She felt like screaming her lungs out and hurling half a dozen abuses at the guy who whizzed past her, splashing her crisp cotton saree with muddy water that had comfortably settled in a pot-hole on the road. However, Tanya could not muster enough courage to put this scene into action at that time, though, it played in her mind a dozen times over during rest of the day. In an attempt to avoid what happened, she had even managed to drop the file she had clutched under her left arm, landing her presentation papers precisely inside the pit on the road.
Every time she stepped out of her desk in office to grab a cup of coffee or to collect a print-out, she pitifully watched her saree which still had some remnants of the muddy blobs, though she had tried to wash it off – the first thing she did after entering office.
Tanya had made a mental note of the number and had even decided what she would do the next time she spotted that car. Little did she know she would bump into it so soon.
As she left the office that day, a guy caught her attention while he was stepping out of a clinic, just a couple of blocks away from her office. He struggled with a limp and a fresh injury on his elbow - and he was approaching a car that seemed familiar to Tanya. In another flash of a moment, she realized it was the same car. She felt a rush of blood to her chest and her heart-beat started racing as her mind quickly retrieved information on what she had planned to do next.
The guy opened the door, took a laptop bag out of the car, closed the door, locked the car and waited for a taxi to arrive. After being turned down by a few of them, he finally managed to convince one taxi driver and drove off.
Tanya was left dumbstruck as she was reminded of one of the recent discussions with her mom. Her mom had explained to her that ‘Nature’ has its own way of getting back at people. The good we do, comes back to us, as well as the bad. It’s just a matter of time and faith.
Tanya felt pity for the guy, and maybe, a little guilty too – she felt that whatever bad happened to him after this morning’s episode was partly due to her. Maybe if she had hurled a stone at the car, it would have settled scores and ‘nature’ would not have stepped in between. Trying to get these thoughts out of her mind, she turned out and called out loud ‘Taxi…’
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Another proposal on its way
The list of weird people never seems to end and the additions are somehow so amusing -every time. This time, it was a family that came with a marriage proposal for my friend… something she despises so much, especially when the guy himself is out of country and she has only chatted with him a few times. The family decides to barge-in on her mother, get a date for an ‘informal meeting’ with my poor friend, all set to attack her with their baggage of questions.
The group of whackos finally entered the restaurant to interview – yes ‘interview’ – my sweet friend, to judge whether she was eligible for their son or not. If I even begin to evaluate whether their son even deserves someone half as talented as my friend, I will be unstoppable – so it’s better I don’t wander in those areas. Anyway, coming back to these ‘examiners’ of the prospect bride, they start off with some funny basic questions, which, I wonder, who discovered in the first place. All right, they need to know her but there are better ways to find out this. Why make her feel like she is being interviewed by a pompous HR-head of some company? Well, once the funny ones are over, their questions start getting little nasty, I was told. Some not-so-pleasing ones that deserve to be mentioned here:
‘Would she like trying out new dishes if given the recipes from the internet?’ (Do they need a bride or a chef?)
‘How easily does she cry in front of others?’ (Is this a psychiatric evaluation for depression or do they plan to beat her up in public?)
‘How often does she visit the beauty parlor?’ (Excuse me! Would you be pleased to have an unkempt duckling sitting across the table? In any case, what business does the mother-in-law have to ask this?)
‘Do you have a temper?’ (Yes… I could burst that weird- question-compiler head of yours into a thousand pieces, right now!)
‘Are you afraid of me?’ (Well, if any six-feet-tall and hefty woman with a bull-face, monkey-brain and a knife-like tongue was to ask this to you, what would your answer be?)
My only advice to my friend was… stay away from them!
The group of whackos finally entered the restaurant to interview – yes ‘interview’ – my sweet friend, to judge whether she was eligible for their son or not. If I even begin to evaluate whether their son even deserves someone half as talented as my friend, I will be unstoppable – so it’s better I don’t wander in those areas. Anyway, coming back to these ‘examiners’ of the prospect bride, they start off with some funny basic questions, which, I wonder, who discovered in the first place. All right, they need to know her but there are better ways to find out this. Why make her feel like she is being interviewed by a pompous HR-head of some company? Well, once the funny ones are over, their questions start getting little nasty, I was told. Some not-so-pleasing ones that deserve to be mentioned here:
‘Would she like trying out new dishes if given the recipes from the internet?’ (Do they need a bride or a chef?)
‘How easily does she cry in front of others?’ (Is this a psychiatric evaluation for depression or do they plan to beat her up in public?)
‘How often does she visit the beauty parlor?’ (Excuse me! Would you be pleased to have an unkempt duckling sitting across the table? In any case, what business does the mother-in-law have to ask this?)
‘Do you have a temper?’ (Yes… I could burst that weird- question-compiler head of yours into a thousand pieces, right now!)
‘Are you afraid of me?’ (Well, if any six-feet-tall and hefty woman with a bull-face, monkey-brain and a knife-like tongue was to ask this to you, what would your answer be?)
My only advice to my friend was… stay away from them!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
It’s raining cats and dogs
What is the origin of this famous phrase? I just happened to read it on the net today and though it worth sharing here.
In olden times, when the rooftops were not so sturdy, a heavy downpour would disrupt the roof tiles and bring down the cats and dogs that would be sleeping on these roofs. So when it’s ‘raining cats and dogs’ you know it’s a heavy, heavy downpour.
Another explanation given was that in the past, animals would be associated with weather conditions. Cats, for example, were associated with rain and dogs, with wind. So when it’s raining heavily and with lot of wind, the phrase comes into picture again.
Interesting, isn’t it??
In olden times, when the rooftops were not so sturdy, a heavy downpour would disrupt the roof tiles and bring down the cats and dogs that would be sleeping on these roofs. So when it’s ‘raining cats and dogs’ you know it’s a heavy, heavy downpour.
Another explanation given was that in the past, animals would be associated with weather conditions. Cats, for example, were associated with rain and dogs, with wind. So when it’s raining heavily and with lot of wind, the phrase comes into picture again.
Interesting, isn’t it??
Friday, May 28, 2010
Of women and shoes…
Yes, I have a fetish for shoes…period! Do I need to justify the reason? Being a woman, this obsession is as much my birthright as it is to breathe. The problem, however, begins when I don’t find a pair that my mind has conceived, when I set out on my hunt for new ones. I may have something very specific in mind such as open sandals with heels about 2 inches big, comfortable straps to hold my feet in place and with some classy design on the top that is neither gaudy nor sequined. Preferably black in color, soft on my feet and the kind that goes on Indian as well as western outfits – these are few more criteria to impress me enough to buy the pair.
With this in mind, I set out to check a dozen showrooms before I even begin to like some pair. Sometimes I wonder if the salesperson at the showroom has marked me as a ‘junk customer’ since I end up with so many criteria that they would even go so far to tell me, ‘Madam, why don’t you get a customized pair stitched? You will simply love it’. Hehehe… I quite like the idea…just that I don’t have the patience to wait that long… and then I go hopping to the next shop… Voila! I find what I wanted… glad that someone imagined exactly what I wanted!
With this in mind, I set out to check a dozen showrooms before I even begin to like some pair. Sometimes I wonder if the salesperson at the showroom has marked me as a ‘junk customer’ since I end up with so many criteria that they would even go so far to tell me, ‘Madam, why don’t you get a customized pair stitched? You will simply love it’. Hehehe… I quite like the idea…just that I don’t have the patience to wait that long… and then I go hopping to the next shop… Voila! I find what I wanted… glad that someone imagined exactly what I wanted!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Struggle called Life!
I read a quote somewhere few days back that 'Life is what happens to you when you are busy planning something else.' Indeed, I realized how true it is!
I have plans for my life, my work, my future, my friends but am watching just how sometimes life throws you out of gear to test how well and how soon you can get back on your toes. It is exactly what is happening with me now. But all I believe in, at the moment, is God and in myself. I know what I want, and I know how to get there. It's just the obstacles on the way which are big now. But I believe the achievement in the end is going to be all the more sweet, because I will fight all these obstacles and emerge the winner - no matter what!
I have plans for my life, my work, my future, my friends but am watching just how sometimes life throws you out of gear to test how well and how soon you can get back on your toes. It is exactly what is happening with me now. But all I believe in, at the moment, is God and in myself. I know what I want, and I know how to get there. It's just the obstacles on the way which are big now. But I believe the achievement in the end is going to be all the more sweet, because I will fight all these obstacles and emerge the winner - no matter what!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
I am The Boss of the house!
I was enlightened by the supreme wisdom of the Lord the other day when I accidentally landed upon a brilliant saying that went ‘My wife allows me to say that I am the Boss of the house!’ If you are laughing at the deep insight that this quote offers, you are either the man who has been through this (even if it is not literally!!) or the woman who is possessed with the ultimate authority over her husband and proudly acclaims the same!! If you are none of the above, pardon me for saying that you are possessed with a ruthless mind that makes fun of the agony that married men go through!
Coming back to the point of the quote, it drives home the essence of the lives of married men that no matter how authoritative you are outside your home, it’s the woman who rules the roost at home! The reason simply being that she is the one with the unfathomable mind! This reminds me of a parable about an old sage who was once asked by one of his followers “Oh Master, how should I to lead a life that brings lasting happiness to my better half, my soul mate?” The sage nodded as if in deep thought, then looked up to the disciple and uttered just one line: “If I had known the answer to this eternal question, do you think I would have been in this place today?”
The story does not end here; some proclaim that even God has never got a complete insight into the mind of the woman though he was the one who created her. It’s said that after He created the World, He rested. Thereafter, He created man and then rested again. But the turning point in even God’s life came when He created the woman. After that neither God, nor man rested!! (Some intelligent dude furthered this story by adding that God was smart enough to create ‘Shopping’ after this so that both He and man could get some rest!!)
So my dear folks, the assured way to be happy is to let your wife be the boss (and it’s not as if she isn’t already!). If she is kind enough, she will allow you to say that ‘You’ are the boss and you can enjoy this liberty as long as you keep her happy. And now if you ask me how to keep her happy, I have another secret coming your way. I shall reveal the same to you for the benefit of mankind and it goes thus: ‘To keep a woman happy, you must love her a lot and never ever try to understand her’. An off-the-track suggestion for the woman out there “To keep a man happy, you must love him little but understand a lot.”
Coming back to the point of the quote, it drives home the essence of the lives of married men that no matter how authoritative you are outside your home, it’s the woman who rules the roost at home! The reason simply being that she is the one with the unfathomable mind! This reminds me of a parable about an old sage who was once asked by one of his followers “Oh Master, how should I to lead a life that brings lasting happiness to my better half, my soul mate?” The sage nodded as if in deep thought, then looked up to the disciple and uttered just one line: “If I had known the answer to this eternal question, do you think I would have been in this place today?”
The story does not end here; some proclaim that even God has never got a complete insight into the mind of the woman though he was the one who created her. It’s said that after He created the World, He rested. Thereafter, He created man and then rested again. But the turning point in even God’s life came when He created the woman. After that neither God, nor man rested!! (Some intelligent dude furthered this story by adding that God was smart enough to create ‘Shopping’ after this so that both He and man could get some rest!!)
So my dear folks, the assured way to be happy is to let your wife be the boss (and it’s not as if she isn’t already!). If she is kind enough, she will allow you to say that ‘You’ are the boss and you can enjoy this liberty as long as you keep her happy. And now if you ask me how to keep her happy, I have another secret coming your way. I shall reveal the same to you for the benefit of mankind and it goes thus: ‘To keep a woman happy, you must love her a lot and never ever try to understand her’. An off-the-track suggestion for the woman out there “To keep a man happy, you must love him little but understand a lot.”
Friday, February 8, 2008
Precious times ahead!
This morning I saw an old couple get into the bus I take to work everyday. Nothing unusual about this…all kinds of people come and go…nevertheless there was something about them that kept me looking at them. Each of these two got a place to sit in different areas of the bus. As soon as the old man's neighboring seat got empty, he called out to his wife and got up for her to be seated besides him close to the window. She smiled, sat down besides him and they traveled the rest of the journey without saying a word. Both of them kept looking out of the window without saying anything, yet they were so comfortable in the presence of each other. They must be 70+ I guess and I assume they must have been married for at least 40-45 years + going by the standards of marriage in India at that time.
I was so pleased to see them together even though I didn't know them and had never seen them before either. It was just that I could feel the pleasure of being with someone who cares for you, who loves you and who has been with you for so many years - all through the ups and downs of everyday lives!
I wish u cared enough for me like this…I treasure every moment spent with you and don’t feel like losing a single one but you are too pre-occupied with work to notice my presence at all, at times. May be you will notice my absence one day when I'll be gone! I don’t blame you for all this but I don’t seem to understand that if I can manage my work and yet be with you every moment, why can't you? Am I expecting too much from you? If yes, I don’t mean to pressurize you in any way…I will try to go on with my work and not expect anything from you! Maybe this will make things easier for you as well as me. It will need a mountain of an effort from me simply because I love you so much…but I am willing to try. Just for the sake of seeing both of us together one day….years later…just like the old couple I saw this morning in the bus I take to work!
I was so pleased to see them together even though I didn't know them and had never seen them before either. It was just that I could feel the pleasure of being with someone who cares for you, who loves you and who has been with you for so many years - all through the ups and downs of everyday lives!
I wish u cared enough for me like this…I treasure every moment spent with you and don’t feel like losing a single one but you are too pre-occupied with work to notice my presence at all, at times. May be you will notice my absence one day when I'll be gone! I don’t blame you for all this but I don’t seem to understand that if I can manage my work and yet be with you every moment, why can't you? Am I expecting too much from you? If yes, I don’t mean to pressurize you in any way…I will try to go on with my work and not expect anything from you! Maybe this will make things easier for you as well as me. It will need a mountain of an effort from me simply because I love you so much…but I am willing to try. Just for the sake of seeing both of us together one day….years later…just like the old couple I saw this morning in the bus I take to work!
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