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April 30, 2015

D for Detox

Detoxification simply means draining toxins out of the system. So when we talk about the famous Detox Diet either through following some modern day fad cum fasting plan which ironically needs to be followed every other day or the traditional detoxification method with periodic fasting. The motto is simple - throwing out those toxic materials outside the body, make your body a bit healthier. 

I believe in detoxification of atmosphere around me. When I clean up the cupboard, kill my heart for a while and throw kilos of dumps out. When I clean out the kitchen every day. When I run and sweat out myself. I call all of these and similar activities, Detox. 

I believe (rather, want to believe and implement) in another kind of detox as well. Detoxification of the personal life. Throwing out clutter out of my mind and my memories. I want to throw out bad parts of my memories, which I hate, out of my life. I want to be close to people whom I love and want to keep in touch with them by any other mean than social media, of course. I want to throw cumbersome relationships out of my heart. This is an ideal state of mind - which like the probability of 1- nearly impossible. You can still reach 0.9999!

I want the courage to delete all those unwanted numbers out of my mobile by over coming the greed of being in touch some day. I want to stop replying people out of formality in those Whatsapp groups where I do not belong to. I want to get closer to people whom I love and who love me. I do not want to think about the neighbor 'Sharmaji' who might as well create anyway some random image of mine.Personal detoxification leads to social detoxification as well I guess.

By doing this, my mind would be free. Priorities would surface out. Relationships worth having would get intense. 

Detoxification would make me feel liberated for sure. In real sense. 

Dont you think so?


April 29, 2015

C for Chatting!!!

Because my Kaki  (Yeah all the way from US of A) gave me the idea!! :)

From where do I start! It is indeed my favorite hobby. I can not, CAN NOT keep quiet for a long period of time. Ah, may be even a little shorter period of time. It is therapeutic for me, not sure about people around me! :D

When I  keep mum for around 15-20 minutes either I would be sleeping or I would be reading or may be worst, some body would have shut my mouth using the ugly brown tape. (No, even when the doctor plucked my only wisdom tooth I could speak albeit with some pain.) I have seen many of my close friends winning the bet against some courageous friends who could bet on Bubblegum keeping quiet for 15-20 minutes flat. Of course, these bets happened without notifying  me.

....And so if I do not open my mouth for 15 minutes and none of the above options are applicable , there is seriously something wrong. I am serious!

I thought today I would describe this trait of mine. I have to speak to keep my mind clean. Yeah, my mind is like a mass production factory outlet. If I dont push thoughts out of my outlet, inventory would be too costly for me. So inventory of thoughts make me sick. My head starts churning its own compartments and it creates horrible migraine. If you are still reading let me tell you, it is a true story! Rather a fact!

I am very comfortable with chatting. So many of my favorite people are, most of the time. So is Mr.ISB and my Mumbai family now. Of course my parents have suffered this non-stop chatting habit for the longest period of time but they accept the fact that they miss it 23 hours a day now. Yeah, I talk to my family for an hour every day.

:D

So many of my friends feel bad when it comes to Mr.ISB's super silent nature! Some days back..

I was tired after waiting for an hour for a cab, from office to reach home, in Mumbai. I was getting numb due to back to back traveling as well. And.... I got a call from Mr.ISB.

Mr.ISB: Hello, Whats up?
Me: Hi. Fine.
(Sensed some unusual waves hovering around)
Mr.ISB : You have not reached home, is it?
Me: Yes.
Mr.ISB: Talk something!!
(Nobody says such things to me! I meant I never give such a chance to any one!)
Me : I dont have a topic!!
Mr.ISB: Come on that is your job. It is not in my profile!!!!! Call when you have topics to talk about!

I was furious but kept things to myself. I reached home. Had my dinner and with all kind - lively people around me I was at peace. I started 'chatting' with the sister (In law), I was back to where I should be.I dialed to talk to Mr.ISB for some random discussions we all wanted to do with him, forgetting about the whole 'Profile and Topic' conflict.

Mr. ISB: So.... You got the topic.. (With so much happiness in the tone)

I was..

:0


B for Books!

It has to be 'Books'!

Books create the world where live different roles, one at a time , with the flow of the story. We live thousands life in one life as some wise person has said. Books are the world where you get thrilled, you cry, you plan, you think and you smile. The mind dives into the virtual world of witches or tribes, stone era or even the era which has not yet arrived.

Books which sprinkle its own smell on me, after kindle, has create the feel of black and white era of its own in my mind. The kind of speed I have picked due to the portability is amazing. I have many books in my tiny purse and I cling on to it.

Books are the way to dig into our mind for more meaningful life. Books are the key to generate that flow which make us believe into the the subconscious world. Books make us detached from the present for a while and you travel across eras and may be , galaxies.

Books are like those scholarships, you get empowered. They are investments. They are best gifts parents can give to kids and kids can give to parents.

Books can be friends and family too. Books can be attachments and achievements too.

Books can inspire too and adopt you too.

How do you feel about Books? 

April 27, 2015

A for Air Conditioners Aka AC

So I had to brainstorm a bit and choose from some words like 'Adorable' and 'Adjustments' but I decided to be a bit unpredictable to myself. I choose, Air Conditioners aka AC aka AirCon.

My affair with AC was always a hate hate relationship. I love Air condition in the 'ON' condition for around fifteen minutes and then the word 'Hate' starts being meaningful to me.

At Ahmedabad, in our circle we were one of those privileged (By force) families to have an AC in 80s. My mom ran a computer class with only one machine and the temperature of Ahmedabad in summers (and most of the other months too) tried to compete with its own records. (It over competes now!) We had to install an AC which was a BIG investment for my dad who just started up with his new business. So apparently it was  the room which was actually an office had an AC and we used to sleep in the air which smelt wet due to moisture, being thrown out of the cooler. In fact I remember filling in water inside the cooler tank, to be a major and first important job given to me and my brother together. We never needed the AC.

Slowly the heat started showing its face more than any other summers in Ahmedabad. We had to move around a lot outside in the scorching sun as well. So when we shifted to our new house, my mom who is a high blood pressure patient installed ACs all over. My parents love AC and the only room which does not have an AC is my (Ex)room now! I think, the AC-Hating feature skipped a generation, my Dadi never ever liked it.

During my tenures in Nashik, I had nothing at home. The Nashik office had air conditioning - I did not like. Singapore, was horribly humid but at the same time a few hours and what we used to get were waves of cool breeze. (My Singapore friends would say otherwise now!) Pune had the same effect. Now when I have a home here in Pune, we have not installed an AC and things are pretty good thanks to the weather. Of course the AC loaded office cubicles make my ribs scream with pain for some reasons.

Mumbai though changed my opinion to some extent. Coolers can not work here. The sweltering heat and sweating phenomena can only be altered by the Air conditioning. Even in such a condition, I can only stay or sleep for an hour or so. Either I need blankets or just switch the damn AC off. Mr.ISB needs AC every where, now if he helps in the kitchen in Mumbai - I am sure one more AC is coming.

Air conditioning comes to me as a pleasant experience for maximum of an hour with the add on of body ache. I am not sure if it is a sort of disorder or just the hereditary from my grand mother.

Are you like me or my mom who apparently was born with a portable AC hanging around her neck in the super hot city of Kolkata?

aPOINTment # 3

This poor little lady, yours truly is actually feeling bad about not structuring a proper blog post or creating a narration out of stagnant-on-the-verge-of-launching-into-excitement life. When nothing goes right and I want to write, I like the idea of aPOINTment!


  • This is my last week in Pune in a way. Mr.ISB would be living here till we entirely relocate to Mumbai. Mumbai life has already kicked off with my new job and some days spent there. With dad's cataract operation, which was planned by kids (us) as he was delaying just like that I could see more of Mumbai. Now when I am back to wrap up some of my luggage from Pune, an era is coming to the end. Hopefully.
  • Many people hate Mumbai, which I feel weird. Mumbai is India. We get the feel of diversity of India in Mumbai only. Keep your eyes open, breath the moisture and open your hearts! Each and every person with her/his own values build the spirit of Mumbai. Polluted, over populated but it is India and so I love it.
  • Summers here are unpredictable. Untimely rains every where brought calmness in the sweltering heat ocean but now it is depriving us from the amazing taste of mangoes. I meant, Amdavadis have not received the Geer Talala Kesar mangoes while Mumbai is able to enjoy Alphonso. Yes, my cousins back in home town are  jealous this time. 
  • I am going to live once more, the traveler's life for a few months. I am bucking up with new ideas to kill time in the bus apart from dozing off. A kindle, a music player and a blocked nose should be my constant companion to reach my destination safely. I love the smell of AC buses. Every where in the world.
  • I really want to start blogging daily once I settle in Mumbai. The time flies when I am there and I dont feel like spoiling the fun by opening up the laptop any time of the day or night. I suppose, slowly sinking into the daily business would vouch for some 'Me Time'. I would love to blog then.
  • My one of the Singapore friends gifted me an email. An email well beyond my maturity to digest. I wonder how her tiny little, younger-than-me-mind weaves such a train of thoughts. This has been an awesome gift for me. 
  • I am feeling the 27ish something age crisis. Fitness and work wise. I am running out of time to accomplish things I want to. Though I have enough examples in my world where age is truly a number, but health is not. Seriously.
  • The new chef at home - Mr.ISB has treated me some delicious sandwiches along with directly out of his own kitchen (and mine too!) - Aloo paratha , fried rice, Misal and Dosa with messy kitchen sometimes. The last part is necessary to be creative, right?
  • I am planning to blog about one topic every day starting from A to Z, like many other friends. They call it Blogathon. I am really going to struggle to do it daily but hey, I am on for it!
How are you doing? :)

April 17, 2015

aPOINTment #2

Hey all, I know I have been throwing points and bullets a lot on the blog but if I have 13874849 things to tell how do I construct a blog properly with exactly same amount of thoughts hovering around my tiny brain!


  • As I am writing this with a cup of my favorite tea with bags packed for Mumbai-4-days-trip, I have been wishing that this would be one of the last trips before I relocate without Mr.ISB. Well, people throw showers of sympathy on Mr.ISB as he would be helpless without me (Yeah, he married to me for cleaning home, drying clothes and cook as if!) I am amazed to see a sea of changes in him. He has started loving cooking just like me. Rest of the mess is still there but then I love him the way (Read:messy!) he is!
  • I worried about my tea mug , filter machine and my shawl without which I can not live. Should I keep them in Pune or Mumbai. Apart from shawl , I can not .. Note, I can not replicate them. I can not keep them in my bag every time I visit cities too! Lesson? Dont get attached to materialistic things. If you do, always love them in two! :D
  • Dance. Some videos surface out of the world wide web and make you do all those graceful steps while going berserk on music. That is my kind of a work out. 
  • I have been using this laptop owned by Mr.ISB during his ISB tenure which refused to work without the power adapter. After hunting for its battery like a mad shopping maniac lady, I got the battery but the laptop thought it is my struggling period with a start up so I might as well struggle some more. Now the cursor of the screen jumps around at any moment while I type. Just like a monkey. Monkey minded cursor for a monkey mind?
  • I have been hating the smell of AC buses since long. I have been punished to never get rid of these buses by the super power and I see no hopes for the improvement in the situation.
  • Working for a start up has brought impeccable amount of energy into my professional life. I am not struggling for time, I am struggling to get out of the enthusiasm just to balance out my life with a short jogging or a yoga session. 
  • I miss my Singapore friends a lot, especially one friend plans to meet another friend in Singapore. Some other friends post photos of beautiful Siloso beach and things like that. No, I still love living in India but God, bless me with some free time in the upcoming quarter. 
  • I have a super long pending list of friends with whom I need to catch up. Either on phone or over a cup of coffee. The mad shuttling between cities have made me so busy that the sight of a ringing phone itself puts me off. I do owe all of them calls or meetings. I do.
How is your life going on guys? If anyone reading this apart from those 10 people whom I know :D

Anyone? :D

April 15, 2015

27ish and something :)

Yes, I am still the kid at heart who gets excited about her birthday. This time I behaved like a little mature kid by hiding the day (and the year!) on the Facebook and so did not recieve a LOT many messages/calls! Not that remembering dates make you more social and warm, I just wanted to enjoy whatever I do to the fullest.I thought of presenting (20) 15 facts about this birthday of mine!

  1. My Gang made this awesome plan of 'The engagement' of our friend -'Chitrole', which was likely to occur as his family is hunting for a bride. I was shattered when I saw the nervous face last week when we met at another friend's place. I was sad for him as he told us there is no scope of saying 'No' and his parents have already decided to get him married to the girl. I was shown the photo as well. We all tried to console congratulate him and cheer him up. His weirdly nervous face rang the bell which I conveniently ignored. Mr.ISB asked me to come back from Mumbai that week for the birthday as in the evening the  'Engagement' was to take place as a surprise party for me. Well, my gang is just awesome and they spoil me to the core. :)
  2. Investors/ Team members/Mentors of my start up (whom I need to give the blog name) tried to force me to come to Office so we can have fun but they knew it would be my first birthday after wedding so I was spared.
  3. My mom and sister (by law and by heart) both knew about the plan and conveniently pushed me to go to Pune even when I said Mr.ISB would come down to Mumbai to be with us.
  4. Pre-birthday evening pissed me off due to boring traveling in the bus but it was followed by awesome home made pizzas by Mr.ISB! Pampering - never ending.
  5. I bought one of those books which was the result of my obsession with the movie 'Julie & Julia', and I read it for a few minutes. I slept off with the kindle beside me which made Mr.ISB uncomfortable as the cake and gifts were waiting for me!
  6. At 12, I was wide awake with a cake in front of me and some gifts. A chef Knife set I wanted since looooong. Some Gujarati literature books which I wanted to re-read to revamp my hold on the language. Even when Mr.ISB can not read Gujarati properly, he and my mom made up a story to know which all books I love and which we have at home!
  7. The best part was the first and the last call to wish me at 12 , by my bro-buddy and Mr.ISB's best friend! He never misses it anyway! I was happy I could sleep properly as since last 5 birthdays I could not sleep properly at night and end up feeling super sleepy for the whole birth-day. I recived messages and calls by my first-gang-of-old-Mumbai-Days!
  8. My Singapore flatmates called me in the morning and we talked after like ages. Not to forget, these friends poke me unintentionally in my mind whenever I hold my mug to have to awesome tea with ginger. 
  9. As we were to attend the 'engagement',Mr.ISB planned the birthday lunch at my favorite restaurant. 'Greens and Olives' is one of those restaurants which has the delicious, mouth watering Italian food with rich flavors I have ever had.
  10. A bag from my brother & parents , a mortal and a pestle which was long needed with some exact requirements made the way to me. A big stone made mortal - pestle pair is something I wanted it since long and the current obsession thanks to movie 'Julie and Julia' made it even stronger. Mr.ISB picks the matter from my mind which creates such random wishes all the time!
  11. My gang sans the fake Dulha picked us up from home and I realized the bigger plan of my surprise birthday party. With a big pink Joker hat, I was given my most Favorite home made chocolate mud cake to cut which showed my age as '72' and it got happily cut by me! Of course a semi chocolate facial and the gift of a portable Phillips easy-to-use media player were presented. I love simpler things and my gang knows it much better!
  12. The gang of 5 and 2 husbands with one more friend from my old office laughed out all those lungs we had in leg pulling sessions focused on each of us. The happiness radiated from me to them and that is why birthdays are celebrated! 
  13. We forced the fake Dulha to get engaged just to irritate him. The poor guy was under performance pressure while talking to me for a week. I was relieved for him as he was not actually getting engaged to the girl with whom he had met only once! :)
  14. I was tired by the time we reach back home but I realized I was still not sleepy. I wanted to read that Julia Book and I wanted to play with the media player I was just gifted. I did!! 
  15. I realized age is not even a number. I get better birthday parties and better surprises year by year! 
Am I aging too gracefully? ;-)

April 8, 2015

The third parallel projection

This young lady called Julie is a big fan of Julia Child.  She starts a blog in which she writes about her cooking experiment - 524 recipes in 3 She 65 days straight from Julia Child Cook Book. She is frustrated with a job and she loves to cook,so it is about the excitement in her life this project can create.She finds amazing similarities between her life and Julia's life. Connections are deeper than the love for food. The story of this movie/book 'Julie and Julia' is brilliant. My Aunt Kaki in USA recommended the movie and after days, I got the chance to watch it. (When your husband packs your work diary to the out-of-town trip and forgets to pay for the internet, the only thing which calms you down is a mug of filter coffee made by yours truly in the machine gifted by friends and a new movie!)

My Kaki told me she remembered me while watching the movie. I was curious to know why and I know why , now. Julia had an adorable husband, high pitched voice, enthusiasm for everything to kill for and the love for food! Not to forget dramatic behavior! Julie had the same bunch of things. Yours truly does not have the cooking expertise like these two ladies and Julia's calmness which does not let her throw frustration at her husband unlike Julie. But, hey! I love food and cooking, apart from other small details in life we have in common.

Expressions when the food melts in the mouth. The connection we make with some mysterious energy waves from the universe when I cook my horribly restaurant dishes and they cook those delicious dishes. The way Julia feels and Julie cries when disappointing incidents happen is my habit too! The way Julia cries on the sofa while she reads the rejection from the publication company, the way Julie lies down in the kitchen while crying as she messed up with amazing dishes - Both habits have grown inside me too.Please note only husbands know what we do when sad in all cases!

The way Julia was wearing a pearl necklace all the time, Julie noticed the same in the movie! Well,I noticed this from the very first scene. No diamonds or gold chains chains can beat the elegance of pearls.

Julie finds comfort in cooking after the useless crappy job she has. Julia starts learning cooking french food to do something other than her job she had back in China. Hello, I do the same!

The mortal and pastel. The one they wanted, you should see the beauty.I started hunting to get the very similar smaller version of what is shown in the movie a few months back.The heavy base- made of marble stone.

The way our husbands manage with the experiments (My husband is the warrior I must say!). Not to forget how three of the husbands support their respective wives.

Julie knew she has found parallel projections from Julia's life to her life. Now, I have got the third parallel projection straight into my life! (Google - Projection lines - What do you expect from a Mechanical Engineer?)

I was surprised when I did not feel weird at the scenes showing cooking of different animals - birds which was highly expected due to my vegetarianism. I know the love of food and I respect their love for food. Their love for cooking.

Some movies make you feel you are the character inside. Some movies you feel, narrates nearly your story only Some movies are made for the happier environment but makes you cry. Some movies make you realize how lucky you are to have your husbands, parents, friends and relatives. Some movies make you go one step closer to introspect what you actually love.

'Julie and Julia' fulfills every thing I mentioned.

Mr.ISB, I am waiting for you to come back so we can see the movie together!

:)


April 6, 2015

The Gang!!

So as I told you in the last post we are Five. Five warriors of the same clan cubicle Of course, being in the same cubicle and to fight for it every day is our habit as our office as Collaborative Working Space concept, which lets you sit any where you want to.

Before I actually write stories, wait. I need to introduce them to all of you. We would start with the oldest member. (!Sorry, Daya!)

1. Daya - The artist in Adlabs Imagica had called her the sister of Sunny Deo because of her broad build, superb height and post delivery weight to some extent. Dare you say, she is a young mother so must be an old school girl. She is faster than me and you in abusing where needed!! She is one of my super close friends.

2. Suleman Behen /Dr. Salunkhe - The nomenclature is quite weird as he bawls like this cricket player - whoever he is. Atleast that is the only explanation we have been given to. He acts like the forensic doctor from the comic serial cum thriller CID. Investigating documents by almost shooting laser guns from his eyes while staring the screen of the laptop.

3.Nano/Wicket Keeper/ DCP Chitrole - This man is the victim of all our pranks. Five minutes we are free and we focus on discussing which of his legs should we pull this time. He looks like DCP from CID, Still 'Nano' in the looks and of course thanks to his faith he has a got a boss to 'Keep'.

4. Johnaa - That is what one of our senior team member calls him for some reason, not too close to his real name. Talk about the name - after spending 27 years on this earth his relatives still argue on the correct pronunciation of his name. Of course he takes things in high spirits. This many-named-person is my perfect partner in crime. Be it taking my side on bets or beating around the bush in the heated discussions inside the group just to make things lighter. He lives on chicken but gets irritated if some one tries to kill even an insects. All street dogs around my now old office and his home know him and get an account at the Tapari wala for some cookies for them every day.

5. Yours truly/ Fedricks - Of course I want to tell you guys, it has nothing to do with the IQ level of this charterer called Fedricks. It is my ability to throw sad and poor jokes all around. I do not want to be a narcissist and praise myself but hey, these guys really love me. Many many cute gifts in the farewell with really sentimentally funny dialogues are proofs.

We the gang of five are Chai Buddies. Our adda is Chai Tapari apart from our own cubicle - rather we have managed in such a fashion that no one else can work from there. We play pranks on the lunch table where the victim would be 'The Wicket Keeper.' We laugh out our lungs and we sprinkle fun all over.

Dont you think we are awesome? I have left this job which had only one positive thing - my gang, but I am still the part and I do not feel the distance thanks to 'Whatsapp'.

:)


aPOINTment! #1

Okay, straight to the point points :


  • After four farewells, I am finally relieved. I have joined the new start up I always talked about but never blogged about. For a month I would be shuffling between Pune and Mumbai. Hopefully things would be smooth after a month. The baggage of a thankless and a lifeless job is thrown in to the dustbin & I am ready to rock.
  • I miss my friends from the thankless office. They were only the motivation for me to stick to it for last three months and work in the notice period as well. We, a group or rather a gang of five made a closed ecology inside the office of 5000 people. A blog on this is pending since long.
  • After enjoying working for four days in the new Mumbai office till 8 pm and not getting exhausted was a new thing for me. After years. No non value added calls - meetings , a series of jokes we play on each other and our discussions on how to make the new small office more colorful. I am back in Pune now for some more days before I relocate in a full fledged manner.
  • We have green tea addicts at the new office which makes me miss my Chai-buddies, the gang of five warriors even more. 
  • We had an awesome visit from Mr.ISB's ISB flatmate - the one and only Mr.Quadie as I call. The chit chatter and another chit chatter (Yours truly) chattered to much to bug Mr.ISB! Such pleasant visits by friends are needed once in a blue moon. Of course, I attacked him with home made Palak Paneer and Kheer which was appreciated which served as a kick for my future cooking ventures! 
  • I have got a permanent Mumbai number! It is a big deal for me as this number is likely to be a super long term number for me. I have changed 4 numbers in 4 years and people have started throwing verbal brickbats on me already. They stop only when I tell them that this should be the last number I would ever get.
  • I have got horridly pissed off with Facebook. My friends with whom I need to keep in touch are the only road breaker in between to each the Facebook-less life. Not that I keep on checking it every now and then. I have totally banned FaceBook application on my mobile. Well, I have got Quora to get addicted to. The only good part is I am gaining something by dwelling on the Quora platform.
  • I really want to blog more than I am since last 4 months. When things are going a bit on better side, blogging toh banata hai boss! :)
Dont you think so?

:)