Departing from routine

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Yesterday night I watched "The Departed" inspite of my body telling me to shutdown. I dint regret it even a single moment. Amazing movieyisay! A must watch.

Its a slick movie with fantastic actors. Even though the archiness of Jack Nicholson's eyebrows did irritate me a little, I could push it aside and enjoy him acting as Frank Costello. Leonardo, oh Leonardo where hath you been? Watching this guy act as Billy Costigan is like watching magic unfold. Its unpredictable and always leaves you in awe. Matt Damon could do with a little more histrionics on his face. But he has done enough justice to his role of Collin Sullivan. There is a Vera Farmiga also who plays the role of female lead and sanity (in the psychiatric sense) in this movie aka Madolyn. Whats most captivating about her is her eyes. They display an earnestness in them. Huge blue eyes. Extremely expressive. Martin Sheen as the police chief seems a little wasted in the movie but he carries the "President" regality about him. Mark Wuhlberg as the acid mouth spewing slews Dignam is a treat in a sometimes still movie.

The movie is about the Irish mafia in Boston. Before watching this movie I was not even aware of the huge Irish presence in Boston. Expect to be witness to a lot of blood and gore and brutality. A scene where Frank Costello hits with a hard shoe on Billy Costigan's broken hand left me feeling my stomach contents defying gravity! Its an intense movie with a few funny dialogues. I was sometimes thankful to the subtitles in the DVD. The editing is extremely neat and the sudddenness of the movie shocks you. The soundtrack is amazing and I might starting looking for it to use as my ringtone. Watch out for the slick Samsung flip phones featured throughout the movie.
Neat presentation Mr. Scorsese! When's your next?

An Orange Monday

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Well, this post has nothing to do with the colour of the kurta I am wearing today. Its a general description of my mood. Orange is vibrant, bright and adventurous and this is what I feel like today. Of all the days on a Monday you ask? Yeeeahhh but I am a little weird you know. Why? Let me see now

• I din't sleep on the way to work
• I came in to office before the clock struck eleven (and the mouse ran down hickory dickory dock) *just couldnt help myself there but ignore madi*
• I was all active and awake from the time I came in to now and its nearly been 10 hours. Hick!
• I dint break my diet by eating junk food. Even had my dosa oil-less.
• Tried a Macchiato at Coffee Day and swore never again. Gah! It was decoction with a pretense of milk!
• Had two fairly successful meetings. If I may say so myself
• Missed a wedding with legitimate reasons. Yay! I dont have to dress up like a doll *feeling coy*
• Mom-in-law just called to tell me that I should somehow come to the wedding hall even if by auto. I like the feeling of being thought about and wanted.
• T is in the mood for accompanying me to a place that I will tell you about very soon. He is actually looking at the logistics. Yippie
• Most of the pending work at our new home got done. Thanks to T, I would have blown my top off.
• Will be talking to appa and amma for a good forty minutes now on my way home. Office Shuttle
• Gotta run else I miss it. *Scoot*

Moi the Chef?

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Hmmmm....mmmmmmmmmmmm.....huuuh....hmmmmmmmmm
I want to share a few nice simple recipes with my memory and the rest of the world.
Did you go back and read the previous line again? LOL. I mean it, really. Sharing with my memory part. An online journal of recipes types. Of amma's thalik* and mamyar*'s adige*. I hardly remember what goes into all those concoctions conjured up in the kitchen. The first few times I made rasam I had a post-it on the fridge to take me through. Now out of habit I remember how to make rasam. But there are a few more exotic (dont start imagining shaahi paneer here) concoctions like kolamb, nalagri, kootu, morkolamb/majjigehuli etc which one doesn't make on regular days. Hence the need for an online diary which will give me an "informed" choice for lunch :)
I have done a few posts on food itself in the past but the new blog will be dedicated to not just my thoughts on the slurpy delights but also a complete Idiot's(then again who is talking about you?) guide to the cookery universe.
What got me started on this line of thought is the fact that I did not get a "Kolamb" recipe on the net. I googled for it and dint find anything so I though if someone else like me googles for it they should definitely get it at my blog and therefore I started http://bendekayikarimb.blogspot.com/
Go ahead, take a peek, you'll like it.

PS :- *thalik in tamil = adige in kannada = cooking, mamyar = mother-in-law in tamil

PPS :- Incase anyone is wondering about the title of the food blog,
bendekayi = ladies finger/okra, karimb = curry in tamil
And its my favourite dish! Tastes best when eaten with Hot rice and rasam

I am the DEVIL!

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Today there is a Bundh being observed in Bangalore for the Cauvery issue. And my office has remained closed anticipating problems in getting to work. Hence I had luxurious time enough to take a quiz I found on Cheti's blog. And heeerrrrre are the resssults!

You are The Devil

Materiality. Material Force. Material temptation; sometimes obsession

The Devil is often a great card for business success; hard work and ambition.

Perhaps the most misunderstood of all the major arcana, the Devil is not really "Satan" at all, but Pan the half-goat nature god and/or Dionysius. These are gods of pleasure and abandon, of wild behavior and unbridled desires. This is a card about ambitions; it is also synonymous with temptation and addiction. On the flip side, however, the card can be a warning to someone who is too restrained, someone who never allows themselves to get passionate or messy or wild - or ambitious. This, too, is a form of enslavement. As a person, the Devil can stand for a man of money or erotic power, aggressive, controlling, or just persuasive. This is not to say a bad man, but certainly a powerful man who is hard to resist. The important thing is to remember that any chain is freely worn. In most cases, you are enslaved only because you allow it.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Does this mean I am a slave to ambition?Or I can be? Oh my thats scary! As always I dont understand such language in which people prophesise about one. Neither am I a total believer. Just an occasional temptation to know the future brings its head up but the little corner of anxiety pushes it down fearing bad news.
What I do like about this tarot card though is its colors and the design of the devil itself. Very creative and I like the presence of so many lines.

Happy Kumar

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He’s a jolly good fellow
He’s a jolly good fellow
He’s a jolly good feeellowwwww
And so say all of us





What are the odds of finding a jolly good bus driver in Bangalore? Did I hear you say none? Think again. If there was a place where I could place bets on the grouchiness of bus drivers I would have made at least 200:1 kind of moolah. For now it just remains as a one off experience. A great way to start the day!
I will call him Happy Kumar in keeping with his state of mind. And he was driving a Volvo bus.
Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has become the first public sector city transport carrier to introduce Air Conditioned Volvo Buses. It has become one of the best ways of public transport in Bangalore today (though even the regular buses are arguably the better ones in India), even beating the Auto to a pulp. Ok my mind wont stop pestering my hand so let me give you another itsy bitsy fact – the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation is the only profit making urban sector public corporation in India.
In Bangalore (as with most other places in India) most buses have one person driving and another dispensing ticket. Today due to staff shortage Happy Kumar was also giving tickets to passengers. People boarding the bus wouldn’t know that and hence would just proceed to occupy a seat. Happy Kumar had a unique way of informing them. He would sing aloud “Buy your tickets here” in English and in Kannada. The best part was that he greeted every passenger with a smile. Talk about customer service. Most call centers need to learn a lesson or two from this guy. He was on a highly stressful job (people who know about traffic congestion in Bangalore know what I am talking about) but he dint take it out on his customers. For example at every bus stop at least 20 people would climb on board. That means 20 ignorant (about the driver giving tickets) people scrambling to grab seats. Plus the Volvo itself is a fast mover. You need to be good at reflexes to drive a sensitive vehicle like that. Happy Kumar not only managed to keep the bus in perfect control but also managed to not miss out selling tickets to any of the passengers.
For once I dint sleep on the way to work and remained laughing on the bus with the rest of the strangers. Happy Kumar made us all feel like one big family.
Wish more people in the service industries were like him.
I got another reward because of Happy Kumar: People at my office told me I look wide awake today! (For those who don’t know I carry an aura of sleep around me)

Uncle can you see

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Uncle can you see

The fresh green leaves
And the bright blue sky
The springing red flowers
And the sprouting yellow fruits

Uncle can you see
Them both being brave
For their solace we all pray
And the third being a pillar sort
Reaching out and lending support

Uncle can you see
Her, who was your strength
Your soulmate, always at an arm's length
She is alone today in a sea of people
Straining to hear your voice even if feeble

Uncle can you see
The rest of the family knitted close
Standing by your's in their woes
But please forgive me
I wasnt there to bid adieu

Amma (Mother)

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Monday started out very relaxed but suddenly the fire got turned on. I am at yet another fork, yet another decision. I got so worked up that to calm down I opened my blog and remembered this post that I wrote and never posted. Its about one of the foursome I am closest to.
My Amma.
"Yo-yo" Thats what she would say if I will call and tell her that I have written about her on my blog. She is one of my readers you see. But come to think of it, "yo-yo" would be her reaction to many things people tell her. The way it is intoned differs from situation to situation :)
The one thing that I have learnt from her is self confidence. There are other qualities that I am yet to learn from her. The biggest one being that she is a believer. She is a believer in humanity, of goodness, in love and most of all in life.
At every turn in life, at every deciding fork in life she has egged me on with guidance and sometimes with plain guts.It all started with teaching me Hindi in primary school, a feat which she accomplished by learning it herself from MY text books(my memory seems to have deleted earlier files)! From then on she has been the nice little pillar of strength through to the most important decision in my life and still counting.
As I am writing all this I get the feeling that the person reading will be forming an image of my mom in his/her mind. I hope its not of a stern, hand folded grim lady. My mom is the gentlest creation of God. The softness of her beautiful face is enhanced by the glasses she wears and stumbles because of! If one wants to experience joy in life tell my amma a joke. Her mirth and laughter is so infectious that you will double with laughter yourself within no time. She has an almost girlish charm about her (which is in no way a reflection of her age!) and lends to her timeless quality. Even today when someone gives her a compliment she blushes like a teenager :). She has an immaculate sense of dressing and carries herself like royalty. I have even written a small snippet about this when I was in school and still dreamed of bearing myself like a princess! I seem to be sounding like a kid who has been asked to describe her bestest candy :).
I love you Ma.
I always wonder how you and I became friends also from being just mother-daughter (though you always say I used to boss over you). Its very strange. It also feels weird (when I kick in my stupid habit of becoming the third person and) when I analyse a conversation we would have had, because of its depth. Looking back I dont remember any time when I was scared of you Ma. Instead you were the one (and appa ofcouse, but thats another post for another day) I would run to when anything scared me. Ofcourse, I have battled hard with you (and still do) over trivial and important stuff but isn't that one of the reasons we have such a lovely relationship? I have tormented you with my stubbornness but you never gave up on me.
I love you more for that.

I met a wannabe-Guinness-Book-Of-World-Records entrant!

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And I met him in a Sleeper coach compartment of a train!

Two days ago at 5:15 PM we, a group of eight people, got on the Ernakulam (Place in Kerala) express to go to Guruvayur (Place in Kerala known for its Krishna temple) to attend a close friend’s wedding. Already tired from the day’s running around (it was a week day) and tense about being awake to get out at 2:30 AM when the train would pull into our destination, we huddled around in our compartment hailing coffee/tea vendors and chatting away sleepily. There was one nice Malayalee (people from the Indian state of Kerala so called because they speak Malayalam) lady sitting with us and she started conversing with us as we ate our dinner. After dinner we were all thinking of retiring when a gentleman alighted from the top most berth. I hadn’t noticed him till that moment. He happened to be this lady’s husband. He smiled at all of us and started talking to T and me while he ate his dinner. We learned from him that he was in the Inspection department of RBI and retired as the Additional Divisional Manager. He spoke at length about his adventures on his trips all over India. He was a very widely traveled man thanks to his work profile. He knew every nook and corner of India from Cherapunjee (place with maximum rainfall in the world) to the Kolar Gold Fields (in Karnataka, now closed). He told about his VIP pass descent into the KGF mine some 2000 feet below the ground level in a bucket! He and his wife had to give a declaration stating that nobody was responsible if something untoward happened to them in the mine! By and by he started telling us that he had a lot of hobbies, one of which was collecting key chains! He has over 6000 key chains from all over the world. He stores them in air tight containers to keep moisture from reaching the metal of the chains. He showed us the collection he was taking home from Bangalore. Some fifty odd key chains right there in his suitcase! We were impressed. But what impressed us the most was when he, Mr. P.K.K. Nair told us that he wants to soon be in the Guinness Book of World Records for possessing a record collection of the very same key chains!

In the meanwhile one of us was looking out for a tea vendor. And this gave him another idea. He told us his other hobbies include Graphology and Palmistry etc. He has over 20 years of experience in Graphology alone! He decided to do on us what he called “T therapy”. He made all of us write the small letter “t” on a piece of paper and then individually told us a few points about our personality. What I liked most was that he put across all the points in such a positive way that one couldn’t help but gloat that one has such a great personality! While all of us felt that what he was telling us about ourselves were very true, he even made a couple of predictions for some of us! Now we have to see if that also comes true! Mr. Nair informed us that people from many places come to him for match making, palm readings etc and all he expects as return gift or dakshina from such people was key chains! This man is so passionate and sincere about his hobby that it comes out in the way he handles them even. Even his grandchild buys key chains for her grandpa because that’s what he likes most! Thus we spent around three hours in a crowded train getting know a great man. Great only by his sincerity and passion for a hobby! By 10 we all decided to retire for the night when he called T and me and told us that what happened that night was divine intervention. He never does this kind of graphology readings for strangers but he saw us and he wanted to! Wow! We all felt a little more blessed, the soft pale glow of the overhead compartment light lending more of a magical effect to the situation.

Now that the journey is over, all I can remember vividly is this chance encounter in the train rather than the wedding or the beach-fun we had at Guruvayur!

My Blog gets a new dress :)

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Hello to all my readers. From today no, I will be wearing my new dress. I got bored of my pale blue dress which I wore for one and half years maan. It became very dreary for me to wake up every morning and look at myself in the mirror. Pah! Not that the dress was not nice but it just got too dull and lonely you know? I also want to look nice bright and beautiful like some of my blog friends. So I told Siri about this. And what can I tell you about Siri da? She's such a sweet darling. Immediately she took me to a template shop and got me a new dress. In the shop I chose a pinky pink (one of my favourite colours) one. Siri din't appreciate it very much. Her choice is more sober you see. But I stood my ground inspite of Siri threatning that she wouldn't write on me again. Oh but you see I know how to convince her. For her seeing is believing no so I just went into the trial room and put on the pink dress and showed it to her. Her face was twisted in dislike in the beginning but the more she saw me saunter around in it her expression changed to her nice natural self.You know what she said? She said "You know what Bloggy pink does suit you". I was so happy da! Immediately got it packed and skipped out of the template shop.
Ofcourse only when I showed off in front of my blog friends did I come to know that Siri din't have to pay a penny for my dress!! She got it free from Blogger re! More importantly its designer wear designed by Dan Rubin. But nevertheless she took time out from her "busy" schedule and took me shopping. That's enough for me ya. Ok now let me preen some more. Catch you later and Thank you Siri MUAHZ!

P.S:- I look beautiful no? Please let Siri know your thoughts. I feel she is still not totally convinced.

Quote o' Philodom

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"Tomorrow" is the solution to all problems ~Siri