Under the Rainbow

Women don’t deserve an identity?

2010-06-22T13:53:00.001+05:30

This morning I came across a wedding invitation card. It read as follows. I have hidden the names and the company name.

***

You are cordially invited for the wedding of the
Daughter
of Mr. PQR (Profession)
with the
Mr. XYZ (BE., MS. (USA), Project Manager, Some Famous Company)

***

Normal wedding invite template. Does it seem odd? Yes?

I was taken aback when I read the invitation. It mentioned the groom’s name, his qualification, profession and current status in the society. It mentioned the bride’s father’s name, profession and status in the society. But it didn’t mention the girls name at all, forget her qualifications and profession (?). It just said ‘Daughter of Mr. PQR’. Huh?!

My first question was, how many daughters does this man have? Three.

So, which daughter is getting married to? First.

Is she educated? Graduate.

Doesn’t she have a name? Yes.

What is it? Secret.

All this conversation I had was with a friend who is invited. When he asked the same questions to the groom who was distributing the invite, he got the same answers. I was annoyed.

This led to a war of words between me and my friend. The friend argued that in the groom’s religion, you don’t get to see the bride at all. She will be behind some curtains, you can only wish the groom. It is their custom, just like we have our own.

So, the girl’s name shouldn’t be mentioned in the invite?

See, in their religion, you don’t get to meet the women unless you are part of the inner family circle. You don’t even know their names.

Oh yeah, so they don’t really need names?

Names are necessary. That is how you identify a person. What would you call a person without a name?

Precisely my point. The girl has a name and that is her identity but it is not good enough to mentioned on her own wedding invite? What is the need to hide a name? If they choose to register their marriage, will they be able to do it? You need a wedding invitation card with the names of the bride and the groom.

And so it went on and on and we obviously got nowhere. He stuck to his stand and I stuck to mine. Although he conceded that it was a little too much, it was okay according the groom’s religion.

I am appalled that we justify anything in the name of religion, custom and tradition, no matter how nonsensical and illogical it is. I am disgusted that this BE., MS. (USA), Project Manager, Some Famous Company guy, the groom, agreed for such an invitation to be printed and went around distributing it and had a twinkle in his eye when he said his bride’s name was being kept a secret. I can’t believe the bride’s family that brought her up with so much love and affection shows so much respect to the bride to not even mention her name on her own wedding invite. I am sad that even in this day and age, well educated, well travelled, so called forward thinking, progressive city people think that a woman can only be identified as somebody’s daughter or wife or mother, no matter what she does in life or how important a person she is.

Was the bride shown the card? Did she have a say in how the card should be printed? Was she okay with her name not being mentioned in her own wedding invitation? Is she also distributing the same card to her friends? I don’t know. I do know that after the ceremony, she’ll be identified as BE., MS. (USA), Project Manager, Some Famous Company guy’s wife. I just wish that she gets the respect she deserves.

Oh, by the way, if it still isn’t clear, the card was printed by the bride’s family.

My weight loss story

2010-06-04T09:37:00.001+05:30

PS: This is a long post. This is in no way inspirational. So, you might want to skip it unless you have a lot of time at hand and want to read my analysis of gyms and trainers in north Bangalore.

Would you use the services of a hair stylist who has dirty matted hair?

Would you consult a qualified cosmetologist who has Acne and pimples bursting out of their face?

Would you consult a dentist with yellow teeth, black decaying teeth and gums that implicated him/her of tobacco use?

My point is this. When you are offering a service at an astronomical (or otherwise) price, present your skill/knowledge by practicing it. How are people to believe you if your presentation screams the exact opposite of what you are offering.

I need to make an admission first - I have never exercised formally. I have never felt the need. Burning all the fat I consumed was never an issue and I consumed fat at the rate of at least one bar chocolate a day, four pastries a week and an assortment of fried stuff. Blame it on my genes or whatever, walking a few kilometers everyday from the bus stop to my destination (be it school, college or work) and household chores was sufficient to keep me small, lean, active and energetic.

All that changed when I got pregnant last year. Needless to say, I was pampered by friends and both sets of families, this baby being the first new branch in the family tree. At seven months, I was told to have anything I desired ‘coz I’d be on a strict diet for at least three months post delivery. In a span of nine months I managed to put on 17 kgs. Then came the baby and three months of more pampering. It was only then that I realized what they meant by ‘diet’. They really meant ghee, ghee and some more ghee. No, I am not complaining, I am just building up my story.

So, at the end of the three months I was desperate to lose all the excess weight I had gained. I feared that the weight would prove to be a hindrance when it came to performing my daily activities effectively. I desperately wanted to get back into my old pair of jeans and salwar suits. And I wanted professional help because I was doing this for the first time and I didn’t want to invite a cramp trying to perform lunges. Thus began my search for a gymnasium that knew how to handle a new mother’s weight concerns.

Here I make another admission – I am an impatient person. When I go after something, I’d like to achieve it quickly. I mean, I don’t take shortcuts, I am determined to do whatever it takes but I don’t like prolonging the thing unnecessarily. So, I rejected all the yoga advice. Sure, it is very effective and the best you can get and all that but I had to get back to work in a month and spending an hour daily before/after work was really not an option.

So, I started scouting for a gymnasium in an attempt to find what suited me first. Here were my requirements – the gym needs to know what it takes to reduce post-natal weight, the gym should be very close and the commute time by walk should not be more than 15 minutes, the monthly fees should be reasonable.

The first gymnasium I called was located in an up-market neighborhood. The person who spoke to me was very courteous and said he knew exactly what needs to be done to meet my requirement. He mildly admonished me for calling so late and said I should have started 21 days after the delivery. He said he completely understood that I needed flexible timings. He said he couldn’t tell me the fees unless he had seen me and done an analysis of BMI and all that, but on my insistence he said the fees started as low as 1800 bucks a month. I said, WHAT? He gave me the usual story of monitoring my progress, changing the diet and all that. He also said that if I met him that very day, he’d give me a grand discount of 5% if I signed of for a package of six months. I said I’ll think about it and forgot.

Then I went to a gym very close to my home that is situated in a college campus – a very well equipped one I must say, like the ones they show in the movies – AC, sauna and all. The receptionist spoke very good English and said the trainers knew exactly what to do and they had an experience of 15 years. The fees was 2000 bucks a month or 12000 bucks a year. I went to meet the trainer. And here is where it gets interesting. This person who supposedly had 15 years experience training people was a 25 something guy, 5’4” tall, so lean that his bones were protruding and he looked malnourished. When I asked if he had worked with people of my needs, he said he has been doing that for eons and was currently working on four people. It was too true to be believed.

Then I visited another gym that was close and the trainer there turned out to be a 45 year old dirty long haired, pot-bellied man who assured me that he’d bring me back to shape in three months flat. The fees wasn’t too much so I asked him to show me around the gym. What I saw held me speechless for a good few minutes. There was equipment alright – but they all looked like 20 years old – squeaking and screaming, unable to handle the weight of the person using it. There were guys helping each other train – like an old fashioned kushti akhada. The trainer said I’d come at the wrong time and it’d be better if I came at 6 PM when the girls were around. I couldn’t imagine how the girls would use the equipment. I said, ditch it.

Then I went to a fitness studio. The board looked nice and they advertised a lot of services besides the use of the gym. The person who received my call said he was the owner and a doctor and he too(?!) knew exactly what I needed. I said great and went to meet. The gym was alright but the trainer was a 5’4” round man in shorts. He took me to the doctor and I was shocked to see him. He was THE HUMPTY DUMPTY – I mean a round torso on two pillars, a round head and hands like Jayalalitha Amma’s. He gave me a lecture about diet and strength and what not. I could not control my laughter and bust out as soon as I got out. I mean, this guy had a gym, he was a qualified professional doctor, he knew about diet and what exercises to do and he was telling me what I needed but he was ROUND. How could I ever trust a man who was lecturing me something he clearly wasn’t following himself when he had all that he needed.

I finally went to the gym hubby was going to. I signed up for a month’s aerobic classes. I lost 3+ kgs. It was mostly water that I’d accumulated so losing it wasn’t difficult or tedious.

After a couple of months of exercising at home, I came back to my pre-natal weight.

The value of a mother

2010-05-28T09:43:00.003+05:30

No, this is not a belated Mother’s day post. This is also not a post praising my mom or moms in general. This is about what we ought to be doing but never get around it citing various reasons.

I have been thinking about this for a while but I got down to writing it only now.

Have you ever wondered how we write long poems and essays about our mother, sing her praises, etc., but we never give her credit where it is due? Let me explain.

We keep talking about how a mother carries the baby in her womb for nine months, what difficulty she goes through in bringing the child to this world and raising the child, yet the child gets the father’s name. I mean, on paper, the mother has really no mention with her child. Until recently, even the schools didn’t care who the mother was. All they were interested in was the father’s name.

In most families I know, it is the mother who teaches the child to read and write. Remember the slogan, ‘Educate a boy and you have educated one person, educate a girl and you have educated the whole family’. Yet, when it comes to naming ceremonies, it is the father who writes the child’s name on rice. When I was discussing this issue with someone, they said ‘Well… earlier women couldn’t read and write. So, men wrote the child’s name’. But women can read and write now. Shouldn’t they be allowed to write the child’s name too?

Again in most families I know, fathers have little time or little interest in sitting with tots, holding their hands and teaching them to write. A mother, irrespective of whether she works outside or not, makes time to sit with the little one and teach them to scrawl. Remember ‘Thayiye modhala guru’ (Mother is the first teacher)? But when it comes to aksharabhyasa (This is a formal ceremony where the child is first taught to write), it is the father who gets the privilege.

‘Kanyadaan’ (I hate the term and the theory behind it), giving away the daughter in marriage, is performed by the father.

The only ceremony where I see the mother getting some prominence is at the Brahmopadesham (threading ceremony). The only time where she sits with her son and has a proper meal (after which the only woman he can share a meal is his wife).

But this is because the threading ceremony is seen as a second birth for the boy and his dad can’t give him birth, right?

This is from the little I know about our rituals. I am sure there are many more like these. It is really sad that for the amount of talk we talk about a mother, we do very little to give her any recognition where it matters. And I am not even talking about involving a mother as an equal decision maker in the child’s life. [That’s an entirely different story to be reserved for another post]

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Thank you Blogger and some more requests

2010-05-25T09:06:00.001+05:30

Dear Blogger, thank you for finally providing the Pages feature that allows hosting multiple static pages on the blog. I had requested for it long ago and I am very happy to see the feature when I am back to blogging. I don’t know when this was introduced but it helped me make my blog uncluttered and neat.

Request: Can you enable adding widgets to these pages? Widgets like favorite blogs with last update, labels and RSS feeds would really help in reducing the length of the side bar.

I am also very happy with the Template Designer currently available in Blogger draft. It made the process of revamping my blog very easy. I loved the width adjustment feature. I didn’t have to dig my hands in CSS much.

Request: More templates and better (light colored) backgrounds to make the feature richer. Also, better control of fonts and colors for various areas.

The seamless integration of Reader (hence Blogger) and Google profile is awesome too. All I need to do is hit the Share button on the post in my Reader and it gets published on my Google profile. Very nice.

Request: Can you include Buzz in this integration i.e., publish the post on Buzz when I share it from my reader?

Ok… I am waiting.

May I introduce Little Amogh

2010-05-21T14:13:00.001+05:30

Hello… Anybody out there?

Its been a long time since I blogged, almost a year. And the reason, as you can see, is here ==>

Please meet - the apple of my eye, the beacon of my existence, the reason for dimples on my cheeks, my little ray of sunshine, the Chomolungma of my happiness, my colorful little rainbow, the most efficient and my most effective mood lifter, my baby - Little Amogh.

He is seven months old and takes up most of my time, energy and enthusiasm. That, coupled with work and household chores leaves me with very little time and energy for blogging.

The writer in me couldn’t stay away from the blog. So, here I am, back at my virtual home, after an extended vacation.

I don’t know how frequently I can blog. My creative writing takes a back seat, I don’t have the time to write lengthy stories, review, edit and publish them. My blogs will be short, personal and written in a jiffy, may be sporadic.

So, here I am, hitting the restart button.

RIP MJ

2009-06-26T10:40:00.002+05:30

I was about 12 years old when I started singing ‘Heal The World’ as part of the school choir. I had no idea whose song it was. I loved the lyrics and I could be heard singing the same song in the bathroom, while braiding my hair, having breakfast, during lunch break, in the BMTC bus on the way to school and back, when I was pretending to study with a book in my hand, during dinner, on weekends, at almost all times. It kind of became like an anthem.

At about the same time, my neighbor – a boy an year older than me, had just bought this awesome music system and showed it off by playing MJ hits at the highest volume. I remember complaining to dad that the noise was not letting me concentrate on my studies (although all my life I have never been able to study without a song in the background). In time, the songs from the neighbor’s music system grew on me and I started liking them – my favorite being ‘Black or White’ and ‘Bad’. I borrowed the cassettes from him and got them recorded (my pocket money didn’t permit the purchase of originals). As I played the songs repeatedly and tried to memorize the lyrics, I cursed the poor quality of recording, but I couldn’t not play them.

That was also the time when there was an hour or two of MTV telecast on DD Metro. There was no cable TV. I caught a few of MJ songs on TV and tried imitating his singing style and moon walk in front of the mirror. I thought when I turn 18 I am going to cut my hair short in the front and curl it the way MJ had in his Black or White video, I didn’t have the permission to do so back then. I have never cut my hair to match his style. I meticulously collected all MJ posters and pictures I could lay my hands on (in the magazines and newspapers) and maintained a slam book of sorts. The inside of my wardrobe door became the MJ wall where news articles and posters of MJ was pasted, rotated and religiously worshipped.

In school, there were two groups of girls. One that was crazy about MJ and treated him like God (the one that I was part of). Another that focused on his personal life and controversies. We the pro-MJ group fought our rivals fiercely.

MJ had a concert in Mumbai when I was in class 11. I desperately wanted to attend that but couldn’t as it was being held in an alien city. I prayed then that his next concert in India be in Bangalore.

Since then, whenever I have been asked to sing, the second song would always be ‘Heal the World’ or ‘Black or White’. ‘Heal the World’ has won me a lot of accolades and prizes.

Romance with MJ’s music will continue. But the one regret is, I will never be able to attend his concert.

RIP MJ.

Nilu's diary - 25 Mar 2005

2009-06-23T14:25:00.011+05:30

Nilu's married now. Read more about her life here.

25 Mar 2005, Friday, 3:15 PM

Dear Diary,

Phew! I am tired. Tired of the continous travelling - to Tirupati two days ago, the late night return journey last night, trip to the marriage registrar's office this morning, and then lunch at my place (errr... I hate calling it my "parents'" place). Phew! Phew! and more Phew!

Okay, so you got it right. I am at Praveen's place. My first day here. It feels a little awkward. It is a completely new environment. I have never stayed at any place other than my home for a long period. And this is going to be my home for a while, at least until I get the visa. Can I really survive here? What am I going to do?

The wedding happened as planned. As I had guessed, the schedule was very tight. Rushing to temples soon after the muhurtham under the infuriated hot sun in an empty stomach, without lunch or water made me giddy. It was after six in the evening that someone thought of feeding us poor souls. Another round of temple visiting followed before we boarded our bus at 11:30 PM. Aren't marriages supposed to be a happy occasion? A once in a life time event that you are supposed to enjoy? What's with all these crammed rituals and running behind the God?

Since Praveen is leaving tomorrow, actually early Sunday morning (3:00 AM), we had to get the marriage registered today. In all this mayhem, we'd completely forgotten this task until his mom reminded us to get it done today. Another place I'd hate to go.

We went with our application forms filled, the photos and the necessary documents ready for submission. The clerk (or whoever he was) looked at the application and asked where we were working. On learning that Praveen is an NRI and I work for an IT company, he said, "The boss is on leave this week and won't be back until Monday. Since, you have to leave tomorrow, I'll have to go to his house to get his signature.". Apparently, we are supposed to sign in the presence of that boss but the clerk was ready to ensure the boss "verified" our signatures. Bah!

Praveen didn't want to bribe him. He said, this certificate was not all that important. We could get it done when he comes again after applying extended leave. I had to make him understand that if we waited that long, the visa would take that much longer. Plus I had to get his name in my passport and that required the marriage certificate too. Praveen finally yeilded and gave a note of 500 bucks. The clerk made a vile remark, "Sir, you are a NRI. You've got to take better care of us". One glare from Praveen and the clerk's mouth was sealed. I'll pick up the certificate on Monday.

I have to get down to packing and unpacking now. Unpacking my stuff and packing his. I wish we had more time together.

I feel like my life is galloping at the speed of light. So much is happening even before I realise or take it into account. I wish I had the time to just sit quietly for a while and understand all that is happening around me. Well... I guess some people don't have that luxury.

When I go to office on Monday, I've to remember to carry sweets. The gang won't settle for anything less than a party but they'll have to wait.

Okay, time to get back to blissful matrimony now. My time to enjoy the few moments I have as a new bride with my husband.

Cheers!
Nilu.

Nilu’s diary - 23 Mar 2005

2009-05-21T09:59:00.004+05:30

Want to know how Nilu reached here? Read bottom up.

23 Mar 2005, Wednesday, 8:00 AM

Dear Diary,

Send invites - check
Clothes – check
Jewelry – check
Makeup – check
Diary – ~~Almost check (will come back to this)~~ Check

We are about to leave in two hours. The bus is being loaded outside. We are awaiting a few of the relatives to join us. The chappara (the shelter in front of the house with matted coconut palm roof) is put up and decorated. It smells of fresh flower and tender mango leaves. We have to do a small pooja before we leave. I have to be ready in an hour for the pooja and we should be good to go. The videographer is here recording all the happenings.

I think I am ready. The past is behind me. I am looking forward to a long happy life. The only thing is, I wish I could utilize my GMAT score and study before the marriage. Well… may be some American university is waiting for me :-P

See you.

Nilu.

***

12:45 PM

We are somewhere near Chittoor. We left at 10:45 and we have stopped for lunch now. We should reach our destination latest by 3. Praveen’s bus will leave in an hour or so. We have to go there and get ready to receive the groom, you see?

Praveen is unusually quiet. It is a little strange, he doesn’t have anything to talk. Even when we went shopping, he had no opinion on the colors that’d suit me or the saris I should be buying. His mother did all the talking. Are all men like that? Dad spends so much time selecting a sari for mom. Praveen’s shopping was over in a jiffy, he’d just walk in, see something and pick it up – no trials, nothing. Hmmm… what am I missing here? May be it is good in a way to have a non-opinionated, non-interfering husband.

The lunch is served and I am hungry. Time to go.

***

6:10 PM

We are here. They just arrived. We are ready for the varapooja. Butterflies in the stomach. Excitement in the heart. It’s like being in a dream.

***

10:15 PM

My last singles day is over. From tomorrow, I will be Mrs. Praveen. Hoooo… that’s scary. Actually, it is weird. I will be staying at his place, until my visa is sorted out. That’s far off from office. I wonder if his mom prepares amazing majjige huLi like mine. Actually, she is very sweet. She takes a lot of trouble to ensure I am comfortable. The last few days, she’s been filling me in on Praveen’s likes, dislikes and habits.

Its going to be a whole new beginning.

All the best Nilu.

Nilu.

Nilu’s diary – 13 Mar 2005

2009-05-18T10:14:00.002+05:30

Want to know how Nilu reached here? Read bottom up.

13 Mar 2005, Sunday, 10:35 PM

Dear Diary,

They left just now. Phew! What a day it has been.

I am engaged. I’ll be married in 10 days. Can you believe the speed at which all this is happening?

Like I mentioned yesterday, Praveen and his parents came home yesterday. His parents were a little hesitant to let him speak to me alone. I spoke to him for a few minutes – the regular stuff – likes, dislikes, expectations and aspirations. He seemed like a reserved sort of a guy. He was in a one syllable answering mode. I was asking all the questions. He wasn’t probing at all. Hmmm… that’s a little errr… strange. He is not like the other guys, he is refreshingly different – quiet, didn’t see me up and down, doesn’t have unreasonable expectations, looks obedient and doesn’t seem to be carried away by the US lifestyle.

I took his number and called him later in the evening, not a long call. He seemed alright, a little reserved for someone who is staying alone in a foreign country. He’d be leaving in two weeks. I said that’s too little time to find, decide and get married.

This morning, his mother called mom. I hadn’t made up my mind when mom asked me for my decision. I need time, I can’t make a decision that affects my whole life in a day. I mean, how can one meeting and one telephone call tell you if you are ready to spend your whole life with a person? But you know mom, she is impressed with every guy, she becomes their defense lawyer in no time. I thought for a while. You know, he isn’t as bad as the other guys. He is decent, a little shy compared to me – I’ll transform him. So, I said yes which mom promptly conveyed to his family.

Since his stay here is short and there is no auspicious day this week, they decided to have the engagement today. Boy! All this is happening so fast. And the wedding is scheduled for next Thursday, 24 Mar in Tirupati. There is so little time.

There is shopping scheduled for this week, besides making arrangements for the wedding, printing cards and inviting people. I guess I’ll just send out emails, not sure if I can even make calls to invite friends personally. I don’t think any of them will make it to Tirupati bang in the middle of a work week and I don’t think we have the time for a reception. He has his tickets for the following Saturday, so we have to get the marriage registered before that.

Phew! my head is reeling. So much to do in so little time and my life is never going to be the same again.

Nilu.

Nilu’s diary – 12 Mar 2005

2009-05-13T15:56:00.002+05:30

Want to know how Nilu reached here? Read bottom up.

12 Mar 2005, Saturday, 2:00 PM

Dear Diary,

What torture is this? Week on week, I’ve got to meet guys. Correction: I’ve got to get ready so the guys can ‘see me’. And for that, I have to either take weekends off or skip my sleep. I absolutely hate it. Sometimes, there are two such meetings and sometimes more. Aren’t mom and dad tired of it already?And these guys are not like Lord Shri Ram or anything (debatable topic). Not that Lord Shri Ram was anything great, but just using him for comparison here. Isn’t he supposed to be the ideal man personified?

Last week, I met this guy – smart banker – you could tell that by the way he spoke. Said he liked independent women and wanted his woman to always be independent, read: wanted his wife to work always. Said he believed in saving for the future, read: spend thrift. Said he believed in saving one earning and spending another and since his salary was higher, he’d like to save his and use mine for the regular expenses, read: sucker. Sic!

About a month ago, came a son of the soil. Done M.Tech from a leading university. Currently a software architect. Loves India bashing. Has an Australian visa. Waiting for the company to whistle and he’ll get out of here and save his life. Wants to get married before that so he doesn’t have to ‘come back often’ and has company there. Obviously, wants someone who is social and can ’adjust’. Wouldn’t want me to work there ‘coz it is a foreign land and men might not be as ‘nice’. He means he needs a maid servant. I am overqualified for the job.

One guy’s mom had the guts to tell me that they always pooled all the income in their family and took small amounts for expenditure (like pocket money). Ha! Another tells me that western wear is strictly forbidden in the home because there are elders. One asks me if I can cook and another says she’d be glad if I could sing and dance as theirs is a family of artists.

Then there are these jokers. One wears stinking socks like they were gifted to him by Madonna and he is try to preserve her scent. Another is unaware that his fly is open. One more wears a shirt that is torn under the arms. Another’s button is out. And they have no qualms about it.

Excuse me. Am I being unreasonable here? When they expect the girl to be perfect – educated and down to earth, working and homely, fair and pleasant, traditional and presentable, independent and respects elders, why shouldn’t I? Isn’t presentation a bare minimum? Haven’t they heard of first impression? These guys are post-grads and they want to look like some spoof on MTV? And they think that’s cool or not worth paying attention to? And I have to spend my life with them? Give me a break.

Are these the type available? What happened to all the good guys? Are they all taken? Isn’t a single decent guy available?

I have to meet another buffoon today. NRI. On a holiday from the US to find a bride and get married. Meeting at 6:00 PM. Argh!

Why are mom and dad behind NRIs? Have they had enough of me that they want to pack me off to a far off land? I’d like to stay here, this is my place, why don’t they understand? Just because their friend’s kids are settled else where, they want to send me ‘abroad’ too. Boo Hoo.

I am starting to wonder if this arranged marriage is really a good idea. Sure it has worked for a lot of people but I hate to be treated like a commodity – being transferred from one location to another. Then again, when I had the option to choose my partner, I screwed up. Well, may be I’ll give this some more time.

On a side note, Sanath weds Gowri on 25 Apr. Good for them. Why can’t I find someone?

Will tell you more tomorrow.

Nilu.

Nilu’s diary – 15 Nov 2004

2009-05-11T15:08:00.002+05:30

That’s what Nilu has been doing all this while.

15 Nov 2004, Thursday, 6:05 PM

Dear Diary,

Happy Birthday to me!

Today has been a very fruitful day – may be the best this year, may be the best since my degree results came out two years ago. Bunked office today. Done with my GMAT. Oho! we have a lot to catch up on. Wait, let me start from where I left off.

It’s been close to three months since I joined this company. Same title, same domain, same job, a little higher salary, tens of miles away from the previous company. Peace.

What’s more? I found out, just last week, my best buddy Sanath works here too. Okay, so he is in a different building across the city, in the software division, but still we work for the same company. I met him when he came to my building for a training. He is happy he doesn’t have to keep his headphone on, all the time. And I am happy for him.

Well… my long standing wish to have an MBA attached to my name might come true soon. I gave the GMAT exam this morning and came out with a score of 679. That’s pretty cool. One more year in this office and I must have saved enough to start applying to B-Schools.

Hmmm… I am twenty four today. Wow! so soon? The last month or so, mom has been giving me all sorts of hints. The two years of freedom I had asked for after college, came to an end today. She will start hunting for grooms and I have to cooperate. Sheesh!

What’s the big deal? Can’t one lead life on one’s own terms? Why should a girl get married at 24? What if she gets married at 28? What if she doesn’t get married at all? May be I was expecting too much – that by the time I turn twenty four, marriage won’t be such a big deal after all. How wrong I was. Sigh!

Okay, may be I am ready. Mom knows my conditions – guy must be self sufficient and he must not have problems with me pursuing MBA.

A new phase in life begins – groom hunting.

All the best Nilu. Have fun.

Cheers!

Nilu.

Tricks played by low cost airlines and some questions

2009-05-08T10:55:00.001+05:30

I have read a lot about the cheap tricks played by low cost airlines - overbooking flights and closing the gates before time (when the seats are full), marking passengers as no show and selling the same seat tickets for the last minute premium cost even when the said passenger has arrived at the check in counter well within the check in time.

Some one I know was subjected to one such cheap trick. Lets call him X.

X had booked an Indigo flight for Bangalore for 24 Apr 2009 leaving Delhi at 3:15 PM using their web interface. At the time of booking, X had not registered with Indigo Airlines and could still book the flight. However, plans changed and X called Indigo airlines on their toll free number on 23 Apr 2009 at 4:00 AM to change the reservation to flight departing from Delhi at 9:15 AM, 23 Apr 2009 by providing the PNR number. The PNR number was known only to X and the call center person with whom he shared during the call. He was told that the rebooking would cost Rs. 750 and he’d have to pay the difference in fares. X agreed and proceeded to hire an auto rickshaw to reach the Delhi airport.

X reached the Indigo counter at 5:45 AM and was shocked to learn that his booking had been changed to 24 May 2009. He was told that this change was done using their website. On questioning, he was also told that since the initial booking was done without registration at the website, the change could also be done the same way. For this, again the difference of fare and the Rs. 750 rebooking charges was levied.

Having no other option left, X again changed the booking to 23 Apr 2009 9:15 AM flight and reached Bangalore. Again, he was charged difference in the fares and Rs. 750 rebooking charges.

On enquiring at the call center and logging a complaint with the Indigo Airlines, X got the same response he received from the counter officials at the Delhi airport. The Indigo airline staff also had the cheek to accuse X that one of his acquaintances may have made the wrong booking from the internet. However, they were kind enough to share the IP address of the machine that was used to make the wrong booking.

Indigo sent a confirmation email for all the transactions made except for the change from 24 Apr to 23 Apr made. It seems like a conscious attempt to leave no evidence for that rebooking. It is present in their records though and they have admitted as much.

For X, the difference in the fare worked out fine but he had to shell out an extra Rs. 1500 for no fault of his. Now, here are my questions:

Can X lodge a complaint with the customer cell? Does he stand a chance?
[The airline might continue to use the same argument]
The user has the IP address from where the booking was changed? How can that be used? Will X be able to find the machine and the user? Who can help here?
[Most likely, the airline would have outsourced the process of ‘rebooking incorrectly using the internet’ to save themselves and yet make money.]

Any feedback/suggestions welcome.

Nilu’s diary – 4 Jul 2004

2009-05-06T14:01:00.003+05:30

Wouldn't you like read about Nilu from the beginning?

4 Jul 2004, Monday, 4:15 AM

Dear Diary,

I quit my job. Today was my last day. I’m home. I’m not going back. I’ll get some sleep now.

***

6:40 AM

I am not able to sleep. I am unable to keep my eyes closed. Its like my eye lids are being pierced by a thousand needles from inside. It is too painful. I’ll get some tea.

***

9:30 AM

Still unable to sleep. Had my breakfast. Dad’s left for work.

I need to sleep. I need some rest. I haven’t slept for days now. I need to keep my eyes shut for a while. I need to switch off the brain. I just need a blank mind for some time. I don’t want to think about anything. I don’t want to be tortured by the thoughts. Why is this so hard?

***

12:45 PM

Mom is surprised I am up so early for lunch. She has no idea I am struggling to get a shut eye. I told her I won’t be going to office. She is thinking I am trying to exhaust my leaves. She is wondering why I am staying home and not crowding the streets on a holiday. Sigh!

***

7:10 PM

Just told dad that I quit my job. He is happy. He has always hated a call center – creates yapping couch potatoes out of young energetic people who are trained to think creatively and build constructively.

Mom is a little surprised. I didn’t tell them why I quit. And so suddenly. But she is pleased that she can have a regular life now, and doesn’t have to modify her timetable based on my shifts.

***

10:00 PM

I just spoke to Deepali. Long distance, long call. Feel much better. I am ready to tell you now… I guess.

The past week has been excruciatingly slow. I can’t imagine how I got into the whole mess. It began with me pestering Sanath to speak his mind. He sent me a link to a photo. It had a marriage reception picture of the DEVIL… and his wife. I didn’t know about it.

The man I had loved, the man I had dreamt of spending my life with, the man who spent his day-offs with me, the man who watched innumerable movies with me, the man who said sweet things like how I was the only one he adored (ugh!) was already married. And he didn’t mention it to me. Seven months of being together and I had no clue. I was intentionally kept in the dark.

He obviously had an explanation. Said he’d get a divorce soon. Said they weren’t made for each other. Said he wasn’t happy. Still said I was the only one who meant the world to him. It was all such a waste of time.

I went straight to the manager and said I’d like to relieved of my duties. He demanded a month’s notice. I had to pester him, plead him to let me go. When I left early this morning, it was not my regular cab. I didn’t say goodbye to any one. I didn’t want to talk to any one. I don’t want to remember any thing of the place.

I wanted him to come and meet my parents. What would have happened if I never found out? Thank God, I didn’t tell mom and dad about him. How would they react if they came to know the whole story?

Why did I get into this soup? Was it my stubborn curious brain? Was it my weak heart longing to have someone special? Was I wanting to model my life on Deepali? Isn’t this supposed to happen to other people? I mean, I am an ordinary girl. These things don’t happen to ordinary people.

It is past midnight now. As I am writing this, dear diary, I am praying really hard that this turns out to be a bad dream. The pillow is wet with tears. I don't know how I will explain it to mom tomorrow. The damned last week is playing in repeat mode in my mind. I wish I could turn it off. I need to sleep. I desperately need to sleep.

Nilu.

Nilu’s Diary – 29 Jun 2004

2009-04-21T16:53:00.004+05:30

29 Jun 2004, Tuesday, 4:53 AM

Happy Birthday Deepali![blowing horns, dancing]

It must be just about midnight there. See, I am still the first to wish you again, like always. So, what if you are dozing in an alien country? I wish I could call you like every year. I’ll speak to you in the afternoon when I am up from my beauty sleep and I’ve got to tell you so many things. Your first year away from home, err… I mean, away from India, I really miss you da. I wish I could meet you today, I wish I could decorate your room and you could act surprised. I wish you could buy me a whole day’s paani puri from breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. I wish we never grew up. I wish you never got married. I wish you never left town. Ohhhh! [sulk]

Alrighty, I finally caught up with Sanath today. Yesterday? Yester-night? Last night? Whatever. These shifts make life so complicated. Life was so simple when you worked during the day and slept during the night and there was a distinct separation between the two and you could refer to yesterday as yesterday without having to think too much.

His weekly offs were Saturday and Sunday and then his shift changed. So, I couldn’t catch up with him in the cabs. Plus our breaks didn’t match. Sigh! It took me some time to think of a plan to work around this whole mess. Again, life was so much simpler when work happened during the day. At least you could meet people at some point. Any way, finally I got my shift changed to 6 PM – 3 AM. Nitesh was curious why I was opting for this one as the previous shift was easier and we had all the time together. Ha ha, that’s a secret. Ssshhhh…

I caught Sanath at a break. He is in the 11 PM - 7 AM shift, so I had to submit to a quick tete-e-tete. He won’t tell me anything. He kept telling to me to speak to Nitesh. He wanted to know if I was serious. Of course I am, so is Nitesh. He asked me a hundred different things about Nitesh, like how long have I known him, do I know his family background, do I know where he studied, do I know his professional history, etc. He must have known answers to them, they’ve worked in the same team.

Did he want to know the answers from me? Was he trying to find out if I knew Nitesh well? What is happening? Was he hinting something to me? Why am I growing suspicious? Should I talk to Nitesh about it? I haven’t told him that Sanath knows about us. I mean, Sanath is the first person to know but it’s not a big deal. Not that Nitesh will have a problem or any thing. What do I do? What do I do?

Chalo, its time to rest the eyes now. See you soon :)

Nilu’s diary – 16 Jun 2004

2009-04-16T15:52:00.002+05:30

Disclaimer: All characters, places and situations used in this series is fictitious. Any resemblance to any person living or dead, or incidents is purely coincidental.

17 Jun 2004, Thursday, 1:05 AM

Dear Diary,

An eventful day. Back from work. Got some good appreciation. The caller was so impressed that I solved the problem with his laptop, he immediately sent me a thank you note and an appreciation to Nitesh and the manager. Nitesh was very happy. I am the star performer of the team, all thanks to him. The seven months I have been in his team, I am rising and rising only. He came to me and said, ‘Nilu, in September, I am going to recommend you for a promotion’ (beaming). I had to remind him that this is the office and I am Nilanjana.

Oooooooooh, I am feeling so relaxed, so happy. I am playing Kishore Kumar’s musical hits. I am singing as I am writing. Chehra hai ya chand khila hai…

While returning in the cab, Sanath and I were the only passengers. The FM was blaring. The driver is bent on turning us deaf and driving us crazy. When I had asked Sanath this morning, he silenced me saying there were too many people around. So, I brought up the topic again. Last Saturday, when Nitesh and I got out of Rex at 6:30 in the evening, I spotted Sanath with a girl. Well, no prizes for guessing, but I wanted to know from him.

She is Gowri. Sanath and Gowri have done their engineering together. They’ve known each other for five years. Wow!She is well placed in as a programmer. He is waiting to get out of this damn call centre so he can speak to her parents. Awwww… cho chweet. She looked really nice and was very friendly too. For some reason, Nitesh took too long to get the icecream, so he couldn’t meet Sanath and Gowri. Well, all the best to them and to us also. I wish Nitesh comes home too, I want him to meet mom and dad.

When Sanath told me his story, I couldn’t stop myself from telling him about Nitesh. Come on, Sanath is a very good friend. He helped me when I was a new joinee at the company. Even though we are not in the same team now, we are cab buddies. Plus he knows Nitesh well. And he is not a squealer. I can trust him. It is such a boon to have someone to talk to. After Deepali married and left to London, I don’t have a best friend who can talk to me on a daily basis. I can’t forget the days when Deepali and I were warned for the rising phone bills (giggles). Being the only child is not always a good thing.

There was one odd thing though. Sanath didn’t seem very happy. I mean, I know guys don’t jump around and express it the way we girls do. But he looked… Ummm… I don’t know. There was something in his face. He didn’t even wish me. May be, he was just too tired. Well, may be it didn’t sink in. Was he thinking I was joking? I’ll catch him again on Saturday after my weekly offs.

Ciao now. Good night.

A mystery

2009-04-13T12:03:00.001+05:30

Pleased at work the other day
I came home and sensed to my dismay
Something was in disarray

I do not mean to brag, don’t get me wrong
But my sixth sense, in this matter, is strong
Every single time, my brain has sounded a bong

Stealthily, I opened the creaky gate
Wondering if I should call the police now or a little late
Should I enter now or a little late?

That is when I noticed the drawing room window from afar
Wait a minute, how could it be ajar?
We always locked them from inside, like an airtight jar

It was the week last or the one before
The neighbors had gone for a memorable tour
And returned to find their valuables no more

‘Had you left the window open?’
I called to check with the husband, my companion
’No, may be it was the maid letting in fresh air to clear out the smell of stale onion’

‘Can you come home please? I have seen this in the movies, I am scared’
’Darling, I am with you, on the phone. Don’t be afraid’
’Alright, hang on. I’ll peep in the window and see if the house has undergone a raid’

I popped up the sunglasses in the growing dusk
Hoping to shield my eyes and use it like a mask
What of the intruder was using a pepper spray or coconut husk?

I spoke into the phone again ‘All clear’
’See, I told you there was nothing to fear’
’What if the prowler is inside, dear?’

The lock was in place, the door was fine
Like Jack Reacher, I quietly opened it with a key of mine
Furniture in the drawing room was not out of line

Slowly, I pushed the curtain of the study
Nothing wrong there either buddy
Was I just being a fuddy-duddy?

Swiftly, I scanned the bedroom, dining and the kitchen
Ha! After all, there was no reason to be so chicken
On second thoughts, I was terror stricken

The store room and the bath, I had forgotten
’What about the empty wardrobe and under the cot?’ came the voice on the phone
That’s where the trespasser hides in the movies, I thought, now I’m done

I picked up the broom and tied the veil on my waist
Imitating Jackie Chan, I raced across and pushed the store room door in a haste
Alas! all the energy went for a waste

Next, I ran the broom under the cot
May be I can put the prowler in a spot
A little cockroach was all I caught

With a sigh, I plopped on the couch
I said ‘Its fine dear, there is nothing missing from the pouch’
’Great. Now chin up and end the mood slouch’

I caught the maid next day
And said sternly ‘Never let the window open to sway’
She replied ‘Madam, why would I invite more work my way?’

So, it wasn’t the maid or the spouse and definitely not me
I wonder who had come to see
Will this always remain a mystery?

In the dark Karle caves - Epilogue

2009-04-09T08:18:00.004+05:30

If you've come straight to this post, you might want to know Radhika, her exploits, her current location, the rescue effort and the result first.

It took a few days for the police to investigate thoroughly the happenings in the dark Karle caves. And what they found astonished everyone. Wads of Rs. 50/= and Rs. 10/= notes were recovered - the sum of which accounted to a few lakh rupees, printers, ink, special paper, paper cutters were found. Ravi Khote was arrested and locked up.

On questioning, Ravi revealed that he had come up with the idea or printing currency notes after reading a news report over a decade and a half ago. The news report described how the banks had reported free flow of large denomination currency notes in the market, the sleuths had cracked the case and put the culprits behind the bars. While discussing this with Ashok Kakde, Ravi analyzed that the only reason the gang was caught was because they were printing large denominations and releasing it in large quantities that got noticed.

This scheme was very attractive to Ravi and Ashok. They got in touch with printer manufacturers in Bombay and bought a second hand printer for their purposes upon bribing heavily. During the same time, they had discovered the route to the hidden cave through the floor of a cave in the front. That’s when Ashok came up with the idea of moving his wife’s tea stall from the city to the caves.

Initially, they printed only Rs. 10/= notes, the quality wasn’t great and it was easy to be caught by a trained eye. To overcome this drawback, they folded the notes many times over so that it looked used and crumpled and wouldn’t attract much attention. They let these notes out only through the tea stall.

With time came better printers, ink and papers. Ravi and Ashok had also found associates in crime. They started printing larger quantities and Rs. 50/= notes. They were very careful not to print larger denominations and not to release large quantities of these notes at the same time. And that’s how their crime survived so many years and finally came to an end.

I am back

2009-04-08T16:57:00.001+05:30

I am back. I am back. I am back. Back after what seems like a long hiatus. For all those who noticed, apologies for being away. For all those who commented, apologies for not replying. For all those who pinged me – HW, Renu, Solilo, Chirag, Sandhya – thank you.

I am doing fine. I was too stretched at work and found little time to blog at home. Like Chirag, I do not blog on weekends. I had many ideas in my head but found no time to scribble and edit. Well, I am going to make up for it now. First of all, I am going to reply to the comments. Next, I have the epilogue of In the dark Karle caves coming up followed by another series. And I am going to visit all the blogs that I have missed for the last month or so.

Haaaaa…I am so glad to be writing again.

Economy and matrimony

2009-03-06T16:23:00.002+05:30

These days, every other newspaper and website is carrying articles, experiences and analyses on the effect of recession on the matrimonial market. That took me back five years and reminded me of an incident.

The year was 2004. The economy was booming and India was shining. India’s second largest software company had declared a billion dollars in revenue. The horizon wasn’t the limit for the share value. The shareholders were celebrating 3 bonus shares for every owned share. The employees were happy with the thousand+ dollar bonus and the multi-time zone digital watch.

One such employee (E) was meeting a prospective father-in-law (PFIL). Here is the conversation.

PFIL: Young man, I am so glad you work for the second largest software company. I admire the company immensely. I am so proud of the progress you guys have made.

E: I am glad to work for the company too. They take good care of the employees

PFIL: What kind of benefits do you get?

E: We have tie ups with banks and can take loans for lower interest rates. We get subsidy on EMI payments.

PFIL: That’s nice. So, you can buy a house immediately after the marriage.

E: Yes. As soon as I am comfortable.

PFIL: And the bonus shares and dividends, that also is a reward. It is a good idea to keep the employees by making them part owners.

E: Yes, that is true

PFIL: That is like a significant secondary income. Don't ever quit the company. There are very few companies wher you don't need to work yet earn handsomely. So, how many bonus shares did you get this time?

E: Well, Err… I joined the company only last year and they’d stopped the ESOP scheme. So, I don’t really have any shares.

The conversation ended abruptly and obviously, the PFIL never became the FIL of that employee.

Another bright and colourful feather in my blogging cap

2009-03-03T09:44:00.001+05:30

At the risk of sounding immodest, I have put up this title for the post. I am absolutely thrilled about sharing my experiences and stories of people I know on Vinaya’s blog.

It was early January this year when I stumbled upon his blog. I was looking for some information on HRA (that is house rent allowance, for the ones like me who are differently abled in terms of financial intellect). I shot off a question to him immediately and got a response a few days later. But that first visit to his blog was quite educative and I made it a point to read the updates.

On one such posts he had written on usage of credit cards, I left a comment. After reading that and some discussion on the messenger, he asked me to write a guest post about why I thought credit cards were a bane. I was quick to backtrack as I know very little, if anything, about banks, cards and handling money. More such posts, comments and discussions later, he convinced me to write guest posts for him.

The turning point was his last post on Employee Provident Fund. That reminded me of someone who had invested wisely and was leading a comfortable retired life. I sent that story to Vinaya. He was very kind and published the story on his blog today. You can read it here.

V, thank you for publishing the my post on your blog. I hope it helps some of your readers. It sure did refresh my memory and made me think about connecting the stories with the rules, laws and benefits of personal finance.

More features desired from Blogger

2009-02-27T06:54:00.000+05:30

While we have started it, we might as well continue and pour our hearts out. When I was at spaces, I cribbed there too. When I thought I had too many restrictions there, I decided of moving out. After a lot of thought, I chose Blogger over WordPress because I found the features, gadgets and third party widgets available with blogger very appealing, plus I could create my own template.

Now, I have some complaints, rather requests for Blogger. Here’s the list.

Recent Comments:
Sure, I can use the comment feed of my blog. But that gives very little customization option in terms of presentation. Of course, I can use third party widgets. But those make the blog slow to load.
It would be great if Blogger could provide a neat gadget that listed the recent comments with the commenter’s name and picture.
Widget Embedding in posts:
I need this is so that I can reduce the content on my blog and just provide a link to a post.
For Eg: Let’s say I do not wish to display my profile on the main page. It takes a lot of space (in case my profile description was long). Instead, if we can embed that widget in a post and just add a link on the main page, it’d me a lot of compact. Somewhat like the pages concept in WordPress.
Inline response to comments:
Another wonderful feature that came into effect recently in WordPress where the author can respond to each comment individually right under the comment.
So, if I have posted a comment on another blog, I do not have to go searching for my name to see if the author has responded to my comments.
Uniform emailing of comments:
I have set my email id so that I receive an email as soon as some one comments on any of the posts on my blog. The problem is these emails are so unpredictable. I get an email every time when the commenter uses the name/url or the Open Id option. However, if a user uses the Google ID, most times than not, I do not receive an email (not even my own).
Followers:
Whatever happened to the compact Followers gadget. With the integration of FriendConnect, the gadget has become bulky with unnecessary links and information and very few customization options. This may still be work in progress, I hope Blogger either reverts back to the old one or gives us more freedom with the presentation of the widget.

Those are the ones I have been thinking of lately. When I googled, I did not find a place to give all this feedback to Blogger. Does anyone know how I can pass this information on?

What do you think, Bloggers and WordPressers?

Update: Blogger followers disappearance

2009-02-25T08:52:00.001+05:30

Many bloggers have noticed a reduction of followers on their Blogger blog since yesterday. The count of followers on my blog too reduced from 10 to 6. I and my other fellow bloggers pulled our hair out to figure out what was happening. Some of us ‘Stopped Following’ the blogs where we disappeared and then started following again. We even considered the option of moving out of Blogger. Apparently, the matter is not all that serious.

Blogger is integrating with FriendConnect. In this connection, if you have been using both Blogger and FriendConnect, to avoid conflicts in linking, your blogger profile while following has been changed to Anonymous. What this means is that all the blogs you are following, you will still be following as ‘Anonymous’. You can view the update of those blogs on your Blogger profile. You will however be invisible in the their follower’s list. Once the Blogger and FriendConnect integration is complete, Blogger will inform you as to how you can publicly follow the blogs again, a simple procedure.

So, if the number of followers on your blog has reduced, relax! They are still following you. They are just invisible. They will reappear shortly :-)

Oh! Another thing. Because of this integration, display of certain blogs in your profile may also be affected. Hopefully, that’ll be reversed too.

For the latest update on this issue, read here.

In the dark Karle caves – Part 5

2009-02-23T15:43:00.001+05:30

Have you read about Radhika, her exploits, her current location and the rescue effort?

When the slab was slid, they found the bench, unlike others, was hollow. It baffled Rajiv. It was obviously dug out and it didn’t seem recent. It seemed as if the hole had been used, like a surang marg (tunnel). This couldn’t be. This was national property, maintained by the government. Was this tunnel used as an entry for excavation? The caves attracted tourists around the year and besides the caretakers, there were a few vendors. But this part of the caves was sealed off. Deepak and Ramesh, who had worked there as caretakers for over two decades knew nothing of the hollow bench.

Ramesh hurried away to inform the superintendant in charge of maintaining the caves and call the police while the other two decided to enter the tunnel. As Deepak and Rajiv scurried through, one after the other, they couldn’t help but wonder how the tunnel was clean. Not the clean clean kind, but the tunnel looked used, like there were no insects or leeches or algae. The air, although a little stuffy, was not suffocating or moist like it should be if the tunnel wasn’t used for many years. They tried their best not to make much noise as they wriggled, skid and slid through the rough bumpy terrain inside the narrow hole. Deepak led the way and held the dim torch lighting the ground he tread. Rajiv followed and communicated with Deepak mostly through signs. They were in there for more than 30 minutes and it seemed never ending. They didn’t know what to expect.

After one point, they started hearing a low buzzing noise – like a machine. The path became flat. They slowed down and started to slither on their stomach. As they moved, the noise became louder. It was coming from below. Deepak switched off the torch and moved further and was shocked to feel a rough, thick, long round thing. His immediate instinct was to back off assuming it to be a snake, in the process kicking Rajeev on the shoulder who let out a cry in pain. Deepak immediately covered Rajiv’s mouth and switched on the torch to find a thick rope fasted on one end to a metal peg. Another strange thing, this was leading somewhere, there were people who used this tunnel frequently.

As they proceeded, Deepak found a large hole on the path he was trading. He carefully moved in such a way as to keep only his head over the hole and peep below. There was a faintly lit large room, a machine was making a lot of noise, and people talking. He turned around and gestured Rajiv to come and take a look. Since the space was good enough for just one person, while the two were trying to exchange their places, they slid and rolled over and fell right inside hole. They fell about eight feet below with a heavy thud that startled the inmates. The inmates immediately captured them and tied them with ropes.

It took some time for Deepak and Rajiv to collect their thoughts and make sense of their surroundings. They were in a cave lit by kerosene lamps. They were surrounded by three bulky muscular guys and a little girl looked at them in awe. The girl fit in the description that Radhika gave of Pinky, Rajiv concluded she must be Pinky. There was one paper cutting machine that was idle and another machine that was furiously printing something. There were some cans around. There was a small carved window on one of the walls that served as a ventilator. There was a thick rope hanging down the hole they fell from. The astonished muscular men started asking questions to Rajiv and Deepak at knife point and were dumbstruck to know that their hide out had been discovered.

It took a little over two hours for the police to arrive and understand that the machine was actually printing currency notes and the cans contained various colored inks. The villains tried to put up a fight but they were no match to the sheer number of policemen. When the whole team of policemen, villains, and Rajiv and Deepak resurfaced, the caves was evacuated and the pathway leading to the caves was cordoned off.

It took less than 15 minutes of paperwork to release Radhika and to put the bad men behind the bars. Rajiv and Radhika were united. Finally, the marriage was to be, after all the drama, bang on schedule.

----

Epilogue: Coming up next. Read what the villains were doing in the dark caves.

Another tag – Random things about me

2009-02-20T18:39:00.003+05:30

Tagged again by HW.

Rules:

a) Write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you
b) Tag 25 people to do the same

Frankly, that’s a tough one – to think of 25 things about me. But still, here’s an attempt

I read the newspaper in the reverse order i.e., last page to first page, bottom to top.
Don't know how I developed this habit. May be because previously the last page was the sports page and the local news was mentioned at the bottom.
Post 26/11, I have been religiously visiting Dawn site every morning to read up news about Pakistan and their views about India
Not that it’ll make any difference.
I’ve always wanted to become a pilot. I have envied APJ Kalam, George Fernandes, Abhinav Singh Bindra and the likes for the privilege they get to fly fighter air crafts (even as passengers) just because of their position
My dreams are very vivid and wild. They break and continue across many nights. Some of them have come true too
I have stopped watching news in the evening, after I return from work. It stays in my head and most times I dream about them and wake up exhausted next morning
I want to get into baking next – make all kinds of pastries and cookies
I know zilch about financial planning (V, if you are reading this, do you still want that article?)
I’d rather use the foot bridge than run across the road
I think, when I crib, I also offer a solution
I wrote a letter to my idol Aamir Khan when I was in class nine, whose response I am still waiting :)
I gave up drinking coffee and tea over a challenge, some 12 years ago. I only drink milk. I consume coffee in other forms though (chocolates, ice creams, etc) :-P
The milk I have in the morning and evenings must be prepared by someone other than me. I hate heating milk for myself
I was administered MBTI last week. I have been trying to identify the types of people I know
I broke two beautiful plastic bowls this morning :-(
When I had unlimited free local SMS plan on my mobile, I sent an average of 100 SMS a day
My friends say that’s why the mobile company withdrew the plan :-P
I do not entertain personal questions from strangers and acquaintances. I get immediately suspicious of their intentions
I do not ask personal questions either. The only way I’d know someone is if they volunteered the information
When I am free during the day, I am always reading a book
I really wish I lived at a walkable distance from my office (Sigh!)
I could never have had an arranged marriage. I wouldn’t be able to undergo the process (torture?) of finding a groom
I like to take things to a conclusion. I can’t leave them midway.
I like to be precise - that’s why my posts are verbose
Since last week, I think idli-sambhar is the best breakfast. Immensely disliked it until then :-)
I am not scared of animals. I just cannot handle their affection
I enjoy constructive debates

I can actually hear the nuts and bolts in my brain banging against each other, trying to come up with these 25 points. Now I have to tag 25 people, Wow!

I do not have that large a network. Besides many bloggers have already done this tag. And some of those who haven’t, don’t do tags. So, here’s a short list of people I’d like to know more about – Chirag, Renu, Suresh, Sandhya, Solilo and Shail.

A tag - Slow, soulful and melodious

2009-02-19T10:35:00.001+05:30

Tagged by HitchWriter to list 10 songs from two languages that are slow, soulful and melodious.

I find it really hard to follow tag rules. Second tag and again, I am breaking rules. Well, I am going to list 10 songs but one extra from a third language. I think, no music list of this kind is complete without that song.

Again, I think 10 is too small a number but I’ll stick to that. I wish this tag also asked you to explain the choice. This already long post would have run into many more pages. Each of these songs are very dear to me and have been associated with a special event/person/occasion in my life.

First the one song from the third language – English.

Heal the World - MJ

Hindi songs:

Kannada songs:

Phew! It’s finally done. I’ve done, undone, done again, undone, done one more time and posted this tag. I was looking for ways present this better.

I wish I knew how to embed audio playlists. Works so much faster. The sites that gave code to embed playlists did not have the songs I needed.

If you have read this post, you are tagged. Go ahead and do the tag, leave a comment here. I’d love to listen to your collection.