:)

For the next 10 days, will be feasting on Mattar ka parathas and atte ka laddus instead of Masala Dosas and Uttapams. Ah, the joy of being the daughter of 2 completely different kind of families! I have the best of both worlds..

The Game of Thrones

Came across this series through a friend’s recommendation- and what an amazing watch (and read) it turned out to be!

For all fantasy series lovers, this one’s got all- drama, larger than life picturization, romance, subtle comedy and tragedy. The characters are all well defined and at one point or other, you can relate to everyone in the story. The creators have managed to take us through a bewildering array of parallel events with great expertise- so you never really lose touch with any of them and are instead left wanting more of each one. It is one of those addictive series that can consume your entire weekend by turning you into a junkie. The only thing out of balance here is the absurd amount of nudity in seasons 2 and 3, but that’s also acceptable- all things considered.

About the characters- they are so perfectly chosen that you feel there could not be anyone else for that part. This part has always puzzled me- how do all of these series cast even the most minor of the characters so perfectly whereas in any Indian series, even the lead characters are barely tolerable most of the times.

My most favourite character in the series is Arrya- who is gritty, resourceful and wilful- in short – the perfect badass. Her journey from her home Winterfell to the dreaded towers of Harrenhal(have got to only that part) is also the most adventurous part of the series. I am also fascinated by the  imp- Tyrion Lannister- the most sensible and interesting character so far. He values the baser pleasures in life while sticking true to the notions of justice, while navigating through the complicated powerplay with his sister- Cersei. To see him thwarting her moves as the King’s Hand makes you almost fall in awe of him.

After finishing all 3 seasons in 15 days and being deprived of the next one till next year, am now on to the books- just to find out- what happened next! To the credit of the creators, the TV series is remarkably true to its origin and the books themselves seem to be written for the purpose of being converted in a TV series. A perfect combo-

Highly highly recommended!

Nirbhaya

After 2 weeks of fighting against the odds, her struggle finally came to an end today. There have been multiple debates, candle light marches, protests against the brutality committed against this innocent girl. Something here touched a cord within each one of us- where normally, we just turn the page after reading a rape case, this time we actually left the comfort of our homes to show our support for her.

There was a candle light march in my society also. At the end of it, when people were expressing their anguish and demanding action, I heard a lady commenting to her friends- “Liberty has become too much. If there are restrictions, these things would never happen.” Sounded distinctly familiar to the sentiment echoed by Delhi police and most of our politicians- it’s a woman’s responsibility to protect herself from getting raped; Don’t go out in dark, don’t have boyfriends, don’t befriend men, don’t wear short clothes- how about -don’t be born. That would be a sureshot way of not getting raped. No wonder that in our country- women are safe neither inside womb,  nor outside. I wanted to slap that lady for putting this onus on her own sex.

A lot of FB messages say RIP- I don’t think she will. Not because she was raped- but because despite all that happened to her- she still wanted to live. God did not give her this chance though. I hope she comes back to this world to live her life and dreams again- hopefully not in this country though. This is what I will pray for you Nirbhaya.

Ma

There is always so much I want to say to you-so much I want to tell you- but whenever we talk, we talk about weather and my work before I start getting some call on other line. I don’t even know if you will ever read it, but I had to pen it down somewhere- so here goes…

U had me when you were 21. That was the age I used to bunk classes and eat samosas in college canteen with my friends. I am 29 now, and still scared of giving my life up to have a kid. Where and how did you get the courage for this? I don’t have the courage to do this even once; you gave me my sister who is my best friend in the whole world and a brother who I am so proud of! . You got married at the age of 17 in a joint family and after 33 years today, you have held it so beautifully well that I have a family full of grandparents and uncles and aunts and cousins- a home I love to go back to..

I know I was a difficult child- I used to cry for every little thing- I have lied to you-I have thrown unreasonable tantrums at you-I have not eaten my food, not done my homework, not attended my classes, not talked to you properly, not listened to you, all at one time or the other. But even then, you have never failed me once. You have always been the shoulder for me to cry on, the secret behind my every success. I have not forgotten all the lunches and dinners you made and brought to me in my room so I could study to become what I wanted. How did u never get tired and never expect me to help out with the chores when there were always enough to keep you busy your whole life.

Even now, you are the one I turn to for every single thing; for a simple recipe, for advice on my health, for my wardrobe choice..the list never ends. And you are at the other end of the phone, patiently listening to my silly woes and helping me sort out my life- even if it has to do with how to wash a silk garment. You make an occasion of the  few weeknds I can spare of my schedule to visit you and make all my favourite dishes in a span of 2 days, along with getting my too loose Kurta altered by the colony tailor because I am too busy to get it done here.

Now when I am old (or sensible) enough to understand all this, it kills me to think that I am not there with you. When you had such terrible cold last week, I was not there to take you to a doctor. I am not there to talk to you or go with you on a walk to help you pass your time now that all your kids have got busy with their own lives.

I hope I will get courage to tell you all this to your face so you know how deeply grateful I am to you and how very thankful, that god chose me to be your daughter. Until then…

Mistress of spices

I have been a great fan of Chitra Divakaruni’s writing. So I had great expectations on this book as well. And with great sorrow, I have to report that I actually have nothing to write about it. The book did not make me feel anything at all, nothing worth writing anyway. Oh well, may be next one would be better!
I know it’s a completely useless post, but what the hell! It’s my blog

It’s great to …

It’s great to have mom back home..the joy of having masala dosas on sunday mornings, along with masala conversations!

Finally!

Ah- the bliss of a jobless day!

So, I have made the handover sheet, organized my personal files, deleted most of my unwanted mails and communicated the happy news to everyone.

Now all that remains is to go..am waiting for that moment eagerly!

 

It’s hard work trying to keep up with life…

Bas yun hi

I have never been very good at dealing with changes. I think last one week has been God’s way of teaching me how to deal with them. I can’t understand why people keep saying it’s good for you!

A friend of mine has written her first book. I felt really happy to see that, and a little jealous. She is doing what she loves; reading, writing and working with books. And here I am- selling consumer durables, and not doing such a great job at it either. Wonder why I am still doing it.

 

Going going..gone

How fast does weekend go? I got up, checked some mail- made some calls- and it’s already past lunch time- with no idea where our cook is. Will need to cook some thing fast, noodles may be!
On the plus side, got a google+ invite. Will check it out later..