A warm old sweater which has been sun-drenched for five winters.
A scraggly pillow with the fluff peeking out from the seams.
The faithful t-shirt of the rockstar you idolised, which grips you as snugly as your lover's arms.
The faded hairbrush with a dozen teeth missing which replicates Ma's gentle massage.
A pair of slippers with worn out soles which has been your companion since those lonely post-graduation days.
The purple hippo soap dish which was a gift back from Mumbai when it was still the land of dreams for you.
A thin maroon towel which is a ghost of its former self which has caressed your body more than your husband.
The sleek Mont Blanc pen, still resting in its velvet case- a reminder of just how ambitious you used to be.
A tattered diary filled with yellowing newspaper recipes, still waiting for that magical day when you'll feel like cooking yourself.
The smell of the gilt edged Alice in Wonderland when you bring it out for its annual reading session.
The feel of iphone just when you've started blogging on the Tab!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The ghostly earthquake
As Tinkle- like as the title may sound, and as devastating it might have been for our political neighbours, yesterday's earthquake tremors at Delhi brought a smile to my face.
The reason was largely a conversation I had with my sister on the morning of the quake, which went something like this:
Me: Hey, I heard about the quake, did you feel it?
Sis: yeah at about 1:45am
Me: what was it like, what were you doing then?
Sis: yeah, I was awake, listening to music and I felt the bed shake
Me: so, did you get up to see if the parents were ok?
Sis: nah, I thought tWas ghosts rocking the bed so I snuggled in deeper and turned up the music real loud
Me: ...
who would expect a 24 year old to believe in ghosts? But apparently, she does!!!
The reason was largely a conversation I had with my sister on the morning of the quake, which went something like this:
Me: Hey, I heard about the quake, did you feel it?
Sis: yeah at about 1:45am
Me: what was it like, what were you doing then?
Sis: yeah, I was awake, listening to music and I felt the bed shake
Me: so, did you get up to see if the parents were ok?
Sis: nah, I thought tWas ghosts rocking the bed so I snuggled in deeper and turned up the music real loud
Me: ...
who would expect a 24 year old to believe in ghosts? But apparently, she does!!!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Of things I want...
My wants are very basic. Here is a list of things that adorn my bedside table, listed in no particular order:
1. A pile of good fiction- preferably in the same genre so that my mind is attuned to that era- at least two, at any given time.
2. A pair of woollen socks to keep my feet warm
3. A tub of Vaseline/ vitamin E cream to keep my hands soft
4. A warm shawl and my hand-knitted woollen cap to keep me cozy at night
5. My Tab/iPhone to keep me connected
I loathe TV and watch it when I absolutely must. Apart from the fact that it gives me sore eyes (coz I get too involved in the plot and stare at the screen too hard) I'd anyday prefer a strong solid book with rustling pages or the interactivity of Solitaire or WordSearch on my phone.
As for my bedside table, each year I find myself getting a bigger size- this year, when one of the socks was jostled off the table by the pile of books, I've decided to invest in a full size study table to end the balancing act once and for all!
1. A pile of good fiction- preferably in the same genre so that my mind is attuned to that era- at least two, at any given time.
2. A pair of woollen socks to keep my feet warm
3. A tub of Vaseline/ vitamin E cream to keep my hands soft
4. A warm shawl and my hand-knitted woollen cap to keep me cozy at night
5. My Tab/iPhone to keep me connected
I loathe TV and watch it when I absolutely must. Apart from the fact that it gives me sore eyes (coz I get too involved in the plot and stare at the screen too hard) I'd anyday prefer a strong solid book with rustling pages or the interactivity of Solitaire or WordSearch on my phone.
As for my bedside table, each year I find myself getting a bigger size- this year, when one of the socks was jostled off the table by the pile of books, I've decided to invest in a full size study table to end the balancing act once and for all!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The marginal utility of people
Sometimes you wonder if you are a mere grain in the cosmic sands of time.
Sometimes loved ones shun you away with a mere flick of their conscious mind.
Sometimes you feel like your parents have always loved your sibling more.
Sometimes you realise that your position in the house is just that of a borrowed arranger.
Sometimes, just sometimes, you think if the space you occupy in your parents' mind is a little smaller today than yesterday.
What if we weren't dependable?
What if we weren't responsible?
Sometimes loved ones shun you away with a mere flick of their conscious mind.
Sometimes you feel like your parents have always loved your sibling more.
Sometimes you realise that your position in the house is just that of a borrowed arranger.
Sometimes, just sometimes, you think if the space you occupy in your parents' mind is a little smaller today than yesterday.
What if we weren't dependable?
What if we weren't responsible?
Friday, January 7, 2011
The feeling of feeling
Who dictates how you should feel?
Is it your past experience or the tremulous future? Is it worry or trepidation?
Or perhaps, the way you feel is a direct product of the nature of your surroundings?
Or maybe it's the result of the interaction between yourself and the larger whole, the universe at play, with it's myriad seasons and hues?
Or is it a conversation with your loved one, a happy peppy song in your heart or the ignominy of negligence?
Is it the tiny neurons in your system connecting impulses faster than you think, shaping your reactions?
Or is it that tiny tear in your heart each time someone tramples it?
We will never know.
We should never know.
Is it your past experience or the tremulous future? Is it worry or trepidation?
Or perhaps, the way you feel is a direct product of the nature of your surroundings?
Or maybe it's the result of the interaction between yourself and the larger whole, the universe at play, with it's myriad seasons and hues?
Or is it a conversation with your loved one, a happy peppy song in your heart or the ignominy of negligence?
Is it the tiny neurons in your system connecting impulses faster than you think, shaping your reactions?
Or is it that tiny tear in your heart each time someone tramples it?
We will never know.
We should never know.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Buy Now!!! Only for Today!! Hurry!
Last night when I was enjoying my daily dose of weepy soaps and laughable reality shows alongwith crispy homemade aloo ke parathe slathered with butter, I heard my phone tinkle with the arrival of an SMS. Thinking it must be one of the sales managers updating me with their day's sales on my personal number, I ignored it, knowing it could wait till I got the buttery goop off my fingers. After a couple of minutes, the phone buzzed angrily again, reminding me of my duty to check the SMS.
I discovered it was a message from Book Palace, a quaint little bookstore which I had stumbled upon while searching for a hardware store.
'Great discounts, amazing offers, many deals- on your favourite authors! Rush now! Hurry- valid till stocks last. Make the most of it TODAY!' screamed the message in all it's urgency. Today? Now? At 9:16 pm? The store itself shut at 9pm! They wanted me to visit a shut store possibly, to plunder it? Well however great my love for books, I was surely never going to stoop to such a low level! Me- steal? Never!
Obviously their SMS scheduler had run into timing problems. Or maybe they had a large database and my name, comprising of two last names had made it to the very last of their lists.
Whatever the case was, I was certainly miffed, especially since I had to cut short my delicious dinner.
When I visited the store next, I pointed this out to the cashier, a buck toothed geeky oily fellow who looked like a character from one of the books themselves.
What can we do, madam? These cellphone operators!- and with that, he cleanly shrugged off all responsibility towards the offending message.
As for me, I now keep my phone on silent during important meal times. That way, I am tempted to HURRY! LAST DAY! TODAY! only in the land of dreams- as I check my phone last thing before dropping off to sleep!
I discovered it was a message from Book Palace, a quaint little bookstore which I had stumbled upon while searching for a hardware store.
'Great discounts, amazing offers, many deals- on your favourite authors! Rush now! Hurry- valid till stocks last. Make the most of it TODAY!' screamed the message in all it's urgency. Today? Now? At 9:16 pm? The store itself shut at 9pm! They wanted me to visit a shut store possibly, to plunder it? Well however great my love for books, I was surely never going to stoop to such a low level! Me- steal? Never!
Obviously their SMS scheduler had run into timing problems. Or maybe they had a large database and my name, comprising of two last names had made it to the very last of their lists.
Whatever the case was, I was certainly miffed, especially since I had to cut short my delicious dinner.
When I visited the store next, I pointed this out to the cashier, a buck toothed geeky oily fellow who looked like a character from one of the books themselves.
What can we do, madam? These cellphone operators!- and with that, he cleanly shrugged off all responsibility towards the offending message.
As for me, I now keep my phone on silent during important meal times. That way, I am tempted to HURRY! LAST DAY! TODAY! only in the land of dreams- as I check my phone last thing before dropping off to sleep!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Catch me if you can!
'Ok so we'll catch up soon,' finished my husband, as he deftly manouevered a piece of watermelon at the breakfast table in one hand, cellphone in the other.
Being unemployed and feeling quite anti-social at the moment (I'm just so content to lie in late and have the whole day to myself, instead of living it by hour long fragments of various meetings!) I have always found this 'catching up' business not quite to my taste.
Bordering on the edge between an extrovert and an introvert, I have my phases where I will slink away from all public glare, not talk to unnecessary people and maybe even avoid their calls.
Maybe it's just me, or all people suffer from this cloak of invisibility at times. And then I do all I can in my power to remain as far away from people as I possibly can.
So when well-meaning friends ask me to 'lets meet for coffee', I fob them off until i feel I'm ready to emerge from my cocoon. So far it's worked, but with everyone's busy schedule and hundreds of commitments, I doubt how long people will tolerate my sudden absences!
Being unemployed and feeling quite anti-social at the moment (I'm just so content to lie in late and have the whole day to myself, instead of living it by hour long fragments of various meetings!) I have always found this 'catching up' business not quite to my taste.
Bordering on the edge between an extrovert and an introvert, I have my phases where I will slink away from all public glare, not talk to unnecessary people and maybe even avoid their calls.
Maybe it's just me, or all people suffer from this cloak of invisibility at times. And then I do all I can in my power to remain as far away from people as I possibly can.
So when well-meaning friends ask me to 'lets meet for coffee', I fob them off until i feel I'm ready to emerge from my cocoon. So far it's worked, but with everyone's busy schedule and hundreds of commitments, I doubt how long people will tolerate my sudden absences!
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