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.“