Here's a pic...

A new vocation?

I have tried my hand at many things. As a kid, i wanted to be a fashion designer. But a "really silly" mistake in the NIFT exam (and my insitence that only the "best" would do) took care of that! Then, it was Human Resource Management. I dabbled in DMBS, Oracle and stuff too. I also did some sales kinda work. Finally, I went into creative writing. Side by side, I also did freelance "boring" SEO content writing. This content writing/editing thing has probably been the best thing I have done so far. It's surely the most enjoyable!

But I have always felt like "this is NOT my calling". No matter what I try, I always feel the same. Last weekend I tried something new. I have always been excited by the art of hair-styling (and the money it offers!). Last weekend, I convinced Di to let me experiment with his hair. It was really ove grown and he needed a cut. I have tried to convince him many times in the last 5 years...unsuccessfully. This time I tried a little "emotional blackmail" and got him to agree.

With really bad scissors I set off on the experiment. I was scared that I would ruin his hair and chopped just a little hair at a time. Mid way, I felt I was doing it all wrong! Though Di did not scream at me at all, I was really disappointed. But as I looked at his hair every day, I knew what mistakes I had made. And I was hell bent on doing it properly. So this weekend, I got him to give me another chance. This time, I felt confident coz I knew how to do it better. I gave him a splendid cut, I think.

Di really liked the result and told me I had a natural flair for this art. My confidence got a big boost when one of his friends complimented him TWICE on the cut and even asked him where he got it!!!!! Now I am considering investing a little time, effort and money into it. Sadly, there's not a single hair academy of repute in Kanpur. So that's something that might be a problem!

I know I should put up some pictures with this post :-) but I have not taken any! Perhaps I will....

Under Attack!

The locality where we live these days is the most expensive in Kanpur. Not only the rentals, but even the things like vegetables, clothes, dining out...everything is very expensive. You'd think we must live in style! But we don't. I really am quite clueless about why this place is so expensive. Sure there are two 5 Star hotels at a walking distance. But apart from that....it's pretty run down!

Anyways, this post is about "Monkeys". Every day one or two monkeys somehow land in front of my door. We live on the 1st floor and have this open space, like a porch, in the front. So the monkeys like to pay a visit every day. One evening, it was time for Di to get back home and there was this biggg monkey sitting outside the door. I opened one of the doors (there are two) and banged a stick on the floor to scare it away. To my shock, it immediately jumped at me. I would surely have been bitten had I not immediately steppd inside and shut the door! Thankfully, I am so afraid of them that I was standing in the doorway whe I tried to scare it off. So finally, it scared me off.

I just called Di and told him to come home a little late. The monkey took its time in going away. But it scared me out of my wits that day!

Moving on and on...

So we have moved house twice in the last 3 months and we want to do it once again. Yes, that is true! As we were happily settled in Delhi, Dinesh was asked to move to Dehradun. The thing is that there is this guy called "Varun" in the Doon branch, who wanted to be moved to Kanpur. So somebody had to be moved to Doon to takehis place, right? Now Di was offred the position of Cluster Head- Uttaranchal as the carrot. Though we loved Delhi a lot, we decided to take it up as a new experience.

I still remember our first 2 days in Doon. We hated the place. We hated the people. There was no Satellite TV connection. That was the reason! As we got the TV connection and Internet in place, our outlook changed completely. Dehradun is certainly the est place we have ever been in. The pollution is noticeable by absence. The greenery is such a visual treat. In fact, we had a nice mountain view right frm our kicthen, backyard and the terrace. The best thing about Doon is the lovely climate. We knew that this is where we wanted to live, if in India.

But as usual, "Man proposes and God disposes!" So the mighty forces above disposed of this wish of ours. After having spent 2 months in Doon, Di was asked to move to Kanpur. Reason? The "Varun" guy refused to budge! The compay could not afford to have two people for one job in Doon. Also, a position had been created for Varun in Kanpur and somebody had to fill it! So Di was offered 2 more clusters in UP as more carrots. So we moved again.

I don't really know wht to say about Kanpur. Perhaps I will save it for the next post. In one sentence, we don't like it here at all. This is the reason we want to move once again. Who knows when or how will that happen? But it surely must happen, sooner or later! Thepicture shows a view of a cloudy afternoon from our terrace in Doon.

20th July: Little Arnav loses his crop!

Arnav Raj Sakhuja gets his first haircut or should we say, Head-Shave? As you can see in the Before (on the way to the salon actually) and After pictures, Arnav is transformed completely. Of course he screamed his lungs out while the job was being done. But I a sure he must have been relieved on losing that mass of curls, considering it's so very hot!

SRK: The Latest Marketing Mantra For Celebrity Blogs

Former Miss. India and Bollywood actor Neha Dhupia once quipped famously, “In India only Sex and SRK sell!” Time and again, these words have been proven true. The latest celebrity “blogging” revolution has once again done that.

Forget what they taught you in B-School! Bury away the theories of Kotler! Because our Bollywood celebs have come up with the most bankable marketing mantra of their own. If you wanna sell something, get SRK to do it for you. And hey, we are not talking of advertisements here. Naah! No need to even pay Mr. Khan for selling your stuff. Just quote him or talk about him.

This is what a few of our celebs have been doing in the recent past to get more visitors to their blogs. Mr. Amitabh Bachchan had to stoop so low as to put up some graphics and statistics on his blog, comparing the performance of shows hosted by SRK and himself. And the other Mr. Khan - Aamir probably did not get enough media attention by proclaiming himself to be the No. 1 in the industry. So he decided to write some mumbo jumbo in his blog about “Shahrukh, his dog”!

Both these blogs have received a lot of traffic after the media reported the use of SRK’s name in these blogs. An interviewer recently asked Mr. Shahrukh Khan if he had any intentions to blog. His candid reply was :“No, for three reasons. One, when I type, I do so in caps and on the net, that’s like screaming. Two, because when I write, I write very long copy. And three, I am a very busy man, I don’t have time to write long blogs… also, my colleagues say that they blog because the media writes a lot of things and they want to put their version out there.

So, in short, you end up doing the journalist’s job. In my mind, it’s very clear I am an actor and not a reporter, so I will do my job, and I will let them do theirs. If they write something that’s wrong, I’ll abuse that person and say they got their facts wrong. If they get it right, then I’ll say ‘great, they represented the facts well’."

There you go Mr. Amitabh Bachchan and Mr. Aamir Khan. Quite apparently, you have too much free time on your hands and nothing better to do! While we are fans of your work onscreen, this doesn’t go down too well with us.

Honesty is certainly not the "right" policy these days.

Yesterday I went shopping with my aunt and probably left my phone at the billing counter (silly me) or at the juice stall where I bought two glasses of litchi juice from. As soon as I realised that I had lost my phone, I called my number from a pay phone. Obviously it was switched off. And here am I wondering where did the good old honesty go?

The phone was a favorite, a gift from my husband. It was expensive when I'd bought it. It contained a lot of our memories, photographs, messages and videos. I do have the little satisfaction of knowing that whoever has taken my phone will not be able to use it coz I had put in an unlock code and also a SIM lock code. So the moment the phone is switched off, it can never be switched back on...neither with my SIM card...nor with any other. The phone can be used after putting in some efforts I guess :-(

I am very very very sad. I have been cursing myself for being so stupid and careless. I cant seem to get over it!

Debit Without Credit

Life does not run itself according to Accounting Principles. So sometimes there are credits without debits, and often there are debits without credits.

A Funny Story...

This one really happened with us. I was a little sick and had a lot of cough. But Bollywood freaks that we are, Di and I went to catch the movie "Namaste London". I just loved the movie and the actors were good. One particular incident made it all the more fun for me, and a little less fun for someone else.

I was chewing on gum to keep the cough in check. Suddenly, I had a bout of cough, and out flying went the gum...from my mouth...to land in the hair of the guy sitting right ahead of me. I was suddenly scared that he would get up and give me a piece of his mind. But I s'pose he was the "little shy" kind...or perhaps a decent guy who let it pass. So nothing nasty happened to me.

Though I feel very sorry for the guy, I just could not stop laughing!!!!!!!!! I am a really really really bad person, I guess ;-)

I hate all car-owners.....

Yes, that's right. I absolutely hate all the car owners and I hate them for their guts. Delhi has such lovely wide roads, but the people (like everywhere else in India) have no civic sense. People open up commercial establishments in their houses if they overlook a main road. And then begins all the irresponsible parking...

I know few people will believe me, but I have really seen people park their cars as if the road is just a parking lot and traffic is not allowed on the road. Rickshaw pullers are forced to leave their lanes and drive in the cnter/right side of the road. Everyone knows how many accidents that can cause. And I hate this situation personally, because it makes it difficult for me to walk. I have to keep watching out to save my ass.

Ever seen people in cars eat stuff? They actually believe that the second function of the road (first is to serve as a parking lot) is to serve as a dustbin. So out of the window goes any waste paper, banana peel, mineral water bottle, empty packets of chips, soda cans etc etc etc. With all this littering, can we ever have clean cities?

And we are talking about the privileged section of the society, who are probably better educated than the poor people. But then, what's education got to do with civic sense, Right?

Your husband is so good looking.....

That's what I got from at least 4-5 people yesterday. This happened after I put up a picture of the two of us on orkut. Of course, I chose a picture that wud show us off in the best possible light. Yeah, he does look rather handsome in that cap and those sun-glasses.

I feel ignored, people!

Dr. Vijay Mallya writes to me...

On Feb 17, We flew back from our Jammu trip with the Kingfisher Airlines. We noticed a few things amiss about the ground staff and I decided to take 'em up with the chairman (who else?). So I wrote an email to Dr. Vijay Mallya about my whole experience with his airline. Now, even at my optimist best, I did not expect any reply. And when a couple of days had passed away, I almost chided myself for wasting time on that email.

But yesterday, Mr. Chairman did reply to my email and in such great words! I just couldn't stop myself from smiling........and also from forwarding the email to mom, dad, nitin, deeks and di. C'mon, I never said modesty was one of my virtues!

In-Laws Coming

My dear sis-in-law Aarti is coming to India with her hubby Naren and little daughter Meghna sometime in March. They are visiting us for 10-15 days. Bua will also be coming along with them. Maybe Aarti brings her mom-in-law too. We have asked her to.

I was a little worried initially, considering the little space we have. And add to that the water and power trouble we have in Delhi. We considered putting them up at a hotel. But yesterday, I spoke to my mama abt it and he said he'd take care of it. He'll arrange a flat in his own apartment society. This means I need not worry abt water or ower as the society provides 100 % back up. A big load taken off my head!

We will take them all to Ldh for 2 days. They plan to go to Amritsar also. There are lots of places to see in Delhi also. Since Aarti has never been to Delhi, this could be a lot of fun for her.

Di doesn't sleep for 24 hours: Can you believe that?

Saturday morning we woke up at 8 and Di did not get to catch his 'umpteen' winks till around 12 on sunday. Doesn't he look too cute trying to nap at the airport? Even at home he just wouldn't get out of the bed. But nevertheless, it's an achievement, guys!!!

Meanwhile, I am down with a sore throat and fever. My fault, actually. I had some vinegar laden food last night and my throat has been hurting ever since. Di says it's not cold anymore. But I'm feeling cold. Guess I need a couple of days to recuperate.

The Painful Climb Down

The climb up was rather easy. We felt really really blessed and overjoyed after doing the darshan through the ancient cave. The cave was quite small and narrow and it required some maneouvering skills to get through it. There was a constant stream of cold water inside. On the whole, it was an out-of-the-world experience and we just loved it.

after the darshan, we immediately started the climb down as we did not want to miss our flight the next day. We expected to make it down in 4 hours flat, but it took a little more than that. As we trudged downwards, we realised how fatigued our bodies were. Legs ached-knees, calves, thighs, everything! There was a point when every step hurt. The last phase of the trail almost had me in tears. Finally we made it down-alive! But the experience was worth all the effort and the pain.

Vaishno Devi: The Climb Up

Vaishno Devi is one of our most adored Godesses. She is a form of Maa Durga and there is an ancient temple dedicated to this deity high up in the mountains of Jammu. The trail leading to the temple is quite a long one and if you are not in perfect physical condition, it's also a difficult one! The actual temple was originally located inside a cave. The shrine Board has preserved a part of the cave, but it remains closed to the public because it is not easy to climb in and out of. Considering the huge number of devotees visiting every day, it is rather difficult to let everyone in through the small cave. So the shrine Board had a new entrance constructed a few years back. Now, the original cave is opened to the public only in the month of February every year. February is a lean season because of the harsh cold weather. This is the opportunity we decided to make full use of and started off for paying our respects to the Devi.

We reached Katra by 2:30, thanks to a very slow moving bus. We checked our stuff into a cloak room, had lunch and started the climb up. We started the climb at exactly 4 p.m. We expected to reach our destination by 10 p.m

We stopped at quite a few places. The uphill trail had both of us catching our breath at times. But overall, we did it rather nicely and reached the top at around 9 p.m. We freshened up and got in the line for darshan by 10 p.m. It was going to be a long night for us...

Jammu: The First Two Days

As we landed at the Jammu airport, I realised that the city was a rather small one. We were picked up by a colleague of Di's, and dropped at a nice luxury hotel. I saw that there was the famous "Raghunath Temple" just near the hotel. I made a mental note of visiting it later in the day. Di left for work immediately after having breakfast and I was left to entertain myself.

Unfortunately, there was no cyber cafe near the hotel. I was also a little scared about going out alone. The city did not seem too safe to me. I could be wrong, but I saw few women on the roads. So I remained cooped up in the hotel room. Thankfully, I'd brought along a book and it (with a lot of help from the TV) kept me entertained. In the evening we went out for a stroll and missed the Raghunath Temple" coz we were carrying cell phones and digi cam. All that stuff is not allowed in there, you see. The temple looked lovely from outside. Its exterior is done in gold and they light it up beautifully in the evening.

We walked through the bazaars and were appalled at the huge discounts being offered on all woollens and knitwear- in practically every shop. Of course, even the discounted prices were way too high!

Nothing eventful happened in both the days we were at the hotel. We had originally planned to leave for Katra on Friday evening (our second day in Jammu). But people scared us with warnings of extreme cold on the trail leading to the Vaishno Devi Temple. So we decided to leave on Saturday morning.

Chalo Bulaawa Aaya Hai, Maata Ne Bulaaya Hai.

As if the holiday in Shimla were not enough, Di's taking me to Jammu- on an official trip!!!!!

He's actually supposed to go there for two days. But since there's the weekend attached with those two days, we decided to give Vaishno Devi a shot. We have been hearing of bad weather conditions in the region. but we also heard that the Shrine Board has opened the Pracheen Dvaar of the cave and that has been drawing hordes of devotees.

So we have booked our flights in such a way that we can trudge all the way up to the Maata's darbaar if we feel like it. Otherwise, we'll just spend the weekend in Jammu.

Birthday Memories

Ever since Molls joined me and Biji in the 3rd Feb gang, I have made it a point to celebrate my birthday with the two of them in Ludhiana. This year was no different. But maybe next year will see some change. I miss being the 'birthday gal'. I miss feeling excited about my birthday. Being around kids makes me just feel old!!!!! So no baccha party on my next birthday, people. Wot say?

29th January, 2008

It's been five years! Really? Have we really come this far? Seems incredible!

Yes, it's been five years since we got married. These five years have been absolutely fantastic for us. Our love has only grown stronger over these 5 years and we feel blessed to be with each other. we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary by taking a 4 day trip to Shimla.

Shimla was fun and verrrry cold. Last time we had gone to Shimla, we missed catching the snow by 2-3 days. But this time, we were lucky to be there in the snow. shimla is one of our favorite places to holiday in, especially in winters. I especially recommend the goodies at the "City Point" on the lower mall. They have chocolate pastries like no other place anywhere. The coffee and the rolls are great too.

We stayed for two days at the Brightland Hotel, and it turned out to be a nightmare. We had booked the hotel on the basis of our past 'very good' experience there. But this time we found out that they had completely abandoned the old building and the new one was all commerce. We wanted a valley view room. And what we got could not give us a view of anything, as there was no window!!!!!! And we could not do much as we had already paid the whole amount in advance when we made the booking.

So we stayed there for two days, ordered all our meals and chai coffee etc from the room service, and stomped out on day 3. We checked into this nice 5-star hotel called "The Leela Regency" and we had a great room there, plus lots of other benefits. Not to say that the move was easy or quick. We had to literally fight with the Brightland folks to let us leave. They wanted us to cough up more money. But we were in no mood to do that. So there was an ugly battle of words and finally a scene was created that was driving away other people. The proprieter had to finally apologise for bad service (thandi chai, no heating, constant noise outside room, cold food etc)

But apart from that, Shimla was great.

Another blog

So a few people asked me why my fitness blog looked deserted. Simple, people! I'm off for a break that will last till 'God knows when'! Jokes apart, gimme a few more days and I'll be back. And for those of you who follow my blogs on memsaab, you might as well stop. The last thing those blogs are is a record of my life. That's work guys, just a task that I have to do. So save yourself the trouble, unless you enjoy those tid bits.

And if you are interested in catching up with Shalz and Di, this is the place to be. We will be recording the ups and downs of our life in this blog. Let's hope there are more ups and fewer downs;-)

Have a good time!!!