Life changes.
You wake up early.
First few days can be tiring - anxiety primarily. You never know how his day went till you ask the teacher. One day he is fine and the next day he isn't. The good thing: it's just few days. Then it's all fine.
Son and I make interesting and important decisions like which colour hand towel to take and what to pack in the snacks box.
Advice escapes you like the easiest thing on earth. Deals are struck. Be a good boy tomorrow! Don't fight with others! If you want something ask your teacher! Enjoy, school is fun. See there are no friends at home, they are there only at school! (And after that, the boy peeps into each room to figure out if there's someone at all; you see part of the exercise!)
Pride. When he gets his first hand print home.
Nursery rhymes - old ones revisited; new ones learnt - not just son but momma too!
Interesting conversations on the way back. Ma, today that boy did this; that girl cried; I didn't cry. I was a good boy, Amma. Stories of colours painted; crayons used. Places visited - the music room, play area/sand pit; cycling in the ground; catch the ball!
More than anything, the wide-eyed big-grin face that I spot most easily among the sea of faces when I go to pick him up; the relief of finding him again after two hours, all safe; the way he pushes his way through to me, the 'amma lift me' and that small kiss on the cheek!
Ah, the many memorable moments in the lives of a mother and her school going son! :)
**************
Quick update 1: If you love the written word, then you must check out the July issue of Spark. The writer of the month is Paritosh Uttam, Author of 'Dreams in Prussian Blue' published under Metro Reads by Penguin.
Quick Update 2: Spark is on Facebook. If you like our work, become a fan!
Showing posts with label fun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fun. Show all posts
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
I love telling stories..
It's been five years since I began blogging. It is interesting to note that this blog got out the storyteller in me! Much of my initial blog posts were more personal or non-fiction rather than stories and somewhere in the middle, my storytelling instincts woke up and the result, I ended up even changing the name of my blog to "The storyteller's hut".
And I have realized, over the days, I have only grown more and more fond of writing stories - aiming to keep them simple and writing plots that readers can relate to. Each time that I have written a story, I have tried to see things from the perspective of my characters, felt what they would feel, wrote what they would have thought and spoken. In certain cases, i.e., stories that have stayed very close to my heart, I have even had that hangover of the theme and setup lasting within me for days together! For me, my stories are a different world altogether - one that I travel to once in a while and feel refreshed and come back! :)
And so, for those who are interested, here is a compilation of the short stories I have written so far on this blog!
And well, this blog has also inspired me to aspire for something more - to reach out for something higher - the result : Spark. The February issue is out and the theme is Romance. Please visit http://sparkthemag.wordpress.com, where many other writers and bloggers have joined me in creating a magazine brimming with creativity! If you love it, don't forget to subscribe to the mag!
Good day!
And I have realized, over the days, I have only grown more and more fond of writing stories - aiming to keep them simple and writing plots that readers can relate to. Each time that I have written a story, I have tried to see things from the perspective of my characters, felt what they would feel, wrote what they would have thought and spoken. In certain cases, i.e., stories that have stayed very close to my heart, I have even had that hangover of the theme and setup lasting within me for days together! For me, my stories are a different world altogether - one that I travel to once in a while and feel refreshed and come back! :)
And so, for those who are interested, here is a compilation of the short stories I have written so far on this blog!
And well, this blog has also inspired me to aspire for something more - to reach out for something higher - the result : Spark. The February issue is out and the theme is Romance. Please visit http://sparkthemag.wordpress.com, where many other writers and bloggers have joined me in creating a magazine brimming with creativity! If you love it, don't forget to subscribe to the mag!
Good day!
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Three more days to go!!
Well, yeah..three more days to go...Hit this link and get ready for a pleasant surprise that starts on the 05th of Jan 2010!
Visit http://sparkthemag.wordpress.com to subscribe and ensure that you don't miss it!!
Visit http://sparkthemag.wordpress.com to subscribe and ensure that you don't miss it!!
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Some reasons to smile
1) I got a book for a gift after a long time. Gift wrapped and with a card that read "wishing you more reading time!" (How much I need it!)
2) I picked up three notebooks and a set of 12 Staedtler color pens - stationery after ages!(Although it is over four days since I bought the stuff, a warmth fills me up when I look at them even now! Perhaps, it is the warmth of pure joy!)
3) I rediscovered (almost!) two songs from the movie Pavithra yesterday - "Azhagu Nilave" and "Uyirum Neeye" (Looped in Winamp! They melt me each time!)
4) I changed my blog template last week - something that gives me the hope of another new beginning. (Post more regularly?!)
5) I finally put up something of a post - the first one for this year! (Smile, smile! Honestly, I wish I could manage more. I will try!)
2) I picked up three notebooks and a set of 12 Staedtler color pens - stationery after ages!(Although it is over four days since I bought the stuff, a warmth fills me up when I look at them even now! Perhaps, it is the warmth of pure joy!)
3) I rediscovered (almost!) two songs from the movie Pavithra yesterday - "Azhagu Nilave" and "Uyirum Neeye" (Looped in Winamp! They melt me each time!)
4) I changed my blog template last week - something that gives me the hope of another new beginning. (Post more regularly?!)
5) I finally put up something of a post - the first one for this year! (Smile, smile! Honestly, I wish I could manage more. I will try!)
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Memories of a free period
Remember those days in school? When it is the third hour (or period) after the morning prayers and your strict math teacher with her bossy spectacles and her equally bossy stature walks in and starts explaining algebra in a (well, again!) bossy voice? Ok, for me math was the terror - you replace it with a subject you used to dislike and the picture is pretty much the same!
But wait! The rest of my discussion isn’t going to be about the math teacher! Rather, I intend writing about another scene. Picture this: It's the third period, and you are digging through your bag for the math classwork notebook and textbook. But..but...Lo! A different teacher walks in, quite unexpectedly, and very well to your delight, instead of the numbers woman who rattles your brain! “Substitute teacher” yeah! And so, the moment the other teacher comes in, an irresistible smile escapes your lips! And then, you frantically try to cover it up – smart if you are that is. Or else, if you are one of those “cannot-hold-back emotions” types, you let out an uncontrollable giggle much to the annoyance of the substitute teacher, who would already be fuming at the thought of having to spend her “free hour” in a class filled with devils.
So, that being that, some of the human species that I just mentioned (ah umm, there were quite a few of them at every class that I was in and no, no, I wasn’t one among them!) - even if you had five of them in a class of forty doing that, it would have qualified as a cacophony capable of tilting luck out of favor for the entire class. Here’s how.
Things would have depended on which class you were in. Say you studied in class five. You would have immediately got a “stand up on the bench all of you” punishment and one of the first-benchers would have been sent off to the next section to fetch a wooden scale (After the entire class kept quiet, when asked for a scale!) – of course for receiving a punishing hit on the palm for everyone, including the seemingly innocent ones whose brains would have already started working on a scheduling program as to what to make of the free hour!
Or perhaps the annoyed teacher would have gone to the point of deciding on showering a rain of chalk pieces on the class, the talkative ones being the most targeted!
Here’s another case. Suppose you studied in class ten, and the substitute teacher happened to be a subject teacher, she would have, for all you know, chosen to do some “revision” when she would have earlier decided otherwise - perhaps to let you study for a test that afternoon. Fizzzz…and all your study plans would have gone down the drain!
And that gets me to the next point. Let's assume that the teacher somehow let the class do whatever it felt like. Can you even think of how many different courses of action that each of us would have decided, the moment we realized we had free time in hand? The playful *slash* care-a-damn *slash* branded-irresponsible *slash* cool-headed *slash* freaky and so on types amongst us, would have chosen to play those little games. Like what? Like these – turn to a fresh page of hopefully your rough-book and divide the page into four columns to play the famed “Name Place Animal Thing”. Ok, if you hadn’t been that organized to carry a rough book, it would have been the last page of some “ill-fated” subject notebook, in all probability a subject you hated or the subject of a teacher who was lenient enough to let things pass without examining the last few pages of your notebook during correction.
An associated game – book cricket! I wonder which genius of a child discovered (or invented?) this marvelous discovery (or invention?) of a game! Fetch a book, open a random page, and write down the last digit of the even-number page, which is your score!! I bet there are other versions of this game that have evolved in the thousand different schools across our country!
Probably, the height of delight for the playful young minds such as these would have been when the substitute teacher happened to be the Physical Training or the P.T. teacher. Such kids would have been only itching to run out of the class, after uttering the monotonous “good morning”!
Yeah, playful kids. But, what’s a class without those serious ones? After all, they are the balancing factor in any class! The true darlings of their god-fatherly, god-motherly teachers – the many apples of the school’s eye! And here’s what maybe the branded-geeky *slash* studious *slash* responsible *slash* intellectual and so on types amongst us would have chosen to do.
If we had been in one of those younger classes, we would have chosen to finish off some homework and free up some time. Mind you, no amount of coaxing from friends to play would have deterred these studious minds – even when it was the P.T teacher for a substitute! The literature or knowledge-thirsty ones would even have chosen to get permission to run up to the library and grab a book – literature or science or math or whatever appealed to our brains and devoured it during the period! I remember when I was in class seven, when I luckily got a free hour I spent the period reading through a few chapters of Alexandre Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers” which used to be the “non-detail” syllabus for our English Paper II. (Well, don’t even decide what types I am, there! I have played my share of those intelligent games too!)
But, yes, as we progressed to the higher classes, we probably were left with little or no choice but to sit and prepare for the endless list of tests that popped in front of us everyday, till we gave our board exams!
Yet, whatever type that we might have been, the very memory of a free period unlocks the gates to a treasure house of memories – of the innocent things that we once did, of the many tiny decisions that we took at the snap of a finger, and mind you, with so much ease, of the little nothings in life, and most importantly, of being what one truly was, of enjoying life, of delightfully indulging in whatever we did, with the least sense of guilt. Memories that perhaps become lessons as we work our way through the big adult world today.
But wait! The rest of my discussion isn’t going to be about the math teacher! Rather, I intend writing about another scene. Picture this: It's the third period, and you are digging through your bag for the math classwork notebook and textbook. But..but...Lo! A different teacher walks in, quite unexpectedly, and very well to your delight, instead of the numbers woman who rattles your brain! “Substitute teacher” yeah! And so, the moment the other teacher comes in, an irresistible smile escapes your lips! And then, you frantically try to cover it up – smart if you are that is. Or else, if you are one of those “cannot-hold-back emotions” types, you let out an uncontrollable giggle much to the annoyance of the substitute teacher, who would already be fuming at the thought of having to spend her “free hour” in a class filled with devils.
So, that being that, some of the human species that I just mentioned (ah umm, there were quite a few of them at every class that I was in and no, no, I wasn’t one among them!) - even if you had five of them in a class of forty doing that, it would have qualified as a cacophony capable of tilting luck out of favor for the entire class. Here’s how.
Things would have depended on which class you were in. Say you studied in class five. You would have immediately got a “stand up on the bench all of you” punishment and one of the first-benchers would have been sent off to the next section to fetch a wooden scale (After the entire class kept quiet, when asked for a scale!) – of course for receiving a punishing hit on the palm for everyone, including the seemingly innocent ones whose brains would have already started working on a scheduling program as to what to make of the free hour!
Or perhaps the annoyed teacher would have gone to the point of deciding on showering a rain of chalk pieces on the class, the talkative ones being the most targeted!
Here’s another case. Suppose you studied in class ten, and the substitute teacher happened to be a subject teacher, she would have, for all you know, chosen to do some “revision” when she would have earlier decided otherwise - perhaps to let you study for a test that afternoon. Fizzzz…and all your study plans would have gone down the drain!
And that gets me to the next point. Let's assume that the teacher somehow let the class do whatever it felt like. Can you even think of how many different courses of action that each of us would have decided, the moment we realized we had free time in hand? The playful *slash* care-a-damn *slash* branded-irresponsible *slash* cool-headed *slash* freaky and so on types amongst us, would have chosen to play those little games. Like what? Like these – turn to a fresh page of hopefully your rough-book and divide the page into four columns to play the famed “Name Place Animal Thing”. Ok, if you hadn’t been that organized to carry a rough book, it would have been the last page of some “ill-fated” subject notebook, in all probability a subject you hated or the subject of a teacher who was lenient enough to let things pass without examining the last few pages of your notebook during correction.
An associated game – book cricket! I wonder which genius of a child discovered (or invented?) this marvelous discovery (or invention?) of a game! Fetch a book, open a random page, and write down the last digit of the even-number page, which is your score!! I bet there are other versions of this game that have evolved in the thousand different schools across our country!
Probably, the height of delight for the playful young minds such as these would have been when the substitute teacher happened to be the Physical Training or the P.T. teacher. Such kids would have been only itching to run out of the class, after uttering the monotonous “good morning”!
Yeah, playful kids. But, what’s a class without those serious ones? After all, they are the balancing factor in any class! The true darlings of their god-fatherly, god-motherly teachers – the many apples of the school’s eye! And here’s what maybe the branded-geeky *slash* studious *slash* responsible *slash* intellectual and so on types amongst us would have chosen to do.
If we had been in one of those younger classes, we would have chosen to finish off some homework and free up some time. Mind you, no amount of coaxing from friends to play would have deterred these studious minds – even when it was the P.T teacher for a substitute! The literature or knowledge-thirsty ones would even have chosen to get permission to run up to the library and grab a book – literature or science or math or whatever appealed to our brains and devoured it during the period! I remember when I was in class seven, when I luckily got a free hour I spent the period reading through a few chapters of Alexandre Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers” which used to be the “non-detail” syllabus for our English Paper II. (Well, don’t even decide what types I am, there! I have played my share of those intelligent games too!)
But, yes, as we progressed to the higher classes, we probably were left with little or no choice but to sit and prepare for the endless list of tests that popped in front of us everyday, till we gave our board exams!
Yet, whatever type that we might have been, the very memory of a free period unlocks the gates to a treasure house of memories – of the innocent things that we once did, of the many tiny decisions that we took at the snap of a finger, and mind you, with so much ease, of the little nothings in life, and most importantly, of being what one truly was, of enjoying life, of delightfully indulging in whatever we did, with the least sense of guilt. Memories that perhaps become lessons as we work our way through the big adult world today.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Naughty, Naughty, Cutie!!!
Children - they seem to be the theme of this blog these days!!! 'That isn't surprising', you think, don't you? Well, actually it is pure coincidence that this is a kiddo-post too!!!
This blog space has been rusting, literally, thanks to the really tight routine. And of course my son, who is getting all naughty these days! I have left three stories hanging - they have been pleading for attention which, I haven't been able to give thus far. Nothing to regret, but I thought I will at least try and make a comeback to blogging with this sweet pic that a colleague had mailed me recently. It is the sweetest photograph I have seen in many years. Take a look!
Otherwise, hope all is well out there!! :)
This blog space has been rusting, literally, thanks to the really tight routine. And of course my son, who is getting all naughty these days! I have left three stories hanging - they have been pleading for attention which, I haven't been able to give thus far. Nothing to regret, but I thought I will at least try and make a comeback to blogging with this sweet pic that a colleague had mailed me recently. It is the sweetest photograph I have seen in many years. Take a look!
Otherwise, hope all is well out there!! :)
Thursday, April 05, 2007
If I may ask..
While I was working on a report today morning, my mind wandered off to many thought landscapes. Like I had said in an earlier post, I have these questions suddenly popping inside my head that I feel like shouting them out to a crowd.
Here is today's question:
Is there this one thing (need not necessarily be a physical entity) that you love/value the most in life? If so, what is it? And, why do you love it so much??
Waiting to hear sound bytes! :)
PS: No particular reason as to why this question. Just like that!
PPS: And I want honest answers!!! :D
Here is today's question:
Is there this one thing (need not necessarily be a physical entity) that you love/value the most in life? If so, what is it? And, why do you love it so much??
Waiting to hear sound bytes! :)
PS: No particular reason as to why this question. Just like that!
PPS: And I want honest answers!!! :D
Friday, March 02, 2007
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
An Alarm Clock, a Divine Lady and I
A devoted Alarm clock (Crooning mechanically):
Wake up, wake up, my darling,
You gotta get going
It's a new, new beginning
A beautiful day in the making.
A sleepy Me (head popping out):
Oh, stop all that crooning
You tell that every morning
Remember, that gets boring
And, I don't feel like waking.
To the coziest of all divine ladies, Lady Idleness!
A blur of white
rising in might
patting me alright
I know thee, my light!
A bewitched me (looking in her direction):
My, I can't stop gazing
At thy form so pleasing
Despite all the ageing
You still look thriving.
A puzzled Alarm clock (rolling eyes):
Now dear, stop wailing
Look at the sun beaming
How dutiful and inspiring
Your day ahead is waiting.
A half convinced Me(struggling):
Oh, enough of convincing
Yet again, you are winning
In holding me from falling
A prey to idleness so dazzling.
And thus I wake up
steaming coffee in a cup
dabbing fresh make up
Sigh, everyday is a hiccup!!
Yet another night returns
Yet another dawn breaks
Yet again his duty begins
Yet again, my friend sings:
Wake up, wake up, my darling,
You gotta get going
It's a new, new beginning
A beautiful day in the making.
And so the story runs
for days, days and days
As the Lady divine returns
in her ever tempting forms.
Alarm Clock: Wake up, wake up, my darling..
Me: No, no, she is alluring
Lady Idleness: My honey, stop resisting
There's lots in the offing.
Alarm Clock: O' dear, you, she is wooing
Me: 'ts just a day, stop worrying
Lady Idleness: My child, continue dreaming
And witness idleness flourishing
Alarm Clock: O'Sigh, why aren't you holding?
Me: Indeed I am, but to her, smiling
To the hand she is lending
Lady Idleness: Come on, it's happiness calling..
And thus for a day
Feeling happy and gay
From the work,cut away
I slept and slept, all day!
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
The couple and an Ipod Nano : A story
Good day! So, you decided to read the story!
Ok, if you please..
(Don't ask me if it's fiction, it isn't!)
The pair in the story is an awesome one, you know! (Yeah, trust me!)..Why not, if it happens to be me and my better half ;)(call him KK)! The Ipod Nano is ours (technically what I own, though my husband sponsored it..:p).
This Ipod Nano has been my secret desire for (if not ages), definitely couple of months.
Me, I was obsessed with the idea of owning an Ipod but was never willing to talk about it, even when tempted into buying it. I have this very strange tendency to say no to things I like. If someone asked me straight on my face, if I wanted something, I would say a no; outright. This is true even if it's a thing that I really loved. After having said a no, I would rue over it and long for it, like a dumb idiot. And that, is a terrible weakness!
Both KK and I, are Forum addicts (the much talked about mall in Bangalore), that we religiously spend every saturday/sunday evening there. For the first five of our last seven visits there, he would take me to the Apple Ipod store inside Forum, and we would gaze dreamily (me, longingly!) at all those cute Ipods sitting there. While I was caught struggling with my unusual emotion, KK was stuck with a different problem. He also (desperately?) wanted to pick up a nano, but his wife (whom he knew wanted to buy one, but unfortunately) was actually convincing him not to buy it, citing a huge list of unwanted reasons - big money, savings, investments, blah, blah..I am sure, he thought "Oh come on, it's just this time! Why all this Ramayana??"
From the third time on, that we walked into the Apple store, I was getting this uneasy, silly feeling that the demo person out there, would recognise us, as the "Couple Craving for a Cute, Compact, Charismatic, Cho Chweet Thing" (or abbreviate that to C7T)". The day we were supposed to make the sixth visit to Forum, we oscillated between buying and not buying an Ipod, hmm...let me put a number to that, 13 times, thanks to me. I think KK convinced me 6 times, and I said No, all the 6 times (remember my weakness?) and finally the 7th time, he saw me sitting glum and before he could ask me what was wrong, I yelled out, "I want an Ipod da!!!" And he, he just sighed!
When we walked into the store the sixth time, we had seen the demo five times already in the white and black models and I was severely warning KK that I would hide my face, in case the folks there recognised who I was. I had shocking (of course useless) premonitions that they would pull us up by the collar and threaten us into buying a piece once and for all!
The sixth time, was a decisive one! Finally, finally, yes, we bought the dream thingy out!
Awww...so much for an Ipod, you think? Don't you? Yes, yes, I know. But, sometimes it's fun to put up crazy posts like these that are not hard on your brain cells! The serious stuff is always there!
For a round up, why not take a peek at the top ten songs in my latest playlist? It's a mad mix!
1) Maru Murai Aval Vizhi (Run)
- Short, quick rap with a beautiful instrumental ending of "Panikaatre"..
2) Enna Idhu (Nala Damayanti)
- Soft, soothing, haunting melody..
3) Oru Maalai (Gajini)
- A treat on an Ipod, Karthik rocks!
4) Thottu Thottu (Kaadhal)
- Can you give a superlative to brilliant? I love the lines, "Karu Vizhi rendum karuvarai thaano, meendum pirandhen"!
5) Vellai Pookal (Kannathil Muthamittal)
- My eyes grow misty everytime, and that's rare! ARR, I bow to thee!
6) Signore (Kannathil Muthamittal)
- Singalathu Melody! Very cute!
7) Kannathil Muthamittal (Kannathil Muthamittal)
- Jayachandran's voice is soul stirring!
8) It's the time to disco (Kal Ho Na Ho)
- I love that beat, and the laziness in the words, "Hey, we are dancing the night away!"
9) Dekho Naa (Swades)
- The strings, Alka, Udit, ARR, simplicity - extraordinary combo!
10) Suraj Hua Madham (K3G)
- The violins steal the show!
Ok, if you please..
(Don't ask me if it's fiction, it isn't!)
The pair in the story is an awesome one, you know! (Yeah, trust me!)..Why not, if it happens to be me and my better half ;)(call him KK)! The Ipod Nano is ours (technically what I own, though my husband sponsored it..:p).
This Ipod Nano has been my secret desire for (if not ages), definitely couple of months.
Me, I was obsessed with the idea of owning an Ipod but was never willing to talk about it, even when tempted into buying it. I have this very strange tendency to say no to things I like. If someone asked me straight on my face, if I wanted something, I would say a no; outright. This is true even if it's a thing that I really loved. After having said a no, I would rue over it and long for it, like a dumb idiot. And that, is a terrible weakness!
Both KK and I, are Forum addicts (the much talked about mall in Bangalore), that we religiously spend every saturday/sunday evening there. For the first five of our last seven visits there, he would take me to the Apple Ipod store inside Forum, and we would gaze dreamily (me, longingly!) at all those cute Ipods sitting there. While I was caught struggling with my unusual emotion, KK was stuck with a different problem. He also (desperately?) wanted to pick up a nano, but his wife (whom he knew wanted to buy one, but unfortunately) was actually convincing him not to buy it, citing a huge list of unwanted reasons - big money, savings, investments, blah, blah..I am sure, he thought "Oh come on, it's just this time! Why all this Ramayana??"
From the third time on, that we walked into the Apple store, I was getting this uneasy, silly feeling that the demo person out there, would recognise us, as the "Couple Craving for a Cute, Compact, Charismatic, Cho Chweet Thing" (or abbreviate that to C7T)". The day we were supposed to make the sixth visit to Forum, we oscillated between buying and not buying an Ipod, hmm...let me put a number to that, 13 times, thanks to me. I think KK convinced me 6 times, and I said No, all the 6 times (remember my weakness?) and finally the 7th time, he saw me sitting glum and before he could ask me what was wrong, I yelled out, "I want an Ipod da!!!" And he, he just sighed!
When we walked into the store the sixth time, we had seen the demo five times already in the white and black models and I was severely warning KK that I would hide my face, in case the folks there recognised who I was. I had shocking (of course useless) premonitions that they would pull us up by the collar and threaten us into buying a piece once and for all!
The sixth time, was a decisive one! Finally, finally, yes, we bought the dream thingy out!
Awww...so much for an Ipod, you think? Don't you? Yes, yes, I know. But, sometimes it's fun to put up crazy posts like these that are not hard on your brain cells! The serious stuff is always there!
For a round up, why not take a peek at the top ten songs in my latest playlist? It's a mad mix!
1) Maru Murai Aval Vizhi (Run)
- Short, quick rap with a beautiful instrumental ending of "Panikaatre"..
2) Enna Idhu (Nala Damayanti)
- Soft, soothing, haunting melody..
3) Oru Maalai (Gajini)
- A treat on an Ipod, Karthik rocks!
4) Thottu Thottu (Kaadhal)
- Can you give a superlative to brilliant? I love the lines, "Karu Vizhi rendum karuvarai thaano, meendum pirandhen"!
5) Vellai Pookal (Kannathil Muthamittal)
- My eyes grow misty everytime, and that's rare! ARR, I bow to thee!
6) Signore (Kannathil Muthamittal)
- Singalathu Melody! Very cute!
7) Kannathil Muthamittal (Kannathil Muthamittal)
- Jayachandran's voice is soul stirring!
8) It's the time to disco (Kal Ho Na Ho)
- I love that beat, and the laziness in the words, "Hey, we are dancing the night away!"
9) Dekho Naa (Swades)
- The strings, Alka, Udit, ARR, simplicity - extraordinary combo!
10) Suraj Hua Madham (K3G)
- The violins steal the show!
Friday, April 21, 2006
That's what I saw in the village..:)
Some memories of a village visit in December 2004, captured with great excitement on my then, 2 day old Nikon 4100..:)
Oh, she was so proud, so proud to display her darlings! And when I said "Smile", she gave me all that she could! :)
Hot day! Come on, that doesn't stop me from practising little bit of football! :p
Boy, it's soo damn sunny and to top it all, such acute water shortage!!! You shall have half of it and me the rest, it's a deal, what say? ;)
Oh, she was so proud, so proud to display her darlings! And when I said "Smile", she gave me all that she could! :)
Hot day! Come on, that doesn't stop me from practising little bit of football! :p
Boy, it's soo damn sunny and to top it all, such acute water shortage!!! You shall have half of it and me the rest, it's a deal, what say? ;)
Thursday, April 06, 2006
This one's for you..
You are my companion through journeys myriad, as we delve deep and absorb thoughts, words and creation, together, from those many, many pages.
I love the way you stick out your head in anticipation, waiting for me, the forgetful soul, all the while, to remind me of those volatile, in-between beginnings.
This one’s for you, dear bookmark..:)
(The picture is a prized bookmark that I possess, one that was personally autographed for me by Gregory David Roberts, the author of the bestseller Shantaram, on his visit to Bombay during November 2005.)
I love the way you stick out your head in anticipation, waiting for me, the forgetful soul, all the while, to remind me of those volatile, in-between beginnings.
This one’s for you, dear bookmark..:)
(The picture is a prized bookmark that I possess, one that was personally autographed for me by Gregory David Roberts, the author of the bestseller Shantaram, on his visit to Bombay during November 2005.)
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
For a few pennies less..
A scene with a vegetable vendor outside one’s house:
That lady with her basket, recounting her already complete shopping list: “So, how much for that half kg of cabbage, one kg of potatoes, one kg of tomatoes and blah blah..”
The already tired vendor awaiting what’s coming his way: “54 rupees amma..”
Lady meditating for a while, “Hmmm…round it up and keep it as 50 rupees..”
The Vendor : “No Amma, this won’t work out..”
Lady, kind of heating up: “What it won’t work out? In the market, it’s so much cheaper..”
In the meantime, Hubby Sir thrusts a 50 rupee note in the vendor’s hands and demands that ‘some little’ coriander leaves and curry patha be dropped into the bag. Free of cost, of course.
The vendor sighs deeply and the couple walk away mumbling about the supposed ‘unreasonableness’ of the vegetable fellow!
Well, that’s how it is and I wonder why it ought to be this way! Why is it that, almost always, we land up crying our throats hoarse over a rupee or two, as if there was an undeniable edict to take the chance and do so every time? This so surprises me; what’s with a vegetable vendor or a flower vendor or any roadside vendor’s face that immediately sends alert signals to the brain and gears it up for further action? Does the jingle of couple of pennies more, bestow such an extraordinary sense of delight to the greedy ears?
Ask that Mr.Hubby, when he walks into a well established showroom to pick up the latest DVD player, if he would bargain for a couple of hundreds less than the “MRP”. Nay, aren’t we the class that shuts up our mouths in an environment that is ordained to see only decent behaviour of the species that walks into it? Forget that, would he even think twice before paying that price as much as he would to pay for a kilo of tomatoes? Our dear lady wouldn’t be any exception. She goes awfully (or awesomely??) silent when inside a silk sari shop with the most exquisite range in terms of saris and price, of course!
It’s a funny game you know. Vendors who are lucky enough to become shopkeepers because they have a modest looking 400 X 400 floor area with four walls and a roof on top, ensure they nail a “Fixed price, no bargain” at a very visible point in the shop. But some of our shoppers are smart enough, that they become selectively blind to ignore such, what they consider hapless moves. They land up bargaining there, getting all worked up, despite a board, screaming in bold white, against a red – “Fixed Price, no bargain”!
Vendors who know not what to do, hike up the price so that it comes down to the actual price after bargaining and some of them openly admit that the rate you ask is the cost price of the thing you want to buy. And we are cool liars, aren’t we? We argue and hold that we have checked out the same stuff in other shops and it’s way cheaper there and we would rather buy it there. Then one employs the next weapon – the act of walking away. We are masters at throwing frosty nosed stares at those chaps and if you are lucky the vendor shouts after you to come back and tries his best for a ten buck profit till the last minute. We meanwhile, stubbornly shake our heads in a most decisive ‘no’ and the packet does land reluctantly in your hands! Be glad with that sense of achievement and party for that wonderful feeling!
Only if your expectations turn the other way round and the vendor politely asks you to get lost citing your unreasonable demand as a reason! You walk away fretting and fuming and cursing the man, achievement and failure all compounding one’s already skewed, out –of-proportion ego! If by any chance, desire wins over ego, we do walk back to claim our dream thingy, at the price he proposes! Oh, why at all?
Yeah, yeah, all that argument about quality, long lasting stuff and brand name and all those Uncle Sam terms are all fine! May be then, you don’t go to those folks down in the streets and haggle with them over a couple of bucks. Well, this isn’t big money anyways. Leaving all logical reasoning aside, it’s more of a humane concern to help them lead their lives. Those guys let you bargain, unlike shops, because they hardly have a choice. After all, they are men who fight for a hand to mouth existence.
So, what do I propose? (Ah well, I almost feel like standing in front of a distinguished scientific fraternity to present a crucial finding that occurred halfway through one’s sleep! :D) I merely say, let’s apply some discretion and employ those grey cells to do a little bit of sensible thinking before we open our mouths to start an (indecent?) proposal! The problem is, we take a chance, toss the coin quite needlessly, most of the time!
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Cuddly, cuddly, all mine! :)
There are some charming people who belong to the small world of mine. Soft and cute and definitely adorable, they are more than dolls to me. I thought I should introduce them to you. Shall we begin?
Let’s meet the big bro first! Big man Bozzo, Bozzo the Bear! Bozzo is the oldest of the lot and supposedly, the most mature and sober of them all! And that shows up most vividly in his large, chubby face! This chap loves, ‘simply loves’ food and Ahem, I assume that is quite obvious! Bozzo has always remained the man of few words, and is often feared (and disliked by one particular person, whom I shall name later) for that particularly ‘smug’ expression on his face. Once, this fellow caught sight of a woman who got her hair dyed pink, and pink being his favourite colour, was desperate to have his ears coloured as well! His friends tried hard to convince him, but since our dear Bozzo had his mind set, got one of his ears dyed pink and added a dash of blue as well, to look Yo!
Next in line is the absolutely feline, feminine, beauty queen. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I request you to please put your hands together to welcome the gorgeous damsel, the sweet pussy cat, Pooshy! Pooshy is definitely not someone whom you can take your eyes off easily. She will hold you with her smart gaze and of course with that erect and professional pose of hers, she may very well be the perfect model for all your cameras! Having said that, I ought to tell you what Pooshy treasures most. Well, yes, it is her bushy, bushy tail that she prides herself for and as expected, quite a lot of effort goes into maintaining her prized asset. Ah, I suppose you can all see the tail, can’t you? She actually wouldn’t let me go without ensuring that it appeared in her solo picture!
And then I would love to introduce this pretty faced, sweetie, cutie pie of mine, the child with the golden curls, Pinky! Pinky is the most obedient child you could get and she sweetly agreed to sit next to my telephone, to take care of calls whenever I am not around. Pinky’s golden curls are, to put it most simply, neighbours’ envy and owners’ pride! I got her home, falling for that innocent smile of hers and of course for those curls! She insisted that she wanted to display her curls for the picture and here they are! She and Pooshy are thick friends and Pooshy’s pink ribbon was Pinky’s gift for Pooshy’s birthday!
Ah, what moment is more perfect than this, to introduce the Mr.Romeo of this gang? Adonis, rightly named thus, is the Yo! Man with the guitar. Actually a ted, Adonis gets more than a teeny-weeny bit upset, because he is often mistaken for a lion cub! This chap is one hell of a smart bugger, for he starts plucking the strings, the moment a specimen of the better sex is in sight! Pat him on his head, and he shakes it as if in trance, and strums his guitar to sing the song, “Come on baby, let’s do the trick!” (Uh, really??) And didn’t I tell you, there is someone who isn’t too fond of Bozzo? It’s no one else but Adonis, for he often finds female teds attracted to Bozzo for his serious nature! Of late I suspect, Adonis has set his eyes on Pinky and starts his “Come on baby..” the moment she appears. He is however a little wary of Pooshy, and calls her the ‘no-nonsense’ babe and no wonder I see Pooshy around, whenever Pinky enters Adonis’ room! :P
Last but definitely not the least, let’s say hi to Jojo, the Jumbo! Jojo, is so, so innocent and naïve, I can’t tell you, that he often is made the baby of the gang. Jojo has great trouble with his nose that half the time he struggles to balance the rest of his body against his nose! Bozzo is particularly very concerned about Jojo that he keeps dropping a word or two of advice to the most sincere listener he could get! Pinky loves Jojo’s tennis ball tail and keeps playing with it affectionately, much to Jojo’s dismay! Shy that he is, compliments make his ears go pink! (literally!) I have often seen Pooshy comparing her creamy fur with Jojo’s pure white and sighing deeply, “Baah, Jojo! You are the first jumbo that I have seen with such lovely white coat. You are soooo cute!” and Jojo actually hides his eyes beneath his fur! :)
And finally, I tried hard and successfully brought them all together for one common snap.
Trust me, this picture is worth a million dollars! :)
Let’s meet the big bro first! Big man Bozzo, Bozzo the Bear! Bozzo is the oldest of the lot and supposedly, the most mature and sober of them all! And that shows up most vividly in his large, chubby face! This chap loves, ‘simply loves’ food and Ahem, I assume that is quite obvious! Bozzo has always remained the man of few words, and is often feared (and disliked by one particular person, whom I shall name later) for that particularly ‘smug’ expression on his face. Once, this fellow caught sight of a woman who got her hair dyed pink, and pink being his favourite colour, was desperate to have his ears coloured as well! His friends tried hard to convince him, but since our dear Bozzo had his mind set, got one of his ears dyed pink and added a dash of blue as well, to look Yo!
Next in line is the absolutely feline, feminine, beauty queen. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I request you to please put your hands together to welcome the gorgeous damsel, the sweet pussy cat, Pooshy! Pooshy is definitely not someone whom you can take your eyes off easily. She will hold you with her smart gaze and of course with that erect and professional pose of hers, she may very well be the perfect model for all your cameras! Having said that, I ought to tell you what Pooshy treasures most. Well, yes, it is her bushy, bushy tail that she prides herself for and as expected, quite a lot of effort goes into maintaining her prized asset. Ah, I suppose you can all see the tail, can’t you? She actually wouldn’t let me go without ensuring that it appeared in her solo picture!
And then I would love to introduce this pretty faced, sweetie, cutie pie of mine, the child with the golden curls, Pinky! Pinky is the most obedient child you could get and she sweetly agreed to sit next to my telephone, to take care of calls whenever I am not around. Pinky’s golden curls are, to put it most simply, neighbours’ envy and owners’ pride! I got her home, falling for that innocent smile of hers and of course for those curls! She insisted that she wanted to display her curls for the picture and here they are! She and Pooshy are thick friends and Pooshy’s pink ribbon was Pinky’s gift for Pooshy’s birthday!
Ah, what moment is more perfect than this, to introduce the Mr.Romeo of this gang? Adonis, rightly named thus, is the Yo! Man with the guitar. Actually a ted, Adonis gets more than a teeny-weeny bit upset, because he is often mistaken for a lion cub! This chap is one hell of a smart bugger, for he starts plucking the strings, the moment a specimen of the better sex is in sight! Pat him on his head, and he shakes it as if in trance, and strums his guitar to sing the song, “Come on baby, let’s do the trick!” (Uh, really??) And didn’t I tell you, there is someone who isn’t too fond of Bozzo? It’s no one else but Adonis, for he often finds female teds attracted to Bozzo for his serious nature! Of late I suspect, Adonis has set his eyes on Pinky and starts his “Come on baby..” the moment she appears. He is however a little wary of Pooshy, and calls her the ‘no-nonsense’ babe and no wonder I see Pooshy around, whenever Pinky enters Adonis’ room! :P
Last but definitely not the least, let’s say hi to Jojo, the Jumbo! Jojo, is so, so innocent and naïve, I can’t tell you, that he often is made the baby of the gang. Jojo has great trouble with his nose that half the time he struggles to balance the rest of his body against his nose! Bozzo is particularly very concerned about Jojo that he keeps dropping a word or two of advice to the most sincere listener he could get! Pinky loves Jojo’s tennis ball tail and keeps playing with it affectionately, much to Jojo’s dismay! Shy that he is, compliments make his ears go pink! (literally!) I have often seen Pooshy comparing her creamy fur with Jojo’s pure white and sighing deeply, “Baah, Jojo! You are the first jumbo that I have seen with such lovely white coat. You are soooo cute!” and Jojo actually hides his eyes beneath his fur! :)
And finally, I tried hard and successfully brought them all together for one common snap.
Trust me, this picture is worth a million dollars! :)
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Honk, Honk..L-Board Here! :)
Phew!!!! After a month and a half of waking up early and religiously attending car driving classes (with my instructor's tireless, non stop talking to accompany every class), I finally landed up getting my four wheeler license yesterday!
Ah well, didn't I say some time that I wanted a Lancer? :D
Ah well, didn't I say some time that I wanted a Lancer? :D
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
For the bookshelf..
Saturday at Oxford
Sunday at Crossword
Four from the former
Two from the latter
Reasons are to be built
For I suffer from guilt
I say, "What for do I earn?"
Oh God, when will I learn? :(
Sunday at Crossword
Four from the former
Two from the latter
Reasons are to be built
For I suffer from guilt
I say, "What for do I earn?"
Oh God, when will I learn? :(
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
What if..
What if I hadn't started blogging?
What if I hadn't called myself Anupama Viswanathan?
What if I had a nick name and blogged?
What if I stopped blogging now?? :O
Geeh..I am in such a crazy mood now..:D..Feel like I am almost drunk!!
Jesus, somebody help me...!!! :|
PS: Happy Diwali folks!! Shall hopefully follow this up with a sane post..:)
What if I hadn't called myself Anupama Viswanathan?
What if I had a nick name and blogged?
What if I stopped blogging now?? :O
Geeh..I am in such a crazy mood now..:D..Feel like I am almost drunk!!
Jesus, somebody help me...!!! :|
PS: Happy Diwali folks!! Shall hopefully follow this up with a sane post..:)
Friday, October 21, 2005
A story tree grows..
A branch added to Eroteme's story tree..
He thought it would be an ordinary journey. Standing behind the pillar he watched the train snort arrogantly into the station. With each snort he was reminded of his grandfather's words "You will fail in the city and return penniless"; with every heavenward whistle, he heard his cousin, "Don't worry. Come here and I will get you a job at the construction site." Now he had a 34-hour journey to prove one of them wrong, and he expected the excitement at the end of the journey. He looked at his ticket once again: compartment S9 berth 23.
Pushing his luggage under the seat, he sat close to the window. "Papa, when will you be back?" - his four year old daughter Munni asked innocently. He stared into those soft brown eyes of the motherless kid. He held her frail palms in his, through the window. "Munni, Papa will get you a nice gudiya from the city..Say tata," his sister spoke to the kid, to avoid an emotional outburst. In a minute, the train pulled forward, and Munni's little fingers parted from between his. "I need to go..", he thought, "I have to, at least for Munni's sake.."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Everything below the dashed line above should be copied and pasted with every accepted tag)
This is a Story Tree and is best nurtured as follows:
1. A blogger can add only 90-100 words (not more or less) at a time
2. All previous snippets of 90-100 words need to be copied before the new set of 90-100 words are appended.
3. Each entire snippet should be linked to the respective author (and not just the first sentence or so)
4. Characters, scenes, etc. can be introduced by an author
5. Bizarre twists, sci-fi, fantasy sequences are best avoided.
6. A tag must be accepted within 7 days else the branch is a dead branch
7. After appending 90-100, the Story Tree can be passed on to at most 3 bloggers.
8. If more than 1 branch leads to a blogger, s/he is free to choose any one of them but cannot mix the snippets of the individual branches.
9. The Story Tree is best left to grow than concluded
10. Please attach the image of the Story Tree below with each accepted tag (the link address can be copied and used).
I would like to tag Rathish, RS and Ammani, to continue this story..
He thought it would be an ordinary journey. Standing behind the pillar he watched the train snort arrogantly into the station. With each snort he was reminded of his grandfather's words "You will fail in the city and return penniless"; with every heavenward whistle, he heard his cousin, "Don't worry. Come here and I will get you a job at the construction site." Now he had a 34-hour journey to prove one of them wrong, and he expected the excitement at the end of the journey. He looked at his ticket once again: compartment S9 berth 23.
Pushing his luggage under the seat, he sat close to the window. "Papa, when will you be back?" - his four year old daughter Munni asked innocently. He stared into those soft brown eyes of the motherless kid. He held her frail palms in his, through the window. "Munni, Papa will get you a nice gudiya from the city..Say tata," his sister spoke to the kid, to avoid an emotional outburst. In a minute, the train pulled forward, and Munni's little fingers parted from between his. "I need to go..", he thought, "I have to, at least for Munni's sake.."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Everything below the dashed line above should be copied and pasted with every accepted tag)
This is a Story Tree and is best nurtured as follows:
1. A blogger can add only 90-100 words (not more or less) at a time
2. All previous snippets of 90-100 words need to be copied before the new set of 90-100 words are appended.
3. Each entire snippet should be linked to the respective author (and not just the first sentence or so)
4. Characters, scenes, etc. can be introduced by an author
5. Bizarre twists, sci-fi, fantasy sequences are best avoided.
6. A tag must be accepted within 7 days else the branch is a dead branch
7. After appending 90-100, the Story Tree can be passed on to at most 3 bloggers.
8. If more than 1 branch leads to a blogger, s/he is free to choose any one of them but cannot mix the snippets of the individual branches.
9. The Story Tree is best left to grow than concluded
10. Please attach the image of the Story Tree below with each accepted tag (the link address can be copied and used).
I would like to tag Rathish, RS and Ammani, to continue this story..
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
14 days!! :O
I think I have been really unfair to my blog this time. The guilty me has been cribbing about it quite elaborately to my close friends. Anyways, I hope to put up something soon. In the meantime I thought I should cheer myself up and here is a joke that I happened to get from one of my colleagues.
"Friends of Women:
A wife was not at home for a whole night. So she tells her husband, the
very next morning, that she stayed at her (girl) friend's apartment
overnight. So the husband calls 10 of her best (girl) friends and none
of them confirm that she was with them.
Friends of Men:
A husband was not at home for a whole night. So he tells his wife the very
next morning, that he stayed at his friend's apartment over night. So
the wife calls 10 of his best friends and 5 of them confirm that he stayed
at their apartments that night and another 5 are claiming that he is still
with them!! "
Moral of the story: Men always have better friends...They will stand by you, no matter what....!!!
My comment: Ohhhhhhh...Phuleeeeeezzzzeeeee!
(With due thanks to yahoo for the smiley!! :))
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Tagged, yet again!
Ok, am tagged again, by Agnibarathi..so, here I go!!
Seven things you plan to do before you die
Buy a lancer and take my parents around
Get into developmental journalism
Own a small library of my own
Write stories for children
Go on a European tour
put on weight ;)
and of course, freak out!
Seven things you can do
I can..
eat pastries
care immensely for those who I love
write pages and pages of nonsense
crib like crazy and throw tantrums
enjoy sweet nothings in life
be a patient listener
work really, really hard
Seven things you say most
I say..
Nonsense
Shut up
Please..
Very funny
Chalo, gtg
aah..amma
romba nalladhu
Seven things you can't do
I can't..
watch hindi serials
go without sleep
eat non veg
drink coffee
stay without books, music and writing
stand people who act too smart
wear heavy make-up
Seven things that attract you to the opposite sex
Intelligence
Creativity
Chivalry
Humour
6 feet height
Mischevous eyes
deep voice
Seven celebrity crushes
Narayan Murthy
Madhavan
A.R.R
Yanni
Pete Sampras
Kannadasan
Maniratnam
And let me tag..
S m i t h a
Kumari
Vinesh
Biju
Seven things you plan to do before you die
Buy a lancer and take my parents around
Get into developmental journalism
Own a small library of my own
Write stories for children
Go on a European tour
put on weight ;)
and of course, freak out!
Seven things you can do
I can..
eat pastries
care immensely for those who I love
write pages and pages of nonsense
crib like crazy and throw tantrums
enjoy sweet nothings in life
be a patient listener
work really, really hard
Seven things you say most
I say..
Nonsense
Shut up
Please..
Very funny
Chalo, gtg
aah..amma
romba nalladhu
Seven things you can't do
I can't..
watch hindi serials
go without sleep
eat non veg
drink coffee
stay without books, music and writing
stand people who act too smart
wear heavy make-up
Seven things that attract you to the opposite sex
Intelligence
Creativity
Chivalry
Humour
6 feet height
Mischevous eyes
deep voice
Seven celebrity crushes
Narayan Murthy
Madhavan
A.R.R
Yanni
Pete Sampras
Kannadasan
Maniratnam
And let me tag..
S m i t h a
Kumari
Vinesh
Biju
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