Scripps National Spelling Bee Competition 2011

Phew, just called it a day in office and no swimming for me today as it's TGIF.  Anyways my real reason of jotting down my thoughts today is this awesome Scripps National Spelling bee finale, 2011, that I saw last night ( If you have no clue about Scripps check it out here ) and boy I loved itttttt! I have been following Scripps ever since my school days. Many a times I'd secretly imitated being a  participant, asking questions like " May I have the Origin please? or "Are their any alternate pronunciation?". The whole idea of knowing a word to the core might be alien to us Indians, but seems its not so alien to US kids of Indian origin, they are rocking the US soil with their dominance. ( Why can't the Government of India raise the bar of primary education in India). The participants spelled words as difficult as "Prospicience, Pococurante, Appoggiatura, Laodicean, I haven't heard any of them let alone spell it. And these all are the winning words spelled by Indian kids over the year in the Scripps. Out of the 13 finalist last night, 6 of them where Indian. Sukanya Roy eventually went ahead to win the competition. The world is going ga-ga over Indian intellect, we have 9 Scripps winners in past 13 years and this was the fourth consecutive win for Indian Kid. The stat shows it all. How I wish I could seize a little time from my schedule to learn the nuances of words. I think one has to start early if they want to develop a niche. It also depends on how good your primary education is. The spelling bee is a competition I can place over the French Open. We also have a Spelling Bee small level competition in Metros but the level is too pathetic to compete with it's US counterpart. This competition made me remember my school days. I had a swell time watching it after so many years.

P.S : The picture is of Sukanya Roy, her winning word was “cymotrichous.” which means wavy hair. How about that for some hair raising ending. I was almost breathless with happiness and jumped up with joys at 2.30 am all alone amongst the sleeping In-laws & a snoring husband.

Back In Pool !!

I am running a fever now because  my youthful sigh exuberance has let me down. One hour swimming & swallowing the pool water had me lying flat on my back. Only I know how I have managed to come to the office today (I am aching all over) . Though I am not a so called swimmer, I haven't reached that stage yet, I can just about traverse a distance with my head dipped in water and flip-flopping my legs & hands, that stage of intermittently breathing while swimming hasn't been reached yet. It will take some practice to get there, as the Coach said. God but it's such an amazing feeling to simply let your limbs go weak in the water. I am feeling so much lighter nowadays, I already feel I have lost all that extra weight (wishful thinking , I know). This Gurgaons, Gymkhana club turns all noisy and boisterous during summers and it's so easy to loose yourself in the surrounding watching the kids with their mommies or pot-bellied daddies. And some of these kids are such nice swimmers that they are putting my effort to shame.  Not just them, there are some real cool dudes and dudettes exuding their charm to catch a fish or two. Just a look is enough to set in this dark complex feeling about the number of bulges I owe. Apparently I am not letting that patronize me. I've promised myself a nice floral swim-suit if I learn at least 1 stroke to perfection this summer and till than I am stuck with the only one I own and abhor. Needless to whine about it here, as I am all intent about not investing a penny. Now that's a motivating thought a skimpy costume, I am not thinking about how i'll look though, that's a spoiler. Swimming for me is still a feel good thing for me and I am immensely loving it!

Summer Time

The past couple of week has gone by as usual, on this lazy Sunday I sit cross-legged on the floor rummaging through the piles of memories stocked up in every nook and corner of my room. The intent to start rearranging and reallocating lead to me to rubble of stuff I kept storing here & there. The old torn pages of books, the pages scribbled with some long forgotten poems, the fine layer of dust over the photographs pulls at heartstrings every now & then. I am almost roaring up with laughter after every minute, while going down memory lane. I've a small bamboo box full of nail-paints. For those who know me, they know, I've a ghastly pair of feet. No matter how much I spend on pedicures, they've remained stubbornly the same over the year. I can't help myself when I see a nice color, I love those 'aqua' colors girls are gratifying themselves with. Because they look so horrid on me, I never had the courage to try them in public. So what do I do, I put them on when hubby is intently watching soccer at night, and have them remove during the day. I've stored up heaps of lovely colors red, yellow, aqua, turquoise and many more in my little bamboo box,  for a time when I'll be confident enough to carry them off. Just a little change here and there lifts ones feeling so much isn't it and I strongly believe that drowsing in ones comfort zone is not good for anybody. Like any girl a shopping spree lifts my spirit, now with the advent of online shopping it has increased manyfolds. Though half of the time I end up buying clothes i'll never wear and things i'll never use. Like the other day I brought this white lace top, very classy, simple yet chic kind, my reason for buying it is I've not worn lace since my childhood. I don't remember wearing lace once I've left my school, now I know that made me sound like some granny, but there was a time I went ballistic over Cotton. I still am, in a way, but that didnt stopped me for this lacey purchase. So the top proudly hang on my wardrobe ready to be worn. I love summers, there is a fresh energy in the air, the bright sunshine, the juicy watermelons, the holiday moods set my spirit soaring high. BTW the only rearrangement that took place on Sunday is putting a bunch of carnations on a corner. I lost myself in certain tidbits as usual.

Disclaimer: The picture posted in the Blog is not of the Blogger *signs*.

Happily Ever After..!!

Like any girl I am also sucker for a good love story. I've grown up reading Mills & Boons—much to the chagrin of my Mum, (she considered it for adult reading and rightly so, I wouldn’t have let a 12 years old read it. Had I been on her place)—Yes I was just 12 then. But my sis was a teenager and she use to tell me these wonderful, heart wrenching romantic stories— I couldn’t wait to grow up to read such stuffs. And read I did—by covering the MBs with brown covers to make it look like a course book. Our local library Apna Pustakalay use to have a huge collection of MBs. Oh! How I miss that place, the enormous collection of books, that typical smell of old wornout, the endless racks and shelves and that old gentleman, sitting quietly observing everyone. I owe my reading habit to that library and to my sister!

Since then I've read hundreds of books—fiction, non-fiction, drama, thriller, Booker winners, and what not. But still nothing turns me on more than a good romance. Deep down we are like that, aren’t we? Hardcore romantic, we might not show it often enough, but we all love a good love story. It’s because of this that I pour over the relationships of celebrities. It’s for this reason, why I am still rooting for Brad Pitt to come back to Jennifer Anniston they were so perfect. A good love story is so hard to find these days. All around we can only see the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger—erghh!! And Will & Kate saga, though fairytellish is still too young to be called as everlasting. In today's time an age—when stories of infidelity, divorce, affairs and what not, are rampant, one story that has stood the test of time, is of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway.
I've read their story way back in 2001, when they created a furore in Norway. Their love story is seems like a story from straight from Mills & Boons. Don’t you think the Prince looks like a knight in the shining armor variety? Their story is one of the best real life, high profile, love story I've come across till date. You can read their whole journey here . In short, the Prince fell in love with an unmarried mother (much to the chagrin of the Royal family and the people of Norway) and against the Royalty & his Country, he insisted on marrying his love and cherish her son as his own, even if it means giving up his crown. Eventually the Royal Family relented & and they lived happily ever after. Now isn't it utterly romantic! Ah!!!

TAGS: Crown Prince Haakon, Norway, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Mills and Boons, Royal Family, Love Story, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie

The Daily Diary!

My days are happier and brighter, because I am shopping, everyday!

A close friend of mine is getting married, and I am helping her shop after office. Well! And as we know shopping and binging goes hand in hand, I can see the repercussion of it in my belly already. It doesn’t matter that I resolute to go on GM diet every morning? I seriously recent those who have such a good metabolism, I ve often seen thin people eat a lot more than the fatso. That’s so unfair, don’t you think? Now this GM diet is making me smugger. I know I can lose up to 5 kgs in a week, so ideally I can lose the flab any day. But I know it’s easier said than done.

Today, I met this exceptionally beautiful new joinie in the office. She is 5 feet 11 inches tall URGGHHHH , with long straight hair, porcelain skin, beautiful face and a figure to die for During lunch she told me how she has never visited a Gym in her life or ever diet for that matter. I was sitting with her and thinking God has truly blessed her with this part. But the best part was to know how grounded she turned out to be, she had no airs about herself, no idea whatsoever about the effect she is having on the surrounding (the moment she walked inside the cafeteria, the whole cafeteria stood up. And that’s not an exaggeration.

I couldn’t help asking her— had she tried modeling— She said: she didn’t, as her parents are pretty conservative, and how his father is spouse hunting for her, and unable to find a good match because of her height. That made me smile. Her father was evidently driving her up against the wall, she looked pissed yet she was kind of amusing, yet simple, honest and not to forget gorgeous.

It was actually very nice meeting her.

Maestros..!!

The other day Mommy (she is with us for another week) and me sat watching Dhobi Ghat ( movie ), and I just loved it. The whole point of me jotting down this blog today is not centered around the movie but few blink and miss songs played on it. When Aamir Khan was painting away his blues in the movie, in the background one can hear a subtle Tappa, Dadra, Thumari  playing. (For those who have no clue about what I am talking, Tappa, Dadra, Thumari are dominant genre of Hindustani Classical). Though I am very much a novice in Hindustani classical, my knowledge is mostly restricted to Rock n Roll and Country Music, having heard this genre took me to a different planet altogether. While watching Dhobi Ghat I got intrigued by the songs in the back ground. My mum said the singer probably is Girija Devi. Though I am still not sure about it. Ever since that day I am  incessantly listening about it. On Saturday morning, I woke up to my  Mother's version of banshee screaming, she read out the news paper to me saying, Girija Devi is in Delhi for some Music Festival. Pronto, I grapped the phone, asked few people for the passes. It turned  to be the famous Shankarlal  Musical Festival, dedicated to the memory of Pandit Bhim Sen Joshi, and the performance included Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Rahul Sharma, Rajan Sajan Brothers as well as Girija Devi. It took me a second to convince my Dad about joining us ( Dad just had his eye operation, I thought he will be reluctant to go), and Mrinal as usual had no choice but give in to the demands of married life. So sharp at 5:30 we left for Kamani Auditorium and saw one of the greatest concert of my life. Girija Devi sat among her disciple who where 1/4th her age and the audience were simply awestruck by the melody she presented. After seeing her performing for 1:30 hours she has a fan in my for life. The songs included lots of Kajri, (Kajri- means black-rainy clouds explaining the pathos of separated lovers). I am still taking baby steps, so don't hold my words for it, as I am only two weeks old. But would love to get into this deep lost world of Gharanas, and a music which has become so relevant to me in such a short period. Nowadays I love waking up to the sound of Raagas, hope this is not just a passing phase. The evening was more special because I saw it in the company of the three most important persons of my life. My Parents and Mrinal.


Disclaimer: The songs played in Dhobi Ghat may or may-not be Girija Devi's. But it seemed like her, my Mommy felt the same. And I stuck to it, at least it introduced me to this whole genre of music.


P.S. The first picture is of Girija Devi, along with her many students and great grand sons. The second picture is Me along with my Mommy, the fourth picture is of Rahul Sharma and Ram Kumar Mishra, the former is a Famous Santoor player and son of Shiv Kumar Sharma, later, is one of the India's eminent Tabla player. The last picture is of Me & Mrinal.  

Mumpi you were highly missed.

Raaga...!!

I've always been inspired by Nick Hornby's books. Was highly inspired by High Fidelity in my college days. The book was about this guy, his pals, his exs, and his love for music. But the most hilarious part that I remember was, that, he'd a habit of making a top five list for every little things, for e.g, Top Five Favourite Movies, Top Five Favourite Dialogues etc. I've been trying to make a habit of doing something similar for sometimes, but never managed to do so, as I start floundering by the time I reach top 3, evidently this hobby was never my cup of tea. But as far as music is concerned, it is extremely important for me, very much like that chap from the book. I love to sing, though I am no great shakes there and I love varied music, starting from Begum Akhtar to Pink Floyd. And I pretend not to cry when I hear something really nice (a habit that runs in my blood, courtesy my Mum & Sister).

The whole point of blogging today from office at 4 pm, is that I've to write about this very nice song, that came out almost 6 years ago and I am still obsessing over it, it's "Mathura Nagarpati" from OST Raincoat, this acclaimed song is written by Rituporno Ghosh, a Bengali director, who dresses weirdly, and have been flaunting his acting talent lately, might I add, he did a fantastic job in writing this song. The song is written in Brij Bhasha, and it talks about Lord Krishna leaving Mathura, where he's the king and going back to his childhood place, Gokul, leaving his Kingdom, his crown, his wife, to meet his beloved Radha. The song questions Krishna's reasoning for doing such an act. This is written from the point of view of one of his wife, while witnessing the change in him, knowing that he cannot be stopped and will return eventually to Radha without a backward glance, while she will be left behind. This is such a heart wrenching depiction, isn't it?

I came across its English translation on net. It goes like this:

Subah subah ka khyaal aaj
Early in the morning the thought arose
Wapas gokul chal mathura raaj
to go back to Gokul, in the king of Mathura's mind
Mathura nagarpati kaahe tum gokuljaaon
Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul
Manohar vesh chhod nand raaj
Leaving this beautiful attire oh son of Nanda
Sar se utaarke sundar taaj
Removing the beautiful crown from your head
Raj dand chhod bhumi par vaaj
Giving up ruling this world
Phir kaahe baansuri bajaao
Why are you playing the flute again?
Mathura nagarpati kaahe tum gokuljaao
Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul

Kaun sa anokhageet gaye pee kakool
What unique song did the cuckoo sing
Raj paat jaise aaj bhaidhool
That made you leave the throne like so much dirt
Kaun sa anokhageet gaaye pee kakool
What unique song did the cuckoo sing
Birhan laage phir hridaya akool
That the pangs of separation are stirred anew
Raj kaaj man na lagaao
The heart is no longer in kingly matters
Mathura nagarpati kkahe tum Gokuljaao
Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul

Poor naari saari vyakul nayan
Men and women watched with anxious eyes
Kusum sajaa lage kantak shayan
The flowers strewn on the bed felt like thorns
Poor naari saari vyakul nayan
Men and women watched with anxious eyes
Raat bhar madhav jaagat bechain
As Maadhav stayed awake the whole restless night
Kaahe aadhi raat saarathi bulaayo
Why did he call the charioteer in the middle of the night
Mathura nagarpati?..

Dheere dheere pahunchat jamuna ke teer
Slowly he reached the shores of the Jamuna
Sunsaan panghat mridul sameer
Lonely banks, soft breeze
Dheere dheere pahunchat jamuna ke teer
Slowly he reached the shores of the Jamuna
Khan khan madhav birha madeer
Madhav felt the bittersweet pangs
Use kaahe bhool na paao
Why can?t you forget her
Mathura nagarpati?.

Tumhari piriya ab puri gharvaali
Your love is now a complete housewife
Doodh navan ghivoo din bhar khaali
Getting new milk and busy the whole day
Biraha ke aansoon kab ke,ho kab ke ponch daali
The tears of separation have long since been wiped away
Phir kaahe dard jagaao
Then why awaken the pain again
Mathura nagarpati kaahe tum Gokuljaao
Oh lord of Mathura why are you going to Gokul

P.S. Hear it first thing in the morning. This song creates longing and a sad, poignant pain.