Transition

Few days after my marriage got fixed, and before I got engaged to my then fiancee, (now husband Ashok), I was talking to him over phone when he came up with some topic.

Wake up call:

He told me that, my then to-be in-laws would be more than happy if I had in future started addressing them Amma & Appa (mom and dad in Kannada) since my relationship with them would be more than just an "aunty & uncle" one, although it wasn't a condition :). So, I stumbled a bit and then told him, that, I would start addressing them that way after engagement. I was quite sure that, my husband would inform them in tact. However, my in-laws never mentioned about it during any of our conversations. I still don't know why I replied in that manner. Nor did I analyze that deeply, like - was I rude, was it because I wasn't matured enough, was it too late after engagement to start addressing them in that way or was it my way of procrastinating the wake up call etc. Well, I guess, most of the girls do come across similar situation, at least if not the same way.

My fiancee and I got engaged. My father-in-law just said casually - "Engagement is over" and didn't say anything. I could quickly understand why he said so and I said - "Yes, I remember my promise (uncle - swallowed) :)". But how to keep up my promise was a million-dollar question. I was comfortable addressing them aunty & uncle. Also, I found it embarrassing, funny, weird, and every odd feeling to start addressing somebody Amma Appa one fine day. Though I was aware that this situation would come up one day in my life, and it was inevitable for any girl, I wasn't prepared for the transition so soon.

The transition:

Version 1.0

Well, I stopped addressing them Aunt and Uncle after getting engaged. But it didn't mean, I had started following the new way. I didn't address them at all for a week or 10 days. More precisely, I neither mentioned aunty & uncle nor Amma & Appa while conversing with them. I found it quite eccentric. But this was again with a purpose. Most importantly, I felt, if I did this, then a day would come when I unknowingly addressed them in the new way.

Version 1.1

Thankfully it didn't take too long for the transition, despite the initial hiccups and few embarrassing moments. My in-laws were kind enough to understand my position and gave me time to get adjusted to the new way, thanks to them. My mother-in-law at one stage even mentioned that, I could stick to my old way if I really had difficulty.

Version 1.2

No doubt, I started addressing them the way they liked, but, it was difficult for me to stick to the new way of addressing in front of my own parents. For few more days, I followed Goto -> version 1.0 when I was around both my parents and in-laws.

The Release

After release, which not really implies marriage, more or less with the passing of time, I came to terms with the new way of addressing. Now, I am glad to say that, it comes naturally with no pause, hiccup, or hesitation :).

Mantra:

Today, I feel, the new addressing method adds a great value to the relationship. In general, I attribute the success of the release to both the girl and the in-laws. The bride must be inclined to get along with her new family. At the same time, in-laws should be patient enough to understand and provide some latitude to their daughters-in-law along the journey :).

My update :)

It has been quite sometime since I posted anything here. So, this means, either I am engaged in something else or I have started finding "blogging thing" boring. The latter is not really true. I am still interested in blogging. But of-late I have been quite involved in a number of activities.

I watched few movies, though I didn't like most of them. Watching movies is an activity to a person like me who hadn't really watched movies before. The worst among them was Kurbaan - a completely illogical movie!!! We were three of us sitting together, my husband, my bro-in-law and I. We couldn't stop making fun of the dialogues, scenes, characters in the movie.

I found out that recently that, I enjoy sitting and reading books in a book store than in a library. The ambiance at a book store is splendid. The soft music, internet facility people walking-by, sound of the coffee machines drives me there.

I am excited to share with my readers that, I have started decorating my house now with all home-made craft-work, thanks to my craft teacher who forced me do all the hand-made art-work during my school days. My craft works by no means look professional. But it gives me fun and satisfaction to decorate my house myself. I shall post 2 to 3 pics of the ones I have made in my next post.

Well, that is all for now. Will be back with some pictures in my next post.

UID - not really unique!!!

THE BIG CHALLENGE

I was reading about the Unique Identification Number Project led by ex-Infy CEO Nandan Nilekani. Initially I felt skeptical about it's success. I wondered whether census would be carried out within a year to get the exact head-count. With the already present identification schemes like voter-id, passport, PAN card, what unique purpose will the UID serve? How will it be possible to assign a UID to every single Indian?

THE PROMISE

Despite so many challenges, UID project head Nandan Nilekani has promised that, the first batch of the UIDs will roll out within 12-18 months. Given his extraordinary corporate background, one could trust this words unlike that of our politicians who are known for their false promises.

WHY UID?

No doubt, if the project accomplished successfully will obviate the people to carry multiple documents and id-proofs like ration cards, credit cards etc. It seems logical to have one common ID proof. A person holding a ration-card won't have a credit card. One with credit card doesn't have a voter's id. I recently got my voter's id and always used a PAN card as my ID. Don't you think there should be one uniform system to maintain the identity of the citizens?

TWIST IN THE TALE

Now, Mr. Nilekani, says - UID is optional!!! It isn't a proof of citizenship.

Phew!!! why then should one carry out such a project? PAN cards, passports, voter's id are already serving the purpose what UID project has promised to achieve. With the other forms of ID proofs too, one doesn't need to carry multiple documents. People with PAN cards or any other ID are anyway not questioned to show other documents. Why should one add more confusion by introducing something which is again optional??

Help me!!!

I am short of recipes these days. I have tried almost every possible Indian recipe. My dear reader, please pour your ideas. Well, it should be a strictly vegetarian recipe, containing no eggs too. I hope you come out with some wonderful and challenging recipes.

Bees saal baad

We are so hooked to facebook, orkut, twitter etc that, we spend at least 30 minutes in a day on social-networking :). But will we be doing this 20 years down the lane at the same rate as we are doing now? Or will anything else overtake social-networking websites? With the increase in the number of such sites, I sometimes question myself - "Where will people have time to follow each one of them religiously?". I was myself a big fan of orkut in my college life. But, it gradually faded out now. Though I frequently log into facebook and rarely into twitter, I still ask myself whether I will be using all these accounts a few years from now. Like my husband says - Don't use any of them... You will be leading a hassle-free life. Is it true? Sometimes yes may be. For instance, you happen to miss out wishing some close friend of yours on his/her birthday, wedding anniversary etc. You may be too busy to reply to their scraps, or wall-posts. Or vice versa. It strains the relationship more than what it is intended to do! With day-to-day lives becoming more hectic, will we really have time to continue surfing the social-networking sites? No doubt, thanks to social-networking sites which have brought separated friends, acquaintances etc together and also helped making new friends. But will it help maintain the relationship 20 years from now? Only time should answer :P

Unforgettable Shepherd

It is shocking to hear the news of David Robert Shepherd's demise. He died exactly 2 months before he would turn 69. He is one umpire who can never be hated. He was one of the most fairest-minded umpires that, he turned down the opportunity to maintain ICC's neutral umpiring policy in Test matches when he was offered to umpire the England Test at Lords as his final test. As a good umpire he gave both right decisions and earned respect and trust among the players. His eccentricities too can never be forgotten. The way he used to hop at the score 111(111- considered Unlucky Nelson among British) or its multiple. And what was even more whimsical was that, he continued to hop until the score crossed 111 or its multiple. Alas! it wasn't 111. It was 68 at which misfortune struck his life.

Umpires like Shepherd are just irreplaceable. May his soul rest in peace.

Injection

My nearly 3 year old nephew had to be given flu-shot. He is such hyper-active kid that, one will lose oodles of weight running behind him :)... I had accompanied my co-sister and nephew to the health-care center to hold him tightly while he was given the injection. Believe it or not! I still fear taking an injection :P... My innocent nephew had no clue about the flu-shot. He was active, happy, playful as always he is. He was made to believe that, his mom had to see doctor. The nurse held his legs and my co-sister and I held his hands and saw to it that he lied down properly. My cute nephew was for a moment confused as what was happening to him. Then as fast as blink of an eye, the nurse injected syringe and he was unmanageable. He started crying so loudly that, the nurse should have felt guilty of hurting him... All he said was - Aunty hurt me (in Kannada - aunty chuchbittru)... He continued to cry for another 5-10 minutes. In next few minutes, he had forgotton about it and was as usual the cheerful Anirudh :)

Resolution

I have always been blamed by my parents, brother, husband, and friends for my shrewd temper. I am never able to control my temper. This is something I should fight. Off late, I have myself felt the need to check my temper. The funniest thing is if my mom says me to be calm and not get excited over small issues, I get excited again! But is it really good? Obviously not good for health. But above all, I have realized the after-effects of short-tempered nature. I don't think I gain anything juggling over small issues. Given a situation, it is better to calm down, relax, think and then react rather than uttering something in haste and later regretting over having done so. I have been wondering about this for quite sometime. It is high time I calmed down. I have resovled to change myself. Better late than never :)

Few Deepavali pics

An evening in Kabul

On a rainy night, my husband and I decided to dine out. After trying almost all Indian restaurants in our locality, we decided to try Afghani cuisine. The novel Kite Runner had influenced me to such an extent that, I was desperate to try Afghani food. We went a place called Kabul which proudly displayed a few cut-outs from newspapers which had written abt the restaurant.

To our dismay, the restaurant offered less options for vegetarians!. We decided to order some spinach based curry with challow(that is what they call rice, chaval) and a vegetarian platter which was again served with challow and a glass of juice. With the main-course was served Afghani bread. The restaurant offered a great ambience with some light music. We waited for nearly 10-15 minutes for the waiter to take our order. Nobody seemed to notice our presence. I tried to brushed aside all those negative thoughts that were bothering me - are they deliberately avoiding us since we are Indians? - or do they care for only American customers and neglect people from sub-continent? etc. Instead of letting my mind further ponder over such negative thoughts, I decided to take a glance at the walls of the restaurant. The walls were pleasantly decorated with some famous pictures of Afghan sea-green eyed girl and another of a bearded man. To my surprise there were some Afghani costumes hung on the wall behind me. It looked like some cotton fabric with the zari, golden border, and old tabla. Finally, a French-bearded guy, politely took our order. We were offered salad, a sub-dish which is served as a complimentary dish to every customer. The salad was so delicious that, I wondered whether I could request for another plate :)

We found the Afghani food very different from Indian food. I somewhat disliked the food though I had initially insisted to go to an Afghani restaurant. I could clean half the plate of challow. Though I didn't like the curry much, I liked the challow which was different from our chaval... :). Afghani bread was quite good which was similar to Indian masala bun. My husband had no complaints!!! In fact, he requested for some boxes to pack the food. But the best was yet to come. The saunf which is a common item placed at the exit doors in the Indian restaurants was absent. In its place was a box of colored pieces of mint, which were similar to the polo mint. I grabbed a few pieces which were just irresistible :).

While coming back, my mind was overflowing with numerous thoughts - The Kite Runner, its characters, the restaurant, food, and the rain which had almost abated by the time we were done with the special dinner.

Rain

It has been raining since last night. I stepped out to the balcony to click few pictures of the apartment complex. Awesome would be an understatement to describe the weather. The bulbs are still on in the apartments at 12 noon. Hot-spicy samosas would best suit the cold windy rainy weather.

Small cravings

I feel it is common among we, the humans to crave for something or the other. It is normal for one to do so. It is common to say - I wish, I were like that, I had this, etc. Sometimes we crave so much for certain things though we know we can't obtain them. I am sure all of you would have craved for somethings in life. Or you may be craving even today for some or the other thing. You must have dreamt a lot about it. But not always do our dreams come true. You are sometimes sure, that you can't obtain it. Still, you are reluctant to give up your hopes!!

A musical evening with a pleasant surprise

We had been to a music concert at a nearby temple. The performing artist was from Bangalore, Sri Shashidhar Kote. I had decided to attend the concert till the end, regardless of when it ended. It has perhaps for 2 reasons - My husband and I are fans of Indian music, especially when such divine artists are performing, we wouldn't want to miss. Another reason, I have fond memories of going to Kote uncle's house as a 13 year old girl. I had received some dance tips from his wife Seeta who is now a popular face in ETV soaps. Infact, she had taught me the steps for some of Kote's songs too :).

I was eagerly waiting to meet Kote uncle ever since he came to US. However I had never been able to attend any of his concerts all these days. And as soon as I got to know about his concert last evening through my relative, thanks to her, we decided to go!. Kote uncle performed with the same ardor as he used to a decade ago. The audience too persuaded him to continue beyond the schedule. That explains how audience were bowled out by his performance.

Now, the most interesting part of the program. As soon as it ended, I went to talk to him. Since it was more that a decade that, I was meeting him in person, I thought of all possible things, relations and even the songs which his wife had taught me to introduce myself. Kote uncle as modest as always he is, spoke with me when I went up to him. To my surprise, with little introduction he could remember me. I was humbled by the artist's memory. I was just any other ordinary girl who used to go to his house for some dance tips.. a decade ago. And he still remembered me :). He even introduced me to his brother and few people there. He was also overwhelmed to see me there!!!. It was my biggest surprise.

The music concert had already made me high and then with uncle remembering me, I was totally on cloud nine!!!

Nostalgia

I become nostalgic whenever I listen to the song Mile Sur Mera Tumhara. As kids, my brother and I would be hooked to the DD-1 whenever this song was on TV - mostly after Hindi news and before commencement of English news. A simple line - My tune merged with your tune becomes our tune, sung in 14 different languages, performed by various artists, is truly exceptional. With no access to Cable Television, DD-1 was the sole source of entertainment, common for kids who grew up in 90s.

After joining engineering, with so many other things happening in life(losing my interest in watching TV :P), I almost forgot about this song completely. On a lazy day in Samsung, I remembered it all of a sudden, thanks to Youtube, I was able to listen and recount the sweet memories associated with this song. Now a days, I have again started listening to this song just like how I used to as a kid :). Today, when I was listening it sometime back, I could visualize everything that used to happen at my sweet home 16 years ago :)

Nine colorful nights

My much awaited festival is back :). I have always enjoyed Navaratri/Dasara as a kid partly because of the long vacation in schools. I always arranged my dolls in a unique pattern at my sweet home then with inputs from my cute brother. I probably became interested in this after seeing my dance teacher arrange the dolls in one of the rooms in her house. The arrangement would occupy nearly three-fourth of the room which used to mesmerize me as a kid.

But even today, the doll arrangement drives me crazy. With little resources here, I managed to arrange two steps. Though it looks crude, I am happy. I will post a few pictures of the same in my next post. Waiting for all your comments now :P

Unanswered questions

Do all questions have answers? I feel few of my questions are unanswerable. If I try to sit and think answering them, eventually forgetting my question :P... So, I was wondering whether or not others too have such unanswered questions in them. Again, I have no answer!!! My basic question - why people are so biased? Let me make it more clear. Why are people more partial toward some and neglect others? This may be in schools, colleges, families, among friends etc. Teachers in the school are more partial towards children from affluent background. In families, some members are always neglected(i better stop at this ;)). Friends often ill-treat those hailing from humble background. So everything boils down to money. But again, why is money the deciding factor? I have never been able to answer this. Teachers don't value the abilities in children from simple families. Friends try to belittle the ones with less spending abilities. In families, the one with the humble background is always taken granted for. When will this bias stop??

I want to dance :)

Yesterday, we had been to a temple a nearby. To my surprise, I saw a few girls dressed up in classical dance attire. I was too thrilled to see them and we decided to watch their performance for sometime. Well, it was a Kuchipudi performance. Frankly I was watching a Kuchipudi performance live for the first time though I had watched it on television. Well, I have very little knowledge about Kuchipudi. Still, given a song that is set to dancing steps, I feel like tapping my feet. If only I could dance to a Bharatanatyam song for at least 5 minutes on stage. I somehow miss my practice sessions now.

Sailors on the same boat!!!

I have been communicating a lot with my newly found friends these days... No doubt,

it feels really good to talk with somebody who falls under the same age group. But talking to one

who is in the same phase as I am feels even better. I have been regularly in touch with two girls who

are recently married and who stay close to my place. I must mention, "lucky me" since the friends I am in

touch with think similar as I do and remind me of my Samsung friends unlike a few I had in the past

who are never worth mentioning on my posts, something that would spoil the intent of my blog.

Well, I was just comparing how life has changed since the days of graduation. I had few too good

pals at my work place who were experiencing the same things that I was, like enjoying the money earned,

shopping during the weekends, undergoing the pressure in the families in their search for suitor etc... Now the situation is quite different. My friends(new ones), and I are experiencing the similar things at

home - applying to universities or already studying, trying out new recipes, waiting to talk to moms and

keep them updated... :)

Be it the former or the latter, I have enjoyed being with sailors in my boat. It feels good to

talk to them and be happy or convinced that, there are people like me :)

Salt or sugar??

I remember as a kid, studying a chapter in the English book on what is the sweeter - sugar or salt? However, sweet in that sense meant something that is more necessary in the food. Today, I had similar situation at home. I wanted to prepare some cake today. Well, it was a pineapple eggless cake. The cake looked good in the oven too. Then came the crucial tasting/testing time.

The cake was quite salty and bitter... inspite of adding proper amount of sugar!!!!! Unfortunately all odds were against me. Perhaps this was my first ever disaster in the kitchen. It has been nearly 6 months since I started cooking on my own and I had never faced such odd situation in kitchen.

While adding butter to prepare the cake batter, I didn't realize it was salted butter which was the sole reason for making the cakes salty. Furthermore, the pineapple too was inclement which made my cake bitter instead of making it better given it's flavor. Sugar practically played no role!!!

Anyway, at the end, I received my dosage of funny comments from my husband. My next post will hopefully be the success story of my cakes :)

Happy days :)

It was in the mid-July that I embarked my journey as a software engineer at Samsung Electronics in Bangalore while lasted just 1.5 years... The first day of my corporate life is still fresh in my memory. We were the first batch probably who were hired through campus placements with the number of girls mounting to nearly 50!!!. A big number for a Korean organization. As it happens everywhere, we were divided into groups and had some team activities. But what was more remarkable was that, the first set of my group-mates became very close friends(something I never had). I met a bunch of people who have helped me, assisted me and viceversa :)... I met one of mt closest friends in life who had faced similar situations as I had..We were sailing in the same boat. It was nice to see one of my friends'(who had lived in all small towns before coming to THE PLACE in India) changing opinion about metropolitan girls, another girl singing and stunning us with her god-gifted voice who apparently was a reality show winner, etc...

Now that I am no more associated with the organization, I just get some updates about them. But still my friends are so close to my heart... With those sweet memories, I should probably try my hands penning a book :P

Music is no child's play

I am trying to learn some movie songs. This time, with a difference, I want to learn some Kannada songs. I have listened to many of the Kannada hit numbers before - ranging from melodious songs, romantic, sad ones to item numbers. But I had never tried to sing them myself. I attribute it mostly to my North Indian friends' influence. I have always had tremendous respect for the lyricists, singers, directors(though not the film stars!!!... I apologize Kannada enthusiasts). This is probably the first time I am trying my hands on learning Kannada songs. Now, I really admire the songs in a different way. I have started to admire the beauty of the songs, the complexity involved in learning, singing and above all getting them perfect.

Now, I have come to realize that, music no matter which ever language it is composed in has its own complexities. I envy those singers who sing with such profound skills, who can make wonderful impact on people like us with their impeccable voices... Jai ho :)...

Sajjanpur rocks

Atlast I watched the Hindi comedy film - Welcome to Sajjanpur. The film as a whole revolves around the social issues - like widow remmarriage, eunuch fighting for social status, a mother's concerns over getting her manglik daughter married. But Shyam Benegal is a mesmerizing story-teller. He has taken the movie in such a way that, you never feel bored at any point in the movie though it is completely about the social issues. He has made a comedy film with serious topics to keep the audience occupied. Kudos to him :)...

It is hard to come up with such movies these days. This is neither a parellel cinema nor an entirely commerical one. Shreyas Talpade has done an incredible job in his role of Mahadev. Amrita Rao is the perfect match for the innocent village girl Kamala... The other members in the cast too have done justice to their roles... Overall, it is a perfect movie for a weekend :)

Weekend...Yippie!!!

Finally my much-awaited weekend it back. This week was perhaps one of the most boring ones. Though I was busy the entire week and kept myself occupied, I felt the days were moving quite slowly. Anyway, today is Friday afternoon, that means, I can take a break from kitchen for sometime which means I get to savor a plate of set dosa at Bangalore Cafe tonight. I am so tuned to the custom of eating out on Friday evenings. I had hardly eaten set dosa when I was in Bangalore. I mostly ate masala dosa. It is only after coming here that I have started enjoying set dosa...

My blog has readers :)

I am happy to know that many of you follow my blog. Though nobody has ever commented on any of the posts I have posted, you all have managed to read it and ping me about the same on g-chat or yahoo...

This is driving me to update my blog and share my random thoughts with you all... Now I really feel inspired to blog :). I shall try to keep you entertained with some interesting posts from now on...

Thank you readers!!!

happy :)

Yesterday when I spoke with my mother, she gave a big suprise. I had not even imagined in my dreams. She said she found my Bharatanatyam costume in an old suitcase. I had tried so much to locate it when I was in Bangalore. I was extremely fond of my costume and was alwyas elated to be in that attire. Unfortunately while moving to a new house, I had packed it in the old suitcase and had completely forgotten about it. I tried so much in vain to find it and even hired a costume twice when I had to give performances.

I had almost decided to give up thinking about it. Now that, it is found, it has relieved me from the burden of undergoing the entire process of getting a new dress stitched, which involes selecting a fabric that looks attractive on a stage, finding an experienced seamstress who can stitch it since it requires painstaking efforts to accomplish and the expenses associated with them. A thousand thanks to GOD :):):)...

Disclaimer: The costume and the person in the picture above bear no resemblence with my costume or me :P

Hurting others??? - Bad manners

I was thinking about how one feels when teased. If it is something on a lighter note, obviously one can take it easily. But there are certain levels of pulling others' legs. Not always can one take everything easily. One shouldn't pull others' legs at the cost of hurting their feelings.

It might sound boring if I write that on a blog post. But, if you try to think about it deeply and remember one of those incidents when you were the victim, you will realize the magnitude of it. It is easy for those who tease others to have fun, but difficult for the ones being teased to accept it. The smallest example could be - when you work with lot of interest and dedication and the others ridicule it easily without understanding how much efforts you have to put in to accomplish that work.

Will come out with some interesting post tomo :)

Gandhi Bazaar to El Camino

Whenever I remember shopping in Bangalore, the most common hang-outs that come to my mind are - Gandhi Bazaar-DVG Road, Garuda Mall at MG Road, Bangalore Central, 4th Block Jayanagar, Commercial Street. I didn't really used to hang-out in Malleshwaram... or it didn't require me to go there. However Gandhi Bazaar was my most favorite hang-out. I remember going there everyday during my vacations. One of my friends had even asked me - Do u own some shop in Gandhi Bazaar??!!!!!... After having lived in the nearby area for nearly 18 years, I can proudly say that - I know every nook and corner of Gandhi Bazaar.

But here, I think, the road that makes me nostalgic is the Historic El Camino Real. Right from day one in Santa Clara, we have been shopping only in the Indian Stores, or some American stores in this street, with few exceptions. Even the Urgent Care I went to when I injured my palm was located in this street. The plants we bought were also from a shop on the El Camino...

Now, can I say, El Camino is Gandhi Bazaar's counterpart here???

Sometimes yes... sometimes no!!!...

Is it really different?

I was reading some post on Aamir Khan's blog sometime back. His blog is quite simple, down to earth. His star status is not evident from his blog. This is what is more appealing. But what struck me the most was the number of comments he had received. The most simple post, like - will keep you all posted and such dull posts too have recevied atleast 500 comments. But is it really worth commenting? Why do so many people follow his blog or rather a film star's blog so seriously?

I initially brushed aside thinking - people are mad. I guess, by commenting, people feel they can get to communicate with their star. But then, does he really have time and patience to look into their comments? Is it because of the big names he uses in his blogs. I went through some of his posts randomly where he does mention some names like Genelia, Imran Khan and few names of some big directors and producers. So, I felt, probably this makes people follow his blog so ardently. I guess people are curious to know about his life-style, what he does etc.

At the end of the day, if people like you or I have team meetings or talk to our colleagues, managers etc, Aamir Khan talks to his co-stars, and directors who are some of the big names in the tinsel town.

Missing Amma's kitchen

I have been feeling something odd about my eating habits. It didn't take me long to realize what exactly I was feeling. I have to eat whatever I cook. Probably this is what is troubling me the most. Few months back, the situation was completely different. I never had to enter the kitchen. I was always served with varieties of dishes by my sweet mom. With my cooking, I feel happy to cook for others than to cook for myself.

When I initially started feeling this way, I thought, I had to take a break and eat out. But however things didn't work. Inspite of eating some specialities like kadai paneer, pizza, etc., I still feel the same. Probably, I need to eat my mom's food. But right now, since it can't be accomplished, I feel, I should eat some home-made food not cooked by me. At present, this looks like a better option.

Now, I can use this as an excuse to let my husband do the cooking :P

Confused :(

I am confused :(... I have been working on the sound editor software Audacity to modify some of the music files. But the rm files are a big problem. These rm files are precluding me from using the Audacity to perform some changes in them. I hope to come up with a solution in a day or two. Till then, I will have some, head-scratching, nail-biting sessions, with multiple windows opened in my browser. Above all, the google chrome, too is inclement - one thing, it crashes all of a sudden. Next, it lacks the feature Firefox provides when you accidentally click the close button. It closes immediately without asking the user, whether or not to save and quit, or directly quit. I have to remember all those windows that I had opened and again need to open them.

I guess, I need a break. I won't be able to achieve anything in this utter confusion. I need to resolve few things.

Smile :-)

The 2 plants in my what I call my garden in the balcony bring me a wide smile on my face whenever I think about it. I become so happy when I talk about it to anybody. I attribute that happiness not just to the plants but to the flowers they produce. Those flowers are more than enough to decorate the "devaramane". However, the central idea of this post is how small things can bring happiness in us...

Even now, when I am writing this post, I have those cute flowers settled in my mind and I can't stop smiling. If we really need to be happy, we don't have to await something to happen that can affect our lives. If we can start looking out for happiness in every small things around us, then we can be happy and make others happy too.

This shows man can never conquer the nature. No matter whatever he does to outsmart the nature, he can never potential enough to be superior than it. If it takes hunderds of reasons for we humans to be happy, nature can do the wonder with such minute things :-)

Titles can be misleading

I watched 500 days of summer today. Overall the movie was good. It was simple except for the fact that, during the entire course of the movie, one goes through the numbers (here I mean to say, day 1, day 2...) from 1 to 500 not necessarily in a order. The movie begins with some day in late 200s, comes back to 1, again to some 200s. I was wondering whether or not the movie ends with 500. Hopefully it did. The most misleading thing (perhaps I was misled because of my lack of experience in watching movies), was about the title of movie. The summer in the title I thought was in reference with the seasons - summer, winter, spring and autumn. But I was taken aback to know that, the leading female character's name was "Summer".

This was perhaps the first "angrezi" movie I liked which I watched in theater after coming to US.

A journey from Army to Corporate Sector

I was reading an article in a newspaper. This was different from the usual ones, - no politics, no crime news, no page 3, no sports... This was purely an article on ISB - however again not to do with the placements. http://www.hinduonnet.com/2009/08/13/stories/2009081361020500.htmThis one was about the army and navy personnel having worked for 10-15 years, joining ISB. Most of them seem to have a solid experience of 10-15 years and have quit as Major or Lieutenent Colonel. A new innings for the Army men and women. Though the two areas, - army and corporate sector are like two different branches, they have common roots. Leading the army troops, commanding fleets of vehicles and soldiers would have given ample opportunities to showcase their leadership qualities which is the basic necessity of a MBA. If it is all about winning in army, here it is maximizing profits. At the end of the day, both of them boil down to leading and winning in their fields.

A great example for career changers :)

Happy Birthday Krishna

Today is Krishna Janmaashtami, Lord Krishna's birthday, 8th day in the Krishna Paksha of Bhadrapada masa. This is one of those festivals that include doing aarti at night... It is celebrated in various parts of India in different ways. In South India, it usually includes doing aarti to Krisha, and making varieties of mouth-watering snacks. One thing which people strictly cook is the avalakki or poha. This was the favorite dish of Krishna. This is also evident from the fact that, Sudama, Krishna's poor friend who went to meet him had taken avalakki or poha since he had nothing to give. But surprisingly, Krishna was overwhelmed and ate with utter happiness. In Maharastra, people celebrate with the dahi-handis, where the handi or the pot filled with butter-milk is positioned at a particular height. People group themselves in the form of pyramids. While the pyramid tapers along the length, the topmost person breaks the handi and the buttermilk spills over the entire group... This is in remembrance of Lord Krishna along with his friends who did such attempts to break into every kitchen to get butter.

Today, I made some poha too at home. With little facilities here, I did some pooja and aarti. My desire to celebrate every festival with equal enthusiasm has driven me high in this festival season :P

A perfect beginning

I am posting my first post today with the intention to continue blogging unlike how I did start blogging a year ago and lose interest after posting 3-4 posts.

At this point in time, I am a home-maker, student, trying to keep myself occupied in singing, cooking, reading novels and any random thing I am coming across. Right now, I am learning a song sung by SPB and Janaki http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgPUvHyYOVc. I am trying to concentrate on the nuances of the song which I am currently learning... It involves a number of swaras. I surmise that it is composed in raaga shivaranjini, one of the ragas which music directors have always used to compose touchy songs.. like tere mere beech mein in Ek Duje ke liye, mere naina , which are difficult to erase from one's memory. However this song is special in its own way. A sculpture or an idol is just a posture made by carving the rocks... The poet thinks of these sculptures singing... which is impossible... but he imagines how it could be when they sing... it sounds fantastic...

I am listening to the original song as well as one of the competitors in a competition. Her rendition too is excellent.. since it showcases her ability to render such a complicated song without making mistakes on a stage peformance... Also, listening to stage performances enable to focus more on the nuances of the song unlike a studio recorded one which includes multiple effects on the song. On a stage, a singer sings more slowly in order to allow the audience to get the lyrics and the tunes properly.