Randomness

- What does one do to appease travel gods? My travel plans have gone berserk again!
- Finally finally managed to get season four of Ugly Betty. I actually felt like i was meeting an old friend. That cant be normal can it?
- Jumped on the twitter bandwagon after a friend convinced me we could save world together by tweeting. Paris Hilton and Paulo Coelho are my current favs. The former amuses me and the latter can be quite enlightening.
- My apparently tone deaf and somewhat psycho neighbour has been playing Vettaikaran on the loop. Where are the power cuts when you need them?

The boy who could braid

Waiting for my luggage at the Colombo airport, I happened to glance at the billboard for a brand of men's suits. The brand ambassador a stocky young men dressed entirely in black shot you a lopsided smile. Apparently he was the island's leading talk show host- claimed the ad. I wouldn't have given the picture a second glance, if the name at the bottom hadn't caught my eye. I did a double take to ensure I read the name right. " This couldn't possibly be D" was my first reaction. But when I looked at the picture closely I could see faint traces of a boy I once knew.

I met D years ago during one of my many summer trips to Colombo. My aunt was in charge of her school's participation in a dramatics contest. Managing a bunch of 15 year boys was not easy and I used to tag along to play helper. D stood out among the noisy and boisterous lot. Overweight and incredibly shy , he was an easy target for the class bullies. The fact that he had to walk around in a skirt for his role never helped his case. While the rest of the boys played cricket during the breaks, D always sat in a corner braiding. Yes braiding. He would braid pieces of thread, wigs from the costume cupboard and even tussles on the table cloth. They were the most beautiful braids I have seen till date.

When curiosity got the better of me I asked where he learned to braid so well. After what seemed like an eternity of silence. He told his story.D's dad was a doctor in the war struck north. When he was seven their town became an unwilling battlefield. With the army on side and terrorists on the other, the town was completely cut off from the rest of the island.D's dad a doctor used to walk around the town in the nights administering his patients. Unfortunately for him, he caught an infection and died.

With the battle still raging, his mother had to wait for things to calm down to give his father a proper burial. while they sat in the ghost house waiting, his mother started to braid and un-braid her hair in a monotonous trance. Little D who sat by her watching, followed suit on a tussled cloth. Deeply scarred by those events, his braiding habit grew to be his security blanket.

His response was not what I expected. I felt terribly guilty for having dug up his past. Those days being pre-facebook times, I lost touch with him over time.



Staring at that billboard at the airport, the image of D in mind was so different.
I could still picture him as the shy boy who glared at his classmate nemesis above his glasses rather than through and stuttered- " I'm going to be big some day and you are going to be sorry". And he kept his word.

Walking out of the airport that day, it gave me a happy high to know that the stars were shining down on my old fried.

Pirates Ahoy

I have been quite bemused with all media attention on Chetan Bhagats Twitter comments. He ticked off a journalist for making a sort of pro piracy comment and now he has the media jungle breathing down his back. My sympathies are with CB. It was his twitter page and honestly I think he had a point. But this post isn't about piracy of books.
It is about a rather unique form of piracy I came across.

Coming back from a weekend trip to Coorg, we stopped over at a Coffee day. Half way through our coffees we realized it wasn't a coffee day in the first place. Everything from the logo colors, waiter's outfits, deco to even the patterns on the biscuit tins had been copied from CCD. But apparently they had nothing to do with them.

I know imitation is the best form of flattery but this was piracy at its heights!


The fake Coffe Day Cafe


Fake logo

City of Angels

I learnt recently that both Los Angeles and Bangkok mean “City of Angels”. And I also discovered recently that two cities couldn’t be more different. Despite several visits to LA i somehow cannot bring myself to like the city. Bangkok on the other hand is definitely going onto my list of favourite holiday spots.
D and me decided to spend the weekend in Bangkok on our way back from Cambodia. With a couple of her friends joining us , it turned out to be a girls weekend out. Pure undiluted fun.
With just a couple of days in hand we could focus only on two things – the palaces and the malls. Despite having seen the grand palace in various postcard and shows nothing prepared me for the sheer grandeur of the place.
Truly a “grand” palace, this royal residence takes architecture and craftsmanship to a new level. As with their clothes and cuisine, the Thai don’t believe in simplicity or starkness. Filigree, stone work, glass work you name it, they have it. Its truly amazing to see the amount of thought gone into the details



No post on Bangkok is complete without a mention of their malls. Even a true blue shopaholic like me was blown away and now that is something! Each mall has an average of 1500 stores -no wonder thousands of people visit the city every year just to shop.
I loved the fact that the Thai loved their country, king and unique culture and wear it on their sleeve. For the Kings birthday the entire nation male and female, young and old dressed up in yellow. Now how many countries would do that? They are immensely proud that they are the only South East Asian country never to be colonized and take great pleasure in emphasizing that.
Bangkok is one of those cities that you either love or hate, there are no greys. And I’m definitely going for a “love’!

Cambodia

When I told people I was going to Cambodia to see the Angor wat, the most common reaction was "the angor what? " or " but why". Apparently the world didn't share my fascination for the country. Dwarfed by its more glamorous neighbors, Cambodia is sort of like the wallflower at a high school party. Not many people pay attention , but if you did you will find a quaint little charm.

Our first stop was the capital city Phnom Pehn. We did a quick tour of the killing fields of the Khmer rouge. The entire place was was a morbid reminder of the horror this country had lived through. Our next stop the grand palace couldn't have been more different. The palace was quite exquisite and would provide tough competition to its Thai and Indonesian peers.

We moved on to our next destination Siam Reap by rather fancy bus which would put our Indian ones to shame. Siam Reap houses hundreds of beautiful ruins including the world famous Angor Wat -which with its super steep steps ensure all your mountaineering skills are put to test. Surprisingly most temples have the Ramayana or Mahabarata as their key theme.


But my favorite was the Ta Prohm temple. Made famous by the tomb raider movies , pictures don't do justice to beauty of this place. The temple which has been swallowed by the monster sized silk cotton trees was an eerie testament that nobody messes with nature.


A second favorite was the Bayon temple filled with massive faces of King Jayavarman. He must have really loved himself. You see his face all over the place. Sort of like a super sized stalker.

For a country that is poverty ridden and seen the worst horrors of our time, the people are a cheery lot who seem to be doing their best to get back on track. Cambodia is truly proof that the human spirit is always a winner.

Hmmm

So I was at this wedding and watched in amusement as the couple on stage - squirmed in their flower decked seats when the person raising the toast brought up embarrassing events , winced with the interesting choice of music and looked positively harassed with hordes of aunts exclaiming how time has flown.

Which made me think, how much say does one have with his/her wedding?
And nobody agrees with me when I say marriages are scary.

Vicky Cristy Barcelona

A Wood Allen movie after eons. VCB is the perfect weekend movie. A movie about how to love, how not to love and how any kind of love can blow up in your face. There were two reasons why I loved the movie. The movie shot across amazing locales in Barcelona makes you want to catch the next flight to Spain. It totally justified having Spain on my top ten destinations.


The other reason why I liked the movie was I could in some way see myself in each of the leading ladies.

-The "I want to do things right but should I really" Vicky
-The wild spirited but blundering Cristina.
-And of course Marie Elena who doesnt really know what she wants.

Now being able to relate to Allen's characters is actually a scary thing. But for all his whackiness, Woody allen is a bloody genius.

Twisted love stories and eccentric women aside, VCB is a must watch for its quirky narrative and interesting shots.

The curse of the travel gods

No this is not the review of a B grade horror flick. Its the story of my life. ok atleast of the last few days. Two trips that didnt quite happen. But there were consolation prizes

The first was Hampi. After two months of planning and multiple group emails, the rains played spoilt sport. We did however make it to the beautiful chitradurga fort. The ruins reminded me of a greener Golconda. It was the perfect weather for a trek across the fort - cloudy with a slight drizzle. Of course this also ensured i tumbled down the rocks and dragged a friend with me.


The other "so close yet so far" trip was a drive to Nandi hills. Though we didnt make it to the view point on time, the drive was blog worthy. With the wind in your hair and Lennon in the air, one cant really ask for a better afternoon drive.

Till the god decide to lift the ban on me.

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Happy birthday to my best friend

OK I the song has the gender wrong. But happy birthday anyway!

Its finally here

Its finally here. My last day at work. I still cant believe I have finally done it. I do feel weird now. A moment of uncertainty with a little sadness. I always thought when I leave this place, I would be really sad. Surprisingly over the last few days I have been counting down to this day. The stress, the work place politics and petty attitudes really started to get to me. But then , it hasn’t been all bad. The three years have definitely changed my life. I never thought that someday I would actually feel passionate about supply chain management. And of course im grateful for the travel this job has brought me.


But the most important thing that I can look back with a sense of accomplishment From a start up to a leader in the procurement intelligence space- I do feel proud to have been part of my company’s growth.

But I think this phase has served its purpose and now its time to move on. Heres to new beginnings!
p.s How could I have missed out the most important change. I m going to have to part with my 24/7 companion. Goodbye my dear blackberry 

Boxes, cartons & bags

Packing up ten years of your life is not an easy task. Have been spending a good part of last week categorizing what I should pack and what I should trash. Its unbelievable the amount of things I have accumulated over the years. Seriously what was I thinking buying that giant lava lamp or that pencil sketch of the Beatles that I lugged half way across the world. The Beatles, the lava lamps.. I know I was born in the wrong decade.

I hate farewells, especially when the person saying goodbye is me.

What time taught me

Once upon a time i wanted to know what love was. Love is there if you want it to be. You just have to see that its wrapped in beauty and hidden away in the seconds of your life.
And if you don't stop for a minute, you might lose it.

Cinnamon Island

When my friends proposed a reunion at Galle, I was all excited. The ancient seaport has always been a place I wanted to visit. And I was hoping to atleast catch a glimpse of the famed Taprobane island hotel. An hundred year old dutch house on a private island. How exotic is that! Someday Im dragging an unsuspecting husband/boy friend there.

Unfortunately a tsunami warning ensured all plans were shelved. My friend suggested a boat safari to Cinnamon island. No tourist guide on Sri Lanka talks about it and I soon realized it didnt even have Google hits. I was apprehensive, but decided to go along. Boy was I in for a suprise!

Cinnamon island is one the sixty four islands that dot the Madhu ganga river. Sixty four little islands within one of the world's smallest island countries - that was not something I expected. The boat safari took us through this beautiful river and breathtaking mangroves. we got to hop off at two islands. The first stop was cinnamon island- a tiny island that is home to a cinnamon plantation. You get to try your hand at extracting cinnamon and much to my surprise fresh cinnamon tastes nothing like what you get in stores.

Our next stop was Koth Doowa island. This island houses a quaint Buddhist temple and a monastery. Apart from the two monks who eyed as warily, the island is home to a bunch of giant jam squirrels. An animal I hadn't even heard of till that day.

Despite the eerie looking river monitors (again an animal I hadn't heard of) we decided to end the boat safari with a swim in the river. It was day full of surprises and realizations that I am quite zoologically challenged. This is definitely a boat ride Im doing again :)

Colombo Calling

Welcome to the island of Sri Lanka " drones the air hostess in her most bored tone. But I am feeling far from bored. I am feeling too many things actually. Excited about returning to my city of birth after years. Guilty that I am taking time off. Anxious - Thirteen visits to Sri Lanka and first time with no war looming overhead. Relieved that I am far away from the daily shuttle between office and hospital. But most of all happy that I will be seeing friends and family that I have missed dearly

Thirteen days is too short a time frame to visit the city you love but its also a rather long time for a corporate slave. More posts from the Emerald Isle to follow

Far from the maddening crowd

Taprobane. Serendib. Ceylon. Sri Lanka. Call it what you may. Its far from the choas of the last few weeks. And thats all I need at the moment :)

Namma Madras

Walks on bessy beach, pongal from murugan idli kadai, plays at the museum theatre, the music festival, a drive on the ECR, Sunday mornings at woodlands, swindling auto drivers, playing wii at blur, Sathyam cinemas, coffee at amethyst, brunch at the Eco cafe, The chocolate laboratary,the bangle shops outside the mylapore temple.


There are many reasons why i love this city..and I just completed ten years in the city!

Keeping fingers crossed

For the first time in my adult life, I am putting my personal life before my professional one. Not sure if this is the right thing to do in times when people are glad just to have a job.
Ah, but as my favorite sitcom star says - I hope I make the right decision or learn to live by the wrong ones.

Now Listening

Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick,
and think of you
caught up in circles confusion--
is nothing new
Flashback--warm nights--
almost left behind
suitcases of memories,
time after--

sometimes you picture me--
I'm walking too far ahead
you're calling to me, I can't hear
what you've said--
Then you say--go slow--
I fall behind--
the second hand unwinds


if you're lost you can look--and you will find me
time after time
if you fall I will catch you--I'll be waiting
time after time

after my picture fades and darkness has
turned to gray
watching through windows--you're wondering
if I'm OK
secrets stolen from deep inside
the drum beats out of time--


if you're lost...

you said go slow--
I fall behind
the second hand unwinds--

Pondicherry

Pondicherry has always been one of my favourite places. The laid back little town with its French villas, little cafes and colourful people has always fascinated me. The people of Pondi seem to be on a weekend mode irrespective of what day it is. And a city that shuts down for a siesta everyday? why wouldnt one love it!

With my best friend visiting from the US, the unanimous choice for a quick weekend reunion was -pondicherry. I have always ended up staying in interesting places in Pondy. Last year we camped on an island as part of a water sports expedition. The water sports bit was a royal disaster but the island was beautiful.
I also ended up spending news year's eve in the little French town. We stayed at a hotel exotically named cirlce de poets. Boy can names be misldeading or what. Though the evening was grand fun, the bathroom tiled hotel desereves a post of its own.

So when my friend said she had found an interesting place for this time's visit, I went prepared. I was pleasantly suprised when we landed at this white washed villa by the beach. I strongly recommend the villa bayoud to anyone visiting Pondi. I finally got to dine at the much talked about Promenade. Dinner was a let down. But the in house magician who held my finger to read my mind and had me shuffle an invisible pack of cards was mildy amusing if not entertaining.

I might be going back in a few days for a coporate workshop. Lets see what that trip holds for me!

Hallelujah!

I have never been too much of a sitcom fan. But one of the shows I truly am hooked onto is ugly Betty.

The story of a small-town girl who is not quite sure of what she wants in life with a tendency to embarrass herself in public- sounds all too familiar to me :)

The show has some of best songs ever. This one is my current favorite. Betrayal has never been portrayed so subtlety and beautifully. Its a sad theme but a beautiful song.

p.s. No its not a hymn and I am not on an evangalization mission.

The king is dead

Whacko Jacko, The king of pop or just plain Mikey. Call him what you want, but he truly was a legend.

Nine hours and forty mins at a hospital

When you spend alot of time in the doctor's waiting room, you tend to notice things. Like nurses have truckloads of patience. Amidst those wailing children, cranky and annoying patients, they still maintain their cool. Well most of them. Except for that Valkyrie pretending to be a nurse. But I have greater respect for them now. One tough day at office and everyone is swearing or snapping at each other. On the other hand these men and women can teach us something.

And seriously had I known what lucrative biz laboratory testing was, I would have given project management a pass. Seriously how can a few scans and a blood test cost fifteen grand? Dayum I am in the wrong field.

Who seriously who runs a documentary on rattle snakes in a doctor's waiting room. Its scary enough to wait for those scans. The rattle snake swallowing a giant rodent didn't do much to soothe the frazzled nerves.

Ok the valkyrie is shooting me daggers. I better hit post before she confisticates my beloved blackberry.

So here we go.

Er what again!

Apparently my tryst with er what moments aren't' done yet. This morning as I walked into a "Sangeetha Apoorva" for breakfast, the waiter asks me "madam neenga single?". I wasn't too sure how to react.First all those married friends, nosy aunties and the like keep offering their sympathies that I'm single now it was random waiters at Udipi joints!

Then I notice he is holding two glasses of water and was waiting for my response. I had my Archimedes moment and replied "Yes I am dining alone". He placed one glass on the table and shuffled off.
Phew.

Er What

It was one of those days when I had more than my fair share of "er what" moments. Let me explain.

Moment #1
Visited our new office site (which I strongly suspect is closer to Pondicherry than Madras). When we stopped at the OMR toll gate, I see a notice that states there are only two kinds of people who do not have to pay the toll fees - presidents and fishermen.

Moment # 2
My boss asked me to choose a tag line for our corporate notebooks(the paper kind). The one that caught my eye was-
"May you - Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt, dance like no-one is watching, screw like it's being filmed, and drink like a true Irishman”

And yes I did choose another tag line.

Love actually

A friend of mine once told me that love is actually all around you. You just have to open your eyes. The last weekend showed me that sometimes you dont have even have to open your eyes. Its hit you in your face.

On Friday a friend of mine finally found true love and celebrated it with an engagement. Saturday and sunday was spent on a cheer up mission with a friend who is caught on the wrong side of love. A finally the grand finale to the long weekend was a play at Ranga Shankara (which by the way is an awesome place). And the play was (suprise suprise !) - a tragic love story! Love IS all around you!

Bewildered

When you have started spending your weeks in one city and your weekends in another. When you know the " week" city has been your home for the last ten years and has shaped you in numerous ways.Yet when its the "weekend" city that starts to feel like home. Bewilderment sets in.

Yercaud

Another long weekend meant another getaway from the city. This time round the destination was Yercaud.Th quaint little town does not have too many touristy spots but is a good place for a weekend break. The best part about Yercaud was its recession friendly eating joints. Two places that we literally lived in were Akka's bajji joint by the lake and Selvams "chetty-nadu" center. Typo ridden hoardings apart, both places served the most awesome food. Till i set foot in Selvams, i never thought pongal and chicken would make a fab combo!

Another must see spot in Yercaud is GRT's Sky Rocca. The food there is no great shakes but their sky walk is. Located at the edge of the valley, the sky walk is literally a glass ramp into the valley. So when you walk onto it. You see the valley looming below you. After the initial "o my god is this glass gona shatter and am I gona plunge to my death" moments - the walk is fun. As usual the weekend seemed too short. We had to console ourselves that the next long weekend is not too far away.God bless long weekends !

Radio Ga-ga

With C and me looking to shift, I decided to take stock of things I should get rid of. My ancient radio was first on the list. Since I barely use it, I was contemplating sending it back home. There have been only two periods in my life when the radio was part of my daily life.

In the days when Doordarshan and AIR were our only sources of entertainment, if the weather permitted, we could get the Sri Lankan channels as well. One of the most popular programs on Radio Ceylon was the birthday special. If you wrote to them and were lucky the RJ woul read out birthday wishes from extended family - thatha, paati, mama, periamma and blah. Every year my grandparents would relgiously write into the program from Colombo and a very eager me would tune in from India. In the late eighties, that was considered the wonder of globalization. Over the years Radio Ceylon was replaced with Star TV and radio greetings were replaced with e-cards.

The only other period when radio ruled, was during my college hostel days. Stella Maris would not have been the same for me , if not for crazy friends and Rainbow FM. Dedicating terribly corny songs with ridiculous messages was a favourite activity in hostel. Rain or shine, exams or assignments - the half hour before dinner was always spent in the common room with the old rickety radio.

Now that I think about it, I probably wont get rid of my old radio :)

Ah Wayanad!

A nugget of wisdom

"But sales isn't part of my profile" squealed an exasperated colleague. "We are all salesman at work and outside" replied my boss with a wry smile. The rest of the meeting had me thinking. It was quite true. Whether your trying to convince your parents marriage can wait, or whether you are trying to make an impression on a guy or even if you are just trying to haggle with the auto driver - we are all constantly making sales pitches.

Why

do i have to spill gravy on myself everytime I wear white?
do I have to work for a living?
do I cry when see a blog about me?
isnt the beautiful pink saree on sale?

Snowflakes on my window pane

Snow has always fascinated me. As a child I used to dream of making snow men, ice skating and wearing fancy furry boots like the Russians. Even in the recent past, on bad hair days I dreamt of Madras being hit by a snowstorm and me being unable to see my boss’s face for days. I had even scripted my first snow moment. Purest white snowflakes would gently land on my face and I would turn my face towards the heavens with eyes closed. (Ok I got inspired by the Emirates ad. Sue me)

Alas none of them came true. A few weeks back as I was getting out of a mall in Washington cursing the cold weather – something wet landed on my face. Before I could even scream, I realized I was skidding on a wet surface. I let out my Tarzan like wail. Hapless Christmas shoppers froze in their tracks to glare at me. As I made my most ungraceful landing, my colleague maintains a straight face and asks me “First time snow experience huh?”
Humbug. So much for my snow fantasies

Taking Stock

Another year whizzes past and whether you like or not, you find yourself in that introspective mood. The scary part is not being able to remember what you did during a specific period. I sit here and wonder – “what was my life in March last year like? “. All I get is a blur. Either my blackberry is spelling doom for my memory skills or my mind is playing tricks on me. I am not sure which I prefer.

But a lot of events stand out. The first few months of 2008 were filled with incredible happiness until Murphy’s Law caught up with me. The year saw some of my worst and lowest days. In a weird way I am grateful for those days. Sometimes you need a jolt to open your eyes to the obvious.

In the next few months I thought I had men, relationships and my life figured out. Then again may be not.

The last few months was a whirlwind of travel. New countries, new people. Definitely an an exciting period. But living out of suitcases for a few months gave me a gypsy in a caravan feeling. It made me wonder if wanderlust might just be bad for me.

Sayonara 2008, your one year I am definitely not going to forget.

Now Listening

Did I disappoint you or let you down?
Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?
'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun,
Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won.
So I took what's mine by eternal right.
Took your soul out into the night.
It may be over but it won't stop there,
I am here for you if you'd only care.
You touched my heart you touched my soul.
You changed my life and all my goals.
And love is blind and that I knew when,
My heart was blinded by you.
I've kissed your lips and held your hand.
Shared your dreams and shared your bed.
I know you well, I know your smell.
I've been addicted to you.