Drift of the 'Friend' ship

It is with a heavy heart that I realise that I have reached a stage in life where almost everyone I know except for my immediate family members is so busy with their lives and problems that I do not get to hear from them. 

I often recollect the wise words of my close friend Staizy regarding the importance of family. 'Whatever you do, however far you are, only your family would be eager to know what is happening in your life and stand by you in times of trouble'. Every time I hear a 'no answer' tone when I ring up some of my friends or do not receive replies to emails for ages, that's when these words start echoing in my head.

Of course, I do not entirely blame my friends. There is a lot of blame I need to take up as well as there have been times when I choose to remain aloof due to various reasons. But the fact is this, some are genuinely busy in their lives and have other priorities and at the same time, some just take people for granted and do not make any effort to keep in touch. The 'Friend' ship has drifted off to other shores in the latter case. I have come out of my 'aloof' shell many a time only to realise that there are some people who choose never to respond back even if I take the first step in refreshing the friendship that we had once upon a time.

A few months back, I caught up with one of my close friends. We have been in touch often so we weren't catching up after ages. We chatted about the good old school and college days, our crazy workplaces, about long forgotten faces, etc. It was during this conversation my friend got emotional and defensive about keeping in touch with some of our common friends. Her perspective was not just the truth, it was the kind of truth that hurts. And I realised that I have been trying to not accept the truth.

So what is the truth? My friend told me - "Don't you think that these friends of ours who always have other things to do can't keep in touch because they don't want to and not because they can't?" On hearing this I kept defending all those who did fall into this category. The more I debated with her, the more convinced I got that there was some truth to what she was saying as there were a few who didn't even seem to make an effort to keep in touch. As far as some of our common friends were concerned, they seem to have other priorities or rather always have other priorities when it comes to keeping in touch. On many occasions, this trend is very noticeable and you wonder how come it was right the opposite during the 'good old days'? My friend was emotional at the mention of a very close friend who chose no longer to keep in touch. When things like these happen, one tends to think of what is true friendship? I just told her this - "Well, true friends would make an effort to keep in touch even if it's after ages and when they do, let us not snub them off but at the same time not expect too much. Let's hold on to those who are almost always there to say Hi and Hello."

Deprived Indian souls

I came across the article in the Times of India 'Indians 5th most vacation deprived' at a time when I had a squabble with my manager regarding my taking 3 days off for holiday. I took it combining a weekend and later realized that I had never taken 5 days off at a stretch except for some medical emergency. He highlighted the losses the company would incur because of my absence.  The truth is I do not gain anything by not going ahead with my holiday plans.

The article was comforting in a way because it gave some statistics as to how truly deprived the Indian employees are. Of course, this does not mean all Indian companies are like this but a vast majority is very much of what the article had reported.

I agree with the point highlighted in the article that the Indian bosses consider a ‘vacation’ as a luxury. As a result, they tend to associate an employee holidaying as ‘not hardworking’. Recently, I was chatting with a friend of mine who was looking forward to her holiday that she had planned out well in advance. She works outside India and the work culture is such that a vacation is considered a necessity for an individual.

In the West, everyone talks about their holiday plans and is given so much importance and here we have bosses who would try to convince us to reduce the duration of our holiday if we plan to take more than 2 days.

In this day and age where all companies are aiming for high productivity, somehow the Indian managers fail to realise that proper rest for the brain is a contributing factor to high productivity. Results achieved by a stress-free mind would be like finding gold in a gold mine. A vacation would prompt all employees to work their asses off when at work and look forward to a relaxing vacation. And they would be back in the office with a rejuvenated body and soul.

Another aspect that is common in the Indian work culture (specific reference to the IT world) is that working late in the evening or staying up the entire night is considered to be some kind of accomplishment. Of course, I am not referring to people who work night shifts. I am talking about people who are supposed to work from 9 am to 6 pm but still end up in the office beyond 9 pm.

It is strange but true that many a time, you get praised or noticed for the work that is completed by staying late than the work that gets completed within the official working hours (9 am to 6 pm). Shouldn't it be the other way round because wouldn't that indicate the employee is efficient in his work? Many a time, I have noticed that if you submit your work (say by email) by 5:30 am which is an indicator that you are done with your day and will leave soon, your lead/manager will almost definitely be at your desk the next minute asking random questions (visualize shooting aimlessly into thin air) and some work would be given so that you can't leave by 6 pm. Sometimes you would be assigned some work at 5:30 pm that needs to be completed urgently almost daily. Don’t you think there is something amiss here? Isn’t management supposed to be all about proper planning?

Some people however play a smart game. They would send the updates on their work just 5 to 10 minutes before leaving (read as fleeing) for the day. The situation is such that 'fleeing' seems to be the solution for now to deal with the Indian bosses.

For the overworked Indian IT professional, a vacation is a must-have. I felt so rejuvenated after a week’s vacation and my mind was so fresh and energetic. I am looking forward to my next holiday. 

Blogger's block

I am/was going through a 'Blogger's block' phase. I am still not sure whether I am out of it. This post is an attempt to get out of it. This term has been derived from the popular term - Writer's block. I had to change this post title from 'Writer's block' to 'Blogger's block' after receiving some criticism highlighting the fact that I was breaching certain technicalities of existing ideas....sigh.

For those who don't know what exactly is 'Writer's block' can have a look at this link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writer's_block

I hate whenever this happens and the last time this happened brought an end to my so-called poetry (which some may be quite relieved to hear or discover :-D ) and also a temporary end to my posts that tickle the bone. Is it because I am going through a very dry phase in life? Maybe, but there are lots of things happening yet I am unable to put it across in words. I also have a couple of posts as drafts, hopefully, I will publish them soon.

I don’t have much more to comment on this, just hoping that I get the inspiration and motivation to write my heart out and get to hear comments and opinions from my friends and other blogger friends.

Today was a nice Sunday, cleaned the house, had biriyani for lunch, and lazed in my room with the AC in full blast. I sit by the window and log on to my laptop to type out this post with the sunlight falling gently on my face, I feel good. (yeah...a desperate attempt...I know)

When you feel sorry...

If you are really sorry, don't convey the same through chat or email. The true feeling of being sorry can only be conveyed when expressed verbally, especially when expressed face to face.

Stress Busters - Household work and Blogging

Apart from the usual stress busters like listening to music and reading, I have discovered that household work and blogging are great stress busters. I find solace in getting immersed in these activities. These accomplish two of the many objectives of life – managing your own space and speaking your mind to the whole world.

Household work is a never-ending activity. There is never a day when one can say there is no household work to be completed. Hence this is a very reliable activity that can prove to be a stress buster. Of course, this can be considered a stress buster only if you are trying to keep your mind off office work and other personal matters. If household work is the cause of stress, what I have told you so far does not hold good. :-D A clean kitchen and some warm food cooked by me make my day end with a smile. Well, do not get the impression that I am a good cook. I can cook for my survival, and hence the cuisine is aptly termed as ‘The Survival Cuisine’.

Blogging, on the other hand, is not a very reliable stress buster activity for me as it purely depends if I am in the mood to type out ideas and thoughts and also whether anything is interesting to blog about. But once in the right mood for it, there is no one and nothing that can stop me. I admire all those bloggers who can post every day a little bit about their lives and what goes on in their minds. This really requires a proper routine in life and dedication.

Discipline, in short, is the key to getting everything you want done in life.

One of my crazy lazy days....

It was one of those extremely rare lazy days when colleagues come up and ask, "Is your work done?" and I respond with a sleepy smile, "What is work?". I would have this look on my face where one would get the feeling that I was just back from a space mission to the Moon and seemed to be very lightheaded.....

The following are random parts of various transcripts (my replies) while I chatted away lazily all day long with various friends: (I decided not to get into the details and background of each conversation as these bits are amusing on their own....)

pssst........whats up? (asking in a raspy voice...sss...)

thot the voice ws appropriate if your 'psst'ing me...

debating on whether to go home this weekend or not, Sat, Sun and Mon are holidays for me...no train tickets...flight is damn expensive (I can reach another country with that money)....only bus tickets available...i hate bus journeys esp when I am alone...God knows if I end up sitting next to a creep...

I wanna go home you dodo....today is Anto's bday...so thot it wud be nice to be home this weekend...maybe i should tell my family to migrate to another country for the weekend...wht say? :-D

all of a sudden I am feeling so homesick....that I jus might cry out like a 1 yr old baby... :-((

deciding whether to go home...there is only one option for me...there is one long distance train...but only tatkal available...but i will have to pay the price for Gorakhpur to Trivandrum
Sleeper = approx 760
3A = approx 1900
I will reach by 1pm
Buses completely booked...

I have commented on it. It is good. I see potential for entertaining posts in the future. :-)
Just one tip for you: Try typing out ur post in a Word doc, so that you can do a spell & grammar check...and then paste it on ur blog for publishing...
Blog looks good too!!

i will book for it na?
done!

OMG..i better change the status msg...you pervert! hehe.. :-)

changed my status...i am sure Miss P will have a few words of her own to say about this...hehe..you are going to be Miss P for me from now onwards...as long as I am MarChand for you...(why me????)
MarChand reminds me of Chanda.....dont tell me tht is french now...any name eh?...hmm...I would liked to be addressed as Princess Diana...plzzz

yep...all my probs so far are solved.... :-) (happy moment smile!)

its a place where the Dutch have been there before...even Jews...I guess Portuguese too...

I look forward to sit back and enjoy such crazy lazy days in future !

Stop Cribbing….

A voice within started to monotonically say these words to me, “Stop cribbing….and the world will become a better place”. I hate to admit it, but it is quite true.

I am not getting into the ‘who and what’ behind the source of the voice and this is completely left to the discretion of the reader.

I was on a frustration streak thanks to my work. This did not start recently. I think it did start way before I can remember but the after-effects are coming out now in bursts and spurts.

Many of my friends think I am quite funny when I am frustrated. Yeah, one does end up doing stupid stuff during this period. I feel my confidence level just goes tremendously high when I am frustrated because this is when my mind actually speaks out.

The work that I did for 5 months in London was good, even though I did not work in a team, it made me learn how to go about doing things on my own, who to approach to get information and most importantly, how to approach people. When I look back, I realize I absolutely did not know A, B and C how to approach people. In the initial days, I would not be surprised if I angered a couple of individuals thanks to my approach. But all said and done, I feel I have changed a lot and it was a good learning experience. The fact of not working in a team, many a time, made me feel lonely. I did spend time with other teams but it is not easy to catch hold of them when I am free and vice versa. However, this loneliness was not very evident until I came back to Chennai to continue my work.

I end up in projects where only a single resource is required. This sucks big time. I end up going for breakfast, lunch, tea and sometimes even dinner on my own. I sometimes try to pull some people to come along with me, but not very successful at that.

Gradually, I stopped cribbing to myself. Maybe I was fed up with the same or maybe it was because of the absolute bliss I enjoyed in solitude. I have always enjoyed observing people around me and I enjoy this to the fullest now. I get time to reflect on some thoughts, many of them good ones, which results in a smile on my face.

I stopped cribbing…..and the world became a better place for me to live in again.

Cheers!

Frustration

Irritated      Anger      Moron      Senseless     Stupid      Upset      Quit     Lost       Useless       WalkOut        Strike        DontCare       Escalate      Awful          Exploit      Overload       .i.     GetLost        BirdBrain        Torture         Harass Fight          Bold          Shout          Scream        Tears          ArseHole           JackAss  
Slap ……………………………………………………..

Hmmm….wondering what happened to the sentences of this post? Well, this is what happens whenever frustration hits a new high for me.

Have I become thick-skinned ??

I remember that as a child, I was a very sensitive person. The slightest hint of sarcasm or mockery from a person would either get me very angry or in tears. That part about me has not totally died down but it has toned down considerably.

Today I went to speak to Manager X about certain issues, which he had to follow up on. The conversation was quite normal as far I could make out, he did share his bit of office politics going on, and the kind of work expected out of him. I listened patiently to all that he had to say and ended the conversation in the usual typical way, “Could you please drop in an email with the CR number that has been raised. Thank you!”

I went back to my seat and after a few minutes, a senior manager Y came to my desk and said, “X told me to convey his apologies for snapping at you when you had spoken to him earlier.” I was quite bewildered, as I did not really think anything rude or snappy came up in the conversation with X. Anyways not to let that out, I casually said, “Oh, it's ok. Not a problem.” Indeed, it was not a problem.

I shared this incident with another colleague of mine and he joked that maybe I am too used to X’s way of being rude. Well, I beg to disagree on that one as I feel I have become thick-skinned like a crocodile!

The Cultural Disconnect

Nothing really happened today for me to post this on my blog. These are thoughts that are always present in my mind.

I have always felt that I belong to this category called ‘Cultural Disconnect’. I do not think such a term exists but let us say I have coined it….hehe….my blog after all, I can churn out any terms I want.

‘Cultural Disconnect’ is the set of people whose root background has nothing to do with their personality in terms of language spoken, the style of communication and dressing, line of thoughts, attitude, pre-conceived notions, etc. It is in such a situation that such people end up making friends who have absolutely nothing in common culture-wise. Most of them do not have pre-defined notions that a community has towards certain ideas or customs.

I am a Mallu but I do not think I know everything that a Mallu should know. I feel I do not know much about the language, customs of Kerala, and typical Kerala cuisine, and have not seen most of the places in Kerala. One reason is that most of my childhood has been outside India and I never really got any exposure to the Kerala culture. During my childhood days, my parents were not very keen on ensuring I got to know all about Kerala. I did have exposure to some amazing and wonderful Malayalam movies of the 80s so thankfully the language is not very alien to me. I was quite a rebel to learn the language as a subject outside of school hours. Not too much of regret this lack of exposure as this resulted in my thought process and mannerisms being distinct in their own way. Hence, the cultural disconnect becomes more evident. It is a sad feeling at times to feel disconnected this way. I feel great when I come across a Mallu and engage in endless chatter, which would be a mix of Malayalam and English. I do talk at home a lot in English than Malayalam. I am very comfortable in conversing in English and many people misunderstand that as some sort of pompous behaviour from my side. Of lately, I say to myself, “To hell with those people. I rather have nothing to do with such people.”

Out of keen interest, I do read up on facts about Kerala and I feel great when I see the gleam in people’s eyes when I say I am from Kerala. I get to see backwaters in that rare gleam of theirs. I am sure there are those like me out there who do not mind connecting with the disconnected ones!

Candid Conversations

Lately, I realised that my work slowly began to focus more on how I interact with people and the demand for communication. This is something I truly missed for the past 8-9 months and I was really enjoying it. Whenever it died down, I became extremely restless.

My conversations were quite candid, a mixture of sweetness and bitterness. I personally used to believe that being sweet to every person you come across is the best strategy. Unfortunately, it was a hard realisation for me that this is not always true. Some people are out there, like animals waiting for their prey, to pounce on the next person who they can lay their hands/paws/claws on. That person would be their scapegoat whatever the situation may be. This made me realise that close analysis of a person is very important. Some people have a personality that is like an open book. However, for some characters, I do not think I could ever conclude. A diplomatic approach keeps everyone happy.

The natural tendency when one comes across creeps and rude people is that we tend to become like them or let us say that we tend to behave with them in the same manner they would to us. Well, that just increases the number of creeps and rude people, so I choose not to remember what has happened in the past but a reminder note will be present at the back of my mind so that these creeps do not get to sit on my head.

Some people always love to greet you whenever and wherever you meet them. Even a smile from such people makes a lot of difference. Thankfully, I was quite lucky to meet many people of that kind. It has had a good influence on me too. I tend to greet people often with a smile and the greeting many a time sounds like a song, which can light up anyone’s face.

For the sake of candid conversations, I am looking forward to meeting more people and hope the sour ones of the lot do not leave a permanent mark on my mind.

Fallen in love with Chandler

Chandler and Phoebe are my favourite characters in the famous comedy series called 'Friends'. I like Phoebe because she says and does everything right from the heart. She is weird at times but that is because she does things that normally people would not even dare to think or do.

Chandler is a sweetheart. I have always liked his character. The constant jokes he makes and the way people pull his legs. In fact, I used to feel sorry for him whenever people made fun of him. I think he is the most romantic and loving guy anyone could possibly come across. I would definitely fall head over heels for a guy like him. He is neither macho nor super cool. He is a down-to-earth person, not very brave but is sensitive to other's feelings. He is not selfish and likes to enjoy the small things in life.

I really like his PJs and his sarcastic comments on others. The episode that got me started with all this ranting about Chandler would be the one with Christmas in Tulsa. It's where Chandler recollects all the good times spent with Monica. Ah…that is a romantic one!

Running ...after a long hiatus....

After the major fall I had back in college in 100m finals, I never really felt like running again. I felt I had lost my touch. I don’t even tell anyone that I was into athletics once upon a time. But still, I miss the excitement of running a race or just plain running. After more than 3 years, finally I went out with my roommate to run as part of the exercise. It was chilly outside but you cannot feel it once you start running. It was drizzling slightly too.

I started to run. At first, I felt fine. I felt that the streets suddenly turned into race tracks. I could hear people cheering for the participants and there was excitement in the air. I ran quite a bit. I felt that I got transported back in time when getting a silver medal for most of my races was like a piece of cake.

Suddenly I felt breathless, I could not run further but still I tried to move on. Old memories of my last race began to flash before my eyes. I recalled how I had fallen down hard on the ground after completing 50m. It’s every athlete’s nightmare - to fall down and not be able to complete a race. I had bruised my knee badly and was limping for a long time. I still have that ugly scar.

I slowed down my pace and tried to come back to reality. I took frequent breaks but I made it a point I ran for at least a few meters. I did not want to give up. I walked, ran, walked, ran……. I reached back home….running towards the door. Today is Day 1. This is just the beginning.

Looking back at 2008

It was a strange year. It had its highlights. It had its share of lows. Not going to list them down under each of those categories. Let’s say… I look back at those moments which I would not forget for which the reasons be either bad or good….

I realise that I have travelled quite a bit this year… Tirunelveli, Bangalore, Pune, Lonavala, Mumbai, Pondicherry and to top the list would be… London. In addition to all this is my shuttle between Chennai and Cochin whenever time permits. I had Coimbatore and Hyderabad too in mind but it just never worked out because of hectic work schedules.

I was quite lucky I was able to see Mumbai before the terror attacks….really loved South Bombay. It has a special charm which no other city has that I have seen so far.

Work-wise… yes, worked a lot this year….longer hours than the previous year where I just worked for 8-9 hrs. I ended up breaking my policy of not working after midnight because my work demanded it. But I did make sure I compensated by coming in by 11:30am for work. No one has questioned me so far. In fact, I was waiting to be questioned. I guess they know I work more than enough. Unfortunately, my situation was such that even if I reached the office by 8am, I would not be able to get out by 7pm due to constraints and orders from higher authorities. (I am trying so hard from refraining to spill out the beans as to who these authorities are….sigh…)

The economic recession was or rather is definitely not a good thing and everyone is hopeful of the New Year in this regard. However, to many, it looks bleak. Well, I feel you cannot or rather should not state anything at this point. To give a description of how bleak 2009 is going to turn out is definitely not going to help anyone.

The story of life was no different in 2008, people were born and people have died. For those who have brought young ones into this world, may the year ahead be full of joy and constant diaper changing. And for those who have lost their loved ones, pray for the departed souls and put your sorrows behind you as the drama called LIFE has to go on.

There were lots of wedding bells and definitely more to come in 2009. This year is going to turn me deaf with all the bells ringing and clanging.

On the whole, the eventful year 2008 was I must say!!

Farewells and Realisations....

This year has been many farewells for me. Many of my friends either got married or about to get married. Many quit their jobs for higher studies or are at an onsite location either in the US or in Europe.

I guess the small mistake I made was to allow my mind to think that all the fun that we were having after passing out from college would last forever. I knew of the same at some level...these thoughts were very much present in the corner of my mind, refusing to come out to the front and make me realise that not all these people around me are going to be with me forever.

I realise that my school days and college days were indeed days of absolute bliss. All one had to worry was “Hope the exam paper is not too tough”, “Did I pass?”, “Will I get into trouble for not doing my homework?” etc. Almost every year I get to see my friends when I graduate to the next year in school or college. Then it is all about new books, new teachers, curricular activities, etc. Nothing really changes. I wish time stood still. At least that way I could look on forever at some of the best memories of my life.

Now every year something new happens. Of course, that factor is exciting but deep down inside there is this feeling of your friends drifting away because each individual is busy with their own life. In school and college, everyone led just one life. Now each individual’s life is about so many things or rather complications that we have no other choice other than to let loose the reins of friendship so that it lasts instead of disappearing.

I have slowly learnt to accept this fact and move on. I have improved in many ways and I can deal with farewell situations better than before. I do not get upset if my friends do not call me as often as they used to. More appropriately, I have learnt to get over it soon. But one thing is yet to change……the small stream of tears that at times starts flowing instantly down my face needs to completely dry up whenever I see myself being moved far away from all those who make my life memorable.

An occasion that turned out to be a festival!!

For the past two years, October 12 was a date I always preferred to forget. Two years ago, it was a day filled with fear, worry and anxiety for my loved ones due to some unpleasant events. Henceforth, it was a day I felt should pass by just like any other NORMAL day of my life with no special events. October 12 also happens to be my birthday.

As October approached, the same feelings I had gone through last year started coming back. Superstitious thoughts of bad things that could happen and some bad memories used to flash back into my mind. Due to all this, I was very happy that I was extremely busy at my workplace at this time of the year which prevented my mind from wandering away too much into these useless thoughts! Many of my friends think that it's because I still live in the past. I don’t think so. If you were in my shoes, you would know exactly what I mean. No one can even imagine the trauma I went through in those days.

This year my birthday turned out to be like a festival because the celebrations and wishes from everyone spanned a couple of days. Lots of people wished me in advance/wrong day, very few remembered to wish me on the actual day and also a lot of belated wishes the next two days.

Initially, I had decided that I would type out every detail that happened on my birthday and I did so to a very large extent, but then I felt that only I would cherish each and every detail and not necessarily the reader. So this post has only the main highlights of the day.…..a very beautiful cake that I got to cut in the office, lots of gifts presented to me in a jute bag which also included an empty whiskey bottle, a huge birthday card which had a perfectly done collage on it made by my roommates and Sister Alphonsa was declared a saint at around the same time I was born. I feel that a lot of good things are coming my way.

Check out the slideshow on my blog for a snapshot of this year’s birthday.

At the end of the day, all that matters is that I had a smile on my face as I fell asleep on my bed. What more can I ask for!!

Murhphy's Law in action

It’s been quite a while since I have been having a streak of bad luck coming my way. Usually it just lasts for a day or two or maximum for a week. But alas, for the past three months, something or the other keeps going wrong, in a very noticeable manner.

I believe the scientific laws we learn in school are very much in action, but the two laws (irrespective of their scientific relevance) that take centre stage in my life are:

· Law of Gravity
· Murphy’s Law

The first law is definitely true for everyone. I guess the only time that the law of gravity would seem to be not applicable (as long as we are on Mother Earth) is when one gets high after a round or two of drinks ( now let's not debate as to how many rounds….I leave it to the reader’s discretion:-D)

Initially, I thought I would throw some light on some incidents that have happened, but on second thought, its best that I don’t do so. The last thing I want people to say is “Oh, you poor thing. You are having a bad time.” Well, I don’t need such reminders.

Murphy’s Law basically states that if anything can go wrong, will go wrong, at the worst possible time and situation. I guess many of us would have gone through situations like these and said to ourselves, “Why should this happen to me of all the people?” or “Why now of all the possible times?”

For all those who still have absolutely no idea what I am talking about, please do a quick reading on the same: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy

Hope you had a good day!

The March of Confidence

After a lot of introspection, I realise that I appear to be most confident when I am absent-minded or lost in thoughts.

It was a usual morning. I was late to the office. By nature, I walk fast (compared to most girls) and combined with absent-mindedness, you get a very confident gal ready to break any rule on Earth.

Why I say this, is just because of my experience of marching right past the security personnel at the office gate without wearing my ID and paying absolutely no heed to them calling out to me.

I snapped back to reality only when I had to swipe my ID card at the door. I realised I hadn’t worn it and it was still in my bag. Innocently, I turned and asked my colleague, "Strange, how come the security never questioned me?" She said, "For your information, the security did question you but seeing your ‘boldness’ in just walking past them left them totally stunned." Apparently, she tried her best to keep up her pace with me.

On any other day, if I was stopped by the security, I would have meekly stopped, taken out my ID and shown it to them with a sheepish smile.

Cheese Dosa at Juhu

During one of my mad ventures of “sightseeing” in Mumbai, I had the privilege of having dosas of a different kind with a different ambience.

It was one of those days when news channels warned citizens to stay indoors because of the possible monsoon fury of Mumbai. It was raining “cats and dogs” or rather buckets of water were being poured from the heavens above on that day.

Oblivious to all the monsoon commotion, my cousin-brother and I started off for a Mumbai Darshan, while colleagues of my cousin-sister thought we were out of our minds to even think of venturing out in the rain.

At Juhu beach, I couldn’t help but smile at the people who were enjoying the rain, running towards the waves and just having superb fun. The sea was quite rough but people didn’t seem to mind that.

We chose to watch the fun and meanwhile decided to try out dosas that were being made at a stall or rather “snack cart” (if I may say so). It was quite amusing to see one person in charge of holding the asbestos sheet (the official roof of the snack cart) with all his might during the heavy downpour.

We tried out “Manchurian Dosa” and “Cheese Dosa”.

Manchurian dosa had a different flavour altogether and I could not really make out exactly what it was. But it was yum all the same.

As I ordered the cheese dosa, I was sceptical because usually, Cheese Dosa means cheese will be smeared such that one has to chew, ponder and chew while we figure out: “Is there really cheese in this??”

But when I saw them lavishly spread a thick layer of shredded cheese onto the dosa, I realised that I was in for a treat. Wow, it was soooo rich with cheese, I felt dazed. ;-D

Lazy Sundays

Last Sunday, I realised the importance of lazy Sundays, especially after having to work for 5 days a week and spending time with friends on every possible day off that I got. Not that every month I get to freak out. Of course, I can say January was a blast but in between all of it, I began to really sense that I was getting stressed out.

The day started with a nice morning walk to the railway ticket counter to book my Tatkal tickets, got back home, did some random reading, went back to sleep, had lunch, did an errand for one of my friends, came back and slept yet again till I realised that I would be late for Church. But all that sleeping did a lot of good and I felt refreshed.

My roomie prepared mutton biriyani for dinner and it was yum! I felt so glad that I didn't have to do anything ''important" on a Sunday and could laze to the fullest.
So in a poetic mood,
I would like to conclude,
What a perfect way,
To end a lazy Sunday,
My tummy is full,
And mind content,
I doze off into the night,
Hopeful to open my eyes,
Only on another brand new Sunday.