Damn, I should’ve said this earlier. AND. This does NOT go out to the public.
Me: I can’t wait to call the other two and tell them this.
She: Fiiiiineah! Be that way! [it is at this point that she sounded like herself; till then, there was a thick coating of embarrassment blanketing her voice, making her sound like a tiny little butterfly crushed under the weight of 3 quilts and 4 pillows!]

Soon after, I called my mom to remind her it’s my birthday. Guess i know her just too well, she’d completely forgotten. Again, “What behaviour is this!? I have just one birthday every year, and you forget that!?” And then comes an apology, a round of laughter and the “Happy birthday” 😀 Oh, this happens most times, and I make it a point to remind people to wish me 😀 Then i teased them all for forgetting Pumbaa’s birthday, and now mine too. Anyway, that shows that we’re both treated equally in the house 😀 Which is a good thing. Comparing me to him is always a flattery. Like how she once saw a picture of mine and said “Pretty. Almost as good-looking as Pumbaa. Almost.” 😀

Ok, that’s all for now. I just HAD to write down the spectacle that The Queen of Subtlety is, before I would forget that brilliant midnight conversation 😉 but I did not want to dedicate another entire post on her, or she’ll start thinking too highly of herself 😀

Thank you, everyone, for the wishes. The ones that were never expected, turned out to be extra sweet. And, thank God for the Internet and webcams 🙂

And while we are at it, Happy Birthday, Shah Rukh Khan 🙂

Now, I really have to get back to work

Onam…the king of festivals ;)

The oonjaal beside the athappookkalam 🙂

Ellaavarkkum ente hridayam niranja Onaashamsakal 🙂

Onam…the favourite festival of the Malayali 😀 Onakkodi, athapookkalam, oonjaal, pulikali, onathallu…and a grand sadya 😀

He's generally good humoured...wasn't served promptly at someplace, i guess! 😉

Onakkodi: It’s the most sought after part of every Onam — a new apparel! On a Thiruvonam day, every Keralite wears a new dress. The head of the family is supposed to gift onakkodis to all members of that family. Well, the head of mine gave none. So well, I bought it for myself 😛

Athappookkalam: For 10 days, every single house adorns a ‘flower-carpet’…to welcome Mahabali, the cute, pot-bellied cousin of Santa Claus (they look so similar; only, this guy has no white beard, doesn’t ride on reindeer-sledge nor says ‘ho’ ‘ho’ ‘ho’! 😀 ) Kids wake up early morning, go hunting for flowers and come back with a variety of them — this is the one time no one screams at one another for ‘stealing’ flowers! 😉 We didn’t make any — for lack of space (both in and outside our house) 😀

Oonjaal: Temporary swings are put up in the courtyard…and all the kids have a swinging time! There was no swing at my place…but well, I’ve been having one swing of a life lately, so no issues there!

Tiger tiger, burning bright!...a pulikali in progress 😀

Pulikali: This is the most fun of all…doesn’t the picture say it all? People (mostly kids) dress up as tigers/leopards and dance all the way…in the middle of the road 😉 (I feel I resemble a meerkat more — in both looks and behaviour — than a tiger…so, have never participated. Moreover, it’s just for guys 😀 )

Onathallu: This is a spoof on the whole concept of ‘sharing’…we just hit each other real hard and call it Onathallu, just for the heck of it. I’m more of a receiver than a giver 😉

And then…the sadya! Aaaah…the most satisfying part of the festival 😉

That's the top-view of my dining table. Am drooling at the sadya; granny wasted no time in just drooling, though! 😛

A full-course lunch, with banana chips, jaggery chips, pappads, a banana, 3 pickles, a ‘kichadi’, a ‘thoran’, an ‘olan’ an ‘aviyal’, a ‘koottucurry’, ‘parippu’, ‘sambar’, ‘pulissery’, ‘rasam’, ‘buttermilk’ and 3 varieties of payasam — all served in a plantain leaf! Now you know why Mahabali has a pot-belly 😉 I’v developed one too…now, dieting it away!

And oh yes! During Onam, a roughly 4-km stretch in Trivandrum is fully illuminated from 6.30 to 10…for 10 days. The crowd is amazing…and only increases by the year! I went for a walk with my brother “light kaanaan“…it was fun! I had a beautiful, fun-filled Onam. Here are a few pictures he clicked…

P.S.: It was Amma’s birthday on 12th! We walked into the kitchen at 12 a.m. to wish her and lo! She was chilling out — literally! She was almost inside the fridge…though I’ve no clue what she was thinking! A cool birthday? And when my brother and I sang “Happy birthday to you…” and “Santhosha janmadinam Ammakku…” in unison, she gave a start, wheeled around and stared at us. She then blinked thrice. Then her eyes lit up and with an “Oh…12th!”, she thanked us and graciously accepted our hugs, kisses and the gifts 🙂 Oh yes, shall convey each one of your wishes to her 😉

My dad’s 60th birthday!

Birthdays come every year…but the 60th one comes just once 😀 . Exactly why we decided to celebrate it with much ado and make it really, really special for my Dad on 6 July!

Early March: The planning started when I, in union with my brother, decided to dedicate a book to him! That didn’t sound too impressive, did it? Well, let me rephrase it—when I, in union with my brother, decided to actually write a book and dedicate it to him. Something to the effect of ‘Chicken Soup’ series…and since there are 60 members within the family itself, we thought we could get stories from all of them about their relationship with ma Dad. Well, the idea bombed! 😀

Late April: Then we thought we could kidnap him, tie him up, blindfold him and whisk him off to some place he would like…and celebrate with friends, family, food and the best of all—alcohol 😀 . The idea sounded disastrous for health (ours, especially!). 😀

Late May: Then we thought we could ask all his sisters and a brother to come down to Trivandrum…and give him a pleasant surprise—they are all across Delhi, Gujrat, Coimbatore, New York, Atlanta…But well, we knew few could promise attendance…and half the crowd is never as good as the full one (or so everyone says). So, we killed the idea. 😀

Late June: Then we thought we could plan a trip to the Bali islands…my brother had won a 7-day free package to the place—we’d only have to pay for the tickets. A bit too late, we realised Dad’s passport had expired. Damn! The idea died a sudden death. 😀 (The offer’s valid till August end, and Dad doesn’t want a ‘belated burrrday trip’…anyone wanna come along? 😀 )

Early July: Then we thought we could give him a ‘normal’ surprise party…with just the few of us who could make it. By then I had changed my mind just too many times, and was actually in danger of not getting any tickets. But well, I left my self respect in my bag outside the agency…and literally begged the guy to give me a ticket—and I got it. I called up Mom to tell her when I’d be landing and all that…and got the rudest surprise ever…e.v.e.r.! My Dad, who had till then got no inkling that there’d be a birthday party, was going out of town on his birthday! 😀 😀 😀 . The idea backfired!!! 😀

Hehe…I was shocked, but I actually went home without changing my mind further. And we made it…we bought him all sorts of ‘unlikely’ gifts—and well, a Blackberry! And loads of kisses, hugs, and of course, PJs…hehehe 6 July midnight was a fun time at home. He was stunned when he got the Blackberry, and as we expected, he was up till 3 a.m., fiddling with its features and technicalities.

And then, beaming, he said he loved everything! We didn’t even need any more proof since we actually saw him showing it all off to Mom 😀

Glad you loved it, Dad.  And you have no idea how glad we are that we didn’t get the whole family down for the ‘surprise party’…we’d all have been surprised to find the birthday man out of station!

And well, we didn’t even give him a birthday card, not to mention the book 😀 !