Rare weather, coming home and corn on the cob

1. The weather in Nagpur is perfect right now - its cloudy, pleasant and breezy. Grandma and I sit on the swing on the terrace, gently rocking and chatting about nothing in particular. I'm happy to let her ramble on, telling me about the new neighbours and the birds that visit her bird bath and the flowers. Its a lovely morning.
2. After lunch, I plant myself on my mom n dad's bed, fighting for space with dad. It's good to laze around, doing nothing, being the kid and getting pampered. This is what I came home for - for what else is recuperation?
3. The best bhutta in the world can be had at the stalls outside VNIT's gates. The one's available in Pune seem rather poor fare, with their garnishing of salt and lemon juice. Here, there's butter and green chilly chutney (the kind that makes you go sssssssssssssss) to go along with it. Seriously, no one makes corn on the cob the way these guys do. We even got one home for grandma, and can you believe it, she ate it! She's 90!

Green morning, hot shower and roommate

1. In the morning, standing in the balcony and letting my eyes drink in the greenery. The part of the yard that we can see from both our balconies is currently densely coloured with many greens, and standing there, it seems like our private little garden. I often just sit there, staring out, doing nothing. The morning does not afford me that luxury, but the even the couple of minutes that it does are a good way to start the day.
2. On a rainy day, a hot shower after a sweaty aerobics session. I stand interminably under the running water, soaking in the warmth.
3. A roommate who will cook dinner when I'm feeling a little below weather.

No flooding, picnic weather and computer

1. The drain pipe below the kitchen sink has been leaking heavily for the last few days. All our efforts to get a plumber to fix it have been in vain. Today we come home from work to find a new pipe in it's place. The maid has found a plumber.
2. The weather has been amazing all day today. It's the typical Pune weather. Cool breeze, cloudy sky and a drizzle at times. I want to go for a picnic!
3. My computer is getting repaired.

Twice lucky, Showers and Discipline

1. Two good hair days in a row! I can't believe my luck. That too when it has rained in the evening. Oh wait, that's the second BT.
2. It has rained in the evening. Everyone has been waiting for the monsoons, hoping for rain which has been playing truant for almost a fortnight now. It has stopped raining now, but the air has a lovely wet smell to it.
3. I had somehow managed to lose most of the editing I did for a chapter of S's book and was procastinating in the rework. After avoiding it for a whole week ( it was work now, not play!) I finally sit down and finish it today. It feels good now, because now I can pick up the next chapter and the fun can begin once again.

That's it, A new lease on life and Sleepy

1. There's a lot of work to be done, and I'm working under bit of a pressure to get through the tasks list. I haven't really had time to look at the last item on the list, and have mentally allocated a couple of hours in the evening to it. I start working on it, and it's done in half an hour. Sweet surprise.
2. I had given up the rose plant as dead even after Gullu and I had worked a bit on adding new soil to the pot, trimming away the dried branches etc. Without much hope, I had continued to water it for nearly 10 days, when it started showing signs of life. Today there are a few tender leaves sprouting hesitantly.
3. After having slept badly for the last two nights, it seems almost a blessing that I'm yawning right now and my eyes are heavy with sleep.

Kulfi, grape juice and night air

1. Our Kabbalat Shabbat (a Jewish ceremony to welcome Shabbat, which we follow because our company is based out of Israel, but which we have modified to suit the friday mood to eat good food and have some fun with colleagues) gets cancelled, so there are no yummy friday afternoon treats. Or so we think. Another team has plenty of kulfi left from their Kabbalat Shabbath, which they come to share. The taste of the pistachio flavoured kulfi lingers on my mouth for some time.
2. Fresh grape juice. The sweetness is just right and the usual astringent taste is somewhat suppressed, creating a most satisfactory (and of course, healthy) drink.
3. Finally there's enough of a nip in the air to wear a jacket while walking outside at night. The cool clean night air is the kind that makes one want to keep walking. The tip of my nose and my cheeks tingle a little.

Waiting for the rain, all for me and company for dinner

1. As I walk in Magarpatta late in the evening, there's a smell of rain on the wind. The wind comes in gentle gusts, but there's an urgency about it which makes you want to walk briskly, though not necessarily to get to a shelter.
2. The gym is quite empty, so I don't have to wait for my turn.
3. Its too late to cook and I'm wondering what to do for dinner when I find out that Sriharsha and Tejas are going out. I join them and find that Vishal and Sachin are joining too. What might've been a hasty, lonely dinner turns into a fun meal with good food (except the paneer... that was horrid!) and much laughter.

Shy, no mouse in the house and fine writing instruments

Internet woes continue. But that doesn't mean beautiful things have stopped happening!

1. I wake up and still sleepy eyed, open the balcony doors. The first thing I see is a brand new shy little rose bud, still very tiny and still very green.
2. The mouse that has been scaring me has been gotten rid of and I can go into the bathroom without my nerves being on the edge.
3. Jui wants to buy a pen for Papa, so both of us start searching the net for one that's worthy of being held in his hands. I like the way the sites use the term 'fine writing instrument' rather than the mundane 'pen', instantly upping the glamour quotient attached to it.

Tender, tonic for the soul and pretty change

1. The rose plant has tender new leaves - all shiny and reddish purple - evidence that the plant has accepted its new home and is taking root.
2. Its been a long, tiring day. As I set out for home, I'm moving and driving solely on will. As if on cue, all the radio channels start playing beautiful songs. There's something of a tonic in the music and when I reach home, I'm feeling much better.
3. I remember a friend who used to be a tom-boy in school. She's changed so drastically since she got married. Every time she posts new pictures on Orkut I'm freshly (and pleasantly) surprised. I see a pretty, feminine girl looking back at me from the photographs.

For Addy, coffee with the breeze and hard work

1. After many days, I catch Aaoge Jab Tum on radio... And instantly, I think of Addy. She had been asking me about my favourite contemporary hindi music, and I had somehow missed this one. So Addy, this one's for you. About the song... well, just listen to it!
2. Dipti and I carry our coffee mugs outside to the portico, for the afternoon break. Its a cloudy day with a gentle breeze, and we are both so pleased to be out in the open that we laugh easily, forgetting the closed office and the heap loads of work.
3. When I check my watch, I find that the yoga session has actually lasted less than the alloted hour, but I'm feeling as if I've been through one gruelling length of time. Its hard work!

For the flowers, security and joie de vivre

1. Red roses sit pretty in my new vase... Now I can finally start buying flowers on an impulse - earlier, there was no vase to put them in, so all the charm of buying flowers would vanish once I'd get them home...
2. It rains through the day, slowly, soothingly and almost continuously... pausing only once in a while to allow people to scramble along from one place to another during the breathers. Me, I don't care. My car keeps me dry and safe.
3. Visiting Suresh Kaka. Kaka and kaku always make me feel so welcome. And Bharti kaku is a great one for conversation, such an enthusiastic person with so many stories to tell. I often think that I'll consider myself to have led a successful life, if when I'm her age, I retain as much joie de vivre.

Saturday, rain and old friend

1. Reaching saturday after a long and exhausting week. I thought it'd never come. I sleep in till almost 11 a.m...
2. Sitting in the balcony with a hot mug of tea watching the rain... There's something strangely tranquil about watching rain... I wonder why
3. Meeting Shenoy... he's changed so much after marriage... but it is good to sit down and talk and gossip... and discover its still just as easy to talk to him even though I now don't see him for weeks at a stretch...

Pearls, love letters and hug and a kiss

My internet connection has been been acting strange all past week, and has refused to open blogger... Fate smiles on me again today, and I can get back to 3BTing.

1. The pre-monsoon weather in Pune. The sun barely peeps out of the clouds... there's a cool breeze at all times and is at times accompanied by a light drizzle, which doesn't quite succeed in doing much more than placing tiny glistening pearls on my hair...
2. Reading 'Other People's Love Letters'... it spreads a warmth through me.
3. Getting an unexpected hug and a fond kiss on the cheek

Catalyst, first blessing and uncivilized

1. Its a normal work-day. The clock creeps to 5 p.m. like it does everyday. Everyone is going about his or her work like usual. And then someone says, "Hey! Its raining!" Its hard to explain the kind of galvanizing effect this one statement has on everyone. People keep going to out for walks (let's go watch the rain) or running to the window. There's a palpable change in the mood of the moment.


2. We go out to enjoy the changed weather. It's suddenly turned quite chilly and there are strong gusts of wind. There's been a shower before, and though it's not raining at the moment, the air is wet and smells divine. After struggling for a while, I finally give up and let my hair fly higgelldy piggeldy...


3. After dinner I bite into one of the large juicy alphonso mangoes I bought yesterday. Its a messy job, becuase I refuse to eat it in a civilized way cutting it with a knife... I just peel off the skin by tearing it off, and bite into the whole ripe fruit... believe me, there isn't a more satisfying way of eating a mango that this... and I'm going to do it everyday for 5 more days! yay!

Blessed, for me and clean

1. I get to see one of God's stunning sunrises - I'm atop Lohgad, standing in the midst of drifting mists, getting chilled to the the bone by the cold wet breeze, but I can't move, the view in front of me is so magnificent. The sun barely comes out of the clouds, but makes its presence felt by the various spotlights it focusses on the valley below. There is an everchanging play of shadow and light and enchanting sunrise colours... I just stand there, feeling blessed.
2. While walking back, I'm the last person trudging along, and at one point of time, I plop down on a rock, because my legs just hurt too much. The others move on, and for a few minutes, I'm alone in my microcosm. Its a bright fresh morning, I'm the only person in the valley. The gentle breeze and the birdsongs are mine alone... (until someone pops right back in to check why I'm not moving, and I get up to resume my trudge)
3. Taking a long shower to wash off all the filth and then falling asleep almost immediately....

Picture perfect, first snow and new me

1. The magnificent landscapes in Israel. The vivid colours, the greenery, the neat and tidy farms, the mountains, the stately roads... they're all very impressive. We travel about 550 kms today, and for the entire journey, the view is a treat to the eyes.
2. Seeing snow for the first time in my life. Okay, I had expected something more awe-inspiring... but we only got the last of the snow at Golan Heights. But nevertheless, there's something to it when you see snow for the first time in your life.
3. Tanmoy wants to know how it is possible that I can 'tolerate' people these days, and not get frustrated of having to spend time with strangers... it's strange, really! I used to be so reticent about mixing with people I haven't known for ever, that this 'new' me who can interact with strangers and have fun in the process is quite nice to be!

Breakfast adventures, rainbow at my feet and war!

1. Kris tells me there's one last idli left, if I fancy it, for breakfast. I do, so I rush to the pantry, to find it gone. To top it, both the vending machines are out of coffee. Disheartened, I settle for an apple, while Dharana goes exploring. Moments later, she returns with one idli on a paper plate with chutney on the side...
2. In front of Tower 2, on the podium, loads of petunia shrubs are in flower, bordering the lawns... the riot of colours looks like a rainbow at my feet.
3. 'Drama Queen' and 'High priestess of emotional blackmail' are two epithets bestowed upon me by Shenoy. You do realize this is nothing short of a declaration of war, don't you Shenoy? No mercy will be shown hence forth.

Lazy, cool and steam

1. An easy, relaxed day at work. At my first weekly status meeting with the new team, everyone seems a lot more interested in discussing when and where to have a dinner party than anything else...
2. As I leave for home, I'm greeted by a cool fresh evening, which promises a pleasant drive. My first thought as a I step out into the open is a smile.
3. I vent out steam about something that has been bothering me and feel a lot better.

Small wonder, I the likes and sue them!

1. In one of the potted house plants at my work place, a small shoot has found its way above the soil, just beside the plant's main stem. I see it every time I go to the pantry for a cup of coffee. I somehow have missed checking on it since I came back from the weekend, and today when I see it again, I realize that the little thing has grown almost a couple of inches in four days.
2. I call up Shenoy to check when he's getting back. Turns out he's having lunch with his fiancee. When I say a hello to her, she comes on the phone, and for the first time, in what I hope will be a long and fulfilling friendship, we talk. She has a lovely voice and seems like a very easy person to like. Shenoy, I the likes. I the approves.
3. Poor Dharana is over-worked. No, this is not a good thing. But when I point out that making the baby of the team work so hard amounts to child labour, everyone agrees. We try to make a list of people who should be sued for perpetrating this crime.

And after many months of procrastination, I've finally posted on Rant Factory.

Double dose, delivery, gender inequality, magician on sarod, revival and sea-food

1. Coming to the end of a day, thinking how wonderful it has been and how lucky I've felt each moment to have been given the gift of this day. Its been such a perfect day, nothing could mar it now, and it calls for a double dose of 3BTs :-). I'm happy today!
2. A box of Ferrero Rochers that arrives at my door in the morning. Its quite unexpected, but very welcome and much appreciated.


3. I go the the Times' office to collect the free passes they are giving out for the concert in the evening. I'm handed one pass, and I ask for another, 'coz Dadu is coming with me too. Another pass is promptly handed to me. But I see that one pass admits two, so I hand back the second one, and move away. While I'm still close to the counter and am fumbling with one of the various bags in my hands, a guy, who's perhaps in his late thirties, walks in. He asks for two passes too, and is told that the passes are free, so one person can claim only one! Well... being a girl should have some advantages! hee hee... :-)


4. Sitting beneath the stars, with an almost full moon shining down bright and a cool gentle breeze, and listening to Ustad Amjad Ali Khan on the sarod. He's a maestro par excellence who gauges the mood and level of his audience perfectly and regales us with such a rich variety of music that we're left spell-bound...
5. An old friendship, that I had feared lost, is revived. Its a blessing I hadn't hoped for.
6. An absolutely scrumptilicious sea-food dinner at Mahesh Lunch Home. The Chilly-pepper prawns and the Manglorean fish curry with coconut milk gravy were both finger-licking yummy.