My new venture...

Clutch & Brake, Clutch & Brake, Clutch & Brake… Keep the steering steady, stay on the left side of the road… Apply the clutch while changing gears, check the road width while taking U-turns…control the speed at 30kmph, … give the correct hand signals, always use left and right indicators, … apply hand break while parking, leave the parked vehicle in 1st gear, stay in 2nd gear in turns and crossroads….

Yes, you guessed right, I am learning driving :)

Yet another wish coming true...

Looks like our family is celebrating Vehicle year. Imagine... 4 new vehicle additions to our home!! It started off with a bicycle on my birthday, progressed to a bike for Kiran, then a Maruti 800 which my in-laws bought to ease their conveyance issues. And now finally, the cream.... A Chevrolet Beat Cocktail Green will soon make its way into our parking lot!!

This prestiged object which was meant to be a birthday gift to Hubs decided to make him so impatient that he bring it in a whole month in advance.

So, within the coming 10 days, our parking area which is almost empty now, will be brimming with vehicles fighting for place...

Looking forward to ten days hence... ;)

The Return

Last week I completed 27 years on Mother Earth. Since this was my first birthday after marriage, a lot of people were enquiring about the events lined up for the day. Since we were in a crucial stage of my project, taking a day off was out of question. In the evening Hubs had to go to Mysore for some urgent work. Hence whatever the celebration, had to be done between 12am and 8 am in the morning.

Truthfully, I was already expecting a midnight cake cutting, with flowers, chocolates and new clothes. The previous evening, Hubs left early from office and seemed all busy. When I reached home, I was not allowed into one of the rooms.

Hubs kept impatiently looking at the clock until it finally struck 12. I entered the room beautifully lit with fancy candles, cherry flavour emanating from some of them. The room was decorated and had Post-its all over the wardrobes. There were flowers, there were chocolates, all that I think makes a wonderful birthday. I started off with cutting the cake amidst artificial snowfall courtesy Kiran. The cake was awesomely tasty!!!

I took some time moving around reading the messages over each of the post-it. They were funny, cute and lovable all at once. As I moved further, a post-it on the balcony door read, “Enter to find your surprise gift”. My mind was blank I couldn’t think of anything that could give me a surprise. I stepped in.

My heart jumped with joy and I wanted to squeal like a baby. It was an old friend – a very special one. I spent most of my adolescence talking to it, riding it, confiding in it. Everybody knew I had my heart on it.

This one is a lavender colour grace. It is called Hero – Miss India. One look and it brought back memories of my maroon BSA SLR. Though it was given away some years back, I always longed for a cycle for me to go on my little adventurous expeditions. I also kept mentioning it every now and then but never thought Hubs would actually get one for me. It was indeed the best-est birthday gift I could get!!

The remaining of the day was mostly uneventful. Of course, not to forget the cake cutting and free chocolate cream facial I got at office. A lot of school and college friends, some really close mates called to wish. Without doubt I had a very special and memorable 1st birthday after marriage and loved every moment of it!!

Bangalore re-discovered

It was the end of Kiran’s exams. He needed a break and Amma decided to join him to Bangalore for a stay at our home. They reached on Friday evening. As usual I was held up at office until 8pm. Mentally though, I was home since 4pm wondering what Amma must be doing, if Kiran had started playing on the Wii, what were they talking, what was all the fun that I was missing.

Come Saturday morning, Amma got ready early and started pestering us to go out somewhere. The next two days we were out on the roads of Bangalore, armed with a Bus Pass each. A Daily Pass costs Rs.32 and allows unlimited bus travel for an entire day. We went to places far apart within the city, without having to worry about buying the ticket or waiting for change from the conductor every time we changed buses.

I mostly sat beside the window cocking out my head trying not to miss any of the happenings outside. Most of the places I had never seen before. I was excited for sure, and I think it showed on my face. We visited relatives, went to ISKON and a couple of other temples nearby. We reached home as late as 8:30 both days, priding ourselves that we hadn’t spent more than the pass fare for the entire excursion.

It had been long since I ventured in that side of Bangalore and I was both surprised and amused by the walls in the city. They were vibrant and colourful with paintings. Huge image on various topics – musicians, old heritage structures, dancers, artisans, nature, birds, waterfalls. It was an exhilarating sight. Initially I was so drawn into the artwork that it never struck me to click a pic. When it finally dawned on me, I realized my mobile was with Kiran who was sitting far away in the back seat of the bus. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Kudos to BBMP on their new initiative!! I know there are some folks who have opposed this saying it is a waste of money, but I personally feel that this is a great way of creating opportunity for talented painters to showcase their skills. I had begun to feel that India has lost all its talent to History but I guess last weekend changed my opinion.

On our journey back home from Majestic, there were two girls sitting across me in the bus. They were definitely discussing something very interesting. Unfortunately they used a medium beyond my understanding – mere expressions and lip & hand movements. They seemed really engrossed in their conversation thankfully oblivious of my stare. Insensitive though I may sound to their disability, I enjoyed the experience. One of them especially gave such pronounced expressions, it almost looked to me like a dancer in performance.

Looking forward to more trips around the city like this one. Hopefully in future I will have a fully loaded camera in hand to bring back my musings.

** Pic courtesy The Hindu

Milestones...

It is that time of the year again, when the countdown to the New Year has begun. It is once again time to make resolutions, check on old resolutions, and renew the contract for some past resolutions. It is once again the shortest day of the year and it is once again the day when this blog was started.

For one, I can pat on my back for having braced the storm of distractions for an entire year. The number of posts made in this year is 26, which on an average means a post a fortnight, which sounds good and regular. However, I regret not being as regular as the average seems. There have been times when I posted twice a week and sometimes, months when posts never happened.

The past year had a good mix of personal thoughts, festivals and incidents. I may not call this a laudable beginning, but atleast it was a beginning. Having stepped on the one year milestone, it is now time to take my blog somewhere. The journey so far was unplanned and the target as just to fill; to remember to come back to this space; not let it bury under the sands of time.

This was my New Year Resolution for the year 2009, and I grant myself that I lived upto it. This year, I renew my resolution, although making it more competitive. This year I resolve not just to add on to this page but to find a Purpose to this blog, Plan my entries and follow a Pattern. I also plan to put up pics occassionally alongside the text.

Incidentally today I also complete 7 whole months of marital bliss. True to the word, it has indeed been bliss. Like the wise men said, “Marriage is an eye opener”. It not just opened my eyes to the fine person that Hubs is but also to a few qualities in me that are too deeply etched for me to deny. No matter how much I disagree, I realize I am quite a stubborn person with a fixed mind, rarely open to change. Another surprise to me was that I am not as calm a person as I thought I was and can sometimes have a really short temper.

In the beginning of the New Year, I hereby also resolve to overcome my shortcomings gradually, bit by bit, one after the other.

On this yet another hopeful note, I conclude.

Ah I forgot to mention, coming weekend there is a trip to Ooty awaiting me. Hopefully I should have a piece about it before the New Year sets in!!

Surprises are meant to be Busted!

Coincidence has it that my father and FIL share their birthday- 11 December. As Mysore is an easy access from Bangalore and also as 11th this year fell on a Friday, hubs and I decided to surprise my FIL by landing up there without notice. We even conspired with Kiran to buy a cake and leave it at a Patti’s home so we could pick it up on our way from the station.

As luck would have it, another relative saw Kiran carrying a cake into Patti’s house and promptly called up Pa to tell him that something was awaiting him at 10pm. Dad kinda guessed that Karthik and I would be there. We consoled ourselves that the cake would yet be unexpected. But lo, Appa decided to go seek Patti’s blessings. Old people as far as I know have this sheer joy of surprisingly busting a surprise such that the person giving the surprise is taken by surprise themselves and the one who is to be surprised is surprisingly happy that he already got to know of the surprise!! Patti did just that. Her blessings ended with, “they have left a cake for you here. Karthik and Shilpa will get it at night”

******
As the train screeched into Mysore station, we promptly called Kiran saying we have reached. He and Dad (!!!!!!) were there to pick us up. I usually get very upset with such sudden turn of events because I will miss the ‘joy in the eyes’ that is a definite response to any surprise. This time though, I thankfully had another surprise for dad (this one, nobody except Hubs knew about). We waited for Dad to cut the cake and then I slowly motioned a box of me-made Besan laddoos towards him. Appa was overjoyed coz he had heard a lot about it being my specialty and kept asking me to make them for him. It had never happened for one reason or the other. Within no time, the box was empty and Kiran and Dad were smaking their lips.

Winds of change

This post should have happened atleast 2 weeks back when finally the Wii came home. But I guess it is a good excuse to say that I was playing rather than sitting down to write about it. Yes, the Wii came and brought along with it winds of change. The first couple of days were dull as Hubs fell terribly sick and kept me busy tending to his various needs, leaving little time for the game.

Now, our evenings are action packed as Hubs and I fight about who will play what. I just about pick the remote and like magic, evenings turn into night. Life after the Wii is super-awesome. There is no derth of pastime nor physical activity. Both Hubs and I are so involved in the game, we literally screech at each other like we just missed the Wimbeldon trophy. After a series of tennis matches against each other, we thought it a good idea to rather play in the same team rather than trying to match our prowess. Tennis games are a lot more peaceful now. I consistently beat him through the nose is Bowling. In all other games though, it is me who takes the beating. He is really good at sports, and now, I am convinced. Just to save grace, I blame all my misses to lack of practice because I don’t have the time. I have to do so much work at office, around the house – cooking, washing, cleaning, blah blah. You have all the time in the world to practice the game. I get away with it.

The coming weekend I will be away at Mysore. But the weekend after that, I am hoping to spend an entire day Wii’ing… much fun!!