Rosewood Dham ki Jai!!! :)

Burp! Is it last night's delicious spread? Not exactly! It is your love, your open armed acceptance and your real bigheartedness RWDwasis :)

Your genuine warmth made RWD a HOME for us. The quiet desperation for meeting          anywhere, be it the play area or our super fun parties, is a testimony to our connection...  Karmic eh?

As were flying out of this nest, I just took a trip down the memory lane to revisit the moments spent with each one of you. The memories created are deeply cherished and would be treasured in our heart for(hopefully)ever.

Each of you has left an imprint on our heart and I don't really know how to start. Oh Boy!  that rhymed...see you brought out the reticent poet in me ;)

Let me start in order of appearance :D

Himani, you were the first person I met downstairs and hoped to meet everyday ever sinceYour steely determination to overcome the odds and the ability to embrace the unfavourable situations without wanting to run away is my biggest lesson learnt from youYou are the  perfect homemaker and I hope to be as organized as you someday. Hana didi will be a cute   little perfectionist too :)

I see a lot of me in you, Rajesh and it makes me wonder at times...were we separated at     birth? If not in this life, then in some other life, were we siblings! Your fantastic sense of humor and impeccable timing makes it a joy to converse with you. Your  'love thy neighbour' mantra is quite infectious I must say, makes us all better people :)

Divya, your strength and resilience is a quality I really envy and am still trying to imbibe. The upfront and vocal Divya is actually a very accommodating sweet soul. You were  the    first person to visit my then messy, maid-less house and it will always be special to me.     Have learnt from you to be my true self all the while....well, mostly :)

“Still waters run deep” perfectly applies to you Sriram. Your bank of knowledge with the    sheer cover of simplicity is commendable. Since you are a man of few words, I guess my     blabbering wouldn't be fair :)

Deah, my sweetheart, I was a little scared of you when I met you for the first time. With     your super cool tattoos and just back from Mumbai-Bangalore attitude, I thought Whoa!  This chick is way out of my league. But girl, we ARE somewhat the same deep  down inside Your  'in your face' exterior actually masks a super sweet and adorable interior. A little girl  who loves to be loved. Love you sweets :)

Harish never let me miss my mother. Yes, you don't know it dude but you ARE a mirror      image of my Mom, sans the football, cigarettes and beers of course. So you will be special   in an unspeakable sort of way. Your silent presence and the even more silent help never     goes unnoticed :) 

Shobhitha was the 'ghost presence' I was dying to meet. Yes Shobhi, though I met you last, you were heard of since time immemorial...all in a good way of course. I liked you from the moment I set my eyes on you...ohk Vinod, I am not trying to steal your love here ;) but       seriously Shobhi, you are the most chilled out girl here. I love your way of handling life      and situation with the pinch of humour and sealing it with your dazzling smile. Your           baking skills and 'mothering' skills need to be shared religiously with the lesser mortals       like  me. :)

“Cool as a cucumber” defines you Vinod. I haven't seen a better matched pair than you two. Your genius to lighten up situations is quite infectious actually. It really doesn't take a        rocket scientist to guess why Neel is so cool and ADORABLE a child...I love the way you      two are bringing him up... applause!

Besties!

Renju the mommy is really cool to hang out with. Since I didn't get to interact much with   you earlier, I would take the post Darsh You for reference ;)Your laughter actually lightens up the room. I wish we could have spent more time together...er..Binu and Soum set your alarm bells to rest :)

Your warmheartedness and willingness to help always makes your presence felt, Binu. The  spirited nature and ready smile actually makes you and Renju each others' mirror image. :)

I have grown up amidst a crowd of brothers and till a long time was one too. Meeting         Vinoy and UD rekindled those memories with my 'bhais'. You guys are such fun to be          around  that we really looked forward to you grand entries in our gatherings.                      The sparklers on the cake :)

How can I forget my Manila mommy? Rajani aunty your presence was missed at every     point.... every point. Your guidance, you wisdom, your enthusisam, your affection....the list is endless. Well, I really don't have words to express what I feel for you aunty :)

Kasturi is another person I would like to hang out more with. A very very sweet person     without the frills... let's meet somewhere in MP, shall we? ;) 

Mike, no offence but you actually reminded me of a 'gentle giant' with a golden heart.         Sorry for summing you  up in this way :)

Enough said, if you haven't dozed off already...just please accept this big THANK YOU for  being a part of our lives and leaving such an indelible impression. Hope to stay in touch.    

Cheers!

A Spicy Getaway...

It was Saraswati Puja a.k.a. the Bengali Valentine's Day and we were in Kolkata, the seat of juvenile love. "Let's binge on a conti lunch at Mocambo before venturing on to Victoria Memorial for a memorable photo-shoot", blabbered Ratul, stumbling out of bed, half-asleep. So off we went, all dressed up, speeding towards Park Street as early as 11:30 in the morning. We were unarguably the first ones to enter the restaurant which was still under the heavy hang over of V-Day celebrated the day before. The clichéd red balloons and streamers were silently screaming of the celebrations that the place had witnessed the night before. Somehow, I had a creepy feeling that they were pointing fingers at us and accusing us for disrupting their slumber so early in the morning. Ignoring all those wild thoughts, I concentrated on the menu card. After a thorough search and a somewhat mini conference, we narrowed down on Chicken a la Kiev and Mutton Steak Sizzler. What had looked absolutely harmless on the menu card turned out to be monstrously proportioned on the plate. Don't misunderstand me, the taste was as fantastic as we had remembered from our last visit, it was the size that we had forgotten. "Let's get the remainder of the a la Kiev packed an take it home, I can recycle it into a yummy snack", Ma volunteered in an effort to save us from gobbling down the giant and falling sick. Well, no one paid heed and some of it was left alone on the plate to die in piece...err..peace. After labouring and savouring over the delectable monstrosity, we concentrated on our next move.

As our blue Santro cruised over Queen's Way, what made us hold our breath was not the magnificent structure subduing everything around it but the millions of couples teeming towards its gate, making the astute whiteness of Victoria Memorial seem infested with ants. Since it was the regional V-Day, it wasn't a single file marching towards the gate, but insecure and possessive pairs of heterogeneous and homogeneous composition holding onto each other for their dear lives. So a much desired photo-shoot at Victoria was out of the question and we changed gears towards Prinsep -Ghat, located on Strand Road. This beautiful monument rich in Greek and Gothic inlays is a soother for sore eyes and the bank adjoining the river Ganges acts as the cherry on the cake.

Well, the cake and the cherry were no different than any other place in Kolkata. Innumerable couples were swarming hither thither everywhere and hand-holding seemed mandatory. Considering the factor that most of them were under-age,  the blatant display of their affections was quite a sight for people like us who were almost a decade older , if not more. While staring at the human scenery around, I could sense eager eyes following us everywhere. Then the sudden realization struck me, we were quite a scene ourselves.

Let me brief you about our 'gang'. It consisted of Ratul my way past the teens husband, the not so far behind and visibly expectant me and my close to mid-life parents' in law, the most unlikely of groups to be present in the most unlikely of places on the most unlikely of days. While the men of our family were busy clicking pictures with as little human intrusion as possible, we, the 'girls', were busy checking out the other couples, shamelessly! But soon we were staring at each other shamefaced when we caught a boy grabbing the ample butt of his girlfriend...

The photo-shoot went quite well and we all looked quite in sync with the place. We were nearer to the place in age than any other person (read couple) present there. After frolicking for some more time, we decided that it was time to leave as with the passing day, the public display of affection was getting clearer until we could take in no longer. Bidding adieu to the imposing witness, somewhat reluctantly  we made our way back home.

The beauty of Prinsep-Ghat coupled with the savoury lunch at Mocambo topped by the togetherness of the family really made our Saraswati Puja a memorable one. Now that I think of it, the size of the A la Kiev, the helpless desperation to clear the plates of their contents and the puppy love mushrooming everywhere actually made a perfect day more spicy and colourful.

Two Years After...

It's past midnight and Ratul isn't home yet. After 'liking' and commenting on photos and posts of the known and the unknown on Facebook for almost two hours now, I'm at a loss for words. So here comes my latest blog! just a reflection.
Ours was an arranged marriage. After refusing and/or being refused by some twenty or twenty five 'eligible bachelors', I finally decided to put my wobbling foot down. "I don't want to marry", was my decision and "This is the last guy you have to meet before you can take a break of few months", was Baba's decision. Resigned and tired, I surrendered.
They came much before time and I, being late as usual, wasn't 'ready' to meet him. After much cajoling and a somewhat literal push by Ma, I stumbled into the living room. What happened there was totally contrary to popular belief and my expectations. The supposed groom, Ratul was engrossed in the cricket match being shown on the 32" plasma t.v. in the room and his father was looking unblinkingly at me from head to toe, while my brother was doing the same to him. The awkwardness lasted for almost an eternity and made me wonder if the only thing my parents might have to gift me was a  32" inch plasma t.v. Finally the moment of dread arrived, we were asked to go to the other room and talk, following the 'ritual'. That was the first time he turned his attention to me and gave an illuminating smile.
"OK! so he does have interest in people apart from the TV, thought I". The trip to the other room was a trip to the other world, as he was a different person there. We started off on the hackneyed topic of films and favorite actors and it turned out that our favorite actor was the same- Amir Khan, the safe bet. The conversation steered from movies to books to cuisine to sports to music to family to spirituality to current affairs... and before we could cover every topic under the sun, the clock struck and it was time to go for Cinderella...err I mean the Prince. Cinderella was found by her slipper and I was impressed by  Ratul's  sparkling white socks. They were shiny clean, screaming of their "new" status and non-smelly unlike most men's.
Before I realized, we were engaged and soon to be married. He claims that for him it was 'love at first sight', but for me he had to pass by one more time. And this time it was at his house. The red kurta and black jeans did what the black trousers and the crisp white shirt couldn't do the other day. Didn't hear any bell ringing but definitely felt a cool breeze almost sweeping me off the ground. That was it!
After two years, two months and seven days as I am writing this, I realize that it was really windy that day and since we were talking on the terrace, the breeze was really working its wonder. Ratul is finally home and though all the windows are shut, a breeze swept me off the ground, the moment I opened the door and saw him smile!

Life goes on...

It happens only in India…

This morning I read in the newspaper about a young boy who had been convicted of stealing Rs 200…and his punishment? A bail of Rs 10,000…

Reading it forced me to wonder on the enormity of the crime committed. The usual penalty of such an offence is an imprisonment of up to three months, a year of which has already passed since his arrest. He was one of the many lesser mortals who could a squeeze a year out of three months. I wouldn’t go into the debate on whether he was guilty or not, but what bothers me is the situation. How could someone be expected to pay up 10,000 bucks if he was accused of stealing 200 bucks? Is it a mockery of the judicial system or is it a very not-so-subtle way of making a small crime big? After all size does matter…

In a country a certain chief of an organization gets away with stealing crores of rupees in fancy scams, ministers swindle millions of rupees and each one makes it a personal battle, making each scam bigger than the previous one. Even if they are sent behind bars due to some stroke of good fortune, they are spotted having high tea with the warden squandering the hard earned money of the tax payers.

The boy’s father passed away without being able to meet him since his imprisonment. There are no takers for him in jail now but a certain terrorist accused of manslaughter has been living in luxury in one of our jails for more than a couple of years now and millions of the taxpayers’ money is spent on his security and well being.

Such dichotomy really leaves me speechless and the more I think about it, the more mindboggling it becomes. We boast of being a peace loving nation which believes in giving an equal and fair trial to all but the definition of equality and justice differs with every case. Such a variety is not available anywhere and certainly not desired by anyone. A boy loses a year of his life , his father and above all his innocence for stealing a mere Rs 200 whereas a wannabe actress not only walks scot-free for being a partner in a gruesome murder but also bags a movie based on her life and ‘struggle’.

The struggle of us mortals seeing all this happen never ceases...so does the cliché ‘life goes on’.

My First Crush!

While surfing channels on the TV today, I came across the movie ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ on Set Max and that was the end of all suffering…err …I mean surfing. That movie has my earliest and fondest memories attached to it. It is the first movie I remember watching in a theater. Prtam Dada had come to visit us after his ICSE exams and Ma had taken him for the movie as a treat. Lata aunty was the third one in the team and Sanju and I were tagged along since there was no one to babysit us. We were what…five years old! It was after the final exams of class Prep and our new session of standard One was yet to begin. I still remember the moment I saw Aamir Khan… Oh my gosh! Still the same set of butterflies flutter in my stomach and I still go weak in the knees every time I watch him, especially in that particular movie.


Aamir Khan was my first ever crush and boy did I start early or what! I don’t remember much of the movie from then but what is still etched deeply in my memory is the cover of the audio cassette of the movie with his picture on it. That was my companion for a long time to come and Pritam Dada bears testimony to that. The thrill of something never felt before, the immensely cute looks and the super lovable factor of THE Aamir Khan has not left me till date.

Just a fortnight after my first ‘real’ movie the new session began. I was still seeing Aamir Khan all around and there came Chetan. He had flunked class I and hence was destined to be with us. I took it as God’s signal that Aamir and I were meant to be together because Chetan, to my birdbrain, looked exactly like my darling Aamir. I used to follow Chetan around since he was the closest I could get to my LOVE…silly me!

Time passed and I outgrew the affection for Aamir? Naah… it was Chetan whom I wasn’t attracted to anymore. I still wonder what made him Aamir’s lookalike in my eyes and the answer still eludes me. As far as my loyalties are concerned, Aamir still rules my heart and there is still a very special corner reserved for him. Love you Aamir!

Matrimonials!

"I could have easily had a love marriage considering my position and good looks, but I chose to go for an arranged marriage", said he.


I was aghast at the blatant overestimation of his extra-eligible self. Immediately my inner self was divided into two, one dressed in white with a halo and the other in black with horns."Don't fall for this guy, his ego is bigger than his head and his tummy put together", said the haloed one . "Are you kidding me? Marriage with him? Over my DEAD Body!", reiterated the hor.. err I mean the black one.


For once, both the voices inside my head did not disagree and so I was elated.

"Everyone wants to have a 'love marriage', it's only those who don't end up having one start concentrating on the advantages of an 'arranged marriage' so to say. I think it's a bad case of sour grapes", I blurted out in my usual cheeky way.

Fortunately or unfortunately he didn't understand the 'sour grapes' part and the conversation drifted off to what his favourite fruit was...

I so wanted to throw him out of the room where we were made to sit by our over indulgent parents that I started fishing for controversial topics where I could openly disagree with him. "You studied in a 'boys' school', have you ever found it difficult to strike up a conversation with a girl?" I asked faking innocence.

With his chest bulging from 42 to a sudden 62 inches, he replied, " Oh that has never been a problem with me you see. I was always a smart chap. Infact, when a friend of mine got engaged a few months back I told him to get to know the girl better. I told him 'Idiot! if you don't speak to her now how will you speak to her after marriage?Do you expect me to go and strike a conversation with her on YOUR Wedding Night???' Aahhahahaha!"

Yikes!!! that was just too much for my fragile sensitivity to digest. I lost all the will to differ. "I think we should end this here. I don't think we are suitable for each other", said I suddenly getting up. I couldn't even bear to look at him for another moment.

Lots of unpleasantries were exchanged after that and to save myself and you from the ordeal of remembering and knowing them I'd stop this account here. I was grounded for a month for the misbehaviour. I consider it as a very small price that I paid for saving myself from Life Sentence for Murder!

Deja Vu

It happened all over again...we were amazed at the consistency of our fate as far as eating out together was concerned.
Titash and I had gone to the cafeteria at the top of a mall and we oredered a simple pizza with fancy toppings. This was done to save ourselves from the taruma of gulping down scarily inedible stuff which we ended up ordering almost always...no...ALWAYS! and how harmful can a simple pizza be? So we decided on exotic toppings...well well well! when the thing finally arrived it was a sure shot SHOCKER!
It was a simple looking pizza indeed, but with topping that looked like goat-shit.....SHIT!
"How am I gonna eat it???????" yelled the two of us in unison...inviting stern and disapproving looks from the elderly couple seated on the table next to ours.
"Err..can you change our order please?" I pleaded to the waiter.
"Sorry mam, once its placed we can't change it" he replied faking apology as if it was some statue cemented on some stupid landmark viewed by even stupider people.
Sitting down on the herculean task of eating it was not easy and I was almost in tears. "Relax ! just dont look at it before eating, and everything will be smoooooth" Titash rolled her eyes to give that extra dramatic effect and also to fight the nausea that was building up inside her. Actually inside both of us...
To look at the bright side (there is no 'brighter' in this case mind you), it didn't taste all that bad. Eating it, reminded me of my school days when I used to chew erasers for fun, lunacy surfaced quite early, did it?
When I told Titash about my nostalgia, we ended up laughing hysterically. It was not a laughter of joy or fun , instead, it was infused with tragic pathos for having to pay for something which looked like something the goat wouldn't be proud of and tasted like rubber.
Since we were hungry and we were broke too, we decided against the repeated warnings our allfactory senses and shoved the whole thing down our struggling throats aiding it with a lot of water. If I ever get any award (which isn't very likely) in my thanking speech I shall be ever grateful to water for that unconditional support.
So this was how our perfect day at the mall ended. Trust Me! that was the last time ever, and I'm sure that even Titash would not dare to go out eating with me alone!