October 29, 2004

Mellow

Have You Never Been Mellow Olivia Newton-John There was a time when I was in a hurry as you are I was like you There was a day when I just had to tell my point of view I was like you Now I don't mean to make you frown No, I just want you to slow down Have you never been mellow? Have you never tried to find a comfort from inside you? Have you never been happy just to hear your song? Have you never let someone else be strong? Running around as you do with your head up in the clouds I was like you Never had time to lay back, kick your shoes off, close your eyes I was like you Now you're not hard to understand You need someone to hold your hand Have you never been mellow? Have you never tried to find a comfort from inside you? Have you never been happy just to hear your song? Have you never let someone else be strong? Thought this song just portrayed my state of mind ... Planning to go camping this weekend.. hopefully will be able to do it.. I am still to get over Mahabs but what the heck its a long weekend !!! have a nice weekend folks !! and see you next week !!

October 28, 2004

Weather.... can do crazy things to the mind... My moods go haywire with the different types of weather that Bangalore seems to be sporting.. Rains as usual make me feel like go snug out somewhere Drizzles makes me feel mushy.... Strong winds makes me feel like going for a fast walk with the wind hitting my face Summer heat makes me feel all colorful Mild winter breeze makes me feel like a big cuppa hot coffee... Winter makes me yearn for a cup of tea with pakodas.. watching the mist... thicken... Today its just so pleasant.. not much sun and not much rain... feel like going for a loooong drive.... somewhere down memory lane... picking up the leftover pieces... and assembling them together in a soft mural... like design... some dark patches some light... I was also wondering how silence... can feed in new thoughts of personality development... for me... and that is rare for me... he ahha aha !!! Watched Bride and Prejudice in English !! Loved Mr Kohli's Amrican accent and his antics. Ash is bland... liked the hero... dreamyyyyy guy he is... he he if you like the foren types... Another movie I am longing to see is King of Bollywood.. specially Om Puri's Character in it ... Ok dudes my travel posts are up... Day 1 in Mahabs ( will take you to Day 2 and Day 3 too) Snaps are up if you are interested !! Slide Show of the same snaps are here ... Adios for now... while I go back to ruminating as to how to leave office early.... plot plot plot... buhahahah !!!
  • Fall sick.. no that will not work this time...
  • ummmm.. personal emergency.... nope
  • got some official work at the prev office... nope... done that...
  • I think I shall stick to finishing work early and before any peering eyes peer too keenly I shall be out,.... ye hawwwww !!!

PS: Recently read on the Newspaper that a 19 year old gal fell of the Richmond Flyover while lighting a ciggy... today... there is an article about women smoking... why are they making a bog deal out of it... men smoke so do women,... does that need to be talked about so much ??

Planning to eat out... why dont you try Shiok.. here is a review from me !!!

October 27, 2004

Evolution

Bullet Evolution ...A bike is born !!! Thought it was pretty interesting for bike lovers... ( photographs courtesy Daniel Samuel's Digital camera) Day 1 at Mahabalipuram ...

October 25, 2004

Never thought I would say this.....

Never thought I would say this..... But its a beautiful Monday !!!! yay yay yay !!! Ok I am feeling quite hangoverish ... so maybe I am a little hazy from all the highway riding... and am in this blissful state of feel good feeling... he he he After having a wonderful time traveling.. doing this that.... ( ahem all that will be posted up soon.. I am dying to post...) it feels good to be back... Waiting for the next trip no doubt.... which is on sometime in November... Some stray thoughts The ECR ( East Coast Road) is one of the best roads in India I think... I have never seen more crocodiles than this Saturday ....in my whole life .. and this has not changed my outlook towards reptiles.... I like them more in that Ausralian guy's show.... YIKES.... BRRRR The fishermen in Mahabalipuram are the friendliest and gentle people I met... Solo riding has its advantages... this was our first solo ride... Kanchipuram has one of the more beautiful skylines... ... tall trees scattered with lines of temples... its a great old city... Solomon, my friend, is a great artist... AWESOME... he specialises in Ajanta Cave paintings... and I have fallen in love with them.... you rock my friend... here is a sample Dodo.. thanks for the wonderful Chennai hospitality... We owe you one !!! If you are in Chennai, you have to have meals in Ponnuswamy in Eggmore... am gonna write a review on that soon.... Never thought that I would say that but Chennai at this time is pretty cool... weather wise... hehe .... Chennai does not smell like Mumbai... ( have not got used to the Mumbai smell as yet :( ) .. no offence intended to mumbaikars... as my mumbai loving husband says... I got to get used to it... I think I am hooked to Sex and City... episodes... Royal Enfield Factory in Chennai is amazing... I have to post up pics of how the bike gets finsihed from a skeleton to a mean machine.. found that fascinating... Dodo has the pics... waiting for him to upload it .... The way to the factory in Thiruvattiyur,.... ( I hope I got the name right) SUCKS big time... but the end result is worth it ... We have touched three states... this weekend ,... Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh... The sole hut before reaching Palamner, AP was one of the most friendliest couple I met... Having a conversation with a marathi truck driver an old Tamilian man ( who did not know a word of Hindi or English) and an old lady who was busy keeping peanuts in the basket for the day but was never too busy to make me feel welcome in that little hut... was one of the best times I had on the highway.... Humanity will never be extinct... no matter what... it just takes some moments to restore it.... Signs Seen on the highway Take BYEPASS Restorent... Chaines Restorent here Start BARLY reach SAFELY.... I absolutely love.... Sunset by the highways...

October 20, 2004

Saptami

Saptami .....Oshtomi and I am on the road again !!!

Just went and had amazing Kichudi and Labra... it was awesome... and all the crowd talking in Bengali .... ummm .. making me feel so much at home...

yeah its time like this I become emotional about roots... haha !!!

Anyway took my friend who never tasted Kichudi from a Pandal... during Puja..

She also loved it... And it was worth the visit..

Not so many years back we were just a few of us and we would all gather in the hall next to Ulsoor Lake and have fun.

As the years passed the community has grown and today I see that they have taken a whole ground to place the pandal and then the idol... and still the place seems small....

It is a busy day.. everybody showing off their new clothes and sarees and shouts.. of

AAAiii Kothai Jachhoo !! Ekhane Assho... ... Ki holo... kemon achhen .... and it puts a smile on my face...

Everybody makes a long Queue to the area where the Kichdi is being served and well they are not behind in organising.. to accomodate so many people coming and eating.. they have started a buffet system... too which is pretty convenient as opposed to the serving of the food on tables..

Ahhh.... yes ... for a moment I felt like going back home.. for a moment I could touch the feeling that I felt of my home and my folks,.... For a moment ... I touched base with my roots...

For a moment..... and I am glad to say that I can go back to the moment again and again to float in the bubbles of imagined togetherness...

Excuse the sentimentality.. but that is what I am feeling like right now... and that is that...

And now a long weekend is coming and we have back on the road again... yipeeeeeeeee

Tomorrow I am on leave... so planning to spend the day ... with my favorite goddess the epitome of what I call womanhood...

And Friday morning we are off ... off to Mahabalipuram, Pulicat, Chennai, Kanchipuram.. planning to ride the East Coast road..... so will be back with details on Monday............ looking forward to this... yipeeeeeeeeeeeeee

hmmmm... again I sing this song... my favorite hum...

got no bags and baggages to slow me down.. I am travelling so fast .. my feet aint touching the ground.. travelling light ... travelling light... And I just cant wait to be with my baby tonight....

You all have a great weekend and will read you all after I am back...

Observed on the road...

As I am swerving the Jeep from the parking lot... in Richmond Road.. three beautiful girls.. walking on the road... carefree.. smiling and totally bindass happy... mood.. one particular pretty lady among them sporting a dreamy smile... thinking lovely thoughts... walked right into one end of a wooden pole... which was placed to fix one of the bill boards... BANG.... THUMP... YIKES..

her friends scream and grimace... I also grimace ... waiting... if she needed any help...

She totters dizzily ... ( Like the man in the goat ad of Mountain Dew) and gives another dreamy smile ... hiding her pain... and tears.. which was on the verge of flowing out... saying... she is ok.. and carries on... I carry on too... ... I know that was going to hurt and become a mean bruise........ can somebody smile and cry at the same time when in pain ??? I guess one can...I was wondering....

How many times have we laughed away a deep smack pain in our hearts to avoid appearing vulnerable to the public ?

PS: Deleted the Monday post... since it was not a part of me that I liked too much... and anger,a bad cold and a bad mood can be a lethal combination to maintain virtues like patience and geniality.....

October 18, 2004

Pujo is here

Pujo is here !!! And I am feeling all misty eyed since I am missing home so much... This is that time of the year when all my close ones get together and have fun. Was planning to go home during this October but seems like it is not happening and here I hear my aunts screaming with joy at being reunited with their sisters... over the phone... sorely wishing I could be there with them.. Its been more than 8 years since I have spent Pujo with them.... and here I am feeling melancholic.... The air of festivity, the sound of Tak du ma dum drums.... sounding in the ears... the exchanging of sweets .. the sound of the conch.... getting and buying new clothes... eating Kichudi!!! Yummmm the Kichdi at the pandal is te best tasting Kichdi I ever had.... Ah Imiss all that ... there is nothing like celebrating festival with parents and close ones.... yes today I am remembering them with bittersweet nostalgia... a good time passed will never be back... and I have missed so many of the Puja times.... Some links on Durga Pujo... Mythology about Durga.. Traditional Pujo Cuisine Days of the Pujo Bangalore also holds good Pujo all around.. do not miss to go and have the kichudi and the accompaniments during this time... in the afternoon... it is yum.... Happy Pujo to all of you !!!
Bitch bitch and bitch some more I started about writing about Mondays and then i realised how repetitive it was getting and writing about hating Mondays was only making me feel depressed ... All the more coz I have got the oncomings of a sniffles.... So i thought of straying to my usual stray throughts... Heights of making conversation with a female-trying-to-be-innocent-but-is-actually-bitching types... I usually run a mile when I meet one of them female primates... he he !! She: Hello, P you are looking so off color from the time I came back from my vacation. Are you dieting... ?? Me: Yo ... nothing much I was busy... so how was your trip to Cal. She: Wonderful !!! You know how it is during Puja time... Me (wistfully) : Yes I know... ( now trying to end the talk) ... Why did you not stay in Cal for the Pujo.. it would have been wonderful. She ( looking at me... slyly) : Oh You know I cannot imagine staying there for more days... I would have put on so much weight... Me: GAWK... and then snorting.. in a most delicate bitchy fashion... Really you must be joking She ( not willing to let go ) : But you know this male told me how much I have put on weight.. Me (now this was getting to me.. .monday morning and i have to listen to this scrawny looking female aiming to be voluptous female) : Ahhh i paused dramatically... then HE must have been JOKING... giving an evil laughter... buhahahahah leaving her wide eyed... grrr that should teach her not to be sly with me.... buhahaha !!! Another slice Female A : Coming to my desk and leaning and swaying with lips in a strong pout ....... Ummm ( my desk is at a viewpoint of all other peering eyes who love to peer.. hahaha Me ( getting the shock of my life): GAWK yo what are you doing... I look around here and there hoping that no one notices.. this female goes on swaying with pouted lips... A: You know P , tell me how are my lips looking... new lipstick you see... Me (appalled inside): Ahem... Uh,.... sure you are looking cool... so what have you had for lunch... ( just so that she stops pouting) SIGH !!! And I am saved from the weird looks of my male colleagues... I have been avoiding A like a plague... after that... This same A in a very heated conversations gets up to make a point.... we were talking about signs .. typical feminine topic... "You know we Virgos always prefer to remain virgins... and we always care about chastity of thought and body ...." GAWK GAWK GAWK ... DOUBLE GAWK again what has virginity got to do with Virgos... someone please help.. I think I need to give her a shot of vodka with lime and the virgin Virgo inside will come out in the open .. BUHAHAHAHA !! ( pun intended of course !!! ) Either I am in a very bad mood or I have just reached the limit of my patience...... Or I am having the misfortune of attracting wierdos to me... maybe because I myself am one ??? Oh no !! And if you are thinking that I am imagining all this... well ... no I am definitely not.... I am just accepting the fact that we have to interact with personalities like these while working... SIGH Watched Thunderball yesterday... nice movie... Sean Connery makes a damn good James Bond.. For fans of bond movies, ZMZ is showing a bond movie every Sunday evening at 8:00..catch it if you are interested..... Watched the Hindi version of Bride and Prejudice... a sham it was... will wait till I watch the English version... I think they should not dub English movies to Hindi... it sucks ... the whole fun goes for a toss.... Grrr... God I am feeling so so so EVIRLLLLLL ..... My genius of a Maths teacher in College had a word for them personalities.. JUVENILE DELINQUENTS...

October 14, 2004

Finally on Friday....

Finally on Friday.... Taking short peeps into0 blogdom, between work, away from peering eyes... finally finally I have finished constructing my travel blog and the latest is my trip write up to Hampi... Come and explore Hampi with me !! Yo Anita Bora... hope this helps you ... On the way to Hampi.. Day 1 Exploring Hampi Day 2 Irreplacable Memories Day 3 For photos you can click here... For a Slide show you can click here.. click on the photos on the show to see the description.. So have a nice weekend !! Observed on the road again... 80 percent of the men on the road... walking by, riding by the bike are totally over conscious of their hair... Depending on the hair growth they have the corresponding combs sticking out from their back pockets.... he he he !! One guy who has thin curly wavy hair.. continuously presses his hair in the hope that it will get straight... while crossing the road... did he not hear of the adage that curly tails never straighten out !!! Long haired guy... walking by the sidewalk... continuously flicking his hair this way and that !! . Reminded me of the clinic ad. Sharukh Khan type of hair.. that guy riding on the bike cant help but looking at the mirror and admiring himself ... running his hand through his head tima and time again... MAN the signal is GREEN and I am stuck behind this narcissistic dude... HE should GET A HAIR CUT.. Will serve him better...

October 13, 2004

Thumping Thursdays

In more ways than one... woke up with a muscle pull in my arm... cant express how painful it is... Reminds me of the muscle pulls I used to have after a long bout of swimming.. SIGH this is going to bother me for some days now... Reached early to office so trying to blog something....before the office gets crowded .... with peering eyes .... he he !!! Yesterday I was watching an old Amitabh movie Do Anjaane. The story had Rekha and Amitabh as the main characters and Prem Chopra as the villian and one of my favorites... Utpal Dutt.. as the humor stirrer... I found this movie hilarious though it had a serious theme with plot thickening kinda story happening... the mixture of humor with a serious story is somewhat rare to find.... The backdrop is Bengal so lot of Bengal humor there ... Some of the dialouges that I remember... ************************************************************************* Amitabh getting drunk and muttering to Prem Chopra... who is supposed to be Amitabh's good friend but has his eyes on rekha the beautiful wife... Amitabh cannot say anything while sober so he shouts after gulping down a few... at Prem Chopra.. YOU drinking drinking.. sinking deep.... (sputtering) Then Amitabh getting pissed with Prem Chopra at something he says and he shouts ... YOU THIRD PERSON.. YOU SINGULAR... YOU NEUTRAL GENDER .. GET OUT... hahah I could not help but go into stitches with laughter with this dialog... imagine insulting someone like this... only Amitabh can carry this off... Interaction between Utpal Dutt and Amitabh... Amitabh : (Asking about his wife) ... so how is Sunita Devi Utpal ( a Bengali Babu) : OHH !! She is phine ,.... tumi jaano ( do you know) Sunita Devi had a husband... woh mod oud Khaake rail se gir gaya... ( having had drinks he fell down from the train) . Amitabh ( very seriously) : what happenend then ? Utpal : tar pore ... ( after that) woh na ranjeeb mollik ke saath lot pot kiya... ranjeeb uske piche dourte dourte photur ho gaya... ( she messed around with ranjeeb and then ranjeed became broke running after her ) Appko kuno Obhigyota nahi hai !! na !! ( you dont have any experience) Obhigyota maane ... Amitabh: Tajurba,..... ( experience ) Utpal : AHHHH tajurba... dilruba. ( darling)... such a nice sounding word.... ( very enlghtened) Another scene: Utpal talking to Rekha while convincing her: Arrre Sunita Devi , aap aisa nahi kijiye. Appka koi dilruba nahi hai na .. ( what he meant to say was that you dont have experience in this.. ended up saying.. you dont have a darling in this) Another Scene: Utpal asking Amitabh... : What woh usme baygra nahi karega... aap samajh rahe hai na... ( he will not interfere, you know what I mean . eh ?? ) Amitabh : After brooding for sometime... hahah main samajhta hu.. woh tang nahi adayega.. ( yes yes I understand .. he will not interfere) Utpal ( enlightened again) : Ahhh Tang Udayega... ( ahh he will not fly his leg) Amitabh : Tang adayega ( in hindi it is equivalent to not poking his nose in other's business) Found the whole thing really hilarious... they dont make movies like this anymore... which has a little bit of everything. **************************************************************************** Recent Pet Peeve: Two guys in a bike riding normally and suddenly the pillion starts gesturing wildly... here I am thinking whether he means right or left... On looking closely found that he was animated about something that reminded him... there should be a rule saying that unnecessarily gesturing can cause accidents... Another pillion started waving his right hand up and down like a bird suddenly.. Well I thought that he was saying that he would be going right... then he started waving his left hand up and down ... now what am I supposed to think... he is imagining that he is flying in MG Road.. GRRRRRRRR

October 10, 2004

Here comes another Monday...

Here comes another Monday... Rainy days and Mondays..... Carpenters Talking to myself and feeling old Sometimes I�d like to quit Nothing ever seems to fit Hangin� around, nothing to do but frown Rainy days and mondays always get me down What I�ve got they used to call the blues Nothing is really wrong Feeling like I don�t belong Walking around some kind of lonely clown Rainy days and mondays always get me down Funny but it seems I always wind up here with you It�s nice to know somebody loves me Funny but it seems that it�s the only thing to do To run and find the one who loves me(*) what I feel is come and gone before No need to talk it out We know what it�s all about Hanging around, nothing to do but frown Rainy days and mondays always get me down Somehow this monday brought this song back to me... and thought I would post it .. A whirlwind of a week and a hectic weekend later .. I am totally deflated with all energy sapped from my veins... the garfield syndrome is kicking in with full force and I just feel like burrowing my head and purrrring my time away... But I am not down and out... Watched The Italian Job on Sunday. Was a neat movie except that it looked like one of those Bollywood thrillers... he he he :) here is the full review Thought of posting an old article I had written about Bangalore.. I have modified it a little now.. as I was going through it, it was interesting to see how this place has changed for the better and for the worse... here it is . Just read that Christopher Reeve, our reel time Superman has passed on Oct 10th. He was one of the handsomest actors I came across.. after Elvis Presley, Clark Gable and Cary Grant... may his soul rest in peace. PS: And my friends... my blog does NOT NOT NOT work with Mozilla... and I have yet to solve that problem.. I have not made this browser independent. Kinldy use IE to view this blog... my humble mumble request.

October 06, 2004

Poped

Have you been POPED yet ? Could not help blogging this... am doing this on the sly... he he !! Lunch Time at the office cafeteria ... Me: ( as usual taking out my lunch box with what I consider healthy food and what looks very boring to some) ... munch munch.... A: Hi !! Me : Hi!! B : Guess what Pallavi, I got a lunch box from a colleague since he is eating out.. Me: yo .. cool !! lets see if there is anything interesting ( we all look into it) A: Oh its Ugani... ( with a knowledgable nod ) Me: munch munch .... liking the Food ... ok do you know how to make it ( just in case I can make it .. oh what they heck.. it was going to be good timepass) B: yeah its tasty munch munch A: Now you got to do this this this... and that that that... Then you got to go and get some PAPPU... and ... Me: PAPPU ??? ( Now what was that ? I am pretty decent when it comes to cooking terms and well I could not fathom what PAPPU was.... I needed to be educated.. suddenly it struck me ... ) Me again after 2 minutes of incomprehensibility : Ah Parruppu !! (thats what my Tamil friend taught me .) A: No no PAPPU. Me : ( Slowly... not wanting to stop her flow..) ok go on... A ( enthusiastically) : yes so you put PAPPU ($%@#) , Curry leaves, this powder, that powder and then POPE it.... Me: GAWK ( this was too much ...with an open mouth ) PAPPU and POPE it !!! The first thing that came to my mind was... how did she manage to insult the POPE... A: (and she went on ) so you know you POPE it and then ... after POPEING it you .. blah blah blah... B : ( who was silent till now with a bemused expression on her face... ) What is POPE ? Me: ( thought in my head : definitely not the heavenly POPE ) A: frantically waving her hand this way and that ... POPE na... POPE it... Me: ( got the idea ... EUREKA) ah you are talking of Tadka, I got the idea... B and Me: Rolling in a fit of womanly giggles.... tee hee tee hee tee hee ... you see my wierd sense of humor got tickled.. Me: Ok so you POPE the PAPPU and get this thing done.... great !!! By now all of us are laughing ( thank god A gets the joke and joins us) .. except for C who is a silent spectator and well she looks at us pretty strangely and well... we did not bother to explain..... I am totally POPED now .............. PS: This piece is not written with the intention of offending any languages... My apologies if any offense is taken.

October 04, 2004

A chugging train

thats what I feel like... now... woke up with a migraine.. me feeling very woozy !! I guess mondays make me feel like that... Weekend was focussed on shopping shopping and more shopping... and I got a hot tomato red leather jacket .. YEHAWWWW !!! Always wanted one... for the rides... first it looks jhatak... and it will stop traffic on the highway... so safety and design both taken care of... buhahahah !!! small things mean so much sometimes.... Went and hogged at Biryani Merchant... for full review you could read up this... for bangaloreans, its a pretty decent place to go... subtle and no frills but good food... if you like Biryanis and Indian sweets .... :) Bought some old books from Eloor Library. They are giving 85% off on old books hurry !!! you might get something you like... ok I am a freak about collecting books so I thought it was a pretty good idea !!!! Vahan Yatra was a fake.... it was what you can call SIMPLY being there . Same cars, same stalls, same marketing strategy... Mahindra put up a very nice stall with the wall being built through the middle of the vehicle. Honda displayed its CRV. Hyundai was not behind with its new Getz and I also liked the Elantra. My personal favourite is of course the SUV Terracan which is way way way beyond my budget but well it does not harm to dream...SIGH !!! Ok I also liked Nissan X Trail... a great vehicle... SIGH !! I was hoping that the vintage cars would be on for exhibition but was disappointed... so came back empty eyed. Last time two vintages had taken my breath away !!! Among the bikes, well there was a Hyabusa, A cruiser cum sports bike... I think it was a BMW.. looked good. Joe's Stall always has good bikes.. Last time he had a Harley. Chameleon stall looked snazzy with all the modified cars.. if you like them. I personally like hard core off roading vehicles without any frills.... Anyways, that was it.... Finished reading Paulo Coelho's By the river Piedra I sat down and wept. PS: completed my movie blog template.... yayyayayayay !!