Thursday, November 30, 2006

First breath, anticipation and dance of abandon

  1. Writing my first ever Haiku.... its hard hard work... tedious and engrossing, and while I've only succeeded in writing a very ordinary one, I'm as pleased as a cat that has swallowed a jug full of cream and is now basking in the sun :-)
  2. I keep visualising this sun flower that I want to paint, and I keep planning what colours I'll use and how the liquid feel of the water colours will make my sun flower pretty... last night, when I was reading something, I suddenly felt the need to make a sketch of the flower, so that when I started to paint, I'd know exactly what would come where, and for once, I followed the urge... I went to bed dreaming about the sun flower...
  3. The figurine of a naked girl dancing, that I saw at a home decor shop... Its a happy dance, and she looks ready to take off into the sky, if only she had wings... her body is taut and graceful like a powerful bird's and arched, bending backwards, as if to meet the sun and the wind full on... and her posture has a fluid abandon to it. (I have a picture on my cell phone, but unfortunately, no way to post it here..)

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Study, nurturing life and corn-flakes

  1. Finally finding the will to get back to my books... Good to study with a purpose.
  2. Listening to Jeevan and waking up instead of falling asleep.... I switched on the music and went to bed, thinking I'll fall asleep listening to it. But the exact reverse happened... Jeevan is not meant to lull a tired soul to sleep, but to energize it and arouse the spirit...
  3. The delicious smell of warm milk on corn-flakes... mmmmmmmmmmm...

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Luxury, just in time and cat nap

Back to the present :-)

  1. Sleeping in late.... there's a certain luxury attached to sleeping in on a Monday morning :-)
  2. There was some snag from the cable operator's end, and there was no TV for the entire evening... But they started transmission just in time for Nach Baliye.. so I didn't miss it after all!
  3. Falling asleep in the bean bag, and waking up feeling rested... had been feeling very tired through the day, but by the time I got ready for bed, I wasn't feeling quite so low... went to bed feeling content...

Baby's day out, breeze and shoulder

Sunday, 26th Nov '06

  1. We visited Mumbai's Fort area - sat there in a pub called 'Cafe Leopold' which is a quaint little place, full of tourists. Then Saumya and I decided to go footpath shopping alon Colaba Causeway for a bit - picked up a few bargains. I got myself a couple of stylish stoles and a silk scarf... can't wait to wear them! We then headed towards the Gateway of India and took the steamer ride (the view of the Mumbai skyline when seen from off the shore is breath-takingly handsome...) Needless to mention, there was plenty of fun involved, with a lot of laughing and teasing and running around... Baby's day out in the town!
  2. Sea breeze that runs through my hair... the feeling of space that one gets while on the sea is incredible, even while you're still very close to shore. I always feel like laughing out loud with joy when I'm near the sea..
  3. Having a shoulder to fall asleep on, during the bus ride back to Pune...

First bicycle, swords & maces and tonic

Saturday, 25th Nov '06

  1. My neice Isha, who had her 6th birthday this saturday, got a brand new bicycle. Its a pretty little thing - purple and pink, with a nifty little basket in the front, a (shrill) bell, and of course, the inevitable side wheels that go with every first bicycle... :-)... Isha is a little dramatist, and she was excited and scared of climbing it, and managed to create quite a fuss about it! Her father finally took her downstairs to try it out - and when she came back, she wouldn't stop riding it even inside the house :-)
  2. Running around on Juhu beach with a toy sword and a toy mace in our hands, George, Tanmoy and I had quite a bit a juvenile fun... and of course, a visit to the beach in the evening is incomplete without chaat and ice-golas!
  3. Spending time with friends, doing nothing... its a tonic of the highest order.

Monday, November 27, 2006

On her own, Tere Bin and karaoke

Friday, 24th Nov '06

  1. My aunt and I brought Ananya home from the creche, and oh boy! Was she happy at seeing us! Ananya and I played in the park for a while (played = got our clothes dirty sitting in the sandbox while Ananya fussed around with little plastic spades and rakes and the dumper truck). But I think the best part was teaching her to swing by herself on the swings - the look of wonder and pride when she finally managed it on her own was priceless!
  2. 'Tere Bin..' by Atif, the Pakistani singer. The song is sooooo soulful, you have to drop everything you're doing and just listen, everytime its aired on radio or TV! (I had just gone in for a bath - put on my clothes again and came out to listen... :-) )
  3. Watching Ananya karaoke to nursery rhymes... albeit without the karaoke system!

Little Chatterbox, interiors and a lazy day

Thursday 23rd Nov '06

  1. When Sangeeta brought Ananya home from the creche, she came to me, shy at first, and then got a little bolder and started talking... and how we talked! It was pleasantly surprising that though we hadn't met since August, she hadn't forgotten me. Ananya is a chatterbox and can talk a donkey's hind legs off! Its difficult to believe that at 2 yrs 8 months, she can talk on such a comprehensive range of stuff. And her sweet voice and baby talk is music to ears that are only used to hearing adult voices....
  2. My brother's new apartment. The housing complex is pretty and the house prettier. The interiors have been done up very tastefully - the designs are clean and minimalistic in mahogany colour, the bathrooms are what can only be called 'glamour rooms', the modular kitchen is a dream! Sighhhhhhh... when will I have a house like that?
  3. Had a lazy day at home with my uncle and aunt, while my brother and his wife Sangeeta went to work... My aunt pampers me (at times even more than my mum does when I go home) and we shared a lovely afternoon, roaming around in the market for a while and chatting away!

Exclusivity, expressway and reaching home

I'm just back from an extended weekend in Mumbai, having met family and friends... And every moment has been beautiful! Wasn't able to post my 3BT's while there, but noted them never the less... :-) Here are a few pre-dated 3BTs - a post for each day!

Wednesday, 22nd Nov '06
  1. Driving down to Mumbai from Pune with my brother. It is so rare to have him to to myself for such a long interval of time... there's always someone else around! We talked and laughed and cringed at the horrible songs the driver was playing... It was like when I was a kid :-), with my big brother to take care of me, while I worried about nothing...
  2. The Mumbai-Pune Expressway... Its an engineering marvel. We reached Mumbai in less that 3 hours, and the drive, as always, was glorious.
  3. Bro and I reached home pretty late, but everyone had stayed up to meet us... And then there was a rush to talk to everyone, with plenty of 'Shhh.. talk low, you'll wake the baby!'.. Lots of news to be exchanged and observations to be made!

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Water colours, massage and chill in the air

  1. Tried my hand at water colour painting after eons... took quite a bit of courage to touch brush to paper, 'coz my hand just wouldn't stay steady. But I finally did, and after a couple of hours, the end result was pleasantly surprising :-)... I just love the liquid, translucent quality of water colours on paper... they're so soft to the eye...
  2. Finally found the time and the inclination to listen to the CD of Pt. Rajan - Sajan Mishra's vocals.. Its a one hour recital of raga Jaijaiwanti, and all you need to do is dim the lights, sink into the bean bag, close your eyes and listen... and when you come out of the trance, you feel like someone's given your senses a massage...
  3. Its getting a little chilly... winter's coming... I love winters - your appetite is whetted, the air is crisp, and its nice to be in a warm bed..

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

No loss, automatic feet and couch potato

  1. Couldn't find my credit card, and panicked, for I couldn't remember having seen it after wednesday. Searched the whole house, finally called up the bank to report the loss.... My knees went weak with relief, when I found that there had been no fraud... there IS a God!
  2. Every afternoon, as I walk into the cafetaria, I'm greeted by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee... and my feet automatically gravitate towards the coffee vendor
  3. Watching my favourite TV shows back to back - Full House, F.R.I.E.N.D.S., Cheers, Sienfeld, My Wife and Kids, Nach Baliye... talk about beating monday blues :-)

Monday, November 20, 2006

Multiplication, chicken and friends in love

  1. A very dear friend Aparna is now a contributor to this blog. I'm so very thrilled at having her on board. Her presence promises a much more colourful blog and many moments of joy, for together, we can mutiply beauty by 2!
  2. Home cooked chicken curry.... mmmmmmmm... I'd missed it so much! Ate like a glutton. So much so, that I couldn't keep my eyes open post-lunch and had to take the sunday afternoon siesta... could a sunday afternoon possibly be any better?!
  3. Bumped into an old friend, after having tried to plan a get-together for many months... He was with his fiancee who I was meeting for the first time. Both of them looked very much in love :-).... and its always so heart warming to be in the presence of love...

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Tring Tring, Jagjit and serenades

Quickies today...

  1. Phone calls that last forever and leave you smiling for a long time.
  2. 'Babul Mora...' by Jagjit Singh. I had no idea that Jagjit Singh sang Hindustani classical quite so well, even though he is the undisputed Gazal maestro... aaaahhh... Babul Mora is bliss...
  3. Having someone sing for you.. Aunty had been waiting for me to turn up, so she could sing the songs she'd been practicing. Got to hear a few Gazals I hadn't heard before..

Friday, November 17, 2006

Flood, fancy dress and long walk

Clare has inaugurated my blog by writing the first ever comment on it... yay! yay! Thanks a tonne, Clare!

  1. When you start looking out for beauty, the world miraculously becomes beautiful. I had wondered if at all I'd be able to find three beautiful things a day, but I found so many today, that I'm not even going to be able to remember them all! But I found a lot of smiles hidden in unlikely places today, and while I'm only going to record three, it's been a beautiful day. I know I'm overdoing it, posting twice on the first day itself. I'm lauging at my own silliness, but I'm overwhelmed by the flood of beauty, and am letting the current carry me.
  2. While driving back home from work, I saw a little girl dressed up in a bright yellow lugda (the traditional maharashtrian dress), her hair done up in a bun, and a pretty shawl draped around her shoulders... brought back memories of fancy dress parties I'd attended as a kid. I'd worn a similar dress once, but I was a door-to-door fruit seller, while this little girl seemed all set to be a member of royalty, judging from the richness of her costume.
  3. Took a loooong walk in my favourite neighbourhood. I absolutely love the bunglows there. I keep fantasizing about building my own bunglow some day. And its good to walk alone and get some time to think by yourself.

Closure, wedding gift and second honeymoon

  1. While having lunch with the girls at office today, one of them asked me when I fixing the date for my wedding. Took a deeeeeep breath, and told them we'd called off the engagement. The inevitable looks of utter surprise and the 'why' followed. Fortunately, 'there were some issues' sufficed... aaaahh... what a relief! Now I no longer have to worry about anyone popping 'the question', because I just found out it is not that difficult to handle, after all!
  2. Had sent a wedding gift to a friend, whose wedding I'd been unable to attend. She called up today (sounding pleased and surprised at receiving the gift and very happy at being married to the man she loves) to tell me she loved it... and so did her in-laws.. he he!
  3. Mom and dad finally decided to take that long-awaited and much-needed vacation this december itself. Yesterday, it had looked like it was too late to book the tickets in the holiday season, but now it does seem like we might just pull it off... Cheers to their second honeymoon!!