Truth Personified ;)

Vinayaka Chathurthi 2016

2016-09-07T02:53:00.001+05:30

I cant believe I missed posting the 2015 Ganesh Chathurthi update. But it was a different time with lots of changes. This year though turned out to be a whole other ballgame in a very good way. This is by far my most favourite of all festivals. I think the reason is because I started it as a tradition, home away from home, as I stepped into a new role and built my own little family.

Our little bundle was literally an angel through it all. She slept through the entire pooja and was a champ when we got her in the new patte langa. Without wasting anymore time ill share the last year and this year’s Ganeshas.

2016

One more:

2015:

A quick collage of the years before…

Previous Years Ganeshas:

Mother's Day

2016-05-09T09:03:00.001+05:30

other than raise a toast to my Amazing Mom every year, I pretty much get away with doing nothing each year on Mother's Day. So technically I should continue to not buy into the hype of a special day for Moms cause isn't each day with them special and all? Well, I would sometimes try to lessen her days load by taking up some task but honestly it wasn't much.

My last couple of years though have been a little emotional. And this year has somehow added to the emotion. 3rd year, a special one, the last ever(and I hope it stays that way) that I'll ever feel the way I do. Carrying a life form the same time my Mom did so many years ago, holding someone so close for the first and last time ever, cherishing most of it and knowing life will never be the same.

So while I feel and see the baby kicks and enjoy this time, I also gently remind myself to not take things for granted.

Happy Mother's Day!

Omanathingal Kidavoo?

2016-04-19T22:11:00.001+05:30

Song here...

ഓമനത്തിങ്കള്‍ക്കിടാവോ- നല്ല കോമളത്താമരപ്പൂവോ

പൂവില്‍ നിറഞ്ഞ മധുവോ- പരിപൂര്‍ണേന്ദു തന്‍റെ നിലാവോ

പുത്തന്‍ പവിഴക്കൊടിയോ- ചെറു തത്തകള്‍ കൊഞ്ചും മൊഴിയോ

ചാഞ്ചാടിയാടും മയിലോ - മൃദു പഞ്ചമം പാടും കുയിലോ

തുള്ളുമിളമാന്‍കിടാവോ - ശോഭ കൊള്ളുന്നോരന്നക്കൊടിയോ

ഈശ്വരന്‍ തന്ന നിധിയോ - പരമേശ്വരിയേന്തും കിളിയോ

പാരിജാതത്തിന്‍ തളിരോ - എന്‍റെ ഭാഗ്യദ്രുമത്തിന്‍ ഫലമോ

വാത്സല്യരത്നത്തെ വയ്പ്പാന്‍ - മമ വായ്ച്ചൊരു കാഞ്ചനച്ചെപ്പോ

ദൃഷ്ടിക്കു വച്ചോരമൃതോ - കൂരിരുട്ടത്തു വച്ച വിളക്കോ

കീര്‍ത്തിലതയ്ക്കുള്ള വിത്തോ - എന്നും കേടു വരാതുള്ള മുത്തോ

ആര്‍ത്തിതിമിരം കളവാന്‍ - ഉള്ള മാര്‍ത്താണ്ഡദേവപ്രഭയോ

സുക്തിയില്‍ കണ്ട പൊരുളോ - അതിസൂക്ഷ്മമാം വീണാരവമോ

വന്‍പിച്ച സന്തോഷവല്ലി - തന്‍റെ കൊമ്പത്തു പൂത്ത പൂവല്ലി

പിച്ചകത്തിന്‍ മലര്‍ച്ചെണ്ടോ - നാവിനിച്ഛ നല്‍കുന്ന കല്‍ക്കണ്ടോ

കസ്തൂരി തന്‍റെ മണമോ - ഏറ്റ സത്തുക്കൾക്കുള്ള ഗുണമോ

പൂമണമേറ്റൊരു കാറ്റോ - ഏറ്റം പൊന്നില്‍ തെളിഞ്ഞുള്ള മാറ്റോ

കാച്ചിക്കുറുക്കിയ പാലോ - നല്ല ഗന്ധമെഴും പനിനീരോ

നന്മ വിളയും നിലമോ - ബഹുധര്‍മങ്ങള്‍ വാഴും ഗൃഹമോ

ദാഹം കളയും ജലമോ - മാര്‍ഗഖേദം കളയും തണലോ

വാടാത്ത മല്ലികപ്പൂവോ - ഞാനും തേടിവച്ചുള്ള ധനമോ

കണ്ണിനു നല്ല കണിയോ - മമ കൈവന്ന ചിന്താമണിയോ

ലാവണ്യപുണ്യനദിയോ - ഉണ്ണിക്കാര്‍വര്‍ണ്ണന്‍ തന്‍റെ കളിയോ

ലക്ഷ്മീഭഗവതി തന്‍റെ - തിരുനെറ്റിയിലിട്ട കുറിയോ

എന്നുണ്ണിക്കൃഷ്ണന്‍ ജനിച്ചോ - പാരിലിങ്ങനെ വേഷം ധരിച്ചോ

പദ്മനാഭന്‍ തന്‍ കൃപയോ - മുറ്റും ഭാഗ്യം വരുന്ന വഴിയോ

I cannot recollect how many times my Mom has hummed this tune for me but it is a tune that has remained a favorite. While I still don't know all the lyrics, I try and listen to the song as many times as I can.

Today as I type this I just came off from listening to my Granny and Ma talk. My Granny is saying "My daughters name is also Devi and my sons name is Radhakrishnan. When my Mom tried to remind her that her son is no more, my granny almost chuckled and asked my Mother when he passed away... Imagine the plight of a daughter who sits right in front of her Mother who doesn't recognize her. While my Mom takes it like a champ, smiling and joking about it and reminding her every chance she gets that she is her daughter and having her refuse it to her face.

While my tears have long since dried, I do wish this on no one. I wish that if you love your parents to cherish that time with them, be it a phone, a hand written note or just a warm hug. I say this because I know there are parents out there that don't cherish their kids and vice versa.

Adios.

Vishu Ashamsagal

2016-04-15T00:59:00.001+05:30

Happy Vishu everyone. May Mahabali visit your homes and enjoy a scrumptious sadhya!

Are we settling for less?

2016-04-12T21:27:00.002+05:30

When I was younger, we had limited electrical gadgets at home. But they lasted a good long time - like say 20 years. I don't remember going to the store every 3/4 years to replace something that broke. I mean I understand we want the Chinese economy to keep growing by leaps and bounds but shouldn't we rethink our strategy a little. The nokia phones I got in 2002 lasted for atleast 6 years. These days a Samsung 'smart' phone lasts a little more than a year. Same with the iPhones. People are expected to get a 'smarter' phone every 2 years simply because a free upgrade is made available or simply because Apple comes up with a new version which is 1/2 a millimeter smaller than the previous version.

Why are we not expecting things to last? Why are we not demanding that the items we pay so much money for be made of sound quality? Are we settling for less? When my Mother was complaining that her Kindle wasn't staying charged for more than 2 hours after taking a lot longer to charge, i found myself telling her that it was normal. That the kindle was more than 2 years old! we live in homes that are expected to last us a lifetime(a 100 years) and temples that last centuries, archeological remains that have lasted 1000s of years(telling us about yester years) and yet instead of making sure we make things that last longer we want to make things that last a lot less.

This probably answers the question I started out with. But this also brings up the question 'Why are we settling for less?' 'Are we not worth it?' 'Should we not focus on making less things that last rather than more things that don't?'

I lived more than half my life with furniture that lasted a good 50 years and then suddenly all the newly replaced furniture don't seem to last more than 5! People want to do makeovers every year to get rid of boredom. Cars that used to run 20 years give out in under 10. Watches that used to run for years and be handed down one generation to the next need to be replaced every two years because who can live without the latest gps watch!

And the award for the best year goes to...

2016-01-02T05:55:00.000+05:30

2015 has been a beautiful year full of giving and receiving - learning and unlearning. I got my best birthday gift ever. And I can't wait for what 2016 holds in store for us. Wishing the people I like a blessed and happy new year.
Wishing and praying for the good health of my loved ones.
Peace out.

How I spent my Monday evening

2015-12-15T09:55:00.001+05:30

After a long drive from work and taking Cotton out for his nightly walk, I settled down to listen to my Grandmother say all the prayers from my childhood. My Mother asked her to repeat all the shlokams that she knew. Like a little child would reluctantly start saying the shlokas, be distracted by something, lose track and start all over so did my Grandmother.

I pray for her health, I pray that she gets her good memories back, I pray that she gets a good night of sleep, I pray that she only has to be with the ones that love her, I pray that I be able to serve her, I pray that I be able to press her legs and I pray that she is happy.

Peace out.

Dirty Laundry or not

2015-12-05T07:40:00.001+05:30

I have been hesitating to write about this but I think I should. A few months after my marriage my maternal grandmother went to stay with her younger daughter. At the time all of her money was taken away from her by that daughter. Also all the money she was getting from the government was taken as well. This happened in 2010.
During this time we had no contact with my GrandMother. A few years later when my Uncle passed away my Grandmother finally returned to live with us. At this point a mention of her finances is that all her accounts were cleared up and empty. This was December 2013.
Since she started to live with my Mother, her accounts started to accumulate money again since we do not allow her money to be spent in any way. All of her money is being saved and kept with her.
It was during this time that my Mother came to visit me and dropped my Grandmother at her younger daughters house.

In less than two months we heard that they were planning on sending my Grandmother to a Home for the Aged. My Mother who takes care of my Grandmother alone versus 7 peoiple in their house who cant afford to take care of one frail old person who has taken care of all of them and who'se money they stole shamelessly.

I have to get this out of my system. Please do not bite the hand that has fed you. Please be kind to the elderly - especially if that person is someone as close as your grand mother that has prayed for you so many times.
I say this to you Rajalakshmi Shalini Malini and Girish. I have nothing but dislike spewing for you. I cannot believe that you have cheated not only my Mother but also Ammuma. Shame be on to you. Someday fate will retaliate and you will have to face the consequences. And that day shall not be far.

This is not hanging dirty laundry - this is the truth. Face it.

Where is the tolerance?

2015-11-28T13:32:00.001+05:30

I don't understand why everyone is mocking Aamir Khan for feeling India is not safe. A LOT of people were saying the exact same thing about Delhi just sometime back because it is unsafe for women to be out alone or even with a man for fear of being raped.(because Indians(referring to the Indian men that actually committed the rape) felt if women were out late at night with a man were doing something wrong - where is the tolerance then?

What about all those men in bangalore that beat the life out of girls that went to a club wearing "slutty" clothes - were they tolerant Indians? One guy speaks his mind about a conversation he had with his wife because she feared for the safety of her husband and their kids and people are making a mockery of it. Where is the tolerance now?

Onam Ashamsagal world!

2015-08-28T20:57:00.002+05:30

Such a beautiful morning! And look at THIS gorgeous person! Happy Onam my dearest Ammuma.

And to you too world! It's a beautiful day.

Pet names

2015-08-24T10:06:00.002+05:30

According to Urban Dictionary a 'Pet name' is a really soppy way of addressing someone you are romantically attached to.

Pet names were common in our family. Almost every kid had an alternate name. I was Anu or Anupama or Anu Kutty. I don't remember anyone in my family calling me anything else. I doubt that they even remember what my official name on paper is. The only place I got used to using my official name was school and college and now work.

After marriage this list got longer. My (R)oomie refers to me as Kanna, Kannu, Paapa, and more recently Puppy. I also get called Cottu which is Cotton's pet name. My gramMa calls me Anupama only when she has something important to tell me. These days she speaks so clearly sometimes often her line of questioning being the exact same. Sometimes she can hardly even hear what I am saying. I relate to my name in the way that the people I love use it.

Feeling very nostalgic.

2015-07-28T23:13:00.002+05:30

“I no longer have patience for certain things, not because I’ve become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me. I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature. I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me.

I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretense, hypocrisy, dishonesty and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust either to popular gossiping. I dislike conflict and comparisons. I believe in a world of opposites and that’s why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities. In friendship I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal. I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement. Exaggerations bore me and I have difficulty accepting those who do not like animals. And on top of everything I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience.”

-José Micard Teixeira

A quote I am currently loving and living by.

Pappa

2015-07-02T09:54:00.003+05:30

10 years! A decade. Such a huge number and yet so insignificant in the larger scheme of things.

I hope you are in a happy place.

ALIVE and KICKING

2015-07-01T11:06:00.000+05:30

Almost looks like two different people, no? The difference between these two photos is that the second one was taken with a phone with the chrome filter and I had on eyeliner and lipstick and well my hair is down. I use the second pic as my profile pic in many places. But if you met me someplace I'd most probably look like the me in the first pic - hair up and in a rush.

What's not different is that I'm smiling - a big fat genuine ol smile. :D

Today was an eventful day. Well actually the last couple of days have been that way. I've been thinking of my Granny a lot - she seems to be calling out my name a lot these days. I'm afraid she is closer to going to be with my Grandfather and although she is a ripe 89 I don't think anyone is ever ready to face death.

Yesterday was a relatively busy day towards the end of which I locked myself out and had to get on the roof and into the house through a window. As I climbed I was hoping not to fall because if I did I'd be in some trouble because the hubs was atleast 90 minutes away.

Today though was a little more than that. I was brushing the sides of the pool and looked around because I thought I had heard something. The next few seconds had me stepping into water - deep end of the pool. P.S: I don't know how to swim. For the few seconds I was under water I had a ton of thoughts rush through my head. Some random ones I remember are:

1) I can't scream for help under water

2) Shit, I need to learn to swim

3) I'll be in big trouble if I don't go find air right now.

So I started to kick my with my legs like a frog would. I kicked till I reached the surface. When I finally did I was thankful. Thankful to be alive AND kicking (get it? ;))

Okay bye.

I deleted my facebook account almost 2 years back. But once in a while when my Mom asks me to post something on her behalf I log in on her account. I logged in today and noticed a feature called Trending on the right side.

I was surprised to say the least that the trending topics had NOTHING to do with the Nepal earthquake. :( Instead we people are talking about Beckham joining Instagram. I'm not saying that we should all stop living because of a natural calamity. In fact people all over the world are dying for various reasons every minute. My life hasn't changed much. I still go about my daily chores but I was just surprised that Nepal was not on that list. While there is just so much going on there.

If you do want to help out or contribute in some way do some homework or use the Donate button on Facebook.

But it was also heartwarming to read that Facebook users donated a LOT of money towards the cause. So all is not lost in this world.

A Decade

2015-04-16T12:38:00.000+05:30

A decade of blogging, ought a post, no? After 400 posts filled with photos, rants, random quibbles here I am still doing the same. 14th April 2005 10 Vishus ago I started this blog.

Vishu Ashamsagal Peepal!

2015-04-14T13:20:00.002+05:30

This space remains a futile way for me to speak and yet hide most of what I want to say. I know life is all about the balance. This balance applies to everything - life and death, good and bad, ups and downs. Although hard to accept I'm slowly learning to deal with it and when the up happens I've already started to brace myself for the down.

For me, the ups and downs are not personal, it extends to those that I love. And everytime I hear of things that cause them hurt, I hurt as well. I worry constantly about the ones I love hoping they are safe and sound and well, umm happy. I don't want to define how life should be - be a child, grow up, get married, have a child, watch them grow, get them married and then have them have children, you know the drill.

Maybe my life was meant to be different? Maybe I needn't follow every step of that path? It isn't like everybody that does it is necessarily happy. We rely so heavily on relationships and bonds and yet they are the frailest thing in the world. My friend of yester years is a complete stranger. Blood relatives I don't even speak to. So why the dependency on forming bonds?

I've been hearing of marriages being made and break so fast(some not so fast). Gazillions spent, families come together and then kaput in a matter of months. Noone takes the blame or the responsibility. And life goes on. Afterall if you don't like someone you can just unfollow/unfriend/block them, right? Easy Peasy.

Another Vacation

2015-03-17T00:10:00.003+05:30

I feel so re-energized already and I'm only just getting started. For the most of 2012 and 2013 we spent our weekends at hotels and although I was attending classes most of the time I really related to those times as our vacation. A break from the everyday work life. 2014 I spent taking less of those mandatory vacations. 2015 though I started it out with a vacation - a new country and feeling like a brand new person and feeling the reins of controlling life back in my hands.

Today if I were asked to plan a vacation I would think it was less about relaxing and more about exploring because I feel the more relaxed within the 4 walls of our home.

That's the three generation of women in our home although one of them is half naked and grumpy.

Half a decade!

2015-01-24T02:46:00.002+05:30

Golly, can you slow down please! Yea I'm talking to you, time! I keep thinking that one of these days you'll actually listen to me. (R)oomie and I stuck it out for another year!!! Should celebrate being able to stay together, no? Especially these days.

Ah so here's to the next five dahling!

Oh NO! It's December already

2014-12-03T23:51:00.000+05:30

"Time goes, you say? Ah, no! alas, time stays, we go."-Henry Austin Dobson

Something so relative in nature and yet the only thing that tells us what to do and when to do what we do. Can you tell that I watched Interstellar?

I've grown a year wiser, filled with new memories while some old ones fade away.

What's changed, you ask? Everything really and yet it 'feels' like nothing has.

“It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.” ― Rose Kennedy

Maybe time has grown onto me. It could be the other way around. Who really knows?

Someone said 'Time is the longest distance between two places' but I think it should have been people, not places. If you think that nothing is lost when you don't keep in touch, think again. Because we change with time and time changes us differently and when we meet years and years later and want to meet the person you knew so long ago - they're gone. You might as well say hello to a stranger.

I am almost afraid of time, wondering what it has in store for me. My past dreams of my distant future don't seem that distant anymore. And as we approach that seeming abyss I almost shudder to think whats waiting for me. Funnily enough that is exactly what excites me, what causes me to look forward to whats now and be thankful for it all.

Adios Peepal!

Peace out!

What I leave you with today...

2014-11-14T23:02:00.000+05:30

In school when I first read this poem I fell in love with it. Such simple words and yet they take you to this special place. Each time I read it I see myself right there beside the lake and almost touching the Daffodils. I can't explain how happy a flower makes me especially ones in bloom. When I turned 24 I was gifted some flower plants and they still remain my top favourite gifts ever. So today I leave with the words by William Wordsworth. Happy weekend eve!

I wandered lonely as a Cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and Hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden Daffodils;

Beside the Lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A Poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed--and gazed--but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the Daffodils.

P.S: For those wondering, NO those are not Daffodils.

A Bachelor - taken. Again.

2014-11-03T22:28:00.000+05:30

Source

George Clooney. A chapter closed - for now. This guy was the elusive re-bachelor. When I first saw him he already had his pepper and salt hair and he looked 'oh! so elegant' and good enough to be eaten(excuse me!). His almost enigmatic smile with a roughish twist just has my stomach in knots every single time. Yes even now.

I think the first movie I saw him in was his worst - Batman and Robin. Shyikes. But I couldn't take my eyes off of him. So he pretty much passed the test - if I could like a man at his worst I could only like him more in anything else. Those deep lines just add so much more depth to his already handsome face. The second movie was Intolerable Cruelty. And then came the Ocean series which just made me fall head over heels over and over.

This guy got married(again) recently - to a woman he met just a year ago! LOVE I tell ya. It just creeps up on you as you turn that unsuspecting that corner and if you're not watching you might just trip over and fall.

Source

The couple look like the cover of the M&Bs I've read as a teenager. He is in his 50s and she in her 30s. He looks like he knows it all and she looks like she can handle him with her little finger if he steps out of line. Just kidding about that last part. Anyway I am happy to see a couple in love and since he's been on my crush list for sometime now I thought I'd make a mention of him here and ~~let~~ go.

Saanvi Venna

2014-10-16T01:30:00.000+05:30

Source

When this image was shared on all social media, it spread like wild fire. And when the suspect was caught a couple of days later everyone pounced on him, and vehemently hated him. How could he kill a baby AND her grandmother? and most importantly WHY? Back in India the newspapers were filled with rubbish about the little girls Mother and the suspect being lovers and that he wanted to take revenge. Even after the suspect clearly said he wanted money. Today 2 years later, this man is sentenced to die. In his confession which was also shared on all social platforms, he described how it happened. This wasn't a smart killer or even a smart kidnapper. He assumed that if both parents were working in the software field, they would be making enough and would have $50,000 in their bank. Like plenty of people that gamble with the hopes of winning big and being in debt, this guy decided that the best way to pay off a debt was to steal from someone else. Nothing justifies his actions, nothing can justify the consequence of his actions which I'm sure he didn't foresee given that he was caught and is guilt ridden for the remainder of his life however short that may be.

However 2 lives have been taken for no justifiable reason. A son has lost his Mother and a Mother has lost her daughter.

There is simply no justice.

The dreaded number - 3

2014-10-14T10:46:00.001+05:30

Disclaimer: No names have been changed in this blogpost. Since this blog is not read by many I have nothing to worry about. Oh, and I dont care if anyone has issues with their name being on here either.

For the longest time this number has followed me around - in a bad way. I should confess I don't normally believe in unlucky numbers - I do love the number 7 because its my birth number. But the reason I bring up the number 3 is because whenever I make friends and we end up in a group of 3 - it has never lasted.

Lets start from the beginning:

My 2 cousins and I. We hung out together but there was always so much conflict. Finally we went our ways - and its been so much more peaceful. I was the odd one out in this case.

I was 4 and my closest friends were Ruchika and Nishitha. A couple of years later I left for Kuwait and lost touch with my friends. When I got in touch with Ruchika more than 2 decades later it was no surprise that she didnt remember me. Nishitha and I, on the other hand, are still in touch.

I was 7 and B Minitha, Neha and I were friends. I still cant place my finger on what happened but a year later B Minitha was no longer friends with us.

I was 12 and Radhi and Sushma were real close buds of mine. Then one day she said she didnt want to be around us anymore. She specifically said that she felt like a prey when I was around.

I was 13 and Srilekha, Neha and I were real tight friends. A lot of high school drama later Srilekha left us and formed her own group of 3. A decade later I got in touch with Srilekha and even attended her wedding!

I was 17 when life formed the next trio - Kaddu, Gokula and I. A lot of college drama and some adult drama later we went our ways. Phew.

I am 30 now going on 31 and I cant wait to get out of the number 3.

My 3rd year of marriage was probably the most challenging for me with lots of personal and emotional losses. But we are over that hill now. Now I'll worry in my 12th, 21st, 30th, 39th, 48th, 57th, 66th and 75th wedded year. :P

Drama Fever

2014-10-10T09:42:00.000+05:30

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Many years ago(well not that many, it was 2008) when I was all alone for the Christmas holidays I asked my friends for movie suggestions. I think that was when one of them suggested that I watch Korean Drama. One was about a girl mistaken to be a guy(Coffee Prince) and the other one was about a single Mom(Only You). I've seen a few KDs afterwards and one of my fav is the Flower Boy Ramyun Shop. I have had a huge crush on Lee Ki-woo. He looks super cute and I love the way he affectionately refers to the girl in the KD as 'his wife'. I just wish I could understand the language and not spend time reading the captions. I love the dramas that revolve around food especially around cuisines that involve any form of noodles (ramen, pasta ;))

Some pointers about these dramas:

The main story plot usually spans from 3 months to a year. In some cases there is a back story but 90% of the episodes cover a minimal time period.

These dramas are EXTREMELY SLOW. I used to think it was only KSBKBT was slow but i think it is common for all dramas to be the same - across the world. Each tear, each smile, each kiss even the breeze catching the heroine's hair is captured and shown.

There are a few stereotypes when it comes to these asian dramas. The girls are dressed in a lot of short uniforms - especially in the school dramas, guys tend to be in the richer side, always come to the girls rescue.

There is a lot of focus on the guys hair style. Someway to make it closer to anime maybe? The girls are usually typically asian looking and not like the anime where they are depicted to be voluptuous.

I am not sure if the dramas depict the culture but there is a lot of respect for the family, elders and their opinions are taken before decisions are made. Most of them depict a very patriarchal society.

They are very clean - the most they do is kiss and even that is shown to be somehow 'pure'. Meaning they don't focus on lust and there is absolutely no bathroom humour.

The age group of the main characters range from 18 to 31. And so maybe in a couple of years I might be over these dramas but who knows.

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Some of my favourite KDs are:

Only You
Flower Boy Ramyun Shop
Pasta
Coffee Prince
Boys before Flowers