Its the 4th of July here... my first ever in the United States..... so it seems appropriate that I pen down some of my thoughts about this country that is going tobe my home for the next 3 months....

Firstly, unlike what the world believes Americans are really really nice people... they are very curious about India and have a lot of respect for other countries... nowhere have I heard an American say (yet at least) that India is so backward or you must be so better off coming here... and for that I am really glad... I am slowly becoming friends with Americans and I hope to have this friendship for a long time....

I love American pride in themselves... the July 4th weekend was all about being proud of being an American... there are news programmes that talk about all the good things America has done... and how as a nation they have helped millions.... and most of it is true.... there is so much that this country has given the world.... and is still giving... and that cannot be taken away from them... or the Americans... this is a country that built itself up from nothing and hence they deserve to be credited with that....

I am a bit confused about American system though... it is confusing cos this systems seems to be as close to a corrupt system as can be... and I am not talking about Government alone... even the private sector... everywhere I saw, people were getting jobs cos they knew someone who knew someone..... and if you want to be in the government (which ordinary people can be without passing a test like our IAS) then you have to have good connections... so a Chelsea Clinton will always be ahead of the pack...or you have to always be ready to lend a hand... or just reach out to someone and prove to that someone how recommending you would be the best thing to do.... I am not sure whether I will be happy with that .... I want the freedom to be able to get the job I want cos I have merit.... not becos someone recommended me... or that someone didnt recommend me..... I would feel lost......

The judicial system also seems right for corruption.... right now the hearing for a supreme court judge is going on... and she is appointed by the Obama administration... but what I didnt comprehend was that she was going to be appointed as a judge in the highest court in the country when she had hardly had any experience in courts, she had hardly had any experience as a judge in any of the lower courts and her only reason for being there was that the President thought her to be a suitable candidate... and the reason for that is that she is as close to Democractic party principles..... so she will get appointed and she will remain in office as long as she wants and that is how the Government influences the judiciary.... wow... in India that would be a sure shot for disaster... and the most corrupt Supreme Court ever.... I really dont know how this system has worked well over here...

what stunned me even more is that - America discriminates between Men and Women in the work place! Yes, women and men get paid differently for the same work.... no need to say women always loose out... I am shocked... how can that be in this country??? How and why are women tolerating it?

What is even more educative is that lawyers actually ruined a part of the society here... the entire society is so litigous that people are actually scared of doing many things... in a way it is good... on the other hand, doctors are scared of malpractice... so they want insurance coverage which drives up the costs..... I am not sure whether this is advantageous to anyone to have so many lawyers fight for more money....in some ways the highly clogged legal system in India is a deterrent to may non serious litigants... not really sure...


Someone asked me "your life in India seems like a lunxurious life - the driver, cook, maids etc".... and they were contemplating coming to India... and my response was ... Yes my life is luxurious in many ways... but in many many ways it is also insecure.... I am scared for my liberty, I am scared for my freedoms as a woman, I am scared cos of my religious identity, I am scared cos of my ability to be me...there is no protection in my old age... the Government does not look after us..... social norms dictate evry move in India..... and God Forbid the religious bigots get hold of the Government again then I am going to be scared every night of my life..... I am not protected in my own country..... Everyday we trust God and move around..... so to that extent India has a lot to offer but has not yet offered its citizens feeling of being protected and certain about their rights... something to take back from my time in the United States... give citizens the certainity of their rights...

I also realised that the notion that we have in India that US is a ticket to good life is so based on the stories carried back by the Desi Americans.... and I used to always challenge it, in many fight such notions saying how dare you make it look like we are all trying to escape our country?... now I realise that the generation of Desi Americans who did make it to the US were genuinely not given any opportunity in our country to prosper... no jobs, no money, no hope... they just left... and when they entered a country that offered them all this and more it was but natural that they would come back and potray stories of a better life..... cos it was a better life - FOR THEM! So it is no wonder that even today it is the Desi Americans who are the first ones to criticise India and say that India is a backward country.... or say that Americans have sorted it all out.... I used to get offended by these statments - not just from DEsi American - any Indian who went abroad and tried to make it look like they have escaped hell.... now I understand the psyche a bit better... they left a very different India.... they didnt leave todays India... and it is upto me to be a more understanding Indian... and perhaps show my Desi American friends that India as they knew it or their parents is different.... we are changing and that change is a wonderful opportunity for every Indian to be a better person... to build a better India.... and Desi Americans can provide the much valuable insight into that process of transformation.....

cos, India is very tolerant.... we are ready to be flagged down sometimes.... sometimes it is a sign of compassion for another person.....

My friend and I were recently discussing about where we are and where we actually thought we would land up while growing up....

To be honest, growing up I had a sense of urgency to get out and go places..... to break away from the shackles of society and do something on your own... to build a life for your self... to earn for yourself.... stand on your own feet... be a participant in the world.... I have no idea where or how I got these ideas but I suspect my father had something to do with it... with that in mind I tailored my life... and I loved every minute of that process... ofcourse when failures came along I didnt particularly like it but I still had the sense to move on...

which brings me to the question - what if I was born with everything? as in i had the nice house, the nice car, nice holidays, active social life with my parents... and I didnt really need to work towards anything... would I be this driven? Would I aim to improve myself?? I am not sure....

Which is why I think the best gift you can give your children is the gift of vision... vision into the future for themselves.... something they have to strive for in their life.... something they cant take for granted....

I am sure glad my parents gave me nothing more than education... I dont know whether the next generation will view it similarly...

So I decided to take off to NY to be with friends for the weekend... my uncles passing away stressed me out a lot sitting in DC and I decided to destress myself... and boy am I glad I took the decision....

so off I went to take my first ever train ride to NYC on Amtrack... early in the morning at 5:30.....at first when I reached Washington Union Station I was confused since I didnt find any people at the station... Is this the right Station? Where are the people... turned out it was the right station and I reminded myself that I should not expect to see milling crowd in all railway stations the way I see in Churchgate, Mumbai.

So I landed up at my friends place - to find her son and her sons friend taking a bath .... memories of me scaring baby george during his bath time came flooding back to me... and I immediately jumped from behind the shower curtain on two unsuspecting 4 year olds... luckily for me the 4 year old didnt start crying with terror but laughed along... otherwise I would have soon been declared unsafe around children and that would have been an ignomious end to my weekend plans.... followed it up with a good lunch of dal and chapati... only to follow that with a disappointing exit by US (Yes, I support USA) in the football world cup..... in the evening we strolled to the park where my friend made a failedattempt to fly the kite and made claims about the kite flying that were taller than the actual length that the kite flew to....

next day after a leisurly brunch (yummy Cobb salad) and an unexpected shopping bonanza, I was picked up by my friend and taken to the suburbs of NY ..... and for the first time in my life I got to see actual suburban life in the US... with the white picket fences, large gardens, surrounding forest, the mail boxes which are actual out in the front loan and is actually shaped like a house (yes the one that is there in the Tom and Jerry cartoons) !!! My friend and her three kids were a delight..... especially the little one who was the same age as Baby George... and he spoke so much! I am generally not good with kids ( I only scare them)....so I was really surprised to see that they all kept asking me questions and were curious about me... hahah....

and now I am finally in DC... and will be here for the July 4th weekend... which promises to be a fun event... keeping my fingers crossed....

my uncle passed away...my maternal uncle in South Africa...

I had casually called my mom up to chat with her this morning on the way to work ... and then she told me the news.... I just stopped in my tracks....

It is so difficult to deal with death when you are not near your family... for the moment I hate being so far away.... I hate it....

Ofcourse you cant avoid NY when you are in the States.... I was invited to attend an event in NY by the firm and I was more than happy to oblige... what a city... it just sweeps me with its buzz... in someways like Mumbai... everybody is on the go and keen to get somewhere... I love that about cities....

I was lucky to be put up a hotel in downtown... I grabbed lunch from one of the cafes there and went to Trinity Church and had a peaceful lunch... Trinity Chruch is more than 200 years old and that is where Columbia Univ started... I was quite happy to learn that.... and then trying to find my way to the office I lost my way in Wall Street - and I am so glad I did!! I saw the raging bull, the stock exchanges, the "turnstiles", the bankers and lawyers walking down in their professional finery... amazing sense of being....

The event itself was a women's oriented event - suprised to find the same issues dogging American law firms with respect to women lawyers - where do they go after a family? what about the loss of talent? What can be do to retain them? What do we do to get them back on the highway? Nobody had any answers... we all drank champagne to that!

And then went out for a night out with my friend - which was even more fabulous... got to try some mexican food which was yummy.... and then for a drink at the Ritz Carlton....

Total bliss... and then back to Washington ..... and back to dreaming of going to NY again...

7th day in the United States and what have I done so far?

Well I managed to trigger my fire alarm twice the past two days - once cos I slept off after putting something on the stove and second cos the fire alarm is crazy (it just went off by itself)...

I managed to visit the gym and swimming pool in my building.... very nice... I am yet to use the swimming pool but I am sure I will find an opportunity....

watched USA draw with Slovakia with a bunch of frenzied Americans... actually even I was frenzied cos I was supporting the USA.... felt totally sad about the bad call made by the referee... a mistake and what a loss to the United States...

Seen the whole country debate about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.... damnnn I wonder what India would have done had this happened - actually I dont need to wonder, I saw what they did for Bhopal... but I saw half the country gunning for Obama and half the country defending him.... As some Americans told me - whatever Obama does now will be criticised... and I watched a TV debate where an obvious republican supporter asked sarcastically "but isnt Obama a messiah?" Cant believe this is so personal... and also saw the entire country go up in arms over the republican congressman saying that it is a "tragedy" that BP has been asked to pay 20 billion dollars.... some Amercians pointed out that he is probably funded by BP and was paid to speak that way... so turns out corruption is not limited to my country... it just appears more clean and legal here.... hmmm....

I am yet to see Obama, White House, Hillary or anything to do with the Government... I really hope to do that this weekend or the weekend after that..... all in all my conclusion is that Washington is a peaceful city - somewhat like Delhi (albeit without the dirt and grime)....

Are all footballers goodlooking or is Washinton air making me deluded????

George in Georgetown

So this is week one (Day 2) of my stay in Washington... it all started off chaotic with me missing my car pick up, with no phone connection and just taking a cab to Washington... i managed to reach safely thanks to the nice taxi driver who gave me his phone to use.... and all was well when I reached my apartment which was super cool..... it had a nice feel to it and was fully furnished with internt and tv etc...

and then I did some exploring around the city and realised that I am actually living next to the best part of Washington DC - Georgetown! Georgetown is so quaint looking with so many cafes and small places to shop that it almost feels like I am in Europe.... and today I topped it with a jog in Georgetown along the Potomac river (which sounds very native American to me)....

I have so far not met people in my building - I believe there are people from all nationalities here.... I do hope to make friends in the building....

The biggest challenge is food... I tried cooking today with no sucess ... so I am still eating cornflakes and oats... with some cut fruits thrown in..... and ofcourse there was the dishwasher disaster where it got flooded cos I used the wrong deterrgent.... right now I have called a truce with the dishwater asking it not to spew more foam.... please pleasee.....

Tomorrow I start work.... I am getting butterflies... why is it that after so many years in the profession I still fell like a nervous wreck while taking up a new assignment.... whats the matter with me??

So there is a game I play with Baby George... I catch him, ask him to open his mouth and then ask him "what happened to your teeth?" And Baby George used to get flummexed and start searching for his teeth and totally get confused.....

Now the kid has grown up - so when i recently played the same game with him this is how it went:

Me: Arre where is your teeth?

BG: Looks confused, searches for his teeth and points it out to me

Me: Arre, nahi hai. Kahan gaya?

BG: Theekh Hai, Nahi Hai.

What????? Game over?

So I was in Kerala this weekend to garner some sympathy for my impending trip to the US. So I spoke to my parents (who were obviously weepy), my sister, my sister in law and my brother (who seemed quite nonchalant to the whole trip) and ofcourse to the "brats".... the initial reaction of Christy was "please could you get me a pen back from the US? and not one made in China like tha last one you got me"... ok sir... and then there was Baby George who didnt quite understand the nuances of what I was saying... so I tried to impress upon him that I will be away from him for 6 months (no reaction), I will not meet him for 6 months (still no reaction) and I will not be able to take him out for 6 months (still noooo reaction)... ok change in strategy.... I might as well get him on board with the US trip ... so I tried teaching him the name of the place I was going to visit.... so I taught Baby George "Vava aunty is going to Washing - ton, Washing - ton".... and Baby George after few fumbles got it right and would promplty say "Washington!...

that was until some relatives came over .... and as any self respecting grandparent would do my parents asked him to "perform" for the relatives by asking Baby George "So where is Vavaaunty going?"...... and prompt came the reply "Washing Machine!"...... I ducked under the nearest desk to avoid the gleeful glances of my relatives who apparently did believe that I was going to the Washing Machine.....

I am going to take this out on Baby George when he grows up!

Sometimes I wonder why people behave in a certain way or manner.... I really cant figure out... and I have learned by now no to figure out why people behave a certain way.... people have their own reasons for behaving in a certain way ....

The most important part is how you deal with it..... I mostly react by withdrawing and storing up pent up anger.... only to have it all come out at one go...

I am not sure that is the right way... but that is the only way I function right now....

This is an ode to my co-desk mate - lets call him "Mostly Harmless"...

So Mostly Harmless and me have been co-desk mates for the past 2 years.... we have one long stretch of white table between us... and when we commenced our desk partnership we carefully divided the space into equal halves and did a fair assessment of what kind of items can be put on my side of the desk and his side of the desk....

So off it started off to a very happy co-existence... with pleasantries and smiles exchanged everyday..... until ofcourse Mostly Harmless decided to become a little more relaxed about our carefully devised division of the desk......well the honey moon had to end like any good marriage..... Soon enough I would find papers of Mostly Harmless on my desk.... and even sometimes on my chair.... and if that was not bad enough Mostly Harmless would spread his papers and other paraphernalia under my desk - "technically that was not divided"... so I would suddenly be sitting on top of the "Transfer of Property Act"... or my legs would be resting against Mulla, Contract Act ..... and my protests would be greeted with "Alice, chill..... loosen up"... and my mind would be screaming "yes I will loosen up your neck soon"....

All to no avail... now I sit next to Mostly Harmless having reconciled myself to my fate.... divided as we are by a tall wall of Income Tax bare Act, mixed with some old newspapers, draft documents, old ties and perhaps even some worms.... and when I queried Mostly Harmless about the possibility of vermin growing in the heap Mostly Harmless confidently responded " we have good pest control systems"...

gee thanks..... guess what I am not going to be missing when I am away.....

So I am finally leaving India on June 11 - I thought I had more time in India but it is finally decided that I will be flying out on June 11 and joining work on June 14th... At first my mind immediately started spinning thinking about all the things i had to get done before I left... and then i became numb about it ....

And I thought I would find some people to share my concerns with... so I started calling up people and telling them that I am leaving by june 11.... some ofcourse did as I expected and reacted saying "that is so little time - we need to meet before that".... while others didnt react at all... "oh good" is all they said.... and to them I screamed "hello, how about some emotions here! I am going to be away for 6/9 months and all you can tell me "oh good".. I mean where is your heart??"... and then look at me bewildered and startled.... "you want us to be sad that you are going to be in Washington, New York and London in the next 6 months????" all I manage is a feeble and unconvincing "yes"..

Okkk, so I want a little fuss over me... so sue me.... but after I come back from Washington, NY and London please.... cos I really hope to have fun in these cities.... God help me!

Love and its deconstruction

Growing up I was fed on fairy tales - the hapless princess who is rescued by a prince and they live happily ever after with their "going to grow up to be calvin klein model" babies... Ahh.... the world was such a perfect illusion growing up....

Now nearly having reach the mid 30s my concept of love is being forced to undergo a major deconstruction... so instead of just the hapless princess, we have two hapless overworked professionals who probably deep within want to feel like a prince and princess but end up feeling like the proverbial toad who is waiting to be kissed !! So off they go on their hunt for the perfect mate only to encounter myriad specimens, some of them so bewildering that the wannabe prince and princess recoil back into the safety of their professional life......at least in your professional life the worst that can happen is that your boss turns out to be a phycho but you dont have to take him back home with you..... infact the game of love is so rife with the prospect of failure that many would rather invest in a stable career....

What is happening to my generation? Are we over analyzing? Are we over sensitive? What happened to the simple formula of falling in love?

Is it time to start a new fairy tale series???

So I am sitting at BOB to do some work and the tag line of BOB screams - "Technology by your side"...

Just below that tag line is a handwritten sign which reads "No Paking" (assume it meant to say No Parking)... and as soon as I enter I see people screaming across in chaste hindi saying "printers are not working"... and then I made a simple request which was to give me a xerox of my cheque and the response was "Madam, it will take 10 mins - we have to go to another building to get a xerox"... I will wait I said.... when a reluctant old man came and took the cheque and as if in slow motion went to get my xerox (which I did get finally in 10 mins)... and while waiting I saw a fat little rat running around the wires as if trying to choose the best wire to chew on ..... lucky rat!....

and I thought to myself - there should be some regulation on advertising - they really can mislead people.....

okk my date for departure from Mumbai looms perilously close ...... and soon I will have to fuss over what goes where... not that I have too many possessions... I have all the basic electronics.... fridge, tv, ac etc... which I will hopefully be able to sell off... then there are the other not so material household stuff which I will keep with a friend.... then there is my car which I am tempted to sell.... I mean who will look after the car for 9 months???? Though all my friends are telling me to keep it....

I guess the only thing that I will carry with me are the memories of Mumbai.... and this time there are a lot of special and not so special ones.... but predominately special ones....

But as always life moves on to give you new memories....

I dont need to see any movies... the IPL saga is giving me all the twists and turns needed....

My 300th post!! Pat on the back to me....

This month is all about connecting with people - friends from the past, long lost friends, friends you wanted to be in touch with but could not etc.... when I slowly touch base with these friends I wonder whether I lost out on so many happy memories cos I was too proud to admit my shortcomings or mistakes....

I was having a discussion with some of my friends about women and their position in society.... ofcourse a favourite topic with me.... talk generally veered to motherhood and career after that...

while I said every woman wants the world to see her as an independent woman, every woman also wants to have a home of her own with children etc... well maybe not every woman but lets just say majority.... and that most women dont want to compromise on either but most often women do... either it is societal pressure or just a compromise that a woman makes so that she does not disrupt her family life....

and I said in my experience almost all the women who had got married and were with children had put their career on a back seat.... to ensure that their children get the attention... and they hope that someday they will get back into the saddle ... if there is place then for them at that time in the job world ..... and most of these women are smart go getters and it is tough decision for them to give up a career and watch their peers preen on ahead....

the consensus was that women can kiss their careers good bye after mrriage and children.... but I ask why??????????????????????

So I refused to give Christy any of the chocolates I had got from New York since he had put on weight.... he has become obsessed with chocolates and apparently he ate 20 toffees at one go!! but when I refused Christy cried and I really felt bad....

so to make up I decided to part with something I had bought for myself - a pink shiny pen - which shines even brighter if you hit it... I got it from Natural History Museum and was really proud of my possession....

So I gave it away to Christy who at first didnt want to talk to me and then saw the pen and warmed up to me.... haha... by the end of it he was so excited!! and all bitterness at being denied chocolates was forgotten....

the only variable we didnt factor in was a belligerent Baby George.... he took one look at the pen and decided that he should have it... and wailed and cried till we gave it to him out of pity for our ears.... and promptly Baby George pretended the shiny pen was a sword and started hitting the pen everywhere.... Poor Christy was just left looking at his pen shining brightly in his brother's hands....

All was worth it - cos Later in the day Christy called me to ask me whether I had got it from America - I said Yes and then he asked me how much I paid for it ...

My reply to him - it was Priceless for it got him to talk to me!

I sometimes wonder why people sometimes choose to talk about something or someone in front of you just to make you feel uncomfortable or to guage your reaction.

What do I do? Should I react or just leave it? And assume they meant only well? Or just pity them for being so jobless?

I was just thinking that I had some of the best times in my short visit to New York.... had such a blast... some of the memories I carry back with me:

a. Eatin Magnolia chocolate cup cake while walking down Wall Street.... delicious and wall street appeared as sweet as the delicious cup cake
b. Falling asleep on the table while watching the shooting of "Last Comic Standing" - only to be woken up by the organisers who were aghast that I could fall asleep at their show!! even my endearing pleas of jet lag didnt cut much humour with them...
c. Taking the "horsy" ride through Central Park... it was a beautiful carriage actually.... and while the horsy rider jibbed us it was nevertheless one of the most exhilirating things I have done
d. eating vietnamese food...
e. Jamba juice - particularly the meals
f. meeting up with old friends
g. going to the village and realising that it is akin my carter road... so much of energy....
h. made new friends
i. walking along the hudson.... what a gorgeous walk...

Some of the memories I will relate to people....

What did I get for the brats?

Well I went to the natural history museum in New York and they had a section on the dinosaurs... so I thought what fun thing to get for my naughty nephews.... small dinos which they can paint and which above all are glow in the dark!!! Shucks I wish my uncles had got me these....

so off I troted to my sisters place... on seeing me coming laden with gifts my sister promptly asked "is it going to be more work for me?" Huh? I asked incredously.... what in the world could she mean....

only to realise the meaning of that question.... Baby George refused to paint the dino....instead he chose to pain the sofa and his aunt's nose... so there I was in all my office finery running away from an extremely naughty Baby George...

after sometime I snatched the brush from his hands and started painting the dinos myself...... much to the amusement of my sister.... the only good thing - Baby George learnt the words "dinosaurs" and "T-Rex"....

New York Minute

Wellllllll.... I was in NY last week.... and had the most amazing 5 days there.... New York is a bigger version of Mumbai.... it has the same energy, same hustle bustle and if you know the places it has the best that the world can offer.... I loved the city.... almost as much as I love Mumbai... now I can see the similarity....

But NY is disappointing in terms of pictures.... I didnt find anything that was spectacular to take - presumably because cities dont always throw up pretty pictures....

I was watching a TV advertisement where two women are waiting for the school bus to arrive.... and one woman pips the other one about the washing powder that she uses... boasts that her soap powder gives fragrance and also "safedi".... what more can you ask for?

And all along my brain was screaming "YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE YOU CAN ASK FOR??" A LIFE!!! I mean how petty do you have to be to fight about washing powder!!! You have no sense of what is important in life when you start fighting over a soap powder..... and I thanked my lucky stars that I dont have people like that in my life....

But then I thought to myself... wait a minute ... I am surrounded by overgrown kids.... who boast about the cars, houses, holidays, husbands/wives, family connections all the time.... oneupmanship is the name of the game... so what essentially is the difference between the women in the advertisement and the people surrounding me??? nothing except that ...the latter dont have an excuse.... They should be knowing better....

Baby George got his first report card... a larg blue book... which had the picture of his entire class.... at first I could not spot him... and then noticed that the boy with the serious face is Baby George... the report card also had an imprint of his palm (and a tiny photo of him inside)....

So Baby George came out with flying colours.... he got 4 stars for singing, obeying elders (except his mom and aunt when he goes out), drawing, mixing with others etc..... he lagged behind in expressing emotions....

Well Maam, all I can say is that you should just see Baby George on his trips with his aunt - he is always screaming, jumping and generally playing havoc around everywhere... and we all definitely get so Emotional.....:(

I finally read "Open" Andre Agassi's biography... while it is not sparkling literature it was nice to read the story of a man who was normal and prone to failings like any of us. He hated tennis (!!!), did drugs, fell in love and had his heartbroken, found love again with the most sucessful woman tennis player of all time and then retired at the right time....

Although I tend to stand in judgment over people who do drugs and exhibit no principles, this time I gave him credit (partly because he is married to Steffi Graf who is so dignified - something of a reflected glory) credit for having survived many turmoils, for having been loyal to his parents, for having loved with abandon......

2010 - not bad....

I finally joined an organisation that I have always wanted to join since my teenage days.... after much trepdiation and soul searching... finally I asked myself "what am I afraid of?" Is it fear of failure? fear of not knowing the unknown? fear of not having control over the future.... and then I though to myself - sometimes the best things in life happen ONLY because you dont have control....

In some ways I am proud of myself cos I overcame my fear and did what my heart desired always...

Now I will wait for the mysteries to unravel.....

2010 - Rock On!

Theek-Thak-Thackeray

Balasaheb has once again taken up a cause that is dear and important to all of us Indians.... The issue of whether Mumbai as a city should be the playground of all Indians..... I mean it is the city that pays the maximum taxes so shouldnt the Marathis actually get a pie of that... I mean the land that was made available to all Indians came from the hardworking Marathis..... afterall what could they do to counter this colonialism - they were just unwilling participants in the economic development of this city... the stupid Parsis, Gujjus and south Indians dont even give them credit for not having interfered in their ambitions... its time for the locals to reclaim their birth right..... damn the call for nationalism....

And yes Rahul Gandhi is frustrated since he is not married at the "old age" of 40... Balasaheb... you identify issues so well.....

So this Sat was near perfect.... I got to spend time with my nephews.... as soon as I entered the house, I saw Baby George was sitting pretty on the sofa with his mother feeding him lunch.... the king (kong) that he was... and he appeared to be nonchalant to my entry..... until I charged at him that is pretending to want to pick him up and throw him off.... that was enough to make Baby George fly off from him seat of power into the hands of his mother with his mouth full of rice and chicken.... ofcourse later realising that his fear was misplaced he let out a raucous laugh.... Then there was Christy also...immediately upon seeing me he was like"lets go out".... for which there was no plan.... so Christy went back to his computer...

Baby George was ofcourse not computer savvy.... he promplty brought his story book..... with pictures of all the animals and birds.... and asked me to read out to him.... so I started pointing out to him... Lion, Tiger, crow etc.... till I reached hippopotamus.... to which Baby George pondered for a while and gave it a mild varied name ...."potatoes...".... hahahahahahah.....

Just thot - are you successful only if others acknowledge you as being successful or is it enough if you have pushed the envelope and done the best you could.....

I think it is a mixture of both...

This is SRK himself- whom I managed to catch while waiting at one of the domestic airports... He was so charming and kept apologising to people about the disturbance he was causing...." I am so sorry, I apologise"...... its another matter that his security guards threw me off when I was in the way.... but totally worth it!!! I love you SRK.

So Sunday was one of the best days of my life... it was the annual Mumbai Marathon and as is custom my sister and I went to "participate" in it from the side lines.... and ofcourse we had the 3 year old Baby George in tow for whom it was the first time he heard the word "Marathon".... so throughout in the car, Baby George kept muttering "Marathon""Marathon""Marathon"... infact when asked his name, he replied .......... "Marathon" ! His elder brother was ofcourse now too old to be taken in by the festivities and kept asking me when I would take him to see Avatar....

And as soon as we hit the road, it was as if Baby George was possessed... he started running towards the finish line (not that he knew where it was)... but he kept following the crowd and kept screaming at his mother and his aunt for slowing him down... he ran all of 0.2 meters and then stopped and asked to be picked up by him mom.... I did see the spark of a budding marathonite in him...... maybe next year I will do the half marathon with Baby George as my running buddy.... hopefully we will cover more than 0.2 metrs.... he he..

Conversation between Christy and his classmate, Niladri:
Christy to me: You know, at the tennis court they call Niladri, "Lilavati"... hahahah

Niladri: My name is Niladri, NOT Lilavati!!

Christy: Lilavati, Lilavati, Lilavati!!

Niladri: If you call me that, I will call you "Chemistry" instead of Chrity.

Christy: Arre, at least I am calling you the name of a BIG hospital in Mumbai. You cant call me something silly like Chemistry.

Every year I make a list of things I want to accomplish.... ofcourse most often the list remains a mental list and I never bother to revisit it ever again...

Except for 2009 when I achieved more than half of what I had intended for 2009... not bad for a person who has very low commitment levels....

2010 - list cometh....

It was a 10 day wait before I met Baby George after the new year started.... so when I finally saw him ( I was walking down from my office steps towards the car where he was waiting with his mom and brother), Baby George immediately clasped his mouth in excitement !!! ofcourse when I went to pick him up he promptly acted really busy and ran away.....

Ahhh... 2010 is not starting out too bad ....

2009 was a year I wished would never end.....

Anyways 2010 - better behave yourself.

Okk so another post on Baby George.....

The other day I was fighting with my sister on something.... and I was screaming at her asking her to behave herself..... all this time Baby George was hovering around us trying to make sense of the two important women in his life..... so I dint particularly pay attention to him.... till I suddendly saw a 3 ft tall Baby George climb us the sofa and with authority screaming at me to stop shouting at him mom!!! and if that was not enough he brandished the ruler that he had carried with him on his climb to the sofa and in a really threatening manner pointed the ruler at me and said "Samjhe? (in English - Understood?)"...... it was such a cute sight that my sister and me burst out laughing...

and then I picked up the 3 ft tall Chengiz Khan, put him down on the ground, towered over him and asked him "So what do you want me to understand?" hahahah...

So Baby George loves going out....no great surprise there... he was always a vagabond like his aunt... as is his mother and bigger brother....

So everytime we plan to go out, Baby George runs to the drawer, gets his favourite shorts and t-shirt and brings it to me to dress him up... most often the shorts and t-shirt are badly mismatched... but Baby George will have none of the advice on colour co-ordination and will insist on wearing what he picked out.... so there is Baby George in his badly colour - coordinated clothes and standing 3 feet tall ready to go out with his family....

and nowdays I have started playing tricks with him.... so once Baby George is all dressed and ready to go I tell him that his "nanny " needs help around the house and that he should help out... so I ask him to go back into the house and help out didi.... Baby George gets all crumpled up and starts saying 'nahi,mujhe jana hai' and starts walking towards the lift... again i stop him and tell him "who will do all the work in the house then?'... and in a last ditch effort he looks pleadingly at his mom who also decides to look away from him... and finally he just bolts towards the lift when it opens so that he is not forced into working at home....

hahaha... I just love troubling Baby George....

A witchy tale

I have a thing for dancing toys... long back on my first work related trip to London, I went and bought a dancing cactus... Carlos (my nickname for the cactus) was my prized possession till 2003.... in 2003, Christy was introduced to Carlos... and then the memory is all too painful...

so on my recent trip to Eastern Europe, while roaming around the markets of Prague I chanced upon something that would replace my Carlos - a dancing witch!!! The witch was seated on a broom and when you clap, the witch would shake her legs, let out a raucous laugh and shine her red eyes... ofcourse I had to buy it....

so I came back to India with my new prized possession and hung it delicately on my lamp..... and soon at parties people would marvel at the witch ( I stil dont have a nick name)... and one of my friends even attempted to steal it away quietly from me..... all in all the witch was a big hit!!!

Except with Baby George.... Everytime Baby George comes to my house he is fascinated by the witch.... so slowly he inches closer towards the witch to explore the new addition in my house..... and then as soon as he is close, I clap my hands (the mean aunt that I am) and when the witch starts her raucouse laugh, Baby George flees to the other end of the room!!!!! hahahaha... what a cute sight.... he holds his mothers leg and watches from far..... sometimes ofcourse Christy picks him up and brings him close to the witch only to have a yelping Baby George escape from his clutches and bolt to the other end of the room.....

all in all amusing for me....... the witch just lost a leg due to Christy.... so I am thinking of naming her "Grondola - witch without a leg"

Happiness is a choice.....

Good to know....

Ok.... I am excited about what lies ahead.....

In other news, Baby George is a grown up boy now ... he is all of 3 feet talll and comes up to my knees.... sometimes when he is scared that I will walk away or just simply scared he grabs my legs..... and I feel most special that time..... he is so tiny also.... he is I think the thinnest person in the family .......

I think my sister eats his food....

Is age catching up with me? There was a time when I would thrive on deadlines and having conference calls at 2 in the morning..

No more... in fact I get irritated whenever work extends beyond 9 ..... or even when I have to work on Sat and Sunda.... even worse when I have to do a call at 12 in the night!

What is happening to me?? Am I slowing down? Why do I find it strenous now?

Hopefully the changes over the next few months will help me realise what I want....

Ok... everyday is a day of evaluation .... or thats what you are supposed to do ....

I think I might have overreacted and judged a situation completely wrongly... and when I get pissed, I stay pissed....... I was ofcourse not disrespectful or anything... as always I smiled and said " No problems".... but I guess my facial expressions would have given away my anger and absolute frustration...

Should I change?? or will the world accept me as I am? if I dont change, then am I the one who is losing out?

A valuable lesson I have learned is- always behave properly with people.... you never know when and where you are going to meet them again..... and how the equations would have changed....

Sometimes your reputation precedes you.... and it is always best if you start with a good reputation than a bad one....

Note to myself: dont fight with taxi drivers or my own driver.

Whew!!

What can I say about life.... its bewildering at times and tests your patience... you really have no control over some of the events that occur which leave you reeling under shock.... and leaves you wondering whether you will ever emerge out of this whirlwind that has just come your way...

In other news Baby George luckily didnt figure out that his aunt had forgotten his b'day... so he was still kind to me when I went to visit... and I took him to see Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahani... and he was laughing out loud at the jokes in the movie... made me wonder whether I was sitting with a baby genius who doesnot have enough sense to make sure his finger does not get caught in between the door but understands complicated hindi jokes??? hmmm......anyways Baby George also started walking around the theatre in the middle and disturbing other movie watchers... adding much to the distress of his aunt who apologised to innocent movie goers for the invasion of privacy by a nosey Baby George...

Bday

It was Baby George's bday yesterday... and I forgot to wish him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am wrecked by guilt... shall i fill up his room with balloons?

Some more pics of my trip to Delhi. A new friend who has become a follower of this blog was very appreciative of my ability to take pictures. Hmmm...

I am seriously considering doing a photography course in New York in the coming year. I think I will.

My visit to Delhi

I love Delhi and its architecture.... so on my bday I decided to go off and do some sightseeing of Delhi..... Delhi is a photographers paradise..... it has ancient monuments, gardens, lovely parks... the works!! and if you are lucky you also get to see a politican or two.... so these are some of the pics I took - though I have to say that I was disappointed with my camera this time..... anyways more later...

Baby George had his first major accident... he got his finger jammed in the door.... apparently his bone was sticking out and there was blood all over.... so now Baby George walks around with a cast on his finger.... it is quite a cute sight actually...

so when I went to visit him he showed me the cast and said "hospital"... and then when I admonished him for putting his finger between the door he came and kicked me for scolding him....

well the kid certainly knows how to get past his disability.....

why is it easier to look at the bad things around you and overlook the good? Is it somewhere deep down we are all wired to believe that one must only look out for the bad?

How different would the world look if only you sought out the good. There is so much of it happening around us.... just look.....hear... see....

Baby George and reading

So Baby George was nursing a cold and fever .... so his ever concerned aunt went to meet him....

But when I entered the house Baby George who was sitting and watching SRK belt out a foot tapping song on TV, on seeing me, suddenly decided to grab a "Tinkle" comic and pretend that he was reading.... my sister and I were really amused at his sudden interest in a book which I am sure he will take another year to figure out what is happening......

ofcourse the good aunt that I was - I went and picked him and put him on my lap... and Baby George sat snug in my arms till I left for office... without a book mind you...

So I am a little distressed by an event that should ordinarily have been a source of great joy.... the recent infighting in the BJP and with the latest expulsion of Jaswant Singh from the BJP has caused me concern... why you ask?

Cos I fear our democracy is going to the dogs... okkk we have a coalition government at the Centre so it is unlikely that one single party will have too much sway... but I always saw the emergence of an "alternate" option to the Congress as a great sign of our democracy... one of the tenents Nehru always based his parliamentary behaviour on was the respect he gave the opposition (ofcourse he didnt have much)..... but that is sign of a functional democracy... a vibrant, aggresive, opposition who is ready to cut the government to size if required.... I feel opposition parties do as much service to the nation as the serving government...

So to see my opposition splintering is really sad... I hope BJP gets their act together... something I never thot I would say.... I also hope they stop playing divisive politics....

Patriotic Duty

So SRK got frisked in the US... and the cool guy he is, when asked whether he think all americans should also be frisked when on visit to India, he responded by saying "Well if Angelina Jolie is coming to India, I wouldnt mind frisking her at all..".... Hmmm... very funny and witty response.

ofcourse I am also ready to volunteer to frisk foreign nationals in the interest of the nation... particularly in retaliation against the unfair treatment meted out to Indians abroad... so bring on Hugh Jackman for all the atrocities against the Indians in Australia.... and then bring on Bradley Cooper (the guy in Hangover) for the trouble that SRK went through in the US.

Things you have to do for the country!

Love Aaj Kal

I watched Love Aaj Kal yday... and I have to say I loved the concept... two parallel love stories being told ... from two different eras... I especially loved the love of the yesteryears.... with respect to the Deepika and Saif's modern day love story I got really baffled... I mean I consider myself to be one of those people who are part of the "modern day" love story and I just could not relate to it.... first of all the concept of break up party, then the concept of continuing to talk to your ex about everything in your life, continuing to miss someone and not acknowledging it.... I just dont buy that today's generation is all so confused about love.....

But perhaps the younger generation does complicate matters..... they consider a lot of factors while deciding on a life partner... and also perhaps take more time.... and question more... and perhaps even are ready to walk out at the slightest problem.... I am not sure whether this is a new generation factor but yes nobody I know will actually spot a woman, follow her around without speaking to her and then marry her.....

So ever since Baby George started attending school his vocalbulary has jumped to 10 words!! yay.... so now Baby George regales his aunt (who is an infrequent visitor to his house nowadays), with new words that he has learned in school... So Baby George nows says "Gande Bache" and "Sala" with the flourish of a pro....

The most recent conversation I had with him was when he started asking "Whats ur name?" ... so he would point to his mother and ask me "Whats ur name?" and when I would respond by saying his mothers actual name he would mock me and say she is "mummy"... and then he would turn to me and ask "Whats ur name?" and when I replied saying "Alice" he mocked me again and said "Vavaaunty".... hmm... so the kid was pretty determined to stick to the information he had... and finally in exaperation I asked him "What's ur name?"... which perplexed Baby George no end.... and finally wiping off his confusion he looked me straight in the eye and said "Baby"...

That ends the discussion I suppose - there is no debating.

Baby George fell down and his mum came tumbling after

So that is the latest on Baby George... both he and his mom fell down... Baby George apparently hurt his nose and now sports a scar like a war veteran!.. I say apparently cos I have not yet seen him.... I have never seen Baby George with a scar on his face... hmmm.. must be my something new this year...

Something new also happened in Baby George's life... he went for his first school trip... the school took a bus load of 2 - 3 year olds for a field trip to the Bandra -Worli Sealink.. so officially Baby George was the first one in the family to see the Bandra Worli Sealink... pity he didnt understand the import of the majestic structure in Mumbai.... next time I took him in my car and he promptly slept off....

Sad Day

Michael Jackson is dead. I feel really sad about this - dont know why. Its like an icon you grew up with suddenly passed away... I was first introduced to MJ by my brother who played the thriller video for my sister and me - we must have been all of 6 or 7 at that time... i remember having got really scared seeing all those scary figures walking around and watched the entire video clutching onto my brothers arms...

As I grew older I resolved that one day I would watch a MJ concert live... ofcourse I kept postponing the whole idea for a time that would be "better".... I regret that now - I wish I had the opportunity to see him perform live somewhere....

I guess life is short - one must watch all the concerts today itself!

Recently a friend pointed out to me that I am someone who waits for other people to have fun and then join them! I never go out and do things which I consider to be fun... That got me thinking - Do I really wait on the sidelines? do I really wonder who next is going to do something fun?

Anyways so I decided that if that is the case I shall wait no more - the fun is going to start now. Now if only someone would tell me how to have fun....:)

Some of the pictures I took on my holiday to Eastern Europe - I went to Hungary, Slovakia, Czech and Poland

I loved Poland the best... it was such a magical country... but the weather was really dull and hence the pictures were not really good... or it could be that I dont have a nice enough camera to take proper snaps... hmm.. who can I con into buying me a high tech SLR camera?

Schools and Baby George

So Baby George has started going to school....

sister says initially it was exciting for Baby George to get dressed every morning to go out in a taxi.... he must have thot - "Wow, my mom is so cool - she takes me out everyday"..... till the realisation dawned on him that he was wearing the same clothes everyday and ugly shoes (he was not allowed to wear his funky green shoes)..... so after a few days Baby George started showing my sister the way out of school....

Anyways I decided to go and pick up Baby George from school one day.... so there I was waiting along with anxious parents waiting for the school bell to ring... 15 mins, 20 mins, 30 mins... and then... the BELL RANG! And suddenly there was a swarm of little yellow creatures coming directly at me... I was almost ready to swat some of these creatures before I was totally swarmed .... till I realised that they were tiny little people coming out of the class and running towards the freedom of the bus... they were so tiny - they were not even as tall as my knee... and most were holding hands of their classmates and looking at the adults as if looking at some dangerously overgrown acacia trees ... infact I saw some of the little ones picking up mud and stones enroute to the bus - in defensive strategy I would think....

Ofcourse Baby George was missing in all this commotion.... my sister and I went frantically searcing for our own little yellow creature.... only to find him hiding behind a desk and eating his lunch!!! on spotting me standing there Baby George was a bit confused about where he was - he looked around expecting to find himself in Atria mall or something... but quickly regained his composure.... and tucked his lunch box into the really huge bag he was carrying... and promptly ran to his mom and said "Taxi"!

and unlike his classmates he didnt pick up mud or stones en route to the taxi .....

Hi world - so I am back... with exciting news....

Since I last wrote Baby George has joined school... has learnt a few words in Malayalam.... learnt to hit back at Christy (but Christy still lords over the 2 ft Baby George).....

Shoe Stopper

So this is the update on Baby George and his antics....

Baby George accompanied his brother to a shoe shop... the aim was to buy a spanking new sport shoe for the "always under inertia" Christy.... sensing that his brother was getting something more than he had Baby George insisted that he be given the same treatment... He insisted and insisted and insisted till he got his own pair of green shoes!! And apparently went around the colony showing off his new shoes....

So I am not the only one in the family to have a shoe fetish...

Yes I am

Yes I am. Sitting numb watching TV. Waiting for the terror strike to end. Waiting for Mumbai to breathe again. Waiting to let myself grieve.

No. I am not trying to sensationalise anything. I am just trying to be human again. To feel fear. To accept fear. To acknowledge that I am feeling scared and threatened. To allow myself to feel lost and helpless. And above all to feel anger.
Yes I am angry. Angry at the Government who let this happen. Angry at Narendra Modi for milking this situation. Angry at L.K. Advani for trying to get mileage. Angry at Manmohan Singh for total collapse of leadership. Angry that at a time like this, India has not leaders who can inspire us.

Am I justified? I dont know. I just know that I do. I am angry, sad, lost, confused, worried and scared. Yes I am. And I dont know whether I Can.

Bdays and all that goes with it

So October - November is a big month in my family for b'days... first there is me! and then within 3 days of each other Christy and Baby George celebratet their b'day.... so this year was the 8th b'day for Christy and 2nd b'day for Baby George... Last year I remember having bought Christy a remote control ferrai car... yayyyyy!!! I think the ferrai car is now languishing in the bottom of my sisters "never to be used" again pile... so when I asked him what he wanted this year, Christy was prompt in his response - he wanted a remote control car! Again! So when I reminded him (more than once) that I gave him a remote control car last year as well Christy finally in exasperation said "How many times are you going to keep saying the same thing?"... well the kid knows how to shut me up....

Last year for Baby George was quite a blur... I really dont think he knew that he had turned a year old... and spent most of his time eating and sleeping.... not that it was any different this year round... he still slept and ate ...and I decided to gift him books......

except for one difference - Baby George decided to fight his brother for the remote control car!....

So there I was watching a 2 ft Baby George pulling at the remote control with all his might and screaming "gie me" and Christy refusing to let go at any cost.... I am not sure what the outcome was ..... except that I am pretty sure the car cannot be driven again....

Obama - oh what a day

This is just illogical. I mean I am an Indian. I am not the one who would be affected (at least not directly). I have issues in my life that he will never be able to solve. Yet why is it that I feel that Obama's victory is in some way a victory for all ....

I have been feeling elated ever since Obama was declared the new president of the United States. I saw the black man walking with his black family on stage greeting the american people courageously saying "Yes, we did". Truly an inspirational moment! To me the victory of Obama represents the victory of all people who have ever doubted their capability of overcoming innumerable obstacles. Its an inspiration to people who are constantly berated, constantly told that you are not in the pecking order of things, that you should be grateful that we allow you to breathe without any taxes, who constantly go to bed with a heart as heavy as lead wondering what purpose they serve in life. For them, Obama is an inspiration.

Personally for me, I loathe the drama that accompanies the US election. The ballons, graffiti, the crowd arousing speeches. But I have to admit, despite my obvious support for Hillary, I rooted for Obama silently. His presence, his calm demeanour, his diction, his freshness etc in some way made me long for a leader like that in my own country. I know Manmohan Singh is not a bad PM but is it him that I am inspired to vote - no Sir. Having heard stories from my father about how Nehru and Gandhi inspired millions of India in an era where there was no internet, telephone or even planes, I always saw leaders in that manner - committed, determined, thinking of the greater good and above all inspirational.

But today its about the man who came from difficult and strange background to become the most powerful man in the world ( I hate acknowledging it). And if I knew him personally I would say - Thankyou! Cos now I believe that anything is possible for me. I dont have to be bogged down by the limitations that the world sees in me. I can change.

Yes, I can. Yes, I can. Yes, I can.

The world be damned!! I feel like re-strating this blog space for my own sake... and if anyone feels compelled to read and pass comments, be snide or be judgmental then so be it... I am glad at least I have given you a distraction from your humdrum existence...

The best realisation I had was that this blog is for me and for me alone....I write for myself.. it is my space, my therapy, my life......

Hello world?

Is anybody out there?

Just taking a peek to see how the world is?

I really miss this blog space... hmmm....

Goodbye folks!

I have been wanting to shut down this blog for a while now... mainly cos i was not able to say what I wanted to say on this blog freely.... my pleasures, my pain, triumphs, tribulations...

and that is stifling my ability to write what I feel like...So I think it is time to say goodbye .... and move on.... to better and bigger things hopefully.... I will miss this blog cos of the familiarity, cos of the excitement of not knowing who the reader is, cos of many of you who gave me such valuable feedback about my writing, my blogging, my experiences, my photographs etc.... I will miss all that....

But like sharks die if they remain stagnant I must also move on.... we had some pretty good times here.... now it is time for me start afresh on a new blog and be anonymous for a while.... am not sure whether I will just shut down this blog completely..... I may come back with some innocous posts... but its mostly done here....

anyone who is curious about my next blogging destination can email me at alice.george@gmail.com...

This picture reminds me of Baby George and me... Baby George usually finds me sleeping and comes over and rubs my cheek.... and while I may sometimes mistake him for Christy and slap him for disturbing me, he is what Douglas Adams would say "mostly harmless"....

Age Old Battle

When growing up I vaguely remember my father telling me about the conflicts in the middle east.... he would talk in biblical terms about how the jews were the "chosen" people of God and how their land was being targetted by others... and then there were the books about the holocaust which made me even more convinced about the need for a separate state...understandably my sympathies were always tilted towards Israel.... growing up I got exposed to the "other" side.... I learned about how the palestinians were suddenly uprooted from their homeland and how they were fighting for their survival.... it still didnt make any dent in my sympathy for Israel... after all my father was always right about such things....

That was till I went to Jordan where 75% of the population is palestinian refugees...and our tour guide itself was a palestinian refugee... and he explained to me how he had a temporary citizenship in Jordan ... at any time the Jordanian Government could throw him out.. and that time he would have no country to go to..... he was literally in no man's land all his life... no country, no citizenship, no homeland, no security...... can anyone imagine living like that for your entire life?? palestinians have lived like this for 50 years and are still continuing in the same vein...

this brought out the entire irony of it all... if you were to believe in one God for everyone irrespective of the form....God's chosen people were literally chasing out people (who were albeit not chosen) who were also created by God....where is the justice in all this... it just does not seem right to require a whole country of people to suddenly survive on doles handed over by sympathetic governments... everyone should have a country and not temporary citizenship....its unfair to have killed so many jews during the holocaust but it is more unfair to exploit to illtreat more people....

I have no idea about how it feels to have no country to call your own... In fact it is so basic for me that I take it for granted....

Sorry Dad, I am sitting this one out...

Baby George is in Kerala.....his first trip after he started standing on his own two tiny feet..... so my mom gave him the phone to talk to me.... all he blabbered was "Ta" and "ello".... and then keeping with his character he promptly started licking the phone....

His brother Christy on the other hand is refusing to come to my house saying it is "boring".... he has his other cousins to play at his paternal house so the maternal house seems really boring.... hmm... city life does spoil you....

"We think it is a good thing that countries are developing, that more and more people have higher and higher standards of living," Deputy White House Press Secretary Scott Stanzel said in reply to a question in Washington on Monday.

Mr. Stanzel, Thankyou so much. All this while I was cying myself to sleep feeling guilty about my country developing. Now you have given me relief from my daily bout of guilt. Thankyou. Thankyou so much.

Lets Save Bush

Okkk this is the "Save Bush" campaign... apparently he is forced to have lesser food cos We, Indians, are eating better...

Damn you Indians, dont you know that you should always be eating less food so that Bush can get elected back, and dont you know that your life is not as important as that of a citizen of US??? I mean how dare you lowly Indian consider eating better food when the American has not had his fill.... and worst of all how dare you educate your millions and make them enter professions such as software engineering instead of making them farmers so that the Americans could continue to have a nice life... what? you want a better life? Why? Its your place in society to work so that Americans can be happy... Please dont have any aspirations beyond that... after all they will protect you in the event you are an oil rich country and attacked by a neighbouring dictator... so all you have to do India is to find oil and we will protected by America for generations to come...

Sorry a slightly caustic post - but who wouldnt get pissed off with America if they talk like this?

Few People I would like to meet

I would/would have liked to meet the following people before I die (or they die):

a. Nelson Mandela - reason being obvious. When I went to South Africa I felt like seeking an appointment with him but with the likes of Chelsea Clinton vying for his attention I figured I would fall very very below in his priority

b. Sonia Gandhi - It would be interesting meet her personally and figure out how she is in real life. Does she really feel "Indian" or is this all a show?

c. Richard Branson - I would really love to meet him to understand how to be rich being so crazy... what I like about him is that he has no problems being himself in public also..

d. Bill Clinton - his charisma really draws you to him. I want to meet him and I am sure even the 5 lines that he speaks with me will make me learn so much in life

e. My Grandmother: From all perspective she was a very courageous, bold and independent woman. She died when I was one year old. A woman who dared to go for her medicine in the 1930s and was capable enough to take care of her family, husband and her career at the same time. If she were alive, am sure I would have been great friends with her.

f. Dalai Lama - just want to see if he really can induce peace in you... to understand whether he really practises what he preaches...

g. Margaret Thatcher - obviously cos in my eyes she is the only woman politician who came up on her own merit... and successfully led her county for close to 15 years... commendable in any event

h. Golda Meir - yet again for the simple fact that she reached pinnacle of political power in a male dominated society... and to lead a country in a war situation is even more commendable.

i. Hitler - to ask him - what were you thinking?

j. Jinnah - to find out how he lives with the guilt of partioning the country... also ask him whether it is ironic that his descendants are still in India.... whether he would done things differently if he saw what came of Pakistan today....

k. Audery Hepburn - to learn how to be graceful from her

l. Nehru - most likely I would ask him whether he would have taken me in his cabinet... in my view he is the best thing that happened to India after independence.. ofcourse he didnt get everything right.. but he set the foundation for our economic development by concentrating on the sound foundations such as education, food security and government support for growth of industries and most importantly secularism

m. Santana - I would just want to see him play his guitar and perhaps take a few classes from him as well.

n. Karan Johar - ofcourse to have coffee with him! And perhaps I will also get to meet SRK. They are easily the best entertainers in this country. I think Karan Johar always has an interesting thing to say about anything.

When I was in my 10th standard somebody in a bid to insult me called me a "feminist"!... I remember recoiling with shock at that insult... wondering when did feminism become such a bad word...



I guess feminism has earned its own disrespect the same way NGOs have now been discredited... a lot of it is wellfounded .... but still does not digress from the fact that both movements are intended at bettering the lot of some weaker section of society or remedying a social evil.....



I am not certain I am a hardcore feminist... I know I am an advocate for womens rights and will be the first one to argue (after all who cant?) against any MCP.... but sometimes I look at others and realise that I am sooo far behind in my "evolution".... they are way ahead in their concepts while I am still taking baby steps....

Anyways my basic concept is you should treat people well... and people include women as well... a job is not lesser because you earn lesser... so a woman who looks after the home should also be given equal position in society.... development of society is actually hinged on the few years that the mother gives to the child..... and you cant value that in terms of money....

my feminist leanings have never been popular... and nowadays I have considerably lessened my arguments against such discrimination at home.... I feel it gets you nowhere... nobody is going to change overnite and you might as well not get crucified doing it.... just live your life.... and do what you have to do... afterall nobody will judge you once you are successful at whatever you are doing!

Christy and Baby George look so alike now.... infact the only distinction between them is their height difference.... a few days back while I was sleeping I felt someone touching my face.... I opened my eyes, saw Christy and immediately gave a good whack..... only later when I opened my eyes a bit more I realised that Christy had become shorter.... and then when I opened my eyes a bit more I realised that it was Baby George staring at me... with the most hurtful look on his face... cos his aunt had never hit him before and he seemed perplexed at the sudden change in his aunt.... ofcourse I hugged him and made up later.....

Ohhh my poor sister, not only do they behave alike they look alike as well! Now the real culprit will never be caught....

Who do I choose?

On one hand there is a woman who is aiming for the most powerful job in the country and then there is charismatic, handsome and "everything positive" man who is competing with her... I am torn between the two.....

As much it is cliche to say this - it is tough being a woman in this world... at first your gender just gives you back seat in many people's mind... you are suddenly characterised, ensured that you are introduced to the soft side of things, expectations are set... and every step of the way you are fighting gender bias, burden of societal pressure and above all juggling everything at the same time... I think being a woman infinitely requires more strength than being a man..... and hence to see a woman come this far, for me is pretty encouraging....

On the other hand there is a man who appears direct, modern, smart, charismatic, able and above all promises change... everytime i watch Obama I wish that we had someone as charismatic as him in India...

I will just sit on the fence for this folks

The moment I saw this picture I thot of my sister and Baby George.... I dont know why but this is such an affectionate picture of a mother and a child (no matter which species)..... while I said this to my sister she just smirked as if I had gone mad (ofcourse no likes to be compared to a bear I suppose)....

Motherhood is supposed to be joyous ... yet my sister is one of the most harassed moms... Its never easy to bring up kids in any event but to run after kids like Christy and Baby George is an art by itself... so most often she is screaming at the top of her voice, trying hard to sleep in the midst of the cacophony of the kids or just plain trying to get through the day without killing someone.....

yet once when I asked her whether she likes being a mother our conversation went like this....

Sis: "No, I dont particulary think motherhood is the best thing to do'

Me: "Really? Everybody says so but.."

Sis: "Well show them to me... I will sock them"....

Me: "Then what keeps you going ?"

Sis, while looking at Christy: "The thing is that I really really really like this kid"

Motherhood is as simple as that I suppose.

Its so easy ?

Its so easy to brush off things as being irrelevant or even unecessary in one's life.....its so easy to downplay a person's character and go along with the world to say "oh this is all a gimmick".... its all so easy to make a person fall ..... and jump with glee watching the person struggle to get up and dust the dirt off....

But once in a while you have to stop, think and make sense of the mess that the world is in... and to see an action that challenges your sensibilities, moral codes, values, views and above all your cynicism is a thing to be taken seriously!....

All this talk is in relation to the recent newspaper article that talked about how Priyanka Gandhi visited her fathers assassin in jail.... Why am I so affected by the news about the visit? Cos I will never be able to do it... Never.... Never... I just dont have it in me to forgive so much..... It takes character to forgive the ones who have done you wrong... it takes even more character to hug them, cry with them and enquire about their welfare... it takes courage to accept a loss.... it takes even more courage to accept and move on.....

I am not certain whether all this was politically motivated... even so I dont believe it is easy to act so much with your fathers killer......... even more so I dont believe the world is that harsh and materialistic as yet....

I just had to share my feelings on this... now lets move on...

Where have I been?

Being in Thailand is like being in a red light country.... I mean I have never seen a country which is more attuned to "serving" the tourists as much as Thailand.... to be honest it was quite sad to see 13 year olds being taken around old white men.... but I am no one to be judgmental about anyone - I am not in their shoes and I had different choices in life .... but you turn away from the country hoping that things dont go worse (they could legalise child porn or something) and in some way wishing that these women have the freedom to get out... I dont know, I am not sure, I dont want to know....

Other than that the most amazing part of my Thailand trip was the parasailing and the sea walking that I did... I have always been paranoid of water... and to finally fly above water was an amazing experience.... and sea bed walking was even better.... Was able to see the fish at close quarters - ofcourse having bread in your hand helped a lot in getting the fish to come to me...

Unfortunately I did not take any pictures of Thailand..... didnt find anything interesting enough..... Sorry....

Whats in a name?

Lots it seems if you are named Alice!... I mean i have been subjected to jokes about my name whenever I have introduced myself -
its always either "Oh Alice in wonderland! Are you in wonderland?" (Gee, so original dude) or "Alice, Who the F#*@ is Alice?!" Again I crawl under the table everytime these really cliched and boring jokes are made at a social gathering.... sometimes I take a nonchalant approach and look at the person with eyes that mean to say "Seriously? Why do you even exist?" For a long time I thought of changing my name cos it was getting so tiring dealing with all these sad jokes cracked by sad people.....

Anyways change my name I did not .... I am still stuck with this name.... and now I have a new complication in life - whenever I asked for a delivery home I have to repeat my name 10 times or spell it out before the person on the other line gets my name ... questions like "Alix?", "Sorry Madam, Cant understand" is most common response I get.... Finally in frustration I just confirm that my name is actually Alix and ask them to deliver....

If my life was not hard enough, the name of my building is also a tongue twister ... as innovative and witty as it is with the name "Wits End" for a building, your life just got a little more difficult.... "Widths End?" "Wet End?" or "West End?" are all common terms that I have been given over the telephone.... and then there are the endless stream of jokes which revolve around the obvious meaning of the term "Oh, so you are at your wits end?" (Not before dude but now with this joke I am)

I guess life does go on, crazy name or not... but if I ever have to name a kid I will ensure that it is a simple, soft, common name ...... which is why after repeated feedback (and someone calling me Baby Potato) I stopped calling Baby George Baby Tomato.... apparently I was setting the ground for him to be scarred for life.... well at least Baby Tomato would have had his aunt for company in dealing with the trauma.....

Charmed Life

I think at some point we all want to believe that we are "favoured" by the high being.... that out of the 8 billion odd people in this world we are the only ones meant to have a charmed life.... the one who will ultimately get what is deserved in life...

I wonder how many such people died waiting for that charmed life......

crazy post - but I feel crazy at this moment...

Holi-- are you holy?

Playing Holi has never been on my agenda ever... the first time I was introduced to the thrills of playing was in my first year in law school.... and just that year the director of our school decided to issue show cause notices to all who played holi and thereafter the festival was always something to be avoided...

until this year that is.... Christy and Baby George decided to play Holi and bought special guns for the occassion...and that meant I would also play Holi ..... ofcourse Baby George could not hold his gun so had to be content with his brother taking away his gun... Christy was even smarter - he traded the two guns for a larger gun which his friend had .... At the end of all the holi celebrations Christy has so much colour on his face that his own mother could not recognise him - and could identify it was Christy only because of his broken tooth.... Baby George was bundled off to the house since instead of playing with the coloured water, he started drinking it .....

Jordan - A MUST SEE

Jordan surprised me totally - I was expecting a poor country with no infrastructure for tourism etc etc... it turned out to be a real tourist friendly place... and ohhh so lovely... I had the best time there... imagine driving through a road where you spot almonds and cherry trees on one side and olive trees on the other.... and where you can actually float on water in a sitting position... imagine, imagine, imagine.... I loved this country a lot.... A MUST SEE!