Goodbye 2010. You have been mostly good. But time to move on.

Happy New Year World. Lesson from 2010 - Life changes when you least expect it.

Xmas eve! and I have not even done my Xmas shopping....

its cold outside.... really really cold..... so cold that I cant even take out my hands for more than 2 mins... I have never been in such cold weather before.....

looking forward to an authentic British Xmas !

Merry Xmas everyone....

'I may have made mistakes. But I tried my best to serve my country' - Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.

For once I believe a PM who says that.

I just spoke to my temporary driver back home... he was so excited to hear that I was coming back.... 'arre madam, when are you coming back?' january... 'oh very nice... I will find a nice driver for you.. do you have a house to stay in?'.... no....by now I am a little taken aback by how happy he is.... 'oh dont worry... I will find good apartment for you... I am also working for a real estate company'.... oh ok...

is he being just nice or should I be cautious?? or is it just India? that is so warm.... and I have become cold after staying in a cold country....

why is the Congress taking such an aggressive stand?? and beating the BJP up so much... it sounds a little too defensive to me....

I would have expected a much more dignified performance by the Congress.... though I like Chidabaram saying 'apka number nahi aayega' to the BJP.... I sure hope not if they are going to be the same set of rulers who turned a blind eye to the happenings in Gujarat..... and who were obviously propogating a hindu bent of mind.....

Ahh India... tera kya hoga....

This weekend had a lot of firsts for me.... first off was the party that I hosted... I invited the people I had met in London and who had been really kind and warm to me..... it was my first hosting outside India and also for non-office crowd....many people came and I was the gracious hostess.... some lessons learnt... now I hope to be able to handly a party better if not host a party better.....

Then it was witnessing one of the worst snow storms that Britain has ever seen in like 25 years.... as I looked out of my window I saw the flurries come down in torrents! Ferociously..... and I watched from the safety of my home (while listening to NDTV live on the internet) I could not help but get into the middle of the action.... so there I was bundled up in all my winter finery walking through the snow storm... surprisingly it was not very cold outside and I was feeling quite warm.... and slowly as London was bathed in white I made my way back home.... only to venture out again at night to go to a dinner.... and that is when the hazards of snow actually hit me.... the tube was not working properly... I opted to take the bus to the dinner... which meant waiting in the cold for about 15 minutes... and even worse to see the buses trudging along slowly due to the ice on the road.... luckily I had a ride in a lexus on the way back home from the dinner....

and then today it was one more day of snow adventure ..... my friends and I after polishing off a traditional English breakfast set for Hampstead heath..... apparently a very British thing to do........ and what a sight it was ..... the entire park was white with specks of snowman around... one of them had its head knocked off... and there were two frozen lakes.... quite picture perfect.... and I made a mental note to make a painting of the scene... and then we went up the Parliament Hill (I think) which had spectacular views of London.... and it was there that I tried out sledging..... if only for a bit.... ....

and then we walked back home and ended our adventure with divine hot chocolate.... yummm...

note to everyone: snow fall is better than actual fallen snow... cos it is really really cold....

So somebody was mentioning how there is more to the PM than meets the eye.... i was curious to find out how this person had found some juicy bits about the PM and his dark side .. given that no one in the country has been able to relate any such stories....... and the person started relating the story....

so a colleague of this person (Colleague) and the PM were room mates during their cambridge days.... and after several years both had returned to India and had started their respective careers... this Colleague's wife was an economist too.... so one day the wife decided to apply to the RBI for a post ..... and this Colleague called up Manmohan Singh to find out if he could push her case.... Manmohan was at that time the deputy governor of the RBI.... and apparently Manmohan said 'yes yes, I will see what I can do'.... the Colleague was happy that Manmohan had agreed to push his wife's case....

The day of the interview came... and apparently Manmohan Singh refused to recognise the wife and continued with the interview as if he was interviewing any other candidate... and the wife didnt get the job.....

I immediately stopped my friend.... wait... what is wrong with what he did?? he was in a public office and he refused to give her a push .... Shouldnt this be a story of how the PM is honest and above abroad???? I frankly saw this as a positive story....

apparently all were upset that the PM didnt keep his word on pushing the woman....

so it seems that if you say that you will be corrupt and you are not, people still think that is a bad thing....

OMG!!!!!

Its snowing in London and how!! They predicted that 'Artic' conditions would come to England ...I didnt expect to see a blizzard.... sitting in office it was spectacular to see snow falling so ferociously .... and soon enough the photographer in me took over and I went out clicking pictures... ofcourse the problem is that I cannot download any of the pictures till after I come back to India....

And yet again I was asked my opinion about someone else regarding a very important decision in life.... and this person had been really really really nasty to me .... and to think that so many years later somebody asked me my opinion about this person.... this just reinforces my learning that you better be nice to everybody you meet in life... including the maid who cooks and cleans for you.... cos I think reputation is built in a non-discriminatory manner... no matter who is saying it some part of the bad review will stick with you.....

In other news, I am surprised at the hue and cry about what Rahul Gandhi said about indigenous fundamentalists... I mean what was wrong with what he said... I think he spoke sensibly... he merely said that locals are unlikely to support external agencies as much as they would support local fundamentalists.... so many people will reject the call to arms by Pakistan in India ... but many may succumb to the call to arms by Narendra Modi... so we have to be careful about all kinds of people who foster division... now what is so wrong with that?????????? and BJP cos of a lack of issue has jumped on that statement and said that he is dividing India....really BJP???? you have the gall to say that???? I lived through the hatred that your partyment spewed on December 6th and post that... my school had to be closed because of the dangers that your party men promised.... you made me fear for my own safety... I am grateful that you dont have a foothold in Kerala otherwise my parents would have had to flee the state because we are christians.... and you have the gall to say that?????? really now.....

Everybody seems to have backed off the PM.... but the lingering thot in everybody's head is why did the PM not take steps against an errant minister... were his hands tied??? is he a weak PM? I would tend to agree that it does not show his in good light... he is aboev suspicion but to turn a blind eye is also a lesser crime.... somebody compared him to Bhimshma of Mahabharta... where due to the compulsions of the political alliance he was forced to support the Kauravas against the Pandavas.... I think that description is apt for him... he is the type of man who, if he is knocked down by the opposition, the opposition would feel bad for that.... like Arjun cried when he had to shoot arrows into Bhishma's body....

I was just reading about an interview of Oprah Winfrey where she broke down when questioned about her best friend.... while her breaking down is not what shocked me... but the reason why she spoke about her best friend.... she was asked whether she and her best friend were lesbians!!!!!!!!!!

and this is in America.... contrary to impression America suffers from a very backward inward looking mentality... it is in some ways more conservative than any other developed country.... it has a bible belt which clings on archaical principles... something that Sarah Palin endorses and seems to be finding favour with people in the US....

but on a more fundamental level I want to ask why did the interviewer feel the need to ask Oprah this question.... firstly everyone knows that Oprah has been in a steady relationship with a man called Steadman (pun intended).... and then she is so open about everything in her life (including rape) so why would she not be open about this.....

so what does this mean... does it mean that since Oprah has a boyfriend she should have discarded her friend long back?? and only clung on to her male partner for support and advice?? so if a woman shares her life with another person other than her male partner, she has in some way broken the norm? and hence the only possibility is that she is in a romantic relationship?

or is it just simple ignorant stupid mentality .... a woman if not married is lesbian.... God knows there are lots of people out there who think so stupidly and are stupid enough to open their mouths and sprout this as well.....

and it seems even in developed countries it is not better... ofcourse I think London is more liberal than America....

A friend was pestering me today about giving the name of my blog... I was reluctant to give since I felt that it would restrict my ability to write freely thinking or knowing that so many people read it.... and more so if I write something offensive against anyone...then they may just not like it..... then my friend asked a relevant question 'if you cant write freely then why do you have a blog? and if people cant accept that then why do they read your blog?'

Which is so true.... in my stupidity I may have told people about my blog (I so regret it now)... but if they choose to read it then it should be accepted that they risk hearing my free opinion about things.. even if it is about them... and if they find it offensive then they should just stop reading my blog... actually I would be grateful if they did....

so all you clandestine readers out there (who while secretly reading my blog also pretend that they are so busy with their lives to read something so trivial).... seriously F*&^% off if you find something offensive on my blog....

Life is strange..... I was just asked my opinion about a person for a life altering decision ..... It is strange because when I met that person, that person had no reason to even consider being nice... he could have easily ignored me and moved on to a person who would most likely be able to butter his bread more than me... except he didnt... he took time to meet with me and was extremely nice to me... and I came away feeling only respect for him.... Nothing in the world would have made this person think that at some point of time I would be asked my opinion about him........

This just shows that one must be nice to everyone they meet... you never know somehow in some cosmic balance how you/the other person could shape/change life ....

I think there are two people I would be most indebted to for making India what it is ... and also giving an ordinary Indian like me the dignity to live as an Indian....

First is ofcourse Nehru....I thank him for having built the institutions in India... today we are not in the same state as some of the other erstwhile colonies in the world because of Nehru's steadfast belief in the destiny of India... for having infused securalism in our government, for having built a society that promotes higher learning... Thankyou Mr. Nehru....

The other person I would definitely thank is Manmohan Singh... besides being the PM MS had the tough job of being the Finance Minister when the entire country was bankrupt.....he engineered the financial revolution in India the benefits of which are being seen by Indians today... people forget that in 1993 India was facing one of its toughest economic crisises ever.... and it took the unshackling of regulations by MS to get India back in the game... and today after 17 years India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world... and it is touted that India will have the biggest number of billionaires in the world.... Thankyou MS....

So when will the next generation of Nehru and MS come about in India?

So India is reeling under corruption scandals which are of gargantuan proportions..... this reminds me of the Narasimha Rao time when corruption and Congress were synonymous.....at that time I used to keep wishing that we had a clean Prime Minister....

And now we have a clean PM and a very earnest one at that... he genuinely wants to do something for the country... and is not after the money that being corrupt would get you.... a very simple, educated, honest man....

And yet, India is facing corruption charges again....not that corruption is not commonplace in other countries.... it is .. here in Britain there is a scandal about Ministry of Defence not being able to justify spending... and on MPs giving wrong expenses..... but you do get distressed seeing a country that can have it good wasting time over such issues....

And to top it all we have a very weak opposition.... who themselves have not done anything about corruption during their time..... everybody seems to be quiet about the fact that one of the people caught on the Radia tapes is the foster son-in-law of Vajpayee... and man that the whole of India respected.... and nobody is catching on to how his son in law actually garnered wealth.... why??? and nobody is actually questioning the fact the entire controversy over the 2 spectrum started with the flawed policy of the NDA government... and Promod Mahajan made tons of money diong that.....

but given a choice betweena government that is corrupt which is headed by an honest man and a government that is responsible for killing hundreds in their life and promotes religious animosity... I would choose the former... anyday....

What will I remember about London the most?

Definitely not the 'Mind the Gap' monotone that greets me everyday in the tube.... or the bland food..... I think I will definitely miss the warmth of the people in London... everybody has been so friendly and welcoming here.... that I was immediately made to feel at home.... I find London to be a unique cross between the British and international community... perhaps there is no other city in the world that matches London's diversity...... or its culture.... I look forward to continuing my association with London in some form or the other....

Having lived and loved London this time round I think one thing that has become clear to me is that what makes a city your home is not what the city has to offer in terms of places to see and things to do... it is the people.....I love Mumbai because I am able to be myself... and I love London because I could be myself here....and what aided that feeling was clearly the people I hang around with in these cities....and in my mind I cannot say mumbai is better or london is better... because both of them offered me the same thing, albeit differently....

I will ofcourse miss the funny street names of London city.... Staining lane, Gutter Lane, Ward of Cheap (when it is located in one of the most expensive places in the world!) and Ward of Bread...

As they say, the English are crazy....

Jokes overheard

Girl:could I have hot chocolate please?

Lady: Sure .. with whipped cream?

Girl: Without whipped cream... actually without sugar either.... and only low fat milk... and not too much chocolate either....

Lady: Do you just want an empty cup? We wont charge you for it...

____

So this was during the shooting of 3 Idiots in IIMB campus... One of the girls got so excited about Sharman Joshi and wanted to click a picture with him... and as luck would have it Sharman Joshi was shooting in one of the rooms next to hers.... the girl and her friend excitedly ran towards the room.... and just then Sharman Joshi was coming out and almost bumped into them.... the girl frooze.... and was so scared of asking Sharan Joshi to take a picture with her that she blurted out ... 'please can you take a picture of me and my friend?'... Sharman Joshi was bewildered... but being a good sport he obliged and took the camera and clicked a picture of the two girls he had never met in his life and walked away.... with the girl hitting her head many times over at having clicked the picture with the wrong person....

____________

At a party:

A: so where are you from?
B: from Kashmir...
A: oh so you are from India?
B: No from Pakistan...
A: But Kashmir is in India...
B: But I am from Pakistan and not India...

Party C to Party D: Now would be a good time to bring up the latest Arsenal scores....

Weekendss... ahhh....

Saturday went to Leeds castle, canterbury and Dover..... with very entertaining people from my office.... canterbury cathedral and town are so quaint.... cobbled streets and all that jazz..... definitely worth a visit.... dover was not as much as I expected but had to see it.... Leeds castle... well.. apart from the frozen lake I didnt find anything that justifies the 'prettiest castle in the world ' tag... I can find a dozen havelis in Tamil Nadu that better suits that tag..... we were lucky in that the weather was a 'warm' 9 degrees and the sun was shining brightly....

Sunday was spent watching bollywood movie with desis followed by desi dinner.... both awesome... the movie was unusually refreshing... band bajaa baraat.... it was quite progressive in that the woman lead actually wants a career and does not want to be just a 'mummy'... and her father is completely supportive... I thot that was reflective of what is happening in Indian society now... ofcourse large parts still remain in the dark ages but still things are changing.....

the cold is apparently going to get bitter in the coming days.... look forward to India actually...

Views of London from 42nd floor - with a drink

I have heard the name Susan Boyle... and also heard her being mentioned as the next big sensation in the UK.... but like many others I didnt give her much thought... untill now when I read that she was performing somewhere in London...

Her story is truly amazing... for one its amazing because no one, I mean actually no one, gave her a chance in life.... she was always made fun of ... she suffered brain damage when she was born and hence was ridiculed throughout school....and at 47 she was the oldest contestant for the show... and I saw the you tube video of her audition... everybody ccringed their faces when she said she wanted to be a professional singer.. and just looked on to see if they could grab some good laughs at her expense.... only to be blown away by the voice....

Isnt that the true story of human spirit? the triumph of will over circumstances? the belief that God has given every one a talent which is unique... and everybody has a role and place in life... and to think that after living a life of ridicule she is now the star in UK.... I think God just works in mysterious ways... and her story to me demonstrates what is possible in life....

but when asked about her life all that Susan Boyle said was 'she wanted to make her mother proud'.... you know what they say - sometimes parents do God's work.... it just feels bad that her mother was not alive to see her do so well....

but the strange thing is that she has 6 siblings.... and none of them were looking after her....isnt that strange?

So today i was speaking to my friend... and in the course of conversation I told her what I thot was a good joke... and my friend was like 'yeah I read that joke on your blog'.....

Shucks! people better stop reading my blog otherwise I will have no jokes to tell!

Baby George and I spoke again today.... when asked where he was my sister replied that he and his brother were playing with the cardboard box of the new washing machine..... apparently Christy was very good at building houses and Baby George was very good at sitting inside the house!!

So Baby George when he came to the phone energetically said 'hello vavaaunty!'.... so what are you doing?.... 'Washing Machine - beautiful' was all he mustered up and then quickly said a bye and ran away into his new make shift home...

Like my sister said once... Baby George does not need company... he can play even with an empty bottle......

I guess something he gets from his aunt....

they say one never knows what is waiting for you in life... so yday after an office I took the tube to Marble Arch hoping to enjoy a late night stroll to my house.... as soon as I got off the tube station a most unusual sight greeted me.... there were policemen everywhere.... in fact it was almost like a military march... they were all wearing helmets and carrying shields.... and were marching down oxford circus like it was a riot affected place.... to add to the whole drama there were police dogs everywhere and lots of police vans parked on the side with more policement inside... at one point a stream of policemen walked past me... they all looked sooo big....

and then I realised that Prince Charles's car had been attacked at Oxford Circus.... and that had led to policemen marching down Oxford street to ensure that there was no violence anywhere... and apparently even as I sat in my plush office at St. Pauls, White Hall (where the government offices are) were on fire...

shucks.... I wish I had joined in too....

So many things to write about ... and no time... and also some connection problems....

I met someone who had just recently been to Mumbai... the person lives in New York... and he was mentioning that he found Mumbai to be really energetic... and I quizzed him... surely not more energetic than New York... his response was surprising.... accordingly to him Mumbai was way more energetic than New York....

I was completely thrown by that response... I have never lived in New York for a long period of time... but everytime I have been there I have found the place brimming with energy.... there is some sort of current going through the veins of that city and I always find myself completely joyous when I am there...

but come to think of it - I have found that sort of current only in Mumbai... not even in London... infact in London sometimes I find it very difficult to understand why things are not open later than 7 pm... and why the tube shuts down at 12:30... the sort of 24/7 life that I see in Mumbai is not there in London......I presumed that New York was like that.... and probably it is....

I have often said that Mumbai is my fav city in the world... with London coming a close second.... and while London was added to the list only because of the wonderful experiences I have had over here... Mumbai is my favourite partly because it is MY city... something I can claim as my own... and not be challeneged (except by the MNS probably)....

one of the new things I did this weekend was attending a service at Westminister Abbey..... I was really keen to go since I had heard so much about the place and I wanted to see what it was like.....

Now the abbey has a lot of significance in history since a lot of important people have been buried there... so I was standing in front of the tombstone marking the place where Isaac Newton was buried... and I could not help but feel a tinge of history on the back of my head... imagine standing where Isaac Newton has been laid to rest... the service itself was good... there were alot of latin words spoken... quite frankly it would have made no difference to me even if it was in Malayalam... since i never quite follow what is being said at the altar... I looked around to see the majesty of the building... and there were so many photo opportunities inside... unfortunately photography is banned... and hence I had to contend with conceptualising it in my head.... I also took the communion and watched as the choir boys streamed past me at the end of the service... it was all so formal... and a bit scary...

I wonder why the church is so infused with so much formality and procedure..... isnt christianity a religion which the common man is supposed to have access to... but seeing such procedures and practices I felt completely cut off from God.... but I am glad I went..... its always nice to sit in a church... I find it very peaceful...

The weekend weather was much more mild than expected and that added to the festivities....

so the weekend was jam packed as always... but as with any best laid plans some of them had to be rescheduled... first off was the bollywood movie that I had planned to see with some friends... when we landed there the movie had been cancelled!!! something that has never happened to me in India.... ofcourse as compensation we were given free tickets to see another movie... and I ended up sleeping through a boring movie.... but the most important thing was spending time with my friends here.... in between trying to catch the movie my friends and I went to the ICA and had deep heart felt conversations over coffee and hot chocolate.... the ICA is an artist cafe overlooking what I think is St. James Park... and then off we went to the Winter Wonderland again..... and this time I did all the rides.... and screamed my head off....especially when at the 'tower' and the damn thing plunged 200 metres ! topped off the whole visit with german sausages.... given that I was with Germans the choice of cuisine was limited.... when I reported this to my German friend, he immediately reacted 'I feel bad that you had to spend time with Germans'... hahah.. my friend is mad....

and then Sunday was the day I did something new....I went skating!!! and I was terrible at it... it is very difficult to stand free when all that is between you and the ice is a blade on your feet... anyways my friends held my hand and made me do two rounds on the ice rink... ater that it was back to holding the railing and walking along...... and I got several pity looks from onlookers.... many asked whether it was the first time for me ... and I cheekily asked 'what gave it away?'.... and as I held the railing and walked along many were doing the same... and one of them while crossing me joking said 'aww now we are so close we need to hug'... I think my skates moved at rapid speed at that.... all in all it was a fab experience...... and I have a picture to prove it as well....

the cold is a but bothersome... especially since going out means padding yourself up ... and then when you are inside you had to remove all the padding... I am sure I will get bored of it soon.... and a lot of londoners dont seem to like the cold at all.. and most wish for climate like Mumbai... ahhh yes...

living in london has made me question certain fundamental things .... I have not yet resolved the questions in my head but I sure hope I come to happy conclusions.... it is a new perspective that I have now.... not sure whether it will last .....

well what can I say.. it is not easy to be in love with two cities!

you know you are living in a developed country when a visit to the parlour costs the same as a pair of pearl earrings!!!!

Shucks...

Snowy London

So China is angry with Norway for having awarded the nobel peace prize to one of its dissidents.... hmmm... I am somehow in support of China on this one... its like the nobel peace prize is given to one of the maoists leaders in India.... that would akin to telling the Indian government that we really dont think your government is legitimate... and for an organisation to do that would be preposterous..... and completely out of line... and shows a lack of respect for that government......

this brings me to the question of what is considered as anti - government in one time may actually be considered patriotic later on...come to think of it ... wasnt our freedom struggle as well a defiance of government and an attempt to uproot the government? so now we honour Gandhi and every freedom fighter for the courage they showed... by that same criteria shouldnt we shower honour on the maoists as well..... so when the Khalistan movement was demanding independence for Punjab, were they akin to the freedom fighters of our country? And same goes for Kashmir...

So at what point of time do we actually determine one cause is legitimate and the other is not.... and when does the State have the right to supress such a movement as being an anti - State activity? When is it alright to jail these so - called dissidents ?

I have grown up with the belief that India is one united country... a country which is unique because it is several countries rolled into one... but somehow in my mind it works... I identify with other Indians ... and very rarely do I see a gulf between another Indian and me... I understand instantly when an Indian says something about their culture... and I instantly feel like there is a common ground which I have with other Indians.....and that to me is the idea of India... a place which is diverse but a common thread binds us all.... maybe it is religion, may be it is the clothes, maybe it is the saree, or it is the punjabi kurta or the spicy food but all in all there is something called Indian culture... and no matter where you go in the world you will always be able to identify that ......

But seriously I am going to view Kashmir and Maoists as people trying to communicate their views... rather than as dissidents... to this extent I endorse what the Congress President has said... that lets fight maoists with development work....

now all we have to do is to find some honest people who will ensure that development will indeed reach the ground level.......

The whole of London is covered in snow today..... its white.... and the weather department had not even warned us about it! so I came back last night after having dinner with friends and walked back to my house.... all the time watching tiny dots of white falling from the sky... and I immediately dismissed it thinking this small specks wont make any difference....

and then lo and behold ... when I woke up this morning the garden outside my window was white.... covered with snow... and there is a statue of Victoria in the garden and poor Victoria's head was covered in snow... good thing she is made of marble - otherwise how cold she would have been :).... silly I know but I am just delirious to see snow....

apparently this is completely unprecedented ...... and people have not seen snow at this time of the year in years.... somewhere I feel God is sending the snow to show me how beautiful life is..... snow somehow brings magic into peoples lives... ofcourse too much of it is also bad..... but it immediately buoys up your spirit... and makes you feel more positive... I suppose it is to do with the white colour.... which signifies purity and lack of any danger.....

ahhh awesome..... London - stop making me fall in love with you!

I watched the NDTV arranged programme on the Radia tapes controversy.... where Barkha Dutt was asked a lot of questions by editors of other newspapers about her involvement in the scandal.... this included the editor of OPEN magazine....

and after seeing that I hated Barkha more.... she came across as being very defensive and unnecessarily aggressive.... she started attacking the OPEN magazine for having used the tapes and at one time even said that they were using her to sell the magazines... nowhere did she respond rationaly to the questions... she cames across as being very very insecure and totally out of depth... very immature.....

I think NDTV did a good thing by bringing about the debate along with all these editors.... but I think they really need to show a better face than Barkha Dutt.... I admire her for what she has achieved but seriously woman you are losing all the good will... first the 26/11 coverage and then this.....get a grip... and soon....

I felt extremely elated after watching the hindi movie yday... and it was just not me but my British friend as well who really liked it... it was a total fluff movie... and we didnt expect much... but the movie did produce some good laughs and sweet moments... and I came away from the movie hall feeling quite warm and nice .... and obviuosly I missed India instantly... and for a brief moment I longed for the warmth of India....

ofcourse that lasted till I walked out of the theatre.... the cold wave just hit me on my face... making me cringe.... it was snowing outside... and as I walked in the snow fall with my bright orange umbrella I looked up at the bright lights of Piccadilly circus.... it was a magical sight to see the snow flakes falling against the bright lights of the circus... and for that moment I forgot the cold, the snow, the wet ground and just watched the magic unfolding in front of me... white specks dotting the entire sky ....people clutching their umbrellas and taking pictures..... snow resting on the statue of eros.... the snow fall had turned the picaddily circus into everyone's playground... the young, the old, the inbetweens...

and as i watched the spontaneous burst of energy I could not help but think back to 7 years when I had stood exactly at the same spot looking around and feeling elated....elated at what I dont know... I dont want to explore... I just was... I just am....

Today unfortunately there is no snow fall... I have my camera....do you think the snow gods will oblige me today?

On this snowy day I am going for a bollywood movie with a proper britisher....how weird is that... that I come to London and go for a bollywood movie with a britisher instead of an Indian...

but then things in London have taken unexpected turns - much beyond my expectations.....

500 posts completed!!!! yay....

Also today it is snowing in London.... apparently a very unusual weather phenomenon in London at this time of the year.... I am thrilled to bits with that... I am seeing snow after 7 years I think... so I am really excited about it ... and I wanted to click some pictures but didnt have the guts to carry a camera around in this cold... maybe tomorrow....

London - you surprise me!

Do we Indians have a sub concious obsession with white skin? do we think we are better people if we are friends with white people? do we think we have arrived in life if we can count at least some white people in our list of friends???

I remember long back having a discussion with a friend about marriage outside the community... my friend was quite clear - she wanted to marry someone outside India... I am not entirely sure about her reasons - something about how there is nothing interestintg left to learn about Indians.....

hmmmmm

Tube Strike

Alright... I know I come from a developing country and have no right to crib.... but today there was a tube strike in London for a day... now given my experience on the first day I landed up here I should have been expecting the chaos... ofcourse I didnt... what was my reasoning? well its a developed country.... so their chaos would anyday be better than the normal in India... was the flawed reasoning I used....

anyways I walked out of the house to go to the bus stop... one bus came and it didnt stop since it was full... no worries.. this is London... things have to work... second bus came.... again it didnt stop.... and then another one.... oh god....in desperation I asked a traffic policemen how to get to my office fastest... and his response was - walking! thankyou..but can we get serious please.... so he told me to walk till the beginning of the bus route (akin to the bus depot) and catch a bus from there..... welll that is what I did... I was ecstatic when I got the bus and also got a seat... ahh.. I will have uninterrupted ride to my office....yaya.... I slowly positioned my muffler to act like a cushion against which I could rest my head and catch a little nap... my quiet was rudely brought to a halt by the brakes of the bus at regent street.... the lady announced 'this bus will terminate here'... and I was like "what????????" how can this happen.... but happen it did... so in the biting cold I picked up my belongings and stood outside waiting for the next busy to come..... and by the time the bus came I was frost bitten... and ready to cut my toes..... I finally reached the office 2 hours later as a ice popsicle.....

is there anything good out of all this?? well a better appreciation for my car and my driver back home.... and also for the warm temperature... and ofcourse the opportunity to scan the fabulous clothes at the shops at regent street.....

so no one can blame me for not looking at the silver lining in any situation........

Ahh weekends....

So this weekend was as usual packed from top to bottom.... Sat I watched a English Premier League match... while I had wanted to watch the top clubs like Man U or Arsenal I was able to get tickets only for West Hampstead.... and boy was it worth it!!!! first of all the entire stadium is filled with West Ham fans.... and one corner of the stadium has the 'guest' crowd which were the supporters of Wigan Athletic..... and they were sufficiently protected by the police since West Ham is known for its riotous unruly behaviour and at the end of the match they are quickly hearded off onto a bus and driven off.... and the crowd erupted everytime West Ham scored... infact Wigan Athletic scored one goal too but the stadium was so quiet that I thought the referee had not allowed it.... that was how strong the crowd was.... and I watched this all in -1 degrees... I tried jumping and doing on the spot running to increase my body heat.... but all to no avail... England is going through an unprecedented winter in Nov and I got caught in the middle of it....

That done Sunday was again a visit to the Winter Wonderland with friends.... and this time I had two cups of chocolate ... mixed with Baileys ofcourse... and then met a friend for dinner and was caucght up in the conversation till 11... and then tried walking back home... and got into the bus only when a speck of snow fell on my nose..... I am still not prepared for that kind of cold yet people....

I feel like repeating my statement about London again... but I shall refrain... I sense Mumbai fuming....

You need not always have to have amazing people to write an amazing story.... you can just write an amazing story about ordinary people.....

Which is so true.... sometimes amazing stories are about ordinary people who go through their ordinary lives.... and I truly believe that every person faces innumerable obstacles in their life and how they overcome each of these obstacles would itself constitute a story in itself.....

Yet the most important thing in life is to be a superstar in your own story..... and not be a side character in your story.... and anybody who enters your life and treats you like a side story is not important enough to have ....you should just finish off the character....

Alright.... I have to say that sitting in London it was not the first thing that came to my mind..... but as soon as opened up the Indian news websites I was reminded of the day two years when it seemed like the city I loved was under seige.... I still remember the car ride back home.... when the RJ on the radio asked people not to go to leopolds as there is 'some gang fight' happening.... as a typical Indian I changed the channels not really worried about such 'mundane' things..... by the time I reached home, Taj had been stormed and police officers had started running around like headless chickens.... and then the news flash that sent shivers down my spine was the death of Karkare.... as the red bold letters flashed on the screen I just could not help but feel scared and vulnerable.... i called up everyone I knew in mumbai.... and one of my friends who actually works close to Oberoi was so busy working that he was alerted to all the things happening because I called him up.... and then my sister called me frantically to check where I am..... and sounded relieved that I had come home instead of as she put it 'wandering somewhere'..... I could not bear to stay alone at home and hence I went over to a friends place to spend the night... it turned into 2 nights.... the friend and her parents and me wept on many occassions watching the happenings on tv.... for us it was an emotional time to see mumbai being attacked like this..... somewhere the pain went really deep.....

2 years on and I am not sure whether the pain is any less..... all I know is that Mumbai is now a city that really does not sleep.... who knows which guest comes with what across the seas....

I have been invited to go ice skating this weekend....

maybe this can be the something new for this year.... falling on ice on my ass that is....

So Baby George's friend in Tanzania is called Anand.... and he fell down by the tree today....

every get the feeling that someone is looking over you? I just did after my mom pointed a certain little fact in my life... I had not viewed it that way at all..... and had even not credited anything more to it that a happy coincidence...

well....thankgod for that... cos God knows I suck big time in organising my life.....

Austrian speaking in Marathi, winterwonderland, etc...

Whew! What a weekend.... meeting an Austrian musician who speaks fluent Marathi..... fusion music which is a mix of violin, 'the han' and drums.... conversations with friends over oily chinese food at 1 in the morning.... and then morning piano classes which end up unexpectedly in a meal at McDonalds discussing love and its various hues in life... I believe my conversation included advice about how loving something is more important that gaining that person.... that love makes you feel alive..... and then a visit to the recently opened Winter Wonderland (pictures above).... where I had the best spiked coffee in the world.... magic land... and I missed my nephews instantly... they would have loved it so much....

All I can say - this happens only in London!!! I feel very disloyal to Mumbai given that I am falling more in love with London everyday.... sorry Mumbai... permit me this love affair....

weekend is as always packed.... loving this city... and its people..... amazingly find the british very very friendly... I sometimes forget that I am away from home in london.... London just feels so comfortable this time round...... except for the cold that ....

anyways more later.... hopefully I will put up some pictures from this weekend.....

apparently Baby George woke up from his sleep one day and started looking around the house for me thinking it was still Mumbai!!

Baby George.... there is only a tiny little thing called the Arabian Sea seperating us.... so feel free to jet ski across and come and visit me any time:)

Ok I have found a radio channel on the internet that plays just bollywood songs..... I enjoy it a lot....

I am just disappointed that I still have not moved beyond the music that I am most comfortable with....

What a shame... we have an economist Prime Minister and coalition politics just wont let him do the job... now the latest scam is the 2G scam (although it is not new)... and the CAG report says that the Telecom Minister purposely violated the directives given by the PM.....

Though I have to say ... if the PM of India cannot control corruption - then who can???

Remembrance Day

This Sunday was Remembrance Day in UK - the day when all the solidiers are honoured.... as on Britisher put it 'every 20 years we send men and women to war which is stupid.. and then we keep aside a day to tell them that we remember that".... well it was a sombre ceremony.... the veterans came out in huge numbers... and there were a lot of red poppies around... and I believe the queen came out to lay the wreath... ofcourse I didnt see her and she didnt see me (what a loss to her!)..... but I managed to walk around St. James Park... and capture the mood... it was a rainy day so the grey is all pervading in the photos.... the picture of the duck was one I never expected to take since I dont particularly fancy animal photos.... but this duck was very friendly... and came very close to me... and started posing... almost asking 'comeon, take me in this pose'... and I obliged.... and the duck seemed totally upset when I walked off.... I did walk off but after saying a very heartfelt 'Thankyou'.... and the one with the police officer was taken after I sought his permission.... I had heard that they dont allow people to take any photos of the police force anymore so I was pleased to be given permission... and he strikes a good resemblance to Hugh Grant I think.....

all in all a tiring day...... and totally cold....

Pictures

2010.... hold on.... not so fast....

Yesterday I met with some old law school friends..... one of them I was meeting after almost 13 years! gosh I feel old....but there is something about law school and the bonding.... we just picked up like we had never left law school... so stories were swapped and lot of laughs had....and in the course of the discussion we all related how we all are doing things that we thought we would never end up doing.....

It also brought back memories of my life in the law school girls hostel..... I think I had two amazing room mates.... both of them completely opposite of each other and me... well I was able to mould myself to suit both personalities I suppose.... and to give credit to my room mates they were really patient with me in law school... I used to be quite a terrible room mate many times.... many times my exhausted room mate would come back from class (which ofcourse I was bunking) and find me sprawled across her bed ... and no amuont of kicking, cursing or sweet talk would get me out of bed... finally my room mate would be forced to go and sleep on my bed (which was never that great anyways)..... and especially during exam days i used to sleep like I was dead ..... and my ever studious room mate would take time off from her studious ways and ask me to at least read something before the exams.... and it is quite frankly a testimony to their patience that they didnt petition to remove me from the room for 5 long years!!! Infact the 3 of us were the only people in my batch to have been room mates for that long.... and truth be told, no matter what happens, I will always be attached to them emotionally..... both these women have been such an integral part of my growth that I can never disconnect from them..... it would be like cutting off some part of my body.....

so thanks roomies! I sure had a swell time with you guys (even if you guys wanted to murder me many times)....

A while back I had a discussion with a client enroute to a meeting.... we were in a foreign country and my client was greatly appreciative of the country's roads.... and then almost predictably said 'why cant we have all this infrastructure in India. Sometimes I wish the British had stayed on and we would have a better life'.... and almost immediately I shook my head and said 'no no no.... I am glad we have control over our own country'.... my client argued back.... why? Indians are useless at managing anything on their own... look at the mess we have created in the country (mind you this was an Indian arguing back)......My response was not unusual but something that I have been exposed to ...'look around us... look what years of colonialism has done to our confidence... our physche.... we still wish we were white skinned... we still believe that our products will not be as good as the product made by a white man... we still cant believe we are capable of innovation... its almost like 300 years of colonial rule just made us forget the great strides made by Indian 5000 years ago when the greatest thing the British had ever built was the stonehenge...' and then concluded emphatically 'I dont ever want to feel that I am not good enough compared to a white man/woman'.....

more recently at a dinner thrown by Britishers, I was complimenting the British for having helped develop India's legal system and education system..... and uncharacterstically my British friends said 'we must have done terrible things to your country as well'... and I repeated what I had told my client in a very toned down manner 'it just affected our confidence as a nation'...

While some may disagreed with my analysis I distinctly feel that the people of India still view India as being a land where incompetent people live.... I mean in this country we headline successes made by American Indians abroad to feel good about ourselves... and for that split second every Indian child who reads that report feels 'ok, I can also do it even though I am from India'.... We Indians feel that somehow we are not destined for greatness - that whatever success we have achieved is on account of luck rather than our own talent for innovation......

I am myself guilty of feeilng apologetic of where I come from... and making derogatory comments about India in part to preempt any form of derogatory comments from the listening party....

I would like to believe that I am no longer apologetic... and now when asked where I come from I proudly declare 'I am from Mumbai'... no apologies, no pretensions. just fact.

do I feel better? Hell ya!

Obama in India: OMG. Superawed. So down to earth.

fireworks on Guy Fawkes

So I was invited to view the Guy Fawkes fireworks at my friends parents place .... it was on the roof top which overlooks the Thames..... suffice to say that I have never been introduced to that part of British life.... the fireworks were grand.... and London was cold... and at the end of it we also burnt some sparklers....

My friend in Mumbai lost her parent just after Diwali.....for me this is the second death in a span of 4 months - so many changes to fathom...

And being away from home at these times is really difficult.... and more so with friends.... a certain unwanted distance comes in when one is not in the same city.... so with friends unless the friend reaches out to you most often you are not aware of what exactly the friend is feeling... and because the family has just gone through the tragedy you also do not want to bother the friend and her family with your phone calls from UK..... yes, it would have been different if I was in India - I would have been able to just go over to their place and just be in the background... there is something so impersonal about phonecalls in the time of tragedy..... I dont know... ofcourse it is worse if you dont call at all... but everytime I call I always wonder whether I am intruding and inconveniencing them..... and somewhere you think that the friend has a husband and family around so you are probably not missed anyways...

I might be wrong in my thinking... and probably not acted in the best way in the past on account of these thoughts.....I dont know....

I was in the 7th standard in the Indian School in Salalah, Oman when the teacher first introduced debating in our class.... it was so new.... and little did I know that I would ultimately choose a career that would be entirely based on debates......

anyways the topic of debat was 'man v. woman'.... i have no recollection of who or why this topic was chosen... suffice to say that the entire class was divided and two speakers were allotted... both of them girls! no, I was not chosen - guess I was not as argumentative at that time.....

as the debate progressed, the girl who was arguing about men being better than women, had a fantastic line of arguments.... her arguments included that men are the bread winners, they are strong, they perform so well everywhere etc... the girl who was arguing for women came up and put on a spirted argument saying that women are mothers and that who can compete with that? Can you put a prize on the work done by the mother? and now this is the point I remember the most - the girl arguing for the men got up and asked 'if women are so good, then why is it that men are the bottle washers in all the places and they control the work place'....

at that tender age I doubt whether any of us knew the answer to that question.... so the debate fizzled out with a triumphant victory for the men! All of them did a monkey dance as well.....

ofcourse needless to say, if that argument is put forth to me today, I would have a thing or two to say now....but I guess nobody debates such stupid things anymore - its established that women are wayyyyyyy better than men....

my boss just told me that my english is way too formal!! hahahahahhahah..... to be told that in UK????? that is even more funny......

I like my boss here....

So Obama's democractic party took a beating in the mid term polls.... I fundamentally feel that Obama is a good guy... but while I was living in the US I could sense a growing consternation amongst the public.... 'why are things not moving forward?'... 'where is the change that he promised?' Like my boss in US told me Obama is under such scrutiny that even if he goes to the bathroom people will say 'why did he do that?'..... and with the BP crisis he was criticised for being too hard on BP for demanding 20 billion deposit as security for payments....all in all it seemed as if Obama was just not getting the pulse of the people....

But what I cant understand is that people actually think that republican party gets the pulse?? the party that sat in power for 8 years, in the span of which they initiated 2 disastrous wars which is still continuing and the biggessstttttt financial mess since the depression.... in terms of not getting the pulse of the people I would think the republican party would be the first in line for execution....

I have not yet figured out how the American public votes... is it emotional? is it intelligent? if latter, then why vote for the same party that caused their economic problems?

I liked Obama's response at the press conference 'It feels bad' he said..that is so human.......I like him... I hope people recognise that he is a good person with good intentions.... and I genuinely feel bad for him right now....

Dont worry Obama, go to India and have a good time - celebrate it with the festival of lights!

so one of the biggest things that perplex me in life is the whole name changing thing that women go through after marriage....most certainly it is custom around the world with even Hillary Clinton having had to change her name .... to me it sounds crazy that I could have one identity half of my life and then completely change it once I get married..... and some of the newly married women argue 'whats in a name? you are replacing one man's name with another man's name'... Ahem... dont these ladies see the subtle distinction between a father and a husband? I mean every human being takes the fathers name (that is a totally different issue which I shall discuss in another post) so there is not much discrimination there.... but when women take the husbands name it is almost signifying that now I have gone over to the protective custody of a new man... so whats in a name they ask... well if you ask that then whats there in the right to vote? afterall why bother since all of them are criminals? or whats there in the right to practice religion? after all God is one even though called by different names.....and while we are at it why dont we women agree to marry 5 men at one go a la Drupadi style, after all men are all the same so what does it matter if you have to be married to 5 of them?

people are free to choose... but please do not give any spiel by saying that there is nothing significant about changing ones name cos of marriage... it is a huge step....

So yday I was invited to dinner with a upper middle class traditional English family.....and ofcourse as always I started having palpitations and immediately ducked under an imaginary desk aiming to avoid being sighted.... my friend literally had to pull me out from under my imaginary desk and coax me into going...'why the hell are you so reluctant to go??' my friend screamed.... ' What? How can you ask me that question - what if they dont talk to me and think I am like a bull in a china shop?'... My friend retored 'yes, they are going to invite you for dinner and then not talk you? are you mental? and you are not a bull and their house is not a china shop - so please relax'..... I decided to go... but truth be told I was intimidated by the thought of dining in a typical upper middle english household.... for all the classes I have had on the forks and knives I never quite remember what is for what... and I never quite understood what wine should be had with what... and I never quite understood what the boundaries were... can I ask questions to a typical stiff upper lip englishman??...

so clutching the carefully chosen wine bottle I strutted off to the household - palpitating all along hoping that I would be less of me today.....

but when the doors opened all my fears were laid to rest.... they were the warmest family I had ever met... they greeted me as if I was their family friend from yore.... and soon took me to the kitchen and gave me an introduction to their English kitchen... and I learned the difference between supper and dinner....I was offered a glass of wine... and had a fabulous dinner overlooking the thames... while all the while engaging in interesting conversations about Britain under Thatcher and post world war.... and I was amazed at how polite the English are.... so in one of my self depracating moments, I said India has not yet developed enough to take care of all the individual citizens... and they immediately came to defend India saying 'but look at how wonderfully you have improved over the years - there is still so much time'... I felt good.... they were so respectful of my culture and my differences..... and then we finished the dinner with a traditional cup of english tea....

I came away feeling stupid for having thought that the English would in anyway treat me differently than an Indian would..... and walked away feeling a little more happy that I had finally got to see an aspect of Britain that I had not ever got to see when I was a student.... I was thankful....

and my friend was right - I was not a bull and their house was not a china shop....

Baby George and me connected across the continents once again... and in his parting line he asked 'you coming to see me?'...

Now tell me how can anyone refuse that invitation??

In other news, there is a tube strike in London today ... again I must add....and as always the whole city went into traffic jam mode.....I decided to walk since the weather was just sooo nice....not too cold, not too hot .. just right.... I just missed the camera this time...

So this weekend is diwali and Guy Fawkes day ... about Guy Fawkes...the other day on the train I was asking my English friend why people celebrate Guy Fawkes day in the total misunderstanding that Guy Fawkes was actually being venerated.... for the ignorant, Guy Fawkes is the guy who tried to blow up the English parliament and was caught just in the nick of time and burnt alive..... and my questions to my English friend were like 'so why do you guys have fireworks in honor of a guy who tried to blow up your parliament ?'.... turns out my understanding was totally wrong.... so this weekend I shall be going over to the Thames to watch the fireworks....

In other news, I dabbled in some window shopping in London... now things are so expensive in London compared to America that I only do window shopping here ... and occassionally go inside as well.... and mostly I like getting attention from the sales persons who try to sell you stuff... and all of them flatter you so much that you feel so good about yourself... one of the salesmen actually told me that 'those shoes look like they were made for you'.. and I feel like saying 'buddy, at 250 quid it was most certainly was not made for me'... and once a lady in America, after I came out of the changing room in a new dress, told me 'you know,that looks so good on you you should consider modelling that for our catalogue'... and I thought to myself - so there is no limit to how much people can lie to get you to sell a product... others are ofcourse more straightforward... a very helpful girl in a shop once came back to help because she said she figured out that I 'knew nothing' about clothes and needed help.... well i did end up buying some stuff from the shop ofcourse....

Ok now I shall get back to figuring how to meet Baby George ...

In England there is a concept called 'free range' chicken... so recently when I went to a friends house I commented on how delicious the chicken sausages were.. and the friend said 'yeah, its free range'... what does that mean? I asked...'oh it just means that the chickens were allowed to roam around freely and hence had a happy existence'...

while chomping down the sausages I was having difficulty imagining smiley, happy chickens running around only to meet a butcher and finally find its way into my stomach....

free range or no range - if the end result is the same why would the meat taste any different? or maybe it has something to do with the fact that happiness makes you a better person - or in this case a better chicken!

My teacher in the creative writing class told us that a story is usually a reaction to an event ... it is the reaction of the character that one tries to capture in a book... reaction to normal simple events such as being late for your class, or a broken heart, or a nasty boss....

And I thought to myself - that means that every human being is capable of recording his or her story... everybody has some struggle or the other in their lives .... and how one reacts to it pretty much sums up the story of that person... and that reaction leads to the growth of that person in life as well.....

does this make sense?

some interesting ones....but not the first ones I would like.... the couple in the first picture are actually fighting.... they were first standing near the phone booth and I really wanted to capture that moment.... but they moved away .... I am thinking I will intrepret the haziness of the picture as depicting the stormy nature of their relationship....