Who do u think came visitng last week??

Lemme give u a hint....

The persons typical schedule included ~~ Getting me ma cup of bed tea as soon as I wake up, pottering around in kitchen, Finding every trace of dust n dirt hidden in all nook n corners, removing cobwebs, mending all ma torn blankets n bedsheets, washing ma cant-wash-in-machine clothes n of course going blah-blah abt all the 'N' things am supposedly messing up with! Ha the last thing should given u the hint... Who else but your mother dearest ** Smiles**. N all this at the cost of missing her fav serials .......... Her fav past-time last week included talking to me (Even thou i acted pricey sitting b4 the lappie more often than not) Did I tell ya that when she realized ma maid is doing a disappearing act for a few days, she postpones her trip by few days (Yipppee) n makes sure the house is presentable (if not spic-n-span)!

N in few days joins ma sis who decides to indulge us all with gifts cause she is got a barely-there hike !! N her biggest past-time u said?? Ganging up with jeejeu n making poor mes life as miserable they can.... Grrrrrr!

One thing that stuck me is the confidence with which I dish up dishes for them... A confidence that I lack even in ma day - day cooking.... In rare cases when I do dish out something((N b4 u cry foul.. Lemme clarify I do all the donkey work...) I end up calling ma Mr. Pricey hubbs 10 times to taste the food! But not when its being dished out for ma sis n mom... I know whatevea I do they just gona lap it up with no whimper :-D!



It did Taste Yum tooo!

N then they left yest leaving me all :(

PS: When people act cheaply meanish n with an intention of jus pitting u down n hurting u n end up making somebody elses lifes sillily difficult ~~ basically for cheap thrills ~~ It makes it so so so v difficult to forgive them! Something I know am not gonna forget it in a hurry ~~ Jus remember what goes around comes around!

But ofcourse this gets linked up to Color Deckors Weeknd-Wrapup... All times are supposed to be linked up there u c :)

Lyrical Sundays - 1

Now now if u been in this space for sometime u know I jus don hv an ear for music! Haa so this is an last ditch effort to get ma self to soak in some music... Of course the big contribution in this goes hands down to ma hubbs dearest :-D.

So the first in this series is the song "All 4 One - I swear" ~~ A dedication from ma hubbs in those good old rose tinted pre-wedding days :-) Haa he did hv a romantic bone huh :-D

And I swear by the moon



And the stars in the sky I'll be there
I swear like the shadow that's by your side I'll be there
For better or worse
Till death do us part
I'll love you with every beat of my heart
And I swear.....






Hv a happy soothing sunday guys :)

The National Diet of Japan ....

is what Japan's legislature house is called :-D

Now now own up... How many of you thot am referring to Japan's foodie issues... LOL! An interesting snippet huh!

Hols - 2010!

Haa a good 2 months post the vacation is when I decide to even blog abt it... Hmpf! Well betta delayed than neva rt!

So heres is the post where hubbs dearest is done some justice to the vacation :-D... Atleast to part 1 of it!  Yo yo he is taken back to blogging .... N this is his photo blog! Do hop on there..... Free publicity u c :)

Ha we are digressing here ... So ma take on that vacation?  This place is possibly a contender for Poor-mans Ooty.... Jus that it gets a niche betta than that... Imagine ooty ,minus the crowd n commercialization... That summarizes Amboli for you! Ok now that I set the expectations high.. Lemme also tell u this... The entire place is hardly few kms with a highway running in between... So don go running expecting a Nirvana :)



A review abt the place we stayed in Amboli will follow soon! N if any of u heading there heres a tip(you can thank me for it)... There is a MTDC(Maharasthra tourism) resort bang on the Vengurla beach... Not that I stayed there but it looked a small cosy place..... Worth staying back for  night!

What betta day than friday to reminisce about hols n good times huh :). Happy weekend guys!

Thursday Challenge - 3

Theme of the week ~~ "MOVEMENT" (Shaking, Falling, Bouncing, Jumping, Curling, Sagging,...)




How did this go with the theme u asked! Well well cant u c those bean-balls (what else do u calls the balls tht fill in the bean bag??) "Bounce"!

Haa a pic of the happy times spent with ma little niece... **TouchWood**  Here is sending  a prayer up that this precious bond with ma niece never ever ceases ** Anti - Jinx**

If u still wondering what the pic was abt ... U heard of Pillow-Fight rt... well well this goes on v similar grounds... U jus gotta substitute the pillow with the 'Bean-Balls'..... no prizes for guessing the mess that followed (N the ear full we received ) ...Imagine a bedroom filled wth the bean balls :-D n then of course the pain of picking those kutti-putti balls which amanged to make their way to every damn corner!! But 100% Fun guarantee I say .... So now u know what to do the next time u r bored of ur wits.... ROFL!

The Weekend Wrapup!

Nope....the fireflies nvr happened :(. What we instead did was this..

Ma Rock(ing)-Climber!!

Yosh! Thts ma hubbs on his first attempt at rock climbing ~~ He puffed n coughed but managed to drag himself up the 15 Ft rock (with minimal aid of the harness-rope I should add) ~~ Not bad for a completely out-of-exercise beginner I should say! But but reminds me that time I get him to drag himself out for some physical exercise (Me???? Neeeee :-D)

N then right behind went up ma frnd ~~ She with her not-so-lite frame(Now u know whom to blame if u don see me blogging again!) managed to go up the 15ft with the agility that would hv left many men there squirmy! This when many uncles there dismissed her as a mere wisp of a lady  ~~ Many assumed she gona scale a 5ft height n call it quits ~~ Way to go babes! Did I add tht this toyboy of a lady equally specializes in dishing up the yummiest of biryanis n ofcourse in all jatjkas-matkas of a sexy lady :-P

N what was I doing in midst of all this u asked? Does hopping over a few rocks(bullied by the above 2 ruffians) count as rock-climbing???????????

Linking this upto Weekend Wrapup .... Now now Do I hv to get people to sign a caption for you not to scrap this feature :-D

The Monday Blues~~

Cliched I know......

Haa but but don just blame me n ma work(A ant post alert!)... The nature too conspired to add to the blues! How else will u explain this dream....

Of somebody v v v dear going off far far away across the seas(Simply translates to going abroad :-D) ...So u say??? Did ya say distance makes heart go fonder? While i possibly still know that she is a phone call away .... It just aint the same as say meeting them every other week n then bugging them till they listen to u n well jus being difficult till u hv ur way or  having her give a nod to every big or small decision u need to make (Thus saving u from the pain of pondering if it was the right decision to make!).But Well the dynamics of each relationship is diff...... Esp when the person has a reputation of locking herself up at the sign of trouble, of not answering ur calls or mails :(  ... esp when she is your sister-friend-mentor all rolled into one!

Ha as ma hubbs said... Its jus a dream which may not come tru! But but I know she waana relocate n settle abroad ~~ so well while I hope her dreams come true (N this dream is jus a scene thts gona be enacted sooon) I know its gona be one irreversible loss to me .... Sob sob sob! NThe state of ma mind as I woke up today(DOWN)  is exactly how I gona feel then.... N b4 u call me a drama queen read up this  

n you may possibly empathize!!!

Do Boys Eva Grow Up??????????

What do ya do with a boy ~~ Big boy ~~ who while is happy to share his "Toys" with his visiting 4 year old cousin but well the toy just  suddenly disappears when the little boy decides to take them home!

Fair enuf u say ~~ After all he is jus a "Boy"??

Ha would u still say the same when I say that the big boy is nee... Not a boy really ~~ He is actually a man who is well almost into his 30s :-D!

N did u say tht u still give him a benefit of doubt depending on what the toy is ~~ Are we talking of some Macs, Digi Cams or some fancy Gizmos (After all he is Gizmo fan in his 30s rt)!! Ha I wish! The toys we are referring to here is a funny "Kaleidoscope" \ Mc Donalds "Happy-Meals" Freebies(which BTW is travelled with him for last few years!! \ Remote - Controlled Planes!!!!  ** Wail **


The freebies that caused the blood bath!

Do boys eva grow up????

Hubbs dearest Plz take a bow :-D

Idli - Orchid - Will Power!!

Huh did u jus say tht its some title!

Well well its no me thts come up with this... Its instead the autobiography of Vittal Kamat ...one of the many scions of the famed Kamat Group! Now now me no fan of autobiographies at all.. Thank U v much. But on the hol to Amboli (I know thts one post which is long pending!) ~~ One v prominent eatery tht u could never miss there was the Vittal Kamats ~~ So on a hop stop there happened to flip thru this book .... N I was so hooked that well I ended up buying it!

The writing is lucid .... No fancy English here but more than that it didnt have larger-than-life image thats usually associated with books of such kind! Its the story of a man who with his simple out-of-box thinking n enterprising ways made it big in life! Sample one of these many instances.....

President of India was the guest at one of the kamat hotels n out of the blue he comes up with a request for Lassi! Now as luc would hv it that very moment the hotel mixer decides to go kaput.... But but does our Mr. Kamat accept defeat... Ofcouse not! He climbs atop  a tall table and poured the lassi onto a vessel from that height... N hat do we have... yoo slurping frothing slurpy lassi :).

This is jus one of the many such interesting snippets that pepper the book! This one aint any intellectual gem or a gr8 fiction ... Its jus what it advertises to be... The autobiography of a hotelier but with a lesson or two that we all would be better off picking up!

Dusk To Dawn Music Festival...

Yeaaa u read tht rt! N its happening rt here in B'lore...

Excerpts from their site.....

The Fireflies Festival of Music 2011 will begin on 19th February at 7pm and go on till 7am.



The stage, as always, is set under a banyan tree in an open air amphitheatre, adjacent to a lake and away from the sodium trail of the city. Here, through music we celebrate the relationship of oneness between man and earth. This forms the bedrock of the festival ethos. It is also a celebration of the pluralism of India.


The festival, from dusk to dawn, is a cultural experience where on offer is sounds of various genres. Taking care to juxtapose the indigenous with the international, the established with the unheard of, and jazz with tribal folk.




Sounds yum huh? Even a no-ear-for-music sad soul like me is excited about this... Thou I hv a linking its more for the experience than the music! Dono if I will make it there... Thou I hope I do :)

TGIF... Let the party begin!! Hv a great weekend guys! 

PS - 1: The tickets for this event  are supposedly all sold out! So jus drop in an hour earlier n try ur luck with the tickets being sold at the site!!

PS - 2: Somebody outta there is setting out today on what I hope is the first of many trips of her life. A trip tht marks the new begining shes made... A trip tht  where I hope she appreciates n is appreciated... A trip which makes up for all the lost quota of fun in her life... Amen to that!!

Thursday Challenge - 2




IndiraGandhi Chibbad!

Haa goes without saying tht I dono the scientific or even the common name for this plant that the locals of  Dhandeli refer to as "IndiraGandhi Chibbad" ......... Hooo! But the pic doesnt look interesting u say!Read on the below snippet which I promise is more interesting......

The name "Indragandhi Chibbad" comes from the fact that the then PM Indira Gnadhi on her visit to Dhandeli spread out the seeds of this plant and in no time this grew wild n abound making itself at home in Dhandeli! Now comes the twist to the tale...

Why do u think the PM spread these seeds out in this place? It afterall is a wild plant that jus grows grows n grows like a wild bush with no value(Beauty-nutritional-export-medical) whatsoever !!! Why then why? The answer is: To create employment opportunities for the poor women folk there! Did u wonder how..... Well well the forest dept\local resort-hotel-land owners will hv to hire helpers to cut out these shrubs!!! Howwzzaaattttttt!!!!!

N if you for a moment shook ur head in agreement read on further to c how mindless it is..... This plant is supposedly a heat generator... Which means it guzzles up all water n oozes out so much heat that no plant or tress grows in its vicinity! Now imagine a plant like this in a forest... Do I need to say more!!

PS: No claims that there is any element of truth in this snippet.... I was told this by the local guide there! So no guarantees n ofcourse no prejudice whatsoever against Congress! After all my momma was a hardcore Congress fan... She actually shed tears n went into a mourning when Rajiv Gandhi died!

Words.....

Nothing makes or breaks a relationship as words can......

A line that I hv heard umpteen no. of times n which I brushed off as one of those over rated proverbs... until the other day! Here is sending a fervent prayer up there that this is just a passing wave n things are back to normalcy soon. A few relationships are what defines the very person we are minus them would mean a incomplete me...

Ha this n this ensured taht the weekend wasnt a happy or a happening one! But well well with a hubbs around n with ma dearest sis visiting it ofcourse couldnt be a dead one ~~ So post some spring cleaning on sat, sunday saw ma hubbs dishing up this yum yum dish!



N ha as if the excitement of the week wasnt sufficient ~~ almost at the fag end came another unpleasant one ~~ A missing wallet (stuffed with all cards n umpteen no of imp docs!) ~~ Luckily it was jus a false alarm but well realized post blocking all the cards... So do I  sobn sob sob or thank ma lucky stars!

Linking this up to Color Deckors weekend wrapup! Ofcourse I couldnt aford to miss this one esp after the no show of last week!

Feb 14 :-D

Valentines day it is :-D

N man! Its our 5th together..... Time does indeed fly! From the first-time giddy-in-love to a sane-happy-family-time last year  life did seem to have taken a big turn over the years! But well more on it later...

As I was flipping thru a few of the archives ~~ I realized the first we spent post wedding has never been recorded... So here it is more for happy-memories sake :)... The very thot of it brings a smile onto ma face

Ha the celebrations during those good old days revolved around jus a single  thot... 'Gifts' N 'Eating Out'! The first landmark was eay to achieve..... The mandatory exchange of gifts(A fastrack watch for me :-D)...  I gota give it to ma hubs.... He did play it up!

The remaining part is where the fun lay... In finding 'The place' which had to live upto the promise of the 'Romatic-valentine-Candle-Light-Dinner'... A tall order I know! So out we went armed with 'Kingfisher Explocity Great Food Guide' (Yea! We actually did that) and while most places were ruled out for being either too exhobiriant or too crowded the hunt continued! (If theres one thing I hv learnt it is that its much more romantic to hv a candle-light dinner in confines of ur own sweet home atleast on a day like this!). N surprise of surprise we land up at this small cosy roof-top Restaurant(yea yea the heights of romaticsm :-P) ... Charcoal (Ofcourse this is ma space n am more than allowed to exaggerate here :-P) . Ofcourse after the customary drinks n food were ordered, photos clicked ~~ The candles were conveniently forgotten n it was time to bid goodbye!(Yea ma way of softly saying... Boredom crept in)!

 Well in all this lies the magic of silliness, the magic of blindly aping the jane-next door...... But slowly n steadily this silliness gives way to what I hope is true love :). On tht note wishing you all a very happy valentines day... May this year be filled with lotta lotta lotta love n happiness :)

2011 South Asian Challenge!

Now now this is one that I been seeing on-n-off in all the blogs tht I silently lurk on...

N its quite simple n interesting too.... All u gota do is agree upon 'X' no. of books that you will read abt South Asia or by South Asian Authors... Quite simple  considering I hv a reasonable appetite for simple fiction... This aint asking much... Esp when  your no 'X' can range from 1-2 books n go all the way upto 10 +!! Wonder what took me so long to sign up for this one!!!

So here as I take a plunge into this one.. N all am targeting is a v v reasonable no of 7....Wish me luck!


Oooo! Whats with me n this sudden burst of activity - First NaBloPoMo N now this!!!!

Are u still a Taurean?

So asked ma frnd! Huh u said?? Well so did I

For a moment I thot possibly she means it in not-so-literal sense n the dumber tht I can be was  not getting it!! But nooo soon I realized she means every word of it! Zapped are u?? Well so was I till she shared this link! Turns out that in this hullabaloo about a new star being found - the entire sun-sign is got re-aligned!!! So turns that am no more the bullish taurean - am now the spoilt-n-pampered Ariean!!! N if u too lazy like me heres a quick glance of the new sun sign calendar!



January 20-February 16 - Capricorn
 February 16-March 11 - Aquarius
March 11-April 18 - Pisces
April 18-May 13 - Aries
May 13-June 21 - Taurus
June 21-July 20 - Gemini
July 20-August 10 - Cancer
August 10-September 16 - Leo
September 16-October 30 - Virgo
October 30-November 23 - Libra
November 23-December 17 - Scorpio
December 17-January 20 – Sagittarius

Howwzaat!!!!

PS: Dono if I hv blogged of this b4 - pre-wedding I believed I was a staunch Taurean - A proud one at that! But well post meeting up hubbs this created a problem ~~ turns out tht the Leo - Taurus is the worst possible combo!! That set the warning bells ringing... But the creative that I am, I soon came up with a soln - I conveniently converted ma sun-sign from 'taurus' to 'Aries-Taurus' Cusp :-D (N techincally rt too... Considering April 22 is indeed a cusp or should I now saw WAS indeed a cusp!) ! Smart aint I... LOL!! Ha so what happens now???????????????

NaBloPoMo!!

Wondering what did I jus gibber?? Well well if u r a non-blogger I don blame you! Hop on here to read what it means ~~ Basically translates to the fact that I publish one post a day for next one month ~~ So considering I start from tomo I go on until Mar 12th! OMG!! A bug order huh... Letta c if I make it!

Wish me luck!

OmiGosh!

Is exactly how I felt the past few days....

A trip that should hv been ideally a Happy-happy time considering it was a wedding of ma fav person that I been looking fwd to for ages turned out to be......... sigh!

How do I go abt describing a wedding that had me more tensed n worried than I was even for mine! But touch wood it went off without a glitch... Indeed she made a v pretty pretty pretty pretty bride :-). Here is wishing them a v v v happy married life! N u Mr. Groom  ~~ U are indee done hella lucky chap n u owe it to her ~~ U betta make a gr8 hubbs!!

N if this aint omigosh enuf then read on.....

As we set out for the drive back from kerala - Bangalore, we decided to drop ma velachan( ma moms sis hubbs) at the hospital for a checkup.... N then with no warning whatsoever he suddenly collapses .... Nightmarish is the word to desc the events that followed! Made me realize how imp certain people in our life... The people whom we take for granted, people whom we hardly give a second thot...... N then outta blue comes something like this making u realize how imp they actually are! Ha but ofcourse there is gotta be a silver lining .... aint it! What shone outta this entire incident is the beautiful relationship that ma veliamma-velachan share... Both well in their 60s but well the love that they shared aint something thats faded..... I so v hope I grow old this way with ma hubbs!

Thursday Challenge - 1

Now now this is one that I keep seeing in quite a few blogs... N something that am so tempted to take up But welll lemme admit my creative juices arent jus upto the mark! Thou gotta give it to ma poor mind which does try coming up with something each time it sees one..... Ofcourse with zero luck!

But but when we saw the theme this time .... The color 'red'..... it dint hv to think much! The topic creating havoc in ma mind now is 'wedding'... No no don let the warning bells ring! All am talking of is ma fav persons wedding coming up (4 days away :-D) N distant ringing bells for another of ma favs! N what other color symbolizes it betta than 'red'

Ha so now we hv the topic... But an associating pic in red???? Well we were almost abt to give up until some passing luck lighted up ma almost dry creative brains... Must be all these lovely sites tht I lurk around :-D

Ek chootki Sindhoor!

Now now ~~ C'mon no other colors symbolize marriage as these :). Join me in wishing her a v married life ~~ She deserves her share of happiness! N well as for the other 'bell' ~~ I hope it works out for the best!

An afternoon at the Derby!

Yooooooo! Me went to the Bangalore Derby :-D

A diff experience ... quite diff from what I thot it would be...  I was expecting to see a few scantily dressed ladies in all kinda funny hats (You know what am talking of don u)... But but was I surprised! Who do u think swarmed the place... people from all walks of life(literally!) ... Right from your autorickshaw driver to ur lady-next-doorr(I am told that you have many housewives who are regulars here - for whom betting is a means of livelihood!!)  to money-lenders to Expats to PYTs to Grandpa-Grandmas... All trying their luck with betting! N  if you think they taking a  'Inky-pinky-ponky' chances with their money u couldnt be wronger... Each of them come with pages n pages of analysis on horses-jockeys-trainers to decide who to bet on (Interesting it is!)



People from all walks of life - Now u believe me!!


The research Paper - All info u willl need on Horses-Trainer-Jockeys!



N the interesting part of it all.... Horses dearies horses! Man they are sexy or what.... Its a sight to see them ~~ Well built, shiny, tall, elegant ~~ Imagine a pack of them racing towards the finishing line..... Droool! LOL! Blame ma frnd who is put this idea into ma head!!
Majestic!



Linking this upto Color DeckorsWeekend-Wrapup! At times I wonder if its this which makes me drag ourselves out n make sure the weekend isnt staid n boring!

PS: Later did I understand that 'Scatily-Dressed-Funny-Hats' are indeed a part of these events but well well ma pocket aint loaded enuf to share the podium with them!