What do I have against Borrowing??

1. When someone borrows something beeg - they never ever return it to you in the same state. For instance, the Arien is forever borrowing the bike from me. When he takes the bike, it is overflowing with petrol. When I get it back, I spend the time driving to the nearest petrol bunk praying that the petrol lasts untill I reach the bunk.
2. When someone borrows a popular/favorite item - you may never ever see it again. For instance, when you lend your new book to ur cousin who is visiting - the cousin lowes the book as much as you do - you hold late-nite sessions to discuss the twists, the cousin is unable to finish the book within the visit - you are coaxed into lending the book- the cousin leaves and you will never see your book again.
3. When someone borrows a trinket - you automatically move it to ur museum of small things. For instance, when you lend your fav pair of ear-rings, the chunky bracelet, or other small cute accessories that you own, you will find them returned sans sm chuntu part. The ear-ring will come back without the snap-on, the bracelet will miss the lil stones, 2 of the 12 bangles will be broken.
4. When someone borrows a common place item - you will always be running short of it. For instance, when the person standing next to you in the queue borrows a pen from you - you are forever walking arnd without a pen. When the colleague frm the nxt cube borrows your Post-IT, you will never have them when you need them.

So how do we deal with this issue? Do we behave like kids and state bluntly "I won't share"? Tht seems childish. Do we tell ppl tht the item means a lot to us? Well, try explaining why the Reynolds pen given by your company (Rs. 5/-) means a lot to you. You will be considered weird by one and all. Do we jes accept what happens to all our cute and not-so-cute stuff? I hope not. What do you do??

Bangalore Rains

One of the best and worst things 'bout Bangalore rains is that they are absolutely unpredictable. I still remember when we used to visit B'lore for holidays: we wud set out for a walk on a sunny evening and come home dripping wet b'cos of the unpredictable showers.

So last week, when all of Bangalore had been dying a slow death b'cos of the scorching summer, I was surprisingly happy when we had some sudden showers. The plus was that all of them happened pretty late in the day and so I did not get drenched even once!! However, on Friday, when I left work, it was raining cats and dogs. I was really glad that I was not going home on my two-wheeler. Considering I spend most of my time on my two-wheeler, I usually hate the rains. You either have to find a nice place to park or you keep driving - either way you end up getting totally drenched and bugged. Driving in the rain is a pain. Folks who drive four-wheelers enjoy the rains b'cos all the two-wheelers are off the road during rains. Considering that I am going to be drenched n bugged anyway, I usually drive home when it rains. I don't like it - but rather than stay in the office, I prefer going home.

In my previous organization, we had a cab service. We would get picked up from our homes and dropped back via company cabs. Ya ya... it was a luxury :D Sitting inside a cab while it was raining outside was gr8 fun - but then its not like a fun ride - its more a lift home and the driver wants to drop you off as soon as poss so he can get back home. Obviously, you spend a lot of time listening to his rants on Bangalore, Traffic, damn rains, and what not. Of course, I have also had fun times.

So when the Arien picked me up that Friday, I felt strangely relaxed. He lowes to drive and is usually not a crabby person to be with when it rains. So, I was all smiles and the drive home was very nice. The Arien played some gr8 music. We got stuck at the Railway signal but did not lose our tempers. We were staring at the rain and enjoying it for the first time. The Arien turned nostalgic and spoke 'bout the hazaar times he was caught in those rains while he was on his way home after meeting me, 'bout catching dreadful colds b'cos of the drenching, 'bout going to watch Vantage Point at Lido when we were dripping wet after one of those sudden showers and shivering in the AC while cribbing 'bout Bangalore rains, etc. etc.

After listening to him, suddenly I was not so sure I hated the rains. We have tooo many experiences associated with these Bangalore rains. Not fair!! :D

Awful Friday

Fridays are essentially Wooohooo!!! days. Ask anyone whats on their mind and most of them are planning their weekend. Some people are waiting all week for Friday.... I have a frend whose gtalk status message is a countdown until friday. For some people, what you did last weekend is a conversation starter of sorts. While some folks laze the weekend away, some travel, others watch movies, and still others visit their hometown. I was recovering from a cold and cough that I had somehow managed to catch in the middle of a particularly wicked summer in Bengalooru. Naturally, I was totally looking forward to an amazing weekend and I was determined not to waste it. When I was leaving for the day at 6pm, it was raining cats and dogs.

The Arien picks me up frm work and we had a lazy evening. We relaxed over a cuppa chai, mulled over general stuff, changed channels a lot, watched a bit of IPL, had dinner, when we had a power cut. We were pretty chilled as we had a generator and so waited for the security to switch it on. Yes... this is the same person who metamorphises into a traffic policeman when I drive out of the apartment. After impatiently waiting for 15 mts, we realize that there must b sm problem. The Arien speaks to the security guard and finds out that the generator is under repair. It was soon pretty warm and suddenly there were zillions of mosquitos for company.

I was surprised at how quickly a nice day turned pretty bad with a power cut. All the enthu was long gone. I was cribbing 'bout the security guard who takes forever to switch on the generator and if he knew it was not working, he should have informed us. The Arien was cribbing 'bout the mosquitoes. We decided that maybe falling asleep wud b good and attempted tht. It was stifling hot as there was no breeze at all and so sleep was really hard to come by. Because there was no power, we could not switch on the mosquito mat. We managed to have a short nap for 20 mts before we were awoken by the buzzing of the mosquitoes and the lack of air.

I decided to sit in the balcony and left - as I walked towards the balcony, I could hear the Arien shriek in the background "Lock the balcony door after you - I cannot handle any more mosquitoes." I curbed the urge to retort.

The power came back at 2:30 am on Saturday. I rushed back to switch off the lights and try to catch a bit of sleep when we heard the unmistakable sound of a wire going up in flames. In 5 mts, we had the next power cut. The Arien decided to check out what had happened. He left carrying a candle as we could not figure out where we had kept our torch. He came back 20 mts later. A truck had hit the transformer of our building as it tried to navigate a particularly difficult turn and the wire went up in flames. So, there was no chance of the power coming back until BESCOM folks turned up which would be - 10 am. The generator was garam aagidhe according to our security guard and so we were likely to suffer for the rest of the nite.

I didn't know if I cud handle any more of the power cut or the mosquitoes. It was 4:45 am. I sms the Senior Arien asking him if we can visit him and sleep over. The Senior Arien is a habitual early riser and for once it was going to be of sm help for us- Yeah!!! The Arien was also thrilled that we had a way out of the current scenario. No response till 6 am. I decide to make coffee for the Arien. I make the coffee and feel overwhelmed with sleep. I fall asleep at 6:45 am. When I woke up, it was 11 am. The Senior Arien had finally replied to my message "Please go ahead" at 9:55 am. I burst out laughing n woke the Arien up.

One power cut and we were so damn vulnerable. You never realize how dependant you are on the electricity that serves you day in and day out until smthng like this happens. Saturday was spent catching up on lost sleep. I felt that this Friday was the worst Friday ever. All the enthu for the wknd evaporated with a snap of a finger. At the time, I was pretty bugged. In the larger scheme of things, people lose family members, jobs, money at a snap of a finger. What I had lost was hardly as valuable as all tht. Still, it is the lil things that bug us way more than the beeg ones, am I right?

Am on Twitter - Finally!

Ghahahahahaha hahahahahaha Ghahahahahahaha (Ok.. ok... Stopped already!!) Yes, I jes joined the Twitter community.

I am sure my joining twitter equals the Miss India wannabes one stop solution - the one and only - "World Peace" - both of them have absolutely no value and so I better stop - now!!

One more way to keep in touch.. do we all really have so much to say? I guess, if the person leaves we won't keep talking but this is the absolute opposite - keep talking - sm goofball will respond n you can then .... continue.... talking - whatsay??!!

Yipee!! Yippee!! Am I twiterring?? Tee hee heee. I really must go - this was not really a post - this was utter timepass :)

The White Tiger

At long last, I can now say that I finished reading "The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga". The first time I saw the title, I mis-read it as " The White Aravind Adiga Tiger":P I thought tht the Author had named a white tiger, Aravind and included a surname after a particular sect, Adiga, to create a bond with the reader. Anyway, I came to realize that the book is not meant for children and ob. the tiger is not called Aravind Adiga. Have you finished laughing?? ...Thank you.

I have this thing for the authors from India who are award winners at an International level. The last book I purchased was "The God of Small Things" by Arundati Roy. I was initially a lil apprehensive 'bout buying this book. However, I went ahead and purchased it. After reading it, I can say that I do not regret buying it.

The anti-hero of the story, is Balram Halwai who is sharing the story of his life with Wen Jiabao, the Premier of China in a seven-part letter. His letter is caustic, funny, and scary all at once. It is a story of an India within the India. The Darkness within the Light. It is a story of a young rickshaw puller's son who is born in the Darkness and makes his way into the Light.

You may not feel the triumph when Balram achieves his goal which you felt when the slum dog became a millionaire. This could be because you are in the Light and the methods or means adopted by smne frm the darkness to achieve his goal, may not appeal to your senses.

When you read a book, you usually put yourself in one of the roles and compare actions. For instance, when the white tiger despises his old master and has to wash his legs after a loong journey, you sympathise with him. You like the young master from America, who treats the white tiger with some respect and dignity. You actually feel some kinship with the young master who seems good and nice. However, you realize soon enough that the young master is far too weak and Balram aka the white tiger swallows him in no time.

After reading the book, I kept wondering if I was one of those weak masters and if the helpers I am used to having around my house, white tigers. Brilliantly written!

Dinner at South Indies

April is a month of birthdays too - Both the Ariens and the Taurean have their birthdays this month. After April, we essentially have no more celebrations for a really looong time. Thts one beeg reason we take the time out to treat the family junta to an evening of our mad company and dinner.

This time we decided to have dinner at South Indies. We left pretty late and I was worried that we would probably have to wait outside. We parked a lil distance away and walked in. Well, I needn't have worried. The construction going on at CMH road killed their clientele b'cos there were plenty of empty tables. Or maybe we were early. Time can be subjective. The Senior Arien was on the phone all through the dinner - a girder had fallen and he was tense.

Anyway, we chose a table in the corner, waited for the senior Arien to come back in. During the loong wait, we managed to go over the menu twice, mis-pronounce the items and share a hearty laugh. It was then that we realized that the senior Arien may take forever, as is the case nowadays and so went ahead. We opted for Kuzhipaniyaram and Dumpala Karam as the starters. For the main course, we chose the Kal Dosai, Neer Dosai, and Veechhu Parotta accompanied by alembu arepu and paal katti vengayathaal kuzhambu. The Taurean chose a strawberry mocktail, the Arien opted for the fruit punch and I chose the Fresh Lime Water (sweet). On an aside, the maitre d' or the chief waiter, took our orders on a PDA. A lil too impressive :D

The senior Arien returned to the table when we were wondering if we should eat his share too :P Of course, he was pretty cool with all our choices. The portions were jes right for a lite dinner. The mocktails were perrfect! The Fresh lime came in a tall glass and I was unable to finish it :( We did not try the desserts.

The Arien felt the place was way too expensive for standard south indian fare. The Senior Arien was glad that he could partake food like Neer Dosai instead of Vegetable Fried Rice and Rotis. He prefers having a lite dinner. Surprisingly, the Taurean felt that the portions were perfect. I would blame that on his evening snack and so will not take that too seriously.

In my opinion, it was a change from the regular fare of Fried Rice and Rotis. However, I must add that when you look at the price, you invariably compare it with those of Shanthi Sagar and Adigas (other eateries that serve the similar food items) and that automatically kills the experience. So, if you are looking for having south indian vegetarian food sans the crowd and money is of no consequence - try South Indies.

Before I forget, they do deliver food to your place if you stay in Indiranagar. So the next time you are too lazy to step out but would like to try the food at South Indies, you could ask them to deliver it to you. For the menu and other details, see:

http://bangalore.hungryzone.com/index.php/restaurant-menu/5023/South-Indies/South-Indian/indiranagar

Happy Eating!!! :D

Top 5 Reasons why I hate the Gym

1. Gyms play the most awful music for you to workout with.
2. There are only two types of ppl who workout at the Gym: the xtremely fat and the very fit. (The fat ones are here to make friends, indulge in various time-pass activities, pick fights with the management 'bout their obvious lack of progress, create scenes, etc. The fit ones have come to lose half an inch frm their tummies and 1/4 inch frm their thighs :D Being an in-between makes you a highly conscious, xtremely unfriendly, attention-seeking weirdo.)
3. Every instructor has his own ideas on what exercise you must be doing and his amazing theories on which part of your body it tones. (If instructor A asked you to pull the dumbells forward for your shoulders, B tells you to push them back for your triceps. C asks you to use the Wrist equipment to tone your wrists.)
4. Gymming is based on self-motivation. If you are not already motivated - do not expect the Gym to motivate you.
5. You meet long lost friends, acquaintances, whom you knew when you were 3 sizes smaller and invariably ppl look at you and ask "What happened? U were so fit."