First Book for my 9 months old

Price: Rs.200

I brought my son his first book "Now I am 1" from Limbooz.com the other day. And my little munchkin absolutely loved it. The sight of my little monkey being engrossed with the book is inexplicable. This touchy feely picture book is pretty interesting, with a no.1 written in the centre, engraved in fur in the book, which is quiet catchy for a 9 months old. The look of wonder and joy when he touches that furry one makes up my day. My tryst to inculcate reading habit has just taken off, and God willing he will pick it in his own good time. In the mean time we can buy more picture books to make reading more interesting. I guess it’s never too late— or for that matter— early to start reading. My little man is just getting started, he may or may not like it, that’s his choice, what I can do is try. Maybe I am a little biased but I think a gift of reading is one of the greatest gift you can give to a child, and I am trying my best.



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Third Trimester Ramblings

Whoa! These are the two things I feel everyday, oh and please add SEXY to it.

R.I.P: Mehandi Hassan

Ranjish hi sahi, dil hi dukhane
ke liye aa,
Aa phir se mujhe chhod ke jaane 
ke liye aa....

Mehdi Hassan, the famous ghazal singer passed away yesterday at the age of 84 and with him the curtain came down on the Dhrupad-style of ghazal gayaki. Though I don't claim to have heard him a lot, me being of an age where ghazal was a genre which was limited to sad, melancholic moments of hero, heroine of Bollywood. I know some of my colleagues and heard many celebrity claiming being obsessed by his songs. My knowledge of Ghazal has always remained limited to the likes of Jagjit Singh (another famous singer who passed away few months back) and Ghulam Ali, I can't help feeling sad about his demise and the void it created in Ghazal gayiki.


The heart rendering lyrics of the above lines are truly touching!





Tag: Songs, Singers, Maetros, Ghazal, India, Pakistan, Mehndi Hassan

Manali: The Switzerland of India!

Nestling in the foothills of Himalayas Manali lies in the state of Himachal Pradesh in the northern part of India.

Here are some pictures from our trips!

If you're planning for a trip to Manali, stay in Old Manali, it's by far better than the new town, the area around Mall Road is surrounded by loud-tourist-vacationing kinda crowd!

Enjoy a beautiful Manali sunset, while munching on some high tea and nice cakes from German Bakery in Mall Road!

We saw these guys enroute to Snow Point, Rohtang Pass, all set to clear the roads, if need be. The pass was closed due to bad weather when we went.

You will witness many such rustic looking bridges over Beas River. Jaw dropping view isn't it?

We were lucky to witness this typical Himachali Wedding procession! 

They have covered the bride as it was drizzling that day! 

We all are heading towards eternity.

Don't mind the spelling! We Indians just love Chinese cuisine, you can find a bowl of noodles even at 2050 meters above sea level.

A water fall in Snow Point.

The famous Yak of Manali. Disclaimer: They stink real bad!

The Johnsons Cafe, by far the best cafe I came across in the hills. Do try their Trout Fish, it scrumptious.

The famous Hidimba Temple. Remember Roja (the Movie), yep it is the same one.

The Buddhist Temple

On our way up for paragliding in Solang valley

I believe I can FLY!

Picturesque Manali

The Lazy Dog  Restaurant, Manali. Try their Donburi, it's yummilicious and with some beers.

Tags: India, Manali, Hills Station, The Lazy Dog, Restaurants, The Johnsons Cafe, Trout Fish, Travel, Himachal Pradesh, Himachali Marriage, Mall Road, Monastery, Rohtang Pass

Mommy to be!

And then I saw the two lines forming in front of my eyes!

Can you explain the feeling of love, exciting, fear, adrenaline all together? Is there a word for it. I don't think so. One can only feel it, and I had that moment on a Sunday afternoon, 18th December, 2011. In a span of few minutes my whole life changed. I took a deep breath, stared at my reflection on the mirror, and simply laughed inside the loo. Do I look any different? Have I changed? Does it show on my face.
OMG, I'm going to have a baby!
 
I can't believe it. I've never imagined myself as a MOMMA. Yes! I’ve a habit of creating hypothetical situations, and even dealing with it all in my mind. For instance, I’ve often imagined myself to be divorced from hubby, and living alone, somewhere far off in my own cloud cuckoo world with my parents. I imagined winning the KBCs and made plans about how I’ll spend the money and stuff like that. But, I have never considered myself as a mommy material. Never thought for a second, how will it feel to have a life growing inside you, to have the whole sole responsibility of a baby. The thought seemed alien to me a year back.
But from past 6 month, the idea of motherhood was tickling me really badly. Suddenly, I was desperate to have a baby. For reason unknown to me, I was almost wishing it happens every month. And it did. In the bathroom, I hugged myself almost clutching the news to myself and wondering how to break it to my man. I peeped through the bathroom door and saw him watching TV intently. I lay down next to him and hugged him close.
And I was about to say, when he asked:
"So", are you?
I said: "Yes"
After 4 and half years of marriage, I know petty "words" are never a means of communication between us. Hopefully, we'll sail through this in our own unique way.


P.S. I know I am too late in jotting down my pregnancy journey, I am almost 6 month pregnant now, and the baby belly is just about visible.
God, I can't wait to flaunt my belly.

Boss is always RIGHT. Boss is Never WRONG!

Ever been ambushed by your boss? Yes! You’re not alone. We professionals often go through kill-the-boss moments in life.

I have faced days when I was moved to tears, days when I gave right back, and on some I remained as calm as a cucumber. I’d say in this short span of professional life, I was pretty much able to hold the reins of integrity every time I faced this animal called boss. Virtually I guess we all accept that this animal will remain a part of our life for as long as we decide to work, or till we become a boss ourselves.

Remember that movie Yes Boss! How Shahrukh always agreed with whatever the boss’s said. That’s actually is a true mantra of leading a successful professional life.

1^st Mantra: Boss is always RIGHT
2^nd Mantra: Boss is never WRONG.

My journey, though short have been pretty much amazing. My first boss was Avinash Mudaliar, the quizzer who use to sport crazy long curls (now he has chopped it), and wear half sweaters in the chill of the air-conditioner during the summers. Impromptu, he’d call us in his cabin and ask us questions like, have you heard that no. from Billy Joel? In Times Internet Limited, I met some of the most talented people. I was completely awed by them. Maybe because I was a novice at the time.

If that was awesome, my stint with bestylish.com gave me a direction. Being a Junior Content Writer there, gave me an opportunity to work with two of the most endowed people: Jayashree Jayaraman and Kamal Krishna. If Jayashree is quiet, contended, and talented, KK was simply brilliant and inspiring. They both opened a window in my life which taught me so much about, my capability, work, and more. At that time, I didn’t knew how to cope with them, how to deal with the comments, the criticism, the craziness, the spur-of-the-moment retorts.

 “Hey listen, don’t teach your father how to fuck alright.”
Or
 Your copy lacks SEX, it's not seducing me at all.

That was how it was with them. Right in your face. No frills, no beating around the bush, simple, straightforward and damn hilarious. They sometimes made me feel inept, scared, lonely or even hateful, but they never BORED me. Not for a second. 

Now that I've left them behind, I realize that I've learned a lot from each one of them. I may not have the courage to tell them how impressed I was at the time. I was always aware. But I guess I was too busy trying to make an impression myself.

Mathura Nagarpati...!!

I’m a huge fan of Nick Hornby's books. I’ve read High Fidelity in my college days and was completely taken by it. Hornby is known for humour, and this one was no different. This book was primarily about music, and the happenings in the life of the protagonist. But the one part that I remember distinctly is that, the hero had a habit of making a top five list for every little things. For instance, he will make a list of top 5 favourite movies, top 5 Favourite dialogues, top 5 sad songs.etc. So, after reading the book I also started doing the same. But like most thing, this lame habit of mine got lost with time. And, thankfully it did. Though I’ve never been quite good at listing my favourites, coz after reaching the top 3, I start floundering.
List or no list. I love music. Starting from Begum Akhtar to Pink Floyd, I have heard them all. Though, I don’t claim to be an expert in the genre, but I’ve a decent idea about few of the ones I like. So when I listened to “Mathura Nagarpati” from Raincoat for the 1^st time, it blew me away. The lyricist of this song is Rituporno Ghosh, a much acclaimed director, actor, trans-drsser and what not. So, when I came to know 6 years back, that he wrote the lyrics in brij bhasha, I was surprised. And I am still very much besotted to this number. The song is written from the point of view of one of Lord Krishna’s wife, she is sadly observing the changes in Lord Krishna, who is the King of Mathura, desperate to leave the place to visit his childhood place, Gokul, to meet his sweetheart Radha. The song questions Krishna's reasoning for doing such an act. And the wife’s struggle, sorrow in knowing that he’ll return to Radha without a backward glance.

Such melancholy, I say!

Here’s the English translation of the song I found on the net.

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