Bathroom Singer, strange feelings and company

1. In the flat adjoining mine, stay a couple of girls, one of whom is a bathroom singer. The ventilators of our respective bathrooms open on walls that are perpendicular to each other and if I happen to be using my bathroom while she is in hers, I can hear her singing loudly (and mostly off-key). She sings with gusto and abandon, and I can't help but chuckle...
2. Its a monday morning, but I reach office feeling surprisingly fresh. Dharana agrees and says she really feels like doing some work. With some amount of incredulity, I realise that so do I! This must be a first!
3. When I've started feeling like I finally won't have company to attend the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival, I suddenly find out that Dipti will be attending with her family. Now I can go too :-)

Higgeldy-piggeldy, creation and blessed technology

1. Aditi's curls. They're all higgeldy-piggeldy and toss around crazily when she jumps and runs, which she constantly does.
2. There is immense satisfaction in creating something. I have a whole afternoon stretching ahead of me with nothing to do. On a whim, I sit down to paint a watercolour. The result is a sunflower against a grassy field and a blue sky. I think it's rather nice... I just love the translucent and soft quality that watercolours have...
3. Technology. Once I'm done with the painting, I badly want to show it to someone, but ofcourse I'm alone at home... but there's my DSLR which will take a very faithful picture of the watercolour, and there's the internet. Out goes an email to my parents, and they see it right away...

Chai, grown-up and I won't sleep

1. A hot cup of tea. I wake up late and the maid comes early. Its a happy coincidence because now she makes the tea. The ingredients are same, but for some reason the tea she makes is always so much better than mine... The aroma of ginger is very refreshing.
2. Being treated like an adult by my uncles and aunts and given my space.
3. Aditi, who's 3, and very very sleepy, refuses to go to sleep because she wants to be awake with everyone else. So she sits on the bed, refusing to lie down lest she fall asleep, her eyelids drooping, her head giving in to the temptation of gravity, waiting for her mom to come and tuck her in.

Companion, winter and Tum Se Hi...

1. Having a friend with whom you can just sit and listen to music and chat about random things... with whom you can be comfortable and just be yourself.
2. Winter's here. The temperature gone to 8.6 degrees and its definitely chilly. This means I can get all my sweaters out now. I like winters - there's a lot of good vegetables in the market, the cold whet's one's appetite and hot meals are a pleasure, one doesn't tire as easily... and even when not tired, falling asleep is easy, once ensconsed in a warm quit...
3. Tum Se Hi. I've been listening to it over and over and just can't get enough of it...

Ugly Duckling, medusa subdued and coterie

1. I wear that new Fab India kurta I had bought a few weeks ago, and with the dupatta, it looks simply classy. Pallavi tells me so. And then an ex-colleague writes to say among other things, that he admires my 'graceful arrogance'. To be very honest, the word graceful pleases me, even though its attached to arrogance. I've always had the adjective clumsy attached to me. Indeed, I am an extremely clumsy person... so where did this come from?
2. Finishing the coding for a piece of work that I seemingly had on my hand for ages and ages. The testing still remains, but at least the remaining work seems managable...
3. On a day when I've felt very alone, I come home to discover that I'm considered part of a coterie. And there's someone encouraging me as well... Thanks Joe! Thanks Clare!

A boggled mind, a fab job and a pure note

1. The crazy rush of adrenalin caused by the anticipation of imminent travel. Will I get my visa? When will I fly? What places should I visit? Who all will I be able to meet? Will I see snow? Will I really go?
2. Pallavi has landed a job on Day 0 of her campus placement. She's yelling on the phone like a mad-woman, with excitement. And I'm yelling too... we're both super-excited!
3. It's Dipti's birthday. At the small celebration we have for her at work, we all holler for a song. She finally obliges and sings Hothon se chhoo lo tum. Her notes are pure and everyone listens in a hushed silence... She sings softly, but her voice fills the space...

Simple pleasures, safe from temptations and ergonomics

1. After many many days, I sleep in on a sunday morning. And for the first time this week, I get fresh hot home-cooked food. There are fewer pleasures in life that equal the satisfaction of eating a full, well cooked meal on a sunday afternoon.
2. Going for a long walk in the chilly evening air, and popping into random shops, checking out stuff on a whim. I'm safe from any temptations, because I'm not carrying my wallet - just some change in my pocket, which won't get me anything, anyway.
3. The hard keyboard has been replaced by one with soft keys... typing is a pleasure once more - my fingers no longer hurt when I use the home PC.

First Birthday!! Movie buff, Bollywood junkies and tasty

It's 'Life Ain't THAT bad..!'s first birthday today. We're ONE! Happy birthday!

1. Watching Om Shanti Om. Wow! Its the perfect masala movie. Awesome to see the audience respond. And then at night, Nisha and I rent Perfect Strangers. Good to have company to watch movies at home too.
2. Shenoy and I admit, first with some guilt and then with some pride that we've both turned into Bollywood junkies. We're constantly discussing bollywood gossip, listening to or humming hindi film songs and of course, watching movies. Aiding us in our latest obsession is The Bombay Bitch.
3. Having a corn grilled sandwich at Sidewalk Cafe.

Refreshing, banished and comedian

1. Aditi. She's full of surprises and quirks at all times. And we think alike and react similarly to most things. Talking to her always leaves me feeling like one does after having a hot and strong cup of coffee.
2. The rush of excitement caused by an unexpected good news chases away a headache that has lasted me the whole day... a clear head suddenly seems so good.
3. Having a cup of coffee with Kris and listening to his nonsense. Thinking out of the box is second nature to him... no, actually, I believe he has trouble thinking inside it! The man should seriously consider an alterntive profession as a stand-up comedian. He has me in splits all the time - his timing is just spot on.

Morning air, good at his job and chocolatey

1. Going to office early. There's a chill in the air still, and the sun is still very soft... But the best part is that the traffic is still not heavy and the heavy dust and pollution have not yet risen. So driving is a pleasure.
2. Attending a training session where the trainer knows his stuff inside out. Not once do I feel bored. And this has nothing to with the fact that the trainer is handsome.
3. Chocolate sandwich. The guy at the sandwich corner makes the most delicious chocolate sandwiches - there's cheese and butter and a very rich chocolate paste in it, which just makes it too heavenly to resist...

Family time, stars in her eyes and food in her tummy

1. After lunch, we all sit together, chatting, joking, laughing, making garlands for decorating the house... Jui keeps hunting for a good Ganesh picture for the rangoli design... Ananya is busy doing silly things. Papa is pulling everyone's leg. Aaji won't stop giving instructions. Its family time on Diwali... Wish you all a happy diwali too! Hope you're all basking in the warmth of your family's closeness.
2. Watching the fireworks from the terrace. There are so many, I never know which way to look! In all directions, gold coins are splattered across the sky and the boom boom reverberates across the city. Ananya's eyes go round in wonder and gasps and claps in glee when a brilliant shower of sparkles brightens the sky...
3. Ananya decides to have dinner with us, and I end up feeding her. She runs around, jumps, and does all sorts of gymnastics between morsels and I have to keep inventing weird stories to catch her attention, so that she'll stay still for a minute and take a bite.. but we manage to finish the whole plate without any tears being shed or any tantrums being thrown!

Curls, long time no see and vrooom

1. Having a good hair day... my new hair cut has finally settled down after 3 or 4 washes, and it it now naturally falls in place. I just love the way my hair curls - no rollers needed for me, its a natural wave... and my hair is so much more manageable and soft - the water here in Nagpur definitely makes a difference in as little as two washes! (OMG! I sound like a shampoo commercial!)
2. Meeting Ajay and Uma after a gap of eight years.. it feels strange and nice at the same time... they're both so American and so sweet and eager!
3. I'm getting a car next month... and I can't wait for next month to arrive!

Ananya, my toys and beautiful eyes

1. Most of my day has been taken up in running around doing stuff, never pausing, except when playing with Ananya... She's a quiet child who likes her space. The more you leave her alone and give her time to get comfortable, the more she's willing to open up to you...
2. All my old toys and games which have been carefully stowed away are brought out for any little children that visit. After dinner, we sit and construct 'my dream house' from a kit I had as a child. Ananya is super-awed, and asks if the house will have enough space for her mummy... She's happy when I assure her that it will...
3. I like looking at Ananya's lovely wide eyes and her long eye-lashes...

Being horrid, relaxation and same pinch

1. Finding a perfectly horrid piece of doggerel that we had written as children, about a girl who we teased mercilessly... I simply laughed my head off when I read it... it was marvellous!
2. Getting a facial done... the one hour is utter relaxation...
3. Chatting with Aditi... we always love the same kind of books and always react the same way to imaginary situations :-)

One up, moisturised and driving lesson

1. Nagpur has two new FM channels. That's one more than Pune... yay yay!
2. The weather here is nice. Nice for my skin, that is. My skin isn't getting all scratchy and itchy because of the dryness... which is actually quite surprising, because this time of the year, there's usually a very dry chill in the air in these parts. But a couple of days of rains have ensured a very comfortable amount of moisture in the air.
3. My first driving lesson! Papa lets me take the car on the road, and I even drive my way through a traffic signal... not as effortless as I'd hoped, but better than I'd expected!

Home, my bed and whole week

1. Home. And Mom. And Dad. And Aaji.
2. The deep sleep I slip into, in my old bed at home, after lunch... I sleep so tight, that when I wake up, for a moment, I'm quite surprised to wake up at home.
3. Looking forward to a whole week of being home. Oh sighhh...

A different sun, familiar face and misery's company

1. The sun has changed. The harsh october sun is gone, and in its place, we find a soothing, mild and gently warming november sun that doesn't burn.
2. Lost in thought, I walk from the pantry with a cup of coffee towards my desk. As I pass a group of guys, someone taps me on my head. Perplexed and a little annoyed at being disturbed out of my reverie, I turn towards the perpetrator of the action, and find myself staring into a very familiar face, one that hasn't been seen around here for a few months now (4, I'm later told). Digant is standing there grinning his boyish grin, and everyone, of course, has gathered around to talk to him...
3. Finding out that someone else has internet woes (and that too with a different service provider than mine) and hearing him blast the internet guys on the phone. Wellll... misery loves company, doesn't it? But right now, my internet is workin, touch wood!

P.S. After a long time, there are a few pics up at Trigger Happy... Take a look!