City Lights & Streets Of Gold

Happy Burdayy You

2012-02-16T22:19:00.000+05:30

It's the anniversary of the blog today. It's been three years since I started this. I should have come far. I should have written more. But for reasons I cannot fathom I haven't come as far as I wanted to. The past year has been pretty disappointing. I was stuck in a rut and refused to budge. But everyday I am easing myself out of it bit by bit. Who knows, this year might be the year that I have many stories to tell. Actually, I always have stories to tell but words really evade me at times. This time I promise to try harder, to be better.

I celebrated the by eating cupcakes a couple of days before. I can never turn down dessert. Especially small, sinfully chocolaty, creamy cakes. The Cupcake Company has opened shop in Anna Nagar. I suggest you try it out.

On Beauty, Zadie Smith

2012-02-02T21:50:00.000+05:30

I picked up Zadie Smith's 'On Beauty' while browsing through the aisles in the British Council for the sole reason that the cover called out to me. I confess, I judge a book by its cover. There is no denying that one is attracted to a book by the cover. 'On Beauty' had a pretty vine and flowers theme with a black background. The front cover said, 'Nominated For The Man Booker Prize'. If it is nominated for an award then it can't be that bad, right? Right.

The book talks a lot about 'art'. If there is one thing I do not understand it is art. Although 'art' is used as a backdrop it talks a lot about 'family' and that is one thing I do understand. Smith talks about two families, each following their own set of beliefs, each defining morality in their own special way. Howard is the most liberal-est liberal there is and Monty is a conservative, to the public. Both are each others greatest critics. Howard is ashamed of his son, Jerome, a staunch Christian who lives in his fathers house but prefers the Monty way of life. To add fuel to the fire, Jerome falls in love with Victoria, Monty's daughter. In the midst of this drama Levi, Howard's youngest befriends the wrong crowd and Zoe, his daughter, fights for the cause of a boy who ultimately disappoints her.

Meanwhile, Howard ruins his relationship with his wife of twenty years, Kiki, by cheating on her with an old friend. Kiki is devastated. But what is interesting is the way she reacts to it. She doesn't make a scene and throw him out of the house. She lets him stay under the same roof, for the sake of her children, she says. But the real reason is that she loves him too much. Is it really possible to continue to love someone whom you've known for so many many years after they have committed the most unmistakable act of cheating? But she does, not in the most obvious way. This is a woman who has sacrificed her thoughts and her beliefs for the man she loves. She accepted his beliefs like they were her own. Howard comes across as a selfish person. He is so obsessed with his ideals and does not lend a ear to what the next person thinks. He is also a hypocrite. He thinks one thing but does something else. He holds a lot of importance to what he feels. All in all I found him a very difficult character. To read and to fall in love with.

It is intersting how Smith defines each character and gives each of them their own battle to fight. Every character in the book has their own ideals. They beleive in it so strongly that nothing can shake them. I did not understand the art. The liberal vs conservative battle did not interest me. What caught my fancy was the family dynamics. Parents work so hard to pass on their ideals to their children without realizing that they have their own dreams. But once the children learn to fight for what they believe in, parents feel like they've lost their control.

Why do we really love the people we love? And how far we willing to forgive someone even after they cross the point of no return? Zadie Smith understands the nuances of family. She writes so beautifully about life and its loves. The difficulties Kiki faces with her children and with decisions she has to make are so relateable. The book also deals a lot with female body issues. That part spoke out so clearly to me that I am saving it for another post.

I genereally do not like movies and books that do not have a definite end. For example, books that end with a puzzling situation or in the case of movies, like in Inception when everyone was arguing whether the totem stopped spinning or not. I'd like a proper ending to anything. I'm not a fan of "let's leave it to the audience to interpret it". But the last chapter of this book did just that and in a way I found myself liking it.

'On Beauty' is, for the lack of a better word, a beautiful book. Zadie Smith is now one of my top favorite writers.

2012-01-30T15:47:00.000+05:30

Four years of exams, stress, assignments and depression later I've finally got a certificate to prove that I am an Engineer. I never thought this day would come. I never though I'd actually be this happy. But yes, God has been so unbelievably good to me.

I finally got to wear the rented coat/gown thing with a red sash around my neck that thankfully did not clash with my outfit. There was no graduation cap, unfortunately. But then after I received my degree there was one photographer waiting who pushed me into a corner, slapped a graduation cap on my head and took a picture before I could realize whats happening. And he charged me two hundred rupees for it! All this happened in a matter of minutes. The photo reached my house yesterday. I look like a chubby deer caught in the headlights.

Before the actual graduation ceremony began we had to 'rehearse' for it. Basically all of us just had to run across the stage. I just prayed that when my turn came to walk on to the stage and get my degree I don't trip and fall on my face. Thankfully I did not do that. But right before my turn came the stupid straps on my stupid heels came undone and I limped across the stage and ambushed the boy in front of me.

I still remember the first day of college and I'm proud of how far I've come. I know its just one degree and there are thousands of Engineers out there, most who even deserve it, but for me this really is an accomplishment. I just hope that from now on I get to do something I really like.

Here's to better things to come!

Jest For Jolly

2012-01-18T15:18:00.001+05:30

I cannot believe how cold Madras has become. The mornings are so chilly. This is something unheard of here. By ten o'clock though, the sun comes out in full blast. These extremes are ruining my already wonderful skin. Nights are even colder. I used to make fun of my mother for wearing socks to bed. Now I sleep with the fan turned low and snuggle in to my purple quilt. The only thing keeping me warm is my new awesome Angry Birds sweatshirt that The Brother so lovingly got me. It's so big! And soft! Perfect for the weather.

He also got me an iPhone and this post is a test run on the Blogger app. Hopefully, this will motivate me to blog more.

Okay I have to go wash the henna off my head but before I do I want to ask you, do you l know what the Tamiil version of Angry Birds is called?

Ans : Jangry (jangri) Birds!

Yes, I'm not called Mokkaisamy for no reason.

2012-01-12T23:43:00.001+05:30

"What infinite energies are wasted steeling oneself against crisis that seldom comes: the strength to move mountains; and yet it is perhaps this very waste, this torturous wait for things that never happen, which prepares the way and allows one to accept with sinister serenity the beast at last in view: ..."

2011-12-31T01:04:00.000+05:30

Three hundred and sixty five days are over. Unbelievable. Time goes by so fast. I really wanted to savor every minute and make each day count but time just flies. 2011 has been a year of extreme emotions for me and in some way I think it achieved a balance.

I started the year with my final semester of college. It was the most unforgettable semester ever. I met some wonderful people, made great friends, realized how much I actually liked my college, a person I met only for a few hours gave me a lot of confidence and I met Shashi Tharoor at a MUN confernce (he is SO cute!). In typical Zarine fashion I also did make a complete fool of myself. I cried (in public!) for a reason that now seems so stupid, swore at someone (again, in public), embarrassed myself on stage, almost embarrassed myself multiple times in project reviews but managed to save my face, which I am actually proud of.

After semesters it was exam time and I spent an awful amount of time waiting for my awful Anna University marks. Anna University, if you are reading this, you suck. Thank you for giving me a tough time, it just made me stronger. But to be fair, I do respect you. I know it must have been no fun going through my answer sheets, or a lot of fun depeding on how you look at it.

The latter part of the year took a far turn from all this awesomeness. I got disappointed a lot. So I bawled my eyes out and went on a strike but it was a no go. Sometimes no matter how much we plan and yearn for things it just doesn't work out - another lesson from 2011. But these disappointements literally ate through by brain and I just went on analyzing one situation after the other and almost threw myself into a deep and endless pit (metaphorically, of course). But I also found the resilience in me. I learnt to pick myself up and forced myself to look ahead.

After this it was vacation time. Dad always promised me that we could go anywhere we wanted once I completed my degree. We started with Egypt and then the revolution happened. So I suggested Turkey, my first love, but then the earthquake happened. His timing is impeccable, I tell you.

Eventually we settled on Dubai for reasons I cannot comprehend. Initially I was totally uninterested but then the food and shopping cheered me up. I ate so many differnt types of food. I would have loved to take pictures of them but I live with a brother who is too impatient to let the food pose and a father who is embarrassed when I take pictures of food.

2011 was a year of paradoxes for me. I had so many, many dreams for this year. I think the fault lies in the fact that I expected all of them to come true. So in 2012 I expect to dream less (like that's even possible).

When it comes to resolutions I have always made the really cheesy ones like "Oh I will lose weight this year" and the classic - "I will study well this year". Histroy shows that these resolutions never saw the break of day. So this year my resolutions are simple. It follows the concept of more.

"The Swan" (1956)

2011-12-10T00:10:00.001+05:30

"Your father used to call you his swan, so I am told. I think that's a good thing to remember. Think what it means to be a swan. To glide like a dream on the smooth surface of the lake, and never go to the shore. On dry land, where ordinary people walk, the swan is awkward, even ridiculous. When she waddles up the bank she painfully resembles a different kind of bird, n'est-ce-pas?

... And there she must stay, out on the lake; silent, white, majestic. Be a bird, but never fly; know one song, but never sing it until the moment of death. And so it must be for you, Alexandra. Cool indifference to the standing crowds along the bank. And the song? Never."

- "The Swan" (1956)

source

2011-12-05T22:09:00.001+05:30

Sometimes it takes every ounce of energy that I have to keep from screaming out loud.

Nostalgia.

2011-12-04T23:07:00.001+05:30

A friend of mine just came over to invite me for her wedding. It's been a good six months since college finished and I can't believe how far we've all come. Some are getting married, some are doing exceptionally in their jobs and some, like me, are waiting for a lucky break. College feels like it happened in a different life. It feels like it happened eons ago and what I can remember is surrounded by a haze. I talk like its been years since I passed out but, eerily enough not even a year has passed since. College is generally a place where people "find themselves". But for me it was about finding just a "part" of me.

At times I'm filled with regret because I spent too much time hating what I did. I regret that I didn't give myself a chance to like what I did. I spent a lot of time and energy in vehemently disliking anything and everything that came with my course. At this point in my life I feel like I could have done better. I could have studied harder but even I know that its a lost cause. I tried really hard to be better, academically. I failed. And Anna University gave me many more tries. Then, I passed. It was probably the single most happiest moment in my life, passing in something I never liked to begin with. But if that had never happened I would have a very different life right now.

When we were in college my partner in crime and I, we used to imagine a bright, new exciting life waiting for us as soon as we were done with these four years of formal education. But the first few weeks after college ended I experienced severe withdrawal symptoms. My body wanted to wake up at 7 'o' clock and run behind a bus. I had to have some college tea in my system. I even missed the doughy bread bajjis that reeked with oil. I missed texting from the last bench. I missed the constant bitching with the aforementioned partner in crime. I missed writing "apology" and "permission" letters. I missed the afternoon meals that tasted terrible in first year but awesome in final year. I missed doing fake demos for projects and fighting over which font to use for ppts. I wanted to relive the terrible presentations that we did. But most of all I missed my friends.

I know that I can never go back to those wonderful times and all I have are memories and pictures. I entered college as a much skinnier 17 year old and I left as a wiser, more well rounded 21 year old. I may not have "found myself" in college. I know that will take me a few more years but I definitely feel much smarter in the "life" department. Every time I talk about being wiser or much sensibler than I was in the past, this song by U2 always comes to mind - "City of Blinding Lights" (which is incidentally the song that inspired the name for this blog) where Bono says, "The more you see, the less you know. The less you find out as you go. I knew much more than I do now. "

College may not have given me the experiences I wished for but it did give me the life lessons that I needed. And in the bargain also gives me a degree in Engineering which, if you ask me, is a pretty good deal!

November

2011-11-13T23:17:00.001+05:30

November is supposed to be cold and wet. A preview of what December holds. But the weather has been going from rainy nights to bright mornings. It confuses me, this uncertainty. November is no longer dark and broody. November is confusion. December defines the end of yet another year. But November is such an odd month.

November is disappointing.

Belief

2011-11-02T23:51:00.000+05:30

A few days back I was having a philosophical discussions with one of my friends. Somewhere in the midst of talking about love and faith she turned her big bushy head to me and asked, "Why do you believe in God?". That moment I felt like I had slammed into a wall. Why did I believe in God? I did not have an answer at hand. I just stuttered, stammered and came up with a reason why, a reason that I just can't seem to recollect right now. But today while saying my prayers I realized why I actually did believe in God.

As a child I followed the faith of my parents. I did what they did. I believed in what they believed. I never questioned anything. I believed in God because my parents told me to. I did not want to get all rebellious and say no. It just wasn't worth the trouble. But as I grew up, from a pimply adolescent to an even more pimply teenager, life handed me a few important lessons. Lessons that were more important than Maths and Science. My future depended on how well I learnt these lessons. I was never a bright student in school and in life. Hence, I had to redo a few lessons in both.

I'm not here to judge those who don't believe in God. I have no way of telling what is in peoples hearts. I cannot judge a persons belief. I just want to tell you the reason why I believe. I believe that faith is the very foundation of our being. Sometime we have implicit faith on people only to be let down in the most cruelest of ways. Trusting and having faith in someone means that you are willing to let go of your anchor and depend and trust that person so much that every fiber of your being believes in them. Having faith is like moving away from your comfort zone and showing them your most vulnerable side.

Many times in life we feel let down and cheated by the people we love the most. We, as humans very easily become unfaithful. We lose faith in things easily. If life don't go according to our plan we lose faith.I'm a person who trusts people easily and in my life I've had incidents where I could not count on anyone be it friends or family. At my most darkest days, when I hit rock bottom, the small iota of belief that I had in God is what made me the person I am today. Today I feel wiser because of all the tests that God has put me through. And I know that the important decision that I will make for the future will be inspired from the lessons I learned in the past.

It is very easy to not believe. It is very, very easy to turn a blind eye to all the signs that show the presence of a greater force. You don't have to look for scientific proof or read ancient scriptures. All you've got to do is just look deeper into your life, your past and you will find something that you overlooked.

"Belief is a beautiful armor

But makes for the heaviest sword

Like punching under water

You never can hit who you're trying for

Some need the exhibition

And some have to know they tried

It's the chemical weapon

For the war that's raging on inside"

- John Mayer, "Belief"

2011-10-26T23:51:00.000+05:30

The monsoons have started and Madras couldn't be any prettier. I love the chillness. I love it when the tip of my nose gets cold. I love that all the trees get completely washed. I love it when the wet crow shakes of the water from its head.

I'm so happy that the rains have started. I hope it stays for a long, long time.

Number 22

2011-10-03T00:10:00.000+05:30

Amidst no pomp and celebration I turned 22 yesterday. I expected to feel a little mature but I didn't. I thought I would have achieved self-actualization by now. But I didn't. I went to sleep as a 21 year old and woke up feeling the same. I then realized that ever since I turned 18 I've been cribbing about wonderful things happening in my life. Every October first I waited for celebrations and acknowledgments. The fact that neither of those happened is not the point. But I never stopped expecting. I always visualized how it would be to turn eighteen. Then, when nothing happened I fantasized about turning nineteen and so on and so forth. Every year I expected my life to turn around for the better. Every year, until this year, I was hyperactive a whole week before my birthday. I don't know what exactly I wanted to happen but I never stopped expecting and most, if not all of those expectations led to disappointment.

This year I told myself that I wouldn't expect anything. I did not call up friends and remind them that it was my birthday. I played it cool. The next morning I woke up with nothing to do. I glided through the entire day without any sort of expectations. That is when I learnt that once you don't expect anything you are never disappointed. It really hurts when you expect and yearn for things to happen but are left disappointed. This year I saved myself the disappointment that had played a pretty major part in my life all these years.

I learnt that once you don't expect anything nothing can disappoint you. You many not be happy but you aren't disappointed either. For a person like me who has been let down so many times in my life this was the realization that I've been searching for. This post may seem like a pretty sad one to write on a birthday but understanding this actually made me a little more wiser.

The past year has actually been pretty good to me. The happiest moment was when I passed my Anna University exams. I was always doubtful if I would pass my last semester but God decided that I had suffered enough of Engineering. Just seeing those six 'P's in the tabular column made my year.

The past year was the most fun I've had compared to my four years of Engineering. I met some really wonderful people and did some truly awesome things. I don't think there is a single thing that I would like to change about the past year.

I am terrible at concluding a post so I'll just end with : "Happy birthday, Zarine! You are awesome."

I have definitely achieved self-praising.

2011-09-15T00:43:00.000+05:30

"Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of the earth, overlying our hard hearts."

Closure.

2011-08-26T03:33:00.000+05:30

They say time heals everything. As time passes by I realize things that I didn't before. It may be months or years, and sometimes even days, but as time passes by I get closure and I am able to move on. After every core-of-my-life-shattering episode that I have been through, I have managed to take away some good from it. Some lesson, or some character of mine that I never knew I had. I believe that every bad has something good in it if you care to look deeper.

I don't just believe everything happens for a reason, I now know that everything happens for a reason. When I tell this to people they say "oh that's stupid. This, this and this happened in my life, what do you think the reason is?". You need to look closely within yourself to know what the reason is. An outsider can't point what it is. If you search for a reason and if your intentions are right then you will always find a reason. If not a reason, then a lesson. A lesson that you can carry with you through your life. A lesson that will ultimately make you a better person and a lesson that will, either directly or indirectly, influence the decisions you make.

So many many times in my life I've had revelations from incidents that happened years back. I keep carrying the pain and the disappointment for so long but once you achieve closure and satisfaction, the contentment you get is immense.

It is very hard to let the bitter feelings go. It is very easy to forget but it is very very hard to forgive. But every once in a while you need to let that feeling of resentment go. Possibly to make room for new ones, but that is not the point!

The point is letting go. Of a person, an idea or a feeling. It definitely isn't the easiest thing to do in the world. But once you overcome the bitterness, once you overcome the soreness, you will see everything in a much clearer light. The load will be lifted off your shoulder, the chain around your heart will be unlocked and you will realize that the day has never been brighter than this.

Rain.

2011-08-25T02:43:00.000+05:30

It's been raining the past couple of days and I love it. There is something about the rain that makes me feel so happy. Hearing the thunder and watching lightning light up my room somehow helps me put things in perspective. Granted the roads are flooded in the morning but it pales in comparison to the beauty of the rain. Every night I sleep with the curtains drawn open. Lighting continues to flash and I don't sleep for ages.

In the morning I wake up to bright, unadulterated sunlight pouring in through my windows. Seeing all this gives me some kind of hope. Seeing all the plants washed clean makes me feel that you can start over.

During Ramadhan I stay awake till around 5.30 am to pray fajr (morning prayers) and I never sleep till I see day break from my window, every single day. To actually see the night become day is so magical. And it isn't sudden or abrupt. Morning comes very gradually, very elegantly. The sun is in no hurry to come out of the clouds. Everything is so serene. The dark night becomes an intense shade of grey. Then the grey has just a tinge of blue. In a few minutes, a dash of orange is added. The orange gets brighter, gradually and finally the sun comes out shining happily.

Just watching this play unfold scene by scene, every single day without a hitch gives me a feeling that everything is going to be okay.

I can fret and fume and agonize about the future as much as I want to, but I know that in the end I will find what I've been looking for and then, everything will be okay.

Hope

2011-08-12T06:43:00.001+05:30

"Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them and try to follow them."
- Louisa May Alcott

True Story

2011-08-11T10:46:00.001+05:30

2011-07-02T22:08:00.000+05:30

I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Summer.

2011-06-23T20:44:00.000+05:30

Summer is almost over. The days of sweltering heat are broken up by sudden bursts of rain. Is it the monsoon? Or the winds receding from the north? I don't know. I never paid much attention in Geography class. In fact, I never liked Geography.

I miss summer vacations. Yes, it is summer now and I am on a vacation (a perpetual one if I so desire). But it is no match for the summer vacations I had in school. Summer meant two months of lying around and doing nothing. When I was in school we never vacationed anywhere fancy for the summer. It was always Tirunelveli for a week every year. The fanciest place I went was Ooty and Kodaikanal. But the rest of the holidays were spent watching an unhealthy amount of television and eating copious amounts of food.

I did attend the ubiquitous 'summer classes'. I dabbled my hand in painting for a while and never returned to the paint brush after that. I went for swimming classes three summers in a row. Considering that I was in the water most of the time I couldn't wear my glasses so I did not exactly make a lot of friends. I was more preoccupied with squinting my way through the water and making sure I didn't bang my head in to somebody else's.

My mother could never stand the sight of me lazing around the house. So, after swimming it was tennis for the next few years. Tennis involved a lot of wearing short skirts and running around. I loved it. My dad, not so much. And since I got to keep my glasses on, I made a few friends and met one of the weirdest girls I've ever seen in my life.

All these semi-exciting summer vacations gradually came to an end thanks to tenth standard and the attack of the Public Exams. And from then on, summer vacations were filled with preparing for the twelfth standard Board Exams. Although I did visit a few countries in between, they were never a match for the summers of my childhood.

During college, summers meant studying for semesters that were scheduled on days when the school kids had their vacations. So I had to study amidst screaming neighbor kids and had to withstand the temptation to watch the 'summer blockbusters' on Sun TV.

Although I love summer, I am a winter girl at heart. My mother says this is because I was born during one of the rainiest Octobers. Every summer my body reacts to the heat in disturbing ways. Two years back my face was entirely covered with heat boils. Nothing I did or ate or applied on my face made it go away. But once the heat reduced so did the boils. Thank God they left no scars. This year, the heat boils have spread to my scalp and neck and other weird parts of my body. But this is the effect of eating an obscene amount of mangoes.

And thanks to the daily power cuts, I don't think I will be missing this summer all that much. As much as I love summer I hate the sweat and the heat and the permanently sticky skin.

I am so glad I don't have to travel two hours every day in a bus full of heat and dust anymore. Four years of that was more than enough.

If you are stuck in traffic at this time of the year because of 'Metro Rail/Mono Rail' work (last year it was bridge work) my condolences to you.

Happiness.

2011-06-12T00:10:00.000+05:30

I was reading The Museum Of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk when I came across a chapter called 'The Most Important Thing in Life Is to Be Happy'. For a long time I was always in search of Happiness. Not Earth shattering revelations or amazing achievements, just Happiness. Reading that chapter made me realize that ultimately, Happiness is what we aim for. It is what we expect our life to ultimately give us.

Another chapter was named 'Happiness Means Being Close to the One You Love , That's All' and I strongly disagreed. I always though of Happiness as a selfish thing. Something that you need and is present within you. Happiness can be found in other ways, I thought, not just in the company of those we love. Happiness meant getting something you wanted, reaching your goals. It was meant to be personal. Something that you could give to another person but personal, nonetheless. The whole of yesterday I had an internal conflict in my head, trying to disprove what Pamuk said. By the time I went to bed I was so sure of myself, so sure of what I thought was right.

Today was an entirely different story. I learnt that Happiness IS actually being close to the ones you love, that's all.

Happiness is seeing someone after months or even years and realizing that no matter how much time passes, some things never change. Happiness is opposing teams being shot down by paint pellets. Happiness is listening to the same song on loop. It is food that satisfies a hungry stomach, the breeze in my hair that tugs my scarf away. Happiness is looking at the endless sea and knowing that everything is going to be okay. It is the knowledge that no matter how bad things may seem, they always have a way of working themselves out.

It is knowing that no matter where life may take us or where we may end up ten years from now, we will still have the memory of today, the sea and the sand.

“In fact no one recognizes the happiest moment of their lives as they are living it. It may well be that, in a moment of joy, one might sincerely believe that they are living that golden instant “now,” even having lived such a moment before, but whatever they say, in one part of their hearts they still believe in the certainty of a happier moment to come.”

—	Kemal Basmacı, The Museum of Innocence

Tip Your Hat

2011-06-04T09:38:00.000+05:30

What is it about a top hat and a walking stick on a man that makes my heart skip a beat I do not know.

Case in point :

The top hat was made for men like Fred Astaire who was every inch the perfect gentleman. A man with a top hat has style. The morning dress is SUCH an elegant and gentlemanly piece of clothing. Men should wear it ALL THE TIME. If the eighties is in vogue now, then people should work at BRINGING BACK THE TOP HAT!

Just LOOK at Fred Astaire. He makes me want to give up everything in the world and just dance with him.

It's sad how these days chivalry and gentlemanly behavior is just lost on men. Fred Astaire would NEVER be disrespectful to a woman. He is just too darn charming.

Well, and Humphrey Bogart too.

Sometimes I wish I could just 'time-travel' myself back to the thirties and forties. Everything just seems so much more pleasant then. The gowns were gorgeous, people still called each other Mr. Blah Blah and Miss. So and So, men wore tailcoats and top hats and looked like Humphrey Bogart.

A girl can dream.

Really.

2011-06-01T23:09:00.001+05:30

Source

Belgian Waffles. Dot.

2011-05-18T00:51:00.000+05:30

Movenpick - Belgian waffle with chocolate ice cream.

The other day my aunt showed me a pendant she got that totally resembled a waffle. Seeing that, my cravings resurfaced and I just HAD to have a Belgian waffle.

And so I did.

Save The Girl Child

2011-04-07T22:44:00.000+05:30

The census report this year has some extremely scary statistics to report : the boy-girl sex ratio has dropped from 927 to 914 per 1000 boys. This is the worst statistics since Independence.

How can we call ourselves a developed nation when we choose to discriminate a child even before she is born? Although identification of the sex of the foetus is against the law, there are various medical professionals and clinics who still go ahead and identify the sex of the foetus. Once the foetus is identified to be female, many couples and their families choose to abort the foetus.

A pre-natal test is a criminal offence fined up to three years in jail and a Rs.10,000 fine for the first offence and five years imprisonment and a Rs.50,000 fine fro the second offence.
This does not just happen in the lower classes and in the uneducated sects of the society but it is also very prevalent among the higher and more elite societies where couples quite often travel abroad to determine the sex of the child without actually breaking the law.

That's what it is : finding out the sex of your child before birth is breaking the law in India. In a country that deems itself to be so modern, so urbane and so 'in' with what's hot and what's not we are still steeped in age old customs and insane beliefs. We still celebrate the birth of a boy and mourn the birth of a girl. Somehow we like to hold on to that thin, almost dwindling shred of belief that the boy is going to save us and uplift our life and the girl will bring only misfortunes.

Every other week we hear stories of new born children found in dustbins, thrown in lakes and undeveloped fetuses in dust buns. It is nearly impossible to educate a society on the impact of this when they refuses to comply with the schemes. A few years back this piece made the news : In a small village in Rajsthan (I think) there was a dearth of girls. The drought of girls was so much that there was an unnatural number of young boys in the village waiting to get married.

Despite all the so called 'development' we are still a society that places the male above all else. Families from lower backgrounds feel that sending the son to school is better than sending the daughter because it will invariably be a waste of money and that he will be the bread winner. But the harsh reality is that, that boy would go grow up to be a ruffian and the girl would have to work multiple jobs just to feed her family.

How is it possible to bring a nation out from this 'dark age' and make them see the light of day that it is impossible to live in a society without girls? They are the founding factors on which any civilization is built on. Women are not important just to cook your food and have your babies. They play such an important role in the society at large. They become great doctors and lawyers, CEOs of major companies, entrepreneurs and artists, contribute a LOT to society and bring about changes in ways the others can't.

Every girl child deserves the right to be born. No one can rob her of the right to be educated. Every child has a potential that needs to be identified and utilized to the maximum. It is her right to be the person she wants to be and to achieve what she wants in life. Unfortunately, we fail miserably to recognize that. As soon as the girl is born the family only thinks of the expenses she will incur.

The Government says that female foeticide can be stopped only through awareness. But how much of it will actually be effective? If in 2011, 64 years after Independence, we face the worst sex ration ever, then does it truly show that all the 'awareness' created by the Ministry for Women and Child Development is actually useful?

Will we ever change?

Bleeding Blue. 100%

2011-04-03T00:56:00.000+05:30

I'm not a die hard cricket fan. In fact, I don't think I even know all of the rules. I know six, four, out, not out, lbw, wicket, catch, no catch, etc etc but my heart is truly filled with joy now that India has won the World Cup!

Winning the India/Pakistan semis was brilliant. But the media shouldn't have created THAT much hype about it. I mean, yeah I know its very exciting. It truly is. But they made it seem like one battle.

Seeing the cup being lifted by Sachin in my generation is truly incredible. This picture will be etched in our minds forever. So now India will not worry about winning for the next twenty eight years 'cause people will still keep talking about the 2nd of April, 2011 when the entire country erupted just out of sheer happiness.

Thank God India won. Now we can gloat about it for many many years to come. Else we'd have to hear stories about how we came THIS close to winning the World Cup and lost and some stories never get old.

Also, how absolutely charming is Virat Kholi! Ah.. he just makes my heart melt!

The Baeku Is Back!

2011-03-26T20:52:00.000+05:30

I love to eat.

I REALLY love to eat.

When I see food I get excited. I'm not a glutton but food is probably one of my most favourite things. I don't differentiate when it comes to food. Dosa, lasangne, dim sum, aapam, biryani, phad thai, tom yam, idli, maasi, desserts; I love everything as long as it tastes good. Bad food is a totally different experience. Some of which haunts me till today. But I love to feel the the flavours in my mouth. I like to taste food and guess what's in it. I love spooning mutton curry right off the stove and tasting biryani as soon as it is done. If you give me a four course meal I will eat. If you give me curd rice and oorga, I will still eat and ask for more a la Oliver Twist.

I am what a person might call a thinipandaram which roughly translates to eatercock. You know, like fighter cock. I am not a QUANTITY thinipandaram but rather a QUALITY thinipandaram.

My mamma always tells me, "If you love to eat so much can't you please cook?".
Fair enough. But she NEVER lets me inside the kitchen when she cooks. She always asks me to get out of her way, like I am some big boulder that is preventing her from cooking.

Hence, I resigned to my fate. For now.

Years of being ~~fondly~~ called a baeku by my darling brother finally came to use today.
I BAKED!
A cake!
Without my mamma's help.

But yes, I called her and asked for instructions. I didn't trust Betty Crocker too much.

And I must say, it is pretty fun. I think I'd like to bake a cake everyday. And the batter looked so sexy all brown and gooey I just wanted to drown in it.

So yeah, here I am, 21 years old and baked my first cake.

The baeku has evolved baby!

2011-03-04T19:50:00.000+05:30

Worst.
Day.
EVER.

The Great Dictator (1940)

2011-02-21T22:47:00.000+05:30

Today, as I was flipping through the telly I stopped at UTV World Movies. The channels' normal fare consists of spooky, creepy Korean movies, French movies that are almost always about love, lust and so on and rugged looking Arab/Middle Eastern movies. But today was different. They were playing 'The Great Dictator' starring Charlie Chaplin. I had heard about this but never had a chance to see it.

Charlie (Charles) Chaplin was always known for his slapstick humor. He was the epitome of comedy and personified funny like nobody ever can. But I was pleasantly surprised with 'The Great Dictator'. Chaplin plays a double role of the dictator Hynkel and a Jewish barber. Chaplin was greatly criticized for disrespecting the Jews and the Nazis alike as the movie was a satire on Hitler and Mussolini.

During Hitler's reign the movie banned in Germany and in all Nazi occupied territories. But Hitler did see this movie. Twice. Unfortunately history never recorded what he thought of the movie.

'The Great Dictator' is probably one of the bravest movies ever made considering the circumstances of its release. It was released in a time where Hitler's actions were not fully known. Chaplin however manages to draw a fine line between the guilt of the persecution and the concentration camps and the actual humor.

Although this movie is a satire, it teaches us a lesson. The final scene where Chaplin gives a speech is five minutes long and has to be one of the most excellent dialogs in cinema, the likes of which cannot be found today. The speech became so popular that Chaplin was invited to do a live radio broadcast.

This speech is something we can relate to in this day and age. It is amazing how something that was filmed seventy one years ago is extremely relevant today -

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor. That's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible; Jew, Gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone, and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The airplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men; cries out for universal brotherhood; for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women, and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say, do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish. Soldiers! Don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you, enslave you; who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel! Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men - machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines, you are not cattle, you are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts! You don't hate! Only the unloved hate; the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers! Don't fight for slavery! Fight for liberty! In the seventeenth chapter of St. Luke, it is written that the kingdom of God is within man, not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people, have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy, let us use that power. Let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfill that promise. They never will! Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfill that promise. Let us fight to free the world! To do away with national barriers! To do away with greed, with hate and intolerance! Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness. Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us all unite! Hannah, can you hear me? Wherever you are, look up Hannah! The clouds are lifting! The sun is breaking through! We are coming out of the darkness into the light! We are coming into a new world; a kindlier world, where men will rise above their hate, their greed, and brutality. Look up, Hannah! The soul of man has been given wings and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow! Into the light of hope, into the future! The glorious future, that belongs to you, to me and to all of us. Look up, Hannah. Look up!"

Special mention has to be given to Billy Gilbert, one of the finest actors I've seen. For those who don't know him, well,he was the voice of Sneezy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).

Picture courtesy www.thisguyoverhere.com

2011-02-08T00:42:00.000+05:30

The more you see, the less you know
The less you find out as you go
I knew much more then than I do now.

- City Of Blinding Lights

Oh Bono! How you talk to me!
I love you so.

2011-02-01T11:54:00.000+05:30

If Happiness Is A Warm Gun..
Then I'd take a bullet through my heart.

It's Just As Your Mamma Told You...

2011-01-28T22:14:00.000+05:30

The traffic in Chennai is getting worse everyday. The past couple of days it took me an hour and a half to come from Mount Road/Anna Salai to Anna Nagar. The number of cars have increased multi-fold. This isn't anything new, but NO ONE OBSERVES THE TRAFFIC RULES! In bumper to bumper traffic today at Nungambakkam High Road the foolish person behind the wheel on the left most side of the road turned on his right indicator and took a deep turn! People honestly need to know where they want to go!

I use the brake more than the accelerator. I think my speedometer showed like 20km/Ph or so. Anyways, while I was stuck in this signal, there stood next to me the ever threatening MTC bus. If there is one thing I'm scared of while driving its the MTC buses. They are the Rajas of the road. I respect them a lot 'cause no way do I want to die in front of one.

So ya, in the aforementioned bus which was spilling with people there stood a row of pakka rowdy type boys behind some pavum girls. Theses guys were singing and playing beats on the roof of the bus and basically making a public menace of themselves.

That's when I saw the look on the girls' faces. FEAR with a capital F.

The guys were standing SO close to the girls. I felt extremely sad that these girls were not able to afford any other kind of transportation and had to undergo this kind of unruly behavior. Women are always targeted. You can wave your women's lib bras saying we're equal to menfolk but it is stupid to ignore the obvious fact staring right at you.

How many times have you been felt up in a crowd or have been on the receiving side of lewd glares? You may be the bravest most smartest woman around but once you've had a bad experience where you've been molested or harassed then your perception on life changes in an instant. I don't mean to say that women have to shut themselves at home and never set foot outside. I am totally for the independence of women financially or otherwise.

But we need to be aware of what lines not to cross. I've seen girls literally throw themselves at guys and make such fools of themselves. There a girls whose first aim while entering a room is to scrounge for good looking guys and make sure that they catch the their attention. They flip their hair, flatter their eyelashes and talk decibels louder just so that everyone knows that she is in the room. There are some people who naturally exude confidence and grace and they attract a different set of eyes but there are a select few who specialize in grabbing eyeballs.

Islam commands women to cover their modesty or hyyah. We are taught how to act and behave in public places. Basically we are taught not to make fools of ourselves. But this, as all things are, is not practiced by every Muslim. In fact Muslim girls are the ones who practice a high degree of immodesty.

Being modest does not mean immediately wearing a burkha, a niqab, covering the face and being anti-social. Modesty is knowing your limits and protecting your hyyah.

There are girls who, Astagfirullah, wear their hijabs in the most provocative way. There are also girls who do not wear hijab but dress so modestly.

It's easy to say "I can do whatever I want but men have to learn to keep their hands off me ". But girlfriend, once you have a bad experience all that goes right out the window.

Basically it's just like your Mamma told you - Better safe than sorry.

Benjarong

2011-01-10T21:22:00.000+05:30

There is no sincerer love than the love of food. -George Bernard Shaw

While on a holiday in Bangkok a few years ago I had the opportunity to tase the most amazingly fragnant and delicious tom yam soup.I don't know the exact ingredients that go in but it looked like a mess and tasted like heaven. A few things that went into the soup were mushrooms, lemon grass, prawns and lots of different Thai herbs and vegetables. Due to the lack of halal food we had to make do with drinking this alomost everyday. No complaints there.

So, this weekend we visited Benjarong, a Thai resataurant in Alwarpet. Yes, I know its been there for a long time but I never got to go.

The decor is very subtle with a lot of Thai influences. There was a sleeping Buddha here and a dragon there. Lots of whiny Thai music too. Near the entrance one chinky looking girl in a traditional kimono type dress was sitting on a little dais peeling and carving carrots.

For all the scene they put I thought the food would be bad. How wrong I was! Samma yummy it was! I wanted to take pictures but the glutton inside me didn't want to wait. I did manage to overcome that and click three photos.

For starters we had tom yam soup. Super yummy it was. But thanks to all the kaaram, full nasal leakage only. We also had kimono wrapped prawns. Cute, I know. It tasted even better. The lamb something crispy was to die for! It was fried oh-so-gently with peppercorns and was crispy and soft at the same time.

Main course was rice noodles, Thai red curry and white rice. Thai cuisine is mainly know for the aromatic herbs and spices used. It is also known to incorporate the balance of the five fundamental tastes in each dish : kaaram, pulippu, inipu, upu and kasappu.

Benjarong amalgamates all this perfectly and forms one beautifully presented meal that is sure to leave your taste buds begging for more, although your stomach will burst from the excess food.

Location : TTK Road, Alwarpet, Chennai. It is right opposite the road that leads to Samco Malaysian restaurant. It is a one way road. Do not go in the opposite and direction and get stuck like my brother did.

WOOOHOOO! Not.

2011-01-01T12:11:00.000+05:30

It doesn't FEEL like a new year. Few years ago new year was a HUUGE thing. My family and I we used to go out for dinner every year. People used to go crazy on the roads and everybody would be all "HAPPY NEW YEAR! WOOOHOOO!!!".

Ya, that doesn't happen anymore.

When I look back at 2010 I'm mad at myself for having done nothing substantial. I feel like going back in time and doing everything better than the last time. Three hundred and sixty five (sixty six if it was a leap year) days seem to have gone by so fast. The past year did give me a few life changing experiences. I did make a some life altering decisions and for that I'm happy.

I know it's not wise to look back and wonder why I wasted time. This year, God willing, will be much different. I will take each day as it comes and make optimum use of it.

I do not have resolutions per se but just certain goals that need to be accomplished. And oh, I also want to be a better person 'cause the last year yeah, not so much improvement in that department.

Also, I will blog regularly. I'm such an embarrassment to myself. I've had this blog for three years and I've just had over a hundred posts. That is how committed I am. How depressing!

But yes, this year all that will change Insha Allah.

Starting with loosing all the oodels of weight I've gained eating pasta and Toblerone.

Starting now.
Right after I finish this piece of Toblerone.

2010-12-27T00:32:00.000+05:30

Final semester of college.

Four years are gone. Just like that.

2010-12-18T19:55:00.000+05:30

I was nine years old when Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone released. Everybody were raving about this book and all the magic it contained. I scoffed at the fact that people were reading a book that was about wizards and magic. It seemed all too trivial. But boy, was I wrong.

I started reading it first out of boredom. But as I read chapter after chapter I realized that all the fuss that surrounded this book was well worth it. Rowling continued to release the subsequent books and I pre-booked my copy every time for the measly 10% discount that Odyssey gave. I read the books in express time. I read them at dinner and at lunch tables. My eyes got redder and I'm sure my eyesight grew worse leading to the soda buddi glasses that were increasing in size. I loved Ronald Weasely's wit. I wanted to drink Butterbeer and visit Hogsmeade. I wanted an owl. I wanted a wand. I wanted to see Rita Skeeter. I was in shock when Sirius Black died. I cried when Dumbledore fell from the tower. I basically lived a few years oblivious to everything else but Harry Potter.

As a child I read a lot. I did the usual ascending in reading children's literature. The farthest I remember reading is Enid Blyton. I've read every Famous Five, every Secret Seven, Mallory Towers, St.Clare's, Mr.Meddle, Amelia Jane, The Faraway Tree, etc, etc. But after that there was a void. There was nothing in between, connecting children's literature to the those of teenagers. My mother deemed it quite scandalous for me to read the Sweet Valley series at that precocious age (but I did read it behind her back). Harry Potter was that missing link.

Harry Potter is more than just magic, wizards and wands. It's a book that has more morals and character than most of the other books I've read. Harry Potter taught me to be brave, to choose good over bad. It taught me that it is okay to take the wrong path but it is important to come back to the right one. It taught me never to let down the people we love. It taught me never to misuse the power or authority that we've been given. Harry Potter taught me to stand up for what I believed in, that it doesn't matter where you come from but it does matter who you grow up to become.

I've always liked books and authors that have an underlying moral. Enid Blyton taught me that it was okay to dream. Wuthering Heights taught me about passion. Jane Eyre instilled in me the concept of unyielding self-worth.

The story of J.K.Rowling is an example enough. The idea for Harry Potter came to her when she had nothing. Literally. It is quite obvious that she wrote this book from her heart. It was the only thing that could either make or break her life and that devotion is seen so clearly in the book.

There are critics who find Rowling entirely laughable. The Vatican banned the book because it promoted 'magic'. There were rumors doing rounds that Dumbledore was gay! But Harry Potter is beyond all that. It is beyond magic. It is one woman's dream and hows she achieved it. It is a way of getting children to read again. It is revolutionizing children's literature. It is about failing tirelessly but experiencing success in the end. It is about the joy of taking the journey with Harry and enjoying every bit of it. It is about waiting for months for the book to be released. It is about that anticpation for something wonderful.

It is about adventure, the joy of reading and the happiness it brings.

2010-12-04T22:25:00.000+05:30

I've been wanting to write for so long but something or the other comes up and prevents me from doing so. First it was the exams, but that's not reason enough. Then, my baby, my laptop that I had tried oh-so-hard to protect from virus attacks died. She went into surgery when she wouldn't start up. They erased her memory completely and now she is in recovery.

The weather in Madras is beautiful right now. It rained continuously today. I love seeing the grey sky and feeling the rain. Sometimes I do miss the sun coming out in all its brightness but winters here are so short that it makes it almost a crime not to enjoy it. Getting out of bed every morning is a chore. Curling up in bed with my soft, worn-out quilt is my favorite pass-time this season. I have pretty thick skin but my mother is the opposite. I'm sure its just a couple of days more before she brings out her winter armor of choice - the rough brown colored rug and a pair of socks.

Every winter my mind reverts back to the previous rainy seasons. Most of the stupid decisions I've made were in winter. But then again making those stupid decisions is what made me the person I am today. I guess the cold just brings out that other side of me. So if I want to preserve what is left of my sanity then maybe, just maybe, I shouldn't move to Reykjavik after all.
Ah decisions...

There is something about Reykjavik that fascinates me and no, its not Bjork. The only thing fascinating about her is her brain which gave her the OK to wear that hideous swan outfit at the Oscars. And I read that the entire day she went around leaving little white artificial swan eggs wherever she sat.

Who does stuff like that?!

The Great(Ya, right!) Kabab Factory, Radisson

2010-11-06T17:36:00.000+05:30

When food is pretentious the stomach is forever empty.

This must have been the underlining factor on which Radisson runs 'The Great Kebab Factory'. I've had some of the best kebabs in Dubai and Saudi and Radisson tries to over step the greatest kebabs in the world by claiming to have TGKF.

A couple of days back my brother decided that it was time we went to TGKF having heard a lot about it from friends. The format of the meal is like a buffet where you don't have to get up. The food is brought to your place and it is an unlimited meal. Unfortunately, the food is brought piece by piece at such a slow pace. So they started us off with no starters or soup but with a salad that failed to hold our interest. It consisted of juliennes of an assortment of fruits and vegetables with 'strawberry vinegar' which was something like liquefied strawberry jam.

They have a total of around five to six kababs. The kebabs are so bland and awful that you would not want to relive the experience by having another. So the first kebab was this mutton seekh thing shaped like a cutlet and was incredibly soft. It was served with some paratha. Honestly, this was the only part of the whole course that tasted good. The next was chicken which had some fancy name. It tasted like nothing.
Literally. I'm sure even raw chicken will have some taste at least.

The funniest part was these waiters who were trained to give a vivid description of the food before placing it on the plate. So before he serves the chicken the dude will give one description on how the chicken is made, what its called, what to eat it with, etc, etc and all this is totally unnecessary 'cause I just want to eat the chicken. If I want to know how its made I would go to a cooking class!

The next kebab was a shady looking white one which again tasted like nothing. How do they manage to nullify the taste of food that way? Then came a fish. 1% of a fish to be precise. Now I know the food is all unlimited but it doesn't mean they have to make the portions this small! The prawn kebab eerily, tasted like chicken. Oh, at least it tasted like something.

Eating all this messed with our appetites so we decided to skip the biriyani they offered and moved on to Indian breads. I asked for naan. It was just a tad bit bigger than those kebabs. The daal was terrible. There was one dark yellow daal and one light yellow daal and both left a weird after-taste in the mouth.
I hate weird after-tastes.

For dessert we had midget sized rasgullas, black burnt gulab jamun and some weird carrot halwa. The food at TGKF is bad, bad, bad dhaaba food at outrageous prices. I cannot believe a star hotel like Radisson makes such bad food, and for the price its such a rip off! I've had better kebabs for less than quarter of the price!

All that bad food played havoc on our stomachs the next day and my family, we have the strongest stomachs. Everything tasted like it had been frozen for days. Not one atom of the food was hot!

So basically what I'm trying to say is - "DO NOT GO THERE".

The non-vegetarian unlimited meal for one person costs around Rs.1200.

Radisson is located on GST Road, just a few minutes from Anna International Airport.

2010-10-21T20:11:00.000+05:30

Its that time of the year again.
Exam time.

This means time to buy books, check syllabus, note down exam dates and recollect subject names.

The first slot is the practical exams. The week before practicals is the worst week ever. Writing records is one thing but getting the professor to sign it is a whole new task. They try their best to find faults and escape from signing. "You didn't write experiment number", "this sheet color is different from the previous one", "I told you to do dark blue spiral bnding but this is light blue. I will not sign".

Get a life, lady.

No matter how much or how well I study for the practicals I'm always unprepared. It is God's miracle that I clear every time. The external examiner and the viva is another thing I greatly fear. I inevitably end up blabbering. Getting 5 on 5 for viva is a great feat. A friend of mine once didn't answer any questions correctly so as a last resort the external examiner asked her, "Tell me the author's name".

She didn't know.

"At least tell me the color of the book", the examiner asked.

BLANK.

That is the state of Engineers.

I'm so sick of writing exams. answering 2 marks, write detail answer, draw line, right in black pen, blah blah blah.

It's time to cram four months worth of syllabus in a weeks time. We're not worried about this cause for us students under Anna University, this is what we excel in.

21 Years Of Me

2010-10-02T22:20:00.000+05:30

I had my 21st birthday yesterday and it went on without any fanfare contrary to what I had been planning all this while. Unsurprisingly enough, I was pretty depressed the entire day what with turning 21 and everything. My friends have been sweet enough to throw be a surprise party almost EVERY year. At that time it sounded like the most dumbest thing and I didn't have one yesterday. But one thing I learned : I'm never too old for surprise parties.

I've spent 21 years on this planet. Thinking back, I cannot think of a single amazing thing I've done. Its eerie that I have memories that are twenty one years old. Yesterday I was sad about the fact that I'm growing old. I know we have no control over our age and time but everything is moving so fast. Life is moving so fast and I'm worried that I may not have the time to do the things I want to do and to just stop and smell the roses.

The night before my birthday N had this to say when I was cribbing about growing old : "Age just makes you wiser. You will be wiser tomorrow than you were today." That time I laughed it off treating it as one of her crazy quotes. But when I stopped to think about it I realized that in some way its all relative and true. I've had certain experiences in my life that have shaped me and molded me into the person that I am today. I wouldn't make the choices that I make today if I didn't have those experiences backing me. Although it feels like I've been to hell and back I believe that everything happens for a reason.

So today I realized that instead of mourning over something that I have no control on, I can just be a woman and own it. Age is all in the mind. If I think I'm old then I am or I could also be a forty two year old eating a cherry lollipop and watching Disney cartoons cos, by God, when I'm forty two I will!

2010-09-25T21:18:00.000+05:30

'The Times Of Indian' Crest Edition today had one question to ask on their front page :

But I had the answer to this three years ago :

Supremely Awesome!

2010-09-21T23:41:00.000+05:30

Every evening when I get back from college the first thing my hands itch for apart from food is a newspaper. Now we get four papers sent to my house every morning - The Indian Express, The Hindu, The Economic Times and Dina Thanthi. I love the smell of fresh newspapers and the way they feel between my fingers. Also, I'm totally devoted to 'The Hindu' so the first paper I reach out to is this.

But today was a shocker! I opened the paper and heard voices coming out of it! Literally! I thought the paper was talking!

But it turns out it was a Supremely Awesome advertisement for a Volkswagen car! There was a small device attached to the back that kept playing "Something something Volkswagen's (insert new car name) something something. Volkswagen. Das auto." on a loop. It had a sensor type thing built in so that every time something covered it, like say, if you place your hand on it or flip the paper over, the audio stops!

What a way to get your attention! And it was sooo cool!!

My brother says its a lame car since it doesn't have some Supremely Awesome features.
Who cares!

It's a Supremely Awesome advertisement!

2010-09-02T00:53:00.000+05:30

Sahar : Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Ifthar : Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Insha Allah!

2010-08-26T23:57:00.001+05:30

Today I was asked to be someones wing-man.
Or wing-woman, technically.

Major 'How I Met Your Mother/Barney Stinson' nightmares!

:O

Madras

2010-08-22T16:43:00.000+05:30

Happy birthday Madras... the city of my birth, the love of my life.

Image courtesy: Google Images

"B-uty" Contest

2010-08-20T22:44:00.000+05:30

In 1994, when Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen won the Miss.World and Miss.Universe titles respectively, I was but a gullible 5 year old. The day Aishwarya won the crown I was glued to the TV. She looked so pretty all decked up and wearing that gorgeous gown and tiara! Unfortunately, wearing a tiara was one of my life's ambitions! I was of an impressionable age!

Ever since that day, for quite a long period of time I must confess, I draped my mother's dupattas and wore headbands as tiaras and believed that one day I would be Miss.Universe too.
Sad, I know!
But such was my life.

I remember the contests being beautiful, ethereal and almost fairy tale like. Recently I read an article stating that the Miss.Universe Organization headed by Donald Trump has decided to have a lingerie photo shoot of all the contestants. The prominent display of skin show topless-ness besmirches the name of such a competition. I'd just like to make clear that I, in no way support beauty pageants such as these, but the introduction of skin show and the flaunting of bikini clad bodies take away what remains at the very essence of these competitions.

Why is it necessary to have a 'best body' competition for a Miss.Universe/World pageant when the actual duties of the winner is not in the least related to it? Instead of promoting a good body image and self confidence inducing theme for young girls, they show a bunch of giggly model types wearing barely nothings and the all important country sash jumping up and down and behaving bimbo-tic.

The 'beauty with brains' is such a pathetic excuse. Most contestants answer the questions in such an incomprehensible way as seen in this video.

While going through my regular news website I saw that Miss.Universe 2010 had started and the National Costume competition was taking place. Here is a select few costumes that are absolutely horrendous!

KOSOVO:

I never knew there was a country called Kosovo and who would want to wear a gold cow/goat on their head!??

MAURITIUS:

The most colorful shower curtain.... err.. dress.

THAILAND:

I like the traditional dress but is she wearing boots, is she wearing socks or both? It plays with your mind!

TURKEY:

We regret to inform you that Miss.Turkey has been replaced by Cousin It from the Addams Family.

VENEZUELA:

Miss.Venezuela, Lady Gaga called. She wants her clothes back.

ALBANIA:

Miss.Albania is proud to channels a Las Vegas show girl.

INDIA:

The originality baffles me. Note how the costume looks uncannily like Blair's dress in Season 2 :

COLOMBIA:

This is the national dress of my country too. Except we call it komanam.

2010-08-04T23:27:00.000+05:30

"I recalled this tattered memory from when I was a ten-year-old miniaturist's apprentice like a picture whose outlines are clear but whose colors have faded"

Chapter 28-
I Will Be Called A Murderer

My Name Is Red
Orhan Pamuk

2010-08-02T23:37:00.000+05:30

Words would land on me,
Then abandon me,
Mangle untangle me,
Leave me on the floor.

Rhymes they sprang in me,
Summer sang in me,
But summer sings in me no more.

What I learnt Today

2010-07-28T18:35:00.000+05:30

Of all the things God has given us, the gift of speech is what separates us from animals. The existence of people from various nationalities speaking in various dialects, many not know to man, is one of the signs that tell us God does exist.

This gift of speech is not enjoyed by everyone. There are people, young and old who live everyday without uttering even a single syllable. We, the lucky few, who ought to say wonderful things from the mouths and tongues that God gave us end up swearing, cursing and speak in the foulest of languages. Words, we think carry no meaning and disappear once they are thrown in air but nothing lingers longer than words.

There are times when saying nothing means so much more than all the words in the Dictionary combined. There are silences, so awkward that nothing can be said to cover them. At times, the heart yearns for words left unspoken, for words not heard often. There are words that pierce like a dagger to the heart. Silence calms the heart so much more.

When things are best left unsaid, when there is nothing more left to say or when the awkwardness exceeds its capacity the only thing that can be said, the only thing that should be said is, “As salamu alaikum”.

This can overcome any sort of uneasiness, awkwardness or nervousness. The barakth of saying this first will push your chances of entering jannah a step higher. And it will automatically make you the bigger person.

This is what life taught me today.

An Itch And A Scratch

2010-07-27T01:42:00.000+05:30

If I were to go to hell for one thing, and one thing alone it would be for murder.
Murder of hundreds upon thousands of mosquitoes whose bite marks have scarred my hands and feet beyond repair.

I don't know if it is my "sweet" blood or my penetrable skin, but I attract mosquitoes like bees to honey. Mosquitoes have given me sleepless nights. I've spent hours killing every single mosquito in the room with my bare hands.
Gross, I know.

Even a single mosquito at night can keep awake till day break. My feet bear the scars of battles lost against mosquitoes. I've had a mosquito bite me on my hands, feet, fore head, eyebrow!, lip, tip of my nose, on my little toe, my back and even on my ear. Those suckers come, juicy and fat, loaded with blood and insert their sharp proboscis into my already deformed skin. The worst part is they are so tiny yet, they inflict pain like nothing else! My mortal enemy, after dogs of course, are mosquitoes. I waged war against them since the day I was born.

I have, at one point of time, inhaled a mosquito! Like really, actually breathed in a live mosquito like it was the most natural thing on Earth. But thankfully I also sneezed it out and it did come out... dead.

I know God made everything for a reason and we shouldn't question him. But can someone please explain to me what purpose does the mosquito actually solve apart from showing its vampire-is-tic tendencies?

When I was little, I used to get the most awful mosquito bites. Red, sore, pus infused, disgusting scabs all over my limbs. I used to practically cry myself to sleep every night. I have used every mosquito repellent available in the market from Odomos to Good Night gel, Tortoise kosu bathhi, All Out liquid and I have even slept under mosquito nets. Till date, nothing has worked. I have a story for almost every prominent mosquito bite on my body. I have scratched my sores so much so that I've had skin peel off.

And the only reason I'm up this late telling you this is because the darn mosquitoes won't let me sleep! As of tonight alone I would have killed close to twenty mosquitoes. That is not something I'm proud of but it does give me some sadistic pleasure.

I am SO going to Hell.

ohmygod

2010-07-22T21:42:00.000+05:30

I saw Inception today. I will not review it nor will I give away anything about the story here. No one should ruin your experience of watching it for the first time. I cannot stop thinking about it.
Please watch Inception.
Please.
For me atleast.

But I will say this -

1. Dicaprio may be old but he still has not lost his awesome-ness.
2. Joseph Gordon Levitt, I have been watching you since your 'Third Rock from The Sun' days. You have grown to become this wonderfully, for the lack of a better word, smokin' person who fills out a suit nicely.
3. Nolan, I love you.

2010-07-03T19:03:00.000+05:30

We dream of what could have been. The concept of if is very endearing, increasing anticipation. It is so close, yet, miles away from finding its way into reality.

We build castles in the air without realizing that we have no control over it. We dream without realizing that Allah has plans for us. Plans that can destroy or refurnish the very core of our being.

We are, but human.
Mortals, who believe that everything is possible, that science and technology have no borders and can build towers from debris.

We believe in many things.
But we should also believe that everything happens for a reason.

2010-06-19T12:30:00.000+05:30

This has got to be the single most dull, boring and depressing vacation ever.
More than one month of holidays and I have done nothing worth mentioning.
Except, well, watching all the seasons of Entourage.

I cannot decide whom I like better, Vince or E.

I will spend the remainder of my holidays figuring that out.

Star Wars Episode 4 - A New Hope

2010-06-08T00:48:00.000+05:30

There are some movies that, no matter how old they are, find an almost eternal place in pop culture. Star Wars is one such movie. I have heard a million times over about the awesome-ness that is Star Wars through a cousin and also through references in various TV series and movies.

Case in point:

1. F.R.I.E.N.D.S : The One With The Princess Leia Fantasy.
2. How I Met Your Mother : Barney's Storm Trooper, Ted Moseby's frequent OD'ing on Star Wars trivia.
3. That 70s Show : Eric Foreman: "I feel like I'm Luke Skywalker, you know".
Eric Foreman : "I'm here to rescue you!"
And of course, his frequent Luke Skywalker moments.

So I took the task upon myself and decided to watch Star Wars from the beginning. There are many different ways of watching the movies. The top two being in chronological order or episode wise.

I decided to watch it in chronological order.

STAR WARS (1977)
Director : George Lucas

Star Wars is a typical case of good vs evil. In the context of this particular galaxy, far far away, its the dark side vs the umm bright side? Yes. So what I understand from the movie is that Darth Vader and his evil buddies want to take over the galaxy and destroy the revolution that is out to kill them. Through some chance of luck, the fate of the galaxy lies in the hands of Luke Skywalker, an almost pre-pubescent looking Jedi wannabe.

Luke Skywalker lives and works with his uncle Owen who lies to him about his father's death and this Obi-Wan Kenobi person. Instead, he could have told Luke the truth and saved himself from being murdered by the Storm Troopers. But I guess he wanted Luke to slog in his farm more.
Stupid uncle Owen.

So, as of now Luke's relatives are dead and all he is left with is Obi-Wan Kenobi, this golden robot whose name I do not know and R2 which is another mini robot that reminds me of Wall-e. Now Princess Leia, before being captured by Darth Vader's minions fed some super secret design blah blah Death Star blah blah into the chip of R2. Now since the the R2 hangs out with Luke, the Storm Troopers are after him and he has to go destroy the Death Star. Coming to think of it, it sounds a bit like Frodo Baggins and the ring and how the task of destroying the ring in Mount Doom is upon him.
Rip off!
Okay, too soon to judge.

Now this Obi Wan Kenobi is kind of like what Gandalf was to Frodo. You know, mentor, guide, faith restorer, etc etc. So now Obi Wan needs to get Luke into a space ship type of thing so he gets in touch with Han Solo, a very young Harrison Ford with a lot of chest hair. Han Solo's best bud is Chewbacca, which is a weird bear like animal that keeps howling. Actually its something like a cross between a bear and King Kong. So now everybody is aboard the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo's ship. Personally, I think the Millennium Falcon is such a cool name.

As they are flying in outer space, Darth Vader's space station, Death Star has some kind of magnetic field that attracts the Millennium Falcon and it ends up right inside Darth Vader's lair. Somehow they escape without being seen and Obi Wan goes to deactivate the magnetic field thing. Meanwhile, Luke, who has a huge crush on Leia finds that she is in the dungeons and sets out with Solo to bust her out. It is a disappointment that in the fights that followed Luke uses the Storm Trooper's gun instead on the Lightsaber. So Luke goes to Leia's prison cell and is all, "I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you!" (I just have to say, Eric Foreman says this line way better).

Note: Princess Leia's one of a kind hair style and Harrison Ford's trademark emotion.

Anyways, as Luke and his entourage are running to the Millennium Falcon to escape he sees Darth Vader in a duel with Obi Wan. It looks like Obi Wan is killed but he isn't, he just disappears. Again, this is somewhat similar to the part in Lord Of The Rings - The Fellowship Of The Rings where at the bridge of Moria we think Gandalf is killed by a Balrog but he returns in The Two Towers. I believe Obi Wan will return in The Empire Strikes Back.

Luke and his friends now return back to what I assume is Princess Leia's planet because she is very well received there. The design blah blah of the Death Star is studied and all the Jedi Knights including Luke, who has successfully made it, prepare to blow up Darth Vader's home sweet home.

Around six ships are sent in and obviously all the pilots get killed except Luke. Duh. Darth Vader escapes from the Death Star and Luke manages to blow it up. He returns back super happy and super sweaty. The Princess awards both Luke and Han Solo what I think are medals for bravery. Although Luke has a crush on Leia I think Han Solo might have a thing for her too.
Chewbacca howls.
Credits roll.
The End.

This movie exceeded my expectations. I though it would be really boring and mind numbing but it was fun and it kinda sticks to you even if you don't love it all that much. One thing I really do love is the music when the essay type thing rolls in space.

And Ooooh! Lightsabers!! I would become a Jedi Knight in a jiffy if I could have one of those bad boys.

Favorite Quotes:

Darth Vader: Obi-wan *is* here. The Force is with him.

Darth Vader: I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now *I* am the master.
Obi-Wan: Only a master of evil, Darth.

Princess Leia: Someone has to save our skins. Into the garbage chute, fly boy.

Obi-Wan: Use the Force, Luke.

2010-06-07T12:44:00.001+05:30

The playlist in my gym:

1. churaa liya hain thumne jo dilko
2. Sean Paul - Temperature
4. Snoop Dog

Diverse, much?

Cynophobia Or Why I Hate Dogs

2010-05-18T20:53:00.000+05:30

I was eight years old when the "incident" occurred. Up until then, I was a normal eight year old doing whatever it is that eight year olds do. One evening (which will remain fresh in my memory forever) I was walking down the street along with my brother and my mother to drop my cousins off at an auto stand.

There I was, happily skipping with not a care in the world wearing my fire engine red tights and t-shirt. Quite the ensemble, I must say.

And that's when IT happened.

Out of nowhere two enormous black dogs come running towards me. In a flash of a second they both pounced on me. One at the front and the other at the back. The dog in the front had its filthy disgusting paws on my shoulders and it stood almost half a foot taller than me. The dog at the back, I can only assume fancied my fire engine red tights because the stupid mongrel started pulling them down!

I screamed for dear life. God bless those laborers who came running to my rescue.

I never managed to get that incident out of my head. Who could?! That day I was scarred for life and since then I have never been able to look a dog in the eye.

If there is a dog in the vicinity I get jittery, my heart starts pounding, I start screaming, my hands automatically claw whatever it is that I'm holding and if I'm standing next to you I will push you in front of me for protection. If a dog starts barking I feel it's barking at me. If I happen to cross a dog by some miracle, I turn around a million times just to make sure the dog isn't following me or sniffing my ankle. This is what is called cynophobia, the fear of dogs

With the kind of past I've had when it comes to dogs it isn't surprising that I feel all these things. Any normal person (I hope) will understand this. But not my friends or my family. They find it extremely funny. They're always saying "Oh bring the dog near Zarine. Let's see what she does!". Like they don't know what I'll do. And my brother's all time favorite - "Zarine look! Dog!", which is almost always followed by pushing me near it.

Unfortunately for me this fear also lead me to ailurophobia which is the fear of cats. I pretty much react the same way to them as I do to dogs. It isn't easy dealing with these phobias when my best friend loves dogs and the other owns two cats. I have been known for my 'running out of the room when I see a cat' and 'jumping on the sofa when the cat brushes its tail against my toe' performances.

One day my wonderful cat loving friend who has a heart of gold decided that she wanted to get rid of my phobia. So she picked up her cat and thrust it into my face. I did what I always do. But this time there were consequences. In order to save myself from the wrath of the cat I pushed the wheeled chair against the wall so badly that I tumbled off it, broke the chair and managed to bang my head on the wall all in a span of a few seconds.

My friends find this alarmingly funny.
I don't. And frankly its quite understandable why. People think its madness to be afraid of cats. It isn't mad. Everyone is afraid of something! Some are even afraid of the dark and I find that stupid but I'm not judging. Maybe the dark is to them what cats and dogs are to me.

Contrary to popular belief I'm not afraid of ALL animals, Nik. Its just that dogs and cats make me neurotic and insane. I have this incessant fear that they want to maul off my face. And that is a picture I cannot get out of my head.

So I'm going to say this as publicly as I possibly can:
I HATE CATS AND I FRIGGIN HATE DOGS.

I acknowledge them because they are all God's creatures and I respect them for that. But that's where I draw the line.

PS:

Just a small clarification, I like them on TV like in Planet's Funniest Animals (The dog chasing its own tail is classic!). But not in real life.

Child Abuse

2010-04-30T19:46:00.000+05:30

I came across a news article today where the 13 year old daughter of labor workers was raped by her employer in Gujarat. Her parents found out that she was 2 months pregnant and decided to abort the fetus. The doctor refused on the grounds that the girl was a minor. The case was taken to a local court where their plea for abortion was denied. Her mother decided to take this case to the Gujarat High Court where the hospital was instructed to give this girl a thorough medical examination.

This child on the brink of adolescence is forced to carry and look after another child through no choice of hers. Why hasn't legal action been taken against the employer? Is it because he is of a higher status than the victim? Isn't equality and justice for all?

What kind of a man would impregnate a teenage girl? Some cultures say that it is the duty of the girl to be calm, lest she stirs the animalistic desires within the man.
This kind of belief is utter BS.

If the man cannot control his desires and feels the need to harass and molest a 13 year old girl who has just reached maturity, there is no point of blaming the girl. This girl who has just crossed puberty and is still trying to understand her body, now finds herself carrying a child that was created out of hatred and malice. How is she expected to keep a child who's presence would remind her of unpleasant things?

In a study conducted in 2007 it was noted that out of the forty million Indian children, twenty million children faced child abuse or molestation. Most of the perpetrators were know to the children or were family members, cousins or uncles.

This is a despicable act. While most offenders are known to the family and the child, the boy/girl finds it difficult to understand what went wrong and hence hesitate to tell the elders.

Indian society is made up of a bunch of hypocrites. Half the parents don't believe their kids when their child tells them the problem. They prefer to ignore it and act like it never happened. They don't want to take any action against the offenders because they may be close "relatives" or "uncles". Besmirching both their names in public is, according to them, shameful. It doesn't matter that the child has been scared for a life or the possibility of psychological disorders is high. The parents do not want to wash their dirty linen in public even if it means saving the child and believing her.

Yet they act like everything is fine and dandy when they very well know that it isn't. I find it hard to understand how the offenders go to bed every night and wake up every morning, continuing to live their life after they have robbed the child of the one thing that can never be given back - innocence.

Most Indian families are this way. Hypocritical and judgmental. They would do anything to protect the "Indian families are families with values" tag that the world has given us.

CSK Ku Whistle Podu!

2010-04-26T02:14:00.000+05:30

This IPL season I never followed a single match. But when Chennai Super Kings qualified for the finals I decided that I would watch my first IPL 2010 match. And boy, was it worth it!

Playing against the Mumbai Indians, the match took the animosity between the south and north Indians to another level! India may be united and all that jazz but the feeling of hatred or rather, strong dislike between the north and south Indians will never subside.

In today's match the Mumbaikars showed poor spirit exiting the stadium when they realized that MI was loosing. This just goes on to show how rude and inconsiderate they are considering they are the host city.

Anyways, all that matters is CSK won!!

Summer Lovin'

2010-04-20T15:15:00.000+05:30

Summer's here.
Actually its been here for quite a while.

You can recognize its presence when you feel the heat beating down upon your back and casting its hot, almost fire like self on your head. If you're a baldie then I pity you.

Summers are characterized by sweat, sweat, sweat, stink and of never ending complaints. People should realize that talking about it won't make it all go away. Every year the Meteorological Department says that its the 'Worst Summer So Far'.

Really?

You take us for a bunch of imbeciles? Telling us things we already knew even before you did.

This summer is extra stinky. Thanks to Shashi Tharoor and the Indian Premier Losers. The stench that fills the air is the smell of corruption that India very famous for. Everybody knew something was happening behind the closed doors. Now that its all out in the open no one is the least bit surprised.

We expected the expected.
Not the unexpected.

Isn't this summer turning out to be just the perfect Indian summer ever?!

2010-04-15T22:39:00.000+05:30

THIS IS UNBEARABLE.
HAVING BROUGHT THIS UPON MYSELF, I HAVE NO RIGHTS TO COMPLAIN.

BUT STILL..

I WANT TO QUIT.
AND I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE LAKHS OF RUPEES INVESTED.
IT'S GOING TO BE A BLOODY WASTE ANYWAY.

TAKE MY ADVICE-

DO NOT OPT FOR ENGINEERING.

IT SUCKS THE FUN OUT OF EVERYTHING.

2010-04-14T21:23:00.000+05:30

OH

MY

GOD.

I

CANNOT

TAKE

THIS

ANYMORE.

SOMEBODY

PLEASE

SHOOT

ME.

I

CANNOT

LOOK

AT

CODES

I

DO

NOT

UNDERSTAND

ANYMORE.

2010-04-11T23:45:00.000+05:30

KFC on Saturday nights is a full house.

Let me rephrase that.

KFC on Saturdays is an over full house.

---

Us Indians are still getting used to the 'modern' things. Thanks to globalization there is no deficiency of jobs. Everyone is able to afford a ten grand phone or a car (even if it does look like a mini matchbox and costs only a lakh). Families now go on annual vacations to exotic international destinations. We are readily embracing all this new found luxuries.

While the younger generation is easily adapting to these changes, the older generation takes a while to get accustomed to all the new-ness.

Example:

KFC Guy: "Sir is this for dine in or take away?"
Middle aged man: "Uhh no no.. not here".
KFC guy: "Sir?"
Middle age guy: "Yes it is for take off."
KFC guy: "Oh take away?"
Middle aged man: "yes yes take away".

2010-04-11T00:44:00.000+05:30

Exams are round the corner and here I am yet to start studying! Study holidays are when my creative juices flow over time and I spend all my time in thinking and planning on things to do during the holidays.

Summer holidays as a kid used to be so much fun. Almost two months of uninterrupted merry-making. When school ended for summer I used to come home running, excitement literally bouncing off me. We used to have a loft in my old house, which was probably my mother's favorite place. It contained all the junk we collected over the years and my suitcase of random toys and crap that I picked up. I'm now ashamed to admit that I was a big time Barbie addict.

Yes, I had Barbie, Skipper and Kelly too!

I used to spend the entire summer dressing and redressing my dolls and being my brother's guinea pig. Evenings were spent playing 'lock and key' and 'chain' with the kids in my apartment. Late, late breakfasts and special lunches everyday. The tv would be on 24 hours and no one complained. And when my brother joined the football team in school he used to practice on me. We used to play one on one football.

No points for guessing who won.

As I grew up I started to play quite a few games. I spent almost three summers playing tennis at a local school. Most of my memories from summer are from there. Then it was time for swimming. I spent the next three to four summers swimming. Summers were so blissful and so carefree. Everything was relaxed. The weather was never this terrible. All through summer we just had fun and ate ice creams and lived without a care.

Ever since I entered college, semester exams take place during peak summer, exactly when schools close. And the one month holiday is just enough to sleep and get up and watch movies. And worrying about the results, of course.

I would give anything to rewind my life back to the days when everything was perfect. Now its all about the future. Everyone is busy with their lives. Everyone wants to get ahead. Which is good. Yes, we have to look towards the future and work for it. But does this mean we can forget our past and our friends just because we found something that's remotely better?

At this point in life everyone is saving their own ass. We have this one year to make or break and its all about the future. Careers, families and self. No time to think. No time to stop and stare. Everything is accelerated. When everything is moving super fast I don't want to be the one left back and watching all this happen in front of me. I want to be focused and pumped up to. But its hard to when your heart longs for the past, longs for the childish smiles and the atmosphere of security and radiance.

Its hard to hope when I've lost friends who promised to be there.
It's hard when I've given up so much of myself without realizing.
It's hard when I cannot be the person I want to be.
It's hard living a monotonous life when I know and feel in my veins that I'm made for greater things.

It's hard when I wake up every day regretting the decisions that I made.

Edward Vs Edward

2010-03-30T22:34:00.000+05:30

The first time I read Twilight was way before the madness that followed it. I recall being in High School at that time. One day my friend Mallu Girl calls me and goes "OMGG Zaaa!! You should soooo read this book called Twilight! Its awesome!".

Me: "What's it about?".

MG: "Its about this girl who falls in love with a vampire and OMG its sooooo good".

And that was the day I passed my judgment on Twilight and the three other books that followed it. I'll admit that even I, although cynical, read all the four parts at least once. What was Stephanie Mayer smoking while she wrote it I don't know. This book has got to be the single most dumbest book that I have ever read.

Okay, maybe half way through I did have a teensy crush on Edward Cullen (which girl didn't). But the dude was too demanding and was way too much in love with Bella. The desperation she had for becoming a vampire was a little too umm.. desperate.

God must really hate us because right after the book came out, the rights for the movie was bought.

WHY WOULD ANY SANE PERSON WANT TO MAKE A MOVIE ON TWILIGHT?????

And good for us the movie turned out to be cheaply made with pathetic dialogues and even worse direction. They picked Robert Pattinson and Kirsten Stewart to play the roles of Edward and Bella. Yes, these two look good separately but together they have awful chemistry.

PLAIN AWFUL.

If you haven't seen the movie yet I beg you too. I promise you tears of laughter. How I wish Sudish Kamath had reviewed this movie.
But even Twilight is too crappy for him to review it.

Now the other Edward, the Edward that I know, is a perfect gentleman. Not Adonis looking like Edward Cullen. In fact, not attractive at all. Not desperate like the Cullen. Not a foolish git. Or a possessive idiot.

But a gentleman, not the least bit attractive. With education and class present in every fiber of his being. Granted he made a few bad calls here and there but he was a man with respect.

Edward Rochester from Jane Eyre.

While asinine Edward Cullen wanted to kill himself because he "thought" or "saw" or "dreamt" or whatever it is that vampires do these days, that Bella was dead, he was prepared to die. Not by killing himself, vampires are immortal you see. But by going to the chief vampire people and asking them to kill him. Something like a planned suicide if you will.

Obviously he doesn't get killed. He is saved and yadda yadda yadda. What would be the point of the next two books if Edward died?

Now coming to Mr.Rochester, when Jane left him, for months he never knew if she was dead or alive. If you read the book you will know the wonderful twist after this chapter. So while he did not about Jane's whereabouts he waited for years and years just hoping that she would come back to him. He was not a nut job like the above mentioned Edward. He waited for her and knew she would come back when she gained her own respect.

Eventually she did come back. But that was years later and Mr.Rochester was blind for years prior to that. Yet he waited knowing that one day his Jane would come back. Although he was blind he did not give up hope or decide to ruin himself. He continued to live, hard it may have been, but he survived. And that's what matters.

Now tell me, if you were given a choice between the two Edwards who would you choose? Pale, partially demented Edward Cullen? Or sane, wonderful Mr.Edward Rochester?

Destiny Is In Our Hands

2010-03-21T20:48:00.000+05:30

Throughout my life I have come across many people who are extremely focused and who know what they want to do in life. Some people have always dreamed of going to Med school and somehow through either merit or money they made it. Others scored great percentile and got into National Universities or colleges. Most of them had at least some kind of vision as to what they wanted to be. When my friends were thinking about the future I lived in my own fantasy world taking each day as it came, not making any plans, not knowing where I was going to end up. I had my head up in the clouds, reading, dreaming and enjoying every moment.

When the time came to scout for colleges it was assumed that I would do Engineering. In Crescent. And I did not hesitate for even a micro-second. At that point in my life I did not know what I was good at. I did not have any vision of what I wanted to do. I just stood around while preparations were made for me to join Crescent. And since my family had something like a legacy there I was excited.

Now, three years into my degree education and there is not a single day where I don't regret making the choices that I did. For two years I sat in Engineering lectures physically present but mentally absent, as my teachers used to say. It took me a long, long time to accept my fate and come back to reality. Finally I realized that thinking about this won't help. I decided to accept my fate but still work towards a better future. The only good thing that happened to me through all these years is that I finally found out what I was remotely good at and what I wanted to do in life.

So if there are any students who have given their Boards this year and reading this then this is for you.

Please have a concrete idea of what you want to do in life. It doesn't matter if its Medicine, Commerce or Engineering. Know what you want to do. And do not let your parents or your peers influence you. It is hard to take a stand against parents who force you into joining something you don't like or don't have an aptitude for. But you have to. This is your life. If you don't care for it, who will? Studying something you hate is a waste of time and extremely depressing. Please do not mess up your life.

The "Three Idiots" anthem still sounds over India. Every parent wants their kid to be successful and everything. But if you really want to do something different you have to stand up for yourself. If this doesn't happen, India will still be producing technically poor Engineers and Doctors without merit.

The power to change your destiny lies in your hands. All of us can accept our fate as it comes, but it takes courage to stand up and change it.

2010-02-26T22:53:00.000+05:30

“Allah does not burden a soul with more than it can bear.” (Qur’an 2: 286)

True. But so hard to accept.
Yet life must go on.

Persevere and pray for the best. Allah will surely give us what we deserve. If not in this world, in Akhira.

2010-02-17T23:30:00.000+05:30

Is it fair to punish an entire group of students for the faults, or rather, the stupidity of another? This girl in my college killed herself a few weeks back and now we, the surviving are bearing the brunt of her mindless actions.

I have no respect or pity for a girl who was crazy enough to take her own life for an even crazier reason. And now the management goes around putting these fancy, idiotic rules and expects us to follow them! Its amazing how their stupidity gets ahead of them.

I would honestly feel for the girl if she had a psychological problem or something. None of us got to choose whether we wanted to be born or not. Allah gave us the gift of life and we are expected to shut up and live it the best we can and thank him for giving us life everyday to accomplish our goals and to set new ones. Everybody goes through a rough patch. Life is not all happy and good. At times it shits you in the face. But you rub it off and still at least try to live each day the best you can. We have no right to take our life when we want to. Allah gave it to us and He will take it back when He wants to. Till then we gotta shut up and live.

If only she knew the consequences of her actions.

I guess her stupidity did get the better of her. For good.

Salla Pappu Invading My Brains

2010-02-01T21:10:00.000+05:30

I opened the door to my gym today to hear Britney Spears screaming "Ooops I did it again". Britney is SO 1999. What would possess a gym to play her songs?? Its completely beyond me.
And thats not all.

They played "Pappu can't dance". Now I know this song was really popular and everything but I CANNOT stand it for the life of me.

I honestly have no interest in why Pappu can't dance.
Salla...

Bright Star

2010-01-26T22:49:00.000+05:30

BRIGHT STAR

Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art--
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priest like task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors--
No--yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever--or else swoon to death.

John Keats

I just finished watching this movie called Bright Star and I have to say, this has to be the best romantic movie I have ever seen. The subtlety of the entire movie was amazing. Each character was etched out so beautifully. The movie is based on the last few years of in the life of John Keats, the renowned poet and his relationship with Fanny Brawne. Unfortunately it ends due to the untimely death of Keats at a very young age.

This is one movie I have seen that had no flairs or even fancy costumes given that its a period film. The locations were breath taking. There was so much drama between the two main characters without being overly dramatic.

This is such a wonderful movie. The dialogues are perfect. And the mild touch of humor makes what might seem another period drama easier to digest.

Overall this is such a beautiful movie. I am just so taken in by it I really have no words to say now.. *sigh*

The Smell Of Freedom

2010-01-23T23:19:00.000+05:30

Freedom they say, smells sweet. But in India freedom does smell a little.. actually a LOT like pee.
Pee.

That my friends is the smell of freedom. The repulsive smell of pee is what hits you first when you step outside. No wonder "foreigners" are disgusted by us. The smell of pee is in the air you breathe. Its like how when you land in Singapore the first thing you smell when you're at the streets is fish. In Bangkok it was swine meat. In France I guess its cheese? The same way in India its pee.

Probably half the population pees on the road but we are still very pretentious you see. The remaining half of the population act like they have never seen/smelt pee on the road. In my lifetime and I'm not that very old, I have see a lot of people doing their business in street corners, little slum kids squatting along the road or near a dump. This is what we see everyday.

A few days back when I got down from my bus and walked across the road to the pavement I found myself standing near that electric board thing that looks like its in a cupboard, surrounded by sick pee stink and funnily enough the smell came from near the board! People pee near electricity. They are not afraid to relieve themselves in public and if you catch them doing it then screw you! They are not going to apologize!

I accept peeing in public is disgusting but this is just what people do here. The more you tell them not to do it, the more the pee on the roads. Indians make the best of use of the freedom that they have. They do everything on the streets! We can keep talking about how sick and rotting this particular action is for years and years to come but no matter how sophisticated we become there will still be a bunch of people gracing the roads of India with their pee.

I think the reason why many prefer to do their business in public is because people do not trust them with bathrooms.

Take for example the restrooms in the trains. The restrooms are pretty small. The wash basin has an abnormal kind of tap system that is being used for God knows how many years. If you've traveled in an Indian train you know what I'm talking about.

Another thing about Indians are is that they are seriyana OC party which means that we love freebies and we are not ashamed of it. Sometimes the OC part might go to an extent of stealing. We love to steal things! Especially things that belong to the Government! When they clean man holes the lid is removed and kept away and there are a bunch of people who make shit loads of money stealing it and putting it to use some other way.

Hence they do not trust us with "MUGS" in the restrooms of trains. So they came up with a brilliant plan where they CHAINED the steel MUG to the wall. And its not even that long so basically it doesn't reach where it needs to and with all the motion in the train the water is every where! And if you have to catch water in your travelling mug you have to life the top of the tap that is almost always rusted, hold the mug close and balance yourself as the train in thrown full-on onto the tracks.

"There!", says the Railways.
"Try stealing that you jerks!".
"And while you're at it, TRY TO PEE!!".
Evil Laugh.
The End.

3 Idiots, idiot..

2010-01-11T22:32:00.000+05:30

Finally I got to see 3 Idiots. After all the controversy with Chetan Bhagat I wanted to see it real bad. I wanted to see for myself if the movie was based on Five Point Someone or not. It wasn't. Not entirely at least.

The movie is basically about 99% of all students entering Engineering colleges in India. I'm proud to say that I also fall into that category. But my 'Five Point Someone' is reserved for another day. There were many things in the movie that students could relate to and I guess that's the reason the movie is quite a big hit. Boman Irani was amazing as always. Somehow he manages to out do himself every time. Kareena Kapoor looks absolutely stunning. And her wedding ghaghra is so beautiful. Damn you Manish Malhotra for making clothes I can't afford!!

The entire movie was done very tastefully and quirkily. The songs were such a bore though. Everybody were raving about the rain song but it was not what I expected at all. The third idiot in the movie, that dude from RDB is so cute! I don't know his name but he is one actor whose potential Aamir Khan refuses to acknowledge in the movie for the fear that cute dude might totally upstage him. Madhavan is super cute as always. Thank God he has reduced his ponch, else the bathroom dancing sequence would have been unsightly.

Now coming to Aamir Khan, he is a great actor and everything but somehow he manages to push himself into almost every frame in the movie. He hogs most of the dialogues and is apparentely this wonderful do gooder who has a sad story of his own.
Come now!

How many times have we seen Indian movies with that kind of storyline! Like Sharukh in Kal Ho Na Ho where he brings 'joy' into everyones lives while he has a heart condition. How stale!

The movie might not be ENTIRELY based on Five Point Someone but it is easily seen that it was an inspiration for the movie. The plot may not be the same but so many instances have been lifted off the book. Three dudes in an Engineering college, falling in love with the Principal's daughter, a brother who committed suicide, stealing the paper from the Principal's office. Its all really obvious. The writing of the script supposedly took three years. Yes, three years it took them to twist the story and to make it look like it was not taken from the book. How hard will it be to just acknowledge the writer? But no, people just want to hog the limelight.

Now I might not know exactly what happened between Aamir Khan and Chetan Bhagat or even how they made up but I can see that the movie was so easily inspired from the book and it wouldn't have killed the producers to admit it. Whatever said and done my loyalty lies with Chetan Bhaght just because he writes simple, truthful stories that are so funny and so honest that ordinary people can relate to them so easily.

But one weird thing I observed at Sathyam was that most of the people who came for the movie were :
a) Middle aged women
b) Girls
c) Really old people

Weird.

2010-01-10T23:33:00.000+05:30

Sometimes people say and I think too that I can be way to stubborn at times. While that may be a good thing given certain situations it does not hold to be true always. I find it really extremely hard to open up and let people into my life and into my feelings for the simple reason that I don't trust them with it. Whoever they may be. Now I'm not egoistical per se. But sometimes what I do really baffles me. I do things I don't understand.

My whole life has been one stupid decision after the other. I always thought that I never wanted to regret anything I did in life but of late I find myself regretting my decisions every waking moment of my life wishing I did things the other way. I have no idea how long this is going to go on for. I know that you can't go back and change things but yet I keep doing foolish things.

And I have also been called as an extremely insensitive person. Now for this I do not apologize. I like that part of me and intend to be that way, thank you very much.

I just feel that being really sensitive makes you really vulnerable and I don't want people to take advantage of that.

Look at me!
I am one crazy person.

How DO people put up with me?
The answer is : THEY DONT.

2010-01-01T17:45:00.000+05:30

Why is my life practically engulfed in Drama?
Drama. Drama. Drama.
The more I try to get away from it the more it comes chasing after me.

I hate Drama. In life. I consider myself way too practical and level headed to be involved in Drama. But here I am, yet again, in the midst of Drama.
.
.
.
.
Ugh.

2010

2010-01-01T00:33:00.000+05:30

This is my 60th post. Its been a year since I started my blog and I haven't come even close to a hundred posts. So if I ever have a new year resolution one of them will be to be sincere and devoted to my blog regularly updating it.

This is also my first post for the new year.
Yay.
I survived to see 2010. It sounds so eerie just saying 2010.

I never have resolutions for the new year. And i don't intend to have either. But this time around there are a few things I really want to accomplish in life and hopefully I will. I have 365 days to do what I want. Or is this year a leap year? Anyways, I have 365/366 days to do what I want and by God I will do it.

This is a great start to a new year. With two of my close friends away this entire month and one who lives in the other end of Chennai, I am reduced to eating Chinese take out from Mainland China drooling over Patrick Dempsey's hotness on Grey's Anatomy.

Ya.
This is what I want in life.
Exactly this.

I guess I'm sounding too morose. A sad way to begin a new year, yes, but gathering my thoughts at the end of the year and planning ahead for a new one is blissful too.

I would like to wish everyone a happy new year and be all yay about it but with whats happening around the world and with injustice being the theme of the year, happy is not exactly what people want to be.

I remember simpler times when year was never this dull for me. Those times were around ten years back when we used to go out as a family for dinner. My father was in his highest spirits. We would drive at midnight and wish everyone on the road happy new year. I know that it sounds like the most dumb-ass thing to do. And it was. But at least it was something to do. Few years later my brother joined college and had his set of "college" buddies with whom he used to spend the new year and I would sit at home with mom and dad eating pizza and watching whatever "puttham pudhu tiray padam" there was on tv.

And thats where the routine that started is yet to end. But deep down I don't think I would have it anyother way either. I am such a bundle of contradiction, wanting both sides of the coin.

Now I'm just blabbering.
I'm on a roll.
Somebody stop me.

Happy 2010 all...

2009-12-27T20:19:00.000+05:30

Today I finally decided to get off my butt and accompany my brother to the mall. I'm not exactly a thrifty shopper or a spend thrift for that matter but when I see something really pretty like a gorgeous bag or "buy-me" shoes I get weak at the knees. So today I decided no taking extra money. No sirey. I was going to be smart.

Or so i thought.

I entered the mall to find an exhibition of bags and shoes. They looked so dull from the outside but something made me go inside (thank God for that).

I had entered heaven.
Bliss.
Nirvana. Or whatever else you call it.

I saw the most luscious, soft, luxurious leather bag. It was an icy grey colour made of leather so butter soft, so melting, so absolutely amazing that it made a baby's bottom feel like sand paper.
The grey was shaded so artistically. The chain link was tres chic.

I felt I could drown in the bag.
Literally.

But you see since Murphy's law practically ruins my life, today was the last day of the sale and I did not have the money to pay for it because I thoght I was being smart.
Screw smart. I would take that bag anyday.

I had no choice but to say tata to the bag and I did with such a heavy heart. Oh how my heart weeped! And considering I'm a little hormonally challenged today I was practically in depression by the time I left.

So to cheer myself up I bought the biggest can of Pringles, soda and a Vogue because Vogue is my only friend who can cheer me up.

On my way home I saw a dead cat on the road. Although I'm not very animal friendly it was so sad!
Pavum that cat.
But for some reason my brother found a dead cat in the middle of the road amusing.

And Where Have I Been You Ask?

2009-12-15T21:09:00.000+05:30

I have been M.I.A. for the past couple of months due to certain unavoidable situations. Firstly I had my semester exams.
Definitely unavoidable.

After a month of cramming six months worth of syllabus overnight repeatedly, I appeared, at the end of it, unscathed, caffeine induced and deprived of enjoying the wonderfully cool climate that started just during my exams. So I spent the one week of holidays that I had sleeping, eating and watching any movie I could get my hands on.

Now, a week later starting my sixth semester in an Engineering college I am beginning to feel the pangs of fright and uncertainty wondering where my life is headed. I often think that maybe I made the wrong decision after I finished school but console myself saying that its too late to think about what happened. So now I have decided to live with it and plan my life through so that I don't regret anything in the future.

Madras at this time of the year is in her wettest ever. We see only two seasons a year - extreme heat through ten months and rain through the last two. December brings back its gloomy self- wet, cold and dark throughout the day. Stagnant water everywhere. Leaking houses and canteens and the spread of some infection or the other. Chicken guinea being the flavor of this season. As much as we curse the rain its inevitable that we love it what with holidays being declared left, right and center.

At times I hate the cold. I hate the water stagnation and the city being slathered in rain and the wetness.

But then again its hard not to love it.

I Was At The A.R.Rahman Concert! Yes I Was!!!

2009-10-14T20:37:00.000+05:30

On sunday I was one of the determined few who decided to brave it out to get to the A.R.Rahman concert!
Yeah, I was there!!!
And now that's one thing I can tick off from my "to do" list that I created mentally. I have always always wanted to watch a live concert.
And I did!

We left home at around 2.45 for a 6.30 concert. Yes, thats how far Marg Swarnabhoomi is. Even before we could come within proximity of leaving the city limits we were starved and took a pizza on the go. Funily enough we were not the only people eating as we drove because there were hundreds of cars moving in the same direction - towards ecr with people stuffing their face with food. I guess nobody really wants to miss lunch.

My cousin filled up his SUV and we drove and drove for what seemed like eternity! We crossed ecr, then this lovely bridge place with the backwaters below it. Marg Swarnabhoomi is situated someplace between Pondycherry and Chennai and some say its around 100kms from Chennai and well, it is. We reached the venue by 6 and the place was already overflowing with people!

The first time I saw the stage I was disappointed. I heard that there was going to be some kind of a laser show but the stage looked so plain, so ordinary. Just as we were about to enter some VIP people walked in fron of us and we sneaked inside with them to the VIP seating area!

Yes! I was THAT close to the stage. But unfortunately the speakers were right in front of me. The concert was supposed to start at 6.30. It was 7.00 and Rahman was yet to come. I guess all celebrities HAVE to arrive fashionably late. Its like a law or something. By 7.15 people were restless and every five minutes there was whistling and shouting and screams of "Rahman is coming NOW!".
"No, now he is coming!".
"See there he is!".
"Yedhuku pinnadi pakre? A.R.Rahman helicopter-le dhaan varuvare"
"Oh can you hear the siren? Ya, NOW he has come!".

But he came at 7.30 and the crowd erupted into hysteria! His starting song was some song from Jodha Akbar. Having hated that movie I couldn't care less for the songs. But the crowd was going crrazy! And Rahman started "athiradee kaalam" and thats all. Crowd was uncontrollable!!

Later he came up in one crane like thing right above where I was sitting! And he was all "vanakkam Chennai. Nalla irrukingala?". Avaladhan. People were screaming "Thala!" "Thalaiva!!!" and he started singing that konjum weird song of his which I don't like. That song with the free hugs campaign thing. And Chennai-aites are not very fond of anything Hindi. Let alone hindi A.R.Rahman songs.
BIG NO NO.

He was belting out one hindi song after another and the crowd was just being polite because it was rahman and they din't want to be mean to him. But when this straight haired singer female whose name I don't know started belly dancing to Mayya Mayya thats when people started to take notice.
Especially middle aged men.
Who came with their families and were making eyes at the pretty singers and those side dancer girls.

Then one super irritating Marg Swarnabhoomi- owner guy -I -think came on stage and was all "Oh religious heads from the three religions are asked to come on stage". And the religious head for Muslims is the head man or whatever from Nagoor Dargha!
Ya!
A dargha!
And that was when my tolerance reached its peak!
Shame on you A.r.Rahman!!!

Coming back to the concert, after that lame guy blah blah-ed his way through, the last 20 minutes of the concert was mind blowing!
Eveyone were recovering from the lame guy when this guitar dude came and started plucking a few strings (chords?) and played our favourite cult song!
"Mustaf mustafa don't worry Mustafa. Kaalam nam tholan Mustafa"
"Day by day, day by day, valkaiye payanam day by day. Mulungadhe ship-e friendship dhaan"

The 70,000 people there would have hugged Rahman if they let 'em. It was AWESOME!! I don't know why that song is so popular but for some reason it just is!!
After that finished, the crowd was on a new high and to add to this rapper Blaaze or Blaze I don't know what he calls himself came on stage and was all "Humma Humma can you say Humma?"

Oh ya! We could so say humma!
"Humma.
humma.
humma humma humma.
Hey humma humma.
humma humma humma.
Indhe arabic kadalorum oru alagaiye kandhene .."

And that made our day!
There is nothing better than tamil songs I say!

As predicted he finished off with Jai Ho since it is a jai ho concert. I've heard that song close to a few hundred times that it now sounded stale to my ears. He then fused it with Vande Mataram and there were sparklers going off in the sky that just added multitudes to the experience! And thats how the concert came to an end with Rahman saying "Bye Chennai. Dirve Safe".
And I tell you, people did NOT want to leave!!
Thats how awesome it was.

But people were leaving. And quickly.
The concert ended at 11.30. The drive back to the city would take around 2 hours and noone wanted to get stuck in the traffic.

We managed to (again) sneak ourselves in between tow VIP Ambasador cars and get out early. But we drove for so long and reached home at 1.30 am.
And it was worth every minute!

Here are a few photos i managed to take when the security guy turned the other way:

=)

2009-10-11T11:37:00.000+05:30

This is one of the old Cadbury India advertisements.
Reminds me of a much simpler time...

Okay I Admit It I Had Fun Today!!!

2009-10-01T23:32:00.001+05:30

Today is my 20th birthday.
I'm 20 freaking years old.
Yes.
Me.

And I'm not even the least bit mature!!

It was fun celebrating my teenage birthdays but when it came to my 20th I was a little hesitant. So when I woke up this morning I was all "okay another day. And oh ya its my birthday. Cool".

When I was little, waking up on the morning of birthdays was such an event! I couldn't wait to wake up! I would be so high. And every year my birthday would be during Quarterly holidays and school would reopen two days later. The teachers would promptly distribute papers when I wen to school few days later and there I would be sitting in my 'birthday' dress receiving not gifts but mark sheets.

Birthdays were never a cause for celebration at home.
1. Because its haraam to celebrate birthdays.
2. Because we were never interested and it was not imperative that we do it.
But my folks would let me do what I wanted to with my friends.

The selection of a 'birthday' dress to wear to school was such a rigorous process. My mother would scream in agony and I would never pick a dress until it was perfect.
And I got my perfect clothes every year!

I would decide what chocolates to take to school. And the decision would be so tough that even the United Nations couldn't solve it if they wanted to.

I would plan and replan and go through the entire day in my mind. And when morning came I was so excited.
Ah to go to school in 'colour' dress, to be the center of attention, to show-off.. what bliss that was!
This was all birthdays meant to me.

Sweet sixteens and sexy seventeens. (yeah, my friend came up with the sexy seventeen)
Birthday clothes and presents.
Food, cake and fun.

How immature I was!

Now I realize what birthdays really are. Allaah gives us one more year.
One more year to do things you have never done.
One more year to change the way you want to be.
One more year to come closer to the person you want to be.

I understand how blessed and lucky I am to go through these experiences when many people have nothing at all to live for. Each year has taught me something. As each year passes I can feel myself becoming stronger, more confident. I can feel myself ready to face challenges, to believe and to stick to my choices, to be smart enough to know what I want.

Birthdays should be about growing up. And about realizing responsibilities. And about becoming the person you want to be.

I woke up this morning feeling morose and unexcited but I had a wonderful time today! My two very lovely friends in college SF and Ulsa actually surprised me with a gorgeous chocolate cake. I used to day that cutting cakes in college was so cheesy and so stupid. But they gave me a taste of my own medicine and I liked it!

My wonderful wonderful girls from school, my bum-chums, my girls, my most favourite people in the whole world surprised me by being not too discreet! But it was fun nonetheless. My lovely Myrtle Turtle baked THE most sexiest cake I've ever had! And I blew off the candles too!

So to be honest, this was the best-est birthday I had =)

Thank you:

SF
Ulsa
Myrtle turtle
Khalida
BigB(um)
Mallu Girl
And YOU. If YOU made my day all the more special =)

MASH

2009-09-29T23:07:00.000+05:30

We had a symposium on saturday. A technical symposium is where many different colleges come together while one college hosts it and lots of fun and exciting events happen. Except that there in nothing exactly fun or exciting about it.

So what we did was wear sari, click photos, go to college, click another million or so photos, change clothes, bunk the symposium and go to bessy.

If you are one of those people who frequently visit Bessy then you must have visited MASH. and since I'm not so frequent I got to go to MASH for the first time.
And its a pretty fun place to go.

MASH is located right opposite Bessie beach. You ask- the beach is so effing long where exactly is it?
I say - I don't know.

The restaurant is modeled like a shack. The little birdies that keep flying make it all the more interesting. The decor is also very beach-y. Cane chairs, paper lanterns, the works.

We had the most creamiest, cheesiest, most cholesterol inducing, pimple-giving, butt-expanding pasta whose main ingredient was cheese, cream cheese sauce and grated cheese. But it was way better than the other white sauce pastas in the city.

The sandwiches were the conventional 3 tier types filled with layers of vegetables and cheese although they concentrated a lot on onions which was gross. And i hate raw onions. The sandwich came with an amazing coleslaw. Not the usual watery mayo + wilted cabbage + smelly carrot types but actual fresh cabbage and mayo. The fries were so-so. I've had better.

MASH serves a wonderfully chilled refreshing lemonade, the likes of which I've never heard anywhere else. We didn't have dessert because we were too ful from all the eating.

The unique thing about MASH is that they have a little sit out from where you can watch the beach and stuff your face. The view is actually pretty cool. Plus MASH is actually worth your money and the prices are reasonable.

Here are a few photos we clicked:

the view from MASH:

MASH:

Back With A BANG!!

2009-09-08T23:06:00.000+05:30

After getting an awesome response last year, LITRAPTURE is back!!

B.S.ABDUR RAHMAN UNIVERSITY formerly BSA CRESCENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE introduces LITRAPTURE09, a one of a kind inter collegiate literary fest for students from all streams engineering, medical, arts and even law. Last year the event drew crowds from all top colleges like SSN, SRM and MEASI and arts colleges like New College, Stella, Ethiraj, WCC, Loyola,MOP, etc.

So if you live in Chennai and are a student then please do come to BSA UNIVERSITY on friday, the 11th for the literary extravaganza! Events include JAM, block n tackle, spin a yarn, DUM-C, shipwreck, ADZAP, mock interview, an online quiz- E-mystic, the dubut of the litrapture open quiz and the grand finale- whose line is it anyway.

Celebrity judges for the events VJ Craig/ Cary from SS Music will be present.

For further details visit www.litrapture09.com.

Umrah

2009-08-30T21:31:00.000+05:30

I just got back from seeing my cousin and his wife off at the airport. I couldn't help but feel jealous when he told me he was going to perform umrah. My thoughts went back to the time when I performed umrah for the first time in 2002.

****

I was 13 years old and was sincerely studying for my board exams when my dad comes to me and says "Oh we are going for umrah".

"What????", I say having heard that word for the first time.

"umrah, its like a small a haj.."

And the only thought that goes through my then tiny brain was, "Yaaaay!!! I'm going in a plane!!!".

My father had planned the travel for my family exactly during my Half Yearly exams and I had to bunk my last exam with not so much regret although my principal, Mrs.Williams was all, "I'm not going to give you permission but if you want to go then go".

And I was so happy that I got to bunk an exam. English exam. But still, exam is exam no?

My mother went into a shopping frenzy and she got me the loosest, most tassel induced abaya you can ever find. The day we were leaving I was forced into a red, synthetic salwar kameez high on silver jigna and made to wear that oddly shaped abaya when all I really wanted to do was to snuggle into my jeans and read my Meg Cabot books.
Yes. I was extremely addicted to Meg Cabot. Don't ask me why.

Although my father had coached me on Makkah and what to do when I got there I was in seventh heaven just because I got to go in a plane. I was super excited to taste 'plane' food but what they gave us in Saudia was a tasteless dish of mac and chesse.

We reached Jeddah and took a car to Makkah. When we got there the driver went, "Look to your left thats the Haram Sheriff". And I was all, "Why is he calling this place HARAAM?? Isn't it supposed to be holy?!!"

I remember thinking "wow this looks so real", when I first saw the haram.

We were made to enter through this particular gate, I don't remember which one, such that we could see the Kaba with maximium effect. One look at the Kaba standing there looking so majestic in black, forming a beautiful contrast with the white marble I felt an instant connection. It felt like someone had tied a rope from my heart to the kaba and the rope was pulling me towards it.It is said that the Kaba is situated right under the heavens and I found that to be true.

Although my emaan was not up to standard at that time I felt something that I knew would stay with me.

Those 2 weeks in Saudi was when I got interested in the hijaab and realized that it was not just a cultural thing. Alhamdulillah ever since my return from unrah I started wearing the hijaab with the understanding of what it reallly is.

Alhamdulillah we finished our umrah peacefully by Allaah's grace. The proof of Allah's barakha was evident when we came back. It showed on our emaan which had increased by leaps and bounds, on our wealth which multiplied itself. After my umrah I have travelled every year. I have visited Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, Bangkok. Never in a million years did my family ever think that we would have an international vacation. Ever.
But Allaah proved us wrong.

What I am today is all because of the wise decision my father made that day. This level of faith that I now have, the strength to believe, no matter what, I owe it all to Allaah who put that niyath in my fathers heart. I cannot thank my father enough for what he has done.

While I performed umrah I never realized the significance of what I was doing. But the impact of it I see even today.

Frankly I believe it is upto tje parents to introduce that small quotient of Islam into their children. Because after all your children and your wealth are a test from Allaah.

Don't you want to ace that test?

2009-08-30T11:41:00.001+05:30

Hello all..

Likey my new template??

Its here! Its here!

2009-08-22T23:44:00.003+05:30

Ramadhan is here!

Ramadhan Kareem everybody.
Hope you all have a blessed Ramadhan. =)

Its here!

2009-08-22T23:44:00.001+05:30

I Say Shoot That Damn Bird Down..

2009-08-06T21:59:00.000+05:30

For the past two weeks this really abnormal crow keeps coming to my closed window and tries to fly in but duh, the window is closed and so it tries to peck through my window.

Yes. Peck.

My window is full of scratches. And that darn bird keeps coming only when I reach the REM stage of my beauty sleep. So I'm all comfy sleepy dreaming about lying in a hammock in a pristine sea shore and then I hear:

"TOK TOK TOK TOK TOK TOK TOK TOK TOK TOKT"

"KA KA KA KA KA KA KA KAAAAAA KA KA KA TOK TOK KAKAKAKAAAA"

and all I really wanna do is to buy a gun and shoot that psychotic crow down.

My brother came up with a wonderfull theory on why the crow does what it does. He says "oh maybe the crow comes to your window and see its reflection and thinks that there is another crow and it wants to fight with it. Yeah.. thats why its pecking down your window. Or maybe you made it as crazy as you? What did you do to the crow? What did you do????"

First of all the crow can see its reflection in many places, not just my window but on water and... other peoples window. And second of all that was totally the lamest theory I've ever heard.

My Theory:

The crow is just plain mental and it has no idea its doing. And I'm trying to overcome my writers block and have end up in describing my relationship with a crow.
This is as good as it gets.

2009-08-03T21:42:00.000+05:30

Thanks to the very lovely Humble Muslimah I've been awarded the Adorable blog award. Thank you Mina. I'm really honoured. My second award!

Yay me!

Anyways I pass this on to :

Mint Fresh Muslimah

Aimie at The Knot

have fun girls!!

Dig Harder You Morons You Might Just Find The Ancient Treasure You Were Searching For.

2009-07-29T20:07:00.000+05:30

Oh My God, they're at it again. Seriously what do they expect to be hidden beneath roads? Diamonds? Lost treasure?

The digging never stops. And I doubt if it ever will.

Chennai roads have been subjected to nothing but digging. Digging main roads, digging in the corner of big roads, digging in kurku sandus and basically digging anywhere the surface seems even remotely flat. I'm sick of the 'take diversions' and 'men at work' signs everywhere.

Maybe the Chennai corporation has gone bonkers and ordered the workers to dig the beautiful, wide Anna Nagar roads fringed with lovely old trees. zmy street used to be one of the most nicest, widest streets and now due to this stupid digging it has been transformed into a war zone like how the soldiers in war hide behind these mounds of sand. I have no idea what they're called.

So just a month back they dug only one side of the street and promptly filled it again and layed the tar over it.

Umm hello?
It was the same even before the digging. The very reason for the digging is lost you dumb-heads.

Now the roads are going to be all bumpy bumpy. Ultimately some corporation head bum is going to pay for this.

Restaurant Review 1 - Cedars

2009-07-18T23:47:00.000+05:30

Ok so I just got back from having dinner at Cedars. Now if you live in Chennai you might recall that the restaurant was previously situated in Gopalapuram but has now shifted to Nungambakkam. The last time I visited this one of a kind Lebanese cum Mediterranean restaurants was around 5 to 6 years back. And its weirdly comforting to see that although the location might have changed thay have maintained the exact same decor.

We started off with some tossed mushrooms. Oh FYI most of the names are unpronouncable and the odds are you wont remember the names once you've ordered it. Yeah, so the mushrooms excellently tossed with olive oil and some kind of herby thing were amazing. But were stupidly served with some toasted wheat bread. We then had some pesto chicken blah blah. Just like the name it tasted so blah. And it was green.
C'mon! Who serves green looking chicken?

I also had iced tea and it was the first time that iced tea tasted more of ice and did'nt have any trace of tea.

For the main course I had a really amazing Lebanese dish which consisted of saffron rice ( I doubt there was saffron in it. It just looked yellow ) and this super delicious gravy that had lamb, lentils and onions. We make a similar gravy in my native but we substitute the lentils for coconut milk and that makes the gravy extremely rich. But with the lentils it was the best lamb I had ever had. My brother had this weird beef meatball which I did'nt taste cause I don't eat beef.

The dessert was the highlight of the entire meal. We had backlava and it was so rich that I could'nt eat more than one piece. But delicious nonetheless.

The superstar of the evening was this thick slab of bisuit or cake (I could'nt figure out what it was) layered and drizzled with thick chocolate. Oh Lord, the very thought of it makes my mouth water! Now if you ever go to Cedars it does'nt matter whether you eat anything else or not but please have this awesome chocolate thing!

PLEASE!

The price is a bit high but worth it for the different flavour that has'nt been experimented in Chennai. Cedars is one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. But the quantity is not proportional to the price. And that is very dissappointing. The service is also very poor. We had to keep asking the white shirt dude for the food so often that I felt like I was in my own house asking my mother for food.

The food is very different but might not suit all palates. But be prepared to burn a hole in your pocket.

Cedars is located at Wallace Garden road right off Nungambakkam high road, opposite to Wangs Kitchen and La Boulangerie.

Tagged!

2009-07-12T15:27:00.000+05:30

So I've been tagged by Ldn Hijabi and here are the rules:

To do the Honest Scrap Tag all you gotta do is tell your readers 10 true things about yourself that they don't know, tag other people and let them know that they have been tagged and leave a link back to your original 'tagger'.
So here goes..

1. If I could I would love to drop out of Engineering to do something I really love like write for a newspaper or a good magazine but that is not gonna happen anytime soon. Or ever.

2. I LOVE to get into a good fight!! But not physical.

3. I HATE blood tests. Seeing them extract all my blood into a little syringe makes me freak out big time.

4. I hate being told what to do.

5. I have such a short temper but I'm working on it.

6. When I was a kid I used to paint really well (thanks to the artistic gene that runs in my family) but for some damn reason I just stopped and i would love to get back to painting.

7. I LOVE Disney movies! Especially The Little Mermaid and Beauty And The Beast.

8. My childhood ambition was to be Miss.Universe. And obviously that did'nt come true. But when I was in 3rd grade or so I went to a fancy dress competition dressed as Miss.U in an outrageous pink lacy dress complete with fake, studded tiara and white netted gloves.
Needless to say I didn't win.

9. At times I'm very judgemental of people. I know thats so bad but again, I'm working on it.

10. I hate to talk while making wudu like some girls do in my college. I find it irritating and extremely disrespectfull.

And I tag:

1. Nadia
2. Aimie
3. Mina
4. Angie
5. Jasmin
6. Naseem

Eww. Eww. Eww. Eww.

2009-07-06T22:12:00.000+05:30

Girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice.
And boys????

Ask any girl about her perfect guy or how she wants her future husband to be and she'll say "Oh he has to be tall and cute/hot and sweet and good looking and charming and should buy me loads of gifts and should listen to everything I have to say yadda, yadda, yadda.

Clean and hygienic never pops up in the list.

And that is the TOP on mine.
The guy just HAS to be clean. And not obsessive-compulsive-cleaning=disorder clean but normal-decent-human level of cleanliness: cut nails, clean feet, no B.O, groomed hair and beard (note: beard, MUST.) and overall average cleanliness.

In my 19 years of walking this planet I have seen the most disgusting, repulsive, ugly, dirty male feet EVER. Overgrown, dirt-ridden toe nails are such a turn-off. I feel like personally giving those guys a pedicure just to save others from seeing such a disgusting sight. And icky, greasy, oily hair.. Don't even get me started.

There are guys who think that if they dress like models, spray on some bloody so-called perfume that apparently attracts women to them but thankfully misfires and have a hot ride get their work done. Now if you look lower and lower till you reach the smelly feet you will find what you're looking for.

Seriously guys, have you heard of something called 'soap and water'? Or maybe 'nail cutter'? Yeah, they could be your best friend if only you gave them a chance.

Seriously.

Seriously.

From the land Of 'Aruval' and 'Halwa'..

2009-06-27T21:42:00.000+05:30

So finally I'm back from my native, the land of my fore fathers, the wonderful town of Tirunelveli. Its so amazing to see how some places never change through the years. And Tirunelveli is one of those places.

Tirunelveli is this little town located in Tamil Nadu which is in South India and is home to many Brahmins, Chrisitians and Muslims. The town is split into many small villages like Palayamkottai, Tenkasi and Melapalayam to name a few and each have their respective history and mouth watering cuisine.

Now i spent the most of my stay in my paternal grand father's place called Talaiyuth. This village just consists of a couple of streets, one which is called Muslim theru (lane) where the Muslims live. Although there is a varied influx of many religions they manage to live in peace without any major rioting even with the presence of aruval which is a long knife that is hooked at the end which does not even need an excuse to be brought up during fights. And ultimately people tend to say that people from Tirunelveli are rowdies and trust me, they're not.

My grand father's house is situated on a long and narrow ground that is not defined by a compound wall. The house is around 110 years old and the date is engraved on a wooden plank on the roof. The house is very narrow and there are 3 rooms (IF you can call them rooms that is) that follow in succession and a parallel area that is open to the sky that runs parallel to the rooms. This are is famously called as the kodii and I have no idea why.

The front portion has a courtyard open ti the sky again that is characteristic of houses built in that period. There is also a single room on the first storey that has never, in my 19 years of visiting the place, ever been used for reasons unknown. When we were kids I used to be so freaked out even to enter the room but my brother used to oh-so-daringly come with me, take me to the end of the room, leave me there and run back to shut the door and I would bring the roof down by screaming my lungs out. Sweet memories, yes.

It was such a creepy place and i still don't have the guts to go up there alone. This first floor is called the machi and again, I have no idea why.

Now as for food, hens and goats keep roaming everywhere and all you gotta do is decide which meat you want and the respective animal is caught and skinned and made edible. While some people may be all "OH MY GOD! THAT IS SO CRUEL!!!" , this is the way of life here.

If you ever happen to visit Tirunelveli never leave without tasting halwa which is locally called alwa. This traditional, cholestrol enhancing, heart attack inducing sweet is made from wheat and ghee. Unlike what most people think halwa was actually introduced by a Marwari family that settled int he area years ago. They were the ones who started the first halwa shop that came to be known as irrutu kadai halwa (dark halwa shop with no lights) and this shop stands till this very day.

The happening place in Tirunelveli is the 'junction' so called because it was initially a bus junction and shops were built around it. And one of the most famous ice cream places that has stood the test of time is my all time favourite Arasan (King). The place does'nt sell anything much apart from ice creams, milkshakes, faloodas and some weird jelly thing but even this is awesome in Tirunelveli. Every single time I come to Tirunelveli I make it a point to visit this place.

Tirunelveli is a food lovers heaven. Traditional food and recipies that have been passed down through generations form the roots of the food tree. For the typical tourists there are waterfalls and other sight-seeing-y kind of places. Tirunelveli is also home to many Freedom Fighters and people of aristrocratic backgrounds.

But if you are an outsider or even if you go there almost every summer like me, prepare to be stared at.

Tirunelveli Skyline:

The date on the roof:

The kodii

The creepy machi:

The Courtyard:

Arasan!!

Lamb anyone??

I Won!

2009-06-27T10:49:00.000+05:30

Sister Mina at Humble Muslimah just tagged me with this award. My first one ever!!! Thank you Mina!! You have truly made my day!

Much Love!

2009-06-15T19:35:00.000+05:30

Sometimes just when you really truly need it, you get it. If you pray hard enough and ask sincerely. And the sense of accompishment is like a miracle =)

Disgrace Down Under

2009-06-01T11:16:00.000+05:30

For the past few weeks the papers and news channels have been filled with reports in the racist attacks against Indian students in Australia. This incident is very sad but equally demeaning for the Indians. Indians have been subjected to racism because of their 'brown' skin ever since the British reign over India. But to see something like this happen in Australia is extremely degrading.

These racist attacks popularly called 'curry bashing' has inflicted pain on many students. Every year at least 90000 Indian students are accepted in Australian universities and if this is the response gained then the number of students may seem to reduce gradually through the years.

2009-05-07T14:38:00.000+05:30

Due to unforeseen circumstances I found myself riding the MTC bus today afternoon while returning from college. As we were sitting in the bus in the sweltering heat, waiting for the bus to start I noticed a woman sitting with her two children in the bus shelter. Obviously she was a beggar woman, just like the hundreds of other such women spread out throughout my country. Now this lady noticed the bus waiting and sent up her daughter inside the bus to beg for money. This child of hers was hardly 3 years old with brown malnourished hair, dirt smeared face wearing dirty shorts and slippers 3 sizes too big. Used to watching her mother beg for money, she aped her walking through the length of the bus.

Now this girl hardly 3 years will be stripped of all her rights. She would never see the insides of a school, would never know the comfort of good family and good food, would never experience the basic things of life. Her family is what we call "below poverty line" in India. They are unable to give themselves the basic necessities of life.

This girl is just one such person living among the millions upon millions of poverty stricken individuals in India. We grow up watching poverty and sickness at our door step. Everyday I see men completely out of their senses scavenging the dustbins for the mere sight of something edible. At every traffic signal I see young girls carrying sick children tap on the windws of newly waxed cars begging for money. Little boys running behind pedestrians. This is the everyday life if you live in India.

Asking what the government is doing about all this is a futile question. Rehabilitating the poverty stricken and slum dwellers all look very ethical in theory, but in practicality yields no fruit. The slums of Daravi in Bombay made famous through Slumdog Millionaire were offered to be rehabilitated in an ampartment complex constructed especially for this purpose. But what did the slum dwellers do? They got their sanctioned flats, rented it and continued living in the slums. If you did not agree to do this voluntarily, the flats were snatched by goondas and were given for rent.

This is the true situation of India. The more you try to avoid looking at it and acknowledging its prescence, poverty continues to glare back at you, grimier than before.

Mariyadhai?!

2009-05-02T20:02:00.000+05:30

A conversation with my brother last night :

Brother: See how I good I am I respect our father.
Me: Whatever..
Brother: I'm not like you. You don't respect him or anyone.
Me: Whatever..
Bother: You know what is Vijaykanth's new movie called? Mariyadhai. Go and see it. At least learn something from him.
Me: ??!!!

I have to go see Mariyadhai to learn about respect?

Right.

What Islam Says ...

2009-04-30T22:27:00.000+05:30

Last week I saw an excellent documentary on the Discovery channel about pregnancy and how the human fetus evolves in 9 months. It was very interesting to see the latest 3D scans that are used and computer generated images of the fetus in the mothers womb. The development of the fetus was explained so well and I realized that this is what is written in the Qura'an. Allaah clearly tells us how the fetus is created by dropping the sperm and the ovum in the uterus of the woman. There are many facts that modern science has just started to figure out but these statements were present in the Qura'an that was handed to mankind 1400 years ago.

Surah 23, Ayah 12-14 "Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay), (Arabic, sulalah); Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm (Arabic, nutfah) in a place of rest, firmly fixed; Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood (Arabic, alakah); then of that clot We made a (fetus) lump (Arabic, mudgah); then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!"

This was revealed to Prophet Muhammad [S.A.S]. How could an uneducated man who could neither read nor write posses scientific knowledge of such great extent? Only Allaah subhanawatallah could have meant for him to know this, to educate the people. This is sure proof of the existence of God.

Pregnancy and the development of the fetus is such an amazing and wonderfull thing. After the egg is fertilized it settles in the uterine wall to start the growth. Within the first 40-42 days Allaah decides the sex of the fetus. Within the first 40-42 days the soul is blown into it and it ceases from being just another fetus to a human fetus. Abortion, illegal in Islam and if done, done after these 40 days when the fetus is alive is almost equal to killing a human. The sensory, bone and the general formation takes place through the nine months.

"And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts). Verily in that are Signs for those who reflect." [Qur'an 30:21]

Islam gives men and women the free will to choose their life partners with whom they procreate. The man is asked to choose a woman who is pious. A woman in Islam can be married for her beauty, her rank, her property and for her faith. And in turn the woman chooses a man of good charecter and good faith whom she can find solace in and is willing to spend the rest of her life with. Forcing a man or a woman into marriage in entirely unislamic and unlawfull.Islam stresses heavily against adultery and pregnancy outside marriage.

"The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication - flog each of them with a hundred stripes. Let not compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah, if ye believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a party of the Believers witness their punishment." [Qur'an 24:2]

"Those who bring the charge of adultery against chaste women but cannot produce four witnesses to prove the charge, give them 80 lashes and their testimony should never be believed." [Qur'an 24:4]

All these details that go into the selection of good spouses are done to ensure that the children they may have will be of a good background steeped in faith and beleif and will be proud to represent his race.

Certain Western socities encourage sexual promiscuity to such an extent that they never know who the father of their child is having slept with many men. Teenage pregnancies are a rage that fills up abortion centers. Pregnancy and abortion is treated like something of a trivial nature. While in certain Indian villages towards the north-west, indulge in female infanticide although the identification of the sex is prohibited by law. Pregnant women, if found to be carrying girl children are often encouraged by their familes to undergo abortion. And in certain cases the women are pushed into having many children just to give a male heir.

Islam is a religion of peace and common sense. Coming from a religion that considers so highly human life, seeing the way humans are treated even before they enter this Earth is unnerving. Every child that is a born, is born a Muslim.
Every child that is born, is born innocent. It is the world that makes him who he is.

The Big Fat Indian Elections

2009-04-25T16:59:00.000+05:30

Well, voting season is here. There is no feeling of hope or excitement because whichever political party might come to power, nothing is gonna change. Call me a pessimist but if you live in India this is how things work here.

Politicians keep changing their alliances left, right and center and at the end of the day it is just a shift of money and power from person to the next. But elections in India are a time for great big tamashas and traffic jams in every important junction done in the name of campaigning. And I was unfortunate enough to experience one such traffic jam last weekend while returning from a friends place. As I was driving from Mylapore they blocked off the entire stretch of Cathedral Road and the whole area was filled with cops. Sometime later, some police cars filled with these police people with big guns drove in front of a huge, expensive looking black car which was followed by an Innova with all satellite type things coming out. I think Karunanidhi was inside. Anyway traffic was suspended for so damn long.

This is the first time people are creating more and more awareness for voting especially for first time voters. It all started with Tata tea's Jaagore campaign ("election ke din aap vote nahin karrahe to aap so rahhe") which I just found out yesterday was for just registering to vote. Many of my friends who have registered to vote did not get the voters ID card and those who did get it, found out that their names were not there in the voters list. If this is how the system works, what faith am i supposed to have in the Government? Last election, four years back I went with my parents on voting day to the school assigned to our neighbourhood to cast votes. There we found out that at least 80 names consisting of my parents and neighbors had been already used i.e. someone else had voted for all these names. This is what we in Tamil Nadu call kalle vote. If these are how things are done how are we supposed to have faith?
And they say "your vote counts!".
No it does not!!! I know that! Do'nt tell me otherwise!!!

I actually like my country despite all these negatives. I have never looked up to the bright shiny lives of people in the West or elsewhere and wished mine to be that way. I am not a rebel nor do I want to dip my fingers into the filthy rot of politics and be all "Mera Bhaarath mahaan". I mean, yeah, mera Bhaarath is mahaan but only to those who feel it. My India is amazing, but filled with corruption, poverty and vile ministers it is unpleasant.

Young politicians are trying to give India a new facelift. Like Rahul Gandhi, who I might add, very cute a politician.

And no matter how much we try elections are always like this big joke. Actually this time around the elections are poised to take place sometime around the time of my exams which is actually convenient for me because we get close to a months study holiday. Not that I'm actually gonna study the whole month.. oh no no no.

Anyway summer is the perfect time for elections. With all the problems we are already facing this is not the biggest.

*City Lights & Streets Of Gold*