Pune waalo

I am getting a free trip to Pune and would like to make the best out of it. Planning to catch up with some friends, one among them is R, my childhood friend. Langotiya yaars (any generous soul may kindly translate this) like her make me feel so old. She said that she is teaching at MIT, handling second semester MBA students, and has to wear saree to the institute. Not only that, she is the rector for the girls’ hostel. Imagine, girls above 20 calling you ‘Ma’am’?

Have not met her for almost 5 yrs now and I am really looking forward to it. Hope she doesn’t rub her oldness to me and I come back still feeling young and not thinking about my date of manufacture.

Having said that, I read this book called ‘The woman who gave birth to her mother’ by Kim Chernin. Well, women are a complex lot and therefore, we have subjects like ‘women studies’ to confuse people more. This is one of those books. There are about 11 case studies. This is not a bestseller material or a book that stays with you but gives a lot of insight to the relationship between women, mother and daughter specially. These women come and share their stories with the author on how their childhood shaped them to be the woman and the mother that they are today. The stories explore the elements of idealism, guilt, blame, forgiveness and finally of letting go in the mother-daughter relationship.

Parallels can be drawn as our childhood sometimes, shapes our mindset on many things. But it needn’t be mother-daughter all the time. The author also talks about role reversals when the daughter starts to care for the ageing mom.

I was just thinking about my mom when I read this and what I can remember is that, me and sis often, got either yellow or blue dresses until we found the joy of standing in front of the mirror or reached our teens so to say, and started selecting our own dresses. Sometimes, it used to be the same pattern. If I would wear blue, sis would wear the yellow version and vice-versa. I used to pick up sis’ old clothes sometimes. Imagine growing up to wear the yellow or the blue version of what you wore last year!

No, mom is not related to Hitler and she is not boring. She is very proud of me though all she wants me to do is buy gold.

Coming back, to the topic, I’ll be in Pune this Friday.

Tell me your dreams and I shall...ehem!

Shahrukh Khan declared that he is going to retire after Don. My happiness knew no bounds and I smiled from ear to ear. Then, my room mate woke me up.

Now, listen to this. I can say, I have the extra sensory perception of translating dreams. My dreams had in fact, told me something that was coming.

Mom called me up and we started talking about my little nephew. It seems the pundit had told them when my nephew was born that his name should start with D. (can you relate to the dream now? Don=D? ).

I had suggested some names but they had declined. Now, after thinking for almost a year, it seems mom has decided to name him Donaldo. Holy Mary, mother of Christ!! I asked why? And mom replied, like the famous Ronaldo and Rivaldo, he will be Donaldo.

I don’t know how my always-sleeping-in-front-of-the-tv mom suddenly started following football. I protested and quarreled. But now, it seems I have no support. Big brother and sis-in-law are not saying anything. All this while, they have been rejecting the names I had suggested, by saying that it’s not unique, it is too short and hazaar other reasons. At home he is Abungo, a name which is as unique as ‘Munna’ in Hindi.

Donaldo!!! My poor nephew can’t even protest. All he can say now is Mama ma ma Pa pa pa and sometimes me me me me. I will be going home end of Jan and I am going to start the ‘nephew bachao andolan.’

Coming back to my dream, Shahrukh khan had acted as a football player in KANK. Now, can you see the connection? (shahrukh=Don=D=KANK=football=Ronaldo=Rivaldo=Donaldo?)

The F word

I started using the ‘F’ word without knowing its meaning in the 4th standard. I picked it up from my friend Leishiwon and started using my newfound word when I went home and played carom with my big brother. Every time I said 'F', he gave one on my back. I did not have the courage to ask him what it meant but knew it was something I am not supposed to use and somehow stopped using it in front of him.

I went back to my friend and asked her if she knew the meaning. She also did not know but she found out the meaning from someone and told me. That day, one important word was added to my vocabulary. The word, which later took the place of all the eight parts of speech when I joined hostel. (A convent)

So, I asked J the same question. When did she hear or know the meaning of this word? She replied, 2nd PU. Haha, she is foreign bred and all that and she didn’t know. I had laughed like crazy that she warned me not to let people know, she knew it only in second year PU.

So, when was your first encounter?

I don't miss you

I don't miss you. If I do, I miss the man that I thought you were.

sometimes...

Sometimes,

you get appreciated for making unnecessary changes to irrelevant documents.

pending post

“Life's disappointments are harder to take when you don't know any swear words. “ - Calvin.

Attended a lousy interview. I was not sure whether I wanted a change. Nevertheless, out of habit I had updated my CV in one of the portals. Bang, called a consultant and there I went.

It was the final round and a grilling one at that. Two guys interviewed me. There were a lot of hypothetical situations, which seldom happen in a real work scenario.

The argument went on for long. I could sense, I was not wanted and a lot of shit happened. Was upset with myself for sitting through it like a lamb. I mean I still like the trees around my present organization; I like the color of my cubicle and I can still stand my colleagues. I don’t need a change and I could have given back crap for crap to them. I managed to say finally that I have never come across such situations perhaps because we are very well organized.

$%^&! (Inserted word to make the disappointment easier to take).

I have been mourning something too. It was on the Eid festival. Last year, our neighbor gave us Biryani after we started cooking dinner and we had to throw just after tasting. Being wiser this year, we planned to cook late. The aroma had started coming from the afternoon itself and we waited in eager anticipation.

And how biryani smells!!!

3,4, 5 and finally it was 9 pm with no sign of any Biryani. I thought the principle of Id was to share with the hungry (us). I cooked chicken biryani that Saturday and finally overcame the sadness.

Watched some very good movies. One of them was What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Johnny Depp plays the big brother of Leonardo DiCaprio, a mentally challenged boy. I watched this movie for Johnny Depp but actually liked Caprio’s acting a lot. I have watched 4 or 5 of his movies so far and have liked all of them.

To end this post, the son of the CM of Karnataka was infact at home and it was not even his friend who broke the window panes. It was a lady who was in the guise of a man. (was expecting this too). Our boy comes from a humble farmers’ family. He drives a Lancer, Porsche and what not? So many farmers have been committing suicide. Now, the million-dollar question is:

"What is Gowda's family farming?"