Shy is coming to me!!(Sharam a rahi hain)

That is Nishita in a towel :-)

I will miss you baby!!

PS: Those of you who have taken the liberty to comment whatever you want without having the bat or the balls to leave your name, kindly remember, I hold the DELETE button.

dumbass??

Arunima, B Sc Computer Science
Arunima, MA, Literature
Arunima, MBA, HR
Arunima, Alpha
Arunima, Beta
Arunima, Gamma
What would certify me as the dumbest and the proudest lady?

Arunima Dumbass???

J weds on 22nd Jan

Is it the knowledge that she has settled for the best or the feeling of déjà vu or the reconciliation with fate? She pointed out to me quite fondly; the classmate, who had tattooed her name on his arms saying, "It all seems funny now." Later, we all sat together, Mr. Tattoo included and joked as we witnessed the marriage of one of J's friends.

Had been to Uduppi the week-end before to meet J. For the last time, I allowed her to order me around. It was terribly hot. Watched the news about the temperature in Delhi and wished I were there to experience it. Some things made me happy that I was where I was for instance, the sea foods - crabs, fishes and some more. Ate as if there was no tomorrow. Promised her folks that I would visit them again after she gets married.

Well, coming to the wedding and the psyche of the bride-to-be, what do I say? She has a tiffin box since her Qatar days and I sensed the sadness she felt in discarding it and its contents. Yes, the tiffin box of world-war-II make. She gave me a pair of green hair clips from the box and took the purple ones, those tiny ridiculous, funny but cute childhood assets. Boo hoo! Now, I want one of her ugly-looking childhood snaps too but I forgot to ask. We had quarreled the last time we shopped together and I had said, "I am getting rid of you very soon."

So many people and things to leave behind and so many memories to carry along, new relations, new hopes, new start, ... Guys, love and cherish your woman. You better do.

I am off to Mumbai tonight to attend her wedding on Sunday. The gown is ready and I got myself a pair of let-me-climb-down-first-as-I-need-to–think high heels and while I am on it, I am not going to entertain any tough questions like how old I am from anybody.

J was the first one to suggest I go for my medusa look so, I am glad I am attending her wedding with this hair style. Let her have a dose of my hair. Bangalore bloggers, behave while I am away.

Everybody hurts

“When your day is long
And the night
The night is yours alone
When you're sure you've had enough of this life
Well hang on

Don't let yourself go
Cause everybody cries
And everybody hurts
Sometimes”

~ REM, The Corrs

Hair today, not gone tomorrow!!!

Thought my hair had reached the critical mass of boredom so, went to the salon for a new look. People are busy streaking, colouring and straightening. I hate colouring or streaking . So, the lady had no other option but to suggest that I perm it. (As I already have straight, may I also add silky hair?) Took the appointment and there I was sitting gleefully with the image of Kamal Sidhu conjured up on my mind. I was all set to have those lovely curls. Ask any lady who has cried over threading or waxing what motivates them to sit through the entire process? Beauty of course silly!! I am no different. I sat through the stinking chemicals. The lady applied some three four kinds of liquids, rolled my hair, blow dried it washed it, applied something again, washed it, blow dried it and God knows what? Sometimes it hurt too but when asked I replied, ”No, it is ok” Everything was ok as long as I could have THE look. After enduring all that and shelling out a bomb, Ladies and Gentlemen, teng tereng!!!!!

This is Medusa pounding the keyboard. The lady had said it is going to last for six months. I feel suicidal.

Bhaiya, ye kitna hain?

What is it with girls and shopping? It is not even about time pass at times. A few weeks back me and J (yes, it is THE J again) were shopping for her wedding. We paraded to all the shopping malls and then finally combed Commercial St including all the by-lanes searching for a certain fabric. We even took snack breaks but by evening, there was no strength left in us. Both of us were completely broke too. I had just 10 Rs left in my bag. She had another 10Rs and some coins, just enough for us to reach home. We whined about our aching feet. I don’t know who saw it first, suddenly we were standing and admiring ear-rings sold in one of the by-lanes. We pointed out the nice patterns to each other and touched them as though we were deriving some energy from them. Both of us knew we were broke, both of us knew cards wouldn’t help in such places but it came out in a chorus, ”Bhaiya, ye kitna hain?”

Books and the Birthday

Enjoyed the birthday with roomie and one more friend. Also watched Bluffmaster and came home around 1.30 am. It was unplanned and therefore, fun. I refused to see any other male friends. God, I am ageing gracefully. Birthday also gave me the opportunity to break the ice with some colleagues. Visited a children’s home and what did we see? Two ladies in the management, fighting. We didn’t know what to do? All of a sudden we were received with smiles. This was a new home and different in so many ways from the one I used to visit.

Reading two very different books. One is by Prakash Singh, Retd. IPS officer and former DGP of UP and DG of BSF, on his experiences in the army and the fight with terrorism. Having posted in Assam, Nagaland, UP, Punjab and Kashmir in the wake of all the major upheavals in those areas as a task master, he gives a good first person account. He also highlights the difficulties faced by the army in trying to implement things while brushing shoulders with politicians and the decision makers. Anyway, he quotes a line used by Former Prime Minister P.V Narashimha Rao in his autobiography. “The decision not to take any decision is also a calculated decision.” It sounds womanlike and bitchy. Therefore, I like it.


Fear of Flying by Erica Jong is a total contrast to the above. It is an unconventional story about an unconventional woman. Laughed at the character’s idiosyncrasies. She is a compulsive dreamer and in pursuit of string-less sexual encounters she calls the ‘zipless fuck’. She is funny, witty, sarcastic and sensual at the same time. She manages to reduce men to mere sexual objects. It has always been perceived the other way round and so, the book is fun. I am in the last few chapters.

So I leave with some of her famous lines:

“You see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see a smart woman with a dumb guy.”

“And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more.”

“You take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.”

“Men have always detested women's gossip because they suspect the truth: their measurements are being taken and compared.”

“I have not ceased being fearful, but I have ceased to let fear control me. I have accepted fear as part of life specifically fear of change and fear of the unknown; and I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says, turn back.“

Birthday and New Year Pointers

~Read more (doing well but there is always room for improvement)
~Work towards another degree (If the heart is willing, the junk crammed machinery that is the brain will follow suit)
~Earn more, budget properly and save money (ehem!! Wish you all the best)
~Learn to swim (bribe roomie to give company)
~Visit Goa (the whole world has visited it)
~Visit Delhi, the city where I was lost. Perhaps, to find myself this time. (Brother and many friends including Dr. J, my childhood friend and one of the coolest doctors around is also there. Boy, she has got the looks, brains, attitude and the money too. And she is taken)
~Visit home (Big brother has had his second child. You will hate it if you will have to be introduced to your own family. It is time the Aunty on the phone show her face to her little niece and sing along Tinkle Tinkle Litten Star)
~Call up parents every week-end. (It is your turn now)
~Reduce shopping sprees. Have too many clothes (well, let us relax on this)
~Wake up earlier (Respect the motive behind the invention of the alarm clock)
~Keep fit and be healthy (One push-up every New Year is not called an exercise)
~Pamper self (You deserve it)
~Social work (You can get a little more serious with the children)
~Sing and dance (As you have always been doing. Been shameless even when you brey. Now, why pretend?)

Now, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. I promised myself I won’t have any new dates last year and I succeeded. Well, almost :-) Something also tells me, I’ll find true love this time. Friends rightly call me ‘the eternal romantic’ So here are the pointers:

Not be reckless with the heart of someone who cares (Enough of putting one foot in a relationship. Mr. Nice guys deserve some nice woman who is not necessarily you. No back-up strategies or multi-tasking. It is ok with being a bitch but no, you don’t want to become THE bitch.)

Not put up with someone who is reckless with mine (Move on, he doesn’t know what he is missing. How else do you console yourself?)

It is my birthday again and it is bad manners to make fun of old people.

I continue living and I continue learning. A line from a song by Tori Amos: “Give me life, give me pain, give me myself again.”