A Cute Digression!!!

A

A tag that has been doing the rounds is that of listing down the things that define a particular alphabet for a person. Dharmabum gave me the letter "A" to play with! I finally got cracking on my list. Here goes!

Aeroplanes – I love them; maybe because they have the ability to help me travel to far flung places. Unfortunately, I’ve been on one only once, that too with a heavy and painful cast on my arm. I hope to rectify this grave injustice :-D in, and from, the following months!

Art – Art in various forms, appeals to me. From sketching and painting, to writing and dancing; I dabble a lot in some, some, I observe!

Aromas – Myriad aromas excite me; the smell of freshly watered earth, certain flowers, nail paint, new books, freshly disinfected hospital corridors (strange, but I do like them!), and many more that aren’t coming to my mind right now!

Alps/Arctic/Antarctica – Snow/ice is mystic for me. These places rank high on my "to visit" list.

Alarm pieces – Not that I ever need an alarm clock of any kind, the stickler for punctuality that I am, but for want of the letter “p” for “punctuality”, or “t” for “time”, “a” for “alarm pieces” it is!

Assortments – I adore assortments; assortments of beads, chocolates, candies, games, pebbles; you get the drift!

Anastasia – Nope, not the Grand Duchess, nor the singer. The name is what sounds immensely musical to me. Anastasia means “she who shall rise up again”, and that, again, is beautiful!

Arrows – When I was a kid, I used to fashion bows and arrows out of broomsticks. Not that I make them anymore, but the fascination for arrows, bows and quivers, strangely enough, never left me!

Applause – I like the sound of loud, ringing, genuine applause. When, for me, it’s a cementing of the fact that I’ve done a job well; and when I applaud someone else, it’s a confirmation of the fact that I’ve enjoyed being at the receiving end of the task that she/he has done so well!!!

Aches – My aching body, after a good workout (translates to some sets of exercises, in my case!), sure feels bitterly sweet! I can almost feel the calories drain away at such moments!

P.S. If any of you feel like creating a similar list, I'll be only glad to choose a letter for you!

A One Act Play...

Scene: The end of a long, weary road!
Cast: An apparently stylish auto driver, two tired souls (A and me), and several begrudging auto drivers.
Stage Directions: With melancholy music playing in the background, the stylish auto driver comes whizzing out the stage backdoor, and just manages to halt to a stop alongside the flailing arms of the two tired souls!

Act 1, Scene 1

Two tired souls: Care to ride us to such and such a place?
Stylish auto driver: Sure, hop on!

[The two tired souls heave a sigh of relief! After having been refused by at least a dozen auto fellas, it makes them feel blessed to encounter such an obliging one!]
[The two tired souls get into the vehicle. The vehicle sets off on its course.]

One tired soul {me}: Doesn’t he look all funky, what with those handsfree wires hanging out of his ears?!?
The other tired soul {A}: Yeah, he sure does; although, I don’t think he understands either of the languages we’re conversing with him, in!

[The first tired soul gives a tired smile.]

Act 1, Scene 2

[The stylish auto driver looks furtively to the right, then, to the left, and then decides to embark upon a certain road!]

One tired soul {A}: Aah, looks like he knows a shorter route to get to such and such a place, different from the one we usually take!
The other tired soul {me}: I sure hope so! He doesn’t look too confident about knowing the route!
The first tired soul {A}: Boss, do you know where you’re going?

[At this point, the stylish auto driver makes some kind of an indiscernible gesture, leading the two tired souls to believe that he knows what he’s doing. However, after a few more minutes, his knowledge of the route becomes increasingly questionable!]

The second tired soul {me}: I don’t think you know the route you wanted to take. You could have just gone by the main road. We’d have reached such and such a place by now!

[Again, the stylish auto driver mumbles incoherently, followed with some more apparently meaningless gestures, and quickly darts in and out of small lanes and by lanes that seem to lead nowhere, other than bringing the two souls back to the same place!]

The first tired soul {A}: Boss, what are you doing?
The second tired soul {me}: [Increasingly getting worked up by the second…] We’re going round and round in circles! Let’s disembark right here, right now, and take another vehicle!
Stylish auto driver: Okay okay, just deduct five rupees when you pay me by the meter!
The second tired soul {me}: He drives more than a kilometer circling the perimeter of the same lanes, not moving anywhere close to our destination, and he has the audacity to ask us to deduct only five bucks?!? Deduct six, I say! Six bucks for a kilometer, is the rule!

[All this while, the first tired soul {A} tries to calm the second tired soul {me} down, as also tries to make some sense of where the stylish auto driver was leading them and his vehicle!]

Act 1, Scene 3

The first tired soul {A}: [Almost at his wits end now….!!!] Boss, what exactly do you think you’re doing!?! We seem to be going nowhere!

[Yet again, the stylish auto driver does his noncommittal shrug and gestures thing, leaving the two tired souls to almost tear out the hair on their heads!!!]
[After a few more twists and turns and snaking in and out of a few more lanes, voilà, the two tired souls find themselves right at the spot from which they’d hailed the very same auto!]

Stylish auto driver: I think you guys should get off here. I really don’t know how to get to such and such a place using the route I wanted to take!
The first tired soul {me}: What did you think I was saying all this while!?!
The second tired soul {A}: HAHAHAHA… This is hilarious, man! I’ll never forget this ride!

[The two tired souls get off that fated auto rickshaw, not being able to fathom what had actually taken place! Soon, the furrows over their foreheads straighten out, the creases as though magically erased by the laughter that takes control of the two souls. They start guffawing like seldom before; the ripples created by their deep-throated laughter to remain with them for a long time to come!]

Exeunt

[Curtains fall…]

The Grand Finale!!!

The evening of Saturday last, A and I directed our steps to our favourite coffee cafe yet again! Upon entering the by now familiar premises, I asked for the branch manager who had invited us over. The person in charge of the outlet explained that the manager was out on some business, and then proceeded to speak to him over the phone. After he'd had a brief exchange over the phone with the manager, we were shown to two seats. We were also informed that the manager would soon be with us, and that we were to order in the meantime. Of course, it is imperative to mention here that almost all sentences uttered by all the employees with whom we interacted, had a liberal dosing of "pleases" and "thank yous" and smiles! Never before have I witnessed such a reception; almost bordering on saccharine sweetness! Nevertheless, there were also numerous hushed whisperings among the employees, as also the casting of sidelong glances in our direction!

After having placed our orders, we settled down to a lazy wait. The orders arrived, with some more smiles and courtesies as condiments! Specifically remembering an episode from our previous visit, I asked one of the employees for a glass of water. Half expecting to hear the same rant of how they don't serve water (yes, that's what was claimed the previous time; they apparently don't (didn't?) serve water in their branch! Actually, even in the other branches I've been to, water has always been served in miniscule plastic cups), I was quite amused to see her give an affirmative nod of the head to my request, and then return with a tall glass of water, with even ice cubes floating gently on top!!! Aha! The things a small mail can achieve!

Although, as it was getting quite late, we didn't finally get to meet the man himself, we were very pleased with the way the situation had been handled. To top it, our orders were declared to be on the house, coupled with several reassurances that an incident such as what had happened, would never again be repeated.

All in all, it was a right royal treatment; including the tall glass of ice-laden water, of course!

P.S. Thanks, all!!!

To Call My Own!!!

On a house hunting spree,
This young year finds us to be,
Of myriad shapes and sizes,
From the many, one, ours will be!

Trudging through weary paths,
Haggling over hard earned pennies too,
Though, not one yet touches me so,
Neither holds me in delight too!

Elusive, though you may be,
For certain, will I still seek thee!
Take a while; less or more, it may,
But, in the end, just ours, will be thee!

Four walls that make me ever smile,
A cozy spot, made just for me,
Our abode, will you be proudly called,
Aren’t you there, just waiting for me?!?

A home to call our very own,
Nay, not a house will it ever be!
Not with bricks, cement, or even mortar,
With real joy, may it always filled be!

The Customer Age...

Aha! All the hullabaloo I created over the Iced Caramel Temptation fiasco seems to be paying off quite well! Not that I really created a hullabaloo, A just sent out a nicely worded mail to the concerned department. I’m pretty pleased with the speed at which the mail was responded to. First, the Customer Relationship Manager promptly replied to the mail, and even spoke to us over the phone. Of course, gift vouchers were sent as a mark of solidarity! Not that I care much for them gift vouchers; they’re only to be used for cups of hot coffee, and neither of us are great coffee drinkers! Nevertheless, it’s the immediate response and rectification that counts, and I’m happy that such mails are read and acted upon! In truth, I really doubted whether A’s mail would even get read, in the first place!

A couple or more days back when I was out of town, I received another phone call; this time, from the manager in charge of the particular outlet that we’d had the experience in. Explaining that I was out of town, I asked him if he could call me back in 2-3 days. He willingly agreed, and just before I was setting out for lunch today, I got a call from him again. He further reiterated how sorry they were about what had happened, as also how he’d given his team a “briefing”. He further expressed his desire that we should visit the very same outlet again, accepting his invitation for coffee.

Well, I can only imagine the glares and stares from the staff as we walk into the place again! “Let’s hope they don’t beat us up!” said A, jokingly! Stares or sweet smiles, to go, I do intend! It’ll at least make for another blog story, and maybe, ever so improbably, a coffee enthusiast of me! Although, methinks I’d settle for an Iced Caramel Temptation any day! ;-)

Pic Courtesy: Google

An Aura; A Haiku; and the Blues!!!

Your Aura is Blue

Your Personality: Your natural warmth and intuition nurtures those around you. You are accepting and always follow your heart. You in Love: Relationships are your top priority, and this includes love. You are most happy when you are serious with someone. Your Career: You need to help others in your job to feel satistifed. You would be a great nurse, psychologist, or counselor.

What Color Is Your Aura?

Am feeling so blue,
Oh wonder of wonders; mine,

Aura, feels it too!

Missed Being Here!!!

It feels good to be posting after four long days! I really missed being here!

On Thursday last, we set out to attend A's convocation. We travelled by a sleeper bus, a first for me! It was quite fun, including all the being bounced around and being thrown high up in the air tactics that form a part of being a few feet above the huge tyres of an even huger air bus!

A View of the Inside of the Bus!

The convocation was held in the IIMK campus itself. This particular campus is a real beauty; green everywhere you look, and lovely mountains forming an absolutely breathtaking surrounding view! Most students wake up to the view of these mountains shrouded in seemingly unearthly mists of fog!

An Aerial View

The convocation ceremony itself was a simple and formal one, neither too short, nor too long with unwarranted speeches!

A; in All His Robed Glory!

The next two days were spent in my parents' house, where I did nothing other than eat and sleep the whole time we were there! Not that that seems to have helped my drowsiness this morning, either! I'm haunting my laptop with my droopy eyes that threaten to close shut at any moment! This is why it's not a good idea to return from a trip only the very morning you have to show up at work!

P.S. I hope I've amply explained the reason behind the mundaneness and brevity of this post!

Eerie?!? Sometimes…

Psychic quality? Intuition? Sixth sense? Almost synonymous words; words that are very intriguing and interesting too! I’ve always wondered at the true nature of the meanings of these words. Although a lot of myth has been attached to their interpretations, what lies at the bottom is the unswerving truth that they are, by no means, qualities/traits/features/makings of an individual’s mind that can be easily waved away with a shrug or slight motion.
Often times, I find myself knowing/feeling the existence of things and events before they actually take place. Coincidence? Maybe! So many times? Improbable! Or, at least that’s what I feel. I may be wrong. Maybe they really are coincidences, but they are not one-off incidents too! Many times, it’s scary; scary because of the nagging doubt that what is going to transpire will most probably be of the unpleasant kind; the kind that leaves you saddened and down for a while. At other times, the knowledge that something good is bound to happen, has the ability to lift one’s spirits like nothing else! I’ve felt both kinds; some quite personal, some not so much to do with me. In almost all instances, I’ve been taken aback by the accuracy of my gut feelings! Yes, almost all are believed to possess gut feelings about everything that takes place unto them or their immediate point of reference; however, is it possible that in some, it is a tad more pronounced than in others, if not by a large degree!?! More so, is the said ability ingrained in me?!? From feelings of déjà vu that everyone experiences (to the best of my knowledge, at least), to expecting to hear the phone ring in the next immediate moments; from running into a person who has been in my thoughts in the recent past (present?), to knowing that an impending doom is just around the corner; from being absolutely certain that a particular event will most surely take place, to being chilled to the bones when it actually does; the range of these feelings seem to embrace the entire gamut of oddness and revelations! I rather like wielding this power, nay, information. How can it be power when I have absolutely no control over it?!? I rather like it, though! Ignorance may be bliss for some, but knowledge is strangely comforting to me, whether by chance, coincidence or even, good old intuition!

Eerie?!? Sometimes…

In Pursuit of a Long Awaited Goal!!!

About a week back, I completed work on my thesis. Once it is accepted by the university, I will be officially rewarded with an M.Phil degree! It feels really great to have completed the thesis at long last! It deals with the treatment of women in an American dramatist's (Tennessee Williams) plays. I really enjoyed working on it, and also want to extend a sincere thanks to all (you know who you are!), who, by way of their inputs, helped script a certain chapter in the said thesis!

A Haiku; in Pain!

Like pure lead after,

Jus' 3 days worth of sit ups!

Thighs; are you both mine?!?

Pic Courtesy: Google

Stayin' Alive!!!

Saturday saw me and A embroiled in an involuntary adventure of sorts! While setting out to visit my aunt, little did either of us think that we’d be almost compelled to count, what felt like, the last few precious moments of our lives!

After setting out of our house, we settled into a wait for an auto rickshaw that would help us reach our destination, without us having to pay an arm, with a leg also thrown in for good measure! Quite annoyingly, there seemed to be no ricks without any passengers that fateful evening. Or, if there happened to be a trifle few empty ones, they refused to make the distance to my aunt’s place, without, like I’ve already mentioned, making sure that we part with at least a few body parts! Little did we know then that this figurative losing of an arm and a leg would soon turn into an almost literal losing of them!

After what seemed to be an interminable wait, finally, an auto that we hailed, very kindly and generously agreed to take us to our desired destination, and surprise of surprises, the driver didn’t ask for even a paisa more! Highly grateful, we clambered into it, and what then entailed can only be described as a ride in a death cab, or in Lord Yama’s private vehicle itself! Our man, the driver of the auto that was apparently a vehicle to transport us to the world down under itself, thought it absolutely unnecessary to have any concern for his or our safety! The speed with which he sped by other paltry vehicles, lampposts, signals, and huge, thundering trucks even, would have put to shame any self respecting formula one participant! Speed breakers hardly deterred the brave soul! He must have thought it blissful fun to brake at the very last moment when encountered with a speed breaker, leaving the tires to screech wildly, and us, inside the vehicle, to sickeningly careen from one side to the other! He didn’t even bother to stay on the road most of the time! Skilled as he was, the pavement/sidewalks/dirt roads were absolutely great to drive on, too!

His skill and speed, coupled with the amazing control that he had over the vehicle, got us to our destination in 15 minutes flat; a journey that usually takes a good 30 to 40 minutes! I must admit he quite efficiently nullified all our waiting time; not to mention the worry that we were running late!

Throughout the ride, all I could think of was how I had so many things I still wanted to do in this earthly life! Also, although throughout the ride, we were almost laughing our heads off at the way we were being transported to what we could only think of as our death beds, the recklessness of such auto and cab drivers is a continuous menace in this city, as it is in other cities in our country, if I’m right!!! There’s nothing left to be written about this topic; a lot has already been mouthed and penned down about the same! I wonder what it is that drives such people to put on risk not only their own lives, but also the lives of innocent passengers; and being someone who has been through a more than fair share of accidents, I can vouch that life, for a few months after an accident, is not pretty at all!

Asking them to slow down, talking in polite terms, shouting; nothing seems to work! They still seem hell bent on breaking all traffic rules and human levels of tolerance by zooming forward at breakneck speeds; all for saving some time and earning a few more rupees at almost the cost of another passenger’s limbs or life?!!? How fair is that?!?

Indecisiveness

My oft middle name,
I wonder why it is so,
No time of day or night, it sees,
Jus’ springs on me, like a foe!

Oscillating between this,
That, and something more,
Ever swinging like a pendulum, am I!
Is it so ingrained in my core?!?

Some things in life,
Dead sure of, am I!
It’s the in-between things that so eat me!
And my head, in a knot, they tie!

Coupled with this,
Is my inimitable mood,
My indecisiveness too bows its head to thee!
Do you have to be so lewd!?!

To do a certain thing,
Decide, though I may,
When eventually faced with it, close upfront,
Act an entirely different way!

Some things become us,
Ingrained they may be,
The twain cannot be let off that easily, though!
I sure will conquer thee!!!

Pic Courtesy: Google

Here's to Us!!!

Pic Courtesy: Google

Happy Women's Day! Although, it's not like every day is not ours!

What’s Been Cooking?!?

A lot, by my standards! From surviving on measly meals (especially, dinners) of readymade fat-filled noodles and loaves of bread day in and day out (night in and night out?!?), I’ve graduated to making things that actually qualify as full-fledged meals! Of course, it helps that I no longer live alone or have to cook only for myself! Having A around, constantly harping on how what I make is so delicious and out of the world, really peps me up, and makes me want to make more and more new things! I’ve been trying my hand at making a lot of things; mostly mundane stuff like idlis, doshas, daal, and the like (nothing exotic yet), but I’m all raring to embark on a cooking spree now! I intend whipping up some yummy new stuff this weekend too! I must say it’s a far cry from my usual self! When it comes to cooking, I’ve always been one of the most apprehensive people around, but not anymore! Things I’m trying my hand at for the first time, also seem to come out pretty well, and that has given a tremendous boost to my confidence in my cooking skills! Unfortunately, I was so delighted at having managed to actually cook pretty decently that I forgot to take pictures of my masterpieces! I intend subjecting the weekend fares I make, to some photography too! Hopefully, they’ll look and taste good enough to be written about and presented on this space!

Apparently, I'm a Dog!!! :-/

>What animal would best suit your personality? A DOG. You are one of the best friends that someone could ever ask for. A very loyal, compassionate person who is always there for close friends and family members who are in a tough time. You are someone who can be counted on time and time again and never let small grudges get in the way of a good friendship. But unfortunately, you are very dependant, and every now and then someone will take advantage of your loyalty, and it is most often not until you end up hurt that you realised your foolishness.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Feel the Difference, Sir!!!

The weekend that just sped by saw A and me embark on a shopping spree! Having had quite a number of things to buy, it didn't take too long to lighten A's wallet by a considerable amount! Moreover, walking in the heat rendered sore our tired and aching feet. Driven by the sole aim of quenching our parched throats with some delectable fluids, we entered one of the million Cafe Coffee Days that dot this city! As is usual, the place was teeming with a considerable number of people. We quickly settled into two cane chairs, feeling blissful at finally being able to rest our posteriors! Quickly skimming through their fashionable Windows Vista promotion menu card, A and I soon decided what we'd like to have. I settled for an Iced Caramel, while A chose a Strawberry Smoothie. When I proclaimed what I'd like to have, the guy taking our orders nodded wisely and said "Caramel Temptation". We figured that was another name for the drink that I'd ordered. Having placed our orders, we got down to general bantering. In a short while, our drinks arrived. Mine looked like a lovely snow-capped mountain peak, with a generous swirl of ice cream and cream forming the topmost layer on a pleasing, twirling concoction of brown chocolate and beige caramel filled milky liquid! A's was a similar creamy hilltop, albeit in pink. A good way into my drink, a realization suddenly hit me. I looked at the huge menu board they had on one their walls, at the bill (which, as is wont in Coffee Day outlets, was brought even before the orders had been!), and then at the surreptitious looking menu card, using which I'd made my choice! Iced Caramel in the menu card read Rs. 47/-, on the massive board, Caramel Temptation was priced at Rs. 62/-, while in the bill itself, Iced Caramel Temptation was at a whopping 93 Rupees! Flustered, I brought this to A's attention, who, in turn, became perplexed at the anomaly!

We beckoned to a young girl employee and asked her to send the young man who had taken our orders, to our table. She asked us whether she could help us with anything, and we proceeded to explain what had taken place; how I'd ordered for a particular drink, the name and price of which had apparently changed thrice by the time it reached my side! Having patiently heard us out, she proceeded to explain how the Caramel Temptation that was listed on the menu card and the one that I had been served, were not the same drinks! On asking her how two drinks could have the same name, she blinked stupidly, and soon gave way to the man who had taken our orders. We launched into the lengthy explanation once again, having to repeat it many a time before he could grasp the situation! He promptly launched into an explanation of how he had let us know that Iced Caramel was not served on weekends, instead of which, the Iced Caramel Temptation with cream and ice cream and some other frills, was served! When we declared in no uncertain terms that he had done nothing of the sort, he again launched into the aforesaid explanation, letting the conversation go round and round and round in circles that had no beginning or end whatsoever! By then, I was glowering with anger at having been made to drink a drink that I hadn't even ordered, when something the guy said made both A and me almost choke with suppressed laughter! He went, "..... but Sir, the one on the menu is Caramel Temptation, the one I served is Iced Caramel Temptation, (he then proceeded to open the bill, which, along with the total, also listed what went into each drink, and with a flourish and wave of his hand, he exclaimed...) feel the difference, Sir!" Unable to stop smirking, I vehemently explained how he hadn't done his job well, having failed to inform us of the unavailability of the drink we'd ordered, assuming instead that I'd automatically prefer to have the weekend special one! After his hasty retreat, we thought it'd be funny to pay only for the drinks that we'd really ordered, and not the special one that had been forced on us, and then ask the same young fellow to "feel the difference"! We didn't do anything of the sort, but it sure is not one statement I'm going to forget in a hurry!

The New Kid on the Block!

Meet Dumpy, the newest addition to my brood! Thanks a ton, A!

Pssttt: I know I shouldn't pick favourites, but Dumpy is too unique and adorable to not be the chosen one!

The Attack of the Virus!

A sleepless night,
Two restless days,
Woe betide the virus,
And, its unruly ways!

Made me its home,
Nay, no consent, did ask!
Fed on my fodder,
And, in triumph, did bask!

A throbbing head,
Muscles that pain and rue,
Lovely gifts, are they not?
Bundled with a sore throat too?!?

Down my throat,
The first few tossed,
Not one pill, not any,
A fear, in it, caused!

A dreaded visit after,
Swallowing of bitter truths on cue,
At long last, a diminishing furnace,
Ah! To feel all my senses anew!

P.S. Woohoo! This is my 100th post!