Jhumpa Lahiri

After badgering myself for past 12 hours about being a lazy-bone,  I am writing this blog. I didn't even peeped here for sometime, didn't even wanted to cause my reading habits have started over shadowing my writing ones. I've become obsessed with reading now a days. I am turning into this online reading junkie who cannot have enough of it. My eyes are straining  like hell and I am spending half of my salary either on books or eye drops. I am writing about this particular one because I've to get this book out of my system. I read Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth almost two months back and I am still stuck with it like a teenager's first love. I've read all her novels, needless to say how much I love her writing. I just cannot get her narration out of my head. It's addictive & simple & profounding, like watching porn as a kid and not been able to get it out of head. I went to Turtle Cafe, few months ago, bought this book and read the last story right away. I know Ms Lahiri's writing is evidently about Bengali Diaspora. The little nuances of her writing creates a kind of belonging one gets from being at peace with oneself. She paints such a beautiful pictures with her words that it stays with you for long, almost like it happened in your life. I felt this same ache when I read Interpreters of Maladies. She ignited the same emotion with The Namesake. She has done it all over again with this one. I started this book from the last story 'Hema And Kaushik'. I have not read it after that one time, I didn't dare to because it was too poignant. Such was her storytelling. It is a masterpiece. Other day I  watched 'The Namesake' again, I'd the most intense & profounding cinematic experience. If Jhumpa Lahiri is a genius, so is Mira Nair.

Excerpts from the book:

Unaccustomed Earth

"He owned an expensive camera that required thought before you pressed the shutter, and I quickly became his favorite subject, round-faced, missing teeth, my thick bangs in need of a trim. They are still the pictures of myself I like best, for they convey that confidence of youth I no longer possess, especially in front of a camera." 

The Third and Final Continent from Interpreters of Maladies.

I wanted somehow to explain this to Mrs. Croft, who was still scrutinizing Mala from top to toe with what seemed to be placid disdain. I wondered if Mrs. Croft had ever seen a woman in a sari, with a dot painted on her forehead and bracelets stacked on her wrists. I wondered what she would object to. I wondered if she could see the red dye still vivid on Mala's feet, all but obscured by the bottom edge of her sari. At last Mrs. Croft declared, with the equal measures of disbelief and delight I knew well:
"She is a perfect lady!"
Now it was I who laughed. I did so quietly, and Mrs. Croft did not hear me. But Mala had heard, and, for the first time, we looked at each other and smiled.

Nutcase!

Lately life has been crazy & I am pissed off doing the same crazy stuff that I've been doing all my life which is Cribbing, Getting Bored, Complaining & being Self critical. OK so I know my failings & I want to be the first person to recognize it but I can't seems to be able to control this so called drive to seek for some thing new every single day. I want something new to happen every day it might be an argument with someone random or it could be eating a new dish or it could be using a new word. But I crave for novelty, the idea of treading into unknown path gives me an adrenaline rush, it makes me feel out of depth, nervous, excited all at once. Now that I don't have anything better to do in office I better put down my doings of the past week.

1) Monday: Reached office at 11.30 am without feeling a tinge of guilt or fear.

2) Tuesday: Wore stilettos (6 inches) & I felt damn good about it even though it gave me few shoe bites.

3) Wednesday: Used a new word "Sacrilege" for the first time in a conversation.

4) Thursday: Corporate fight with no words. (" Welcome To Corporate Stress Moushmi" My Boss's Quote)

5) Friday: Had a damned interesting conversation on lift with this ex-journalist single women on a GM Diet. She incessantly shared her worldly knowledge about dieting with me. She weighs 88 Kg.

6) Saturday: Guzzled Kokum Sharbat & few unknown dishes which all turned out to be crap.

7) Sunday: Went to class after a really long time where everyone greeted me with a standing ovation. ( It was so embarrassing, I suddenly forgot to walk without being aware of every little part of my body)

Everybody had a great laugh on my behalf. But at least it was something new. I am in this moronic- life-is-yuck-phase so kindly excuse me.

Wanderlusting...!!

Hassene Fkiri and me!

Pork Chilli with Fruit Beer

Hopped on a metro at 11 am sharp, with little butterflies in my stomach going crazy with the thought of watching the Commonwealth finally, I picked 3 sports , swimming (coz S.P Mukherjee stadium is breathtaking), Wrestling, cos I wanted to shout filth along with the akharawalas around Haryana & Delhi ( the Talkatora stadium is full of Haryanvis & Gujjars coming in tractor full from as far as Dhangal), & if luck had it I would have loved to see boxing (courtesy Raging Bull & the whole idea of screaming with your favorite while the other is getting smacked) as well. I was alone in my voyage (I love love love going around the city exploring the places) as hubby is still too weak to move, so I took the Sarita Vihar metro (it started 4 days back only), I've been an avid metro user for quite long now, but the view this one presented was simply breathtaking, you can see Lotus Temple, ISKON, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and lot more just sitting on metro. Neways I got down at Central Secretariat, and changed metro to INA & went to Dilli Haat. I use to love Dilli Haat, but now it has become so monotonous that it has lost its charm on me. Right in front there was this Commonwealth Kiosk, selling mementos. I bought a Vuvuzela, as I've been dying to have it since Football World Cup. Blowing it was really difficult, the guy selling it was very helpful (with sarcasm), he asked me to blow it like a trumpet ( as if I am some Jazz musician with a trumpet in my hand). I told him thanx for showing me my inability. I have to practice blowing it coz its making weird noises now. I stood in a queue for next 1 hour to get the tickets , made few friends in the process from Norfolk Island & finally didn't got the tickets as it was all sold up. So the whole plan came crashing down, no tickets available for Sundays game as well cos the Central Delhi have been cordoned off for the Cycling match. So I started wandering around Dilli haat watching many players who have came to visit the place ( saw many Sri-lankan players, Australian Gymnast, South African Net ball players & many many known faces). For lunch I went to Arunachal Pradesh stall as I wanted to try something very different I opted for Pork & Bamboo Shoot Chilly Fry & Fruit beer, ever since I started working in this food & nightlife websites, I have started to look at it as a reviewer, "the pork was good though too much of onions spoiled the taste, the garnishing was pathetic ". While having lunch I met this amazing South Indian lady who was also alone like me, we sat chatting & talking about experiences, in the process I came to know she was single & have been living alone from past 25 years, she never married or never could stay with her parents as they were very pushy for everything. So she went off alone in order to pursue her career & lived a life in her own terms, she is 45 now & she don't have a partner, many of her friends are busy with their Kids, marriage & career that's why she is out today to have a good time. I left her sitting their having Momos & talking with the waiter, amazed with her for having the courage which I find lacking in me so many times. From their I walked straight into Australian wrestler Hassene Fkiri, for those who don't know him, he is the guy who was stripped of his silver medal for making rude gestures to the umpires after losing to Indian wrestler Anil Kumar for the Gold Medal match in the Commonwealth games. I had a small conversation with him:

Me: Hey

Fkiri: Hey, how you doing?

Me: Good
Fkiri: Do you know me?
Me: I saw that fateful match.
Fkiri: Urghhhh

Me: Can I take a picture with you.
Fkiri: Of course

Me: What made you so angry that day.
Fkiri: Was speechless, than gave me an uncertain smile.

Fkiri: Is that your Kid? ( to a wandering small kid)

Me: No
Fkiri: R u single, you are roaming around alone. Ain't their any nice guys in India.

Me: Their are but they busy making all the nicer guys angry now a days.

Fkiri: (Roaring with laughter, he went off waving his hand)
He made my day in an instant. To think I have been discussing about him with hubby few days back when his medal has been stripped and than simply having conversation like that was so exhilarating. It turned around my disappointment in not getting the tickets in a jiffy. After that I left for Sarojini for some girly shopping, came back to Dilli haat to watch some cultural programmes, later went to Connaught place sat on the Central Park, by shedding my shoes on the grass overlooking the amphitheater (a youth festival is going on , Indian ocean was suppose to play their). Had such a fulfilling day today. I went home blowing my Vuvuzela in the wind (still making those weird noise). I am a happy women now.

P.S. In the first pic I am along with Hassene Fakiri & that is my lunch, I realized now I didn't asked that South Indian lady's name (my lunch partner), how daft of me.

Ding Dong Deng-eee

OK so all plans went down in dumps I am not going home for pujo courtesy Mr Mrinal Roy who contracted Dengue. Of course like any lawfully wedded wife I am feeling sorry & concerned for my better half and I want him to be fit as a horse soon. But God Dammit I am feeling sorry for myself more than anybody (does that make me any lesser wife). I am downright horrendously not happy about not able to go to Bhilai. I am slightly angry with him for his disease. But more than that I am I simply unable to believe my God damn luck. After dreaming for ages about this trip, when I was a week away from it WOSH..this so called Dengee comes from nowhere to spoil my plans. More than that I have to really request my boss for this holidays, I cajoled him claiming not much work will happen during Commonwealth Games & all that. The very next day Hubby got down with fever & I am now sitting at home & hospital nursing him out if it & spending my so called holiday this way. URGGHHH. OK more than that this is a very peculiar disease. Their is no straight forward treatment of Dengue, all you can do is do your platelet counts to check whether its falling or not and give the patient some vitamins and paracetamol that's it. This makes it even worse, he seems all right to me some times. Though his platelets are below normal I know, but I still kept doubting him hoping it will be cured before 9th. We haven't canceled our bookings yet but I know, his weakness will sustain till than. More than that the word "Dengue" has been blown out of proportion my media. Delhi being the breeding ground of it. I am receiving calls from around the country giving their tips & worldly advices. & nobody is inquiring about my broken heart ....Alas!

"I get by with a little help from my friends." - John Lennon

So Gargo is finally in town, Gargi Naha one person with whom I ve spent "the best days of my life" (five glorious years of self-discovery) is finally in Gurgaon. Ok so we met as a teenager ready to discover the life away from home, parents & so called schooly inhibitions. I've hated school when I was a small girl, it was kind of suffocating and I always had this insecurity that I am not good enough that their are far better & smarter kids in the class than me, my sister being one of the most popular kid in school didnt helped at all. But when I was in college it kinda opened new doors and I could finally start being just me, without being judged by the so called family friends and relatives. I got admission in Physiotherapy college in Bhopal & was told that I'll share a room with one bong girl & a Gujju girl. So their she stood on the door way all 5 feet 7 inches tall (almost 6 inches taller than me) and cylindrical (almost like me). That was Gargo Naha with specs and books in her hand wearing this knee length skirt and apprehensive eyes. Gosh I thought I didn't needed a geek in my room. That is how it had began it was a slow steady journey of knowing each other and between us we have many stories to tell and many experiences to share apart from sharing boy friends. Yes we use to have this crazy crush on one of the handsomest boy Ive laid eyes on in Bhopal, we use to go every Sunday to this market place just to catch a glimpse of this boy, with our heart hammering and we use to drool over him & wanted him to see us & he did saw. The infatuation lasted till the day he approached us and spoke the first few lines about "making Frandship", we went home disappointed with him for being a HMT (hindi medium type). The other day receiving her call was so relieving. She called me at 9 in the morning telling me she is here & that we can meet any day anytime from now onwards & meeting her after office that day was like meeting my family. We talked for hours on end sitting on this small eatery, talking our heart out was downright comforting. Things have changed for us now our topics are different compared to those in the older times, before it use to be more about boys, grades, shopping, parents expectations and gossiping. Now it consist of Mum in law ( 1st & foremost), family planning, career, money, tax and what not. Being in a corporate office don't allow you the luxury of friendship, the term to use here is acquaintances. I am in contact with most of the friends who mattered. The two of them who mean the most are Gargo & Sweta two different personalities & two of my closest pals.

Choli, Chatter & Chill...!

After that horrendous last week, the weekend was everything I dreamt of & more. Not that we did something really wacky or interesting but it's just that some how the whole last weeks episode has relieved me, it's just simply vanished my so called inhibitions and the always tingling fear of future. I simply stopped fighting my so called disappointments and accepted the fact that yes I might not be a part of this review team that I so badly wanted & worked hard for, but that hike they gave me should cheer me up even though they are measly. I've decided I'll put on only that much effort that I have asked for & not an inch more. Instead of always being overworked with the expectation of being rewarded is the reason I fell in this shit in the first place. So from now onwards it all about enjoying what you do. Facing the facts did wonders for my depressed self and few minutes of indulging into profanity made me so so satisfied. How I wish I could say it all to them (the so called Boss's). Neways driving across Delhi on Saturday turned out to be stress busting & this CWG chaos didn't damp my spirits. So on Saturday me & Hubby went to Connaught place, walked in Janpath, went across Jantar Mantar, Hogged on pizzas and bargained my heart out with those Gujarati ladies selling colorful bags & Cholis. I have bought this very colorful choli, though at this point I don't have anything to go with it yet but the cut is so sexy that I cant wait to flaunt it & chatting with those Gujju ladies made me remember one of my old Gujju room mate (Ankita Sahu), shopping is really rejuvenating. Apart from that choli I bought five bags for my relatives in Kolkata all in various hues of colors. The best part that afternoon was this very touristy thing that we did by parking our car & jumped into an auto and headed to Jantar Mantar. That Sardarji auto wala was a full paisa wasool fellow & he incessantly chatted his gut out & made us roar with laughter. Well he did charged us a tad bit more & hubby didn't raised his eyebrows (Don't know why don't guys ever bargain) & me being me I did told sardar ji .."ki bhaiya Buddhu bana diya " & he left giving me those innocent "hehe"smile. I've been to Jantar Mantar in Ujjain before this Delhi one neways they both have become redundant now and only the Jaipur one works now. Honestly speaking I was more keen to take pictures than understanding the whole time frame. Mrinal indulged himself in book & guide and all the minuscule details. Later when we reached home he did his research in Google as well. Ask him anything about it now & I bet he knows more than Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur (the Guy who built Jantar Mantar across India). The evening traffic & CWG extravaganza made us wait for almost two hours before we reach home but it was all worth the effort. It was worth to let your mind wander away and look forward to this new perspective of life..!

Good Riddance to last week!

It is turning out to be such a bad week. Starting Monday before I can reach my cubicle I received all the gory details of what could not be happening in near future from my so called Boss. I was down in the dumps since than. And the fact that I've been working so hard on this project simply makes it even worse. Neways I've learned my lessons from this so called "growing up" in job situation. Worse part is, even booking my tickets for Bhilai is also not lifting my moods. I am trying my best to stop brooding and not to indulge in self-pity. From past few days I've driven Hubby mad with my incessant queries and my Mum is on the receiving end of some of the crankiness. Since that fateful day all I am doing in office is CHILL. Reading online books, peeping on others Facebook profiles, eating away in Bhaji and feeling rotten at the end of the day. Gosh I've to accept the facts and look forward. Somehow at this moment the agony aunt's recommendation are not doing any wonders for me..!