Confessions of cousin IT!!!.

For the past month and a half I've been sitting at home with little more than staring at the wall and drooling to do. I was getting more depressed by the day. You see I'm not used to such inactivity. I drove mum up the wall. Told her I was already on the edge and inactivity would push me right off it! I took to reading a women's magazine. And to kill time, they (the very active magazine people) had suggested a new haircut for the summer. I warmed up to the idea pretty quickly, considering the fact that I and everybody else around me had gotten tired of my so called "grunge" look! So I went to the salon with a broad smile on my face...........I had taken time out from my I-wish-I-were-busy schedule to do some frantic research on my new look, I liked what I saw in the above mentioned magazine.

So I walk into the salon and explain to the stylist in detail what exactly I wanted. She nodded and said something about layers (she had a weird accent probably north eastern considering the fact that shes from Mizoram!) I nod approvingly. I wanted French pedicures too. Pedicures first. It looked great and lasted for about three days!! Damn those pretentious French!!

Back to the point which pains me the most now - my haircut. It took the stylist nearly an hour of cutting and shearing to get the desired style. I was mortified at the result!! I could have gotten that look if i gave my 3 year old niece a pair of garden shears. The stylist hurriedly told me that it would look much better if it were washed and dried!! There was no need to cry!! Easy for her to say!! Her non-butchered hair looks just FINE!!! And she doesn't have friends who guffaw cruelly at bad hair cuts!! Only mine didn't look like any hair style I had in mind........... it looked like ROADKILL!!

To put it mildly I look like a shampooed and blow dried Cousin It from the Adam's family!! Damn that filthy rag they call a magazine!! Hair extensions anyone???

Cribbing Mallu, falling coconuts!!!

Its been almost a year since I have been officially displaced from my home, kerala. I find the term "mallus" and "malluland" quite offensive because we've given ourselves proper respectable names! Considering the fact that of all the people I've come across, without any bias, mallus are definitely the funniest people, that's besides the fact that they can laugh at themselves (this does not include me). Every time I go to Kerala or someone I know from kerala comes to meet me the first thing that my non-keralite friends ask me is "How many coconuts did you get, dude??". OK!! I can think of a million other places where you get coconuts and a jillion other things that you can get from Kerala!! Yes "Kerala" does mean land of coconuts, but please if I hear the coconuts question one more time, I'll beat/bite that person repeatedly without any mercy!!

I would like to take time to clear all the misconceptions surrounding mallus and their highly complex relationship with coconuts!!
1) We do use coconut oil for cooking but NOT ALL THE TIME!!!
2) Not all mallus are "CRAZY" about tender coconuts and products from coconuts.
3) Mamooty is not my uncle (its not a coconut related misconception, but a misconception nevertheless).
4) Yes, there are a lot of kerala dishes made out of coconuts but not ALL of them.
5) All mallu freak accidents aren't because "a coconut fell on his head".

Home sweet home!

Being away from home is the most painful event so far!!! The city of Kochi calls out to me every time i hear or see anything vaguely related to Kerala. Yes to a large extent the city is blissfully unaffected (not ignorant, mind you) by whats going on abroad!! The smell of freshly fried pakodas, biryani, and masala dosas brings back vivid memories of Nandita and me after Iyer sir's class. Every time a friend calls I cannot help but let tears well up in my eyes (that is besides the shock about the fact that they actually called). I miss everything about the place....... riding the school bus, yelling at Anil and David, discussing fervently about EVERYTHING with Nima and laughing with Ramya and at Dipthy!! All that was school, and outside it was a city of wonders!! Unimaginably low prices, sunsets worth dying for, coffee at coffee beans are some among the million things that i miss!

And when I think of the coming monsoons, I feel like crying.....there is nothing like running out when it rains, or sipping hot coffee while sitting near the balcony when the wind is howling and the rain makes the coconut palms bend!! Wherever I go I can hear songs that remind me of the good and better times I've spent in Kochi. There is no place like home!! I burn with envy when friends talk of get together that I'll probably never can attend. Like, what Nimisha once said "Nina is a fool for having runaway to bangalore, leaving her friends behind!!" How painfully true. I took it for granted, never once realizing the fact that maybe, maybe i might not get to relive those days again.

The time we had our hands read was so scary, because the man could not have been more accurate!!! How skeptical I was when he offered to read mine and how much I regretted the fact that I refused! The day we spent rolling on the floor laughing at a perfectly good romantic movie thanks to dipthy's antics.....LOL!! I miss them so much!! The only two people who could make me laugh were David and Anil, I still refuse to admit it though (at least not to their faces!!) how I wish they were around. Those were the days. I dwell so much in the past that sometimes I freak myself out.

I love my life in Bangalore, but i love my life in Kochi a whole lot more. Even after living in Bangalore for nearly a year I cannot get over the fact that I'm no longer a Bhavanite but a Carmelite, I guess heart of hearts I'll always be a student of BVM(G).

Its that time of the year!!

Its that time of the year when you see carmelites running wild looking bedraggled, its time for cul-ah.... the three day college fest. It begins tomorrow and I'm keeping my fingers crossed, I bet the place will be run over by tall & hairy testosterone reeking metal heads, screaming their lungs out!! They've set up three venues leaving not even an inch of space for innocent and indifferent passersby. But there are plus points too......like we can give proxy attendance by bribing the class-rep, shoving down our throats all kinds of eatables....and shopping for clothes and shoes within the campus!!
Of course the teachers will be on the look out too...to see if they can catch the girls with their boyfriends in campus, (all the best!!) and also to get the best buys. I'm just praying real hard I've been set a project for my credit course and it requires me to write a report on the fest (all three days!!), that annoucement knocked the wind off me, i had planned in detail my schedule for the three days (it basically includes watching TV and eating popcorn), having no desire in being asked out by perverts and hit on by horny lesbians. Ok I guess I'll just have to accept the fact that I've been given no other choice and might as well try and have fun!

New year and free hugs!!

So its 2009 and so far so good. I hope I haven't spoken too soon! Having brooded a lot on what this year's new year resolution ought to be, I've narrowed it down to two :

1. will listen to more carnatic music (having heard being talked about as musically handicapped decided to turn that around....i love the genre of music nevertheless);

2.I want to spread the love....for that I will give out more hugs( so I'm sporting a FREE HUGS badge, drawing inspiration from Juann Mann).

Everything has been going smoothly with some of my friends joining me in my free hugs campaign. A lot of curious stares, whispered comments, pointed fingers and a hell lot more hugs later....I'm feeling great!!

So today one of my seniors who majors in journalism wants to do her portfolio on me. OK! That was kinda weird but in a nice way. She seemed genuinely interested, that made me all the more happy. I'll be sporting the badge for some more time and hope that more people will pick that up.
"You get what you give" and it feels great to be hugged......makes me feel happier.
The only problem being that my lesbian stalker looking really really weird!! So I've been trying to make myself look inconspicuous (NOT HAPPENING!!) I don't have anything against gay people, but this one freaks me out!!

And now I've been bombarding myself with carnatic music and am LOVING IT!!

60 hours of trauma!!

It has only been a couple of hours since the firing has stopped.... the death toll continues to climb.... the heart rending cries of those who have lost their loved ones have still not died down. The topic has been discussed so much that it has been cliched already. The terrorist attack that shook the world!! I could not down the facts that came popping up on the TV screen. The plan had been elaborately sketched out, with cartloads of ammunition already stocked up in the rooms..... 183 dead and god knows how many injured.....and what point have they proved.....what goal achieved?? The NSG, the MARCOS, the Mumbai police all joined hands to flush out terrorists and for once all political parties stood united and did not find faults with the existing congress government, which is quite surprising since they usually take the first chance they get to take a bite at the existing government!! The other unaffected hotels made room for the displaced guests, the city is yet to settle down and the citizens are still haunted and traumatized. But we will stand together, we will put a brave front and we will never let them get the better of us, it does not matter which terrorist outfit planned and executed this act of heinous crime, what matters is that they dared to set foot on our soil and tortured and murdered so many innocent lives. Mumbai has a soul of its own and it will get back on its feet soon!! We will not let mumbai bleed....... we will do our best to voice our resentment..... Jai Hind!!!

The other city

Now that I have been in Bangalore for more than six months I can safely conclude that this must be the most over rated city in the country. Yes, it does have a large number of reasonably well dressed women but when it comes to men, this must be the most saddest place ever with almost 90% of them being the filthiest pieces of vermin I've ever seen......but one cannot argue the fact that most men all over are quite the same. The city is a lot less prettier than it was when i saw it some eight years back. Even then Cubbon park must be the prettiest park I've ever seen. Especially with the Pink Tabebuia blossoming all over the place. It is simply breath taking..... the air is so pure that you could almost "drink" it. And yes, commercial street and brigade road must be every girls' dream shopping destination. For this I cornered Apurva - who claimed to have profound knowledge when it came to shopping at the above mentioned places, this turned out to be true she really did know each and every inch of the place and would disappear into small alleys to come out with some of the most stunning buys I've seen. And the best part is you can bargain with the price (though I am a complete loser when it comes to this) and with Apurva as my faithful charioteer I came out having an awesome time after all. But, (yes there is always a but) Bangalore is infested with a large number of stray dogs...... I love dogs, I really do but having been chased for several kilometres every week without fail I have come to fear them as well. Like every other Bangalorean having an unexplainable hatred towards a Mallu, the dogs seem to have caught on too. The next thing I do not in anyway like are the BMTC buses, even though there are a large number of them operating within the city, it is ALWAYS crowded...... so I am left with no option but to take an autorickshaw. This is not the better option but the only option. The drivers being the MOST lecherous men in the planet!!! And yes the jarring kannada music which gets stuck in my head for hours together and even making me hum during college lectures and smile blandly at my professors for no particular reason whatsoever. The next best thing about Bangalore is the fact that there is always a place to hangout after college hours..... and yes it undeniably is a lot more safer than mostIndian cities. But transport for me is still a problem with the auto drivers charging fares that could buy a piece of the moon!!