They Said It...

The other day, at work, one of my colleagues had bought a lot delicious goodies for all of us..chocolate rolls, orange rolls, cakes..she had all this mouth watering stuff placed at her desk asking us to help ourselves with them. And people came over, one after the other..some helping themselves to another round of chocolates. I had had a very tasty chocolate roll and was tempted to go for a second helping when a gentleman crossed her desk. She asked him to help himself with the chocolates. To which he responded, "Thanks but no. Body is a temple" and he marched off.
I realised what I should be doing!!!
**************************************************************************************
I was boarding a lift and in entered a gentleman and a lady. As the gentleman pressed the button to close the lift, it refused to close. He tried pressing it again, this time harder but the lift refused to close. The lady asked him to be gentle saying the lift could be sensitive. To which he responded, "the lift must be a lady to be senstive". Whoa!!

Of Promises and Hope...

Overcast with blanket grey
of clouds that seemed to surmount
hovering above, threatening to split open
the city below lulled in daze
surprised by the change.

There she sat, her eyes grim
unaware of the commotion around her
staring fixatedly at the darkness enveloping above
blinking as the first droplets caressed her cheek
before falling at the ground beneath.

Red and blue, green and yellow
they sprung from nowhere
to adorn the halo around the head-
the umbrellas that bloomed to welcome the rain
bathing in the glory of the season.

She remained frozen, unperturbed by the downpour
her vision piercing through the gathering above
the tears dissolving in the downpour
continuing to flow through with the showers
disguising all along their way.

Around her, moved the din in a sudden spurt
of men and women hastening through puddles
clammering under roofs sheltering from the pours
unaware of her existence amidst them
while she remained as plain as a stone.

Ached her heart, from betrayal of promise

for here had arrived the season of monsoon
the season that had symbolised togetherness
as she had waited for this day
with hope and faith.

Walked away had he, aeons ago
promising to arrive with gait and joy
before the first clouds gathered together
spilling out the showers of the season-
a promise she always believed in.

passing through the days, did she
hold her spirits high and might
as she anticipated the day of her reunion
with the heavens opening up above them
showering with the promise they held.


Now she sat, the promise broken
all alone, her spirits damp
wondering if this was what the truth was,
wondering if the first clouds had gathered earlier
hoping he was on his way.

Tag-Know Your Alphabet

I have been tagged by Srividya. So, here I go. The letters of the alphabet all the way...

A - Available?
Family and friends say I am available for them anytime :)

B – Best Friend
Many from different phases of my life. Each has been a wonderful part of my life and is indeed very special:)

C – Cake or Pie
Hey! choosing between the favourites?? Maybe I would say both:)
Cake:)- my latest fav- Strawberry Cheese Cake:) and my all time craze for Black Forest will never cease. For tea time, I owuld love a carrot cake or Aiyer and Co sponge cake:)
Pie- Apple:)

D – Drink of Choice
Hot filter coffee, steaming, in a tumbler and davara:) anytime:)

E – Essential thing(s) used every day
Lakme Eyeliner, Water, Oxygen:)

F – Favourite Colour
I think each colour brings out a beauty of its own. For instance, the ocean that's deep with blue, God's own country reveberating with green pastures, the horizon showing a tinge of orange...the list is endless

G – Gummi Bears or Worms
Neither

H – Hometown
Coimbatore, Chennai

I – Indulgence
Chocolates, books, dance, music,a warm oil bath,pot of cofee

J – January or February
January for a beginning and for looking forward to
February for sailing along through the year

K – Kids and Names
Hmm..maybe you shoult try googling..you would find loads of names:)

L – Life
Life is beautiful:)

M – Marriage
1+1 = 1x1
I had given this as a topic when I conducted a debate contest in college. I think this summarises what marriage is.

N – Number of siblings
Would cousins count?:)

O –Oranges or Apples
Can I say clementines?
Apples- of course-apple pie, apple tarts, apple juice:)

P – Phobia
Cockroaches

Q – Quote
Live the moment:)

R - Reason to Smile
Hey! Smile and the world smiles with you:)

S – Season
Spring- for the beauty and freshness it brings along with it
Summer-for the melons and lassis and lime juices I drink
Autumn-for shedding and giving an opportunity to start afresh
Winter-for cosying up at home, feeling the chill on the face and the snow:)

T – Tag three people
Viji-Kriti-Phani(I consider them as one as it is going to be on the same blog), Sheelu, Priyamvada

U – Unknown fact about me
Reminds me of the Johari Window. The known and the unknown!!
Don't you think it should be unknown?:)

V – Vegetable you do not like
None- I love food and being a vegetarian I love all vegetables.

W – Worst Habit
Biting Nails (I will definitely get over it)

X-rays you have had
The latest being the one I took before travelling for an onsite project

Y – Your favourite food
Fooood is all that matters. The list is long but let me list a few.
Kaara kozhambu
Veg. Biriyani
Pasta
Sizzlers
Drumstick Sambar with Potato fry
Channa Rice
More Kuzhambu
Avial
Hey..I think I am listing a menu from a multi cuisine restaurant!!

Z – Zodiac
Capricorn

Creamed!!!!

No, I don't feel embarassed to do it. In fact I love doing it.
In fact most of you would have done it at some point of your childhood.

I am talking about splitting a cream biscuit into two and licking the cream off neatly from the biscuit. I still do it. It is one of the pleasures of life- taking a crisp biscuit filled with luxurious cream, splitting it into two, careful enough not to break the slice and then resting the cream filled layer on the tongue. Wow..it's heavenly!

When I was a kid, I used to love 'Bourbon' bisuits because of its delicious chocolate layer inside. I still love Bourbon biscuits. As more marketers came into picture, my preferences became large. I had a whole load of options to choose from:) Still, Bourbon remained my top favourite cream biscuit. The chocolate layer inside was rich enough to tempt anybody, even someone who had vowed to remain on a strong diet plan! And even today, Bourbon biscuits do bring in a memory of my childhood where, in school we used to find these bisuits in our snack boxes, munch them while travelling in the bus....

Soon, Jimjam introduced its jam biscuit. It was certainly a pleasant variation to find the taste of jam within the crispy encounters. And the way the jam used to stick as I used to bite into the biscuit was a pleasure:) And the bright pink packaging certainly appealed to the senses. It was attractive to catch the consumer's eye while shopping. Neat!

Britannia next introduced Pure Magic and this was absolute ecstacy. Imagine rich choclate melting within the territories of your tongue as you engulf into its crispiness. Wow! What a treat it was/is! Two circular biscuits joined together by a rich layer of chocolate cream. It was a treat for a chocolholic like me. Hostel rooms always had a stock of this pack. The purple packaging again was attractive. There was a period when I used to walk down to nearest potti kadai just to buy this pack of biscuit. I used to be hugely disaapointed if I could not find this. I tried dipping this biscuit in tea and it was ultimately heavenly to taste the melting chocolate cream.

I firmly belive that to taste a cream biscuit is to sepearte the two layers of biscuit and polish off the cream inside. Infact, it is the cream that lends flavour to the biscuit.

The Obvious Disparity

My stomach was rumbling. I had just made adai and it was lying in a plate near the gas stove. I opened the fridge to remove the can of milk. As I poured the milk into a bowl, I was immediately transported to the good 'ol days when milk never came in milk cans but was just fresh. I remember how we used to wait for the milk man to come in the evening so tht we could have a cup of fresh steaming coffee.
The timely ring of his cycle bell accompanied with 'Amma, paaal' would be the manner he would announce his arrival. I would immediately rush to the door, with a coupon on one hand, and a steel vessel on the other. He would measure it carefully in his measuring glass and pour in a litre into the vessel I held. I would tell him 'innum konjam vidunga...oru litrekku kammiya thaan viturikeenga'. Invariably, he would have this habit of dropping at least a drop on the kolam which had been drawn to precise perfection irritating me time and again.
And he would grumble and pour and I with a triumphant smile would walk back to my kitchen.
Despite the fact that we used to grumble saying 'paal inniki thanniya irukku', the joy of setting the fresh milk that still had froth on it on the gas stove was immense.
And all this appeared as a vision in my mind as I opened the milk can and poured it into the bowl. Subtle differences- fresh milk or Aavin paal vs canned milk. These differences though are glaring. But we are now used to it as a way of life.
When I was in India all these did not matter. The milkman came in the wee hours of morning and by the time we had woken up and brushed our teeth, steaming hot coffee would be ready. For many of us, the arrival of the milkman was the alarm clock. Combined with MS' ''Venkatesha suprabatham', The Hindu,the steaming coffee would be a treat to all the senses.
There used to be some mornings, very rare, maybe once in a blue moon, when the milk would not arrive on time and we would sulk.
But comparing with what I am today, I understand there is no time to sulk. You need to go, get the milk, ensure there is always stock, else walk down to the super store and buy milk. Skimmed, semi-skimmed, oragnic..the shelves are full of them. I wonder how it would be if our milkman came to every house carrying three milk cans, one containg whole milk, the second carrying semi-skimmed milk and the third carrying skimmed milk. I am sure most of us would not even look at the second and third cans. 'Coffee thick-a irukanum..thanniya irundhaa yeppadi kudikardhu' would be a comment that would ring across the house if you serve filter coffee in skimmed milk.
I come back to reality. These two experinces are vast apart-completely different-yet a part of the same life.
Now, that is indeed philosophical considering the subject of this post!!

The Bridges of Madison County

My eyes are moist. My cheeks are tear stained. And my mind is still. Just conjuring the thoughts of Robert Kincaid and Francesca Johnson.
I just finished reading 'The Bridges of Madison County'. When I picked up this book, I never realised, I would turn the last page shut with a tear trickling down my face.
Immediately after I completed reading the book, my mind started thinking of all the ways Francesca Johnson would have exhibited her will to stop contacting Robert Kincaid, all the years of self control, all the years when she may have debated within herself if she was doing the right thing by commiting the act of 'adultery' or did she every use that term within her? And yes, what transpired between Richard and Francesca. Did he ever realise what was happening?

I just could not stop myself fromm googling more about this novel and simultaeneously wondering as to whom I was feeling sorry for.All the three for the way destiny had shaped their lives?

And before I could conclude, I chanced upon the results of my googling. And viola! These sites claimed that 'The Bridges of Madison County' was in fact a work of fiction but conceptualised like a true story. I heaved a sigh of relief. And my tears stopped flowing.

I also chanced upon a site where a discussion happened as to why the author, Robert James Waller gave the effect that this was a true story.

The images of the county are still etched in my mind and I can still feel the old truck, the hot summer afternoon, the presence of Robert, Francesca...is this what they mean by the term 'Lasting Effect'?

The Known Unknown

I wrote this last year. I found it as I was rummaging through my old stuff.

...and hence life takes its pace
on a journey that seems like a maze
winding through every nook and corner
at times, making my vision blur.

Embarked I, unknown of my path
the actions and their aftermath
for life presents the unknown
only to be accepted and borne.

I probe further deep into darkeness
only to see it mystify more-neverthless
my search for a reason continues
as this unpredicatability never ceases to amuse.

I may never discover
life's purpose and answer.
But I keep treading on
for I know, that's the way to dawn.

Nano-U Really Have Captivated My Imagination

The buzz word is all around-Nano, yes-everyone's lips seem to be muttering just that. Whether it is people in India, UK,US, this one word seems to have swept people off their feet. The wonder-the reality-Tata Nano.
Much has been written about this car ever since it has been unvieled and now I am curious as to how the advertisements for this car would turn out to be. Hence, I let my imagination do the work here and try to capture what could be 'the' advertisement that would emerge?(would this car actually need advertising given the fact that it is a huge hit and I am sure it should be in the 'top of the mind recall' list now?)

a) Is it going to be the way Reliance spread the message of a cheap mobile phone? A car in every village- a car in households beyond imagination..

b) A daughter tells her mother that she is going out for movies with her friends. Her mother screams from the kitchen ' Badhrama poittu vaama'('dhyaan rakho, beti').
The daughter says 'Nano irukkae. Inime yenna kavalai' (Nana hain na, Mama. Ab tension kya hain?) and zooms off....

c) A school boy waits patiently in the parking lot for his father to pick him up since it is evening. He looks at his peers whose parents or drivers have come to pick them up. They all zoom in plush automobiles while he visualizes how he and his father get down at the bus stand opposite his school and come every morning. (This bus stand scene alone is in black and white). He sighs. (The background music is such that it evokes sympathy for the boy).
Suddenly a fresh, stylish, yellow car zooms and twirls and parks right next to him. He looks up only to see the windows being lowered and his father signalling to him from inside. He joy knows no bounds as he leaps towards the car. They drive away.:)

d) Is it going to be portrayed as a style icon?- the speed, the technology, the colours .

e) A couple are in a crowded locality and are trying to park their car in a narrow parking space. The husband moves the car back and forth but is unable to park and invariably brushes against the next car only to be harshly sounded at by that driver. The couple sigh and rest their hands on their foreheads-meaning they have given up. Their holiday is ruined.
Cut to another scene where another couple come that way in a Tata Nano to the same area. With one stroke, the husband parks in the narrowest soace and whistles as he opens the car door and comes out.
The first couple look at the second couple-their jaws dropping.
Tata Nano- easy, smart, comfortable..

f) You are now watching a fashion show. The ramp is full of glitters. The crowd is cheering. And the MC is annoucing the arrival of their hottest model. 'Ladies and gentlemen. You are now going to witness the latest arrival in this arena. The hottest, happening (applause level raises)...do I need to say more??' Andthe limelight focuses on the 'model' is vieled with a satin robe. The audience wait with bathed breath. They cannot sustain the suspense any longer. And at this moment. The count down begins. And finally crackers, confetti are flown as the satin cloth is removed and there stands the Tata Nano!! (Loud Applause)

g) Well, this one is on the lines of portraying Tata's contribution to the society. It could capture the historic beginnings, outline the various automobiles and finally end with the latest-the Nano.

h) On similar lines of the previous ones, this ad could portray the various contributions, basically the various businesses of Tata-showcase different products- Tata Salt, Hamam, Taj Resorts, Cellular phones and services, Tata Sky, Tea, Tanishq etcetc and finallly the unveiling of the Nano

i) How about a rap song with Nano in every alternate sentence???

j) Ok..this one really cropped up in my mind just now. There is a baking competition going on. The chef is a stern guy and is moving from one contestant to the other. He is not satisfied with what the contestants are baking. He frowns and mutters that they are not upto the standard. Suddenly, his eye captures the attention of one contestant. He walks towards the table. His face breaks into a smile. He applauds and cheers. Now as you wonder what it is that the contestant was baking, you are just shown the top side view. And as the camera goes closer and takes a turn, you realise it is a Tata Nano :)

I am really coming up with a lot of ideas. But let me stop here and hear as to what you have to say!!!

I wait to see 'the' ad...

Frozen

She stares at her Gmail account. Most of her contacts are idle. Some are offline. The world is silent except for the humdrum of the washine machine slowly reverbrating through the living room. Tiny droplets of water, the remnants of a heavy shower that poured a few minutes back hang from the window sill deciding whether to fall on the grass lawn below or remain hanging to have a view of the world below. She looks at the digital clock on my computer screen. The needles of time seem frozen. She slowly raises her eyelids and cautiously looks around. Everything is breathless. The rustle of leaves outside has stopped. She looks out of the window to have a glimpse of her neighbours but there seem to be none around. The wide lane outside seems empty and desolate. Strange to be like that at midday, she wonders. Well, there was no sign of civilization as well. Something was happening but what was that?
And she realises she is living in an extended moment. A moment that seems to be lasting more than what it has been destined to. A moment that seems to have an inner meaning to it.
She treads back slowly into the living room. From the corner of her eye, she sees that she had left the television on. Her heart beat stops for a second as the images are still on the screen. In the kitchen, the cooker had stopped whistling. Only an array of steam that rose towards the electric chimney had stopped midway. For a moment, she wonders if this is a dream. She turns slowly towards the dining table. The papers remain unsigned on them. And a lightning strikes her mind. This was a chance - a second chance to wipe out her mistakes. It was a chance given to her to rethink her decision of signing those papers. It was a moment frozen to prevent her from making a hasty decision. It slowly dawns on her. She walks towards the table, leans forward to pick those sheets. In seconds they lie as shreds in her bin.
The cooker starts whistling again. Rain drops seem to be creating patterns on the puddles outside. She sits in front of her computer. He is online. She clicks on his name and sends him a message- ' I am sorry. Can't wait to see you this evening. Let's begin afresh'.
The moment dissolves and time moves on.

A Bug's Life-I Loved It:)

A neat movie with lots of creativity sprinkled in- 'A Bug's Life' takes you from your space and transports you to a world where you know reality exists but you are amazed at the extent to which the makers of this movie have been creative.
This is a story about the ant world where the sole duty of these ants is to gather food for the grass hoppers that terrorize them. Amongst the ant community is an individualist ant 'Flick' who decides to bring in what he thinks 'warrior bugs' to save the ant community from the grass hoppers. And within this spectrum emerge a whole load of laughter, cuteness(this word would aptly fit in here), emotions, intelligence....the list is endless.
What amazes me is the extent to which the makers have brought in simple, everyday happenings and have neatly packaged it with a huge dose of lateral thinking. An example would be the usage of flowers. The central portion of the flower that hold pollen grains is used as a bed for these bugs. Two leaves appear as curtains to the rooms where the warrior bugs are placed.
The mind blogging scene is where all these ants and the bugs create a bird. What a sense of imagination!! Leaves and twigs neatly placed to form a bird's structure, twigs inside arranged so that ants could get in and move them as the bird propels forward!! Truly astounding!! Imagine ants teaming us to create something and fly it across the sky by the movement of twigs.
Tere is an Old queen ant, a Princess ant, the other ants who are subjects.

If you really want to unwind and have a ligt day, just have a watch of this movie. Its beautiful:)

The Good Old Broom

I was just cleaning my kitchen with our vacuum cleaner when I realised I missed the good old broom-the most simple device for effective cleaning. I am sure you will agree with my as to why I say so. So, here I go dedicating this post to the broom at my house-the Monkey Brand one.

The broom has several names in Tamil-thodapam, seemaru, velakkamaru,chool(by palakkad iyers).
It has occupied a firm place even in fantasies and fiction. Remember reading 'Sabrina-the teenage witch'? Doesn't she fly across with her broom?
The broom has lasted for ages.
It has conquered even the dustiest of places and has remained invincible despite the introduction of the vacuum cleaner.

Now here are a few reasons why a broom reigns supreme over a vacuum cleaner.

a) It is cheaper.
b) It occupies less space in the house.
c) It is easily available in any provision store.
d) It is easily portable. Maybe you can even dispose it when you move and buy a new one.
e) It does'nt use electricity. So it saves power.
f) Also, it is not interrupted by the power cuts. Hence you can use it anytime.
g) It is made of a natural fibre.
h) You dispose the dust immediately in contrast to that of the vacuum cleaner where the dust accumulates in the dust bag for sometime.
i) Anyone can use it-even children
j) It can remove dirt/dust particles that are larger in size and which would not go into the tiny gap that a vacuum cleaner offers.
k) It can never go out of service-hence no repairs would apply.
l)It offers a good form of exercise because if you have to clean beneath your cot or your study table, you need to bend and stretch whereas a vacuum cleaner offers you the comfort of just inserting the tube.
m) It is faster. If you are in a hurry to go to work and you have just a couple pf minutes, all you have to do is grab the broom and swish-swash-the kitchen is clean. On the other hand, if you are using a vacuum cleaner, you need to bring it to the kitchen, insert the plug, see if the right dust panel is connected, move it inch by inch, switch of, remove the plug, move the vacuum cleaner back to its place.
The list is endless.

I seriously contemplate bringing a set of brooms by some airlines the next time I visit my motherland.
What say???

Two Sides of a Coin

It's generally when you have had an argument or a misunderstanding that you realise people have different opinions about the same issue. When it comes to the work environment, we hear the term 'lateral thinking' or we hear people say 'think differently'. Why is it that some people look at an issue in a way different from ours? Attribute it to upbringing, the friends circle they have been with, their attitudes.
The way a teenager would look at an issue would be different from the way a matured adult would look at.

This provoked me to write something long time back which I post now.

He leaped around with joy. She watched him as the auto she sat in slowly plummeted through the traffic. His joy knew no bounds. She had given him a rupee that had resulted in this extreme happiness. He bounced through the zebra crossing and ran across to the other side of the road, enthusiastic to earn more, approaching the oncoming traffic that halted as the lights turned red. Was it good or bad, she wondered? She had saved him from a night’s hunger. She had been generous, showed him love and had not looked at him as a mere beggar but as a boy who deserved more than what he was actually doing.
She felt what she did was for his good and carried on.

She had removed three late charges from his account. She did that despite repeated updates from the management that not more than two late charges be removed. But would her conscience permit her? Here was a man suffering from cancer, whose life line had reached its nadir, who was not expected to see the oncoming spring, who had spent his life savings on medication, who had struggled to clear his dues. Was it right or wrong?
She had done that on moral grounds. She was humane.
She felt what she did was for his good and carried on.

The cries of the infant pierced her heart. Though the umbilical cord was broken, the bond of motherhood bound her strong to her baby. But she had to move on, never to look back, never to cast her shadow on the infant. Yes! There was a couple waiting outside to claim her rights on the baby- to adopt it. Was it for the good or for the worse?
She wanted her daughter to shy away from the evil world she had been exposed to. She wanted her daughter to have legitimate rights, equal opportunities, a loving family and a home. She knew she would never be able to give any of these.
She felt what she did was for her good and moved on.

He slowly removed his answer sheet so that it revealed its contents to his friend behind. The sound of his heart beat scared him as he felt it reverberate around the room with guilt and fear. His hands trembled as he slightly nodded signaling that his friends could look at his sheet. Beads of perspiration rolled down as he waited for the moment to pass by. But he did not stop. Was it right or wrong? A mother whose eyes shined with hope, sat fervently outside the examination hall, praying that her son would clear these exams, would bring up the already dead family honour, would show that he could stand on his own legs.
He wanted the mother to realize her hopes and hence helped her son.
He felt what he did was for her good and moved on.

The jury sat in silence as she rolled out her evidence. The accused stood paralyzed, rooted to the ground. Firm with conviction stood his wife in the witness box, providing evidence for something that never had happened. His trust shattered. His twenty eight years of marriage crumbled. Why did she have to lie?
Was it right or wrong?
Her heart wrenched with guilt as she falsely provided witness. Yet she knew what she was doing- protecting the future of another woman who was about to be entangled in the claws of her venomous husband. She had been the cynosure of all abuse that been cast on her as a result of marriage. He was about to walk out on her to the other woman- the other woman, a soft, innocent, demure lass whose vision of truth was limited to this lover.
She guiltlessly provided a false witness, watched as her husband was sentenced to imprisonment, felt her heart go light at the prospect of securing a future for the other woman.
She felt what she did was for her good and moved on.

New Year Resolutions...Oh Really??

What is it about the New year that motivates people to make resolutions?
Is it because it offers a fresh set of 365 days to create a change?
Is it because the clock starts ticking again?
Is it because it is an opportunity to start afresh?

Well, most of the time these resolutions lose their spirit before we have even stuck up to 25% of what we had determined.
I got a new year wish this time that said ' Very Happy New Year to You, Friend!May all your troubles last exactly as long as your New Year's resolutions! :)'. Ha ha!! How true about resolutions.
The first time I heard that there was this concept about new year resolutions was when I had attended a summer camp after I had completed my 7th std. And yea,from then I had resolved staunchly every year not to bite my nails (I have again resolved). I succeeded finally last year , actually mid of last year and did not bite for exactly 3 months. And then now I am back to my old state!!!
I wonder why is it that we look up to the New Year to resolve. How about starting now? Now is the best time to change. This is the moment if you have realised that a chnage is needed. This is the moment if you think things can become better by a resolution. Why wait?