Saturday, January 30, 2010

placid waters

it's been a couple weeks... the great Bar has visited and passed back into his hibernation! it was a nice roller coaster of drinking and eating the 5 odd days he decided to make his presence felt!

Granpa's getting old and your truly is getting fat.. so we can use someone tall to change the scenery for us! ;) A trip to outside of town to quietly sit by a lake.. to talk n talk n talk and then to create noise pollution by blaring music on the car stereo while clicking away on the camera! the poses (and the posers) are all amazing!

Coffee.. tea and a few conversations.. her propensity to talk over the phone has increased by leaps and bounds.. she's kinda dreading her phone bill!

The 'parents' have begun finding 'the eligible bachelors' and she has half a feeling that more than 70% of them will have their cars toilet papered! ;)

The most dreaded time in a working year aka the performance rating decided to go well and the boss tells her to stop working! ;) Lord may help if she decides to take him literally!

The fridge was stocked up with fruits and veggies and she plans to go the ghaas phoos way (whatever happened to saving chickens and eating vegetarians!) for Feb! May the force be with her!! (she blames it on the insanity of a passing moment!)

~ that's all folks! looking forward to a new tattoo sometime in march! it's gotten too real to be ignored! (which reminds me.. i have to think up one 'more' for theadventuresofatraveller!)
(it's too settled to be the start of a year - she needs to stir things up!)

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Makar Sankranti

the day dawned.. bright with promise! she had a work call to wrap up... ~ugh! However she had done the beautiful deed of setting up an out of office.. and declining her evening meetings by categorically telling people she was going to watch a play and hence won't be available!

post work call she had a nice loooong conversation which led to a dumb smile on her face for the day... and then well... it's a holiday.. it's peaceful.. snoooooooze!

she wakes up to hunger and the need to check some mail but not the wish to c(r)ook! and so that's what she does... picks up her ol' faithful (which happens to be her trusted thinkpad).. freshens up into a vague gypsy skirt (of course the t-shirt as well! :P) and sets out to a quiet lil cafe to occupy the corner seat in it's balcony!

it's a fuzzy evening... a cappuccino with a whiff of cinnamon and then some smoked chicken can only make you smile some more as old old buddies catch up on gtalk while she discovers her need to write! a while later it's time for the play... and granpa aka Mite makes his grand entrance to pick her up.. confirms that his booking has been made for the play (where someone says if you booked it it's there! ask at the counter once you get there!... fair enough!)

she drives through namma bengaluru's holiday evening traffic and they make it in the nick of time.. granpa steps to the counter where he is rudely told "hey! this is what they gave us and this is what we have.. ur not on it!" Furious ol gramps tries to call the ticket lady and gets no response... even more furious he messages the ticket lady to say "u dint book us n we r here!". The place luckily has a lil cafe where they serve chai to peace out grampy...! Halfway through a cuppa he gets a call from ticket lady... post staring at the ringing monstrosity for a few seconds he figures it's a good idea to take the call... and so he does. ~ahem! only to be made to realize that... "sir.. your sms said 15th and not 14th! ur booked for the 15th". Lo and behold follows a litany of apologies from granpa who feels terrible about ticking off a lady for no fault of hers! (he's cute that ways!)... :D

Ta Da.. two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl.... amends are made as friends are called to figure options.. it's zeroed down to a new italian takeaway place in Jayanagar called "Veeke's and Thomas" and then a romantic comedy! (granpa got lucky she decided to pick something else instead.. ;) ). So there we were at V&T surrounded in it's comfortable ambiance of white cane and warm people with a delectable menu at our disposal! Seating space is enough if u;ve ordered and are waiting with 2 tables to serve that purpose... and the music is soft and classical rock at a very conversational volume! After figuring 3 types of pasta's (halfs - yes they have half portions too.. variety really is the spice of a pleasant bengaluru evening) and 1 shepherd's pie their heart is taken my the 'mango cheese cake'! This much for 250 bucks! Yes - pause and stare! Some of the yummiest Italian food at this price.. in recyclable packaging! 'Italian Street Food!'

Well... they carry their food (devoid of plastic packaging) and drive off to pick up the 'romantic comedy!' Flipping through the pages this catches both their eyes... 'Dogs. Donkeys. Denial. There's no place like home!' and well that's what it becomes! (yes.. the slow romance of the evening has gotten to her as she picks up the stereo's remote instead of her cell phone while getting out of the jonga!)

The setup is complete... the forks are laid.. the bottle of water kept handy.. and the movie is on! Cheers to the li'l joys of a big life!

The slow pace of the movie with the delectable taste of the food recognizable in distinct spices peaces them out as both forget the turmoils of work and recollect their joys!

The food and the movie both come highly recommended! And here's where to find the takeout:
South Bangalore Kitchen, 22, Ground floor, 5th Cross, 24th Main Road, JP Nagar, Phase 2
Ph: +919972133533

Bon Apetit!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

bas yun hi..

life has decided to always happen to her in various ways...

say work.. and the good growth that happened.. it was a project she refused.. and then eventually it made it her way coz the other person got sacked.. (yeah.. imagine the horror of doing a project like that!).. but it's changed her world... and here she is standing on a soap box and telling world how much she loves her job! (~touchwood!)

a konkan trip... it brought people and places closer to her in ways she had not thought.. it's given her great buddies and a love for sea food as well! :D here she is doing bbq's with the very best of them eating it merrily! such is the simple warmth of life.. (and several other trips)

her car.. her happy lil jonga! Bengaluru.. the autos! how she managed to save up enough she'll never know.. destined? just about maybe!! it personifies what it has proudly written on it's black lil behind.. "every declaration of independence is an act of adventure!"

her lava lamp - she can stare at it making funny shapes at her.. it'll warm her heart.. it'll make her thoughtful.. it'll simply be the source that silences the jangling after a long day and peace-ifies her!

her love of people.. which gives into love of places so that she can escape the people! ;) the idle chatter of a warm cafe.. the lonely walker down the road... the ability to get lost in the eyes of fellow travellers... it keeps her busy and keeps her warm.. !

her fondness of the guitar... it was just a moment in time as the six strings were strummed and she stood there frozen with her soul in a frenzy!

her paintings... she started off with practised scenery... now it's just abstracts that fill her soul and pour on her canvas! she loves the conversations they create... she loves being able to look at them and see their meaning change as life around her changes!

and then conversations such as these to keep her amused while she sips on blackberry ice tea and munches on apple cake...
barman: i was in SFO this new year
that the gay capital of US
we were sick of seeing guys together
finallly in the club we so some guy girl thing happening
me: ok so u mean ladka log (and not ladki log) maaro line 2u?
barman: y will ladka log
i meant in SFO.. there the gay rules are very liberal
(here comes the high point!)
barman: party mein i stuck between 2 women
me: ahaan!
barman: gay they were
me: u lived every man's secret fantasy!
(the 'climax!')
barman: 10 mins dance ke baad paata chala they were dancing with each other and not with me
me: :D :D :D :D
barman: i felt used
me: ok i take back the fantasy wala remark...
but dada think about it
'used by 2 women' - can it get better? ;)
barman: not really
me: :D such is life dada..

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Maja ni Life..

Scene 1: Punju surrounded by 3 Gujjus who giver her credit for finding the 3 most unique gujjus of this world! (well.. she agrees without protest coz u have to meet them to figure it!)

Scene 2: These mad hatters are at Mondy's in aamchi Mumbai ordering pot loads of food and pitcherfuls of beer! And then... she spots this lonely firang babe looking remorseful and having a cup of coffee...

Scene 3: Wild persuasion to get Mommy aka Shekhar to talk to her. When all else fails the classics of "truth or dare" come to the fore! She walks upto the babe and says hi! gets her name for him and walks back..

Scene 4: The dude "finally!" (after the 4th pitcher of beer and the sheer persuasive prowess of your truly - as the other 2 gujjus watch the show) walks upto her!!

Scene 5: He has a 15-20 minute long nice animated conversation with her!! She's alone in the city.. last day.. stays in Bandra... wants to roam around but is a lil scared...

Scene 6: He walks back beer mug in hand... and... he hasn't asked her for her email id even.. (~thwacks head and vows to not do so much mehnat ever!)

Well... it's a city that always proves fun and always rejuvenates! A walk down the causeway and some more beer at 'harbour view'. (And the view is amazing!!) she meets a couple new buds Budweiser! ;) Twilight sets it's curtain and it's time to head to the other side of town.. away from the bustle and into the night.. but before the night settles there's stil 2 gujjus and her and a local train!!

Conversation starts with: you were alone at home? the bar was accessible? you dint tell me? and defense is put up to say you said you will be with your girlfriend and ends on how much cleavage was the 'new bud' showing - and when a guy calls it obscene what's a girl to say! ;) By the time the 3 wellas decided to get off the entire train compartment knew that they eat merry, drink merry, are nerdy, goofy and really don;t care.. the expressions they got were "hey don't go.. we have to go all the way upto virar.. who will entertain us!!" ;)

On her way home she sensed a beautiful blue aura with a demure yellow star on one shoulder and a grinny naughty one on the left one! It felt nice to be able to feel the colors again.. even more so to have felt such happy ones!

Time to packup as the stars also begin to hide... 2 hours of sleep at night.. you obviously need to expect snoring on the aircraft from mumbai to namma bengaluru (esp given that it decides to cradle her while hovering for an extra 45 mins in the air!) The gujju back home goes "think like a gujju! kam paison me zyada ghoomne ko mila!" :D :D

A sub packed.. a cab ride... car retrieved.. and a dash to office.. thus begins the new year.. :) And it's feeling good! for now she sits looking at her lava lamp making weird shapes while listening to Mark Knopfler and soaks in the good karma!

And oh ya.. what would you call "majaa ni life" in russian? (for the benefit of the gujju who was too shareef to get an email id!) ;)

Friday, January 01, 2010

how happy how high!

it was a fun evening at home with the bar at easy access... the bbq sizzling... and chocolate desserts oozing sin..! and we decided to read each others pasts, presents and futures with cards!

closed out on 2009 with a card reading (out of regular playing cards) which said that there's bits of turmoil and change is for the best! It asked her to let the past stay right there and not take into the next year... it indicated an engagement or a wedding...

rang in 2010 with a tarot card reading which was saying the same things as the previous one... and it said the engagement is either 10 weeks from now or July! (~ laughed!) And then cards of family indicated the same for her! (~ freaked!)

it's a great year based on the fork she chooses.... destiny has been known to find her on forks she's been desperate to avoid! so for now.. she takes it as it come! (but 2 readings from 2 different people on 2 different sets of cards saying exactly the same things did freak her out a bit! and... both readers mentioned they had never seen such clear cards before!)

and oh yes... she will continue to 'over indulge' in the good things of life and not manage to save much! (dang! she really thought she could!!) ;)

apart from that she's been thinking she will start exercising, eating 'healthy' (healthy is not equal to less! :P ), writing (she figures it keeps her happy) and reading! (she's been enjoying catching up on all the reading this quiet period has allowed... she hopes to continue!)

speaking of reading here's an excerpt from Hugh Macleod's http://gapingvoid.com ... wishing you find food for your soul this year!

Welcome to the Hunger...
The Hunger to do something creative.
The Hunger to do something amazing.
The Hunger to change the world.
The Hunger to make a difference.
The Hunger to enjoy one’s work.
The Hunger to be able to look back and say, Yeah, cool, I did that.
The Hunger to make the most of this utterly brief blip of time Creation has given us.
The Hunger to dream the good dreams.
The Hunger to have amazing people in our lives.
The Hunger to have the synapses continually fired up on overdrive.
The Hunger to experience beauty.
The Hunger to tell the truth.
The Hunger to be part of something bigger than yourself.
The Hunger to have good stories to tell.
The Hunger to stay the course, despite of the odds.
The Hunger to feel passion.
The Hunger to know and express Love.
The Hunger to know and express Joy.
The Hunger to channel The Divine.
The Hunger to actually feel alive.
The Hunger will give you everything. And it will take from you, everything. It will cost you your life, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. But knowing this, of course, is what ultimately sets you free.

... and oh yeah... it started with wine and ended on a caramel liqueur with the works in between! (she really believed she could fly!) ;)