365 solid days

Yet another year is set to pass by and yet again we wait for the new year with bated breath. Life always takes abrupt turns. She doesn't promise to give you all thar you want. Sometimes, she gives you things that you dont want. My life has always been smooth, but it has taken two solid twists twice. Once, in the year 2000 and next in the year 2005. On both the counts, it has made me only more independant, self-reliant and more insightful. Beginning of the year was shaky but when I look back, it has got better and more peaceful. As I wait to welcome 2006 with both arms and open mind, I wanted to share something with you guys. I believe, each one of us has a burning candle within ourselves. If you take a closer look at it, the point next to the flame is blue and burning. The part that we see, the one that spreads the light around, is bright. Similarly, each one of us has some sorrow deep inside us, some regrets, some disappointments, some lost opportunities that makes our life "Blue", but we also have this "inherent radiance" that camoflauges the blue. This is HOPE. We all have this shining ray of light, that lights up our lives and the lives of people who matter to us. Don't let the flame die. So with this, I wish you all a Happy New year and am sending across this ray-of-light from my house to your house. This light symbolizes: Freedom from darkness [evil thoughts and negative forces] Brightness [in form of optimism and hope] Finally, the hand that prevents the flame from dying [in form of support from friends and trusted people, who help you to stay strong when winds threaten to sway you away] I am glad that I met all you guys here and believe me, I treasure each one of you:) See you in January 2006. Until then "Salaam Namaste" Lets all welcome the New Year in a positive light!!

My "connection"with IIT-D

The date 26th December and 27th December have been really special for me. Apart from the fact that its Christmas time and I was busy in all sorts of activities, it marked the birthdays of my Munh bola bhai, Pradyot) and munh boli sister, Kiddo [Who unfortunately has bid farewell to the blog world] Somehow, I cannot explain the deeper meaning behind these few people with whom I have formed a very different camaraderie. I first met Pradyot on Sayesha's blog. The first thing, that caught my attention was his upside-down picture. Later, I happenned to read his Creative writing section, reading which I thought here is a nerd who is creative as well. Who is realllly young and his occasional posts on Technology, books etc baffled me and somehow deep inside I thought, if ever I had a brother, he would have been this way. Smart and confident. I find him really intelligent and someone who keeps a lot to himself. A kid with stars in his eyes [Sorry for using the word Kid, Prad, but I am sure you wont mind] One day, I confessed to him, that I never had a younger brother and maybe thats why I think about him in this manner. Funny, he started calling me "Tai"[Sister] as well. So as of now, I think I can cooly give any gyaan to him, and he wont say a word to me:D The only person in my life who calls me Tai. I have always been the youngest of all siblings and cousins, so I was the one who addressed my sisters by that name. I have probably chatted online with him thrice, exchanged emails not more than 20 times and talked on the phone once on his birthday for 3 minutes. Later, this string of connections started forming beyond blog circle. I accidentally hopped to this post on Nitin's blog and was amazed to see yet another IIT-ian with a panache for writing stuff, about love and romance. In blog circles, I have found very few guys who actually touch on the topic of love, relationship in a romantic and a beautiful manner. Nitin is one amongst them. With him, its friendship on a different level. All of 21 too, this guy also became my brother. The only guy who took a long time to figure out how to address me. Finally he started calling me "Di" On his blog, I met Kiddo. I hopped to Kiddo's blogs whenever, I felt like reading some real good poetry. She has the ability to give any poet a run for their money. Sad, I dont get any opportunity to read her work anymore. She is yet another girl, who is more than 5 years younger to me and thats why I feel even more concerned for her. I have never chatted online with her, never exchange emails and talked to her on the phone once for 1 minute on her birthday. Now she addresses me as "Dids". Funny, she even recognized my voice, when I called her yesterday. So, from there on, I have formed this amazing connection with IIT-D fellas, who all are well connected to each other. And here they have a sister, whom they have never met, probably never chat with and rarely email. Though Kiddo has disconnected herself from the blog world, I meet her on Orkut , a place I never knew existed until Nitin introduced me to. Initially, I thought its just another trendy place in cyberworld. But the meaning of it has changed now. Since, thats the only place where I interact with her and know about her life. Its all in the family now, coz I even have a kid in IIT-D:))) Our blogs are as different as can be, eventhough, there is a commn ground of communication. I am still in the process of figuring out, why you feel the way you feel for some people. Somehow, interacting with these people gives me that happiness of being called a didi. When I talk to them, it makes me feel 5 years younger than I am. I relive my college days with them. We fight, we quarrel, throw tantrums. I feel concerned for them, just like I would if I would have had a younger brother or a sister. I can now understand why my sister feels that way for me and why I am still the 21 year old girl in her eyes. I think, tommorrow even if these kids become CEO of a company, they would still be the Third year and Final year IIT-D kids, whom I met in blogsphere and who are the talented kids on the block. Strange, I have never been to Delhi and never had a friend from IIT-D, and now I have brothers and sisters over there!

I am a happy sadist

[Guys sorry, havent replied to any of your comments. I am just plain tired.Will reply tommorrow] I am sure, we all get exhausted at some point of time. Some get tired everyday, travelling etc! But, have you ever felt tired and still it doesnt affect you? I think for the past so many days, maybe months..I am working round the clock! I have not taken a single day off on my own to stay at home and chillax! No matter, how much I complain about the stress, which builds up eventually, I still feel thats my driving force! I am enjoying the stress. Its "happy holidays" and people are busy making New Year plans. Some are doing extensive travelling. For some its break. My Department looks desolate too. Everyone gone and few others who come at 9:00 and leave at 3:00. But, I am enjoying being there when everyone else is gone. I used to wonder, how it would be to stay and work during Christmas. The feeling gave me knots in the stomach. Beyond the 20th of December, I got this unnervy feeling that it would be lonely and sad here with everyone gone. Well, like they say people who have work to do, are seldom lonely. I was thinking of going and visiting my cousins who are scattered all around the US. Looked for some flight deals to go to NJ, but I killed the thought in my mind. I like the feeling that my heart irks to go nowhere:O Somehow, I am enjoying the 8:30 AM to 9:30 PM lab time. The feeling of working without break. The feeling that causes malaise in my whole body by the end of the day but doesn't let me sleep until wee hours of morning. The feeling that I dont get enough time to have long telephonic conversations. The feeling of drafting endless spreadsheets, of getting frustrated, of not having enough hours for me to think of miscellaneous matters. Of running down to the nearest gas station in the evening for the much needed caffeine and finally of coming home to my blog to write everything down with a tea in my hand and sleep in my eyes! I am sure I will go crazy if this continues, but as of now,my enthusiasm for work is peaked and I like it!

My first accident

1.15 PM on Monday afternoon. I pulled out of my parking lot and was about to take a right turn to go South. I was on my way to see Jas off at the airport. A bicycle driver is driving straight and in flash of seconds, I realized I hit him. I could not believe my eyes at the first instance. I got down of my car and started apologizing coz the man started screaming on top of his voice as if all hell broke loose. He asked me to "park my car"[My first mistake] and I did that. Secondly, he called the police. By this time, I was almost into tears. The guy aggravated the situation by asking for my Driver's license, information, my phone number and blah blah blah. I think, everything in life is aligned properly. Had I not found my license yesterday, I would have been responsible for yet another offense. I thank God for saving me a lot of trouble. Plus, he started giving me gyaan as to how I should look on the left and right before I pull off my car on the street. Can't imagine in three years of my driving experience, I would hit a bicycle rider and he would actually advise me on the basics of driving. I immediately called two of my good friends (A and P) and one of them is actually quite informed about handling such stuff. P, drove his car from his house to mine in straight 10 minutes [I dont know how]!! The bicycle rider from how he sounded has run into a lot of accidents before. Coz, he almost shocked me by saying that his bicycle costs 1500$..Is he crazy or what?? Then he says "the rim of the cycle is a little damaged, the chain has come off" etc etc. He then adds "This is why, you have insurance" I did not utter a word to this guy as I was damn pissed. The police finally came and this person says "I have all the info from her and there is not much damage. I will take this cycle to the bicycle shop and get an estimate of damage". The police never looked into my ID, did not ask me for my insurance and told him "if you have sorted it out amongst yourself, there is nothing much left for me to do" After the polic left, this guy got on his cycle and started riding it again, much to my amusement! He was making a huge drama over the whole thing, when in reality the way he actually behaved was strange! He wasnt hurt and if his bicycle chain had indeed come off, how can he ride it?? Either he knows, I mean no harm to him or either he thinks I am plain stupid. My looks dont suggest either of them. And if he indeed slams a hefty bill in front of me, I also have evidence. We clicked a picture of him riding his bicycle immediately after the so called"accident". First of all, he dude was super smart. He asked me to park my car and his bicycle lay on the spot of the "accident". Thats what I was told by P, never move your vehicle from the spot even if it stops the entire traffic. Secondly, I should carry my digicam everyday. I think, I have to yet learn a lot of things. Especially, how to handle cunning people. As of now, yet another important lesson learned. Never mess with "Bicycle riders and Pedestrians" Do not get intimidated if someone screams on top of his voice Do not forget the basics of driving After all this drama, I got back home. Quite shaken up actually and I am spending the sunny day locked in my apartment. Making notes in my blog, for future reference!

The downtown lights

This was my fourth Christmas in the US of A. Looking back, its been a real long time! Every year has been good and this year was not an exception. Except that, this year I was home! no extensive travelling. Working and still having fun. The best part is today being sunday, I am happy that tommorrow is holiday as well. We went to the downtown yesterday and it was a different experience. I agree, the downtown in Omaha is no where closer to the one in NYC and I believe, any major city but there was a difference. The usually crowded area full of clubs and restaurants was quiet. No people on the street, being Christmas eve. I did see couple of "couples" walking on the streets and a few of them travelling in "tongas"[A horse pulled vehicle, for those of you who do not know]. It was nice to see a tonga in the US [have seen one in New Orleans too]. But wonder, how people can sit in the open vehicle in that cold:O So well, we decided to explore the beauty of Omaha which we usually fail to notice on regular days. It was nice to see millions of lights on the naked trees. This was one of the pics taken in downtown and in the background you see one of the tallest buildings in Omaha [There are not many, anyways] also you see a frozen lake over there:) Today, was no different than yesterday. Closed shops, deserted streets, empty roads and lonely streets. Christmas is family time, so we decided to have a look at the houses in Omaha. It was quite a sight. Different decorations and plenty of lights. Reminded me of Diwali:) We also passed through "Warren Buffet's"house! The only thing that Omaha can actually boast of:)) The entire road belonged to us! I invited few of my friends over for dinner. Later, we decided to drive down to a destination unknown. Only to realize that we were actually heading towards Iowa (around an hours drive from here). The long drive indeed was fun. We did things we never did before. Like, there was this Indian who was driving a Camry on the next lane, one of my friends actually got so excited as if shes never seen a desi before, and started waving at him! Poor guy probably got intimidated and took the next exit! On the way, we listened to Telugu songs [the friend who was driving did not have any other CD in his car] and it was total fun. Listened to "hot"telugu-english songs such as "Gili, Beat in my heart, Dating, Shaka-la-ka baby". For some reason it felt great to listen to songs that I totally could not decipher. But the friend was patient to explain the lyrics! Maybe thats the magic of friendship. Few surprises always await you. We decided on going to Casino to see the lights there. It was all lights, lights, lights in our minds. I did not have my id nor my wallet in order to go to the casino [thats the best part]:D We turned back and started heading home. On the way, I utter "The road seems familiar, where are we going" Friends:"Duffer, we are going to your house to watch a movie. Thank god, you don't drink" We came home to watch "Ishq Vishq" [The only DVD I had at home]. Just as I put my hands in my Coat pockets to find my keys, I found my ID:D I get a scornful look from them. Hahahah..forget it. Lets not drive for another 60 mins. Lets just stay here and watch the movie. Only guy in midst of three girls. The girls busy watching "Ishq Vishq", the guy decides to read "Reader's Digest", instead:)) Though, there was nothing extraordinary about the evenings. It made me realize that the best vacation is not the one where you just pack your bags and leave! Sometimes, staying in your place is actually not a bad idea. Even though, you might have spent an entire lifetime in that city, there might be areas that are still unexplored. There might be friends whom you might want to know. There could be things that you probably did not notice! Thats exactly, what I did!

Letter to Santa

Its Christmas time! Everything around us is bright and splendid. Everyone seems to be happy and looking forward to a dream year ahead. This is the Christmas tree that stands alone in my school auditorium today. Lighting up the rather deserted school:D This is a miniature pine tree in my house, to give me company and maybe coz it represents "Peace" So my dear brotherPradyotand my "kid"Chapaathave tagged the poetically challanged ROS to write a 55 word poem that rhymes! So, here is my pathetic attempt to scribble few lines that rhyme! Its fun time coz its Christmas time Time to wine and time to dine Put on your party shoes As there is no time to lose Forget your sorrows Do not bother about tomorrow New Year is not far away Lets get together and play Coz Santa is on his way Since, Santa is riding his sledge, I thought he would be happy to give me some gifts as well. So this is the letter am going to leave in the imaginary stockings, tonite:) Dear Santa... I have had a busy year. I have been lucky too. Formed great friendships that are going to be everlasting. Discovered something new. Few succesful endeaveours and some things left behind. I have hurt few people and have nursed few. I have been a bad girl too. But, to compensate for that, I have been involved in some charities. Over all, I have been a good girl. So here's my wish for this Christmas. Give people all that they deserve. I want you to make this world a happy place. I want some people to get jobs, few people to get married to their soulmates, few people to find their soulmates and some people to Graduate:) For myself, I want "endurance and patience" . A little bit of success on the way, wouldn't hurt:P & I want you to keep my boss in great spirits ALL YEAR:) I know its a long letter, but its a wish that summarizes 365 days of a year into 4 lines. Thats not asking for much:O OK! I am getting greedy:O Have edited the "Wish-list" for third time now:) Merry Christmas Guys:) So go ahead and ask few wishes too, I will make sure I will slip in your notes in the stockings, as well:)

The guy on the 4th floor

So as it is quite evident, I am kinda "vella"today. I have tons of stuff to do, however when you see mounds of expts to do and some experiments have got ruined, you are not too elated to get on the driver's seat. Secondly, I have fever and the best part is I did not know that:O I dont even remember when was the last time, I ever had fever or flu:O Atelast, since I came to US. My body aches and eyes hurt, but I assumed it was coz of the fact that I went skating the previous day, coz of which its just purely exertion. So, I went to the Doctor for bodyache and he concluded it was fever:) Man! I dont even have the enrgy to prepare a "buffer" Thirdly, I realized I lost my Driver's license and I am kinda not worried about it. The cop cannot catch me as my "Princess" is sick:)) Also, the picture on the license is the worst pic, I have ever had:)) So here, I am listening to the song "Final Countdown" from and it takes me flashback into the 12th grade. At that time, me and my friend Priyanka used to do "combined-studies" almost every day. Just when we were burning the candle at all possible ends, preparing for our "Board Exams" at her place in the balcony. So now, why only the balcony? Couple of reasons: Coz she lived on the fourth floor and this was the view that we got from her balcony Trains: That gave us company until the wee-hours of morning. Secondly, coz of a "guy who lived on the same floor, but in the opposite building" and we could see his window from the other window in her house. So, we never really "met or saw" that guy ever, in person. The only thing we knew about him was "He was called "Pintya" [coz his mom always screamed at him by that name:D], he used to make tea for himself whenever we studied there, and his window was always closed. & This was the main reason for us to sit there "He used to whistle beautifully to the tune of "Final Countdown" totally in-sync and without taking a breath! I think he was singing to the tune of "Mere rang mein rangne wali" from the film "Maine Pyara Kiya" which is quite similar to the Final Countdown, maybe uthaoed from that:) The way he whistled was absolutely adorable! That apart! But, isnt it amazing to see how different people have a knack of whistling to beautiful tunes. Such that, you are kinda mismerized with that tune and it haunts you for a long long time! Its been 10 years that I passed 12th grade, but everytime I see or listen to the songs of "MPK", I remember Pintya. Maybe, this was what tempted me to take a picture of a view from her balcony, this time when I visited her:) The best part is he probably never knew we were fond of his tunes:) Though, I dont know "How Pintya looked, talked, walked etc" neither of us ever wished he ever opens the window though:) I bet even Priyanka never saw him. We just had a mental image of that person which was "He must be tall, skinny, a decent cook and probably quite romantic and shy":)) Dont really care if he indeed was that way. Sometimes, you dont really need to have the windows rolled down to see whats outside!

A mental mould to fit people

{It has nothing to do with my previous posts. But, off late, I have experienced a lot of "typecasting"amongst people. All this is purely my experience and not meant to be targetted at anyone in general} P.S:-Contrary to what this post reflects, I am not angry or pissed or anything. Just hoping that people do not have any pre conceived notions about anything:)] As you all know, I am from Bombay. So what??Just like some people live in Hyderabad or Amritsar or any other city. Agreed, that people are usually known by their mentality. Like, people from Mumbai are generally considered to be "open minded and adaptable" [I have been told this many times, and have heard it a zillion times], but in a city where majority of nation's population is condensed, you find people who are not only "not open minded but extremely narrow minded"as compared to a person in any other town in India. Likewise, women from Bombay are considered to be "fast, party lovers, ambitious and anything but homely".People might debate that this is not true. But, believe me I have heard this about US. Well, life in Mumbai is fast but on what basis do people generalize or typecast others. Despite living in Mumbai, I have never been to discotheques. Its not that I never wanted to, but at that time, I was focused and was not thinking about anything beyond my career. So does that make me "oh-not-so-mumbaiyya"? Amongst women who go to professional colleges and who work from 6:00 AM until past mid night, there are girls who do not make a career for themselves. There are an assortment of people anywhere you go. You dont generalize people by making claims that "people from one city are necessarily that way". Girls from villages need not be "docile and naive"and there are naive and docile girls in metropolitan cities too. That was the case in India. Here in the West and people's perception about "Uncle Sam": There are people who think that Americans marry and have pre-nuptial agreements for "when"they get divorced, and not "if"they get divorced. Agreed that the divorce rates are high here, but does that mean some people do not trust the institution of marriage here? Or is it that people in India do not get divorced? Its because, people here refuse to take crap from their spouses. You abuse your wife and you will be presented with divorce papers. We Indians believe in keeping up relationships. Many wives prefer to be beaten up by their spouses and living in a bad marriage only coz divorcing a husband is still not accepted in Indian society. Does it mean that Amroos do not have a heart or do not treasure relationships?? Read on:- My Professor in Shreveport has been with his wife since the age of 14. They have been together for more than 35 years now. He always told me "Some people find their souldmates at the age of 14 and some at the age of 24. Since, I have known what Love is, she is the only one whom I have ever loved". Another stereotype: "Amroos are meat eaters. They cant think beyond beef and pork" Aah! the same professors both the daughters are vegetarians! They had a Thanksgiving party sans turkey but with vegeterian pizza. (American Born Confused Desi) and food: So here this friend of mine who has done her UG in USA has invited all of us for dinner. She had Samosas and Alu parathas as part of the meal. So this smart Indian dude says "you make samosas" or you "ordered them". She cooly took a part of the dough and made a triangle and filled it with the filling. This guy was shocked! So, you KNOW to make samosas, despite being an ABCD? OK! now in which dictionary is it written that Indian girls raised here or spent their growing up years in the US cannot cook?? That girl started cooking since she was 16 or 17 and I never cooked until I came here at the age of 22. To this date, I cannot make samosas. I also know of few girls who have spent their life in India and who came here and who still live on Maggi and frozen food. So why, do people make such claims? Who decides, how a particular class of people are supposed to behave? They are all resultant of our beliefs and a set of standards that we use in order to compare people. Yet another: "For people here, USA is the world. Any other country is "rest of the world" Really?? Go get your basics right before you did that. My personal experience again goes back to another Irish professor of mine who has lived in the US for 45 years now. He is an American citizen now. He is someone who took the recipe for "Alu gobi" from me, and who makes the same dish better than I do". He is aware of every other spice, orders it from the web and stocks it too. There might be many Indians who do not stock "asafoetida" (hing in hindi) in their kitchen, but my professor even knows in which dish you need to add that spice to. They do know what India is and what it is famous for. 3 out of 10 people might still consider India to be a third world country but the remaining 7 do know about "Indian food, clothes, Bollywood, Bangalore, Mumbai, Taj Mahal" are. This same professor of mine has watched "Lagaan" to understand what is the hype about "Cricket". Following stereotypes is one thing and blindly making judgements is another thing. You have to think outside the "box" in order to benefit out of diverse culture. Just harping about people, city and how bad a country is, are not signs of an educated person. Education is meant for people to live in harmony with others, in growing out of differences and thinking beyond "color"! Talking of which! The only colors that one can identify a person is with "black" and "White" First of all they are just skin colors that does not reflect your true self. The very first time that I entered this country and spent one year of my life is "Louisiana". A state rich in terms of Afro-American history. Exactly! Afro-American is THE word. Nor "Black, Kallu, Shyam bhai". It irks me when I hear people using such terms for one who is not even responsible for the skin color he has got. They do not scare you. They are one amongst us. They do normal jobs like we do, they also get degrees and earn a living. The other day a person and me were having a discussion. When he quipped, "Gorya mulee saglya changlya distat" [Meaning:All "white"girls look good"] I detest using the term white for a person. "Caucasian"is THE word. Why only a skin colors determines "beauty"of a person?? Isnt beauty a cumulative word given to "features" that includes eyes, nose and the face TOO?? Enter Marriage "Market" the demand is for fair and educated wife! When you yourself ask for a "fair" girl do you really think you are "Educated"?? Much emphasis is laid on the skin tone than any other quality that a girl possesses. Why, cant a dusky girl make a good wife?? Of course! it depends on each individual as to how exactly he wants to define "wife":) To me it signifies "Narrow minded mentality" and "hypocrisy". People who claim to be educated lots and who still judge a person with respect to his color and who are broad minded to that level that "watching hollywood movies and drinking alcohol suggests sophistication" Wish people could judge a commoner based on what lies within rather than the exterior! Just going abroad and getting yourself a degree does not mean you are educated. Remember, someone somewhere is judging you based on what you say.

A-Z and beyond

Quite opposite of what my current mood is. Hope while writing this, a smile shows on my face. OK! yet another revelation. Tagged by Puneet. So for the records, I have honestly talked about 50+20=70 things about me. Now you can add 26 more to the kitty:O A - Age you got your first kiss Just like everyone. when I was born:) You want me to be honest:- OK! Never been kissed:O (*Dont roll your eyes now*) B - Band listening to right now:… Right now, thousand drums are playing in my head! On the radio: "Stacy's Mom" -Fountain of Wayne C - Crush: Can count on finger tips. Definitely not more than 10. Huge crush when comes to celebrity has been "Anil Kumble" D- Drink of Choice: "Adrak Chai and Starbucks "Cafe Breve Coffee" E - Easiest person [people] Vikram:O [By this, I mean..someone who is chilled out types] F - Favorite band at the moment: All time fav has always been MLTR G - Gummy worms or gummy bears? None! Never fond of these. H – Holiday: Someday want to go on a beach holiday maybe to Melbourne. Want to go to Venice and Paris. Now even Bombay seems like a holiday spot. So all these places are incomparable to a vacation in Bombay:( I - Instruments: Has to be the guitar. J - Juice: Mango juice and Sugarcane juice (Oos-ka-juice:D) K-Kids: Of course, Aryan:D L - Longest car ride ever: From Shreveport (Louisiana) to Omaha (Nebraska) 817 miles in one day:O Started morning 9:00 reached this place at 2:00 AM. Thunderstorms greeted us all the way. Of course! I was not doing the driving. Otherwise, I would never be here:)) M - Major: Music. My soul. My life. N - Nicknames: Aah! too many:- Mony, ROS, ROSie, Pakao, Paks, Duffer, Item,Sunrays,Chamiya, Mand!! O - One wish: Want to retire to a place best described by this song: "Jahan ghum bhi no ho, ansoo bhi na ho, aur pyaar hi pyaar pale" [ A place where this is no sorrow, no tears and only love abounds) P - Phobia[s]: Deep water. Ships make me sick! Q - Quote: "Never frown, you do not know who is falling in love with your smile" R - Reason to smile: Aryan, Tai, my friends and my blog/blogpals S - Song you sang last: A song by Des'ree titled "Life". Life indeed can be fun If you really want to Sometimes living out your dreamsAin't as easy as it seems You wanna fly around the world In a beautiful balloon Life, oh life Oh life, oh life T - Time you woke up [today]: 7:30 AM U - Unknown fact about me: Despite living in Bombay all my life, I have never been to Pune. I dislike perfumes. My head hurts. But, I totally adore the fragrance of "Axe Effect":O V - Vegetable you hate: Though am a veggie, when I was a little kid, I used to only like to eat Potatoes and Cabbage. Nowadays, I eat anything thats veggie:O Veggies that top my hate list are" Brocolli and Bhindi (Okras or Ladysfinger) X-rays you've had: Chest and Dental Y - Yummy food: Pav Bhaji and sadak ka paani puri:O Z - Zodiac sign:Cancer…Sentimental, moody and friendly. Passionate and romantic. Thanks Poo!! writing this gave me a lot of respite. Enjoyed it:) I tag 5 people: Of course, if they are interested: Nandya Thanu Sayesha Virdi Pradyot

Phool tumhe bheja hai

They say, "Flowers say it all" December marks the most memorable month! Today being my Sister's fourth wedding anniversary! Nothing special about it, its not the first nor the twenty fifth. But, looking back I think every occassion, birthday or an anniversary means something. It reflects how far one has come in life. How much they have achieved and how much is yet to be achieved. The past years, being the "gold standards" of one's life. Thats why, I consider it a special event to make someone special feel really special. Its the time to celebrate yesterday's dreams that came true! In today's world, where people break up for no apparent reason, anniversaries are indeed a milestone. For the first time, I sent these 51 roses to my sister. The thought itself fills my heart with undending joy. Dont these flowers look amazing? Bundle of roses representing bundle of happiness. I remember the time when she was getting married and I was yet to come to terms with it. The thought that the sister with whom I spent 21 years of my life, under the same roof is suddenly going to go to someone elses house. Though, I have known my jeeju for a long time before that. The first question that I asked her was "What will you call your M-I-L as? So she said "Mummy". I was like "How can you call someone else other than our Mom as "mummy":D Around the time, when I was set to come to US. Even after she was married, I made her spend 3 days of the week with me and I would go spend the weekend at her place. Yes! as ridiculous as it sounds, I did that only coz I wanted to spend all my time with her before coming here. That continued for 7 months after their marriage. She never uttered a word and poor Jeeju (B-I-L)has been tolerant to tolerate two hyper girls, like me and she!!! Now, she is a mother of one child. I feel cute when Aryan said to her today "Mamma, tujha lagna aahe"? [Meaning: Mom are you getting married], when he saw people wishing her. The kid also knows that his "Maoo" [Aunt] is supposed to call for every important occassion. What's more the e-mail that my sister sent, makes the feeling priceless:(Of course edited, for privacy purposes) "Thanx a lot for making me feel special. You do everything so properly! How can u manage all this at such a small age? The roses r so real n good as if u came here n gave it to me personally. " Wonder what it is with sisters? They never feel you are old enough! She still feels, I am the 21 something girl who left home to get a degree and she stopped growing beyond that:D What is incredible is that, my Jeeju who was supposed to be working in Germany until the 25th, gave her a surprise by pre poning his trip and reached home on their special day! Thats the beauty of it! A reason, is all we need, to stop and realize the beauty of life and richness that relationships provide us with. Sad, that "I never knew how close I was to her until I came far from her"

Woh lamhein woh baatein

Since past two days, I have got calls everyday at 5:00 PM. Yes! its december and two of my friends left to go to India for a month long vacation. In the next ten days, two of my friends from Omaha are heading home. On both the occasions, the guys got me really nostalgic. Though, its not even 6 months, that have passed that I was home. On this instance, it was one of my good friends Pandyha who was heading home! So, this guy and me have been friends since college. One who knows whats best in me and whats worst in me. With whom, I share a love-hate relationship.Hahaha.."hate"is an extreme term to use in this case. But, he pissed me off really well, when he did. "You say that we've got nothing in common No common ground to start from" It was exactly that way. He the typical to-the-point Gujju and someone who was quite flamboyant and a "Kanhaiya" , always sorrounded by 10000 girls at one time:O A typical western-Bombay lad. I still do not know how we became good friends, but at times it is not necessary to think on where and how it all started! I recollect quite few instances with him. Mostly, all the stories start and end with laboratories. Each day, we had 4 hours of practicals in college. We worked in pairs and he was was my friend Mayura's lab partner. Oh..how she liked working without him:O. He did not mind it when I accidentally threw a test tube of "glacial acetic acid"(a corrosive chemical) thinking that it was water:O. I ended up tearing his jeans and injured his fingers too. One who: Was always late Never had any stuff needed for practicals (usually) Never had his lab journals completed on time Had a shabby handwriting. How he pissed me off when: He borrowed my clean lab coat Finished off my lunch-box well before lunch time Used to retort by saying "Dont think a lot, tere chote se dimag ko traas mat de" [Dont overstress your small brains by "thinking" He called me names such as "Mand"[slow], ghati [short for maharashtrians], pakaoo {one who can bore you to death] He would laugh, when I cried He used to give me "fundas" all the time He gave his stupid anatomy journals at the end of the year for me to draw diagrams With his carelessness With this big inflated ego (He is a Leo) When he lived by the philosophy of "I am the most important person in my life" He made fun of my sister also which she did not seem to mind:O Neverthless, he is one person who has been there at the toughest of times when the going got tough. Someone who always reinforced that "Sympathy is the worst emotion that one can have for anyone". He has taught me a lot of things too and with whom I have had the greatest of Mumbai experiences. By Mumbai experiences, I mean:- Helping me to navigate at Dadar station:- [Dadar is the most complicated station in whole of Mumbai. Its the place where, all the three lines viz Central, Western and Harbor lines merge leading to utter confusion in everyone's life]. At one time, I was waiting at the central side platform # 1 and he was looking for me at the Western railway terminal. Without a cell phone, during those times, getting lost at Dadar station is not exactly the nicest thing:O Traveller and eating buddy: Mumbai life is no fun without food. Him and me had the traveller's spirit. Though, we lived far from each other and during the times when we finished our B.Pharm and applying for Programs at US, we did travel a lot. From Kalyan-Dombivli-Mulund-Andheri-Bandra-Churchgate (all located in a 2 hours distance]. Eating everything from Pani puri, Raj Kachori, Bhel, Canon Pav-Bhaji. During Applications and coping with rejections: Still remember the day of GATE results. I was one paranoid soul, who used to cry incessantly in anticipation of results. Though, I was confident that I would pass with nothing less than a first class. During, one such time after I had taken my GATE exams (for getting into M.Pharm) when I wanted to go check my results at IIT-Bombay. Man! it was crazy. Poor guy, was laughing all the time in the rickshaw as to why I was crying when it did not even matter if I got into M.Pharma or not (at that time I was intending to take my GRE). He accompanied me everywhere from then. He almost killed me when I cracked the exam and secured admission for M.Pharm. He has acted as a sponge absorbing whatever I threw at him. You always need a friend who would switch on your logic button whenever it switches itself off. Later, when I was intending to take my GRE and I did not even have my passport. This guy accompanied me everywhere right from Passport office to USEFI, that involved so many rounds of passport office. One who knew that I am going to mess up in the "Analytical"section of GRE, coz he was aware that my logic sucked. At times of utter confusion: During those times, when I was going crazy, torn between continuing my education in Bombay or coming to US. Helping me make a decision. Those walks at Juhu Beach: & in the hustling bustling Marine Drive Somehow, his presence at that time when life was almost as clear as a foggy day, made a huge difference. When life was at the threshold and probaly one of the most confusing stages of my life. Don't we all need a friend who can act as an anchor? One who can irritate the life out of you, still provide a comforting shoulder for you to lean on?? Later, who accompanied me to the "Visa office" too. ********************************************************************************** I think our journey is left incomplete. Just like any other friendship, we also suffered few setbacks, just when I was set to come to US. 20th July, 2002. We talked few times, but the equations were changed. What curtailed is something that probably does not hold any significance in present. Sometimes, things go wrong without any reason. The last, I saw of him was at the airport when he came to see me off. I was done with the immigration check and everything by that time. I had almost given up the thought that he was going to show up, but at a subconsious level, I was looking for my friend. True enough, when I was given the permission to see my family just for 5 minutes, thats when I saw him standing there sipping "Nescafe". We still talk, maybe we still try to connect just like we did before. But sometimes, even though a torn dress can be patched at some places, you cannot get the original appeal. Now that he has gone home, I truly hope he brings back memories that we lived by! I don't think, I ever had that kind of guy-friend again!