Blissful Mondays - 3

Someone rightly said, A fun, exciting weekend can make the Monday seem so boring and pointless. I have to nod in agreement, while trying hard to keep my eyes open and battling Sleep, which has almost gained control over my body. But I will still struggle to write this post. Why ? :) simply coz I have nothing better to do ! So here goes:


- Weddings :) I love weddings. Especially if I'm the guest. Just come see the beautiful bride n handsome groom. Look at the dressed up people. Poke fun. Eat and socialize and go home. Oh ya, I get to dress up too and wear bangles which I love. So, it was a close friends wedding. Close enough for me to bother to go all the way and not-so-close enough that I met her for a total of 40-45 mins in the entire two evening. It was fun because the wedding turned into a mini reunion, which is always the case when a school friends gets hitched. My friend looked so pretty and so unlike a madu. No OTT makeup or jewelery or clothes. The place was beautifully done. And well, the food was err...okay. Vegetarian to begin with and no alcohol :P but we had our own fun so things weren't that bad. A lovely weekend, well spent.

- Long drives + Loud music + Favorite songs + Close friends + Open Roads + Sealink + Marine Drive + Tipsy (all except the driver) + Rolls afterwards = Pure pure fun night !!!

- Meeting new people. I met people who I had never met before in person and it turned out to be so much fun ! I am inherently a shy person, don't talk much at first meetings. But strangely I was pretty comfortable with the idea of meeting these strangers who I got to know via twitter. It was a first-time for me and I loved it. Yay to new experiences.

- S has to go away to Ranchi. I am happy because now we will finally be able to go to Calcutta, something I have wanted to do ever since I met him. Things are falling into place and I love it.

- Shopping at Colaba Causeway. It is my happy place. I always find great things there. I bought an awesome belt, dresses (sadly one fits real bad), bangles and a tube. Almost bought a smart silver bag, but then decided against it coz I pictured all the bags back home.

- I met the cutest lil dog (actually he was real big) called whiskey. He is my school friend's Golden Retriever and he is totally adorable. Pics will be put up soon. I cud cuddle him all day long.

Ah, the week really was Blissful :) *counts her blessings*

Fireworks...

...in the night sky..always make me smile :) li

Help

 

This is Babu. 

He is a shoe-shine boy on MG Road. 

A few days back, while S and I were strolling along, he approached S and asked if he could polish his shoes. Coincidentally, S was wearing formal shoes that day and not floaters/sneakers. So he obliged. Since Babu did not have a shoe-shine box/stand, S had to remove his shoes and hand it over to him. So we sat down and started talking to this lad while he did the polishing. 

He is 17 and can speak good English for someone who has only studied up to 8th. He lives with his mother and two younger siblings in Hadapsar. He originally belongs to Rajasthan and came here looking for work. He asked us politely if we could buy him a shoe-shine box so that he could earn more money (people don't tend to get shoes polished by those who don't have these stands) S, being the philanthropist he is, was ready but I told him that I had heard that before and we should check before doing that. So he had a long chat with him and told him to meet him there the next day since none of us was carrying cash. 

The next day we arrived and found him there. We got him the box and explained to him many times that he better not sell it and make money. We asked him if he was willing to study, to move to another place if his mom could get a job. He said he was. S also took down all his details in case we could get him some REAL help. I say real help because like the "teach a man how to fish.." saying, we want to do something substantial to help him out, like get him accommodation, get his mom a job, arrange for schooling etc. S tried talking to a few others he knew but nothing has worked till now. 

If there is ANY way that you would like to or can help him, it will be wonderful. Please leave a comment and we will get in touch with you. 

P.S. We are looking for a more permanent solution. Just clothes, money would only be short term.

Blissful Mondays -2

Okay, I know I'm a day late..but I'm here now. So let me begin.

- Last week was so much fun. Went clubbing after like hundreds of millions of years. I felt like I was from a different generation all together looking at all the under-age teens chugging down bottles of beer. It was fun. It made me smile and remember my college days. Met old friends after long. Hopped through pubs. Went to a shady place to eat at night. Made plans to drive down to Lonavla, but then remembered it was a working day next morning. It was great fun. I didn't even feel sleepy the next day (even though i slept only for like 4.5 hours).

- Saw Parikrama live. This too happened after ages. And they did not disappoint one bit. I was on cloud 9. They played my song too ("But it rained" --- u gotto listen to that track) I could feel the goosebumps on my back. The violinist mesmerized me. It was a real fun evening, worth the long drive to BVP through the chaotic traffucked roads.

- After listening to the show, I got home and gave things a good thought. I have decided to learn the violin. I think it is a beautiful instrument and makes the most melodious sounds. I am currently scouting for classes and then later for instruments. I've heard they cost a bomb, but then..I remember this advertisement on TV, some alcohol brand, about the violinist and then his girlfriend gifts him another one which sounds so much better. I was enthralled since then. Glad I have found a new interest. Blissful it is.

- Helped this young lad buy a shoe polish stand so that he could earn more money. He spoke English pretty well and I was quite surprised. We are trying to get him some more help so he can study and his mom can work. There will be a post about that soon. It felt really good.

So, Last week was indeed blissful, in more ways than one :) :) Happy weeks ahead !

Blissful Monday -1

Me without You

This is the cutest thing ever. I found it on Harold-Planet. They have some really hilarious cartoons. But this one is filled with cuteness till the brim.

Click here to begin the story. Enjoy :)

Look what I dug up...

Found a bunch of my old paintings while clearing up my room.... Ah those were the days when I had all the time in the world to paint.

I used to love painting trees when I was in school. I would paint all kinds. Colored, black n white anything. I think this one is from that phase. 

This was during my nature-study phase. I would paint plants (actual plants right in front of me) and flowers. It was real fun. I remember I had made this during the summer hols in Chennai.

This is the first time I drew a man. I always fancy the female form but somehow, though this started out as a woman, it turned into a man midway. It was fun though. 

This moment - 2

Moment of this week... a breezy evening...making curtains fly..and the people I love most around me..could it get any better.

Middlesex by Jeffery Euginides

This is certainly an impressive book. It has quickly climbed the charts to become one of my favorites. I would't call it a light read and though it might not appeal to everyone at first, considering the fact that it's about a hermaphrodite, you won't regret reading it. I too was slightly apprehensive when my boss first handed me this book. I wondered what exactly it would be about. But boy, I wasn't the least bit disappointed.

Middlesex is the second book by author Jeffery Euginides, who has also written The Virgin Suicides (thats next on my list). The narrator, Calliope Stephanides, tells her story and also that of her grand parents and parents, as if she is living their life with them. The narration is beautiful. You really feel like a part of them. She first takes you through the life of her grandparents in Greece and how they flee to America when the Turks invade. She then shows you how they face tough times till finally they start their own business, which takes off. Then come her parents, their love story and finally herself. She is born a girl but during her teens realizes that she isn't like other girls. In fact, she isn't a girl at all. She then undergoes a tumultuous transformation from girl to boy. 

The book is divided into 4 parts, each part dealing with a different time in the life of the Stephanides family. The language in the book is so captivating. I had a great time looking up words in the dictionary. They weren't difficult but I somehow didn't know the exact meaning of some. It was so intriguing to discover the world of a troubled and confused hermaphrodite. The subject is dealt with so tenderly that not for a moment do you feel strange. It is even funny at times, mostly intelligent humor.

It also covers a lot of history. The Detroit riots of 1967 are detailed in one of the chapters as that is the city where the family is settled. I discovered so much while reading this book that it left me fascinated and yearning for more. The coming-of-age story entwined with the family epic makes it a delectable read. I loved the way the writer deals with the plethora of complex human emotions so finely. This book of 529 pages is one of the best pieces of writing I have come across. 

Here is a line from the book which I really liked. I am planning to get it inked someday. 

"Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus" - "We hope for better things; it will rise from the ashes."

P.S. Oh, did I happen to mention that it has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2002. Hell, its that good !

P.P.S. I took the Middlesex quiz here and got only 3 wrong out of 15 !!! 

High Spirits, Pune - review

Imagine, this place has been there for years now. I too, have been in Pune for years. Wednesday, May 19, was the first time I finally went to High Spirits. This place is located right behind Burger King in Koregaon Park.We almost drove right past it. We landed there, thanks to the Pune Mirror, which had this lil ad about the jam session there that evening. It sounded interesting and there we were.

When we walked in at about 9-9:15, there were hardly many people. They have an outside seating as well as inside. The bands play outside and the bar is indoors. One thing - the bar stools are really comfortable and thats where we sat for half the evening. The bartender, I dont remember his name now, was really sweet and in an awesome mood. He really bonded with S once he got to know he was Bengali too. He gave us two rounds of shots free. One was green-apple vodka and the other was blue-curacao with something. I ordered a Mango-Mojito (nice) It had a stick of sugarcane in it :) S had a beer. We both squabbled over who was gonna drive home and it was a lost cause.

For snacks we ordered fish tikka. I really liked it. S ordered some chicken dish which looked like huge spring rolls. He said it wasn't great. What I really liked about the place was that it was reasonably priced. The cocktails are all for Rs. 200. Some are even for 175 like the plain Mojito. Beer is for 95 - Fosters and 140 - Carlsberg.

Once the bands started playing we moved outside, only to bump into some really old friends. It was a ball after that. The first two bands that played were so-so. The third band was okay and the last band, the only one whose name i caught, Groove Junction, was really good. The solo guitar pieces was awesome. The vocalist and keyboard guy turned out to be S's school friend.

And, the best part. This place has a TT table. It is awesome to play TT to live music and to win too :) It was such good fun. We played two games and then it was time to shut down (pretty early really...1120) Then we just chatted for a while before heading out.

High Spirits is a fun place, easy on the pocket. I hear they have live music every Wednesday. Leslie Lewis is playing this Wednesday, with his daughter (an aspiring singer). I guess I'll be going. They have nice, strange art on the walls inside. I forgot to click them, maybe next time.

P.S One strange thing was that they don't have small tables. So we had to sit inside b'coz they couldn't give up large covers for just two people. Never mind, wasn't a problem. Also the food was served a bit late. Else, I had a great time.

Workaholic

I got real tired of beachwear. And since it is weeks before I embark on my journey to Goa, I decided to shift focus back to work wear. So here: