Memories for Eternity

The other day I happened to receive a forward from my cousin with the photographs below. Aren’t they simply beautiful??

The moment I saw these pictures, I was immediately engulfed with nostalgia.


I am not able to recollect the name. But this particular play thing was commonly used in a game of cards by the village folks. The toy is made of machinga (tiny coconut) and a strand from ola (palm leaf). If I remember correctly, anyone who loses the game had to hang it on his / her ear. :)



The above is a spoon used to have kanji (rice porridge) and made of plaavila (leaf of a jack fruit tree). As a child I used to love watching my grand uncle relish his kanji and cherupayar puzhukku (a dish made of boiled green gram). He used to say that the plaavila added to the flavour!


This one is an ola kanaada (Spectacles made from palm leaf), a play thing of course!

I wonder if I will ever see them again.

Meet Betty Bitter

Talking about a certain individual, his/her nasty behaviour, and how much it irks you, is one thing. But writing about is something else altogether.

It may not be my style. But I have decided to bite the bullet and go ahead because this one is a class apart. (ok, I know I can be very mean If I want to be. But only very rarely and I have my reasons.)I do not in any way claim to be the quintessential sweet and nice girl, and do not aim to be one either.

Everyone has their bad hair days and this obviously reflects in their mannerisms and attitude towards everyone and everything within an arms distance. In the past few years I have met landlords, neighbors, colleagues, classmates who can be really sarcastic and bitter due to some reason or the other and after that short spell, they are back to normal. C’mon we have all been there sometime.

But our Miss Betty Bitter (did not want to get too creative here) believes that being bitter is the reason why she exists! No Kidding! Reason for this conclusion? Ever since I have known her, she has remained this way with me and most people that we know in common. The minute anyone mentions her name, eyebrows go up and frowns appear out of nowhere. “Oh please don’t tell me she is coming”, “ She has always been this way”, “How does her family put up with this”. I am always very straightforward “ I think she needs to end her frustration soon before it gets the better of her.”

Betty Bitter never smiles at anyone wholeheartedly; at least most of us have never seen it. Negativity exudes from almost every sentence she says. She has a perpetual frown during the most pleasant situations. She does not believe in making friendly conversations to anyone. To make it worse, she whines at every single opportunity she gets. Just the other day she was complaining about how she could have avoided being a silly housewife!? Yes, she thinks she is a silly housewife because – she got married at the age of 21 just after her graduation, had kids when she was 22 and had to give up a promising career. The whining had begun when she was 22 and now her kids are in their teens. Get the drift?

Well. There are so many women out there in her shoes. I know of at least three. They do not complain. They made the best use of the circumstances that they were thrown into. For starters, all of them have become amazing homemakers (trust me, that is far from easy).

We all go through many unfortunate circumstances and incidents in life. But why put others, individuals who had nothing to do with any of it, also through our stories of miseries and misfortunes? You want to share it with a few close friends. Go ahead. Spare the others of the torture.

I have always been willing to listen to anyone who has come to me with their problems. But I cannot put with up cynicism and the constant “Oh God why me always!” In spite of all this I told myself, let me try and be nice to her. She is after all a product of circumstances like we all are. I made constant attempts to speak to her whenever we met at public functions, went over to her house, invited her to mine etc etc. But what happened recently just completely threw me off the rocker.

After a brief visit, while seeing her off I was about to give her a hug. Guess what happened next?
She actually moved away and pushed my hands!!!!? I was stumped. The second she realized she had done something abhorrent, she forced a smile and patted my cheeks in the most haphazard manner. Then she stepped inside the taxi and in a highly mocking manner said “Nice meeting you”. It almost seemed like she was imitating me because I was trying to be formal. Since when did a hug become formal?! How can any adult in their right mind behave so pathetically? No excuses for this one.
By the time I gathered myself, after a minute or so, the taxi had sped off and boy was I glad! I kept asking “what did I do wrong?!” Then I realized I was being a fool in feeling even a tad upset about such an act of sheer bitterness.
I talked about it to some of my closest friends and they laughed. One of them even said “I am not shocked. She is capable of doing worse and you are wasting your time even thinking about it.”

I guess there are some individuals who like to bask in their unpleasantness. Trust me it is better to stay away from those negative vibes.

I decided to write this just so that each time I feel like being nice to her, I can be reminded of her true colors.

Then again, I wonder if I will ever forget this one. Ugh! So bitter!

The show must go on

Three bomb blasts. Terror strikes again in Mumbai city – reads the headlines in Times of India, Mumbai, 3 days ago.

Why Mumbai? Again? Sometimes one feels so helpless at the plight of things. Yes, Mumbai is known to be resilient enough to take everything in her stride. Every year, a bomb goes off, shoot outs happen, people get killed in broad daylight, yet life goes on! I believe this is what is expected of the average Mumbaiker.

I have been in this city for just 6 months and I am amazed at the fast paced life. People are always on the move. As much as I love this city and its vibrancy, sometimes I wonder if we are performing above the expectations, especially of the politicians. It is almost as if ‘Come what may, Mumbai will manage’… Kasab, the lone captured terrorist in the Mumbai 2006 attacks, seems to be leading a comfortable life in jail? J Dey was killed in broad daylight, have they managed to nab the mastermind behind the mission?

I suppose bomb blasts and shoot outs are daily affairs now. Though I managed to reach home by 6:30 pm on that fateful day, my husband was stuck in a taxi for 4 hours in one of the worst traffic jams ever. I was constantly messaging him to know which part of the city he was passing by. All the phone lines were completely jammed; hence no outgoing calls could be made.

My heart goes out to all those who have lost their beloved ones and homes in these blasts. May God give you the strength to sail through this rough tide.

Sadly for everyone else, life goes on.

Married and all that......

Ok. So I too took the plunge. Married to the man who can make me laugh when I am in the worst of moods. :)
The D-day May 14 just whooshed by! Now when I look back I am not sure if I remember every detail of the day ……not to mention the few days before. A house packed with relatives, brimming with festivity, flashy lights, food, music and what not. I really enjoyed the mayhem. But what can sometimes get to you is the constant “Where are you going” , “What are you doing”! I had my readymade “Ma.. I am just going out to buy a face wash”, “Ma, I need to get this blouse altered” But that didn’t stop my mom “No, you are not going anywhere ALONE”. Shut it I told myself. I must admit I must have made my poor sister and cousin do all the running around, from corner to corner, pillar to pole in search of that matching earring or bangle or even nail polish! I promise to make up for it during their wedding.
I wonder what matching business grooms do. Nothing .
Then D Day arrives. BIG SMILE….ALL THE TIME. That is the mantra. And I did get a few compliments from most friends. “You looked so happy, so comfortable… not nervous at all” Well the truth is I was NOT nervous nor uncomfortable. I was simply exhausted. While I was watching the wedding video, I must say the lack of sleep didn’t show at all. (Thanks to my super efficient beautician!) While getting ready to go on stage, I was praying that the glucose supplements give me the stamina to stand through the day without being zonked so that I have the presence of mind to recognize people, greet them and pose for the camera. Nothing should go wrong. This is one of the most important days of my life.
Nothing did. The minute I saw his face, smiling at me from the stage, the same reassuring smile that I have seen over the years. I knew “All is well”!
We were married in a few minutes, pronounced husband and wife. Flowers! Trumpets! Camera Flashes! (I also think there were hoots!)The much awaited wedding was over in a few hours!?
Temple visits, functions, food, food and more food with some more pampering followed by a lovely honeymoon in the mountains.
One month into wedlock and loving it. :)

The book store I endorse… ;)

My love for reading evidently supersedes my love for writing, which naturally makes me search for a good book store in the city/area where I live. I have been pretty lucky on this mission, but this time I think I hit a jack pot.

I was taken to Ashok Shukla’s second hand store by one of my close friends on a Sunday evening, and I was not completely convinced about this one, to be frank. As we reached Gokuldham (Goregaon East , Mumbai) Café Coffee day, I grew a little impatient. Just then in front me of me I saw a man in his late forties, thin and frail, moving around amongst books just piled up on the floor. So this is the book store? Mind you. It is and a really good one sans the roof over your head, air conditioner in full blast, swanky stools to sit and read the books, book shelves and stands. Ashok Shukla’s bookstore is just his books which are stacked up in various rows. Most importantly, his books are in good condition and he gives them to you at such a bloody good deal. The costs are negligible compared to any other book store I have been to, including Blossoms and Bookworm (two other very good second hand book stores) in Bangalore.

Either you read or borrow them, he is the happiest when you say “wow uncle.. you have this book!! I have been hunting for the same since such a long time” He also has a small notebook where you can make an entry of the books that you want to read and he makes an honest effort to source the same at the earliest. I was touched.

Ashok uncle is also accompanied by his son, a teenager who doesn’t seem to be as interested in books as he should be, but very happy to watch all the book lovers who come by. Together, the father and son have managed to build up a good collection and kudos to them for that.

Maybe if they also served dosas with chai as well on the side, I would be the happiest. :D

What about you?