Wedding Bells

No. I am not getting married. Not as yet ;). The title was only to get some traffic into the blog :P Here is my actual post:
As I was leaving her home, the aunty asked, "So, yavaaga oota haakstidiya?" (Roughly translated, "when am i getting invited for lunch?").
I took the question at face value and told her that she was welcome any weekend. That i have been coaxing her to come home but she never does! To it she laughs and says, "Not that oota, maduve oota!"
That's when i realize the dumbness of my reply. There is an awkward pause which dad tries to fill up saying, "In good time".
Last week, i get talking to a gentleman on the way to Mysore. We discuss a variety of topics like real estate prices in Bangalore and Mysore, traveling between the two cities, lack of B&B's in India, how the Home stay concept is now catching on well. I was feeling good about getting to have a nice conversation in the course of the journey. Then he suddenly asks, "So, you are what, 25?"
I was initially taken aback at the bluntness of the question. Composed myself and said, "Uh huh, not yet".
So he says, "Ha! Then you got time! For the wedding bells, you know ;)!"
Excuse me? Is 25 like an expiry date? Why is the whole world concerned about my wedding, oota and all the things associated with it?
Buy gold and they say, "Ha! You need it for the wedding".
Lose weight and you are asked if you are dieting before parents start looking for a groom!!
You are surveyed thoroughly if you by mistake end up at a wedding! "Oh! You stay by yourself in Bangalore? You can cook? Super!" I am consciously avoiding attending weddings or other gatherings these days! I mean, please give me a break!
There is no way i can mention a friend's impending wedding now without a few eyebrows being raised, as if to ask what reason i have to be happy right now?! I never faced peer pressure at school. But this is one place where i think the pressure will be imposed upon me!
To all the Aunts and Uncles out there:
You might mean well, but no thank you for your concern or photographs of prospective grooms. My parents are there to worry about my wedding. You don't have to remind them that i am growing older! Or that the number of "nice" ( you go figure its definition :D) guys is dwindling by the day! When i tie the knot, you shall be invited. I will be getting married for my happiness, not yielding to pressure! Till then, please let me be!

Some politeness please!

I know most marketing calls are pesky. And the ones that sound too good to be true almost always have a catch in the end. And the calls mostly come during an office meeting, or when you are doing something worthwhile or waiting for another important call to come in.

Much as i want to scream at the person on the other side for disturbing, i also realize that at the end of the day, it is their job! And a bad one at that in which they often hear a mouthful from the people they call. So if it is something that is of no concern to me, then i directly tell them before they start off their well practiced lines, that i am not interested, thank you. Or else, if it is some offer that i want to hear about, i hear it out, weigh the options and then end up telling them again that i am not interested, thank you for the information.

Of late, it has so happened, that as soon as i say, No ( and before i can say Not interested, thank you!) the person calling just bangs the phone at the opposite end. It is one thing to disconnect the call on a mobile phone. But banging a landline phone has a totally different effect. Makes me want to reach out at the other end and give the person a piece of mind about politeness. I agree i was not interested in the offer, but the least they can do is be civil and let me complete my statement or at least say an "Ok" after i say No. Don't they get taught these things at their training programs? And is graciousness reserved only for people who accept the stuff they have on offer? Is it too much on my part to expect politeness from them? I think not, because i don't go about hanging up on people like that. Maybe they have a pile of frustration from a deadline or after someone shouts at them for disturbing. But letting that show through in the next call is not done. They knew what they were getting into when they took up the job! One person's rudeness does not imply that the next person they call will also be rude. The next time someone slams the phone, I am going to try calling back the number and say thanks and tell them a thing or two about telephone etiquette.

Arguments with self

I took a deep breath and tried to tell myself- OK, it is time to change. I look at a paler version of my previous self in the mirror and contemplate on what I have been doing in life! Is it that tough to start over? I think yes. For one, I am not like all the others who have the guts to do it. No, come to think of it, it doesn’t exactly need guts. But whatever it needs, I do not think I possess it right now. Two, I think of the sacrifice that would go into it and decide to give the thought up.

At the back of the mind, there is a point three also coming up. However, it does not support my current argument but speaks the contrary instead. The inner me ( lol for this one, the inner me :P ) tells me- Sweetie, how can you forget the past? How can you forget how it brought a whiff of freshness in your life and a step in your stride?

Well, I want to forget it! They were wonderful times full of happiness but my priorities are different right now. I have other things to think about and worries to sleep over. They definitely would not allow me to take the plunge and bring back a part of the past in my life right now.

But again, doesn’t everyone have problems? Isn’t life all about taking a chance?

But is taking that chance advisable if it comes in the way of my dreams? Tell me, is it right to sacrifice my dreams for something that “might” be helpful for me? I don’t really agree!

Good sense prevails. Dreams trump over whiff of freshness. I have decided. I am going to sleep for that extra half an hour. Its winter, come on, itna to banta hai! Waking up early and walking jaaye bhaad mein!

Water woes

I stay in an area that is not a BDA layout. Result : No Cauvery water. For someone used to Cauvery water in Mysore, it came as a surprise initially. Am actually thankful to the apartment owner who gets the sump filled from a tanker so that we have uninterrupted water supply. But the water has a weird taste. And we end up buying big cans of packaged water for drinking and cooking.

But what about the scores of people who cannot afford packaged water for consumption? Let alone potable water, there are people waking up at ungodly hours to simply fill up water for their daily requirements. This is because they get water supply for a measly one hour a day. Furthermore, there are areas that do not get any water at all. Bangalore apparently needs 2000 million liters of water per day( MLD) but is supplied with only 900 MLD. Of which 40% is stolen or lost or goes waste! End result: there are taps running dry everywhere, there are people who do not get enough water or end up with water that is unsafe!


When I travel towards Bangalore it is painful to see mounds of plastic in the outskirts of the town and little kids playing in the filth, and animals feeding on it. This kind of plastic ultimately clogs our rivers and drains. Just imagine, the water polluted from this kind of waste is what ends up in our taps!
The least we can all do is reduce the usage of plastic, carry our own bags everywhere while shopping. And more importantly, realize the value of water that we get. BWSSB gives a set of directives for water conservation. They are simple steps which if followed can help in saving a lot of water. Rainwater Harvesting has been made mandatory for all the houses with area more than 2400 square feet. And in case you see water wastage while travelling in the city, make that call and lodge a complaint. They apparently have a 24 hour hotline at 22238888 which can be contacted or simpler still, an email can be sent to chairman@bwssb.org.
We pride ourselves in being the current generation and have big dreams that we chase. But besides all that, we also have some social responsibilities. Water is among the most basic of our requirements- it is the elixir of life. Being a part of the lot that has access to phones and the internet and are constantly traveling around the city, we can do our bit in reporting leakage or wastage of water. We ourselves can make a conscious effort in closing a leaking tap or reducing the usage of water or recycling it. The water that you save might just help quench someone else's thirst!

In search of that perfect brew!

I am a self confessed chai lover. Somehow, coffee has never been my thing. As a result, I have found it difficult to participate in conversations where coffee, its kinds, addiction are all discussed. Cafe visits invariably result in selection of some chocolate based beverage that simply adds to the calorie count of the day!
During the four years at college, I have seen people catch up over chota tea at the milk parlor. I don't think i have heard of chota coffee :P. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against coffee. Just haven't acquired the taste to appreciate it. Also, why should a lot only happen over a cup of coffee? Why not over a cup of tea? I am sure there are friendships, relationships that have been cemented over long drawn discussions over tea. I am also secretly hoping to find someone who is a chai ka shaukeen, who can appreciate a cup of well made ginger tea and sit and talk nineteen to the dozen with me over chai!

So well, now, the purpose of this post.
1. Been ages since i wrote something!
2. For lack of a better topic to write about.
3. Festive season. Am at home for a week. Have been making tea for myself at 10 am and 3 pm everyday- the time at which i have a break in the office! Pity is, there is no actual tea there. Only the tea bags which is not the real stuff. Have to travel three floors to get to the cafeteria for a nice cup of ginger tea. But he makes it very sweet! And drinking tea all by oneself is also not fun. So i resort to drinking boost when in office! Now you know the secret of my energy :P
4. I really want to know how many people i know out there consume tea, know to make a cup of tea and how they make it!

Here is my method. To make two cups of tea( Tea always turns out better when i make two cups!)

I boil a glass of water. Add to it two teaspoons( again, ever heard of coffee spoon?) of tea power ( i use a mix of taj mahal and red label natural care). Some crushed ginger and peppercorns. Allow it to boil. Simmer and add a glass of milk. Let the tea brew and then strain it into cups and add sugar to taste. I prefer one spoon a cup.
Then sit back, munch into some biscuits, unwind with a book and the cup of chai in hand. I am currently reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love- how she discovered life through her travels. Isnt that what everybody wants to do in life!!!


Coming back to tea, I am sure there are other things that can be added to it apart from the obvious ginger and pepper to spice it up- honey, cinnamon, cardamom and clove. Anything else you can think of?
There are other methods of making tea too- adding all ingredients at once and let them all boil together or make a decoction separately and adding milk to it. Do you make it any differently? And which brand of tea powder do you think is the best?
Do you even drink tea at all or have you all shifted inclination towards coffee? Let me know!
I'd be glad to try making my tea in different ways and discover the best way to make tea.
I also have a variety of flavors of green/black tea that i advocate to people- jasmine, peach, cherry, citrus. Will write about them some other time! Currently i am in the drinking a kadak cup of adrak ki chai phase as i usher in the festival! Happy Diwali!

Random ramblings

Four days at home. And i have had a smile on face pasted almost all through. I thought, why not just make a list of some of the random things that made me smile friday through today. Here goes:

1. This had to be number 1- the very fact that it was a long weekend.

2. Dishing up stuff for dad when Amma was away for a day. He couldn't stop raving about how much my culinary skills have improved.

3. A friend who left for the US a week ago sends me a picture of hers and asks me if she has lost weight from the last time we met! :P

4. Chatting with a friend and losing track of the time and wrapping it up when i heard birds chirping outside my window and realized it was about time for the rest of the world to wake up!

5. Getting caught by Police maama and the always and forever helmet wearing me trying in vain to explain that i had just washed my hair and hence no helmet. As an afterthought, the explanation wasn't necessary at all! Like the cop cared!

6. The fact that the early morning 4.30 express today to Bangalore was filled with techies- complete with the company T-Shirt, jacket, laptop bag and wednesday morning blues!

7. Waking up to the rain splashing on my window in the same train.

8. Sitting in the volvo, looking at the rain and falling asleep!

9. Coming to office in kinda high spirits to find an array of Onam sweets that my team mate has got! Guilt free eating day today! :)

I miss home!

For someone who travels home to family every weekend, this isn't the appropriate thing to say, but i truly miss home today! I dunno if this feeling is amplified due to the fact that i did not go to Mysore last weekend ( I went on a trip to Munnar, yay! Please feel free to be jealous :P ) but it sure is there and there is nothing i can do about it till Friday!

In this one year at Bangalore, i have come to call my apartment my home. I get a happy feeling when i am back here after an exhausting trip, have my favorite corner marked out where i sit and do my reading and spend hours with the laptop. Time is invested in doing up the place, in keeping it tidy and the works. On the whole, perfect home ka material. But try what you may, you surely cannot find the most important thing that makes it a home- Amma! I wasn't always too much of a "missing Amma" cribber simply because i meet her every week and monday morning to friday evening isn't too much of a time to start missing someone!

But having said that, one most important thing i have come to realise is that at the end of the day, the only person in the world who is going to selflessly do things for you would be her! I value her more than ever now for it and intend to tell her that first thing in the morning!

And putting an end to my woes is the fact that this weekend is a LONG weekend! Four days at home- bliss like no other! Even Munnar would pale in comparison :)