A blog post-2

Today during lunch break we were discussing who all have nick names…I do not have one. Both siblings have two names each and a third joint name!!..as in they are called “Ani” and “Manu” when addressed individually..but if one has to call them together/ or refer to them together…it becomes “Ani-Mani”..:D, so basically the twins share 5 names between them..:O. I always wanted that even I should have been given a nick name. I guess parents made up for their deed of not nick naming me by bestowing siblings with a set of 5 names..:D….anyways, I have always been known by this single name only. Infact if I look around, almost all my cousins have a nick name, even all my chachas/ maamas ..yess..ALL..and they would be somewhere close to 30 if I count all the cousins my dad has… have nicknames…..infact I still do not know the official names of many of them..:O…yess, it was never needed…..the only times when we ever came to know about the “actual” names of these chaachas / maamas was when we had to write their names on invitation cards..or we received the invites of their marriage..or we actually went to their place and saw it on the name plate… :D…I remember..bachpan mein if we actually needed to know any chachaas real name…we would ask dad..”papa Bombay vale pappu chacha ka naam kya hai???.....(Bombay vale was imp, because there is another pappu chaacha..Musoorie vale…whos actual name I still do not know..:D) Huge family you see….nick names also had to be repeated after a certain point…:D (Btw ..i have a Pappu mama also….:D)
I remember in Bombay vale pappu chaacha ka naam I came to know when I went to his place in Mumbai for the first time in 2006. I saw it on his nameplate at the reception of his building..and had “Dhyani” not been written next to it..i would have never been able to figure out which one was his flat..:). Thank God the sir name is not too common, otherwise the family would have had a tough time finding and identifying each other outside home..:) ..So many a times it happens that I come across people who ask me..are vo falaane Mr. XYZ Dhyani ko hum jaante hain, vo jo tumhaare chaacha hain…and we kids are clueless, as we only know our chaachas/ maamas as Nandan Chaacha/ Tinku chaacha etc..:)
The other day..FB was throwing suggestions for friends….a name called Sachin Nawani was appearing almost every day…..i thought lemme go and see ye kaun hain…clicked on the profile and discovered that it was “dabloo” mama’s profile…:D..my mum’s first cousin…
In school we use to have many kids whos names in school seemed as if they were their nick names only….there was a guy called Goldy…I always thought ki iski shaadi ke card pe ye naam kaisa lagega…:D..however, I guess Goldy read my mind..and later changed his name in class 10.
Then my mum had some students like..Silky Bagga…:O…matlab mum papa ne zyaada dimaag hi nahi lagaya naam rakhne se pehle….or may be…the naamkaran ceremony was bypassed and by the time parents reached the stage where the child’s name was to be registered in a school…they did not feel like straining there grey cells and let the “happy”, “silky”, “princy”, “bubbly” name prevail!!
Anyways, all said and done I always secretly wished for a nick name and wondered how kool it would have been to have one…
So I thought that when I have kids, they surely will have nick names..:)…until I met husband who is a staunch disbeliever of nick names…..and feels that nicknames tend to stay with people for too long and these grown up kids when called Shanky uncle and Simpi aunty…it kind of does not go very well with their graying hair…:D
And since I strongly believe in not imposing/ trying things on my kids which I could not do/ accomplish…I too have decided to go with his thoughts and it seems like nick names will be distant thing in family as of now….

and this song for all our babloos and dabloos...and Bhatt ji....jinke soujanya se ye gaana yahan chipak paaya...:)

Writing about nick names reminds me of the horoscope names which we people have. It is the name which a child has based on his/ her DoB, ToB etc..and which panditji tells during naamkaran..however the official name has to be different from the janampatri name and thank GOD for that....because in my case that name was such a big disaster that inspite of me being generally cmfrtable laughing at myself, i have never ever told anybody about my hor(ror)oscope name..:O..the peculiarity quotient of bthese names can be gauged by the fact that siblings horo names were Ghananand and Ghanaakshri....and i find these OK when compared to mine..:D

A blog post-1

1. Its already 8 minutes past 12, and i am still awake...waiting for husband dear to come back. His flight has just landed and he should be home anytime. I have been feeling really sleepy all this while, but last time when i resigned to sleep God waiting for husband ..poor chap had to come inside the house through an open accessible window as multiple phone rings and door bells failed to wake me up! So better stay awake than make him go through that circus once again...:D
2. Gurgaon weather is awesome since last 2 days, feels like i am back in Bangaluru..:)..:)..:)....
3. I am sitting at the window seat in office today..the view from here is awesome…:)

Google पे "English to Hindi Translation " छापा....तो कोई site खुल गयी, जिसमे इंग्लिश में अगर कुछ लिखो तो उसके कोर्रेस्पोंडिंग वही वाक्य हिंदी में आ जाएगा; हिंदी भाषा में फिर गूगल पे दोबारा ढूंडा और पाया की मुझे जो चाहिए वो "translation " नहीं "transliteration " है मैं जो भी इंग्लिश में लिखूं वो वैसा ही देवनागरी लिपि में आ जाए जैसे अगर " View of the town from my seat is good" translate किया जाए हिंदी में तो वो बनेगा (using the translation tool).." मेरी सीट से शहर का दृश्य बहुत अच्छा है" और अगर मैं इसी को transliterate करूँ Google transliteration की मदद से तो सीधा देवनागरी लिपि में आएगा " व्यू ऑफ़ द टाउन फ्रॉम माय सीट इस गुड"
Interesting finding...:)

This post was written some 20 days ago. Could not post it then. Its been long since this blog has been updated and what better way to get rid of blog hiatus than a tag..:)

Saw this tag on a blog today and will waste no time in taking it..:)

1. What curse word do you use the most?
Dableww Tee Eff!!!

2. Do you own an iPod?
No, Husband does so I guess Yes, I do..:D

3. What person do you talk to on the phone the most?
Hmm….dont have the statistics handy...…but I mostly talk to Shweta, Rachana and my parents.

4. Do you still remember the first person you kissed?
Yes of course….i would be suffering from amnesia not to remember that..:D

5. Do you remember where you were on 11/9/01?
Yess!!..Jhansi…..on the terrace of Yashodhara Bhavan-our hostel, sitting idle with friends….when a friend came from the common room and enlightened us..”America pe terrorist attack ho gaya hai…aur hum yahan faaltu time pass kar rahe hain”…
6. What was the last movie you watched?

A movie on Mozart…name I don’t remember.....

*remembered the name during editing..Amadeus*

7. Has anyone ever called you lazy?

Never….people don’t call me lazy..they simply shout at me for being LAZY…!!

8. Do you ever take medication to help you fall asleep?
Once..I could not sleep for some 2 hrs after going to bed….so thought that I would need some outside help…..dint realize that 2 hrs delay in sleeping was resulting in 4 hrs delay in getting up too..:D

9. Has anyone told you a secret this week?

hmm….lemme think…No

10. What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex?

Simplicity Quotient

11. What are you looking forward to?

A visit to parlor….

12. Do you own any band t-shirts?

Na ji

13. What will you be doing in one hour?

Cooking something

14. Is anyone in love with you?

Yes of course!

15. Last time you cried?

Don’t remember….

16. Are you on a desktop computer or a laptop?

Laptaap

17. Are you currently wanting any piercings or tattoos?

Ye..another piercing in ears..

18. Would you ever date anyone covered in tattoos?

Don’t know….but I have married one with a permanent tattoo..:D

19. What were you doing before this?

Reading the new thick Femina Edition

20. When is the last time you slept on the floor?

Last Friday!

21. How many hours of sleep do you need to function?

Embarrassed!!

22. Do you eat breakfast daily?
Why are there so many embarrassing questions???

बहारों फूल बरसाओ..:)

सामान पैक हो रहा है, bags / cartons कम हैं और सामन ज्यादा...पर अब थक गए...कल करेंगे..:D ...हमेशा की तरह...:D ..
खैर आज ऑफिस से वापस आते समय किसी ऑटो में ये गाना बज रहा था....

बड़ा महत्त्वपूर्ण है ये गाना उत्तर भारत के लगभग सभी शादीशुदा दम्पत्तियों के जीवन में....फिल्म सूरज का ये गीत जो 1966 में आई थी; तब से मेरे ख़याल से हर दूल्हा दुल्हन के वरमाल के समय, जब दुल्हन हाथ में माल लिए stage की तरफ बढ़ रही होती है (१ दम artificially धीरे-धीरे चलते हुए) तब बजा दिया जाता है....
अपनी शादी को लेके सपने etc मैंने कभी ज्यादा नहीं देखे थे, पर...बस १ और १ दिली तमन्ना थी थी, की मेरी शादी में वरमाल के समय ये गाना न बजे. बहुत ही कम गाने हैं जो मुझे खराब लगते हैं..ये शायद लिस्ट टॉप करेगा..:D
खैर, मैंने इसका तोड़ भी ढून्ढ निकला था, १ बार कई साल पहले १ शादी में, दुल्हन की उस artificial walk के दौरान ये गाना बजाया orchestra वाले अंकल ने....(lyrics पे ध्यान दीजियेगा...:))



वह, और इस गाने ने मेरा मन मोह लिया...:)...उसी दिन मैंने सोच लिया, की शादी जब भी हो, जहाँ भी हो, जिससे भी हो...मेरी उस वरमाला वाली अप्राकृतिक धीमी यात्रा के दौरान ये ही गाना बजेगा...:)
खैर, शादी की भगदड़ में ये बात दिमाग में न जाने कब कहाँ पीछे चले गई....और जैसे ही मैं फूलों की चादर के नीचे, cousins, दोस्तों etc से घिरी बाहर निकली stage की तरफ जाने के लिए ...कानो में गाना गूंजा...."बहारों फूल बरसाओ...मेरा महबूब आया है.....मेरा..महबूब आया....है.."...उफ़....मन किया उसी समय भाग के जाऊं और orchestra पार्टी से कहूँ. भैय्या pls गाना change कर दो...:D ....पर ऐसा हो न सका...गाना बजता रहा...और मैं बढती रही धीरे धीरे stage की तारफ अपने वर को माला पहनाने के लिए...:)

Chirraiyya..

One of my best friends got married in Feb 2007. I came to Delhi from Chennai to attend her wedding…like most brides she was a bit scared a bit apprehensive…basically pre-nuptial jitters had taken the better of her. But the thing which was worrying her the most was, “shaadi vale din main kaise dikhungi”. Bhai baat sahi bhi hai, so many people would come to attend the wedding, the bride-groom would be on an elevated platform and many cameras and at least one video vale uncle would be constantly focusing on you….”kaise dikhne” ka darr banta bhi hai…..She went to one of the best parlours in Delhi, and it would be unfair to her if I say she was not looking pretty…:)
I, being her best friend was given the responsibility of being with her all the time during and before the wedding…..me being the constant source of “baatein-gyaan bhari”..:D…was joking on one or the other thing constantly..and she was requesting/ asking/ shouting at me to pls be quiet so that she is not forced to laugh and her make up stays tucked….
For a long time I very clearly remembered how worried a girl can get about “how she looks” on her big day……
Then came my turn on the 6th day of February this year and i realised that my memory had failed me big time....
Before my wedding, I zeroed down on a parlor, based on same good reviews and a aankhon dekhi bride…a friend told..shes good…aunty thora pakati hain, किसी की सुनती नहीं हैं पर ठीक हैं चलो भाई..सही है, इन्ही के पास चले जाते हैं...वैसे भी I always felt, that सारी दुल्हन १ जैसे ही दिखती हैं, red कपडे, same makeup….और शादी में दुल्हन को कौन देखता है....:D -yes, I use to think that…:O…sab khane peene naachne gaane mein mast/ vyast hote hain…..I completely missed the fact, that शादी में कोई और देखे न देखे, शादी की एल्बम जीवन भर साथ रहती है, aur re-create nahi ki jaa sakti...:(

What followed was a sequence of events which would soon result in the images in my Shaadi ki Album...:)

शादी वाले दिन हम पहुंचे पार्लर वाली आंटी के यहाँ उन्होंने अपनी जादुई chair पे बैठाया....और कहा चलो बेटे, आँखें बंद कर लो....ढीट बच्चों की तरह कहना न मानते हुए मैं हर आधे मिनट में आँखें खोल के देखने लगी, इस बीच पाया ये गया, की आंटी ने foundation, concealer, dunno what1.....foundation, concealer...dunno what2...foundation..concealer....dunno what3.... के न जाने कितने layers से मेरे otherwise ok दिखने वाले चेहरे को "सज़ा" दिया...:( ...खैर....इसके बाद आंख्ने खोल के मैंने जैसे ही अपना चेहरा शीशे में देखा ढंग से....."आंटी ये तो बहुत ज्यादा हो गया है" ..x-(....
" अरे हाँ, ऐसे ही होता है bridal makeup, ये सब अभी थोरी देर में "seep in" कर जायेगा..."..आप चुप चाप आंख्ने बंद करके बैठे रहो..."..:O
मेरी प्रिय सहेली जो मेरे साथ गयी थी.." तू चुप चाप बैठे रह...ये अभी सब skin absorb लेगी..."....सब light हो जायेगा..."
अच्छा जी....चलो, अपनी दोस्त पे मुझे फिर भी थोडा भरोसा था....
उसके बाद १ और round आँखें बंद करने का हुआ, और इस बार शिकार पे थीं मेरी आँखें ....जब आंख्ने खोल के देखीं, तो beyond repair damage हो चुका था...."सीता माता की जय हो" बस यही शब्द गूँज रहे थे मन में.....
Parlor में मौजूद अपनी बहेन, अपनी cousin, अपनी १ और परम मित्र की और देखा, की शायद मेरी ही आँखें धोखा खा रही हों...और सच्चाई शायद थोरी फरक हो.....पर होनी को तो आज कुछ और ही मंज़ूर था....उनके चेहरों पे जो scorecard दिखा अपने इस "bridal" रूप का....मेरी रूह थरथराने की चरम सीमा पार कर गयी....
खैर, इसके बाद कुछ और painting हुई, आसपास की जनता तैयार हो रही थी, और बीच बीच में सांत्वना भरी नज़रों से मुझे देख रही थी...
अब तक मैंने मन को समझा लिया था, की जो है सही है...जाने दो...
इस सारे circuis के अंत तक मुझ पे me-the bride हावी होने लगी थी, और उस जादुई कुर्सी से उतरने के बाद जब मैंने खुद को शीशे में देखा, तो लगने लगा, की "अरे ठीक ही लग रही हूँ यार मैं.."...ये मेरे अंदर की bride बोल रही थी; मैं पूरे शादी mode में आ चुकी थी....
Parlor वाली आंटी को goodbye बोल के निकल पड़े "wedding hall" की ओर...
अब शुरू हुआ...१ नया सिलसिला....जो थोड़े बहुत doubts थे मन में अपनी इस रंगों से सजे चेहरे को लेके वो सब दूर हो गए....
सभी मौसी, मामी, चाची, ताई, बुआ-ओं ने देखते ही अपना फ़र्ज़ भरपूर तरीके से निभाना शुरू किया..."अरे बेटा..कितनी सुंदर लग रही है....."
"बहुत ही सुंदर बेटा...बहुत प्यारी लग रही है..."
वाह वाह ..मन मयूर नाच उठा....मतलब मैं १ दम सही सोच रही हूँ....."मैं अच्छी लग रही हूँ..."...YAY!!
खैर.....इसके बाद १ के बाद १ शादी के कार्यक्रम होने लगे.....और दिमाग चेहरे से हट गया.....जब तक मैंने शादी के फोटो नहीं देखे और उन्हें अपने मित्रजनो को नहीं दिखाया....:D
जब मित्रों को कुछ "अच्छी" तस्वीरें भेजीं....तो वार्तालाप कुछ ऐसे हुआ...
me: bhej din pics...
friend: okies..lemme check
*after a good 2 minutes*
me:??
milin??
friend: abe tu to 1 dum diff lag rahi hai...
me: :)
*another 2 minutes*
me: diff as in???....
friend: hmm.....
me:????
*again 2 min*
friend: u are looking very diff....lag hi nahi raha ki tu hai...
me: phew!!!..ok, to jo main lag rahi hun.."vo" kaise hai??
friend: :)).....tu 1 dum bride lag rahi hai....:)
me: :O.....
met a dear cousin in Hyd after marriage...he had seen the made up me at the wedding...
cousin: abe tera chehra to bahut glow kar raha hai.....shaadi ka make up abhi tak bach rakha hai kya face pe...:D..:D
I couldnt help but laugh....:D
Sent the pics to a friend who apparently wanted to se me in lehnga and make up etc....she never replied after seeing the pics...:)
Anyways, sis has already decided that shes not going to the same "parlor vaali aunty", on her big day!!
I am still waiting for the official album, hoping that the photoshoped pics would be somewhat better...:D
The only silver lining in all this make up circuis was that husband dear found it perfectly fine and thought that the bride me was looking good....:))
Am listning to this song after a long time, and as usual..loving it..:)
PS: Post on shaadi is still not complete, will post it soon...:))

Title of this post is a word from one of the folk songs which were being sung at my sasuraal when i reached there..:)..i loved that song and specially this word. It has nothing to do with the post otherwise..:)

Ding dong....:)

I had written this post few months back, posted it, then deleted it.....no clue whatsoever why....
Again posting it here..:)
I shall start this post without any introduction. Just jotting down the kind of life I had always envisaged after marriage….:)I have always been a very lazy person, and by standards of girls, a bit too lazy. A person driven by sheer convenience when it comes to household chores. Not at all a cleanliness freak. Bas manage ho jana chahiye. Ten years of stay away from home has played a strong role in shaping this behavior. Ok, to add to it, I am careless also, and have perfected the art of loosing things in the past twenty something years. Hence people around me feel that I should get married to someone who is very organized and careful. And should not at all be lazy. So that we “compliment” each other and the "jeevan ki naiyya" sails smoothly. But somehow I feel that it would be great fun to get married to someone lazier than me. (and believe me, I have this strong feeling that I will get married to someone like that only). I have my own good set of reasons for believing so. Lets have a look: 1. I will never be shouted at for oversleeping. (the moment he says..babe u sleep too much….i will have a quick retort….less than u man….so better stay chill..:D)
2. I don’t like getting up in the morning to find the place next to me empty. At home when I sleep with my mum/ sis (for that matter any one), I always open my eyes in the morning to a vacant bed next to me, since all of them get up earlier than me. I am then surrounded by a deep feeling of sheer despair and melancholy …how lazy I am, and man, every one else around me is so active…:(.Now, imagine..opening your eyes in the morning and discovering that the person next to you is still asleep, you are filled with the sheer joy of coming first in the race of waking up early..:D., and with the inexplicable feeling of satisfaction that there exist souls lazier than you on this earth. And leave apart all that, the very fact that now you can begin you day by establishing your superiority over this lazy ass, shouting at him and hence feeling responsible, that you are a perfect wife who ensures that her husband leaves for office on time…:D..:D (this is considered given that yours truly would get up at least few seconds before the line of time of control…:P)
3. All my life till now I have been taunted for being the lazy self who I am. From my parents, to friends in hostel, to flat mates….I have been the target of every group of human beings around and have been reprimanded always for oversleeping, re-sleeping, just lying around doing nothing and finishing every imp work at the eleventh hour. Now imagine, when I have someone around all through out life, to take revenge of all what I have gone through all these years…..YAY!!!!....
4. Another important thing which has bothered me all these years, is the fact that I have always been the last one to take bath at home…especially if it’s a weekend. My wing mates in hostel never had a problem because of me, as this was an unspoken code set, that “Deepti last mein nahane jaayegi”…:)..everybody loved me for this. Even though there were high chances that in the drought ridden HOT places I have done my college from, where water supply was too limited, the tap would stop being kind after 8:30 AM; I was never never in a hurry to take bath, even if in the end I had to fetch water from the mess most of the times…:). “Pehle Aap”, had always been my mantra when it came to bathing.Now imagine, if Mr. Husband happens to be somebody who has been holding the same respectable position in the Boys’ Hostel and believes in a similar theory, how thrilling life would become…:). Weekends mornings would be so much fun…:).

Now the underlying fact in all the above reasons quoted is only one: I get to play the PERFECT wife, one who always finishes first…:)

:))...Reality however, is quite different....:) From little bit of what i have discovered in past couple of months, would be husband happens to be quite opposite of what i had envisaged...:).....More on this after a couple of months....;)