slice of life

It was a truly special morning. Usual, hectic, rushed and racing against time yet very unusual! Early morning nip in the air gradually progressed into a warm and sultry day. But I had an undiminishing smile on face and a spring in every step. After all, not everyday you get a chance to meet your idol. No, not talking here about some glamourous bollywood star or an ace sports icon. But the aura of this celebrity is way beyond. Her name is Sudha Murthy. Somebody who wears so many hats or is another name of human par excellence. We have all known her as a celebrated author, a social activist or more popularly as the Infosys founder Narayana Murthy's wife. When she arrived in Gurgaon today, the gathering mostly had children from various schools waiting eagerly for their favourite author with most of them carrying copies of her books which they had read well. And suddenly everyone looked back to find the medium statured lady walking in a crisp beige cotton saree with golden border, he

A crooning Shahrukh awaiting the arrival of his childhood crush while the lady is travelling back in his life in a Konkan railway train or a Kareena running haphazardly chasing the train which  always eludes her or the suave Saif strumming his guitar in the toy train which goes past the picturesque hills and serpentine tunnels enroute to Darjeeling..Cinema has always romanticized trains which have been a part and parcel of our lives. Or is it the matter of past with airtravel and international sojourns taking prominence. Whatever, train journeys always evoke nostalgia with discreet memories of each one of us attached to it.  However distant it could be, it is difficult to erase the memory of a steaming Kadak kulhad chai which the boy passed on hurriedly from window lest the train chugged away, many a times collecting his due while running along the train. Equally bright are those glimpses of hot pakoras or samosas served casually on old newspapers. Who cared how they were served

Generally me not the one to dig out people from the past (doesn't imply don't value the gems who have been part of the journey). Me is the one who believes in moving ahead and meeting and connecting with as many 'new' people as one can. There is so much to learn, imbibe,  listen to and absorb from everyone that we meet. Few leave an everlasting impression and few just fade away. But, definitely each touches the strings of soul somewhere somehow. One life and so many souls around to take away 'the nuggets of wisdom' from. But this blog is not 'me' blog. It's about somebody who left an indelible impression at a tender age. She was tall, stout, her hair done flatly and tied in the tiniest of ponytail perfectly complementing her round face. There were always a few grey strands glistening and her not so feminine sandals kept me in awe. Her cotton sarees were draped as casually as one can with even a mismatch blouse at times. One look at her and you inst

'For millions of years mankind lived just like animals And then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination We learned to talk' The Pyschedelic Pink Floyd's Keep Talking song ignites the power of talking.  Who can parallel the beauty of a rainbow hued Macau or the assymetrical  but simply gorgeous orchids. Nature is endowed with beauty, colour, evolved to perfection creatures but what sets the human race apart is the gift of language. Perhaps this is one of the main reasons for human tribe to take over and lead the pack of species. Yet in the contemporary World, we make so little and most of the times unfair use of this unique gift of nature to us. We have just stopped believing in baring our souls. Language or communication is the best way to express ourselves to others. We have this innate capability to observe, reason, and speak. However our conditioning becomes such that as we grow up, we start curtailing expressions, made to keep quiet wha

Ever seen a kid who is relishing her favourite food. It could be an ice cream, her favourite fruit or simply an innocuous occassional treat like simple home cooked non fancy pasta, which we in common parlance, called junk food. She eats with all her senses wide open. She is taking in the aroma through her tiny nostrils, experiencing texture of the food with her little  fingers and admiring the shape and colours of the food, she is so mindfully engrossed in... Compare it with an urban adult, who is always on the go, rushing through his food, with all his senses switched off and only his mind racing to chase those nerve-wrecking deadlines, or caught in the web of tangled relationships or trying to strike a balance between responsibilities and some leisure. No doubt, there is no connection with the food since it has been consumed most mindlessly and what ensues is a guilt and calorie counting spree and we can all imagine the havoc this can create on us mortals. "Choosing a meal

I get up and come out only to find empty tetrapacks and a few leftover popcorns strewn here and there on the floor. Inspite of eyes and senses still not fully awake, it doesn't take me long to realise that sports buff hubby had sneaked into the TV room to watch the late night kickass thrillers that are rocking probably every household around the world as the biggest sports extravaganza that Football world cup is on. I put up an angry facade but his sincere fandom is rather cute and then all this melodrama, drama, hype and hoopla that surrounds the world's biggest sporting event will lose its sheen had it not been the craziness and passion with which these fans follow making it an event extraordinaire. Right now the football fever is at its cresendo with the Ronaldos and the Messis and Neymars already out of fray, leaving a huge ripple of disappointment for the fans. Soccer is beyond boundaries. Soccer is the sport played most consistently around the world. It's not sectio

No this is not the season of love but then love always remain fashionable. But do we still live to love? A news read the other day evoked surprise...An eighteen year old boy and probably a year younger girl in a semi urban place, madly in love were opposed by familes and finally the worst happened..they committed suicide. Very sad news! Thirty years back, a bollyflick became a phenomemon sweeping the audience off their feet, with the leading man and lady, deeply in love and finally giving up their life for it's sake. QSQT was a rage, with the debutant chocolate boy, who the girls went gaga over when he crooned the magical 'Papa kehte hain..'( and who still is ruling hearts), the cutest and innocent female protagonist, a best friend who always stood by hero's side and the soothing music which lingered on for sereral years. It completes 30 years today. Very much my opinion, but we can't be making such a movie in contemporary times anymore. Love is not so innocent a

Best friend calls and we discuss the 'writings'. I am indebted as an honest feedback is what I was craving and I receive just that. She suggests 'Parenting' to be the next topic and I say a confident 'Yes' but in my mind I am dilly dallying. Parenting is vast. Who can claim to have perfected this art which follows a lot of science. Myself a new mom or a new age Mom who is exposed to a deluge of information, experiences plethora of emotions every day, ranging from sheer joy, dew eyed with a choking throat being floored by her antics, panic and an overwhelming feeling over her so called tantrums, which is actually her way of communicating which the 'know all Momma' desperately fails to understand! Yes, parenting is fulfilling since that's the way to give back to life and no doubt, challenging ( to describe it in really mild words)! You jump along with your kid into the next phase and a new challenge awaits along with the exceptional euphoria waiting

Engrossed in the 'The Power of Habits' by Charless Duhigg at one of the popular coffee shops, which is generally quaint, inspite of people walking in and indulging in their work or simply catching up or just enjoying their cappucinno, my attention gets wavered. A gentleman decides to pace up length and breadth of coffee shop with his better half that is his mobile phone glued to his ear and talking at the top of his lungs, just like he would do in his private office chamber. I try to focus on my insightful 'read' but then his high decibel energy doesn't let me so I decide to wait till he finshes his carefree loud business on phone. Where is all the humility gone? Since the entire nation is currently shaken with the dangerously escalating child rape incidents and the consequent ordinance of death penalty to the accused, I switch on the Television to get some insight but the very prominent news channel is submered in some inaudible debate since all the panelists

An early riser, with my cardamom tea in hand, I behave like an addict, showing all typical symptoms of restlessness, involuntary shaking of leg in anticipation of morning newspaper. Yes that much is the addiction! Those just few minutes of steaming tea, crisp newspaper with ink still fresh, sure makes a heady mix. After quickly glancing through the headlines and other news on front page, I hurriedly search for the Amul ad of the day, the utterly butterly girl. The day almost looks incomplete without having a look at this creative masterpiece. I can vouch that even if you skip headlines or even the worthy editorials, the Amul ad tucked in a corner is sure to give you a complete and most sattirical view of the latest news which is the flavour of the day. The chirpy cute like a button, Amul girl, with her signature blue hair tied up in half  pony and dressed in polka dotted frock, no matter how deep the sattire is,  certainly brings a smile on just woken up face. But not today! For

Real men don't cry, not at least in public! Is it a myth? Pictures of a profusely wailing Steve Smith, the ex-captain of Australian cricket team, splashed across media, contradict this theory. The young and wise man has been the captain of one of the most robust cricketing teams, a very responsible position. So what makes the tears and emotions flow down his cheeks, the passion for the game or the invincible desire to be the winner by hook or by crook or simply the monies... What! I am writing on cricket, a game whose techniques I don't understand very well. Although simple nuances like a cover drive or a fine leg or a silly point or a long drive, I am well aware of and for this I have to be gratuitous towards male members of my family as cricket matches have been the staple on Television and the dinner table discussions used to be serious technique ripping talks often laced with the admiration for the finesse a particular legendary cricket player manifested. Yes, helicopt

"You are a Bengali?" hmm nope! used to be my curt reply in several conversations started with complete strangers, thanks partly to my extrovert nature and partly to my inquisitive profession. But a subtle connection was certainly there, as my fondness for this cultural and sing song community was apparent. Be it KC Dass Roshogollas or Luchi aloor dum combo or the flavour of the season with heart warming voice Arijit Singh or the extremely versatile actor Konkana Sen,  the bangla talent and flavours inundate the senses. May be these are just a few popular names. Literature, music, art have always been strong bengali traits and interestingly, these still flow in a Bengali household. The most culturally rich state is an uncomparable talent pool. The battle which ensued (this can also be a topic for a war between two states? I thought only rivers were the contentious issues) as to where the sweet snowy roundels that Rashogulla is, actually originated, Bengal was a clear favor

It's been more than 10 years that I was asked by my mentor editor of local weekly to write the frontpage article on Women since Women's day was just around the corner. Not exactly able to recall the entire content of that article, I discreetly remember the punchline which was 'Every day should be a Women's Day'. This was much before every unique or a dedicated day was largely celebrated in real life than virtually! Later as a tech journalist, Women' Day used be a frantic day with the stories of women achievers in the field of technology to be given prominence. Having interacted or interviewed several of these women achievers, a proud feeling definitely used to creep in.. So the buzz around Women's day has again started and since this is the age of viral videos, I came across this clip where young women talk about 'uncelebrating Women's Day' as every day should be a Woman's Day.  Also in that campaign, patriarchy is challenged and a few very

Those rather cold yet very delectable off white idlis in her tiffin was the reason for my fondness for this tall and dark but very attractive south Indian girl or her intelligence and top academic position in the class is something I can't be sure of. She was my best friend till class IV. Apart from being inseparable throughout the day, lunch break used to be very special and worth a wait for both of us...her tiffin alternating between white button like idlis and soft brown dosai, the taste and aroma of either of which I have not forgotten till now, used to land in my hands whereas my peas pulao or aloo ka paratha used to be her favorite.  Surprisingly my favourite non staple still remains idli and dosa and end up eating these two invariably when going out for a quick bite. Wherever I have taken a bite of these two legendary food items, my taste buds instantly go into a throwback mode and start reminiscing that aroma and taste found in my first best friend's tiffin. Having tr

A very cute looking, talented young girl who is beginning her career in Malayalam film industry 'winks' and she is an internet sensation, wooing millions. She even invites a controversy but soon gets relief and is now looking forward to a promising  journey on celluloid screen. No mean feat!Another young girl, meanwhile, has pulled up an even bigger accomplishment. Meet Avani Chaturvedi, India's first woman to fly a fighter plane solo. Wow!! She cleared her first solo sortie on a MIG 21 fighter and flew in the grey skies for a full half an hour. She must be on top of the world, kissing the sky, very much on her own. It is indeed a huge moment of pride to be the first ever Indian woman to fly a supersonic fighter all alone! There is some striking similarity between these two young achievers. Apart from being both young girls, they are extremely confident and raring to go. Both of them come from small town India, Priya belongs to scenic town of Thrissur in Kerala whereas

From the land of Tehzeeb to the land of rashness, from the city of lip smacking chaat and succulent kebabs to the city of Dal Makhni, from the place where life still flows at ease to a place where there seems to be an illogical rush to leave the other person behind, Marriage changed my address from Lucknow to Delhi. The 'no culture' city was giving me huge cultural shock but dreamy eyed and without apparent realisation, dilli had embraced me and continue to do so.. What worked to fall in love with this city can't be described in one blog I guess! Probably it was the hot bread pakora with paneer filling which the modest shop at the corner used to sell, or the late night drives to India Gate to lick that softy and then lazing on the lawns or the drool worthy crumbling  apple pie of the legendary Wenger's! However, the love story had (and still has) many deterrents too. What is also peculiar to Dilli is the neighbourhood Aunty who has advice for everything and anythin

Recently met a long lost friend. It was a random meeting and not a planned one.  So the happiness knew no bounds and the feeling was mutual, I am sure. Since remembered this friend of my mine as a happy-go-lucky chirpy teenager, it was quite startling to see her smiling occassionally, mostly keeping a serious mature expression intact on her face and talking with a measured tone and body language. So the warmth had dissolved under this cover of maturity, I soon bid adieu after the formal exchange of contact numbers. After few exchanges of insignificant whatsaap jokes, I almost lost touch with her again. However, this chance meeting left me wondering what had made my friend so 'serious' as she certainly was one of the happiest souls around. As far as I knew she had a good financial and physical health and a loving family. Is that all to make us happy? Money or more money certainly can't buy happiness. Good relationships yes to a large extent add to happiness but don't

So misogynist is a new term on the block and my favourite too. Absolutely nobody can have  a prejudised view of a woman. It's a very typical patriarchal mindset but then Sabyaschi being a misogynist when he says it's an absolute shame if a woman doesn't know how to wear a saree. yeah Seriously?  Ladies the ace designer has done some tremendous work in textiles rooting it in many traditional art forms. A Sabyasachi creation takes a woman's heart away. Probably it is his fondness for our 'to be extinct' art forms like zardosi or brocade that makes a connect with us women. Yes the connect has always been there since these were integral part of our heritage. The west gives a huge round of applause to these very beautiful and unique mind blowing art forms and we have a MAN who has done some astonishing work with our dying art forms and Saree. Yes Saree is absolutely divine and elegance personfied. May be, its my personal view and may be, not yours! Let's look

The mystical range of Aravalis has ancient significance. The very cosmopolitan Gurgaon has risen up on this shrubby plateau. Within the last few years, the glass and steel facade has metamorphosed this barren land into a hub of frantic business activity. However, there is a green patch nestled in Anandgram which is dedicated to our ancient art of pottery as well as other beautiful forms of Indian art and culture, popularly known as Sanskriti museums, this space is like a breath of fresh air just next to the choking and superficial aura of Gurgaon. Although trying to visit this less talked about museum since long, its my preschool daughter who finally acts as the impetus for our visit to this land of serenity and creativity. She shows some keen interest in the marvelllous collection of pottery brought forth from our diverse and culturally rich states like Orissa, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh and more. The mud structrures strike a chord of enchantment with their sheer beau

Being a hard core Akshay fan and of late his wife's fan too, somehow just wanted to watch this much publicised 'issue' based movie, Padman. With my 3 year old daughter, multiplex visits are minimal now but very much wanted even her to watch this 'women' centric film. Somewhere something was striking very hard. Just out of a fancy Gurgaon based multiplex, me, hubby and our daughter are super enthralled. Yes, the movie turned out to be just awesome and this was for the first time the active toddler decided to sit back and watch the entire show. Wow! So for me the movie was no less than wow. We have the superhero, Akshay Kumar, just drowning himself completely in this superhero role. What if somebody creates a machine and a pad churns out of it at Rs 2. Big deal! Yes it is a big deal for those who still can't utter this very basic female physiological phenomenon. Perhaps it is unimaginable for an urban metropolitan audience to comprehend the kind of embarrasmen

It's kind of most refreshing and rejuvenating watching the orange Sun sprouting from behind the high rises from my balcony, that moment is filled with solitude and hope that its yet another day to chase and live dreams. However, the other day, a sudden thud from the neighbouring balcony broke that moment of meditation. One of the neighbours was mercilessly throwing his garbage onto the vacant plot! Most of us have encountered this scenario at least once or even multiple times. A few of the enlightened souls do raise their voice before giving up since those who just like to throw their waste around, are much more determined not to listen and to chase their dream of cleaning their house without even bothering for a moment that their ignorant act actually calls for a much bigger and massive campaign like Swatchta Abhiyan! It's quite evident that education doesn't make us aware. We still depend on agencies to be responsible for the cleanliness of our surroundings. Yes its t

We are the first generation mobile phone users. We are the first generation Internet surfers and we are the first generation to be  virtually connected. Sounds great rather awesome! All these techno-wonders have put our life in another league. We are talking, we are chatting, we are clicking pictures like never before..in short communicating a lot but are we really listening or saying what we actually want to say? This is the age of being connected and sharing information. New avenues have opened through social media. So being rather new to the emoticon lingo I find it hard to find the appropriate one when in midst of a (virtual) conversation. There is one for everything...for smile, for laughing out aloud, for shedding tears, for shedding copious tears and there are exclusive ones too which always put me in awe...hair cut emoticon, thermometer emoticon or the mesmerising mermaid one. Somehow, however, they always land me in a soup perplexing me to send the appropriate one to the rig

A 'peaches n cream' complexion is what makes a person worth it. This is what I kept on hearing through out my growing up years. Born in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and in a family which carried 'peaches n cream' genes and often complemented for just the right complexion, growing up did give me a tinted vision that white is lovely and beautiful and brown is not so nice. What is fed into mind in your formative years does sit very rigidly in the corners of your mind. But then apart from schooling and absorbing learnings from the environment, Life itself is the biggest teacher. Soon I was meeting people who were not so white yet very nice! Very sadly, in this age and time also, we pay huge attention to the skin color. Beauty is skin deep and so is the heart and brain. What IQ a person holds, what talent he or she harbours and how congenial or warm the person is, has nothing to do with the color of the outer covering we have..a very simple fact yet so convenien

Just a week back, our very revered Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman takes a 45 minute Sukhoi sortie from Jodhpur airbase and now on this 69th Republic day parade, the all women contingent from BSF completely slole the show with their daredevil act. Nothing absolutely nothing could stop me from  applauding these true brave and spirited women doing wonderful formations on the bikes, which used to be a complete male domain till now. There was 'peacock' , 'Bull fighting' , yoga and ASEAN flag holding by these incredible women soldiers. Applauded widely and wildly by the spectators, these women made this Republic day parade really special. There is no stopping now and the cheers for women showing more grit and a brave spirit is just bound to grow. Hurray!

The enigmatic bollywood impacts and it is the other way round too. The grandeur and charisma of our Indian cinema touches all of us counciously or subcounciously. Trends and fads generate from here in a big way. The big screen experience which is visually alluring and a feast for eyes with myriad of emotions makes an enchanting pot-pourri. Not long ago a hit from bollywood factory essentially had the leading actors grooving in the exotic foreign locales. Europe with its classic brick paved roads and old world style buildings would prove to be a perfect backdrop for our 'masala' dance numbers. How can the swiss alps be forgotten where the leading lady can be seen gyrating to romantic numbers in skimpiest of clothes leaving the audience gaping wide mouthed with her beauty and also making a bold statement that yes she is ready to titillate her hero and also the audience by braving this sub-zero temperature! Not any more...our very own Indian cinema has gone local and truly Ind

'Wo kehte hain na dosti mein no sorry no thank you'..very filmi line and probably mouthed a billion times between friends and between those who want to be more than friends! However, as grown ups how often and how meaningfully we say 'Sorry'? We do say it  as part of a formal conversation just like excuse me but most of us don't mean it. If you ponder a little, you will realise that it is very difficult to say a real sorry, actually accepting our mistake and then communicating our remorse for it. Most of us won't do that... kids and very young kids who learn a 'sorry' and 'thank you' the earliest and easiest say it at the drop of a hat. Mind you they do understand it's real meaning too. But then would say it. My 3 year old daughter knows when to say sorry like when she has accidently brushed past me, if she drops something, upon a burp etc etc. Very interestingly will even say a sorry on our behalf when it's actually the parent's tu

From a complete non-coffee person to the one who is craving coffee every morning, Life does throw surprises. You never know what you have never tried or done before, may just be something making you a conformist. I still get those anxiety pangs after having that brew cuppa but still nothing in this world is stopping me relish the world's favorite breakfast beverage! Life is too short not to cherish the good things that it throws. Catch and voila experience the bliss. It all started with hanging out at the plush coffee bars which our modern India finds in abundance at every nook and corner. Choosing a corner with a warm read in your hands and melodious tracks in air does boost productivity (creativity in my case as the writing starts flowing out and yes I don't mind!). Still not the one to comprehend the actual difference between a Latte and a Mocha, I try many different coffee flavours. Yes, Affogato which is pure black coffee with ice-cream on side and conpanna and very old

Those rather cold yet very delectable off- white idlis in her tiffin was the reason for my fondness for this tall and dark but very attractive south Indian girl or her intelligence and top academic position in the class is something I can't be sure of. She was my best friend till class IV. Apart from being inseparable throughout the day, lunch break used to be very special and worth a wait for both of us...her tiffin alternating between white button like idlis and soft brown dosai, the taste and aroma of either of which I have not forgotten till now, used to land in my hands whereas my peas pulao or aloo ka paratha used to be her favorite.  Surprisingly my favourite non staple still remains idli and dosa and end up eating these two invariably when going out for a quick bite. Wherever I have taken a bite of these two legendary food items, my taste buds instantly go into a throwback mode and start reminiscing that aroma and taste found in my first best friend's tiffin. H