After a long hiatus, I’m back to my world again! (Been so long, I almost stopped to think what my password was).

It’s been a whole new chapter. As a good friend of mine put it, ‘College ends. Life begins.’ Outside the protective portals of my alma mater, I find it’s a whole new world out there.

New people, new experiences, new titles, new challenges. The one common thread that binds them all to me is new learning. I’m not trying to be philosophical here, but somehow a lot of paradigms change when you experience something new. The texture of your life changes in a certain way.

Earlier, when I was hassled or frustrated with the curve balls thrown at me, I’d say ‘Why me?’. But now, I somehow feel a little older. and wiser. I wonder why anyone would want to run away from those curve balls. How would you know how to bat, when life threw you a bigger googly? These little obstacles in the way, I realize are practice matches at the net, where you’re preparing for the finals.

Rain upsets my perfect outing. Someone tells me I’m no good. Someone else judges me too quickly. Someone smothers me. I get splashed by muddy puddle on the day I’m wearing white. I crave for things that I just won’t get.

But guess what. I’m not going to dodge these experiences. Nobody’s going to give them to me again when I really need to learn from them. There’s no rule in the world which says, ‘Nothing bad can ever happen to me.’

This time I’m not saying ‘Why me?’. I’ve learnt to say, ‘Why not me?’. I’m going to be right here. Never running away.

When you think of a bespectacled, grey-haired septugenarian, you usually expect them to be living the evening of their lives quietly curled up in a rocking chair. But someone I stumbled upon on YouTube, shatters that stereotype with such gusto!

Dr. Chaudhry is the most courageous, inspiring and cutest gramps, you’ll see in a long time. He keeps you in splits with his out-of-tune karaoke and animated hand gestures, that you just cannot get enough of him! Watch him take a crack at ‘You’re Beautiful’ by James Blunt and ‘Skater Boi’ by Avril Lavigne and you won’t be able to refrain from applauding the old boy who’s not too old to rock! Check out one of his best acts at    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KRLKVxX-lg

‘Continuum’ got a whole new connotation after my favourite Chandler Bing said it on the sitcom FRIENDS. Its not just a word that tumbles out of a big, fat, musty science encyclopedia. It may mean, time and space, two of the most boundless entities of the universe, put together.

Time. and space. precisely what everyone needs. Precisely what you need, though you may not really be nodding your head as you read this.

Time= not created by us. not destroyed by us. Its just there. To give. To take. To prove a point. To heal a heart. To solve a conflict. To find answers.

Space= not created by us. not destroyed by us. Its not just a place where rockets go. Its a boon you give to someone who silently begs for it. Its a place of comfort, where the troubled unwind and straighten themselves out. Its a freedom you give to let everyone be the way they are. No changes. No pressure. Just acceptance.

Time and space. Its what we all want. What we all deserve. What we all should ask for. Time+Space=Continuum. Its not rocket science. Its not out there. Its in your hands. Do yourself a favor and be good to yourself. After all, the two most precious gifts you can give anyone are- 1. Let them go when they want to go 2. Let them be when they want to be. So go ahead- Ask for some continuum.

Something I’ve been mulling over for the past few months: Never let anyone slight you without your permission- Refuse to be miserable. Before I knew it, it became a little verse that is now a post-it on my desk! Hope it goes on your post-it as well…

They make you to bow down low?
Bow down to yourself

They ask you to leave?
Let go to find something or someone new

They trample all over your heart, perhaps?
Don’t let those footprints stay

They will always be they
But all you really have is you.

A bunch of must-have melodies came out like a deluge when Ernest, a good friend of mine asked me to co=author for his blog. Thought I’d post it on mine and get your feet tappin’ as well!

I’m not lying when I say my iPod is my best friend. I guess its because music is something that can bring you to tears, make you smile and get up and dance…even when you’re all alone. Something as universal as music, as Robbie Robertson put it, should never be something harmless!

Here are some songs (in random order) that really have either stirred a feeling or tugged at my heart strings or given me goosebumps or simply just registered themselves in my memory for various reasons! Give them a shot

• The Motorcycle Diaries OST- Apertura (Amazing for a long journey. )
• Coldplay- Fix You, Yellow, Speed of Sound, Violet Hill, Lost! (Excellent break-up music! Lol. Puts things in perspective)
• Grey’s Anatomy OST- How to Save a Life (The Fray), Breathe in Breathe out (Matt Kearney), Suddenly I see (KT Tunstall), Somewhere only we know (Keane), Fools in Love (Inara George), A cold wind will blow through your door (Bill Richchini)—- (Music that makes you happy you’re alive!)
• Jal- Teri yaad, Aadat, Ehsaas (To vent out intense emotions!)
• Habib Wahid-Shuvro Chad, Nishi Kabbo, Akangkha (Bangla music that will keep you begging for more.)
• Golden Oldies- All I have to do is dream (Everly Brothers), Annie’s Song, Everything I Do (Bryan Adams), I’d love you to want me (Los Lobos), Friday I’m in love (The Cure)—(Great for nostalgia)
• The Holiday OST- (If you’re falling in love, this stuff will make the experience even better!!)
• The Scripts-The Man who can’t be moved, Break Even, Talk you down, I’m yours (My brand new favourites!) Well, these are all for now. Maybe next time, I’ll add some more!

Visit Ernest’s blog for absolutely any new tremor in the world of music

http://adventure-ernest.blogspot.com

That’s the funniest Cyrus Broacha pun I’ve heard in a long time! Watching the live telecast of the 81st Academy Awards, live on television somehow felt like being a part of historical event. Everytime I’d hear the announcer say, ‘The Oscar goes to… for Slumdog Millionaire’, my heart would leap and hope that it would win in the next category as well. Though I was rooting for the entire crew of the movie, I was particularly proud of our very own A.R. Rehman. I’ve never seen anybody more poised and composed on winning the Oscar. It almost appeared like he knew the glory was going to come to him someday. While Danny Boyle did his Tigger jig and Kate Winslet kept the drama going even off-screen, the way Rehman stylishly acknowledged those who had got him Uncle Oscar was simple yet heart-warming. It makes me want to believe now, that a man of silence is one who can make the most beautiful music.

I think its about time we tell our children different stories. I grew up listening to Goldilocks and the three bears, Cinderella and Snow White and the seven dwarves. These stories had characters and situations that we Indian kids never ever related to- blonde hair, light eyes, fair skin, gowns and tiaras. Maybe it was globalization that got these tales into our bookshelves and text books. But what about stories about us, the brown-skinned, black-haired, dark-eyed lot? Who’s going to tell our stories?

The fairy tales we tell children shapes their perceptions about things before they even experience it. For instance, meekness in those stories was considered one of the most favourable qualities that a young woman should possess to be accepted by the society. If you were to be like that today, you’d see yourself wearing he MTV Bakra hat rather than the halo!

And who the hell even came up with the concept of ‘happily ever after’?? It suprises me that happily ever after is so often equated with finding one’s soulmate and getting hitched. Well, ask your parents and they’ll tell you marriage is not all doves and roses they told you about at the end of a Grimm’s!

When I have kids, I’m not going to tell them these frivolous stories. I’m going to tell them real ones. Where they don’t sit at home by the cinders while the others party. Where they kick ass if a step-mother hit them. Where they share selflessly but also make sure they don’t starve either. Where they take life as a never-ending journey that you constantly work on, and not a destination. All I’m saying is, when you’re making them believe in tooth fairies and Santa Claus, why not teach them to believe in themelves?! Think about it…

That rainy evening, when I entered that tiny restaurant in Castle Street, I never imagined I’d become it’s most faithful customer! Tucked away in a little bylane of Ashok Nagar (Bangalore), Hae Kum Gang is so simple and unassuming in it’s decor, while it’s fiery and authentic in it’s cuisine.

You’ll be welcomed with neatly rolled white towels, for you to dab your hands. (NOT your face! I’ve seen people do that!) The menu, my friends, will just take your breath away. You have the most basic kimchi to the most lavish Korean main course sets. Some eats one must try while at Hae Kum Gang are the kimchi soup, steamed sour fish set, cucumber phreelee and bibimbap. Your main course set would include tangy radish salad, kimchi, sweet soya potatoes with sesame and some white rice with a thin broth.

Hae Kum Gang’s desserts are sliced melons which are definitely are healthier alternatives for those who have had an overdose of chocolate and cream! The restaurant does not serve alcohol as yet, but believe you me, you wouldn’t even feel like drinking with kick-ass food like this. By the end of it, you won’t be able to stand up on your two feet and you’ll be grinning like a contented fool

So until next time, Bon Apetit!

This morning, my grandpa and I were sharing a cup of steaming coffee, sprawled over the newspapers. The astronomy enthusiast that he is, he began to rejoice at the news of our very own Chandrayaan finally penetrating the moon’s orbit. “All these things require very specific calculations. Sending a vehicle to the moon is not a cakewalk.”, he said. “Obviously not! Its spacewalk!”, I thought and chuckled. But on a serious note, I didn’t realize that a small chat about Chandrayaan would give way to so many more interesting facts. Things I’d never imagined or thought about. Things only your grandpa’s treasure-trove brains contain.

“I was a topper in astronomy during my college days.”, he said in a hushed tone. “There’s nothing I haven’t explored after that. I even studied a tangent off astronomy, thats astrology. I understand why people say a person’s fate is ruled by te stars.”

I usually smirk or guffaw sarcastically when someone talks about stars, horoscopes or astrology. But this time strangely, I wanted to listen to what he was going to say.

“In the olden days, there used to be palace astrologers who would wait outside the room, anticipating a child’s birth so that they could cast their predictions. Mind you, the point of precision was so high, that the prediction was made the second the child’s head popped out.”, he said.

“Wha? You serious?”, I said, putting down my cup of coffee.

“Of course.”, he continued. “And you know something queer? Do you know how the astrologers got to know that the baby’s head was out? The midwife would roll a lemon outside the room as soon as she saw a head. Wen the astrologers saw a little lemon rolling throught the door, they’d jump into action and start forecasting! Simple!”, he said.

I couldn’t help but smile imagining a bunch of old astrologers running after a lemon outside a delivery room. The idea was just too cute. And I still can’t believe we reached the topic of mere lemons, all the way from the mighty Chandrayaan!

I’m usually stranded in an awkward situation during lunch breaks at the workplace. I’m probably the only unmarried girl among all the women who gather at the dining table in the afternoons. So as we nibble into our lunches, I often get to hear stories about where one’s husband likes to go on a holiday, while what one’s baby does other than pooping and burping, where one bought her jewellery and other similar things. Though I can’t relate to these topics as yet, its fun to see these women CONTRADICT themselves the whole time!!

Lady1: “You know, my neighbour, who’s a stay-at-home mom comes and lectures me about never ‘being there’ when she herself has no clue what her son is upto!”

Lady2: “Don’t you just hate that? They don’t have anything better to do, so they watch you enviously as you go to work, all primped up in your smart formals. Obviously, they’ll make you the target of their post-breakfast gossip!”

Lady3: “Yeah, I know! I don’t understand how they can waste their pitiful lives watching saas-bahu sagas, day in and day out.”

Lady4: “I know, just because they stay at home, they think all the world’s theirs to gossip about!”

Lady2 and Lady3 (in chorus): *tsk tsk* “absolutely!”

As I wound up after lunch, I realized these smart women, who consider themselves a tad higher than than their chapathi-rolling counterparts who stay at home, ultimately fit the same slot. They were angry about those jobless women gossipping about them, while all along, for that one hour, that’s EXACTLY what they did as well!! I guess, Benjamin Franklin definitely got it right, when he said, To find out a girl’s faults, praise her to her girlfriends.