Nobody's Fault But Mine...

My defect is that I'm brown and yellow,
My flaw is that I slither along a crooked line.
My weakness is that I ain't a looker,
Nobody's fault but mine...

My bad luck I'm not bigger,
My vile fortune, on rats I don't dine.
My ill fate I feed on smaller prey,
Nobody's fault but mine..

My rotten luck to have been there,
My abysmal fortune, at the wrong time.
My doomed stars to have been under his blow,
Nobody's fault but mine..

Don't they understand that I am harmless?
Should I move with a 'I am non-poisonous' sign?
Ah, who am I kidding? I'm a snake,
Nobody's fault but mine...

The mind is a fickle friend,
Scores of thoughts and promises it holds.
Deepest and darkest secrets reside within,
Dreams, are its outlet, I was once told...

Never can you really erase a thought,
No matter how hard you try.
It might have just been for a fleeting moment,
But it's there, and your imaginative juices never run dry.

Good, bad, shocking, no matter what,
They're all in there.
Sooner or later, they come creeping out,
Dreams, naked to your soul, they bare...

Hummus and Pasta

You know, preparing food for 40 people isn't an easy feat. But then at the same time, it isn't all that hard when you have good company helping you, and a sense of happiness at the thought of feeding others.
The day before, 6 of us decided to prepare pasta and hummus for 4o of our friends while doing the Art Of Living course. So we met up at an aunty's home (I really feel sorry for her, for the mess and all the trouble we put her through) at around 1 pm. Shilpa didi was there to help us only during the initial stages (sigh)... Anyhow we had to make pasta from the wheat variety as we aren't supposed to take maida during the course. Guess what brilliant thing I did? I put the pasta for boiling, without adding any oil and before allowing the water to boil. So the most obvious thing happened-the pasta coagulated and became like some goo!! We had to wash it under the tap and separate the stands and then keep it aside while we prepared the second batch. That thankfully came out well as Bala added olive oil before adding the pasta :)
So while the pasta was ready, we took butter, olive oil, fenugreek powder and some salt and mixed it in a huge pan on a low flame. We added mushrooms and tomatoes and loads of water to make the base slightly liquidy. We then added the pasta and prepared the first batch (which still ended up looking like some thick sticky substance!). Anyway we also made the second batch, which was a success, and mixed the two (to even out the sticky substance!!).
Now we started to make the hummus. Boy, this was fun!! Grinding chickpeas at an alarming rate as current was scheduled to go at 5 pm(load shedding), Mayur frantically kept adding the chickpeas to the grinder and scooping out the mashed paste! Isai kneaded it properly and was removing the unground peas. Bala and I were making the butter base with tulsi powder, lime and salt. Guess what happened... The current didn't go!! Jai Gurudev. We managed to make the hummus with 45 minutes to go till serving time. (By the way, I'm glad none of the people eating saw the snaps we took of the food in the "preparing" process. I'm sure none of them would have wanted to eat! - But the end result was good, mind you!)
We applied tonnes of hummus on the bread slices (almost as thick as the slice itself!) and garnished it with slices to tomatoes. After that we cleaned up Aunty's kitchen, washed what ever dishes she would let us wash, packed everything and rushed to the centre.
There we prepared Tang with ice cold water and served the food on the plates and waited for the break when we would serve the meal.
The looks on our friend's faces is something I'm never going to forget. Joy, happiness, wonder, amazement - you name it and it was there! And the happiness that was welling up inside of all of us is another memory that will be etched in my mind forever.
Happiness isn't in only getting materialistic things. It isn't in only listening to praises. It isn't in only being on the receiving end either. It comes when you do something selflessly, with all your heart and not for personal gain, but for others without expecting anything in return. :)
I guess I went all philosophical there, but then it's true. I had an awesome time preparing that meal and I'll be glad to do it all over again :) (i.e. if Aunty will let us vandalise her kitchen once again!!)

Wicked Wicked Girl

May 23rd was the day that we-book lovers in Bangalore- would get to meet one of the best novelists of our time.
I reached Landmark in Forum at around 615 pm. After waiting for 45 minutes, the author that everyone in the bookstore had been waiting for arrived at exactly 7pm- the time he was supposed to arrive. The excitement rippling through the air was so electric that you could run the Reva with it! Of course, that sort of excitement was expected, for after all we were seeing the man who wrote books that you couldn't keep down. Books like 'Kane and Abel', 'Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less' etc. Yes, we were meeting with Lord Jeffrey Archer.
Archer mesmerised us with stories about how he began writing to how he has fallen in love with R K Narayan's works.. He then spent a half hour answering our questions. I got to hear all sorts of questions, some weren't even questions but merely remarks or statements. Some were received with applause by the audience, while some others were booed!
After that, at 8pm or so, we stood in a 'queue' to get our books autographed by him. People cursed, people pushed, people swore, and people fainted. Finally I got up on the stage where this great man was sitting and signing books without a pause, and I handed over my pirated copy of his latest novel "A Prisoner of Birth"! He took a look at it, looked at me and said, with a twinkle in his eyes, " This isn't an original... You naughty girl... You're no longer loved!!!" All I could do was laugh at him and thank him profusely for having signed my book nonetheless :)
Anyway, after that I waited a patiently for quite awhile, with my cousin till Archer finished signing over a thousand books. Then I once again went up on stage (as he started doing personalised autographs now), with my pirated book, opened it and ask him to address it to my mother as it was her birthday! He looked at my book, and then took a look at me, and remembered me, as I was the "naughty girl" with the 'fake book'! And then he called me a "wicked girl.. Wicked wicked girl!" and mockingly scolded me for bringing a pirated book for him to sign!, all with an evil grin on his face, shaking his head in mock exasperation!
(Earlier during his half an hour talk, he had mentioned that he knows he is the most read author in the country as usually when he's stuck in traffic jams while commuting, little boys come to sell Archer books to commuters!)
While I was getting my pirated book autographed and he was calling me a wicked girl, someone waiting there said "she's got this form the little boys on the road side!"... I grinned and told Mr. Archer that yes, I had bought it from the road side! He laughed and then finished personalising my book. I had the guts to ask him to pose for a photograph with me, and I held the pirated copy up for everyone to see! I shook Mr. Archer's hand and I thanked him, and told him that his books are simply amazing.
Mr. Archer is one of those few people, who, despite their fame, still remain down to earth and comply with every fan's request, no matter how 'fake' they might be!! He is a true gentleman, and apart from being a fantastic author, he is also an excellent orator :)

You know, being called a "wicked girl" by Lord Jeffrey Archer isn't something I'd feel bad about! I guess I was the only person in the crowd with a copy of his book that wasn't an original! Big deal if he remembered me as the girl who had a pirated book for him to sign!
The bottom line is - he remembered me, right? ;)

Death Reminds Us All....

Death is a silent observer. He takes without warning. He chooses who ever He wants. He has no mercy. He reminds us all that nothing is permanent. Change is the only constant.
Day before yesterday a close friend of mine was taken away, consumed by the Darkness, wiped out from the face of the earth is a moment. Gone. that too when he was becoming responsible, and was realising that he had a task to achieve, a goal to attain.
Reasons for the tragedy are not important. But what is important is the fact that one should not take Life for granted. One should not abuse the gift given to us. One should cherish, respect and treasure the boon called 'life' that has been bestowed upon us.
"Life is too short to be taken seriously", people say. Yes, but life is also too short to be wasted away. Life is too short to be abused.
Death reminds us that He is watching. We buy our time from Him. We should realise that He can snatch it away in a second. We should realise that He is the ultimate judge of how we live our life. If He feels that we aren't fit for living , or if He wants to remind us that He is present, He sure has his way of making his presence felt.
If we believe in God, we should believe in the Devil too. God gives, and Death takes. We should learn to balance both (i.e. what we have been given, and what has been taken from us) and be grateful for what we have, for how much ever time we have it. Life is too short to bear grudges.
Death reminds us all.... He is watching.....

Spit it out!!! Or not...

"Khaa thoo"... How often does one hear that? Or rather, how often is one witness to slimy gooey stuff on the roadside? Most importantly, how does one feel when one sees the mucus and saliva thrown out of another person's mouth?
Spitting is a very common occurrence in our country... In every city, every village all over India, you get to witness it.. People spit whenever they want, and where ever they want. "I don't care about what I'm doing as long as I get to do it. I'm happy".
You know, I think spitting should be included as an Olympic event. We're sure to win hands down in it! Seriously, the way people spit, we don't even require team practice. Just line up all the paan chewers and we'll definitely bag the gold! We'd win in all the events:
Longest Distance Traveled by Spit,
Thickest Spit Spat,
Variety of Colours Spat etc.
Minimum 3 golds for sure ( if my suggestions are heard).
My dad told me that once in Kurla station ( thats a railway station in Mumbai, for those of you who didn't know), he saw a guy spitting, So he approached him and asked him, "bhaisahaab, aap thookte kyon hai?" ( sir, why do you spit?). The man looked at my father as though he were mad and asked him "tere ko marna hai kya??" (do you wanna die???"). My dad "Kyon?" (why?). The man replies in Hindi ( I'm not typing out the Hindi dialogue as translation is a pain) "Do you know that if you swallow your spit you die???"... My dad was too stunned to explain to this dude that he was talking utter rubbish, before the man walked away in a hurry for his 13:24 fast local to Andheri ( thats another place in Mumbai).
When we find out that there are people with such ridiculous notions, we realise that we have a serious problem at hand. Reaching out to the masses and explaining to them that saliva has some of the strongest acting enzymes that help in digestion, and that it has some of the most important anti bacterial compounds in it, is something we must all give importance to. Else we're besmirching the earth with something that's supposed to be inside us, not on the road or on the wall.
Next time you see someone spit, tell them that it isn't a pleasant sight.. And if thy don't walk away by the time you finish that statement, explain to them the scientific facts behind the importance of one's spit.
Spit out the truth, Now!!!!

Stop the Atrocities.....

There is enough for man's needs. Not for man's greed...
Australians capturing shocking photographs of whaling being done on a massive scale in Japan is shocking. I mean, how can a country say that they are killing whales for scientific reasons? To conduct experiments? What disturbs me even more is the fact that the entire world has known this fact for quite some time now, and no action has been taken against Japan or against the 'doctors'.
Killing over 100 minke whales is not a joke, especially when they are on the endangered list. Actually, killing any species, for any reason, is not a joke.
The population of tigers in India has dropped from over 10,000 to less than 500 in a span of 10 years.
A road has been built through the Amazon forest, which was once impenetrable.
Several species are becoming extinct as you sit reading this.
If something is not done, if no action is taken quickly, we, i.e. our generation, may live to see the day the blue whale and the tiger no longer roam freely in the oceans or the jungles.

Never Expect

Don't nag...
Never beg...
Do not ever desperately want something and make the mistake of telling someone about it, no matter how close they may be to you.. Especially if the something you want is related to them!
People hate it when you keep asking them to do something again and again.. Look at me.. Personally I am glad I study in a hostel away from home, because the compulsion to study, to perform got to me. Now I'm happy.. There are times when I wish they would ask me to do something productive, and there are times when I'm extremely happy as they don't...
Somehow when you ask someone to do something, even if it is for their own good, the first reaction you can expect is resistance. Man is resistant to change. He is comfortable in his familiar environment. Make a small change, ask for something else, and he gets all defensive and refuses to listen to rhyme or reason.
But after a while it probably gets to him. He probably realises that the very fact that someone is asking for something so often means that its for his betterment.
Then again, maybe not....
As i said.... Never expect... Never ask.. Never want... Be happy the way things are... If you aren't, learn to accept the hard facts of life....