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Showing posts from 2018

KGF - A Film review

Well its not exactly a review.. It's more about my thoughts on the movie.. Anyway I guess people may be offended by this post considering how every person who has watched the movie has been going gaga over it.. Well my New Year resolution is to be honest, even at the cost of people's feelings.. So here's an 'honest' opinion about this film.. The cardinal rule while going to watch a 'masala'/blockbuster/super duper hit film is to leave your brains at home.. Because 'blockbusters' are seldom logical.. So while the protagonist, hereinafter referred to as the 'Hero' makes an appearance on screen and everyone's hooting, I'm still trying to get a good look at his face.. What with all his long messy hair and thick beard.. It's no wonder the 'Heroine' didn't fall in love with him at first sight.. Because there wasn't a single scene in the movie where you could get a look at the 'Hero's' face.. I felt his hai

Inked!

So it's been a lifelong 'dream' for me to get a tattoo.. But I never really could muster the courage to get one.. The reviews about how the procedure was too painful was sufficient to put me off.. But I still hoped that someday I would be brave enough to walk into a tattoo studio and get a tattoo.. That 'someday' happened today.. So after catching a movie with friends we were just walking around in the mall and we just came across a tattoo studio.. One of my friends expressed her desire to get a tattoo.. So after much contemplation, we walked into the studio, very hesistently.. After making the initial enquiry about the cost, time involved in the process and more importantly after assessing the amount of pain involved the friend decided to get a tattoo.. Her decision was based solely on the fact that the tattoo artist assured her that the part of her body getting inked would be anesthetized using local anesthesia.. So she went for it.. But 5 minutes into the proc

A day in the life of a 'semi blind' me..

So I suffer from a condition called 'Myopia'.. What we laymen call 'short sight'.. And I have been wearing spectacles almost all my life.. But after I joined work I decided to switch over to contacts and have been using them for almost a decade now.. Off late though been facing some issues.. So a visit to the opthalmologist is long over due.. Anyway after I reached office today my eyes began to water continuously and the discomfort was so much I had to remove my contact lenses.. Since I don't carry the whole kit there was no appropriate place to keep my lenses so I threw them away.. Since I was not carrying my spectacles I had no choice but to spend the day being Helen Keller.. No offence intended.. I didn't want to tell anyone about my 'semi blind' state.. I just wanted the day to get over quickly.. But it was turning over to be a long and tedious one.. Imagine the scene.. My eyes are continuously watering.. The phone is continously ringing.. And I

The confessions of a lady driver

Forgive the tacky caption.. The 'creative' me is in hibernation hence I'm making do with bland, insipid titles.. Hoping that people reading this don't find the post dull and boring.. So coming to the topic.. 'Female drivers'.. Not wanting to sound sexist but it's a universally accepted fact that females are not as accomplished as their male counterparts when it comes to driving.. I take offence to that.. Not because I'm an accomplished driver but because many of my female friends are.. In fact some of them can give F1 race drivers a run for their money.. Conversely I also know several guys who don't know to drive.. Guess the universe has a way of balancing the scales.. So let's talk my adventures behind the wheel.. Well, I learnt to drive after I got married.. It was more of an 'I'm-an-independent-woman.. I-don't-need-anyone' phase that made me want to enroll for driving classes.. I goofed up the driving test but managed to g

The subtle art of not giving a 'fish'

The title for this post is actually inspired by a book by the same name..But I have modified the last word to avoid defiling my blog space with unparliamentary language, assuming my daughter will read my blogs some day.. (By the way, the last word on the (modified) title of my blog rhymes with 'duck'- for those of you who couldn't get it the first time.. lol) So, not many people know this about me but book shops are my favourite haunts to visit.. I can spend hours walking through those aisles, browsing through the books, and more often than not I end up buying atleast a couple of books.. So today, after an entertaining and fun filled brunch meet with friends from work, I thought it was also time I stimulated the 'nerd' in me and so I stepped into a nearby bookshop.. And the first book that caught my eye was titled "The subtle art of not giving a 'fish'".. The title amused me a lot.. Not so much because of the content but for the fact that such a

Happy Children's Day.. :-)

Today on the occasion of Children's day, we dressed up our daughter as Mother Theresa as she had to be dressed as a global personality.. Boy was she thrilled.. There's nothing more beautiful than to see your kid beaming.. Just like my daughter was today.. And she went to school so happily today.. It brought back memories of 'Children's day' celebration when I was kid.. Children's day was the most awaited occasion in the life of an 80s' kid.. The most exciting thing about childrens day was that we got to wear 'colour dress' or what my daughter's teachers today refer to as 'Casual wear'.. So the run up to Children's day was spent in deciding which outfit to wear.. Because it was the only day in the academic year that we got to wear something other than our dreaded uniforms.. And the day was spent in the auditorium, watching some class put up a programme that was more entertaining than some of the award winning series on Netflix today.

To new beginnings..

So we've all experienced those days where we feel unloved, unwanted and misunderstood.. And spent hours brooding over the 'pain' inflicted on us (real or imagined).. And perhaps spent time thinking how can people be so insensitive or indifferent.. How can my being hurt not bother my closest 'friends'? Are they so uncaring.. Or am I so insignificant in their lives? Well, the truth is they've always been insensitive/uncaring/indifferent.. But I chose to see beyond that and believe that these people are wonderful people who will never hurt me.. That's precisely why they say 'expectations hurt'.. You put someone on a pedestal.. Give yourself fully to them.. Open up to them, let them in, trust them, only to have your trust broken and your relationship reduced to ruins.. What ruins it is the picture we have in our minds of how its 'Supposed' to be.. People are 'supposed' to be kind and caring.. Friends are 'supposed' to be there fo

The decade that was..

I'm completing 10 years of work life in Vijaya Bank today.. In an age where changing jobs regularly is the norm, sticking to one organization for a whole decade is quite an achievement.. Well, I'm a loyal person.. And I aim to retire from Vijaya Bank.. I wasn't always 'proud and grateful' to be a part of this Institution.. I can vividly recall my first day at work.. It was exactly as I'd pictured.. A government office.. With pale coloured walls, old creaky furniture and lots of paperwork.. And a lot of seniors around.. I mean seniors in age..I was one of the handful juniors in a sea of seniors and I felt like an intruder who had broken into their world.. Some seniors detested the fact that I was a post graduate.. But I can tell you from experience that no amount of education can prepare you for the challenges of life.. So here I was, fresh out of college, the world my oyster but stuck in an office with people decades older than me.. I didn't know how I wo

Old friends..

They say wine tastes better as it gets older.. I'm realising friendships also become more enjoyable as they grow older.. So while you may not be in touch with those close friends for varied reasons, but when you do get together after a great deal of time, it's like you can pick up from where you left.. It's the same feeling of slipping into that favourite old sweater.. That sweater may be worn out and faded.. But it never fails to provide you the same warmth and comfort that it did earlier.. A few months ago I was having trouble in accepting that things need to be let go of.. But I realised that people change and so do their priorities.. Holding on to relationships that have long passed their expiry date can be injurious to one's (emotional) health.. I'm now trying to make a conscious effort to let go.. Earlier I detested the term 'Old friends'.. It made me feel that the friendship is over.. But I'm beginning to realise that 'Old is (definitely) Go

Death..

Last evening the nation lost one of it's iconic leaders.. Late Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee besides being a seasoned politician was also a renowned poet.. But I didn't know him as well as all the people on social media who've updated their status with pics of him or poems in honour of him.. My only association with him was as a kid when I would watch Shekhar Suman do absolutely brilliant imitations of Sri Vajpayee ji on his late night talk show called 'Movers and Shakers'.. And I'm sure none of those people sharing condolences messages knew Sri Vajpayee ji personally.. So I was mildly amused at seeing sooooooooo many messages on social media by people who were 'paying tribute' to this humble soul.. Also it made me wonder.. 'Is this what it takes to appreciate someone'.. Death???.. I guess it must be true.. I've been to several funerals.. But I've yet to attend a funeral where someone bitches about the dead.. They all go gushing about what

The Biryani that never came!

DISCLAIMER: Though the post is based on real life events it is in no way aimed to hurt anyone.. Resemblence to any person/place is purely coincidental.. :-P ACKNOWLEDGMENT: Hari Puttar, thank you for the title.. Dearest 'Honey'.. Take this with a pinch of salt.. And remember we tease those we love the most.. And you know we love you.. ;-) Usually I carry lunch to office.. And the occasions where I don't carry lunch I usually join other friends to either go out for lunch or order in.. Recently a friend and I decided to order for food.. So she scrolled through a food ordering app..My heart skipped a beat.. My soul became happy.. When she said the 3 magic words.. "Let's order biryani".. To all the people reading this I'm sure you'll agree that everyone loves biryani.. Although I'm not exactly a 'foodie' but I do love biryani from certain restaurants.. Since the order was placed from one of my favourite restaurants I couldn't wait

On Friendship Day

I'm a sentimental person..I love sentimental quotes and enjoy reading quotes like "Friends are forever.. To love and to be loved is the greatest treasure".. To my chagrin the first post I saw today was a forward which went like "because dosti chocolatey hi nahin, crunchy bhi hoti hai"..And I was like "What???? Kuch bhi???" I'm not sure if that was an advertisement for chocolate or potato chips.. Anyway I'm guessing the forward meant that friendship is not always fun and happy.. It can get challenging at times.. Or maybe it means that friends are not always mature and understanding.. They can also be fun and wild at times.. Anyway today I'm taking the time to talk about the different kinds of friends we have in life.. So here goes: THE CHILDHOOD FRIEND: These are our first friends in life.. And they make childhood such a memorable time and thinking about them always makes you feel happy.. I'm not in touch with any of my childhood

Who am I?

So we have this session on knowledge sharing at our workplace every Friday.. On one such occasion a colleague spoke on 'Self Awareness' and touched upon the topic called 'Johari Window' which is basically a technique that helps people understand their relationship with themselves and others.. The session was a welcome break from the usual work/job related discussion.. And it prompted me to reflect on the question which I still don't have an answer to "Who am I?".. Well, it's not that I don't know who I am.. Its just that I have never given this much of a thought.. I have always just accepted what others think of me and formed an opinion about myself.. But after some reflection on this aspect I decided to pen down my thoughts.. So here's a sneak peak into the 'mystery' that that is ME.. 1. I am not a snob (Maybe!) So I usually come across as this snobbish, arrogant person who can look through you and walk right past you like you don

"Beti Bachao" - A slogan or a warning?

It's time the policy makers declare 'Rape' as the National Sport of India.. It is being committed blatantly with impunity.. The news reports atleast one incident of a woman/child/baby being raped everyday.. There is no fear of the law.. It seems like there IS no law.. The recent incidents brought to light are being politicised and it makes me sick.. No one cares that an 8 year old was kidnapped, drugged and raped for days and then brutally killed and her body dumped like a piece of trash.. Her parents horror didn't end with that.. They weren't even allowed to bury their child in their village.. Instead of taking offense to the crime people are asking questions like why aren't the other crimes against women that have recently been inflicted on women been given the same coverage that this particular crime has been given.. We have lost our moral compass.. I'm terrified.. I have a 6 year old daughter.. And I no longer feel proud of her achievements and talent

The 10 biggest lies I've heard

We're taught from childhood that lying is a bad habit.. But once we grow older we realise that people have different definitions for what constitutes a 'lie'.. Apparently if you tell a lie to avoid hurting someone's feelings, it's not classified as a lie.. Some others say such lies are 'white lies'.. Whatever the definition, here are some of the lies I've heard and maybe you've heard too.. So feel free to add to this list.. 1. This is going to hurt just a 'little bit'.. This is every dentist's favourite line and every patient's nightmare.. 2. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to you.. What the person actually means is 'We don't know who you are and we don't really care what it is that you're going through.. Its performance appraisal season and we're just being polite for obvious reasons.. 3. Your call is important to us.. Please hold the line while our representative (I forgot the rest!) Are you t

A rant from a disillusioned Banker

In the wake of what is probably the biggest financial fraud the country's ever seen, social media is flooded with blogs, comments and articles on what, when and how the incident happened.. And honestly I'm getting tired of the jokes being made regarding banks.. The most famous one being that a staff from a particular bank was bestowed with an award since he refused a loan to the borrower in question because it was 'lunch time' and thus saved the bank from a huge disaster (read 'fraud').. A few days back Virender Sehwag tweeted 'Umpires treating Indian batsmen like how Banks treat customers'.. This really got my goat! The message implied was that bank employees are lazy and are drawing salaries without doing any work.. For anyone following the latest news I'm sure you would be aware of the new schemes the govt is coming up with and the PSU banks are the channels of distribution for the same.. During the 'Demonetisation' drive Bankers did an