Diwali, the simple way

Day 1: Arrived home early morning. After considerable pampering by mom, was prevailed upon to help clean the kitchen. Spent the entire day doing a very thorough job of it. Shelves were emptied, cabinets were turned out, stocked vessels scrubbed clean and an inventory made. Lunch was a delayed affair with me only wanting to go and snooze. And snooze I did, till I was woken up late evening with Papa insisting that we go Dhanteras shopping. Staggered home at 11 in the night by which time I had a sore back and sorry limbs.

Day 2: Woke up fully intending to spend the major part of the day in a parlour..god knows i needed it. But me being the Monica incarnate that I am, decided to take on the other rooms instead. So the crockery cabinet was tackled, the linen was aired etc..I finished well in time to be able to manage an oil massage and a curd conditioning. Visited V in the evening at his home. Mamma refused to let me go in my jeans and tee gear and insisted on dolling me up in a chudidar instead. So, although I looked a tad bit over-dressed, I did look nice (even if I say so myself) Later we took a drive later through the nicer parts of town. Home in time for early supper and some bedtime reading.

Day 3: Last leg of cleaning operations. A quick visit to the office for the morning pooja. A typical Bong lunch with luchi (better known as puri), begun bhaaja(fried aubergines), alu dum and payesh (kheer). Another long snooze and a few preparations for the lakshmi pujan. The rangoli posed a problem as I usually take a day to fix on the design and most part of the evening to get it right :P. That luxury not being available this time, I made do with a simple swastika pattern..made it look like a stylized fonts...:)) Was dolled up again, though I didnt look half as good as my mom this time. Post the pooja, a few crackers were burst in true noisy Hindu tradition..but the rest of the evening was peaceful enough lighting diyas and fireworks. This is my favourite part of the day. Phone conversations with the closer family and gossip with the folks. And a round of family photographing..auto-click is truly a boon!

Will be back to work and Bangland tomorrow...with memories of a Diwali well-spent..and armed with a big box of namkeen and mithai :) For once, I am not complaining about luggage..

Nettiquette!

Guys....(and gals),
Its been quite a while since we had a chat. I've been here since about two years now..longer on orkut perhaps..and since the last few months, on Facebook as well. I choose to be here coz I like penning down thoughts once a while. Its therapeutic, you know. And I get to keep track of the friends (and blogs) I like. Am not here to add strange people to my friends list and spend my time to fill in their need for a break..
So do read my posts, leave comments by all means..but dont barage my id with your stupid friendship requests. God knows I have more friends than I can manage.. Dont assume that my blog tells you all there is to know about me and come pretending to know how I am feel. And most importantly, understand that a "no" means "no". If I want to get to know you, I'll ask.
So long..
Aankhi.

Wedding bells!

People are getting married by the dozen. And the tidal wave has finally caught up with two of my closest people.. Re- who till some time back was secure in the feeling that marriage is probably not her cup of tea..Her reservations and list of "must-haves" make mine look like a ripple in the ocean...
And yet here she was, all pink cheeks and happy eyes.. asking me if I could keep a secret..And I knew it almost before anything was said. Miracles never cease.
And then..Reiki man..after much debate and doubt..after much useless emotion(which he probably attributes to bad Karma :))..finally decided to tie the knot. Am glad for him..people rarely get warmer, cuddlier and more lovable than him.
BombayGuy too..hats off to him for going and getting his mate..not waiting around like the rest of us for love to happen :) Thats one happy reason to visit Kol again, come November.
Love is everywhere..and its infectious. :)

Some observations from the week that was..

Some observations from the week that was..
-Maybe there is no nice way to say no. Maybe its simpler to ignore. But how much more cruel..
-The only thing worse than a Monday morning is a Monday morning headache.
-Going on a holiday needs a lot of hard work.
-Its not if you can or cannot. Its if you want to do it or not. The rest are just excuses.
-I talk too much at times..and I tire of myself too.

Gains and losses

A swank new place :) Shifting house for the first time since I came to Bangalore. Ofcourse, its rented..cant think of buying a house yet. Ofcourse, its expensive (and I am still counting it as gains!)..and yeah, its swank only in my mind..will be a while before I get some decor in place and the rest of you can appreciate it. Dunno how I am gonna manage shifting in one day..leaving it all to good ol' V and his wonder car. (Times like these make you want to choke your stupid feminist self..ofcourse, we need men! Esp if they are as nice as V. Any gals interested, pls contact me..he isnt gonna be single for long)

Will miss my roomie of 3.5 years though...N with the magically magnified voice and monstrous giggling fits. Didnt realize I needed some noise around..even if its her babbling on the phone or her banging the pots and pans while I try to sleep. Or just us discussing inane topics from Shahid's hot look to Bipasha's haircut. Or the heart-to-heart over lovelives or lack of..:) The morning cuppa..the weekend poker matches...the opinion seeking on wardrobes..the shopping marathons..Oh well..my loss, her husband's gain.

Will miss the house as well..privy as it has been to my musings for a long while now. Funny how time makes you grow fond of anything. This dingy dark place had been looking up under our combined efforts and I had started referring to it as 'home' instead of 'place'...

Ah well..you gain some you lose some..

Free

Free..
From long, lost days
And seemingly endless nights
Hurt, bewildered darkness
And vague glimmering lights.

From dwelling on sms memoirs
To living on orkut ties,
Convincing..constructing my faith
When things seemed otherwise.

Dreaming of your loving ways
Waking up to whimsical lies
Sudden warmth seeping through
Bitter cold cutting like ice.

Now, an end to half-spoken truths
Now, no meanings to construe.
Free...finally...
From thoughts of you.

In response

It doesnt interest me what you do for a living
Or what you take home
I want to know if you can dream
And not be afraid of waking up.

It doesnt interest me who you knew
Where you went, and if you are cool
I want to know who you are
When you are lonely

It doesnt interest me
If you had a failed affair
My concern is
Did you try?

It doesnt matter if you are shy or overt,
But can you open up when things need to be said?
Would you talk to me of your failures without reserve
And listen without censure when I tell you of mine?

It is nice indeed that you are
Mature, confident and practical
I want to know if you would
Risk looking a fool for love?