tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40093913911179618372024-03-13T10:36:15.381-07:00Shouts and MurmursNo, this is not the New Yorker...I just couldn't come up with an intelligent/original title for my blog.Never Mindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12369887318612569609noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-73049125138186461962011-06-01T16:12:00.000-07:002011-06-01T16:13:14.424-07:00A fresh start<div style="text-align: justify;">As I watched Sahiti learn to splash water in her bath this morning, I realized how far we had come from the day I had held her in the hospital for the first time. It dawned on me how I have no account of the past seven months except for my fading memory. I am busy with Sahiti during the day and tired at night. But I know now is the time to record her story before it slips out of my memory. Since my life has mostly been about Sahiti for the past seven months, I decided to start a new blog for her. Please go over to <a href="http://sahititangirala.wordpress.com/">http://sahititangirala.wordpress.com/</a> to read more about her. Hopefully, you guys will enjoy reading about her antics as much as I enjoy writing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 2 or 3 people who read my blog know me offline as well and are aware of who Sahiti is. If you don't and are wondering what happened to me since my blog is still stuck in the first trimester of my pregnancy, Sahiti is the answer. She is our little girl born on the 20th of October 2010 at 1.46pm. Go over to the <a href="http://sahititangirala.wordpress.com/">new space</a> for more on her. </div>Never Mindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12369887318612569609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-524273165397913082010-05-14T15:32:00.000-07:002010-05-14T16:39:50.066-07:00The pregnancy update<div style="text-align: justify;">Here is a quick update on how the pregnancy is progressing so far:</div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>At 17 weeks and 4 days, I finally feel like I have my energy back. I do have the occasional bouts of laziness but none of that dead tired feeling every morning. </li>
<li>My biggest concern has been my weight. For the first time ever, I am worried about not gaining enough weight. Pregnancy guides tell me I should have gained at least 4-5 pounds by now, but I have not registered even a a single additional pound on that scale, yet.</li>
<li>It seems like I have developed some kind of photophobia. Every time I step outside into bright sunlight, I have a brain splitting headache. </li>
<li>I do not have a noticeable baby bump. I am still at that, "is she pregnant or just fat" stage. </li>
<li>My boobs have quit being the bitches they were for the past couple of months. And I must say I am enjoying the extra cleavage :)</li>
<li>Everyday, the first thing I do when I wake up is rub my belly to see if I can feel that firmness in my lower abdomen, which I think is my womb. </li>
<li>My mom asks me every other day if I felt the baby move yet. Honestly, I have no idea. I don't know what to look out for. I probably felt the baby move but did not know it was the baby.</li>
<li>I am waiting for the genetic screening test results to come back. I hope the results are nothing bad and that our baby is safe and healthy.</li>
<li>We have the option of finding the gender of the baby in two weeks. So far we want to find out to be better prepared. Part of me also wants that huge Surprise.</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">On a side note, it was such an eventful week for us. JG got a fantastic job offer. He actually had two job offers and he made a decision yesterday after a lot of drama and bollywood style twists. In the end, he thinks he made a very bold and risky choice, something that he believes he would love in the future. I really hope he is right. Also, we just finished booking a trip to Toronto. It was a work trip for JG, to give an invited lecture, which I tagged along and converted into a 5 day vacation. Apparently, a vacation while expecting a baby is called BabyMoon. Who knew! I am super excited about the trip and can't wait for the last week of May to get here soon enough.</div>Never Mindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12369887318612569609noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-29523142266553351822010-05-01T01:39:00.000-07:002010-05-01T03:19:37.143-07:00How I met your father....<div style="text-align: justify;">My dearest Baby Gult,</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It has been 6 years since I met JG, your daddy-to be and I figured, if you've got any of my genes, you would be curious as a cat to find out how your parents met each other. So here is the story.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like any other respectable couple, we began our relationship being "just good friends". It was August 2003 and I just started grad school as a wide eyed and home sick twenty something. And JG, he was new in town too, but he had the experience of negotiating through coursework, research work, managing to have a life outside the lab and other such fun things you get to do in graduate school. Also, he just got himself a shiny new car. So overall, JG was the decent guy material that good girls were expected to hang out with. The first few months, we were really just friends. You know, meeting for the occasional coffees, lunches and dinners. A semester ended and the brutal winter began. No, no, the cold and the snow did not make me horny; the winter just made me lonelier and more home sick than ever.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had trouble waking up in the mornings for my 8am class, navigating my way through piles of snow to and from school and a terrible time cooking for myself and being alone in the apartment. Somehow, JG always came to my rescue. He would give me a wake up call every single day (I know, alarm clocks were invented by then), he picked me up from school when I had to stay back late finishing stuff and made Maggi for me when there was no food in my refrigerator. By the end of the winter, we were spending more time with each other than away.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One beautiful Spring evening, we decided to go to a nearby pond for a walk. Sometime during the walk, we instinctively held hands, like it was the most natural thing to do. And it got me thinking about us, about where all of this was going and such. We decided to meet after dinner to watch TV together (didn't I tell you we were spending a lot of time together, besides, there was no TV in my apartment). Sometime during a commercial break (yes, even life changing moments need to wait for commercial breaks) in an episode of Law and Order, I asked him where all of this was going and what it meant. Without missing a beat he told me that he thought the world of me and would like for nothing to change between us. Ok, honestly, I don't remember the exact words, but I guess the feeling is more important, right? I was not expecting this confession and was taken aback. I promptly left saying I needed some time to think about it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Come weekend, JG invited me to go on drive to the nearby mountains and spend the day with him. After driving for about an hour, we reached a beautiful place in the Berkshires with winding roads, a little river flowing next to the road, lush green trees and bright sunshine. Of course, there were also ugly naked people sun bathing, but we chose to ignore them. We parked the car and took a walk along the river on wet pebbles. We finally settled down on a huge rock. The sound of slow flowing water and the serenity of the place,suddenly made everything clear. I realized that next to him was my favorite place to be then and forever. And I gathered the courage to tell him just that. What followed was a confessional about our past and quick agreement on what we expect from the future. And just like that, on May 1st 2004, we moved a step ahead from being good friends to a couple. The rest as they say is history and a story for another day. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lots of love </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Your Amma-to be, who cannot wait to hold you.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
My dearest JG, Congrats for sticking around with me for 6 years! It was been a super fun ride so far and I look forward to the many many more turns on this roller coaster by your side. Love, NM. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Never Mindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12369887318612569609noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-35675109713524485992010-04-21T16:48:00.000-07:002010-04-21T16:51:52.050-07:00I have been diagnosed....<div style="text-align: justify;">...with the <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=egyptian%20flu">Egyptian flu</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Yes, yes, yes my dearest dearies, I am going to be a MUMMY in less than six months!!!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The news came as a surprise to me one Monday morning. The Saturday before that, John Gult (JG) and I went on a moderately strenous hike and I could barely move a muscle next day. Come Monday, I still had a funny feeling in my stomach and suddenly out of nowhere, I decided to take a pregnancy test. The next thing I know, I was bawling my eyes out in the bathroom. You know how all your life you dream of something but when the moment of truth comes, you are so unprepared for it , you are left clueless? That is kind of what happened to me. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> We weren't actively in the baby making business, but we were aware we that were not doing anything to not make a baby either. Also, at some level, both JG and I had a feeling that it would never happen to us; don't ask me why. It took a couple of more tests, a visit to the doctor's office and a few weeks for the news to slowly sink in. To be honest, we are both still scared of what is going to happen and we doubt our parenting abilities everyday. But for now, we have decided to sit back and enjoy the ride and wait for a certain little person to teach us everything!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> I have known this news for about 2 months now and it took me so long to come to terms with the idea completely and to gather the courage to post it here; especially since I have been MIA for the past so many months. I discontinued blogging because a few of my real-life friends found me online and had discussed the blog with me offline, which made me self-conscious and re-evaluate every sentence I typed out here. But now that I am going through this incredible experience, I wanted to make a record of it, irrespective of the audience. Besides, we all know mommy bloggers are the most popular kind!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> So all you parents, bring on your wisdom. And the yet-to be parents, please pray that I don't turn into one of those obsessive pregnant women who refuse to talk about anything but their pregnancy. And of course, any baby name suggestions you may have will be greatly appreciated.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Never Mindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12369887318612569609noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-86366193614198041632009-07-02T12:40:00.000-07:002009-07-02T21:54:06.907-07:00A how-to guide...<div style="text-align: justify;">...to love <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anurag_Kashyap_%28director%29">Anurag Kashyap's</a> movies.<br /></div><ol style="text-align: justify;"><li>Read as much about the movie before watching it as possible. You want to know all the character names, motives and metaphors beforehand. Preferably, straight from the <a href="http://passionforcinema.com/author/anurag/">horse's mouth</a>.<br /></li><li>Make sure to watch the movie with plenty of lights on. If you are watching at a cinema, request the manager to keep the lights on. If you catch the movie at home, make sure you have all your windows open and/or lights on.</li><li>Get yourself something to drink. Not those sodas or juices. I mean the real stuff. You will need at least a couple of shots of espresso to keep yourself awake through the movie.</li><li>Glue your eyelids to your eyebrows. When watching Anurag Kashyap, you cannot afford to blink.<br /></li><li>When possible keep the closed captions turned on. Of course, keep the volume as high as you can possibly manage.<br /></li><li>After all of this, chances are you might not have really understood the movie. Now go back and repeat steps 1 to 5 a few more times to actually "get" the movie. And once you do, you are bound to love the movie.<br /></li><li>Now head over to one of those IMDB discussion boards to compare your interpretation against everyone else's.</li><li>Oh, and throughout the process, dont forget to enjoy the superb music.<br /></li></ol>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-85860249082684241492009-06-24T21:07:00.005-07:002009-06-24T21:25:52.324-07:00Caption this<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_swKgLwow1-w/SkL5tYAc_9I/AAAAAAAAFAM/P42fb3ju8yc/s1600-h/kareena-kapoor-bcbg-maxi-dress.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 229px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_swKgLwow1-w/SkL5tYAc_9I/AAAAAAAAFAM/P42fb3ju8yc/s400/kareena-kapoor-bcbg-maxi-dress.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351113865203351506" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Picture courtesy: <a href="http://www.highheelconfidential.com/">High Heel Confidential</a></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">My take</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Saif: "Nice rack baby!"<br />Kareena: "Really? And what do you think of stuff downstairs?"<br /><br />Go ahead peeps, let your imagination run wild. As you can see, you cannot get any lower (no pun here) than mine, the caption that is.<br /><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Aparna/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg" alt="" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-910783827340194842009-06-05T11:09:00.000-07:002009-06-05T12:56:37.005-07:00Tag hourPicked up this nosey questions tag from <a href="http://commicacid.blogspot.com/">La Vida Loca</a>.<br /><br />1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?<br />God! Another pimple.<br /><br />2. How much cash do you have in your wallet right now?<br />$26 and some loose change that I am lazy to count.<br /><br />3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?<br />Bore?<br /><br />4. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?<br />A certain someone called "Kittu".<br /><br />5. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone?<br />Not really a favorite, but right now, its Rock On music.<br /><br />6. What are you wearing right now?<br />Pajamas.<br /><br />7. Do you label yourself?<br />Not really. What would you call a mildly obsessive woman who insists having her way and then gives up the instant she likes something better?<br /><br />8. Name the brand of the shoes you’re currently own?<br />Does the department store brand count?<br /><br />9.Bright or Dark Room?<br />Bright rooms. Dark rooms depress me (read scare me).<br /><br />10. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?<br />She is one kick-ass girl who is as much fun in person as on her <a href="http://commicacid.blogspot.com/">blog</a>.<br /><br />11. What does your watch look like?<br />Not wearing one right now, but have a beige strapped watch with a gold rim and ivory dial studded with diamonds. Real ivory, real diamonds, 22k gold and genuine leather, the generous sales associate told me. He was also nice enough to sell it to me just for peanuts!<br /><br />12. What were you doing at midnight last night?<br />Sleeping.<br /><br />13. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?<br />"This is an automatic test message generated by the emergency response system".<br /><br />14. What’s a word that you say a lot?<br />There is no one bloody word I say a lot, bloody!<br /><br />15. Who told you he/she loved you last?<br />Umm....one of John Gult's friends. He said, "you guys don't call me as often but I still love you both". So sweet na!<br /><br />16. Last furry thing you touched?<br /><a href="http://www.swiffer.com/en_US/duster.do">Swiffer duster.</a><br /><br />17. Favourite age you have been so far?<br />Early teens. Loved high school absolutely. Wonderful friends, first crushes and of course a much fitter body.<br /><br />18. What was the last thing you said to someone?<br />"Talk to you later".<br /><br />19.The last song you listened to?<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q77PH6pjz80">Dhol yaara dhol</a> from Dev D.<br /><br />20. Where did you live in 1987?<br />Hyderabad, India.<br /><br />21. Are you jealous of anyone?<br />Actually of a few people and I am really hoping it will go away once I get what they have.<br /><br />22. Is anyone jealous of you?<br />Not sure.<br /><br />23. Name three things that you have on you at all times?<br />Clothes (obviously!), something to tie my hair and of course my unpredictable mood.<br /><br />24. What’s your favorite town/city?<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visakhapatnam">Visakhapatnam</a>. The city brings back wonderful memories.<br /><br />25. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?<br />Not sure if this was the last one, but recently found one I wrote to John Gult in sudh hindi that too.<br /><br />26. Can you change the oil on a car?<br />In theory yes, but never tried.<br /><br />27. Your first love/big crush: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?<br />That he married his first cousin, that too out of choice. No dying grandparents involved. How weird!<br /><br />28. Does anything hurt on your body right now?<br />No, but my wrist bothers me a little.<br /><br />29.What is your current desktop picture?<br />Nothing. I very strongly believe desktop pictures led my computer to crash last summer.<br /><br />30. Have you been burnt by love?<br />No, just <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love-bite">bitten</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-22366667520120734232009-03-14T12:00:00.002-07:002009-03-14T12:43:01.899-07:00More on what’s happening at the John Gult and Never Mind household<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:100%;" >At work, a few weeks ago, they laid off about 10% of the workforce. I know it's not news anymore but it still came as a surprise because at the beginning of the year, they talked about how well we did in 2008 and how we have enough money to last through the rough times. Apparently, people got the pink slips was because the top bosses were being “proactive” about the bad economy. But, like all those big banks, everyone who is still here gets that big fat bonus. People at work were super pissed with the layoffs. As an intern, I didn't feel strongly one way or the other, but it made me think hard if this is a company that I want to stay with for life and make a career at. Especially, if they don’t think twice about letting people go whenever there is a potential road block. Anyway, as a result of this “re-structuring”, things have gotten super busy. And it does not help to have a manager who works 15 hrs a days and is twice as smart as you. So I spend most days and some nights trying to play catch-up with him and end up feeling like a loser.<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:100%;" > At home, things have been fairly smooth. We have given up the high hopes of keeping the house neat and tidy at all times, cooking fresh food for every meal and such. Now we are happy if there is frozen food or leftovers from last night for dinner and laundered clothes to wear. We clean the house over the weekends; that is if you count putting things back in their place as cleaning. </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:100%;" > Very recently, I realized that between January 1<sup>st</sup> and March 15<sup>th</sup>, there is a birthday or an anniversary every other week in the family. So I decided to make sure that our future child’s birthday does not get lost in the jungle. Jan, Feb and March are ruled out. Nov is out for similar reasons. December is al already expensive month with all the Chritmas traveling. It’s too hot to be born between May and Aug. Besides, the kids would hate us because most schools are closed for the summer and they would have no friends around to celebrate with. That leaves me with Apr, Sep and Oct. MIL’s birthday is in Sep and FIL’s is in Oct. Going by my rule of not having a kid in the month when someone in the family has birthday, I am left with a narrow window of just 30 days in April! Awesome! Now its the perfect excuse to give to all those nosy aunty types </span><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:100%;" >who want to know if there is any “special news”. It would be super cool to say, “Sorry aunty, I missed the window for this year, but wish me luck for next!” </span><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:100%;" >Sorry people, I did not mean to actually type these things out and bore you to death. As you can tell, I do not have anything intelligent to say!<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:100%;" > Speaking of kids, one of my bestest <span> </span>friends is preggers. I would have been a lot more enthusiastic about it, if not for the way I came to know of the news. To me, she is the kind of friend you would call, when you even consider the thought of having babies. She called to wish us on our anniversary and adds as an afterthought that she is 12 weeks pregnant, that too after telling half of the people we know in common. I was genuinely happy for her, but could not help feeling bad and left out. Of course, I played along with her not wanting to hurt her during her special time. Oh wait, may be I did. She sometimes reads this blog. But I really hope her pregnancy goes well and they have a healthy baby. </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:100%;" > In other news, you remember my brother who was going to travel to the US to take his medical licensing exam? Ya, <a href="http://myshoutsandmurmurs.blogspot.com/2008/07/of-daughters-sisters-and-wives.html">that one</a>. He is traveling to the US this year to take the same exam. He will be staying with us for 4 months through the summer. I am super excited about his trip. And of course, I can’t wait for all the goodies my parents are sending with him.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:100%;" > With that, we come to the end of today’s edition. You all take care and I will be back with more news and updates soon, hopefully sooner than another 3 months!</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-90097647345976093902009-03-11T08:33:00.005-07:002009-03-11T08:56:01.893-07:00Where have we been...?...At the intersection of writer's block and don't-have-anything-to-say, being incredibly lazy in a busymobile.<br /><br />Excuse #1: Hour-long commutes and overachieving coworkers leave us with little time and/or self-respect to write anything.<br />Excuse #2: My theory that weekend hours are only half the duration of weekday hours is proving to be true.<br />Excuse #3: Every time I/we start a post, I/we realize halfway that others have said it all already.<br /><br />Thanks all, for checking on us regularly. Regular programming might start here if something interesting comes up.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-59601670185725477582009-01-16T21:00:00.000-08:002009-01-16T21:00:00.322-08:00Its that time of the year!!!Since all you lovely people lurve me so much :D, I have decided to treat you guys to a little puzzle.<br /><br />The first four prime numbers add up to the day I was born. If you have figured the date out and are wondering about the month, I say it doesn't matter. Day of the year and calender date are all the same. If you have figured out, you know when to wear your party hats and sing the birthday song!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-9546407814505848652009-01-10T11:27:00.016-08:002009-01-13T22:38:00.564-08:00The weight of expectation (guest post, part 2)<div style="text-align: justify;">I wasn't too impressed with the Grand Canyon.<br />There, I said it.<br />Sorry...<br /><br />I had way more fun in Death Valley, and I put it down to the spontaneity of our trip there.<br /><br />Expectation is a killer. Expectation is why a 30 by Harbhajan is thrilling but a 30 by Sachin empties the grounds. It’s why Surya’s Ghajini feels like a routine run-of-the-mill masala movie, but Aamir Khan’s Ghajini feels like a disaster, a terrible start to the year (if this were the script of a Ghajini-like movie, I’d give you about seventeen more examples like this, including, in no particular order, a crying baby, sunshine after rain and blooming flowers).<br /><br />Anyway, to come back to the point of this post, when we started planning this trip, it centered on three focal points: LA, Las Vegas and Grand Canyon. And invariably, the places we enjoyed most were then ones we did not have concrete plans for. But let me try to be at least partially chronological here.<br /><br />- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Brea_Tar_Pits">Rancho La Brea</a> is a little gem tucked away among the high-rises of Los Angeles. I wonder how many tourists in LA even know about this place?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW145uc1h1I/AAAAAAAAAAM/v2thM_r3wZo/s1600-h/PICT0183.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW145uc1h1I/AAAAAAAAAAM/v2thM_r3wZo/s320/PICT0183.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291018070347056978" border="0" /></a><br /><br />- Las Vegas has been one of the <a href="http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://seekingalpha.com/wp-content/seekingalpha/images/HousingMarketsChange.png&imgrefurl=http://seekingalpha.com/article/37427-housing-bubble-and-real-estate-market-tracker&usg=__0Nt_04PjcNbtGbSJNST9xYkt8_4=&h=644&w=746&sz=46&hl=en&start=4&sig2=ZJT4Mx3Be-MD7t6y6CKV7w&um=1&tbnid=ZPXRKjQcXcvdCM:&tbnh=122&tbnw=141&ei=L3FtSc2MFpCksQPF95imAw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlas%2Bvegas%2Bhousing%2Bcrash%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG">epicenters</a> of the housing market collapse, and boy, does it show! Vegas stretches out in all directions into the desert, with seemingly no reason for people to live there. There’s way too many housing complexes and accompanying strip malls than seem sustainable, they all look new (and quite good), and most of them look empty. Abandoned before being occupied? Maybe. I don't know, but it's bizarre.<br /><br />- You don't hear much about downtown Las Vegas (no, it's not the same as the Strip), but it's fun. Downtown lacks the mega-resorts that you see on the Strip (MGM, Venetian, etc etc), but there's this enclosed area on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont_Street_Experience">Fremont St</a> that reminded me of Bourbon street in New Orleans. It was cold, but free concerts, easily available drinks access to many hotel/casinos and the huge screen more than made up for it.<br /><br />- Speaking of the Strip, did know how LONG it is? Looking on a map, Caesar's Palace is perhaps one block from the Bellagio, but it takes a good 7-8 minutes to walk the distance. It's fun to roam around on the Strip though. I didn't think I would like Vegas - thought it wouldn't be anything more than a pimped-out Times Square. And though it is indeed a pimped-out Times Square, there's lots of things to do, and varied "sceneries" and "skylines" to see, so it's all good. Felt a little bad for the Latino dudes standing at the street corners, advertising/offering hookers to passers-by, with most guys trying to glance from the corners of their eyes without looking too interested.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW16AYk_zCI/AAAAAAAAAAk/fc1FZF6pYHE/s1600-h/PICT0317.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW16AYk_zCI/AAAAAAAAAAk/fc1FZF6pYHE/s320/PICT0317.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291019284246416418" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW16AGRC8ZI/AAAAAAAAAAc/SaP8eHpgkME/s1600-h/PICT0257.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW16AGRC8ZI/AAAAAAAAAAc/SaP8eHpgkME/s320/PICT0257.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291019279330898322" border="0" /></a><br /><br />- I had noticed this in Atlantic City, and was convinced of it in Vegas. Chinese people, especially older folks, are mad about gambling! Vegas, with no history of immigration from Asia, has a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown,_Las_Vegas">Chinatown</a>, and tour bus companies abound, ferrying people from Vegas for day trips. Sort of explains the rise of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling_in_Macau">Macau</a>, no?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW15OddeF_I/AAAAAAAAAAU/xfPUHkw8eEo/s1600-h/PICT0200.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW15OddeF_I/AAAAAAAAAAU/xfPUHkw8eEo/s320/PICT0200.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291018426563565554" border="0" /></a><br /><br />- Red Rock Canyon is a short drive from Las Vegas, and it’s apt that it has that singular in its name. We only ever saw one red rock (okay, hill for you quibblers) there, and the rest of the 13-mile drive was “routine” mountains and desert. Nice place, but not the highlight of the trip. That, my friends, would be...<br /><br />- ...Death Valley!!! Places like this remind one that humans may build the mightiest cities, but these are no match for the beauty of nature. Death Valley is a bleak place, the hottest, driest and lowest point in North America. That turned out very nicely for us, because the low elevation meant it was warmer (ok, less colder) than the other places we went to. Hiking in Death Valley was not so difficult, but it was amazing how few people there were on the trails (and almost no one away from the trails). It is such a pleasing experience when the only sound you can hear is the crunch of the long-dried-out river bed under your feet. The Sound of Silence, you say?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW18_QKI8JI/AAAAAAAAABc/WBnfozzA6w4/s1600-h/PICT0227.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW18_QKI8JI/AAAAAAAAABc/WBnfozzA6w4/s320/PICT0227.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291022563341299858" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW17C_YvX8I/AAAAAAAAAA0/9Htp7MaKRmE/s1600-h/PICT0231.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW17C_YvX8I/AAAAAAAAAA0/9Htp7MaKRmE/s320/PICT0231.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291020428535357378" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW17CrpgrBI/AAAAAAAAAAs/QEsru7Lcumc/s1600-h/PICT0244.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW17CrpgrBI/AAAAAAAAAAs/QEsru7Lcumc/s320/PICT0244.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291020423236987922" border="0" /></a><br /><br />- Driving to and from Death Valley gave us a glimpse of the US that we aren't used to. There are no big green signs telling you 10 miles in advance to take an exit. You take a state route, watch for a nondescript turn, drive over potholed roads. Very much like rural India. Some of those towns have a real frontier feel to them. You wouldn’t want to venture past these towns at night and/or in the summer without stocking up on supplies and survival gear.<br /><br />- Zion National Park was the most spur-of-the-moment we made, and it was only because we didn't think we had it in us to drive to Bryce Canyon and back in one day. But again, it was awesome. The red colored road along the Zion Canyon floor matches the red sandstone cliffs towering on both sides. Zion seemed like a summer destination with streams and much greenery, but I'm glad we went there in the winter. Some of the trails were closed due to icy conditions, but this is a spectacularly beautiful place. I’m amazed by how varied the geography of the American West is. All you East Coast folks, do yourself a favor and head west for a vacation.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW18_lHOKAI/AAAAAAAAABk/Q88GxMj5ZXk/s1600-h/PICT0268.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 314px; height: 235px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW18_lHOKAI/AAAAAAAAABk/Q88GxMj5ZXk/s320/PICT0268.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291022568966203394" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW17rnjtrJI/AAAAAAAAABE/SMvaVeMCUyc/s1600-h/PICT0306.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 313px; height: 235px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW17rnjtrJI/AAAAAAAAABE/SMvaVeMCUyc/s320/PICT0306.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291021126513568914" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW17rE3pnlI/AAAAAAAAAA8/M1sVZJffmwM/s1600-h/PICT0286.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 231px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW17rE3pnlI/AAAAAAAAAA8/M1sVZJffmwM/s320/PICT0286.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291021117201948242" border="0" /></a><br /><br />- Which brings us to our final destination. We parked the car 50 feet from the South Rim, made our way to the edge through throngs of people, and peered into the great big hole for a few minutes, too embarrassed to admit to each other that what was supposed to be the grand finale of the trip was a bit underwhelming. To be fair, Grand Canyon is indeed stunning, but when you’ve been bracing yourself for the stun for so long, the stunt gets a bit, well, stunted. Yes, I know we should’ve hiked at least some distance into the canyon, but it was icy and time was a bit tight. Also, all sources said the park would be empty in the winter, but we found it to be a zoo, with a thousand cars and a dozen tour buses (incidentally, what’s with Chinese/Japanese/Korean people and tour groups/buses? Ever seen a desi tour bus in the US?) If this is the scene in winter, I shudder to think how it must be in the summer!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW18eEcHSLI/AAAAAAAAABU/KRWSKNdscjE/s1600-h/PICT0380.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW18eEcHSLI/AAAAAAAAABU/KRWSKNdscjE/s320/PICT0380.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291021993259780274" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW18d8puMNI/AAAAAAAAABM/PWQz75rhizE/s1600-h/PICT0369.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wiBNCe6k92c/SW18d8puMNI/AAAAAAAAABM/PWQz75rhizE/s320/PICT0369.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291021991169372370" border="0" /></a><br /><br />- If you’re a National Park aficionado (like me), it’s a great idea to get the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm">annual pass</a>. It saved us at least 30 minutes, getting into Grand Canyon past the long line of cars and buses.<br /><br />- Finally, this trip takes both NM's and my (US) state-count to/past 25. Woo-hoo!<br /><br />And that, boys and girls, ends this travelogue. I'm glad I wrote this up before my memory got erased. Regular programming will restart soon from Never Mind (I hope...).</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-1887770009873221992009-01-05T22:16:00.003-08:002009-01-05T22:19:42.818-08:00Road Trippin' the South-west.....(Guest post, part 1)Happy New Year and all that jazz, people. Never Mind has lost her mind, and is down with writer’s block (yes, again). I’m the one referred to in these pages as the “the husband”. Going by my origins, you can call me <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Galt">John</a> <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gult">Gult</a> :) This is my first blog post of any kind, so I hope I don’t cost her too many readers…<br /><br />NM and I took a road trip last week. 2563 miles in all, across four states, over seven days. We had planned to do a day-by-day posting on this blog, but two things happened. One, apparently Priceline does not check if your would-be hotel has free wi-fi, and two, we got a bit shamed sitting around in the parking lots of coffee shops, searching for wi-fi signals to steal. I’m still going to pretend we’re doing a day-to-day posting though, and give you more wisdom about our trip than you care for. Pliss to excuse.<br /><br />Here are some of the points that stuck in my head about our trip:<br /><br />-You would think a driving time of nine hours from the Bay Area to LA, with an average speed of 25 mph for half the time, would mean a sucky day. Well, not when you are driving through the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Sur">Big Sur</a>. This region, with surprisingly little traffic, is spectacular, and the road, sandwiched between mountains and the Pacific has to be one of the prettiest drives I’ve ever taken. Supposedly, you can see whales while driving the road too. Methinks someone must’ve forgotten to notify the fishies that we were coming…<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_swKgLwow1-w/SWLyvUzOqTI/AAAAAAAAEds/0czTL4yfBDE/s1600-h/PICT0146.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_swKgLwow1-w/SWLyvUzOqTI/AAAAAAAAEds/0czTL4yfBDE/s200/PICT0146.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288055807337736498" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_swKgLwow1-w/SWLyvKEtPFI/AAAAAAAAEdk/XkUz1sf3EdM/s1600-h/PICT0141.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_swKgLwow1-w/SWLyvKEtPFI/AAAAAAAAEdk/XkUz1sf3EdM/s200/PICT0141.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288055804458253394" border="0" /></a><br /></div>- Some dudes on the California coast have a lot of money, I tell you. How else do you explain these zebras grazing in a ranch a hundred meters from the ocean?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_swKgLwow1-w/SWLzM9de8xI/AAAAAAAAEd0/0UyB-6Co6eQ/s1600-h/PICT0151.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_swKgLwow1-w/SWLzM9de8xI/AAAAAAAAEd0/0UyB-6Co6eQ/s200/PICT0151.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288056316468589330" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />- <a href="http://www.losososbaywoodpark.org/">Los Osos</a> and <a href="http://www.cayucosbythesea.com/">Cayucos</a> must be among the prettiest towns in the US. Actually looked like tropical resort towns, with bright multicolored houses fronting beautiful beaches.<br /><br />-San Bernardino county, and California in general, are HUGE. Driving out of LA towards Las Vegas brings you across an amazing array of environments. From a coastal city full of beaches to snow-capped mountains to arid desert, all within an hour’s drive (well okay, considering LA’s traffic, three hours).<br /><br />- There’s quite a few solar power plants (thermal, PV) in the Mojave desert of CA/AZ/NV. If only we could get either the price of silicon down, or the efficiency of other technologies higher…<br /><br />- I’m still trying to figure out what exactly made us spend 50 bucks in Hollywood to go gawk at the homes of celebrities and movie stars for two hours. It was a sobering day for the Santa-costumed driver too, with 90% of his jokes and celebrity gossip fizzling out, what with 15 desis (coincidence, I may add), 2 Chinese and no Americans in his van. On the same note, it must’ve been a pretty low-tip day for him too ☺<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_swKgLwow1-w/SWLziIorJiI/AAAAAAAAEd8/h0TeooiiDSY/s1600-h/PICT0170.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_swKgLwow1-w/SWLziIorJiI/AAAAAAAAEd8/h0TeooiiDSY/s200/PICT0170.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288056680245569058" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br />- For a famous landmark, the Hollywood sign is visible from very few places. Yeah it's cheesy, but, c'mon of course we had to take pics with it.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_swKgLwow1-w/SWLz7pKylvI/AAAAAAAAEeE/nu1quxzSnc8/s1600-h/PICT0182.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_swKgLwow1-w/SWLz7pKylvI/AAAAAAAAEeE/nu1quxzSnc8/s200/PICT0182.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288057118475327218" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />- Christmas morning, guy walking on water. Wonder if he was the Big J…? (NM’s joke originally. Just so I don’t get accused of plagiarism…)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_swKgLwow1-w/SWL0XB6zz1I/AAAAAAAAEeM/xInkDnM3GP0/s1600-h/PICT0158.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_swKgLwow1-w/SWL0XB6zz1I/AAAAAAAAEeM/xInkDnM3GP0/s200/PICT0158.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288057588975652690" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />- Turns out there is indeed such a thing as too much free non-stop porn on TV. Add in a rat hole of a hotel room, torn threadbare towels and a non-functioning heater, and you have a contender for the worst hotel stay ever. This was self-inflicted pain though. I know we should’ve waited longer in that coffee shop parking lot for a reply from priceline, instead of rushing to the nearest hole-in-the-wall.<br /><br />Ok, I get a feeling that's enough gyaan for today. If I don't scare off too many readers from here, I will post more details tomorrow (or whenever). Take care, people.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-55252035071870434092008-12-03T10:11:00.004-08:002008-12-07T17:56:52.894-08:00Remembering Bhopal<div style="text-align: justify;">Remembering the Bhopal Gas Tragedy that left thousands dead and many many more injured. And some of them paying the price even after 24 years!<br /><br />I was barely two when this disaster happened. But I had chose to write a review paper on it earlier this year for a class I was taking and thats when I knew details about the event. Even just reading papers about the disaster and the effects it had on Bhopal has made my stomach churn. After 14 years, we can only hope the <a href="http://www.bhopal.net/blog_pr/archives/2008/04/dowas_pune_proj.html">new Dow chemicals plant in Pune is not another Bhopal waiting to happen.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.magnumphotos.com/Archive/C.aspx?VP=Mod_ViewBoxInsertion.ViewBoxInsertion_VPage&R=2TYRYDDG70XJ&RP=Mod_ViewBox.ViewBoxThumb_VPage&CT=Album&SP=Album">Here is a link</a> to some pictures immediately after the disaster. It also includes Raghu Rai's award winning photograph.<br /><br />Update: Thanks bollyviewer for the correction. I dont know how 2008-1984 was 14 anyways!<br /><br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-42275763349025346142008-12-02T20:23:00.002-08:002008-12-02T20:47:01.929-08:00Your God or Mine?<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:documentproperties> <o:author>Annette Rohr</o:Author> <o:version>11.5606</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:donotrelyoncss/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} span.EmailStyle16 {mso-style-type:personal; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial; mso-ascii-font-family:Arial; mso-hansi-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; color:windowtext;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">I wish the recent terror attacks are linked to radical muslims trained in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Yes, I said it. For all of us who spent Wednesday to Saturday of last week glued to one news channel or the other, it does not seem a very unreasonable wish. After all, the terrorists came to the coast in boats, carried Pakistani IDs and all other such evidence that points to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>. And like any self respecting Indian, I was quick to add that if it is indeed true, then <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> should attack the terrorist camps and use nuclear weapons if necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Sometime during the course of the 60-hr drama in Mumbai, I checked Al-Jazeera’s website to see what they were saying about the attacks. To my utter disgust, they reported that the attack could be the act of <st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region>’s internal terrorist organizations while <st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region> blamed <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> in a knee jerk reaction. I yelled some at my computer screen, made some expletive noises about how there are no “internal elements” in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> and gave up reading news for about an hour. Today, in an email conversation with a friend, in a fit of anger, I declared that all the Muslims in the world should be treated like terrorists unless proven innocent! (I hope you recognize the emotional rhetoric here). My friend immediately asked what makes me so sure that this was perpetrated by “the outsider” Muslims and not our own homegrown rogue elements like Bajrang Dal. I made some noises about how the radical Hindu organizations are not that indiscriminate and immediately changed the topic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">To me and millions like me in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> who enjoy the luxury of being in the majority, it is comforting to blame “the outsider” as the enemy. I wonder if the entire terrorist attack episode would have been as sensational if it weren’t for the Pakistani angle in it. Aren’t we all waiting to hear that the FBI and Scotland Yard aided investigations will provide conclusive evidence against ISI?<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Once I started reading more about the possibility that the attack might not necessarily be from outside <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>, I am scared than ever.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Being a Muslim in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> is not easy. Most of us who belong to the majority, take this struggle for granted. We never stop to think how it is to live in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> as a muslim. I do not have specific examples to cite but we all have heard stories about the muslim family that was refused an apartment in the building or the muslim household that struggled find domestic help etc. I am willing to believe that years of such oppression could have resulted in absolute hatred and intolerance towards the rest of us. That coupled with a country jealous of our progress (?), <st1:place st="on">Kashmir</st1:place> issue, ties with US etc etc could explain the Pakistani trained terrorists’ theory. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:85%;" ><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:85%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" >But what if it wasn’t the muslims? What if it was our own Bajrang Dal that moved up the terrorism ladder? What excuse do they have apart from sheer intolerance to another faith? That is what scares me.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Like always, someone else has said all of this much better.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.samarmagazine.org/archive/article.php?id=275" target="_blank">http://www.samarmagazine.org/<wbr>archive/article.php?id=275</a><br /></span><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" ><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:85%;" ><o:p><span style="font-size:100%;">PS: Please excuse me if in any way I have conveyed that it is okay for people from one religion to kill. Obviously that is not what I have tried here.</span><br /></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-10443930921834311222008-12-01T20:17:00.005-08:002008-12-01T20:45:12.525-08:00And I am back!<p style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 204, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Howdy y’all? Thanks for all the concerned comments and encouragement to write more frequently. Well guess what? I have taken your comments way too seriously. To compensate for the last 3 months or so of zero activity, I have taken up <a href="http://commicacid.blogspot.com/">La Vida</a>’s recommendation of a blog marathon. I will make a sincere attempt to post at least once every day whether or not I have something <s>coherent</s> important to say. It will be a challenge given that I commute about an hour and a half to work each way and am left with zero enthu to do anything once I get home. But, you asked for it people! So here we go.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 204, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">So how have you all been? I have most of you on feed reader and have been reading your blogs stealthily at work while swiftly shifting between windows every time I hear footsteps (Thank God for keyboard shortcuts!). I haven’t been commenting much because I haven’t </span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">yet </span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">gathered the courage to log in to blogger from work. Any of you have cool tips on how to blog/comment while appearing to be busy at your desk? About us, the husband and I have quit being floating particles and have settled down fairly well in the Bay area (</span></span><span style=";font-family:Wingdings;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Wingdings;"></span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">couldn’t resist the PJ). I flew across the country in September to see the husband talk about his work, thank his mentors, parents and parents-in-law, and bottoming-up 6 glasses of Champagne back to back. Needless to say he has no memory of what happened to him after that. Not that anything really happened, except that he was made to wear a really ridiculous looking hat and paraded around the campus in a shopping cart by his group members. And that was how a very innocent looking, baby-faced husband became The Husband Pee Etch Dee. After a week, the husband wrapped up in the University town and moved to California with me. So that was our September. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 204, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Most of October was spent trying to figure out what we will need to run an functional house, where to buy such stuff, buying the stuff and setting up the apartment. Now don’t let this simple statement trick you into believing that it is easy to set up an apartment from scratch. Actually buying the essential stuff is easy. You go to a department store and pick up a toaster, a microwave oven, a vacuum cleaner etc. The tough part is furnishing and decoration. In the process of furnishing our apartment, the husband and I became an IKEA couple like <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.broombox.com">Broom</a> once described. We were fighting about the fabric, color, design, pattern, size and you-name-it. If we agreed on everything, the damned thing was out of our budget. After numerous stressful trips to IKEA, Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, Linens n Things and such, we managed to put together a decent looking place. At the end of it, the effort seemed worthwhile when we sunk into the couch in our newly furnished living room sipping a glass of wine.<br /></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 204, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">November has been a super fun month. We went to Napa/Sonoma valley to celebrate the husband’s birthday. We stayed at a little spa resort, got couple massages, had great wine and a lot more :) Before we could completely get back to routine, it was Thanksgiving and we had to do something fun again. We spent the weekend in Lake Tahoe and Reno. There wasnt much snow there for skiing but we manged to skate on ice and hike in the snow. Also did I mention that I met a super cool and lovely <a href="http://commicacid.blogspot.com/">blogger</a> in November? She is as interesting in person as she is on her blog if not more. She does have a great smile, she does wear her lipstick well, and she does have an amazing sense of humor. It was so much fun to meet her that I forgot about the sucking day I had that day. Wait, since this is a marathon and not a sprint, I will save up the details of that day for another post. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 204, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">So overall, w</span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">e have been exploring the Bay area and now let me please pause for a second to eat my words. Bay area is fun!! I did not like it in the first few days of moving here because I was alone, home sick and had to deal with giant humongous lizards which I knew were out there to get me. I have not seen those despicable monsters anywhere else except around the cafeteria at work (maybe they guard all the free food in the cafeteria). Mostly I love the Bay area because of the number of options it has for people to have fun. You like clubbing and night life? You have it. Want some quiet time at the beach? You have it. Want a good hike? You have it. OK you get the drift. That’s pretty much been my September, October and November in a nut shell. Eating good food, going out, having fun and in general having good time in life.<br /></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-23722649707592740392008-09-03T17:51:00.002-07:002008-09-03T18:19:17.736-07:00Of this,that and awardGuess what Never Mind is up to? <div style="text-align: justify;"><br />I had an internship offer in the pipeline for a while now but it took so long for me to get over all the irritating hassles to finally get here that I can barely believe this is happening to me. I got the offer in November last year for a scheduled start in June '08. I asked my then PhD adviser if I could take up this offer as a supplement to my work in his lab. He refused to let me go and was of the opinion that industries have nothing new to offer to the academia. I later decided to quit the lab owing to many other reasons and thought I could pursue this internship while I find something else to do. Just about 2 weeks before my start date, I found out that the university did not allow students to go and work and I couldn't work without being a student. Unable to solve the paradox, I postponed my start date to Sept '08. I went through the employment authorization process once again with the hope that this time, I use the correct channel. I was denied authorization again. That was when I decided to chuck everything and move-in with the husband. On hindsight, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. We had so much fun living together in our first apartment, it was magical. OK, I digress. Getting back to where we were, I transferred Universities and applied for employment authorization for a third time. A lot of drama, a few tearful goodbyes to my career and several tensed days later, I got my approval and and I finally started working yesterday. This is just an internship position for 4 months but is totally what I wanted to do. Also it pays well enough to have enough money left for those shoes and purses after paying all the bills. So I am super excited. Excited about the work, the money,everything.<br /><br />I moved to California this Sunday and am slowly getting used to being a Californian. It is not as beautiful as everyone hyped but it seems like a fairly nice place to live in. California lost part of its charm for me because of its lizards. Did I ever mention how much I hate them? Actually, I am terrified of them. Yesterday when I walking back from lunch, I saw three lizards in the walkway for the first time in the US and I was scared beyond wits. Since then, I kept checking my surroundings to make sure there weren't any more of those horrible creatures. And now, the great part, the husband got a job in California as well and he will graduate from school and start here in October. So it looks like we have some fun times coming up. But I promise, no more excuses for not blogging. I will resume regular blogging and update this place as often as possible.<br /><br />To make the happy times more exciting, the lovely <a href="http://commicacid.blogspot.com/">La Vida</a> has honored me with the blogger BFF award. This award is special not just because it is my first but also because it means a lot to be a friend. I have very few BFFs in real life and blogging has introduced me to some great people who I wouldnt have met otherwise. While accepting the award with great pride, I pass it on to my blogger BFFs.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_mA44Sou1cfw/SL1vfI6EbxI/AAAAAAAAAq4/baiU5PYt8S4/s320/awd1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_mA44Sou1cfw/SL1vfI6EbxI/AAAAAAAAAq4/baiU5PYt8S4/s320/awd1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div><ol style="text-align: justify;" id="n_2i0"><li id="n_2i1"><a href="http://commicacid.blogspot.com/">La Vida Loca</a> : It has to come right back to you for the warmth you sent my way and of course your fun posts. Her dry humor and profession remind me so much of Mathew Petry in The Whole Nine Yards.<br /></li><li id="vg:v"><a href="http://dewdropdream.blogspot.com/">Dew Drop Dream</a>: She once asked <a href="http://dewdropdream.blogspot.com/2008/08/its-all-in-your-mind.html">what we thought of her</a> as a person. I never had a chance to write then. But I think she is a lovely lady with a great "Office"-ish sense of humor, treasures her friends, buys great gifts and a truly unique person in that she is loved right back by earthworms!<br /></li><li id="d3bd"><a href="http://snippetsnscribbles.wordpress.com/">SnippetsnScribbles</a>: Very simple words that touch your heart, every day happenings that make you laugh and Profound thoughts on love, life and marriage. Thats SnippetsnScribbles for you.</li><li id="r9vv"><a href="http://chandni.wordpress.com/">Chandni</a>: Bohemian Rhapsody has been and continues to be a great place for me to hang out. Lots of fun, interesting tidbits from Chandu land, 55s and heartfelt posts make Chandni more than eligible for this award.</li></ol>Enjoy ladies! You have truly made blogging a lot of fun for me!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-52905009852624774372008-08-16T10:36:00.018-07:002008-08-17T11:34:58.491-07:00How Bollywood achieved gender equalityIn an attempt to achieve gender equality in apna filmdom, it has been reported that all our bollywood leading men have been advised of the following fashion guidelines.<br /><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>You will henceforth wax your chest hair and show as much cleavage (if not more) as your heroines. You will of course take full advantage of the one thing you can do in a family movie that your heroines cannot. Go topless! While our Sallu miyan has been the trend setter here, strict warnings have been issued to a certain <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anil_Kapoor">Kapoor</a> to clean up his act. Here are some illustrative examples.</li></ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img1.chakpak.com/se_images/424770_-1_564_none/kismat-konnection-wallpaper.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://img1.chakpak.com/se_images/424770_-1_564_none/kismat-konnection-wallpaper.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Good </span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cheekopek.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/dostana-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.cheekopek.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/dostana-2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Better</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://movies.indiatimes.com/photo.cms?msid=1981535"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://movies.indiatimes.com/photo.cms?msid=1981535" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Best</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Waxing does not stop with chest hair. You will use the sticky goo until you achieve silky smooth legs comparable to your female leads. Once achieved, those fine legs can be displayed on screen while wearing bottoms of variable lengths.</li></ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://media1.santabanta.com/full/bollywood%20movies/dil%20chahta%20hai/dil3h.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://media1.santabanta.com/full/bollywood%20movies/dil%20chahta%20hai/dil3h.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Good</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://movies.indiainfo.com/2008/07/25/images/dostana1_400_01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://movies.indiainfo.com/2008/07/25/images/dostana1_400_01.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Better<span style="font-size:85%;"> <span style="font-size:78%;">(note: this image also shows how not to cover your legs)</span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.highheelconfidential.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/akshay_singh_is_kinng_short_suits.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.highheelconfidential.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/akshay_singh_is_kinng_short_suits.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Best</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>You will style your hair to match that of your female co-stars. This will not only help both hero and heroine look alike but also make life so much easier for hair dressers. We understand this will be a difficult rule to follow but have seen <strike> boys </strike> men who made it happen.</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_H_IEA-URpJw/SCbmEvbQcfI/AAAAAAAAHew/sYMSwHjnhJQ/s400/Kismat+Konnection+Promo_Vidya_Balan_Shaid_Kapoor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_H_IEA-URpJw/SCbmEvbQcfI/AAAAAAAAHew/sYMSwHjnhJQ/s400/Kismat+Konnection+Promo_Vidya_Balan_Shaid_Kapoor.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">Perfect !</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>You will insist that your director will have at least one song shot on you right after you finish taking a shower and one right after you finish swimming. This has previously been the domain of the lady stars but we have had brave men who have taken up and performed the feats as convincingly as any of those lovely ladies.<br /></li></ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/Aparna.Vemuri/SKckDf1px5I/AAAAAAAACsA/voCIIgTLgcA/untitled.bmp.jpg?imgmax=912"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/Aparna.Vemuri/SKckDf1px5I/AAAAAAAACsA/voCIIgTLgcA/untitled.bmp.jpg?imgmax=912" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/Aparna.Vemuri/SKcvELYm1ZI/AAAAAAAACsk/PX8cjEYe9X8/untitled.jpg?imgmax=912"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/Aparna.Vemuri/SKcvELYm1ZI/AAAAAAAACsk/PX8cjEYe9X8/untitled.jpg?imgmax=912" alt="" border="0" /></a></li><li>You will follow a daily cleansing routine comparable to that of the reigning beauty queens. We appreciate his highness Baadshah Khan for setting up a regimen suitable for all you Bollywood stars.</li></ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_4tKZ8zaZtWw/R1a9bG0lvFI/AAAAAAAAAFU/ipc54fmuZwg/s320/Shah_Rukh_Khan_For_Lux_Ad.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_4tKZ8zaZtWw/R1a9bG0lvFI/AAAAAAAAAFU/ipc54fmuZwg/s320/Shah_Rukh_Khan_For_Lux_Ad.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>You will not be afraid of wearing pink or animal prints like those lovely ladies. Remember, real men wear pink, surreal men wear cheetah prints! Fashion police <a href="http://www.highheelconfidential.com/">Payal and Priyanka</a> have shown <a href="http://www.highheelconfidential.com/shilpa-shetty-akshay-kumar-khatron-ke-khiladi-bash-animal-leopard-print/">how animal prints can help you communicate with your ex even while your wife is around</a>.<br /></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">In related news, budding star Riteieiesssh Deshmuuukkkkh has mentioned to a new talk show host that these new fashion rules have helped him get in touch with his feminine side. He was relieved at not having to wear drag ever again.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-63742378954853410032008-08-16T08:37:00.003-07:002008-08-16T10:30:21.246-07:00Happy Rakshabandhan<div style="text-align: justify;">To the two men...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/Aparna.Vemuri/SKcJ_2OoyII/AAAAAAAACrc/YWtrs1_iTvk/PICT0165.JPG?imgmax=800"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/Aparna.Vemuri/SKcJ_2OoyII/AAAAAAAACrc/YWtrs1_iTvk/PICT0165.JPG?imgmax=800" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />...who holding my hand walked me through every difficult moment of my life.<br /><br />...who have answered my phone calls day or night and heard all my rants patiently.<br /><br />...who always covered up for me when I got myself into silly troubles.<br /><br />...who kicked my behind when I got complacent.<br /><br />...who have been a part of all those funny childhood stories.<br /><br />...who have promised to never make me feel alone.<br /><br />Happy Raksha bandhan to my two wonderful brothers who mean so much to me!!<br /><br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-9386389496737740562008-08-11T14:45:00.005-07:002008-08-16T10:31:39.396-07:00Two weddings and a lovely coupleFirst things first. I need to apologize for the disappearing act. I was away from here because of a combination of travel and laziness. Thanks <a href="http://dewdropdream.blogspot.com/">Dew</a> and <a href="http://snippetsnscribbles.wordpress.com/">Snippets</a> for stopping by to check if everything was alright with me. I was away for the past few days to be a part of a very special wedding. Read on for the details.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The Girl: The eldest of the siblings from a sleepy little town in mid western United States. In addition to being good at school, she was very crafty and took up a lot of artsy projects like sewing, glass staining and knitting. She was a great cook and baked the sweetest of the cakes. In essence she was the kind of girl you wanted to take home to your parents.<br /><br />The Boy: Eldest of the siblings from one of the IIT-ians churning south Indian city. True to his city's fame, he did well in school, went to IIT, got admitted to a good American University and all that jazz. He looked good, had a lovely personality and was quite charming. In short he was our typical Bollywood chocolate boy.<br /><br />Boy met girl, they started going out pretty soon. Intially they had a lot of fun like every couple does during the honeymoon period. Then their first big test came up. The boy had to meet the girl's family. He went over, met her family and they all seemed to like him. It was then time for her to meet his family. His parents disapproved of her without even meeting her. Obviously, he was ruining their conservative brahmin family values. Knowing about the boy's parents rejection, the girl's parents decided they dont like the boy either. After a lot of persuasion from the boy and the girl, the parents decided to meet each other. Both set of parents met, quarrelled some about whose culture was great, argued about how their grandchildren need to be raised and quarrelled some more about remotely related issues like toilet paper, silk, gold and fastfood. Finally, the parents believed they managed to break off the relationship.<br /><br />But in true filmy style, after a couple of months of keeping quiet and pretending to have moved on in life, the boy and the girl got back together. They moved to a neutral country in Europe away from both sets of parents and informed them of their decision to get married. The parents had to give in and approve of their relationship. Now, a fresh batch of quarrels broke out about how and where the wedding has to happen. This time, the boy and the girl found an easy way out. They traveled to India and got married in the traditional south Indian Hindu style. The boy's parents were happy. They went back to the US and had a Christian wedding ceremony. The girl's parents were happy too.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://shim1.shutterfly.com/procgserv/47b8dd23b3127cce98548a5739bc00000020100AcsW7Nw4ct2Og"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://shim1.shutterfly.com/procgserv/47b8dd23b3127cce98548a5739bc00000020100AcsW7Nw4ct2Og" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://shim1.shutterfly.com/procgserv/47b8dd23b3127cce98548a73399800000020100AcsW7Nw4ct2Og"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://shim1.shutterfly.com/procgserv/47b8dd23b3127cce98548a73399800000020100AcsW7Nw4ct2Og" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/Aparna.Vemuri/SKBlOJ0AugI/AAAAAAAACdk/s6v2zQaB-iU/s144/PICT0006.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/Aparna.Vemuri/SKBlOJ0AugI/AAAAAAAACdk/s6v2zQaB-iU/s144/PICT0006.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/Aparna.Vemuri/SKBwJREUCdI/AAAAAAAAChs/PR48kd_VaoA/PICT0037.JPG?imgmax=512"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/Aparna.Vemuri/SKBwJREUCdI/AAAAAAAAChs/PR48kd_VaoA/PICT0037.JPG?imgmax=512" alt="" border="0" /></a>I know they are not the first inter-racial couple. I also know their struggles will not end here. Besides the usual hassles of married life, they will have to bear the additional burden of integrating two different cultures in their home, teaching their children about two different religions and living up to the wedding vows they exchanged twice in two different languages. But knowing what I know about them, I think they will do just fine. Please join me to wish my brother and sister-in-law a lifetime of health, happiness, love and courage.<br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-3722133811476024042008-07-20T14:49:00.003-07:002008-07-20T20:00:53.657-07:00The Palace of Illusions<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/images/book_covers/palace_large.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/images/book_covers/palace_large.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I was introduced to <a href="http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/">Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni</a>'s <a href="http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/books/sister_of_my_heart">Sister of my Heart</a> by one of my <a href="http://kas2ri.blogspot.com/">guy friends</a>. He did not care too much for that book and mentioned he was in some way related to the author and got an autographed copy of the book from her. It was in fact intriguing to find this book amidst his sci-fi and Michael Crichton collection, which I didn't care too much for. I borrowed (and did not return) the book and I am glad I did. I loved the book and read a lot more of Divakaruni.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Divakaruni's latest, <a href="http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/books/palace_of_illusions">The Palace of Illusions</a> tells the time-tested story of Kauravas and Pandavas, their parents, their siblings, their wives and rest of their kin. Unlike the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharat_%28TV_series%29">B R Chopra version</a> narrated by <span style="font-style: italic;">Samay</span> or the original version narrated by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaishampayana">Vaishampayana</a>, in this book, the story of Mahabharata is retold by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draupadi">Draupadi</a> or Panchaali as she preferred to be called. Like they say, there are two sides to every story and it is very interesting to hear Draupadi's version, presumably the female lead in a story full of men.<br /><br />As the narrator, Draupadi takes us along in her journey of life beginning from her father's palace where she grew up feeling lonely except for the friendly conversations with her brother Dhrishtadhyumna and the occasional visit from Krishna that she looked forward to with excitement. She reveals her intimate thoughts before and during her Swayamvara and her life afterwards with the Pandavas. Her struggles as a newly married, that too to five men, her reign as the queen in the palace of illusions built by the best architect, the biggest insult of her life, her life in the forests, everything, narrated by the character herself, remind the readers that despite the eons passed since then, nothing much has really changed for women. We still have the same power struggle with the overly possessive Mother-in-law, we still look up to our men to fight for our honor and we still keep wondering if we picked the right man!<br /><br />Although the story is nothing new, the author inserted interesting tidbits, making the book a delicious read. The secret love shared by Draupadi and Karna for each other and the way each of the Pandavas loved Draupadi, are such little pieces that don't really alter the story, but justify each of the characters' motivation for behaving the way they did. Despite narrating a story set long before the civilization as we know today existed, the contemporary language with a generous dose of humor and irony makes the characters all very real. Here is an example of Divakaruni's wit as she describes Draupadi's fears of being cursed by sage Durvasa:<br /><blockquote>Durvasa was known for his creative curses. No doubt Duryodhan had sent him here hoping he would would burden us with some obscure, incurable disease or metamorphose us into exotic fauna.</blockquote>To reflect the wisdom of her characters, Divakaruni also has some very thought-provoking lines which we sure could use in our current war-ridden world. The irony in Duryodhan's words after being defeated in Kurukshetra made me wonder what the real meaning of winning is!<br /><blockquote>I am going to heaven to enjoy all its pleasures with my friends. You will rule a kingdom peopled with widows and orphans and wake each morning to the grief of loss. Who is the real winner, then, and who the loser?<br /></blockquote>Being raised on a weekly dose of Mahabharata on TV, the story is one of my favorites. The book narrates the events in a non-spiritual context, reveals the complexities of their actions and judges the characters to human standards. And this is what made it real interesting to me. Besides, the cynicism in Draupadi's tone is something that I completely identified with. The book forces you to look at all the well-known characters with a new eye. I always liked Duryodhan and Karna much better than the Pandavas and the book reinforced my idea. I declare Karna my favorite character in the story and join Draupadi to wonder what course it would have taken if he wasn't stopped from competing in her Swayamvar.<br /><br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-46352900472946614762008-07-11T11:37:00.010-07:002008-07-11T12:20:34.977-07:00Characters that live on<div style="text-align: justify;">I picked up this book tag from <a href="http://commicacid.blogspot.com/">La Vida Loca</a> and I need to list my favorite fictional characters. I used to read almost exclusively fiction before I moved on to other stuff very recently. So this is in a way a trip down memory lane for me.<br /></div><ol style="text-align: justify;"><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitzwilliam_Darcy">Mr. Darcy</a>: Anyone who read Pride and Prejudice cannot help but fall in love with this man.</li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes">Sherlock Holmes</a>: Its elementary my dear Watson.<br />For all you folks in London: really? there is no 221 B Baker Street?</li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird">Scout Finch</a>: The little girl from Alabama is my hero anyday.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gretel</span> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansel_and_Gretel">Hansel and Gretel</a>: I remember imagining myself as Gretel when my brothers had to study and I was left free to do whatever.<br /></li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samwise_Gamgee">Samwise Gamgee</a>: For the dependable friend he is. Honestly, he is much more a hero than Frodo Baggins.<br /></li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Common_Man">The Common Man</a>: He is you, he is me, he is every one of us. An Average Indian.<br /></li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_%28Calvin_and_Hobbes%29">Calvin</a>: I have to agree with LVL. He is much more than a kid. He sounds as philosophical as his namesake if not more. Need I say I believe in destiny?<br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Moushumi Mazoomdar</span>: I found more to identify with and liked this character much better than that of Ashima Ganguli in Jhumpa Lahiri's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Namesake">The Namesake</a>.<br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rosie</span>: RK Narayan's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guide">Guide</a>, beautifully unfolds the story of this strong, independent dancer who overcomes every injustice done to her. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waheeda_Rehman">Waheeda Rehman</a> did nothing less in her portrayal of this character.<br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Laila</span>: Of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Thousand_Splendid_Suns">The Thousand Splendid Suns</a>. Her beauty, her courage, her strength and her intelligence is just amazing.<br /></li></ol><div style="text-align: justify;">I wish I could write more. But I cannot think of any other characters. So go on. Help me. Who are the characters you loved?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-65346523929933297892008-07-09T14:43:00.005-07:002008-07-09T19:48:14.829-07:00Of daughters, sisters and wives<div style="text-align: justify;">Pardon me for the cliche but my parents, I always believed, were traditional with a modern outlook. They sent me to an all-girls convent but did not mind that I was friends with boys in our neighborhood and hung out with my brothers' friends playing whatever you play when you are in school. They let me pick engineering that too Civil Engineering although they much rather preferred me joining the software bandwagon. For the most part I got to wear what I wanted to and got my way around most things. To top all of that off, they had no problems in me picking the person I wanted to spent the rest of my life with. Suddenly, after all these years, my mother said something yesterday which made me wonder what I mean to them as a daughter.<br /><br />To give you a little background here, my brother who is two years older than I am is traveling to the US in a couple of months to take some licensing exams. He is not traveling on business where his employer will pay for his trip. He is funding this entire trip by himself and will be in the US for about 3-4 months to complete the exam and subsequent processes. Ever since we started discussing his trip, it was taken for granted that he would come stay with us and take the exam. Obviously!!! And then yesterday we were discussing the logistics of his trip, when my mother asked my brother to look for another place to stay. At first I wasn't sure what she meant so I had to prod a couple of times before she finally came out with it. Men from a respectable family do not stay in their married sister's and brother-in-law's house for an extended period of time it seems!! What???<br /><br />Knowing for a fact that my mother does not spend the energy thinking about these kind of <a href="http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article&sectid=9&contentid=2008062120080621030655909d64b4af9">Uttam Dave</a> type things, I asked her where it came from. She first denied that anyone helped her with these thoughts before admitting that it was one of her colleagues. My initial reaction was to yell, cry and threaten her that I would never talk to her if she ever entertained such thoughts. After sleeping over it for a day, I called her back to find out what exactly was bothering her and she says it is shameful on her, my father's and my brother's part to accept any kind of help from me, their married daughter. And secondly she is sure I am doing it against the husband's wishes and it will cause me problems with him. And of course she believes the parents-in-law would never approve of such a thing and will promptly disown me when they know my intentions.<br /><br />It is not like I never discussed my brother's trip with the husband. In fact he was the one that brought up the subject of all the paperwork needed to be done for his travel and he of all has no problems with the whole idea. My parents-in-law are of the sweetest kind. Although I itch real bad to join one of those Bitch9-about-MIL discussion groups, she is sweet enough to leave me with nothing to bitch about. I did mention to them about the trip and they had no problem absolutely (I hope!). My brother who is the subject of the entire discussion has no problems because he gets along well with the husband and honestly, doesnt care. My father had no second thoughts about it either. So really, I think the problem is with people like my mother's colleague who I am guessing are the targets of Uttam Dave's advice and my mother who's thoughts are so easy to manipulate.<br /><br />And me, well I am left thinking what I mean to my parents after all these years! Was I just the daughter that they spoiled rotten knowing fully well has to be given away to another family and never reclaimed? Have they lost all their rights on me that they cannot let me fulfill my tiniest of responsibilities towards my family? I wonder if this is a question of being traditional. Or if it just not being able to break away from what is expected or rather not expected of you by some moronic society. Either ways, I feel terribly disappointed for having to explain this to my mother!<br /><br />P.S: When I read reactions to Dave's posts at <a href="http://chandni.wordpress.com/2008/06/23/kahaani-ghar-ghar-ki-or-insert-a-k-serial/">Chandni's</a> and <a href="http://thebratthebeanandbedlam.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/the-doormats-guide-to-a-lasting-marriage/">Mad Momma's</a> I thought maybe the advice is necessary for girls married into Ekta Kapoor kind of K Families. Ok please let me eat my words from their blogs. No, no woman should be given the kind of marital advice where she is asked to forget about her parents, her family and everything about her before she got hitched. Sorry, that doesnt work for me. My mother of all people should have known that!!!<br /><br />P.P.S: Oh, today is my blog's first birthday. And am I glad I have this place to voice my shouts and murmurs! The activity here is not as much as I would have liked, but at least I get to have my monologues without any opposition so thats good. Happy Birthday Shouts and Murmurs!!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-3659783962970889532008-06-24T11:07:00.002-07:002008-06-24T11:20:32.739-07:00Is he listening?People's exhibit 1:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Do you want to stop by at the Temple on the way to B Aunty's house?<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Husband</span> (with a genuinely confused expression) : <span style="font-style: italic;">But B aunty will serve Desi food. Why do you want to go to the temple? </span></blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>People's exhibit 2:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> Do you want to stay at N's house after dinner tonight or drive back?<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Husband:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> I don't mind either ways.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> I think we should drive back because we have a lot of things to do tomorrow and will be good to get a head start in the morning.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Husband:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Right, I will check with N if we need to bring our own sleeping bags. </span></span></blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span>I rest my case.<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-70352644421545386472008-06-16T06:56:00.003-07:002008-06-17T06:18:22.936-07:00Khuda ke liye /Aamir<div style="text-align: justify;">After reading a <a href="http://withoutgivingthemovieaway.com/main/khuda-ke-liye-review/">lot</a> about <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1068956/">Khuda ke Liye</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1241195/">Aamir</a>, I finally got to watch these movies over the weekend. I write about both these movies in the same post because I couldn't help notice the <a href="http://www.anniezaidi.com/2008/06/people-people.html">similarity</a> between the two, themes centered around Islam, lesser known actors, debutant directors and great music.<br /><br />Khuda ke liye is the story of two musician brothers Mansoor and Sarmad and their British cousin Mary. After a brief introduction to the characters, the real story starts when Mary visits her cousins in Pakistan and Mansoor leaves to the US to study music. Since there are reviews and plot outlines everywhere on the web, I will stick to what I thought of the movie here. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaan_%28actor%29">Shaan</a>, who played Mansoor in the movie, Wikipedia tells me is a popular star in Pakistan. I am guessing his past experience came handy coz he has done an excellent job without at any point appearing to try too hard. He sounds convincing and absolutely lovable even when his tells his American girlfriend that his religion prohibits him from drinking liquor or that women cannot pay when a man is involved (I would have been up in arms against any other man who told me I cannot pay because I was a woman). <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iman_Ali">Iman Ali</a>, again a popular model in Pakistan, looks pretty and plays Mary without appearing too over the top. Apparently Shaan had sneered at Iman saying models cannot act (yeah, I follow <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lollywood">Lollywood</a> gossip too) but I am sure he will have to eat his words after this movie. Iman Ali and Shaan were the two actors that stood out for me in the entire cast. The excellent music is yet another reason for me to like Khuda Ke Liye. I am still struggling to pick a favorite between <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=ERnMGUOG4EY">Tiluk Kamud</a> and <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=OXu4ENc49rE">Bandeya Ho</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ERnMGUOG4EY&hl=en"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ERnMGUOG4EY&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7UWI5P2MgR0&hl=en"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7UWI5P2MgR0&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /></div><br />Aamir is about a doctor who returns to Bombay from UK to find himself involved a sequence of strange events. Without giving the plot away, lets just say the movie tracks the hours ensuing Aamir's return to Bombay. Rajeev Khandelwal, a first timer on the big screen, plays Aamir and carries the movie almost entirely on his shoulders that too effortlessly. Although the painstakingly slow scenes towards the end help create drama and give Khandelwal immense opportunity to perform, the movie could have done much better with some editing. Towards the ending, more often than not, the audience want the movie to end just so they could go home/go to bed or to do whatever they do after a movie ends. In stead, this film seems like it goes on forever. I am guessing the climax scene was shown in real time which could've definitely used some much needed chopping. What I like best about this movie is the transformation of the main character from your average guy to the man who takes charge all while displaying an entire range of emotions without appearing like the usual macho bollywood hero. The background score was great and <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=3ScU7vbHi_E">Ya raham</a>, my current favorite, is very addictive.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3ScU7vbHi_E&hl=en"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3ScU7vbHi_E&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /></div><br />Both movies are likable because they come across as extremely real. No make-up, no gaudy outfits, no stopping in between for a duet in some glamorous location, no melodramatic dialogs, no item numbers, no sir, none of your bollywood stereotypes. These movies instead are armed with a strong story and an intelligent screenplay. Full points to debutant directors Shoaib Mansoor and Raj Kumar Gupta. Also there is good music in both movies but the songs don't distract you from the story. Its like a little respite from hectic storytelling through which you don't want to take a bathroom or ciggy break lest you miss something important.<br /><br />The husband mentioned how Khuda ke liye is a bold movie to make especially in a country like Pakistan. Even <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://withoutgivingthemovieaway.com/main/khuda-ke-liye-review/">Meetu</a> of withoutgivingthemovieaway was of the same opinion. I fail to understand why. Despite touching upon issues like double standards, violence and abuse against women and racial/cultural prejudices of the west and conservatives in a religion, at no point does the movie speak ill of Islam. It does use the most popular of Islam preachings such as teetotalism, preventing marriages into other faiths etc but at no point does the movie come across as anti-islam. If anything, Naseeruddin Shah's character speaks in defence of the religion. The take home message from the movie according to me was that no religion preaches bad things. Its just the way the religious teachings are interpreted that makes people do good or bad things. And if anything, I was very surprised that a movie like Aamir got away without any trouble. Remember <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112553/">Bombay</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0400234/">Black Friday</a> and many other movies that had a terror plot?<br /><br />Overall, both movies are a must watch if you like movies that try to break away from the candy floss romance formula.<br /><br />On an aside, while I love Wikipedia, its annoying that the Aamir movie page has entire scene-by-scene details including the climax. I noticed that I best enjoy a movie when I know absolutely nothing about it. The more reviews I read, the more my expectation of the movie rises.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4009391391117961837.post-43279722865271895052008-06-10T11:22:00.003-07:002008-06-10T15:29:37.753-07:00Home Alone<div style="text-align: justify;">Staying alone at home while the husband was traveling for work, I have discovered<br /><br />...that it is not that hard to eat alone at a restaurant. Granted it is a small eatery in a corner where you have to bus your own table. But with a book in hand, it is a piece of cake to order your food, wait for it to be ready and eat it, all without having the company of another soul.<br /><br />...that it is really hard for me to survive without internet and TV. I need one of the two unless I am sleeping or in the bathroom.<br /><br />...that watching 8 back to back episodes of Law and Order SVU scares you enough to not be able to go even to the bathroom when it is dark. There such creeps in this world I tell you.<br /><br />...that I can make a sandwich complete with onions and tomatoes during TV show breaks. It sucks that they dont have breaks in between episodes anymore. Its always after an episode starts but thank god for title music and end credits.<br /><br />...that you can survive 3days without any in-person human interaction and still manage to stay sane enough to write about it. I couldn't even catchup with people on the phone coz we ran out of minutes on our phones. Oh wait, does ordering food at the restaurant count?<br /><br />...that a dinner of cereal and brownies is fun.<br /><br />...that I cannot for my life figure out what <a href="http://www.shashitharoor.com/index.shtml">Tharoor's</a> point is in his new book <a href="http://www.shashitharoor.com/books/elephant/">the Elephant, the Tiger and the Cellphone</a>. About 100 pages into the book and I see he uses his favorite metaphorical writing, talks bollywood, politics, families and rants about hindutva. Pardon me but I cannot understand where he is going with all that cliched writing.<br /><br />On an aside: Tharoor writes that former first lady Mrs. Shankar Dayal Sharma was a big fan of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0307837/">Swabhimaan</a>, one of India's first soaps. Apparently she made sure her entourage recorded every episode of the show to ensure that she did not miss even a single episode in the process of delivering her first-lady duties. I remember running home right after school to catch the show and had a big crush on <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1123937/">Rohit Roy</a>. I am dying to watch the show again and cannot find it anywhere online. Does anybody know where Mrs. Sharma lives now? Maybe I can borrow her tapes.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com14