Bye Bye Blackbird

Mark Twain once wrote about what a harmless little insititution "New Year Day" was. He said that at the stroke of midnight we will have all smoked our last cigar, gulped our last drink and would have turned into exemplary social citizens. And yet in less than thirty days, we would go back to our old habits and our old ways and laugh about it.

Still undoubtedly, most of us will admit that on this last night of the year, we have thoughts far different from those on every other moonless soiree.

Some of us are glad that the year is ending, the others are glad that the new year is coming and the rest of us - are undecided.

For we are far too aware - that inorder to embrace the new, we will have to let go of the old and this process is not quite as painless as we would like to deem it to be. Yet, we long for this passage of right and there is no other option but to let the clock tick these last few minutes of the year.

Personally, I think New Years night is the only time of the year when I can understand what Alanis meant when she sang "I'm drunk but I'm sober"

Its just something about the night.

No matter where you are, happy or sad, wistful or cheery, with family or friends or alone or ....all of the above which I usually feel when the clock strikes twelve, you've got to sit up and mark the passage of time.

And after we do - we shall meet once again, in the new year.

Same place, same time, same us but a little bit different.

Until then from my heart to yours, much metta.

2008: An Obituary

She went her unremembering way,

She went and left in me

The pang of all the partings gone,

And partings yet to be.~Francis Thompson

2008 started for me on a Bombay - Hybad Spicejet flight.

It was 1st of January and I was heading back to ISB. I remember looking out of the window on that flight wondering what was it that the year would have in store for me. For all the dramatic thoughts that passed my mind then. ranging from the devastating to the deliriously happy, I neednt have worried.

2008 was a year when I was just passing through.
Its not that the year did not have milestones.
Afterall - I graduated from an MBA program marking the culmination of years of buildup and sacrifices but I also struggled to find a job of choice in Bombay.
Afterall- I moved back to Bombay marking the end of a long journey and years of introspection and soul searching but I also struggled to settle down and call it home once again.

So above all - it was a year marked by much murkiness, balancing acts and hard decisions. But it was also a year in which laughter came easily, tears far too easily. Promises were made and broken and lots of growing up and facing the facts happened. But there were good times and good friends, travels and adventures in a life only as fortunate as mine.

But in the story of my life, 2008 was the year when I decided that I had to stand up for myself and my way of life ..and it was also the year that I realised that making the aforementioned decision also meant that I had to take a responsibility for what happened as well.

Unarguably, it was exhausting at times as it was enjoyable, but above all things ..2008 was a year of extraordinary friendships and self discovery.

So as the year draws to an end - Here is what I learnt the not so easy way in 2008.
I've learnt that ..
1. Its not possible to be friends with someone I cannot trust. It just doesnt work.
2. Weight training 5 days a week guarantees weight loss - it takes time but it works ..
3. Post -Banana Nut Crunch Cereal and cold milk is the best way to celebrate the end of a long difficult day
4. I've got to learn the take responsibility for 100% of my problems. 30 years of saying "it takes two to tango" and shared responsibility have not gotten me anywhere.
5. There are people who can me me cry sometimes..but I am the only person who can make myself laugh anytime. And there is great comfort in that...
6. Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better
7. I believe in tarot cards
8. Butterflies are a great source of comfort. They were once caterpillars who had to endure months of painful transition to earn the right to fly.
9. I dont take my personal security for granted anymore.
10. Its possible for someone to do something in an instant that can cause me heartache for life
11. I've learnt that "Love in the time of Cholera" has a quotable quote for every story in my life so far
12. I've learnt that asking people what kind of dog would they keep as a pet and why and what is their favorite book and why are killer questions to learn something relevant about them quickly
13. I have to invest in my health right now ..
14. I have to learn to trust my instincts about people
15. Keeping life simple - is a complicated process
16. Life gave me the biggest second chance ever this year and luckily I had the good sense to grab it
17. Watering plants is therapeutic
18. There is a blurry line that seperates being positive and being in denial ..and I have to try and not walk it so often
19. Friendship is a two way street that requires lots of hardwork and patience
20. Theres no point in saving the good candles - I've got to burn them because today is only as special as I deem it to be
21. Sometimes I have to wade through a lot of uncertainty to figure out the one or two things that infact I am certain about
22. It is hard to earn the trust of a child but when I do ..its the most rewarding feeling ever
So Thank You 2008 !
You marked each day in this vague year of my life with remarkable patience for my capacity to get myself into trouble .. You stood by and watched me question everything you sent my way and confuse myself silly .. You smiled at the few eureka moments I had in my cluttered world and you didnt give up on me even when I almost did....
But its time to say Goodbye.
You most certainly wont be forgotten.
Someone once remarked "Where is the good in Goodbye" ... This annual adios is the only farewell that makes sense to me ..to Ring out the old and Ring in the new..
So from my heart to yours .. Goodbye 2008 !

Maggi Hot and Sweet Tomato Chilli Ketchup

"Maggi Hot and Sweet Tomato Chill Ketchup - Its different "

Ad Quote that represents majority of my teenage TV watching experience

Bright and early this morning, a day before Santa comes to town, I was reading on NY times as I love to ..when I came across something totally random.

Apparantly there is a website called Dressregistry.com that socialites and actresses and politicos in the US love to frequent. Basically - you can register an event that you will attend and a dress that you will wear to that event. Its anonymous. Now others like you, who also will be attending that event or others - can look and decide to wear Valentino instead of Chanel .. because you already called that one ...

You can list the UPC code of your dress too. (Incase you've just bought it .. like really .. In times of deep recession .. an impulse Chanel dress purchase would hardly qualify for a public web post ....yeah yeah .. I know the webiste allows anonymous posts ..but anyone visiting the website and then attending the gala would know right ? ... evil evil ways of women ....i tell you:)

Careful Scrutiny of this incredulous find revealed that people had already started registering for events as far out into 2009 as last week of January.

Hmm..talk about planning.

I'm scrambling for the year to not end ..and a whole bunch of people out there ALREADY know what dress they will be wearing for a party in late January.

Frankly - Its a great idea based on who you are.

I mean - if I were Jennifer Aniston - the last thing I would want is to show up at the Oscars wearing the same outfit as Angelina Jolie. It would be nothing short of a personal massacre for both parties involved, the press would have a field day .. and I (JA..just for the sake of this sentence) would be condemmned to a lifetime of workouts in the gym while She (AJ ..wow ..their initials are flip flopped ..just noticed) would be forced to evaluate laser surgery for tattoo removal after seeing how smooth my arms looked. Never mind.

So there is obviously a market for this website.

I logged off before I considered registering my slimming (seemingly I've been told) blue jeans for "Brunch at Pizza Hut on Saturday 27th Dec in Powai,Bombay"

But it got me thinking about this eternal love hate relationship we as humans have with being a part of the everyday magic and being uniquely different at the same time.

Its strange. This should be a black and white thing. Either we are like everyone else or we are different. Then why does it matter so much ?

Do the same rules apply to everybody ? or are we hell bent on beating this argument silly to a % point level ..

For example .. I am just like everyone else with a special gift for putting my foot in my mouth (80% like everyone .. 20% different)

Hmm...

Ofcourse there are people that will argue that "everbody has their own unique place in the worlds order" and to them I will say that "Heaven help those among us then that will spend their whole life just searching for this just one of its blessed kind special parking place"!

Its weird - you try soo hard to just fit in .. in high school... and then when you apply to B school ..the first question they will ask you is .."What makes you unique" ? ..and act surprised when your jaw drops in surprise ..

Its an urban legend of a personal order for me.

Sometimes its so upsetting to feel like you are just like everyone else ..and yet at other times there can be no greater crisis than feeling like you are so different compared to the world.

At the same time, sometimes two people can be similar .. but we can feel very differently about them. Or two situations .. but based on the time in our life .. we react in very different ways..

On this cloudy day in December, I have no answers.. only questions.

But the one thing that I can say is that regardless of what the outcome of this argument is .. Maggi Hot and Sweet Tomato Chilli Ketchup ..is really different.

And that is the only thing I can vouch for.

Born of Ink

There are heros born of ink, whose first steps are but letters scattered over manuscripts.
Their lives are but stories trapped in yellow white pages that inspire us, haunt us and guide us.
They are immortal even as they die and for those of us who read about them, they live forever but in the minds eye.
For a confirmed reader like myself, I find myself often awestruck at their expertise in handling and diffusing the many tense situations in life, their alarming patience and resilience for the unexpected and their ever faithful loyalty to their own thoughts and emotions even during moments of utter confusion. Some of them, I admire for their ability to love life while others at their capacity to express themselves perfectly in any situation and most of all, their resilience at making every word count.
So last night I lay in bed, completely in love with a book all over again.. listening to time as it crept past my window in the wee hours to turn night to day, I could not help but wonder what I could do if I was in the place of the main protagonist in "Love in the time of Cholera", Florentino Aziza when Fermina sent me the terse two page letter citing her fall from the "confusion of love into the abyss of disenchantment"
And there are times when I am at a crossroad unable to make a decision and my mind wanders and I think about say what Howard Roark would have done if he were in my place. Frankly, I've always known what he would do in every situation I've asked myself the question.. I've never followed suit and done what he would have .... but always known it so there were no illusions that I would harbor in my petty decision making.
So here is my list of some of my ink heros who have become larger than their legends in the years that I have read of them and what I love about them.
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Howard Roark; The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand: His ability to stick to his principles and not compromise on his thoughts, feelings and goals on the way to achieving his dream. His ability to live not just without love .. but despite it...which infact may be the hardest thing of all.
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Dr Laura Catellano: Never been so much more in love with a book character than this one. Determined, focused and always getting in and out of trouble..still manages to work hard at her job and relationships and is immensely human in her sheer brilliance and empathy towards life
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The Little Prince; Le petit prince Antoine De Saint Exupery: For being able to handle goodbyes far better than I ever can. For being able to believe that distance can be overcome in matters of the heart..even after being seperated not by miles but by galaxies ....and for seeing the positive side in things always and making me believe in the concept of laughing stars
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Dagny Taggart; Atlas Shrugged; Ayn Rand : The force behind Taggart Transcontinental railroad, for her grit, her focus and unabashed loyalty to what she has fought tooth and nail to create. Her ability to be a woman of great mind and spirit but also one that was able to love without too many questions.
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Mark Darcy; Pride and Prejudice; Jane Austen: For being the intensely honorable man of few words that he is. For revaulating how his behavior is infact perceived by ones that he loves and for making a genuine attempt at rectifying it.
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Santiago; The Alchemist; Paulo Coelho: For following his dream to the worlds end. For his amazing capacity to learn and inspire goodness. His simplicity and ability to listen to the voice of the soul of the world world and the voice of his heart and discern the truth from the superficial. And for living the journey more than the destination.
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Andrew Elliot; The Class; Erich Seagal : For being the narrator and witness to the ups and downs in so many lives, for embracing the side acts he plays in so many lives, for his humility and ability to feel great happiness at the good fortune of those around him and for trying to make a personal difference wherever he goes.
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Prabhakar; Shantaram; Gregory David Roberts: Ohh what a beautiful world with a friend like him in it ! For his utter simplicity towards all things alike...
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Dumbledore; The Harry Potter series; JK Rowling: For his pearls of wisdom stemming from seeing all the facets of people and life across so many eons. For never misusing his magical powers and immense strength and for always believing the good in people..
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Mariam; A Thousand Splendid Suns: Khalid Hosseini: Patience, Resilience, Gut and an immense capacity to deal with life the way the cards are deal
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Mary Lennox; The Secret Garden; Frances H Burnett: Mary had an uncanny healing power that manifested itself in her attitude towards life, her unwillingness to settle for anything less than her hearts desire, negotiate her way to it and her magnanimity. The classic part of her character was where she met Colin and refused to put up with his temper tantrums but at the same time agreed to let him see the garden...carrot and stick ..priceless !
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The list shall continue ...I wrote this post over two days and I must not forget to mention that last night I had a totally weird dream where Shantaram approached me for not picking him..followed by one in which I was on a TV show and was asked a question that there was a boat sinking and three people in it were Dunbledore, Howard Roark and Mary and I could only save two and who would I save and why ... Nevermind! ..The drama in my life shall always continue ... :)

Gross Annual Happiness

I recently learned that while the rest of our countries are dogmatic in their pursuit of economic benefit and spend much time, effort and energy in making decisions that impact economic indicators like GDP positively, there are yet others that believe in a more holistic approach to measuring the progress of their people.

Bhutan measures whats called "GNH" or "Gross National Happiness". Although there is no current quantitative measure for GNH - the proposed method of measuring GNH involves monitoring 7 key areas in the day to day life of its people...Economic,Environmental(increase in carbon consumption,traffic),Physical(number of diseases etc), Mental(surge in anti depressants, etc),Workplace(jobless claims),Social (divorce rates, crime rates) and Political.

The plan is to create one indicator that has a weighted average of the 7 individual metrics.

I think its a great idea. Especially in countries like India where the economic surge often happens only at the top of the pyramid while not much comparitive change happens at the bottom. Ofcourse there are those that argue that higher economic growth should eventually result in the other metric's improvement - but thats not always true is it ?

So as I came to terms with this newfound information, I could not help but wonder if I as a person also had a similar myopic view of what constitutued personal happiness. Was there infact a way to measure say Gross Annual Happiness - where I would not just be stuck in a job or in a situation that would attempt to submerge all other feeble attempts of being happy.

Where I would rationally evaluate everything that had transpired over the length of the year - how many times I fell sick, how many times I lost my temper, how many times I behaved in an unbecoming way, how many times I upset someone else around me, how many times I helped others out, how many times I worked out and then come to a conclusion about the current state of affairs in my life in times as strange and wonderful as these.

I dont know how I could actually come up with this measure. But I have not a shred of doubt in my mind that if I did - I would find that contrary to what I thought I felt on most year ends like this one in 2008, where much has been murky and undetermined... I would realise that infact I have much to thank for and much to celebrate about and that if I stopped trying so hard to be happy and paused for just a little bit.. I would realise that I was having a pretty darn good time in a pretty darn good life.

Amen.

Pla(n)tonic

The thing about new year resolutions is that they are hard to keep, harder to forget and often broken within few hours of having made them anyways.

So this year, I;m making a wish-list.

Not a resolution ...(what does that mean anyways) ..

A wish list of all the things that I wish will happen .. and more importantly a wish list of all the things I hope I can make happen in 2009.

And I decided to take a leaf from my B school books and actually mention doable action items and not state broad vague goals like "Improve health" ... and set SMART goals...

(Specific Mesurable Achievable Realistic Timely .....Lol !!! .. cant believe I am actually stating how nerdy I am .. oh well !)

And this year, I've decided to be brave and put them down in ink ..

Some of the points on this list arise from my day to day struggles with being less clumsy and others are what I say I'll keep doing ..but never do ..

So by this time next year, we will know where the scale tilts.

So here is my wishlist for 2009 :

1. Make a trip to Morocoo and drink coffee with FL

2. Lose 5 kgs ..(not brave enough to disclose a number..just typing this was hard enough..and not sure if its SMART either .. )

3. Eat green leafy vegetables 2 times a week

4. Go swimming once a week

5. Visit the Golden Temple

6. Read one book written by a native author from each country that I have a close friend from

(Nigeria, Columbia, Mexico, Morocco, US, India, Pakistan, Jamaica, Malaysia )

Books identified so far are

"Love in the time of cholera " : Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"The famished road" : Ben Okri

"Like water for chocolate" : Laura Esquivel

7. Fill the gas tank in my car before it reaches "E" to avoid panic attacks

8. Learn to parallel park like JD ..(okay ..had to state it .. have NEVER seen anyone do a better job at parallel parking .... too bad I cant go all the way to Tampa to learn .. I would ..if I could..)

9. Find a NGO to volunteer on a weekly basis with

10. Write one letter each month and acutually post it ..

11. Learn the alphabet in sign language

12. Learn to give insulin injections to my grandmom

13. Drink 5 glasses of water each day

14. Finally go on my much planned and has not happened trip to Prague

15. Finish reading "We are like this only"

16. Restrict eating fast food to weekends alone

17. Not kill plants after getting them home ..and actually manage to grow something instead of hara kiri herbs dying in the sun due to my negligence

18. Find a job that I really like

19. Go to the gym at least 4 times a week

20. Try and do all the above mentioned 19 things

There - the typing part wasnt hard.

The "doing" is going to be the cause of my undoing in 2009.

Like they say .. Dont be afraid of making plans for when you are scared it means you have something to lose and when you make plans it means that you have something to look forward to.

Damn right I do ;)

Fun Anyone ?

The usual suspects met up at Anu's place on a quasi wintery evening last weekend.

The plan was playstation, takeaway tandoori, italian wine and good times.

I went gingerly ..still smarting from my last experience with Anu and the love of his life - PS2.

The last time I was talked into spending my precious time in the land of the games, we had played a car racing game. Unfortunately - I seemed to have a hard time getting my eyes, brain and all the five fingers of my hand to co-ordinate. I hit a curb spun around and drove in the wrong direction. 5 minutes of silence later, Anu grabbed the stick from my hands and said .. okay .. let me atleast turn the damm car around for you...and laughed for a full 30 minutes at my striken face. And that is not the greatest thing to happen when you are learning to drive and have to plead with friends to not carry parachutes while you are driving :)

I went home, my ego bruised ..and yeah ..incase you are wondering .. I didnt drive myself home.

So this time round, my plan was clear.

Sip the wine, eat the tandoori and stay away from the PS2.

But Life is what happens to us while we are busy playing videogames.

There were all these crazy characters in one on one fist fights in our PS2 party.

And some of them charlies angles too !

Half way through the night - I just couldnt resist.

I think I've found my PS2 calling.

While I cant drive my car straight or change gears quickly .. Kick and Punch I can do ..

and on lucky plays ... I can even do the "press both the buttons together and Hwoarang will pick up his opponent and swing him around and drop him and beat him to a pulp" move !!!..and when the screen blinks and says "KO" .. you've never heard anything cooler and funner !

(I refuse to agree with Anu's comment that "Its a sign" that I fared much better at the "beating to a pulp" game than the "whiz past the finishing line" game. )

For now - I have new friends in Hwoarang and Julia Chang .. and whoever said "Three's a crowd" obviously never played Tekken.

I think I may have found a new way to spend Saturday evenings :)

Circuit Day

These days my gym trips have taken a turn for the unknown.

My trainer has me in agony by putting me through what's called a circuit workout once a week.

Where I excercise every part of the body without discrimination.

None of the "Thursdays are meant for Ugly Betty at 9 so let me just do triceps today really quickly while no ones watching .." thing..

When I train on the circuit - theres no retreat, no surrender.

Just me and the weights. Its a knockout even before the fight has begun.

Last night, as I tried to reason with my throbbing muscles - I realized that somedays..life felt like a circuit workout too .. where nothing was spared.. nothing was left to reason or doubt.

Days when I was going down - freefalling, out of control ..slave to some morbid external force.

Circuit Days when several things attacked me at the same time ... Work..friends..home..health..hair.weather..traffic..food...past..present..future and anything and everything that I touch turned to stone.

Whatever was in the path of the storm was left in shambles.

A circuit day.

Where my 24 hour cosmic karma would be so messed up that the only thing I could do was take deep breaths, let the clock tick and the karmacola fizz over.

Then when I got up the next morning - I could look at the half filled karmacola bottle and decide whether it was half empty or half full depending on which side of the bed I got up from of course.

The thing is .. that I'm not entired convinced that this is such a bad thing.

The thing is that inspite of the pain and the agony of going down and crawling painfully through the tunnel to light the light myself ....a circuit day every once in a while..helps me understand what makes sense when absolutely nothing else does.

A circuit day - much like a circuit workout helps me understand whats the "Freeze Feature" in my little world that holds the threads of hope in my life together in a weird shaky cross-stich.

And this is what I hold on to and fight to preserve on the remaining days when I choose the battles instead of them choosing me.

Amen.

Five

These days, a good cry is an easy bargain.

I'll be honest, I'm not one of those who can hold back the floodgates when they threaten to burst. My excuse is that my eyes are always dry and tears are good mositurizers.

Now lest you start to imagine a full fledged brawl, nothing like that.

These days, I time myself.

I'll give myself 5 minutes to cry.

So its only 5 minutes ,not 6 and not 4 but exactly 5...

So if I must weep, I better make it a good one...

If I must stress, I'll time that too. So that the 5 minutes are well worth it.

Whats the point of all this anyways ?

One minute you are worried you've made all the wrong choices in your life - career, friends, lovers .. and then turnsout that the worst choice of your life is what restaurant you suggested on a dinner date with your family..

And if that wasnt bad enough - you lived to tell the story that others didnt because you chose to run in a particular direction.

Thats just one of the stories that made me bawl this week.

...So I'm timing myself - when I'm cribbing and complaining and stressing for all the mundane meaningless reasons that I choose to worry about while the ground shakes for those around me in ways that I cannot help or fathom.

I took a rickshaw on saturday to U's place and ended up talking to the rickshawalla.

I find myself doing that a lot more since last week too.

I instructed him to take a diversion road instead of a crowded cross section and he asked me if it was because I was scared and I found myself telling a complete stranger the truth.

He told me that I should not be afraid as often one would run into ones worst fear on the diversion road in life.

Then I guess seeing my chastisized expression (yeah ... been there done that) .. he decided that we could move over the pleasantries and chit chat while we waited in bumper to bumper traffic.

He said he was upset because he and his wife were fighting a lot since the mumbai attacks.

He had a day job in a factory and his wife worked as a maid servant. He drove a rickshaw in the evenings and his wife stayed at home with their two kids. Since the terrorists struck, no one wanted to go to movies and malls late at night and he had been taking in 60% of his prior daily income home last 10 days. He was angry because he didnt know what else to do.

I told him that I'd pray for him and he said that its good that some people still believed that their prayers would be answered.

The reality is that all that crap that Eric Clapton said about "Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees" is infact true. And never before has it rung truer in an apocalyptic Nostradamus world is ending sort of a way.

So these days, I'm timing myself.

5 minutes is all I get when I do something that is unconstructive but totally compelling in an addictive sort of way.

So that if I have to absolutely waste 5 precious minutes of my life on crying over spilt milk or coffee or otherwise - I make it a good one.

And then after that - I get up and get on with the business of Living.

Amen.

Dhak-Dhak

Yesterday - a colleague of mine asked me "arent you sorry you moved back ?" ..and I was taken aback. Of all the murky things to have crossed my mind between last week and now .. this didnt feature at all.

So I'm going to capture what makes my heart go dhak-dhak everyday of being back !

And I'm not even going to go close to the business as usual reasons of family, Indian economy and all that jazz...

So this post is about what I love about being home !

And why inspite of all the bloody maniacs next door undergoing year long crash courses in civic manslaughter, inspite of people yelling Anti- India slogans few hundred miles away from the same factory that stamped the grenades found in last weeks massacre, inspite of all the bleak grey reports emerging in the world wide media about investor concerns, tourists getting cold feet and rising insurance premiums... Inspite of all of it ..

This city and this country is my jaan, my shaan and everything I love about my life and my world.

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Reason one: We are like this only

We believe in horoscopes and we believe in evolution

Ivy league educated computer engineers who will tie lemons to their cars to ward the evil eye.

Pandits who take appointments on blackberries and Pav Bhaji wallas who will take delivery orders on the latest Nokia phone.

We are one of the only 4 countries in the world to have a moon mission - but we also

house millions who worship the moon and do havans to placate its effects.

We have one leg in the past, one leg in the future and all this while we are steadfastedly watching the latest bollywood movie which features world famous hiphop superstars rapping in english.

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Reason two: A curry by any other name

Come on...

I'll elaborate anyways.

Everyone knows that "The way to a mans heart is through his stomach" was the advice a bubbly indian mommy gave her computer programmer daughter as she cooked paneer pakodas to serve to an arranged marriage management counsulant boy who was the nephew of her neighbours uncles cousins daughters good friends mothers sisters first cousins son who was visiting from "abroad"

And so from that unsuspecting saying stemmed a generation of mughlai, tandoori, south indian, peshawari, bengali, yummy ..utterly butterly delicious yummy food.

From eating chaat in five star hotels to eating pasta out of gaadi's on the road. ..from desi daru to our very own Sula ..we've got it all !

Some people eat to live .. but right here .. in the soul of this country .. we live to eat.

In kali mirchi and adrak we trust.

So much so that even Starbucks has a "Chai" now !

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Reason Three: Desi Girls

It rocks to be a Desi Girl !

Desi women are the most complicated ever. And it takes one to know one.

Try driving a car in Bombay wearing a sari.

If it doesnt give you a heart burn the first time - let me know.

Then try getting into a fight with a rickshawalla on the same day. When you step out of the car and threaten to kill him with your bata high heel chappal and tell him stuff like "Ladki se baat karne ki tameez nahi hai" ..all this while trying super hard to make sure the sari stays in place .....you've arrived.

Imagine - you can wear Indian clothes, western clothes, Indian makeup, western makeup, Indian shoes, Western shoes, Indian Bags, western bags, Indian jellwery, Western Jewellery....

OMG ! ...there is two two of everything !!!

Retail paradise, Fashion Fury and the Gods must be crazy ( .. theres more than two of those this side of the world for sure !!!)

Wear a miniskirt one day and a sari on the next and confuse the hell out of everybody !

But jokes apart - take a look around you.

If I look at so called third world/developing countries everywhere around India and look at the women and what they go through "on an average" .. while there are places in India unsafe for women .. I would say .. overall .. we rock the cradle !

We have women cops, women politicians, women ibankers, women chefs, women entrepreneurs, women pilots, women programmers, women drivers and if you open Page 3 of bombay times ....even some men dressing up as women ! ...and lets not forget .. we have scores and scores and scores of Women Gods !!!! .. that even sweaty burly MCP type businessmen worship !
I think its a blessing :).. Dont you ?

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Reason Four : Chak De Phatte !

People actually make movies like "Desh Drohi"

Apart from the fact that it was banned.... some guy actually acted it in, produced it and sold it on the black market. He was interviewed and wooed and reached almost iconic proportions in a funny sort of a way.

We protest and we yell and we vent.

We elect absolute junglees as our leaders and then when they behave like animals .. we get together with the media and social forums to bitch silly about them.

We know what its like to have freedom of speech.

We dont issue fatwas on people who diss our cities and our countries and our cultures and our religions in best selling novels and high TRP TV shows abroad. We buy those books and read them and watch those shows and invite those same people to come back and change their mind.

We organize peace protests and marches and men and women and children and elders from every walk of life can be seen in them.

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Reason five: East ya West

I love how beautiful India is.

I've visited a lot of astoundingly astounding places in the last 10 years. But a lot of the moments that have taken my breath away have been in and around India ... From seeing the sun rise over a sleepy Rishikesh, to watching the sunset cast long shadows at the Vivekananda memorial in Kanyakumari ... From lying face down in a valley of orchids in the Kareri lake glacier to paragliding at Baga over quasi colonial white bougeanvilla surrounded bungalows... from the long walk up Tiger Hill to the tea smitten slopes in Coorg...its like a life long season of the Amazing Race !

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Reason Six: Local Lingo !

Top ki Heroine

Chat Corner ( ya ya ... sign for an internet cafe outside my house that people go to expecting to be served sevi puri !)

Bhaiya ( can mean several people based on how you say it and when you say it and to whom you say it !)

Naya Item ( ..also can meant several things !... on the street ..in an electronics store..hahhahaa)

So Cheap .... ( 16 year old college girls in India loveeee saying this ... and they arent shopping while saying this .. )

Arreeee (I'd have to say 3 senetences in english to comunicate the same anger than this one worded areee can !)

Setting

Daring

Bomb ..(yeah ..oustide Mithibai college .. this meant something completely non explosive until last week )

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Reason Seven: Bollywood calling

I dont have to explain my SRK screensaver to anyone ever again ! (Nooo ..he's not my boyfriend....he's an actor .. yeah ..he's cute by indian standards) ...

I love the new bollywood! ..love the offbeat movies, the untouched subjects, the social activists with reels and funky new hairstyles.

And I love what it inspires.

Pimped out Jhankar beat rickshaws, Twenty zillion Radio stations with over hyper DJs, Nasal pitched train singing, pirated everything and the latest and greatest bollywolly fashions from Linking road to High Street Phoenix.

First Simi Aunty had her show.

So Karan got his own.

And now Rakhi has one too.

If thats not progress then what is .....

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Reason Eight: Bharat Ek Parivaaaar

I lovveee how I can call everyone Aunty and Uncle. Auntyjee and Unclejee if I really want something badly.

I can call anyone Bhaiya.

I can call anyone Didi.

Afterall it was Nehru who once said .. all Indians are my brothers and sisters.... so all their parents become Auntys and Uncles naaa ?

Bolo Bolo ??

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Reason Nine: Whats in a name ..

Rikshawalla

Dabbawalla

Raddiwalla

Paanwalla

Bhajiwalla

Dodhwalla

Taxiwalla

Fruitwalla

Pest Control Walla

Batliwalla

Biscuitwalla

I think if we decided to come up with a new abridged Hindi Dictionary .. we would run out of spaces adding all these words that we use on a day to day basis ...

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Reason Ten: Jeena Yaha .. Marna Yaha..

You can take the desi out of the des... but you cant take the des out of the Desi.

Himesh remix on I285 in Atlanta

Himesh remix on SV Road

Chai in Marietta

Chai in Bombay

What to do ?

Life is complicated yaaar !

You can only be in one place and one time ... and the time is now and the place is right here !

In the middle of the madness... with bombs that havent been traced ..and terrorists who havent been caught .. with threats of air attacks and mall attacks. ..where Tomorrow may never come ....but I'll take my chances ..because for now - the combined effects of Rahu Ketu and all the planetary influences suggest that "365 days of Thumbs up" is the way to go !

I'm 30 years old.

My city is Mumbai.

Thank God I have enough !

One moment in time

Fuelled by desperation and restlessness, I spent an extra hour at the gym yesterday. Outran myself until I was so exhausted, I could think no more. I got into the car and drove home through the dusty grey moonlight illuminated streets in norh bombay.

At a crowded cross section, I waited to move with an omnious yellow black rickshaw to keep me company.

Between me and the rickshaw - two boys stopped by. Both young, in their 20's with backpacks and guitar cases wearing black clothes.

My head started hurting again.

I took a deep breath and attempted to rub the back of my neck to ease the tension.

Thats when I made eye contact with the rickshaw driver - who had read my mind

and shook his head as if to say that he had seen the same ghost from last week that I had.

Life as we knew it - had changed forever.