Monday Fever Anyone?

Well well am usually the most susceptible of 'Monday Fever' syndrome..... Blame it on all except myself!!! But kya kare paapi peth ka sawaal he... thou peanuts is what I still get!


But well well nothing like a few small unexpected surprises to make ur day! A small but thotful message scribbled on a piece of Napkin n placed put on ur desk... isnt just that gesture enuf to brighten up the day! Thnx Abby Boy!!!! U n ur silly acts makes any day at work much more bearable.

Ha n as if tht is not enuf, the angry young man of the team comes up with a surprise gift! Hv a look!!! Beautiful isnt it?????????????? Thnx Man! I loved it. N thnx Dennis James for the pic!

N hey U Mr.AKay, Never got around to tell u....... Its great to hv u around! I know how much the very thot of sending that DMH report late in the night used to ruin my day as well as weeekends... A real heartfelt Thank You for taking thois over... thou I realize this should have been a 50-50 task even without a whimper or me asking for it u do my share of it too..... Thank You :)

Ha N the joy of wearing a dress on monday which even I acknowledge isnt 'Formal' by any definition n getting away with it :-D

Pitter Patter Rain drops.......

Ho yeap I love the rains!! Ha but in neat sub-clauses is added 'Provided I am at home with a cup of hot tea,, a novel n something yum yum to bite on'!!!!

Ha the memories rain brings... of the summer vacations spent in my ancestral home in Kerala surrounded by greenery…… The images etched of the rain washing away the green leaves leaving them sparkling green, of the beautiful smell of earth as the first drops of rain hit it.... yummmmmmm!! Just a recollection of this leaves me with a feeling of warmth n happiness! The helter-skelter running around armed with vessels of all kinds n shapes which are duly places under all leaky corners of the roofs to ensure u don’t hv a flooded house(considering the house is 100+ years old) Must hv been a tiresome job 4 the elders but 4 us as kids...It was FUN… esp for a city bred girl like me this was a treat!!!! Poverty does have its share of joys! N of course the delightful Rain-time games…….anybody remembers those good old days of letting paper boats afloat in the rain water n the silly competitions of whose paper boat goes faster all in company of indulgent cousins older to u!!!!!!!! Ha my dear home u r missed... What I wouldnt give just to spend another vacation with you!!!

Possibly why I love my new flat a wee bit xtra(frankly there is nothing great about it.... its just ur practical, fancy-free flat built by a no-nonsense builder....phew!)... bang opposite it is a convent n open plot filled with my fav coconut trees(u c its synonymous with kerala 4 me which is in turn synonymous with happy memories) and on those rare occasions like yest eve when am home n its raining cats n dogs.... simply sitting in the balcony gawking at the coconut leaves swaying in rain, allowing the breeze to caress your face as you inhale the fresh smell of earth.... Bliss I say :). Ha n not to forget to add the hot tea n aloo baji(courtesy my hubbs dearest). N Well well as u grow the delightful rain-time games continue to be a delight but well  games this time around are let us just say different :-p. U say the pic isnt so v appetizing... well beggars cant be choosers :-D

Confidence Is....

When ur hubbs who is hardly a inch taller than u(N with that flew off my M&B dreams of 'Tall, Dark' husband) buys you a good 2 inch heels and walks alongside with no visible signs of Fidgetness!!!

An confession... This is my first ever pair of heels!!!! No no me not bought up in some remote corner... Happens when u let ur dads decide ur wardrobe (Translates to bata shoes) n u couldnt anyway bother less on what u are adorned in!!!!

So back to heels.... The dearest hubbs of mine who should hv now been butt of jokes for having 'Jiski Biwi Lambi' has the guts to answer back "Ab yeh mujhse sar jukaake Baath karegi".... Sheesh!!!! Do I ever get to have the last say!!!! Life as usual is unfair I say!!!

N well as we on topic of 'Physical attributes'.... lemme bring up the topic of 'Pimply Face'... yeha yeah tht is how my face is now.... covered with all kinda pimples n acnes...yikes :(. Sadder cause till two weeks back I was always blessed with clear skin .... never had to bother abt it (happier for me) and possibly even looked down on people who would fuss abt pimples, oily food n all :(. Serves me right u say.... grrrrrrr!! No No dont give me any home remedies.... I dont hv the patience for it... Thank u Very much..... U can possibly refer me to a dermetologist in B'lore! Pop in tablets n Ur skin is back... very very me me!!!!

Eat to Live or Live to eat?

Ha the foodie that I am the answer ain't a difficult one :).

But But what is that which coaxes u to eat out.... Lemme acknowledge the fact that personally for me ~~ more than the food it was the general fascination of eating out..............eeeeeeeeeee dont I just love this space... it lets me discover myself better each day! So as I was saying in my growing up days eating out wasnt a very common occurrence..... Even the rare occasions we would it would be more at your regular Udupi hotel kinda places! N then u grow up, get married to a person who is as crazy as u n is a game to trying out all kinda food n well combine this with your non-existent cooking skills and eating out becomes a regular affair :). Of course the jazzy lights, the décor all adds up to it(N ofcourse the lure to write a review on them :-D)

Ha but then slowly but surely the fascination fades away... sob sob! Today am happier landing up in a place that is minus all the frills n u go in just to get some good authentic food! So out goes the Ebony, Church street hotels, Ping(n tht explains the decline in Hotel reviews) and in comes coast to coast(for lip-smacking sea food), Momo Hut\Taste-of-Tibets!!!

But today post a few months(!!!!) I had this sudden craving to have Bengali Food(No am not pregnant...... why do I find myself repeating this in every other post???) and the reason for it??? Well was reading one of my current fav author ~~ Chitra Divaakrunn's book and that particular section had alluring references to bengali Kitchen! N suddenly its bengali food that I had to have! Thank God for being blessed with a mad hubbs who indulges U with despite your whimsical ideas(or is it guarantee his peace of mind) N Thank U Bangalina for giving me just the kinda food I craved for... rice n fish in mustard curry... Bliss is what u feel when u are served exactly the food u hv in mind :-D(Dint I say am a crazy foodie at heart)


B4 I close this lemme do a quick review on coast to coast ~~ I owe it to that place for serving up lip smacking fishy dishes along with neer dosa n ghee roast every time I land there! N its just not me ~~ My younger sis as well as my hubb's 80+ year old grand ma swear by it now :)

So until we meet again ~~ Happy eating n Happy Living :)

Book Review: Palace of Illusions!

One word to describe the book, "Amazing"!!!!!


Ha before I go onto do a full-fledged review lemme give u a brief decko (Preludes on my posts are a mandate U C)........ This was one book which was ooh and aahed quite a bit in blog space.... But me being this Frivolous reader thot I knew better ... Ha Like I am gonna enjoy reading abt Panchaali of Mahabaratha era.... Gimme a big!!! So had put down picking this up quite a few times .... even when it was literally pushed under my nose! But but atlast I Succumbed to its fame pressure and picked it up and then Man Was I hooked!!!!


The story of a young, impatient, impractical girl who goes onto be a queen and the reason of the biggest war in ages to come! Sounds boring?? Wait till u pick it up... u would be amazed at how much u can relate to her in bits n parts (N Amazed at how much u relate her to people u know too :) )!

A girl happier spending her days with her bro & co than with the sillys girls around (:-D), Who cant wait ot grow up n embrace the big destiny which waits her, her Precocious relationship with her best buddy, mentor, guide n supporter ~ Krishna, her never to be fulfilled love story with Karna, her relationship with her husbands(The one with Bheema is what I lovd), her Precocious relationship with her MIL Kunthi(I so much want somebody to write a similar take on Kunthi n her story) n the her temper which can seethe n burn(Ok I copied somebody's lines here) n burn it indeed does! The beauty of the book lies in its true depiction of a woman's life... no pious, husband-worshipping(Thank U very much), humble larger-than-life image... are any lives that?? Its the mix of good n bad, Ugly n beautiful that makes life what it is n that is exactly the colors in which this book is painted!! Amazing!! Thank U Chitra Divakarunni! U r an amazing writer!!

Post this I hurried to pick other two books by her ~~ ‘One Amazing Thing’, ‘The Unknown errors of our lives’ While they are good books in their own right they dont hold a candle onto palace of illusions............Blame it on 'Expectations' ~~ The real Harbinger of many sorrows in my life!!

N ha I just discovered that she has a blog space… Hop on there! A quick glance glance tells me its interesting!

Food N People!!

Your Kid Sis who grew up along with you for a good 20 years and itsnt presumptuous to presume that u know the person inside out! Correct? Wrong!!!


The past one month threw a big googly at me - When u realize that your silly, tag-along, Loud-Spoken (used to) young sis whom u dint trust to know right from wrong is outgrown You - Right from a opinion on her marriage (Lemme not broach on it here - Calamity that will befall me is the excuse!) to her food habits!! Yeah yeah The foodie I am food habits is a big parameter to judge a person :-D

Now Now at home me was always the foodie - Happy to gorge on and experiment with just abt anything! While madam was happier to stick along with traditional and time-tested dishes!! So during her sojourn to B'lore - Me being the protective (Bossy??) and happy-to-please elder sis (:-P) would drag her along to places serving only south Indian Food much against hubb's protests. He was game to take her to his fav steak-sizzler place and me-being-me thot tht she was nodding along just to be on good books of her 'Jeeju'!! (To my credit - I did take her to kabab n roll centers - But she rolled her nose up like nobody's business!)

So imagine my surprise when during last visit we land up in one of his fav steak-sizzler place and madam laps it up with no whimper and relishes it too!!! Yeah Yeah the hubbs face said 'I-Told-U-So'!! N to say I was zapped is an under estimation!!! When did my Hyderabd-Biryani eating kiddie grow up to enjoy Steaks!!!! Am flabbergasted! When did she grow up so much one me (Now Now why do I sound like this old lady?)

Ha Manu U on my blog atlast !(:-D - Now dont go grrrrrrrrrrrr on me - Dint I tell u when a proper post on u will be done - So agree to it n u get the post). N my dearest sweetheart, Grow up in last few years U Did, quite a bit surprising me at times with your firm thots on wedding n career (when the hell did u career get so imp 4 u!!!) - But well well at the risk of sounding like a old hog lemme remind u of the other imp things (Hint: An exclusive post 4 u on my Blog...Wink wink)!!! N a thank you to the person who helped me re-discover U :)

Yosh, Yosh Am Back!

Am back again :)


Well blame it this time on my shoulder sprain... which ensured that I was logged in strictly for official purposes only!!
So what traversed during this period.... Life with all its myriad colors :). That sounds nice to read but in more practical - materialistic chunks ~~ Got the craved for chain (Ended up by that traditional black bead one.... I know me n Black dont go together... But But! N Grrrrrrrrrrr to person who didnt like it), witnessed a 'Bride-Seeing' ceremony(A big rant post coming up), Had some yum-yum food ...........Yes yes me n food are just inseparable (A post coming up soon... not really a review hmmm wait until u read it), Blowed up big money on books n hogged on them big time(Another post coming up there) !!

But ss they say, save the best for the last ~~ N what can be more beautiful than people n emotions!! Didn’t do a post on mother's day ~~ Hv written quite a bit about her in this space but somehow didnt get around to do one on the D-Day!! Ha did I tell u that my mom was around during that period ~~ Did it arouse scene of beautiful mother - daughter bonding?? Ha U couldn’t be more wrong ~~ She was generally pizzed n maintained a moun-vrat(Only Moms can do this to u!!) For wht U say?? Well the general list of complaints - No cooking, dirty house(did u kow that I was awake untill past midnight the day b4 to make it presentable n she still calls it a pig sty.......grrrrrrrrrrr), n of course her fav of all... No BABIES!!! Ooph!!! Ha But but but didnt all these coldness just melt away the moment I came down with tht sprain and suddenly it was motherly love personified! The day it happened I was cursing it for a wrong timing - Should it happen when I hv my mom n sis visiting for just 2 days.... But on hind-sight I realize it was for good... It melted my mom down and well I was back to the 'Much-Loved' daughter status! Isn’t tht what motherly love is all about...... Stern but loving :)

Ha but what leaves u with awe is the love that you receive from people who are not related to you by blood! This when they fighting their own sorrow... The warmt that they still manage to ooze is mind boggling!!! When U in all ur ignorance n arrogance go demanding to be indulged, the person puts their sorrow away and gives u just that........Ok now now did it sound like I was given a bucketful of sweet talk... U couldnt be more wrong! I was screamed, chided at until I decided to see some sense....... Thank You and I truly regret not being able to just do anything in turn 4 u.

Book Review: 'Like Water For Chocolate'

Ha a book I was lent by sabs..........Yeah Yeah the same old Sabi from the good old archives here whose presence in recent posts has considerably reduced! Well for starters she’s my neighbor now :) Well all the more reason why she should be seen more around here rt?? Ha but at times as she says nearness makes heart go less fonder (Ok ok! Now dont shout!! I know this is not the exact words u would use but did u mean the same thing :) B4 I make a full 360 degree deviation from the subject, lets continue with book review!

When I was lent the book ~~ It came with a glowing review which itself made me half skeptical! U C me a non-serious n time pass kinda reader n a book that a Phd holding english literature lover will recommend isnt usually my cup of tea!! But But this was a 'Yummy' Find! Na Na not my usual reference for anything nice n interesting ~~ This book was literally 'Yummy' ~~ Its filled with yummy interesting Mexican recipes ~~ Ok now I stop talking in circles n will jump to a quick gist of the book

The book traces the life of a Mexican Girl ~~ From the time she was born to well her death ~~ A girl who shares a unique bond with Kitchen from time she was born (she was born there :) and the journey of her life is traced via food.... Beans Borth when she was a infant to a heady potent rose mix that acts as a Aphrodisiacs to a hot chocolate drink when she is upset... N between all this is intertwined her life! Quite a interesting book with a innovative style of writing... Goes without saying that a foodie like me enjoyed it to bits :).

Ha But if there is one thing which prevented me from enjoying the book to its fullest ~~ It is my ignorance of Mexican Food! Imagine a book like that substituted with Indian Foods... wow mouthwatering! No Mr.Akay Dont worry me not nursing any such ideas:-D

Now How Can I complete the review without saying a few words to the lovely person who lent me this!

Sabs.. Me N Housework just dont go together (I know its nothing to be proud of.. But then thts me)! Keeping a neat house, dishing out decent meals are just not my cup of tea.... So when u tried putting in some sense of domesticity (N picking on it day in n day out... I know I know its cause u like me...) then well its like  hitting ur head against a wall (did I get that right). So sweetheart ~~ My reactions there were nothing against u it was against the sense u were trying to drive in :) N possibly something u never realized ~~ Thou I make huge fuss n cry, there are so many things big n small that I hv learnt from U ~~ Each word U say is given its due respect thou me being me wouldn’t acknowledge it :)

N man how did u react... U pulled out! U pulled out like nobody's business with no explanation leaving me flabbergasted at ur change in behavior (I didnt tell u this did I... C C my blog does good things too) and wondering what the hell is wrong (There was a phase when I thot u were reacting 4 my stupid blog on tht chetan Bhagat's Book)!! But well as they say all is well that ends well! But in this process I have just one regret... something I know I gonna regret for sometime.... I was of no help during the maddening phase of ur Phd!!! Sorry Abt that!

N thank You for telling me what is tht which was bugging u ... I would hv never understood it otherwise (Why Do I hv this feeling tht u snickering now n saying "Like U got it now") and please lets be friends again.......Remember U promised to get ur Daughter married to my son(No am not Pregnant.. Thank U very much!) .... So in view of the gen next let the cold war end :-D N nops this post aren’t cause of the lovely gifts u bought for me or for this book…. Grrrrrrrrrrr!!

What does ur Blog say about u!!

 hv heard quite a few people saying "Know u better thru ur blog".... I hv always wondered if the picture I paint here is far from truth?? Generally when I tend to write there is an elEment of exxageration invloved and the daily events do sound 'Bigger-Than-life'!

Here is a site that takes this a step ahead n classifies ur persoinality type based on ur blog! Wow ~~ Now thts something ..... No silly q's to be answered, no survey to be taken - just put in the URL N poof comes the result!

N this is what it has to say abt me! Is it the truth... will let people who know me better answer that!

ISFP - The Artists

The gentle and compassionate type. They are especially attuned their inner values and what other people need. They are not friends of many words and tend to take the worries of the world on their shoulders. They tend to follow the path of least resistance and have to look out not to be taken advantage of.




They often prefer working quietly, behind the scene as a part of a team. They tend to value their friends and family above what they do for a living.

Am amused about the 'Artist' bit thou.... Even a few other 'Personality-prediction'\'Sun-Sign' sites have spoken of a artist in me.... N if u know me even a wee-bit u'll know tht me n 'art' are two parlell lines which'll never meet :-D

Edited To Add: Ho Ho looks like the prediction varies based on the 'sample data' it collects! A few other reiterations shows ma personality type as 'Performer'... ROFL!

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

 
 
Ha Ha!! Na na its not the site's mistakes... its just the sample size it picks up n when its trying to predict a soul as confused as me then well these are just expected results :-D But which do u think is a fairer prediction?