Logic.

Traffic congestion at a railway track crossing.
Recognize the need for a road over bridge at the railway track.
Plan to spend Rupees 15 crores and 18 months on building it.
Actually spend 20 crores and 5 years.
Complete it.
Wait a month.
Wait another month.
Paint (??) the walls on either sides of the ROB beautifully.
Make the Chief Minister inaugurate the ROB.
When it is time to finally use it to alleviate traffic:
-* Yesterday *-
Block routes all around the area because the CM is coming.
-* Today *-
All routes around the flyover are jammed. The bottleneck shifts to the next junction.

Sigh. I wish I had a picture.

on how he saves the city..

..one auto-wallah at a time. :)

I can go on and on about auto-rickshaws given my extensive dealings with them and those who drive them, for 3 years and over. But wait, i'm not going to (go on and on, that is). (Read: Don't leave me yet, pleeeease.)

Although I would still like to record today's incident. Today we decided to take an auto-rickshaw back home. I succumbed earlier than usual for the wun-ann-haff-lagega-achha-ok-twanty-rupees-ekshtra, even though A. still had a little bit of fight in him. I persuaded him to settle for the first auto that we found that offered to take us home.

Surprise of surprises, we had landed ourselves into one of those specimens that zip and zoom in and out of traffic. These have no apparent fear of death. They can zoom into a lane of traffic from nowhere and even drive into opposing traffic (to swerve at the last moment) with alarming calm. Societal rules and restrictions hold no meaning for these carefree spirits. They are not ones to be bound by the rigidity that is human society.

The next precious minutes of our life consisted of me holding on to the edge of the auto, auto-walla merrily flouting all conceivable traffic rules like jumping the red signal and jumping ahead to the front of the signal by risking our lives onto oncoming traffic.

A. was already not in the best of moods, so when, after about 20 minutes, he tapped on the auto driver's shoulder asking him, "Aap bangalore ke hain?", I knew what was up. I gave the quiet signal to him that said, let it go. Duly ignored, he asked again, Are you from Bangalore?

Auto driver's response: Grunt. (In an affirmative questioning tone)

A. then began doing the hero-dialogue in all his anger. I wish I could do justice to his Hindi rebuke. You are from the city and even then you do all this. You break all the rules. Don't you care, being from the same city. Don't you know anything about rules. Look at all the others, aren't they following the rules. What is your problem? I can't understand you guys, you are from the city and yet you do this. And on and on.

All the while the auto driver adopted a what-do-i-care attitude with Aapka kya jaata hai? Baaki logon ka problem hai yeh to. Aise karenge nahi to chala nahi sakte yahan.

(Meanwhile I'm now down to trying the let it go let it go let it go to no avail)

I braced myself for impending doom. I half-expected him to tell us to get out of his auto, or even stop and start yelling and then who knows, find some friends to get together and and start yelling at us and god-knows-what.

But surprisingly, once the verbal sparring was over, auto-walle-bhaiya settled down, much like a sulking teenager who knows you're right but just won't admit it. He didn't stick to his lane (that's a bit much to expect from him ;)) but he slowed down, didn't jump the next signals; basically he didn't pretend he was on a racing track.

I couldn't believe it, A.'s admonition had worked! And I suspect (and really hope) it will stick for some time atleast. Dropping the chalta hai attitude, if momentarily, had done some good, and I'm pleasantly surprised. :)

Do you have any saved-the-city tales?

as is tradition..

..we do a year-end post.

Only we procrastinate, and then it becomes a new year post.

I like the new year day, even though I agree that its just another date. I like the feeling of being on the edge on one year, reflecting on all the events that happened, and then on the dawn of the next, hope alive for all that you wish for.

2009 has been a BIG year for me. Landmark, direction-changing, preserved-forever-in-the-memory kind. Come to think of it, the marriage has been such a huge event for me, I struggle to remember what else happened in 2009. It seems to have overshadowed all else that in an otherwise marriage-less year, would be deemed blog-post worthy.

So let's see: January. Ah, how could I forget? See I have this crazy set of friends at work. By crazy I mean awesome crazy :) A couple of them decided it was time to do something .. well, creative. That couple inspired (and bullied) the rest of us into the scheme. We then thought of the kind of performances we wanted to do - dance, drama, music (we even had the popular 'miscellaneous' category ;))

We practiced day and night. Well we practiced in the early hours of the day, worked in the sane hours of the day and dreamed about it in the night. We tried our hands at things we'd never thought we'd do before. (To give you an example, I sang.) We co-ordinated an entire event from scratch, booked a place, organised a caterer, timed performances, created a schedule. And then we just did it! We performed in front of a 'select' audience, and never felt better. I have to use the word 'crazy' again because this is one of those things that other friends still tease us for (self-inflicted torture or something, they said :D) but it was one of the best things I've ever been a part of. The bonding, the fighting, the re-bonding, the struggle, the learning, the mastery (well sort of) - I wouldn't take it back for anything!

February and March were a sort of repeat : we held a similar event at work. We had more of the fighting here unfortunately :( but then we sorted it out. The event was a big success, I got to dance again, and thats all I need.

Come April and I had the best birthday ever! Beyond April was a very difficult redefining of relationships around me. I realized that the roles of every relationship around me were so tightly defined that a change in them brought about a lot of resentment. It brought out uneasiness even from those not directly involved. But well, such is life. More on that later.

May and June started off the whole marriage thought process. Ashish is a big worrier, and I am the don't-look-problems-in-the-eye kind of person. He is the cautious pessimist, I am the foolhardy optimist. It was in our face that the kind of marriage we wanted to step into wasn't going to be an easy one. Our families were/are very different : culturally, socially, geographically..you get the drift. We both also had traces of those differences. There were many questions with regard to this that we both had to answer. We answered some, we left some unanswered. And then we went ahead with it anyway. Everything went extremely well, rocky at first in some areas, but smooth at the end (oh right, the beginning ;))

Cautious Pessimist: 0, Foolhardy Optimist: 1

Maybe I should give him like half a point here. You see, he thought of all possible situations in which there might be trouble between us or the families, so we were all prepared for much of it and didn't get too much of a culture shock.

Cautious Pessimist: 0.25, Foolhardy Optimist: 1 :)

Anyway, away from score-keeping and back to reflections. So that and that in a nutshell, was 2009.

Which brings us back to 2-0-1-0. Wait, do you say two-thousand-ten or the very yankee sounding twenty-ten (twennyten)? I came across this condescending comment on the web about people using the former. "Its as if they don't want to be in the future," it said. Me no like.

Or ooh, are you a two-oh-one-oh ;) ?

In 2010, I'm trying to be more in touch with the people who I think are special to me. Also, in general, more out there. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad one, its just something I want to try for a while and see if it fits.

In 2010, I want to restart dance classes. This isn't a very hard thing to do. Its just an example of procrastination: that first picking of the phone, making that inquiry, committing to spending more than a couple of hours each weekend (including travel). But I do know, that once I cross these hurdles, I'll have a lot of fun.

Current status on this one: I got 3 numbers of the same place, called all of them. "Switched off", "doesn't exist", and "incoming calls on this number barred"! That's how far I have gone till now.

In 2010, I want to have a lot of water. On a regular basis. Everyday. Current status: A. made me keep a glass next to the bottle of water at my desk. So far its working; for the last 3 workdays this year I've had a lot of water for my standards :)

So there you have it. If you're still here, I congratulate you on the ability to bear with me. You have what it takes to be my friend. Ping me sometime.

In conclusion, may 2-0-1-0 be, in the words of Barney (yes I finally am catching up with HIMYM)

LEGENDARY

for all of you :) I'm looking forward to all the newness in sight :)

back. yet again. and how.

Hello, all ye faithful can-count-on-fingers-of-one-hand readers :) How you doin'?

Great! Me? I'm doing good, y'know, just been a bit busy, what with the marriage that I had to attend - MINE!! :-o

Yes I went to Delhi and got married, to an absolutely adorable man - the love of my life, the apple of my eye, etc etc :) I'll stop at these many adjectives, because sometimes, just sometimes, it causes him to get elevated to levels above general humility, and its a hard pull back down to earth.

Marriage, by any standards, is a life-changing event. And then for an utterly spoilt-to-the-bone-as-a-kid person like me, who hardly ever lived by herself, it is a different level altogether. Add to that, marriage into an entirely different culture, and you enter another dimension.

From the wedding ceremonies in Delhi (we did it their way) to the way I should address relatives, everything was and is different. Thank the lord for small mercies like television, globalization, and well, Ekta Kapoor, that I was vaguely familiar with much of it. And yet, that's not enough; I'm learning every single day.

The big fat North Indian wedding I had was much more than I have ever dreamed of. It was magical and in fact, something like a dream! Lights, colours, music, flowers, all you can imagine, it was all there! The only thing I missed on was, understandably, the food ;) I was so immersed in the ceremonies and meeting the new people of my life, that I don't even recall where the food was.

Decked up in a red and green lehenga with intricate and elaborate work on it, I waited at the venue for the baaraat to show up. Well, that was the intention anyway ;) I ended up reaching the venue after the baaraat did ! Me, my sis-in-law and friends were discretely moving around in a car right behind them :) I actually had to hide myself in another cloth so that no one could see me. Then we had to slip in through the side entrance :) Thankfully we had a little South Indian reception for the groom at the entrance, so that bought me some time. After that sis-in-law went to the stage for another welcoming aarti, and only after that did I have to make my entrance.

When I stepped out on to the ground, I was welcomed by the sight of a palki or a palanquin. All my brothers had to carry the palanquin (with me sitting in it!) to the stage where I would wed Ashish, who was waiting for me in a cream and red sherwani, turban in place, like my prince in shining .. apparel.

We had an almost magical garland exchange ceremony, where each of us entered a small circular stage from either end step by step, and put the wedding garlands on each other while flowers were thrown on us. And the then the stage began rotating!! At that moment, I was in a different zone altogether. The lights, the colours, the music, the flowers pouring on us, adoring friends and relatives, us rotating, it all made me feel like I was a princess from a fairy tale!

Right after that we were taken to our seats on-stage where we met relatives and friends, posed for photographs with them, and then posed some more. It was well after 1 pm when it was time for the rituals and the pooja/prayers. Then Ashish and I did the saat pheras or the seven rotations signifying our matrimonial unison :) (heh, I just wanted to say that - applause!!)

Guess what happened next in the great big Indian wedding at around 4 am in the morning in the open ground? We played games!! :D Traditionally meant to break the ice between two families that get related by the wedding, these games are fun, and invite a lot of merriment and fun chatter between the two parties. The first of the games was prepared for the previous day, each of us had a sacred thread on our wrists, tied with seven knots. We had to untie the other's thread, knot by knot, with only one hand. Of course, in a situation like this, the rules were relaxed soon enough, especially given the fact that it was early in the morning, cold, and everyone was sleepy! :) The next game was the one we see quite often on television. Search for the ring among the rose petals in water. We had seven rounds of this as well. The last was a game of each of us tightly holding the ring in our hand, while the other tries hard to pry it out of our hands. No prizes for guessing who won this one :) Oh and we also had the whole bride's side stealing the groom shoes part!

I'll skip the emotional content of my bidaai :( I'll just tell you all that it involved a little bit of tears, some hugs, and then some more tears :( Then we got into the car and went to my sasuraal (in-law's house). There we had a small prayer and (surprise, surprise) another game :) where my devar was to sit on my lap and demand a gift in return for his getting up. :D My devar was thankfully so kind and barely bent down, before he got up saying he was done :)

Thus ended a looooong day, one I couldn't possibly forget in all my life. So tiring, and yet so enjoyable. It was really an amazing night. My whole family (including my new extended family now), did so much for me and Ashish, we've been made to feel nothing short of prince and princess.

We love you guys, we do :)

PS. I decided against posting any photos here. Mail me if you wanna see some!

The ART of CHILLING! ;)

Step 1: Be a blogger. Its free!

Step 2: Be a friend of Vineet Rajan. Its free! (Or say, destinee)

Step 3: Get invited to the Foster's Art of Chilling Parteeee!! Its free!

Step 4: Drink Fosters beer! All that you want! Its FREEE!!

:D

Need I elaborate further? Please allow me some rather satisfied end-of-drunken-day smirking while I go over the happy hours that I got to be part of today.

I reached Jaymahal Palace along with a friend (much to Vinni's chagrin, he insisted that I go alone, sorry Vinni ;)) at around 1.30 pm. Anwin of Indiblogger was there to greet us at the entrance of where the dhinchak was emanating from. He introduced us to another fellow blogger Harish. The three of us then trodded in, and found the place just warming up. The DJ, however, was in great form already.

The weather was just warm enough and we headed straight past the food to the bar to get our can of chilled Fosters. Plenty of music to go with the taste.


Oh and not to miss the naariyal paani for the teetotallers.
The barbecue by the poolside was tempting as well but we held out for a while till the place started filling out a bit. I tried the vegetarian stuff which was soothing to my empty stomach. The rest of the food looked great as well, but ahem ahem, I stayed off, since I'm off chicken!! (Mumble mumble, 3 days to go, but who's counting ;) )


Adding life to the party was a group of Australians (I'd wager) who really came prepared to have fun. Even as we entered they had feet tapping to the music. It wasn't long before they plunged into the pool and started playing around. It was so much fun just to watch them I was half-tempted to jump in with as is. They were the the first ones to start the homage dance around the DJ 's shrine ;)


Everyone was at their relaxed best, lying by the poolside, glugging beer, moving to the music, munching on the great food.

Pleass to note, that in all this while, i shied not from consuming more and more of Fosters beer :)

I even ventured my hand at some graffiti (you know with all those spray cans) and ended up with this preposterous attempt at the Foster's Art of Chilling logo :D

Thanks Fosters and Indiblogger!! Had a great time!!

Rakhi, ab kya reh gaya baaki?

You've got to hand it to her:

She never fails to come up with something to top her previous whatchamacallit. She was once some barely clothed item girl. Sometime later she started appearing in tiny forgettable roles in just-as-forgettable movies. Then the nation saw her hysterics on the popular reality show Big Boss (is there a bb or a gg somewhere in that?). This was the place where producers watching realised how much potential she had to bring up TV show ratings. This was where she declared her love for some wannabe model when someone else ridiculed her.

And then life was all cosy. And rosy. She and her beau appeared together in more reality TV shows, won some, lost some, but they were together and happy. The couple who made it from scratch. Together forever. She even had her own chat show!

Or not. Then the nation had to survive Mika's kissing hullabaloo and another news-channel-worthy Boyfriend-slapping episode. And she had to survive hearbreak.

Cut to today. Rakhi mourns the lack of love in her life. And then decides to do something about it.

And how! First, she cashes in on tradition. She not only commercialised the whole business of arranged marriages, making money out of the whole affair, but ends up becoming Princess Rakhi with her very own swayamwar!

In a nation where men and their families are still visiting potential brides to 'see' them, asking them to display their 'talents' and valuing them on how well they sing, cook or dance, or better, how much richer they could make them, she, the RAKHI SAWANT, makes the men dance and sing and woo her with love letters, while the nation watches. Some in shock, some out of curiosity of this whole new process, and the rest for the pure entertainment that comes out of watching people proclaim their love to Rakhi Sawant.

If you haven't seen the show, these are just some of the gems you missed ;)

1. Rakhi's ocassional pearls of wisdom (main apne pati ko humesha khush rakhoongi, kabhi bhi aisa nahi sochungi ki ab to mera ho gaya, ab kya karna),
2. Rakhi's laments (mujhe kisi ne nahi sikhaya ki pyaar kya hota hai, 'date' kya hota hai)
3. Ram Kapoor, in his unconvincing, if anything, role as Rakhi's friend and confidante.
4. her falling in love with some of her suitors (Manmohan ji ne to mera mann moh liya),
   
5. the attempt to show the simple girl Rakhi beneath the glamourous getup (oh the shock when she was offered a drink - Bacardi *beep*),
   
6. fluttering eyelids as she swoons to almost everyone saying a sweet word to her,
7. suitors ranging from the romantically poetic to the obnoxiously absurd
   

And...
COMING UP:

How much can you do for Rakhi?
Do you really love her?
Will you tattoo her name on your hands?? (Suspense music, shocked faces)
STAY TUNED ;)

With regard to food..

..my other almost-love. Unfortunately, this one manifests itself in some of the most unseemly ways. And then of course, there's all this thing about testing one's self-will.

So, dear handful of readers, I'll tell you all about my vow off all meat for a month.

Why? How? I was sitting in a not-so-fancy fast food joint one day with my two very vegetarian friends, and discussing what stops them from trying out meat. While we spoke about their conscious choice and the environment they grew up in, it struck me that when I go out to eat, I never consciously pick out anything vegetarian. The realization that I was so hooked on to chicken descended in all its glory. And didn't sit too well.

And so I imposed on my self, a month without chicken and other such meat. I figured one month would be just enough to see how I do. And how much further I would be able to. It started last monday, that 22nd day of June, which means its been about 10 days, and I've not missed it much. Considering I still allow myself egg, I haven't been too tough on myself.

Which should make me feel all elated and all, but as if to show a downside to everything, I've discovered the pleasures of unhealthy vegetarian food, especially if its fried, or served with butter or cheese :)

Also I fell sick on the 8th day, as though my body was trying to prove a point. But it shall not be allowed to rebel so. I still have another 20 days to go. And I have plans for the 30 days after. Further foody updates to come :)