A Penny For My Thoughts (2)...

Date: 2 MAy 2007 Time: 16:30 hrs

Background music : Belly Dancer by Akon...A new favourite....

Writing a blog involves too mucha thought...Don't think my tiny lil precious brain can handle it!

Maria's DEAD??? Oh-My-God! [Self proclaimed Fashion House F.R.E.A.K]

So, now Caffeine helps me lose weight. Now I know!And all these days I've been drinkin black tea, white tea, green tea....

Ahhh, melted Dairy Milk..sheer Bliss...I must've died and gone to heaven!

As I see them now, the fotos that I've been dying to see..SUCK! Damn!

Cuppa with Chris? Chris with Cuppa? Interesting stuff by Janie Bravo a.k.a panni kutty a.k.a Chris a.k.a Mocha!

It's getting Hot in here..Don't think taking my clothes off would even help...!

YAY! It's a Wednesday!That means there's Heroes, Gray's Anatomy AND Fashion House [Self proclaimed anything-on-tv F.R.E.A.K]

I think my orkut pic is kinda funny..Helps ward off evil...hehe!

How does astrology work? Hmmm....

Oh!I LOVE Dolz to itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny BITS with all my HUGE heart ;) The Cross Sisters Rock Alwayz! Next blog coming up soon...dontcha worry!

Juz 2 months to go for me b'day! Gotta decide on my clothes, my hair, blah-blah,blah-blah!

I can't believe I'm the only one who isn't working... :( sigh!

Sparky's dinner buffet...All the MEAT I can get...WHOA! And to top it all my 2 best men for company...That's gonna be fun....Can't Wait!!!! [When is it gonna happen guyz????]

Cassandra went around with Jake. Jake was 2 timing Cassandra with Andrea. And they both...huh??? How do people write such stories??? [courtesy: the latest book I'm reading. No, the name isn't worth mentioning]

So,burning fat results in weight loss and doing weights causes strengthening of muscles. Which means, I've gotta rent the gym out and STAY there if I've gotta get anywhere close to what I wanna be! Can Life be more miserable than that???

OOps....My cook's come...It's Caffeine time! No Cuppa, No Vodka just Kaapi and Biscoot ;)

Quid Pro Quo time guyz...A Penny for (Your) Thoughts! Until next time, TA!

The Cult of the IBCDs...

I am alwayz one to honour those who inspire my writings. This time,though, it's a personal request from a very special person- my very dearest Priya Didz. I am pretty over whelmed that she wanted me to write on this and clear a lot of misconceptions in the Indian mind. Given this challenge, I've decided to take my time in writing it because I want it to come out right. Don't want to disappoint. This may be a bit long. I'm not sure. Pardon me if it is! So, here goes....

Scene 1: "Ayyy, Beee, Ceee, Deee, Eee, F, Geee, Eych, Aiii, Jeyyy, Keiii.....Dubba-u,X, Y,Zeeeeee" - Perplexed? Sound weird like seagulls squawking? These were the sounds that wafted down and into our ears as me and Ruby walked into the tiny space we called 'office'. Between uncontrollable bouts of laughter, we realized that those utterances were actually 'vocal lessons' at the call center overhead! A classroom of different mother-tongued Indians were being tongue-washed,i.e, they were being taught the U.S.An way of speaking- rolled tongue, no- stress wording peppered with an easy-going and chirpy tone to enter into the make-believe world of Business Process Outsourcing, popularly known as B.P.O. They had a reason to be there. It was their JOB, their source of income, which required them to learn to talk 'right' if they have to be understood by their customers. Understable?Well, atleast compared to Scene2.

Scene 2: Vin: "Dai Arjun, Machan, Variya poi Chennai 600028 pakalam?" [Translation: Dude, Wanna go watch the latest tamil flick, Chennai 600028?]
Arjun: " Hey no man! No Tamil movies for me! Let's watch some English movie. That's where allllllll the action is, if u know what I mean! ;) "

Scene 3: Dad: " So, did you send in your applications? Try aiming for Harvard or Princeton or the likes. Atleast then you can into some good enough university."
Shaan: " Uh..yea Dad...I'm doing just that!" [Thinks: Man!I just wanna get away from home. Who cares which university I get into. It's all about the freedom and the gori babes!Sigh!]

Scene 4: Nita: "EEEEWWW!! Check out his shoes? Are they,like, cheesy or what?"
Tina: "Hehe, yea, Bata I think ;) hehehehe"
Nita: "Forget him, look!It's Shaan. He's the coolest dude EVER, GAP jeans and all!"
Tina: "Yeaaaaa!!!WOW! I could,like, look at him all day,y'know!"

Time out!Let me use this opportunity to introduce the protagonists of this blog, the new cult of IBCDs. The cool, sassy, West-aping breed of Indian Born Confused Desi's. Nope, you don't have to read the tag again. I didn't mis-word it. I do mean IBCD and not the ABCDs (I'm sure you all know the expansion of this one whether or not you know what NATO stands for!). The hype about them is now history. Come on, they have a right to be confused. Their brown skins can be counted by the fingers amongst a mob of black and white (And yellow and red and pink...No racism implied). They are born Americans but are made to follow 'values' set by their traditionally moralled, Hard-Rock t-shirt wearing, Carnatic music listening and oooh yea, beer- guzzling parents. Time and again they are reminded of their Indian roots and that they must behave accordingly. For those poorlings who haven't set their eyes on the Indian scenario yet, for whom Indian-ness starts & ends with their name, all this pressure can be difficult to handle and it is O.K for them to be bogged down. On the other hand, we have the bludgeoning cult I talk about....

After the plague, the most widespread epidemic to have hit India would have to be Globalization & Liberalization. Along with improving trade, commerce and relations with the West, it also brought with it Western ideologies and more of an exposure to their ways of life. The scenarios viewed in movies, sit-coms etched themselves deeper into the Gen-X of India and they realized that they have been un-cool all along. I mean,now, Nike is in and Bata is out. Who knows what a Dosa means, unless ofcourse your talkin about 'rice pancakes'. Yea, I may be exaggerating a bit, but it does emphasize the matter at hand, doesn't it? Nothing could be more embarassing than speaking in one's mother tongue. Hence, the rise in RJs who talk with such a put-on Tamil accent, it takes a moment to comprehend their babble!

I personally know more than a handful of kids, I'm talking in their early teens, who are already stalwarts in the dating scene. Being without a 'short-term better half' is unthinkable for them. We now have a bunch of pre-mature, know-it-all 'teeny boppers' mobbin everyplace in pairs! For this section,who have grown up listening to their mother's thalaattu, strains of Suprabhatham floating in from somewhere in the neighbourhood and the only 'colour variation' known would be different shades of brown, confusion, in any form other than academic, should be non-existant.

It is not that I am against Westernization. I'm glad India is moving away from the image of being the 'Land of Snake Charmers' to being in the running for the next biggest Super power. I'm glad Education is now valued more than ever before and elegance is slowly replacing uncouth. It is what Indians think is Western that is bothering. I somewhere feel we Indians aren't getting the picture right. The USA is viewed as a place where culture is unheard of, morals and values are gibberish, sex is in the open, illegal is legal and yet it is the place to be.Because in India, everything cool is taboo, everything is viewed with utmost critical skepticism and it is all so over-whelming at times that they yearn to be free from it all

What they do not see, however, is the America of the Americans, of those innumerable hordes of people who flocked to the "Land of Opportunities" and made it their home. This is the nation where people are so proud to be American, no matter what their origin. ABCDs, BBCEs or whatever acronym formed by permuation & combination of the letters in the English alphabet, salute the blue and red flag unanimously because it gave them the freedom to be who they are now.In India, if you've got a dream, can it. Parental & social acceptance is above all. You can forget being an art major or a history buff, especially if 'professional studies' is the only choice you have to make your career. And for those who do dream big, make it big- ABROAD. I'm not trying to drive home the 'patriotic theme'. All I'm saying is that it is unnerving to see flocks of youngsters filtering out the Western essence to suit themselves and using it as an excuse to change themselves.

As I end, I just want to say: America does have Culture- one that is Liberalistic, it does have Morals- that are Individualistic and it does have Values- Pragmatic values. THAT- is True Blue America, baby!

Now, aren't we all a part of The Cult of the IBCDs???? I mean, Indian Born CLEAR Desis!! ;)

P.S: Didz, Is it all right? I hope it is!

Of Pride, Valour and Honour...

On one of those girly nights, conversation never stopped, it just went on and on and on...It got personal and then it got political....And embroiled in that conversation was this awe-inspiring true story...It left me awestruck and hence the blog...

Thank you Rekz for telling it to me....

"In the fierce and unkempt forests of Africa, the crude and cruel men considered women as mere objects of desire. Innocent women and children were raped to satisfy their rampant hunger. Respect to women was something they had never heard of. One day, a gang of over zealous, moronic men ransacked the house of a young girl of 13 and carried her away for their silliness. She managed to escape their deadly throes and ran away. The men pursued her deeper and deeper into the forests.

Suddenly, the weeping girl spotted a herd of lions in front of her. Rooted to her spot with fear, she could not move. She stood, as though struck by a thunderbolt, till the furious cries of the men behind her jolted her out of her shock. The little girl, though young, was full of pride and she decided to save her honour and give her life away to the golden beasts before her rather than die disgracefully in the hands of the human beasts behind her. She ran forward towards the herd....

The pitiful sobbing of the little girl sounded, to the lions, like the whimpering of a wounded cub. Instinctively, they formed a protective circle around her, baring their razor sharp teeth menacingly to her pursuers, warning them not to take a step forward. The delirious fools fled the scene almost immediately! The herd remained there guarding her the entire night. The girl awoke the next morning, the trauma still looming over her, and was astonished to find herself alive. She looked around but the lions were nowhere to be seen. She was saved- by the 'Deadly Beasts' from the 'Humane Humans'."

Now wasn't that good??? Reiterates the fact that animals are far more 'human(e)' than most humans themselves! But whatever we are, whatever we do, I truly believe that all of us should try and live like the little girl, a life Of Pride, Valour and Honour.....

A Penny For My Thoughts....

Attention: From this day, 31 March 2007, A Penny for My Thoughts is going to be a regular feature... ;)

Dated: 31 March '07 Time: 21: 30 hrs

Can a day ever be sooooo boring?????

Man!!!!!!!!I L.O.A.T.H.E Fightin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do they really have people managing what plays on T.V everyday????

My tummy's rumbling...i need FOOD!!!

I wannna go outtttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt.............................

I wanna paintttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt.........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hmmm...I think I'm thirsty.....Water!!!!

Vodka Anyone????hehehe...

I need new songs...Bored of the usual crap....

What are all my friends upto???

Wanna dance...just let my hair down...I need the break!

Well...Break??? Whatever from...Man! I'm losing it!

Trust me, Marriage is a Dying Institution...!

I've got to change...but what???

Oh! I need to lose weight....I'm gonna keep trying n trying...!

A Job.....that's what I need....And MONEY...MY money!!!

Uhhh....Can someone help me get away from where I am right now????

Why can't Dolz just be here!!! :( :( :(

Food...FOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!

"On a Day Like Today, the whole world can change....The Sun's gonna shine, shine through the rain..." [Background score]

Pepperoni pizza, KFC....Chaat???Cookie....Muffin, Banana & Walnut....Shawarma...Rainbow Sorbet from Baskin Robbins...A thick and juicy Dairy Queen burger...OOOHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Can this happen???I mean...Can the floor just suddenly give way and can I vanish????

Am I really nice? Nah...I think people just say that to make me feel good....hmmmm....

Damn! The library's closed....I should be reading a new book now...not fretting!

"C'mon, C'mon, C'mon..We're gonna make it home tonight".....[Background score now]

Do Aj and Andu have to go???Are my 2 Best Men gonna leave me and goo?????? :( :( :(

What do we name our niece/nephew-to-be??? :) :) :) Atlast...something to smile about...!

I better end on that good note...Now,Your turn....Here's A Penny For Your Thoughts....

P.S: Fill them in as comments...If you haven't figured that out already... :)

The Shoes Dont Alwayz Have To Fit......

Disclaimer: I am not a story-teller, I do not write auto-biographies, I am a ‘state-of-mind’ inspired blogger...My views are my own and need not be acceptable.....

Telling someone to buzz-off, asking someone to STOP bothering me, saying the dreaded 2-letter word, NO, to people- All of this comes R-e-a-l hard to me... I never want to hurt anyone by what I do or say....Even if something mean has been done to me...It's almost like if I'm gonna go ahead and say one wrong thing, I'm going directly to hell for having committed the greatest sin Ever...Which is why I wasn't really surprised when people tagged me "The Serial Pleaser!" However, I've started changing ever since the Phase of Introspection began (thanks to my dearest friends asking me to seriously Get A Life!)

Most of us, though undiagnosed, suffer from what medics call "The Empathy Syndrome"....This hinders the ability of the mind to think rationally....A clinical case of "Putting yourself in other's shoes"...Attempting,rather unsuccessfully, to 'understand' other's stance in a situation.... Too much empathy -borders on sympathy, though, and I'm sure noone wants that...

It is important for us to analyze things....to look at it from different angles before coming to a judgement...However, it is also essential to remember that All of us are different footed!!! There ISN'T and can NEVER be a 'one-size-fits-all' situation, you see....Having a towering personality (literally) makes it Veeeery difficult for me to actually FIT into most shoes...Either too small or too big (mostly the former!!)....Besides, even though I'm wearing someone else's shoes, I've still got MY thinking cap on....So..no matter how hard I try to understand, to say the right things, I'm most likely NOT to understand....and well, NOT say the right things... And that isn't wrong...I don't expect people to understand what I go through and similarly the other way round...

My Friends, those veritable creatures who keep me sane in this insane world, have now come to realize that it is highly impossible to convince me to stop thinking about stuff...That no matter what anyone tells me, I am on my own...I just NEED them to be there with me, through my temperaments, not necessarily to understand me....With that support, I'm sure I'll be alright :)

And so,once again, as wisdom descends on me, I realize, and thus impart, that the next time someone tells you to 'understand', moreso, to "Put yourself in their Shoes"....Do remember- The Shoes Dont Alwayz Have to Fit....

That Intricate Labyrinth called M.E.M.O.R.Y.....

From time immemorial, there has been a constant struggle between religion & science as to how the most intelligent species on this planet, MAN, originated.... One school of thought believes it is God who made Man and the other assertively says that it involves a series of micro-biological and chemical processes...i dont know what to think cuz i am religious and yet, like to believe that i am practical too....to me, the ideal solution is a balance of the 2... that way, neither side would be offended....God formulated the blue-print of HOW the universe would be formed and left the rest to science....There, that's my explanation....This blog, however, does not aim at gettin into the intricate details of THAT process...I juz wanna talk abt one such awe-inspirin feature of the human being, his MEMORY.....

Doesn't it amaze you how we remember the smallest of details that occured years ago? Don't you wonder how you remember the face of someone you met as a child? Well, isn't it plain amazing that we simply "Remember" ??? Agreed, we do also "forget" some or most of what we have seen and heard before....That would probably be cuz no system is 100% efficient! [Besides, it has afterall been said, To Err Is Human, which could also be interpreted as, To Forget is Human :) ]

Iv alwayz wondered where all this information gets stored, how is it that somethings "remind" you of somethin else, how smells can translate into a mental image ( Everytime i pick up the aroma of pizza, a fat- filled cheesy,delicious slice instantly pops into my mind...!) Certain recalls also have emotions associated with them...like when i think of pizza, i feel hungry n then,automatically, guilt!

I decided to juz read a lil bit about this so i could understand it....All of what i read was so intriguing & detailed( courtesy: Google) that i juz HAD to share it to all of u out there, in a way that i have understood it :)

We do not store entire instances in our mind,i.e., it is not a package deal...Each aspect of an instance, the emotions, the faces, the location, the smells...EACH get stored in separate pockets in different areas of the brain...Those aspects that have in some way affected us, that we wish to retain, get stored...rememberin any one of these would trigger a path in the brain that would bring all of these together....So, essentially, it works backwards....u think of somethin, the pulse goes back and gets images etc from the various areas and it comes to u.... eg: when i think of my last bday, first an image of me comes to my mind (not a pretty pic though) n then slowly, pizza hut...then the long table...as i walk in, the faces of my friends....the cake...now i feel embarassment (cuz i had to stand up on the seat and, get this, 'announce' to all that it was my bday!!!) Slowly the entire day comes rushin in....all in a matter of milliseconds!! Even dreams are a result of memory...Id rather not get into that now...This would turn out to be more of a psychology report then!

Everytime i close my eyes, a million images close in.....random images.....faces, smiles, colours, places...it is over whelmin! Itz a maze out there...intricately woven...and i find myself gettin lost in it...Some memories i wish to keep with me forever, others i pray i could just forget....

Through all this, i also realize there is somethin i want from all of you... that whatever may happen in the future, I wish to alwayz be a part of That Intricate Labyrinth called (your) M.E.M.O.R.Y.....

The Only Man I Truly Love.....

Everytime i contemplated writin a blog, I kept wonderin what i would write abt....there were a 100 different things on my mind....but at the same time, i would draw a blank when i started writin them!!! There was this one thing,though, that i really wanted to pen down from the start....Infact I thought i would start of my bloggin with this one topic, but that dint happn...so herez the time to let u all in my tiny lil secret :)

This is more of a tribute of sorts to this one person who really means more to me than anyone else....im sure a lotta of u who know me would be able to figure out who it is....for the rest of u, Im talkin about none other than my 'Daddykins' [tatz how me n my sis prefer to call him :)]

My pillar of strength....the one person whoz voice makes my heart melt (i can never ever ever ever EVER get bored of his singin!) Ideological differences???we've got plenty! Yet, i can juz never get enough of arguin with him...He finds it funny every time i enter into a heated, passionate arguement about how id like to make my life the way i want it....n tat annoys me, cuz, well..here i am goin all hyper tryin to convince him to see my side of the story, n there he is givin me an amused luk (to be read as: rant all u want, uv still gotta listen to me while under my roof!) Guess tatz what ppl call "Generation Gap"..........

I remember the first time he saw my hair streaked n well, FREAKED! so much for the rhyme though, cuz the picture that day was certainly not musical....he actually wanted me to go back turnin a 3000/- venture into a 6000/- one by colourin it back in black!!i was so furious, i kinda took an oath never to step back into my home ever again....i slept at nite wonderin where to go the next morn! but somewhere in between twilight n dawn, i found myself snugglin bak in his arms lik a baby, never wantin to let go....n i never will....

I so-believe that u can hate as strongly as u luv a person....n wit him tatz juz how it is... There r times i wish one of us would juz vanish into thin air....The funny part is, the stronger that thought gets, the harder i pray to never let him outta my site...Travails of a contradictin mind!Hez the only person who can move me to tears ANYTIME....all iv gotta do is think of his benevolent eyes, n BAM! the dam's broken n a torrent of salt water comes rushin down....Continuin with the contradictin tradition, the storm of tears is followed by the hull of a tiny smile as i continue thinkin of him :)

The first thing my dad told my sis when she started earnin was- "Dont even think of savin anythin for the first 5 yrz!" [but my sis seems to have taken tat a tad bit seriously..hehe!] Ridiculous as it may sound, itz what he preaches... According to him, 'if uv got the dough, spend it...n if u haven't, spend wat lil uv got! cuz ull never know whatz gonna happen tom'....TAT is our family's time-tested Happiness Mantra.....

If Jawaharlal Nehru's collection of letters to his daughter is coveted, so should his....Man, every letter is like a powerful speech of statesmanship....Proddin us to look beyond the frivolous details troubling us n believe in togertheness as a family...It is juz this tat has kept us goin thru tough times....When the goin got tough, the tough did get goin...N all that credit goes juz to him....

His belief in me n my sis strengthened us....Not the type to be judgemental, he stood steadfast by us, at times when all were against....He couldnt care less for the "society" , he juz trusted his daughters, n we wouldnt dare prove him wrong......Never once did he feel that we would have been on the wrong...He remained unfazed, inspite of having to severe relationships for havin chosen us over others......n if it werent for him, trust me, I wouldnt b where i am now.....

Mere words wud never be enough to describe what he meanz to me.....Hez an embodiment of patience.... Life without him is unthinkable...Teary eyed, I end this tribute to The Man In White, my DADDY-The Only Man I Truly Love.......

P.S: To the Man Im gonna Marry- Dont get intimidated by the above...You wouldnt have to worry abt me havin high expectations cuz I KNOW tat my Dad is WAY beyond comparison! :)