My First Love

I clearly remember the day when Mr. and Mrs. Desai shifted in a flat that was next to us. It was quite sunny that day and shifting was making this couple very tired. I was sitting on the staircase watching my parents and other neighbours help them out. Just when I was about to get up and go I saw someone in their car. He peeped out slightly and went back. It got me really curious because all this while Mr. and Mrs. Desai never mentioned of a third member in their family. I waited to take another glimpse but didn't see anyone. So I went ahead to catch up my favourite cartoon show. The next day mom wanted to send some breakfast for our new neighbours. She requested so i didn't deny. I knocked their door and entered to see him hiding behind Mr. Desai. So now I got to see the third member at least.

He was cute and fair looking but seemed to be very shy. I was a shy kid myself so I didnt go near him. Mrs. Desai introduced me to him. But he was too shy to even shake hands. She said he is new here so he won't be so friendly. But once he gets used to me being around he will play with me. I was completely mezmerized by the way he looked.

Mom continued sending food over to the neighbours and usually I used to be the delivery girl. For a week he didn't come near me. I guess I was too excited to have him around but then he wasn't so excited. One Saturday afternoon, Mom had to visit the doctor. So she left me at Desai's. Bored as I was tried to get his attention so that he plays with me. I tried thrice talking to him. Trying was in vain. Then I passed a ball to him. To my surprise he pushed it back. I looked at him and his expressions showed that he had accept me as a friend. Not much but we did play for sometime and I managed to get him used to my presence. By that time mom was already back and I had to go :(

That night I couldn't help but think of him all the time and I was already eager to meet him again. For a shy kid like me, I found my perfect match! As the days passed we became closer friends. And after few months we became inseparable. Even though he was shy he had immense energy in him as I did. I remember the day when Mr. Desai got him a new bed. He pulled me over to show me his new bed and we played around it whole day because he was so excited to have it. We grew close, so much so that we didn't eat food without each other.

But then every good thing comes to an end. My parents decided to shift to a new place. The very thought traumatized me. I cried for days and was at his place all the time after school and before school. I used to go to sleep, talking to him at Desai's place. Then that fateful day came when we had to pack our luggage and leave. Just when I stepped out of the house, he was standing right there waiting for me. I ran to him, hugged him tight and kissed him on his face all over. My heart still beats faster when I remember that day.

Now it was a new place for me and I felt the way he might have felt when he was new to that place. Till date I say to myself at times "What a sweet puppy it was!" My first love, first attachment, first incidence of immense care. I will never forget you :)








This post is written for BlogAdda's Stages of Love contest. Have a look at Preeti Shenoy's Life is What You Make It.

Cricket -A religion in India

Now that the Cricket World Cup Season has begun I have lost the television to my beloved father and my dear brother. I never liked this game. But thanks to my Pa and Bro.. I know more about Cricket than I know about my favourite game Soccer. They never let me watch it. I don't know why. So here are some facts. I know a lot about cricket from gully to first slip to fine leg. From the newest powerplay to leg bye to dead ball. From wide to LBW to run out. I even know a lot about our Indian cricket team. I know MS Dhoni because he is the captain. I know Yuvraj because of his controversy with different bollywood heroines. I know Sachin Tendulkar because he is the king.. oops sorry God of cricket. Sehwag because he copies Sachin. And I cannot miss Bhajji for his doosra and Sreesanth for his south indian break-dance on stage and monkey dance on field. On the other side, its difficult for me to even remember the names of Soccer players i liked and to which team they belonged to. Lets get this straight I knowing about cricket doesn't mean I like it. I had recited all the Hindi peoms for my exams and mugged up all the formulas for economics so that I score more. Doesn't mean that I liked those subjects. So I don't like cricket or do I?
Lets keep my interest in Cricket a bit aside. If you have noticed all the big brands have been banking upon this World Cup fever to increase their sales and earn their share of profits from this hullabaloo. Even the Bollywood movie releases are being scheduled before or after the season. Not that their profits will plunge if they release it a week after WC gets over because the fever would still be on. It is time for all the brands to play gimmicks. Say for eg: Pepsi.. They are out to "CHANGE THE GAME". God alone knows what they are changing. To me they do not make sense. I would say what they need to change is the clichéd line which has been done to death.
Imagine me in this chaos. Where ever I go I get to hear tales of some so called epic matches.. At home, coffee shops, workplace, streets, in trains.. and out of all.. my twitter stream.. arrrggghhh... What can I say? Even if I don't like the game it keeps me entertained where ever I go. Do I have a choice? No. Its unavoidable.
They say it is a gentleman's  game. I see cricketers pulling, pushing, abusing, sledging, shoving on the field. Would you still say its a gentleman's game? Neither are the players nor are the audience any gentle. I have seen matches were it has ended with showering of bottles and garbage after being defeated in a match. And how far do we respect our players. You love them because you can burn their puppets when they don't perform well? Throw stones at their houses, harming their family members in case we lose. This is the scene with common man. What do our news channels do? They make the cricketers sit on their heads when they are in form otherwise they are embarrassed to the core.
Not that our cricketers take this game seriously. They just want to be capable enough with the game so that they could endorse products. There have been reports where the players were in studios shooting for ads when they should be on field practicing. All these so called famous figures have caused heavy damage to the careers of upcoming models. These ad film makers don't employ them anymore. I think at least I am justified for disliking this game.
Anyway, some body had told me that we should see both aspects of a situation. So I will try and do that. One thing good that happens during such events is that we see tremendous unity amongst people. They do not get into religious issues like some Hindu player scored more or Muslim player scored more. All of us want India to win. Cricket becomes religion. And no matter how sad you are with your life, in an attempt to know what the score is you tend to forget rest of the troubles of life. The entire nation bonds really well, where ever they are spread across the nation. They cheer for the six and regret the loss of a wicket. I would say Cricket, to an extent has maintained India's unity and facilitated bonding through this platform.
As for my the situation in my house right now.. I hate my brother more than ever, because he doesn't even move his bum to get a glass of water for himself and he has solid backing, my Pa. I am in minority in this house right now because even Mom asks for the score in between. So I would rather not speak against cricket and call myself racist here.. Love it. Loathe it. Cricket is here to stay to give people hope and fill marketers pockets... Lets see how much can Cricket entertain me now. I am giving it a chance. Happy (not so happy) World Cup Season!

Who let the dogs out???

The never ending war of sexes took a new toll when I was enjoying my cup of tea with my friend. My friend got really offended when one of my guy friends said that ‘women do not give men a chance. They just throw them out of their lives if they make one mistake.’ Well, that was pretty rude. But you see you cannot stereotype any of the sexes. There are people who are really considerate about their partners.

But there was no stopping for my friend. And this is what she started with. Considering the fact that all men are NOT SAME, she pointed out such men who are actually painful to be around. And I think she actually had a point. What? Of course, not all men are rapists, eve-teasers and male chauvinists and wife beaters. But we cannot say that a disease won't affect us if we avoid it. As a friend, Sheena, truely quoted today "Just because you are a vegetarian, do not expect the lion to not eat you." Yeah I know you want to ask me how many of them can be considered harmful?

If you really ask me this I would say "Let us not talk numbers here buddy." Every woman has some value so does their quality of life. Even in a routine like traveling in public transport she has to be relentlessly aware about the people around her only because of ‘exceptional cases’ like bottom- pinchers and elbow shovers, trouble makers who hang on the train door outside the ladies compartment. You have to be utterly careful because they either physically harm you or do you some monetary harm by snatching purses or jewellery or tease you from the parallel train for fun-sake. Can one understand the kind of irritation that women have to face due to those itching fingers (and there is absolutely no requirement to tell what other parts of male anatomy) reach out to you? (Sorry I can't use profanity here. It's supposed to be a clean blog. But I think all women will understand the kind of abusive words I want to throw up.) Especially in crowded buses, trains, railway platforms, markets and crowded streets. And if you are traveling in general compartment of a train and if you complain even a bit, they say ‘Madam, Itna problem hai to ladies mein jao naa!’ Well we have no problem you see. But we get into the general compartment because we might have either missed the train or might be traveling with some other guy friends. Our poor civilised guy friends get into trouble trying to save us from these monsters. OK OK. You have a problem with that? Then you are justified to an extent. But what do we do when we are traveling in a bus. There are no separate compartments no?

Because of all this, unlike the men, we can't even browse through our newspapers and magazines peacefully. We cannot immerse ourselves in any such pastime, or be oblivious to our surroundings because you don’t know when some sleazy hands catch you off-guard. I know a lady who told me that she got her bottom pinched when she was pregnant and was traveling with her husband in the train. She immediately told her hubby who quickly called out to the cops who were nearby, luckily. The cops bundled him off and he never was to be seen. When will this mentality die?

To be in constant state of red alert because a small percentage of the male population we are there for their pervert pornographic pleasure is a reason enough to evolve us into prickly porcupines. That so many of us still go through the day with a smile is thanks to the resilience we have had to build up, over the years. But eve-teasing is the most minor of offences we have to cope with. Think of those poor women who slog through the day, cooking, cleaning, keeping house, rearing children and contributing to the family only to be battered by some frustrated male called ‘husband’, at the end of the day. Wife beating is prevalent in all the classes: from domestic worker who scrubs the floor and utensils to the glamorous film star- anybody can be a victim of male ego and complexes.

The greatest of the writers have mentioned this social trauma in their work and nothing has changed till date. I don't think I writing a blog is going to make a difference either. I am just taking my frustration out. I will end this post with a hope that I reach home safely everyday without being attacked by these mad dogs. And also this post is a tribute to all those men who are civilised and realise that we women are just as important human beings as they are and treat us like respectable citizens. I would personally like to thank each of my guy friends and I empathise with all my female friends.... WATCH OUT!!! ;)

Acchhhoooo…!!!!! Part 2

The saga of my running nose continues. Its been a week now and my cold doesn't stop. And I know why this has happened. I breached all the DO-NOT-DO-THIS-WHEN-YOU-HAVE-COLD rules. The rules that I dared to breach are as follows:

1. Do not have ice cream
2. Do not drink cold drinks
3. Do not travel without covering your face
4. Do not eat oily food
5. Take medicines on time
6. Gargle thrice a day
7. Talk less and many more of these

I did not follow any of the above rules. So I think cold is here to stay for good and I am going to go through it for some more time. Does that mean I am going to follow the above rules? nahhhh... :P
Mummy, can I have more tissues please.. No no. no Haldi ka doodh :(

My Shortcomings

Well, when you think about Lord of the Rings, you think of Peter Jackson, the ultimate and definitive master of direction. You think of the incredible hi-tech graphic-artists (or whatever they are called) who created Gollum. And of course you think of the hobbit, the SHORT hobbit.

I’m not some loony who’s snatching away all the glory. But I’ve spent almost 16 years with people telling me “but you’re so short!” I cannot deny that I had been missing all the awesome roller coasters rides because I wasn’t tall enough. I remember meeting teachers with polite but unconvinced expressions, enquiring "Are you from this class?" And being bullied by the school elite (read rich, spoilt and ‘unfortunately’ TALL kids). My mom used to pull me to the kids sections at the age of 14 to buy a pair of jeans, although my dad used to take me to adults section for my clothes. But then again it was brutally experimented with scissors, blades and knives. And after all this, gifted to maid servant because the alteration was wrongly done. Arrrrrghhh!!!!! My favourite pair of jeans!!! :(

One thing was for sure. I understood that my highly intimidating Physical Trainer wouldn’t notice that I was sneaking out of the gym class, every single time. Lol :D So I coined an acronym SAS (Short and Sweet). I wasn’t short, I was a spectacularly hare- brained and stubborn, ever- voracious thing (giggles strictly forbidden!), a creation, And this fortunately or unfortunately suits me to perfection.. What can I say?

Friends of course will not really agree to it rather they’ll say I’m something much worse. Point I ‘m trying to make is, short does not mean little. It means short (literally) –that’s it. It doesn’t mean that I’m geeky nerd with enormous glasses and skinny knees (ummm….. I’m talking about my self only. No offense to geeky nerds)
It doesn’t mean I’m an invisible person who doesn’t command an opinion of interest. It doesn’t mean that just because I’m short, the world won’t stand up and notice. Through history, pages are littered with names of short people who made a difference. Let’s wind back to Joan of Arc, the French peasant girl who led France through the Hundred Years War and the one constantly appealed to by politicians and eager-to-grab attention bureaucrats. How tall (or rather short) was she? She was as tiny as 125 cm (4.11 feet). Or how tall did Napoleon stand? But still, all teens suffering the agony of school have to learn a highly comprehensive account of all the great stuff they did. So I may have to always be curtly informed by teachers that, no, I definitely cannot sit with miss-long-and-slender on the back bench.

I may always have to get all my clothes altered because I refuse to wear kiddie tees with ‘POKEMON’ or ‘BAYBLADE’ emblazoned and extolled across. But, I can’t rule out the fact that I always get to say (casting nasty grin at the unfortunate recipient), “Excuse me, I’m short. May I please stand in front?” when I visit shows, parade and concerts. I get away with paying loads less than what my unfortunatelytall friends have to shell out when we visit amusement parks. People do not ask me to carry luggage because I am short. Hmmmm…. And I think a mini skirt won’t look all that short on me because I don’t have those tall legs!!!
So now I am not afraid to stand up to the shorty jokes cracked on my face or behind my back.. Ha ha.. losers.. Oh boy, oh boy! I’m learning to love being short! Because that’s the way I am. :)

Acchhhoooo…!!!!!

It was 6.40 in the morning and damn I was late. When I finally manage to pull myself up out of the bed, I went whao!!! I HAVE COLD NOW! This cold doesn’t seem to leave my back. I was perfectly alright a day before. It has become very difficult to gauge why I keep on getting this cold again and again and again. Anyway, now that I was up I had to take bath. Super hot water felt like heaven for a moment and then again cold creeped in. It was already breakfast time and hot tea and dosa was the thing for me at that moment. Felt nice and warm for 10 minutes and then back to cold. By this time my nose had already started running. I so badly want it to freeze there. But not always does your wish come true. To couple with it, your family doctor goes on a vacation for 3 days and you can‘t even get temporary treatment for this troublesome condition over the phone. Acchhhhoooo!!! (Wiping my running nose).  I know it is going to be a very long day.

I managed to reach office in this condition and just hope I do not infect anyone else. Cold is like love and smile. The more you are together with people you seem to be sharing it all through.  Can you help it? I don’t think so. Anyway, I got to talk to people today who are coming for an interview at my workplace, talk with people on phone and arrange for appointments. Thank god at least I do not have bad throat, my nose is blocked though. But then it is manageable. No matter what the condition, work doesn’t stop. The show must go on and I expect myself to pull myself up and perform my best. Excuse me, I got to wipe my nose and get back to work. See ya later!