CTT:10 Irrational things that I worry about

Some irrational things that I worry about

1. When I eat a hard candy, I worry that I might break my tooth.

2. When I show my id at the airport, and the security looks at me, I feel that he might pull me aside and tag me as terrorist and say that my id is fake.

3. When there is turbulence is the flight, I am sure that we are going to crash and die.

4. I close the bedroom door before I sleep, if its not closed I keep staring at it before I sleep, in my head I imagine a ghost walking in my living room or coming in the bedroom through the open door.

5. When I am standing on my balcony and drinking coffee, I worry that if my coffee mug falls and hits someone, I might become a murderer and I can't even run away the people in the opposite building would have seen me.

6. When I go shopping and get into the trial room, I worry that I might get stuck inside a dress halfway through and it would be embarrassing to call someone to help me out of that dress.

7. After sending an official email, I check the "Sent Items" atleast twice to make sure that I have hit the Reply button or the Reply All button.

8. Whenever a dog howls after 10pm, I am convinced that there are ghosts around.

9. When any of my loved ones are travelling, I always feel that they might meet with an accident.

10. When I wear I saree, I am totally convinced that I am going to trip on it and fall on my face and my saree will come off.

What irrational things do you worry about/

CTT: Labels

I am labels

I was born and labelled as my parents daughter

In minutes I was labelled with my religion,my stars, my relatives

Over the years the labels increased

Some labels fell off

Some were ripped that left a mark on me

While some just got into my skin and might stay for life

I am a set of labels for life

So, are everyone else

This post is inspired by one line on Twitter by someone who's name I don't remember anymore

PC

CTT: Reflections

She stood in front of the mirror and saw the reflection of her eyes

So much hurt, in there lies

She put black kohl in one eye and looked up that mirror again
While one eye looked happy, the other reflected her pain

She carefully covered the bruises under her eye

The thoughts of it only made her cry

She applied a crimson red lipstick, for it hid the bloodied red scar

Her smile seems to be lost very far

To the world, she looked happy & shiny as a star

Somewhere deep down happy is the only emotion that her heart yearned for

PC

CTT: Lessons Learnt After My Wedding Shopping

I got married a few years back, and since its the wedding season and a very close friend of mine is getting married. I thought maybe I should wear my "Auntyji" cap and share the top five lessons I learnt after my wedding about wedding shopping

1. I spent all of my savings for my wedding - Bad idea
Keep a budget in mind for everything. Wedding is just one day. Use that money for honeymoon, or beautifying your new home after the wedding day

2. Do not spend too much on heavy sarees and lehengas. It's OK to rent them (if the elders are ok with it)
Trust me, when I say that you are never going to use them again. I haven't worn my wedding reception saree or the other sarees, after my wedding day, simply because they were too OTT for any simple event. They were too attention grabbing for any other wedding.
My mom got my five more sarees for the "just in case" functions which also have been worn maybe once in the first year.

3. Leave a decent margin while stitching those pretty blouses.
I regret not doing that. I have bloated enough to not fit in any of my wedding and pre-wedding blouses. A margin will ensure that you can use those blouses for a while (PS: I am on the verge of giving up on those beautiful embroidery work blouses *sheds tears*)

4. Invest on daily wear outfits, footwear and things.
Buy good kurtis, shirts, a few party salwar kameez, light weight sarees.
You are going to be invited for lunches and dinners at many relatives places on both sides, and obviously you won't be wearing your zari or embroidered heavy outfits. These things will come to your rescue

5. Avoid buying make-up that you don't already use.
You will have a make-up artist coming in for your special day and after that I am sure you won't walk around looking like a Christmas tree, three months after the wedding.
I used to read a lot of articles on what-a-bride-must have things. I got myself make-up things that I don't even know how to use, after a year they just got dumped in the thrash.
Buy, what you use now, buy what you think can be used later too

Those are my top five lessons from Your Very Own Drama Wali Aunty

CTT: Pollution in India

I have had quite a bit of alone time in the past few weeks, and I have taken a fancy to stand at my balcony and look at the vehicles passing by.

This Sunday, while I was standing in my balcony at say around 8 am, enjoying a cup of coffee,a random thought came into my mind.

I started to count the vehicles that pass by that inside street. 

In 45 minutes, on a lazy Sunday morning, I counted an alarming number for 623 cars.

I wonder, if a side street, can have that much carbon footprints on a Sunday morning, imagine the amount of pollution we create all over the city, and the country.

I had a chat with a friend of mine, and she rightly pointed out that, she felt guilty to travel alone in cabs, which I agree, we might reduce some amount of pollution if we car-pooled,or take the public transport.

We cut trees to make buildings. Then we look for greenery everywhere.

Now, a days people go on "road trips"for a breathe of fresh air because everything around is polluted, air, sky, noise, water, soil. Its painful to think, that our kids, the future of this country will be born, breathing the polluted air.

I wish everyone would do their bit to make India a less polluted place.

CTT: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

An English friend was supposedly very impressed with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and wanted the consolidated version of it.

Conversation between the English friend, SRK fan friend and me

SRK Fan friend started to rant.

I volenterred to give a consolidated version

Popular Guy (PG) and Ugly Girl (UG) are best friends.
Hot Girl (HG) enters the picture.
PG falls for HG and UG falls for PG. UG realizes this and vanishes.

PG married HG and meanwhile UG turns HG and is engaged to a Brawny Dumb Guy (BDG)
Original HG dies.

Years later, UG turned HG goes to a summer camp, which is also a family reunion for the PG.
PG and UG turned HG meet there. PG now wants this new HG too.
In the end, they get married.

BDG is the loser in the end

Also, the whole fiasco is created by an 8 year old kid of the PG & HG with her horny, dumb grandfather and a screeching grandmother.

English friend: I have to see this movie.

I tried to warn him.

CTT: #Undertaker

A few days back, WWE wrestler Undertaker announced his retirement. Its been ages that I have stopped following WWE, but it has so much memories attached to it.
I used to watch it, when it was WWF,we had Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin (who for a long time I called Stone Cold Srivastav), Triple H, Dudley boys, The Rock, Chris Jerico, Big Show and so many more. Oh Yeah! How can I forget the favorite among the boys Trish ;-)

I remember buying a particular candy, only because they gave the WWE cards for free and exchanging them with friends LOL


Phew! So much nostalgia already.

Well, back to our man Undertaker.
I loved his entry. The entry music was my ringtone for a long time.
There were so many rumors about him then;

Undertaker is already dead
Undertaker sleeps in a coffin
Undertaker has nine lives and his lives are kept in a pot
Triple H broke 8 of Undertaker's life pots and only one is left.

Life was so simple back then.

With Lots of Love Mr. Undertaker Sir

CTT: Working Moms Vs Stay-At-Home Moms

There have been so many articles and open letters that has come up after Mira Rajput's infamous comment on babies and puppies.

I don't understand something, working mom or stay at home mom is a mom after all. All she wants is the best for her kid and in her own, way she does what she can do best.
Working or not, is the mothers choice, but end result is her child's welfare which I think, the mother knows the best. I don't understand why people are being so judgmental and defensive.

A mom working or not doesn't define how a child grows up to be.

If a working mom gets a relaxing coffee break at work, she is sacrificing the time to be with her child. If a stay at home is getting to be with her child, she is giving up on her relaxing time.

Both moms are sacrificing something, all for only one tiny person, her baby, who is and forever will be special to her.

Working mom and a stay-at-home mom have their own set of responsibilities which they fulfill pretty well. Applause to both category moms.

Why this comparison of who is better?

Every mom is special.
Accept it. Its not a competition

And FYI, puppies are like little babies and demand as much care.

Source

CTT: Miss you....Maybe not

"Stay Away From Someone So Much That They Miss You, Not So Much That They Forget You" - Anonymous

This quote so perfectly holds true in my life.

So, the plot goes like this;
We have two office buildings an I have two teams sitting in each building. I split my time between the two offices. When I don't have a meeting in one of the offices; I don't go there, well because the that office gives me this lonely feeling because of its high-walled cubicles.

So, I went to the other office after say; a week and I HAVE BEEN FORGOTTEN

My chair with my name sticker vanished (was found in a conference room)
My LAN cable vanished
Half of my stationery vanished
My team mates forgot that I exist in the office because I am tiny and hidden behind a huge pillar.
My water bottle looked sadly at me

This is heart-breaking. Me thinks me have to make my presence a little obvious here. Maybe I should suddenly break-out into a dance or something.

CTT: Your kid's age

Me: Hey, how old is your baby

Her: He turns 28 months in March

*in my head 12+12+4 = 2 years 4 months*

Dear Parents,

When you tell your kid's age. Say it in years after the kid is 1.

1 year

1 year 3 months

2 years

2 and a half years

Its simpler like that and frankly sounds sane too.

I mean, you never tell your age as 336 months old. Do you?

Sincerely,

People who are not parents.

CTT: Happy Homecoming

I dropped you there, and saw your car go

I stood there, and looked as far as my eyes could follow

I start counting the days, hours minutes until I see you again from that moment on

I came back to an empty house, and sat on the couch until dawn

Your fragrance lingers everywhere

I may not admit, but so much I care

I feel your touch and miss your smile already

To stay alone, not yet, I am not ready

You are away just for a few days and it feels like ages

If my life were a book, you are its most beautiful pages

I lay alone in that cold bed

All I can think is you, in my head

I scroll down my phone and smile at your pictures

Those videos and all that cuteness

I couldn't sleep a wink, you are coming tonight that I know

I realized I love you so much, much more than I care to show

PC: Charoletteville

CTT: Teen Mundi Bhoot (Three Headed Witch)

This weekend, we were driving back from somewhere are started talking about ghosts and ghouls, then the topic diverted to beliefs and rumors about ghosts.

Then I told Awin about the "Teen Mundi Bhoot" (The headed witch) rumor that was spreading in our school when I was about 7. (which I am sure many of my friends would remember)

The rumor was that the Teen Mundi Bhoot is a lady with long hair, bloody teeth and red eyes, wears a white gown and floats, knocks the door and eats up all the little kids at home. My brother, then was 3 and I started weeping my heart out saying "I need to go home and save my brother" 

I remember the teachers had to call my parents to pacify me and ensure that my little brother is safe.

Today, when I look back, I feel, even now if there is a "Teen Mundi Bhoot" lurking around to eat my brother, I would still weep and try to save him. (while I was saying this, my eyes got moist, my voice started to quiver)

First time ever, I saw the "Awww" look in my husband's eyes.

CTT: Do you mean it?

So, here I am on a weekend, plonked on my balcony swing with nice hot chocolate and a plate of shortbread.


I take a bite of a yummy shortbread, drop a few crumbs on my laptop that has a few social media sites open and very frequently I read people on social media sharing "I would travel and gather memories than gather a huge bank balance"

I wonder, how many of them really mean it.

I mean, honestly I can touch my heart and say, I would rather have a huge bank balance, a nice house of my own and limited travel memories than be broke, on the road and a lot of memories when I am old.

It's a personal opinion though.

CTT: 12 Months of 2016

Twelve Things I am grateful for in 2016

January: Thank you for being the birthday month

February: Thank you for the scrabble Valentine

March: Thank you for the guts to color my hair

April: Thank you for a supportive family and colleagues

May: Thank you for the many DIY ideas

June: Thank you for the good health

July: Thank you for a tick on my bucket list

August: Thank you for the prizes I won this month

September: Thank you for Ganpati, Navratri, free dandiya, and lovely durga pooja

October: Thank you for Diwali and the mesmerizing lights at home

November: Thank you for Mumbai

December: Thank you for being a beautiful year.

Good Bye!

CTT: Rainy Day

I stand at the frosted french window

Prim and proper, feeling limbo

With steaming coffee in my hand

And other in the pocket of my pants

I stare far at the pitter-patter rain drops

The grey cloud, and the tiny little shops

The city wears such a gloomy look

Like doom just overtook

I feel so sleepy

Work is making me weepy

Coming back to work after a vacation

Feels nothing less than a retribution

CTT: Generation Alpha

Today evening, I was coming back from work with a heavy backpack and empty silly looking lunch box. All tired, and my hair sticking out of my head like twigs.

I see a group of kids near the elevator playing with a fallen bicycle. The kids would be around 3 to 6 year olds. They looked at me with this "Who? What is this? Thing" kind of look

I heard them talk and I was in awe, what impeccable manners and what good English. 

"Rahul, Could you call Aryan. I need to speak to him now"
"I am sure I called him. But I will try calling him again"
"I hope he comes this time. I really need him here"
"We need to move. The elevator is coming to zero (zee-row)"

At that age, I was blubbering in street Hindi and Tamil. I knew lift. Elevator..What elevator?

The standards, the education, the quality of these kids are a total different level.
I'm so proud to see such an amazing future of our country, errr..the bright future of our country who might be working in some other country.

CTT: My travel diaries

I went to my Mumbai to my "mother's house" last month for some reason.  Normally, when I travel home, my husband is with me, very rarely have I gone home alone. He couldn't join me in this trip.
I travel quite a bit, but why this trip deserved a post? Well, because it was different.

Flying from Bangalore to Mumbai, was like a well planned operation(I ain't elaborating that). I took a bus to the airport, next to me seated for this man, 35ish, serious looking, but had this dimpled charm to him. I started reading a mafia book and that I think got him interested and we got talking. This man is a criminal lawyer in Indian Supreme Court. He had come to meet his family here. I asked him about his best case, his worst case. He amused me with his stories, with smart, dumb, stupid, criminals. The airport came and we parted ways.

In Mumbai, I met my cousins and after years we were really together again, and it meant a lot to me to see the whole family together and smiling.

I had a flight back to Bangalore after 3 days, I met my old friends, colleagues, my old boss, saw the new revamped office and had this nice feel good thing in me that morning.

I reached the airport pretty early, and incidentally got talking to a security there. She said, she keeps meeting celebrities day in and day out. She works for 12 hours, standing with an hour's break. She lost her husband and misses her children. We shared a cup of tea, a lot of smiles and parted ways.

In my flight, I got the aisle and a young girl, very athlete looking, wearing a rugged woodland shoes took the window, her friend was sitting on the window one seat ahead of us and a lady known to them, was sitting on the opposite seat. There was this man sitting behind us who knew the woodland shoe girl in my seat, and they started talking in Marathi.

Background: The boy and woodland girl were classmates. Boy works in Bangalore. Girl is studying in Bangalore. Boy is going back to Bangalore from home and the girl was having a stopover flight in Mumbai after a Himalayan Trek

So, moment I heard the Himalayan trek, I knew I had to talk to her, and the 'networking mode' in me switched on. A group of these kids, were studying "Glaciology" Its a study about glaciers. I had no idea that there is a dedicated course for glaciers. That got me all ears, she introduced me to her professor, the lady in our opposite seat and all three of us got talking about Himalayas and few more passengers joined us. It was like one big meeting by the end of the 90 minute flight. We reached Bangalore and parted ways.

I took a bus back from the airport, I met a "hippy" looking man seated next to me. He asked me about my new phone and that's how we got talking. That man is an artist, and an IT enthusiast, and has a 5-year old daughter. He had been travelling for the past 90 days, without luggage, he buys on the move and recycles or gives it away. All he has was a camera bag and a rucksack, he was now coming back from somewhere in the northeastern part of India . He and his friends, make a point to take off every year to anywhere. My stop arrived and we smiled and parted ways.

I met so many people, in different walks of life, in different professions. What I realized is, all it takes one "Hi" and one smile to start a conversation. No numbers, no names, no emails, nothing got exchanged. But, a lot of goodness did get exchanged.

I write this with a coffee on my desk, full moon shining through my window and someone playing a guitar somewhere far.

CTT: We are God's books

Its been a week with lot of expected, unexpected holidays in my city. And the unexpected holiday, with a curfew like situation is very boring. You can't get out of the house, there is nothing on TV, videos on Youtube has got boring, the books I have are read already, I could sleep...But for how long?

Well, so this early evening, I was sitting on the swing of my balcony, with nice warm breeze on my face, it was peaceful. I could hear the "click click click" of the keyboard in the husband's home office, I could see those stupid pigeons on my neighbors balcony, in the opposite house a mother trying to feed her kid. It felt like some story book existence.

Then far somewhere, I heard the bells of a temple, I thought then, maybe...just maybe God will have a of book in each person's name. He will have many scriptwriters in his payroll, and all of them would be weaving a story for us everyday, their stories will depend on their mood that day. They will have targets for a year, say 100 happy days, 10 fight scenes, 100 romance scenes, 50 sad days, 105 random emotions days. The scriptwriters might bill according to the person's man days on earth. The book closes and goes into library after the person is dead. Every dead person might be employed as a scriptwriter after staying in heaven for like 10 years. A retired script writer maybe reborn on earth again.

How cool is that! I was grinning on my geniusness and I was almost on the verge of convincing myself of being one of the story books in God's library when my celestial thoughts were disturbed by a police siren on the main road. Sigh! So much for my devil's workshop.

CTT: Bae-sick English

PC: buzzfeed

I do not know where the word "bae" originates from.

For a long time I didn't know what it meant until a teenage kid I know comes me and says "This is my bae and don't we make a swag couple" 
I was like please write it in sane English so she writes "dis is ma bae n dun vee make a swag couple"

1. What is Bae? 2. What is Swag?

Reading that, I tell myself, what language it that? Even Google translate won't help me with this.

I have an aunt who teaches in a really good school, so over coffee I tell her this language and she said "you have no idea how it feels when kids try to fit in answers in 140 characters ignoring all the spelling and grammar"
It's a bad state to be in.

There are kids out there conquering the spelling bee contests and there are kids who are on spelling bae contests. They listen to only English songs with weird lyrics or party songs with absolutely no sensible lyrics. I feel old, I am old school, but I'm happy at least I have my language skills straight.

FYI

Some meme's of Facebook says "Bae is a Danish word for poop"

And a cousin said "Bae" meant "Before Anything Else"

*The Mumbaikar in my wakes up and says* "Kya hai bae?" *Hallelujah"

CTT: Travel & Bank balance

I take a bite of Pickwick biscuit, drop a few crumbs on my laptop that has a few social media sites open and very frequently I read people on social media sharing "I would travel and gather memories than gather a huge bank balance"

I wonder, how many of them really mean it.



I mean, frankly I can touch my heart and say, I would rather have a huge bank balance, a nice house of my own and limited travel memories than be broke, on the road and a lot of memories when I am old.

It's a personal opinion though.