India Vs Pakistan

Source: desi-radio.com

Now that the India Vs Pakistan Match is over and done with, I guess most of the Indians can get on with their lives. India Won. We won. And what a match!!! There were some surprises though - The many misses by the Pakistan team - 6 misses actually, in terms of bidding farewell to Sachin Tendulkar (Referred to as God by many a cricket fan), Good bowling by Ashish Nehra - which was a surprise!!! As Rajdeep Sardesai said on his show post the match, It was as if the Gods had written the fate (read between the lines!!!!).

Me - am not a cricket fan. Don't enjoy the sport as much. Last time, I sat through a complete match was in 1996, India Vs Pakistan. Thats it.

Had taken half a day off for the match. Some friends had come over. So was more excited about the cheering, eating and high adrenaline levels. Munish was in his most excited state. I tried sitting through the match, but couldn't :-P.

Logged on the internet. Twitter was more interesting.... the cheering, the jeering, the abusing...well - that was some fun...and yes the Ashish Nehra jokes...Well that was more fun...

The city took on a deserted look...and I guess the same holds true for the entire nation. Thought of ordering some food...no response there too...:-O

Sometimes, I feel that all this....all this hype and hoopla, the drama...over cricket...cricket between the 2 rivals...is it really worth all the national wastage of time, energy and money...Why are our lives put on hold...why is it the leaders of our nation, leave everything and make their presence for more almost 8 hours for this match...Think they must not have so much time at office also...the bollywood celebrities, the industrialists...everyone...its like as if you been arrested by this craze....what beats me, why cricket...why not hockey or kabbaddi or swimming, or shooting or any other sport....Guess, we are one cricket crazy nation!!!!

Thank You!!!

Source: Pic from my Home@Ahmedabad

Photographer: Mayank Garg

There are days....and then there are days....And when you are thinking of the days gone by...you realise that some of those days have been so special....This is a "Thank You" ....for one of those days...

TGIF - Thank God Its Friday!!!

This week has been an unusually short one for  me. Monday - Wednesday were spent in Delhi with PILs, thursday was almost half day, since the other half was spent watching the India Vs Australia Quarter Final and well - today is friday...Thank God :-). Havnt really got used to being back at work.

Must check out Twitter. Not one active member of the twitter fraternity does not comment on today being friday...and tag it with #TGIF ...everyone has plans ...though how many of them materialize is another story. And then these very members will comment on the coming Monday and its horrors...and then go ga-ga over the most awaited India Vs Pakistan Semi Final on Wednesday at Mohali and tag it with #WC2011. Twitter is one such active community where there are discussions over breakfast, lunch, dinner, shoes, sandals, bosses, politicians, etc...basically anything and everything...People love insulting...over twitter...and hey, they enjoy it too...the bouquets and the brickbats ...are all a part of the game...

Done with my morning comment of #TGIF on twitter.....decided to plan my weekend...well not much planning to do since Munish has a sprain in his right leg. He went hobbling to office today!!!! Will re-fill the refridgerator with veggies and juices!!! Got to store up some junk as well or else how is India Vs Pakistan going to be enjoyed!!!

Planning to go to Fort today after office...check out some camera bags ..which I saw in http://www.smartshoppers.in/ .... a very very useful website... will know which one is cheaper...the shops at Fort or the website!!!!

Mumbai - Delhi

Had been planning for a trip to Delhi since quite some time. My In-laws stay there. Had got the tickets booked in December itself for the festival of Holi which was on the 19 / 20 of March. Being in investment banking, it becomes almost impossible for him to pre-plan a tour or a holiday. Not untill the last minute it is decided if the planned trip will happen or not.

Seems the trip was not going to happen (because of his work schedule). Got the tickets cancelled on thursday. Started calling up my In-laws... about the cancelled plan...regretted...they were dissappointed...hmmm...well...can't help it....

Just 2 hours after my regret call...Munish called and confirmed the plans....Now, we wanted to go but well - there were no tickets...no reservations....no bookings....sigh!!!!

We got the tickets booked...at a high festival premium....Hmmmm....Well - his trip was sponsored by the company :-) so that was a silver lining....I hastily started packing - AGAIN....rushed down the building...hailed an auto - got one quickly - and left for the airport...On reaching the airport...I realised I forgot my contact lenses...I was wearing my spectacles...

[well - about my contacts...I am virtually blind if I am not using them. Was using an old pair of specks...hence they were a number less :-(...]

There were long queues at the airport....was informed there was a system failure ....SpiceJet, Go Air and Indigo were affected....Munish came in half an hour later...directly from office.....Check-in was done manually....stood in the queue for nearly an hour...Well- we finally boarded the flight...45 minutes late....:-).

As soon as the flight took off, I dozed off...Was rudely awakened during landing....It was not a very smooth one...the breaks were screeching...I remember saying my prayers during the landing process.....we landed :-). It was almost 11:00 PM....Thanks to the flight authorities, the suitcase lost a wheel...so we literally had to drag it after a point of time...mercifully, there was no other hiccup....reached home by 1:30 AM...

And Holi celebrations began the next day!!!!

P.S. Ain't got no pictures to post :-(

Pic got clicked!!!! Yay!!!

A quick update :-). One of the two pictures (The blue morning) which I submitted in the previous post has been selected for the contest. I don't expect to win anything, but I am just plain happy :-).

Thank you sooooooo much folks!!!!

Link: http://adayinlife.timesofindia.com/photoDisplay.php?photoId=161955

A Day in the Life of India

The Times of India is running a photography contest "A Day in the Life of India". I have submitted two entries to this contest. Today was the last day. Not sure if I am up to the mark or not...but I guess I wanted to contribute...

This picture was taken at 5 AM in the morning at Nigeen Lake, Srinagar from our houseboat. I cannot put in words the serenity felt at that time. An Azaan was going on in a nearby Mosque. We were sipping tea when we witnessed this view. There has been no tricks played with the picture. Its just what we saw...don't know if "saw" is the right word for it but nevertheless.... Have contributed this pic for "Incredible India".

 

This picture shown below was clicked during our drive from Srinagar to Leh during one of the jams which we faced at the mountains. Have contributed this pic for "Overloaded India".

Road Signs

 Interesting Road Signs en route from Srinagar To Ladakh. There were many more of them, but must say that I was very unprepared for the unpredictable humour found on the nook and corner on the roads of Ladakh.

Another one of the interesting road sign we came across en route from Leh to Pangong Tso...:-)

Some more dedicated to Chang - La Pass and ChangLa Baba :-)

 

History of India_Viritten

Attended the show "History of India_VIRitten" starring Vir Das at St. Andrews, Bandra on Sunday (13th March). The show takes you from the origination of "India" on planet earth to what it is on present day. It touches various aspects from the Harrappan Civilization, Indus Valley Civilization to the Moghuls, to Vasco da Gama, Britishers, Gandhi, Nehru, B R Ambedkar, Morarji Desai, Indira Gandhi, Sanjay and Rajeev Gandhi, to the Independence Struggle, to the Gujaratis, Bengalis, Delhites, 'Bandraites', Builders, 70s, 80s, 90s, to A Raja, Kalmadi, Common Wealth Games, Barack Obama, Marathi manoos, the riots......Phew!!!! The list is endless.

Needless, there was not one moment where one might have thought anything else. Either you love him for his comedy or you totally hate him (planning to shoot him). It was a very well researched and a thought out script. Well presented. There was a connect with the audience and more importantly the ability to handle eratic behaviour from the audience too.

Vir Das did an excellent job of taking his audience through the History of India with his comical touch that made you sit up and take notice and think - "Hey, Why didn't I think of that?". Not to forget, he had the audience in splits...laughing hysterically...well at the very obvious comments, and some of them at the very subtle ones too.

Thinking of Stand Up Comedy Acts, not many have dared to venture in this genre. Must say it requires a person to be well read, intelligent, articulate and well - witty. It takes a person of merit and bravery to tread where many have feared to tread or maybe not even given it a thought. India does not know many artists who can boast of having such an audience and following not to mention shows running all over.

Foot and the Shoe

 Are my feet too small or my shoe too large?!!

Source: Pic by Meghna Garg, Kala Ghoda Festival, 2011

Excuse - for one *Lazy* blogger

Came across the link while surfing...decided it would be a good fit for my lazy blogger buddy Aditya. Had a random bet...that we post this and connect to each other :-P

Well, here it goes...and no i didnt cheat!!!! And in my defense, I am not as lazy as he is ;-)

"

OMG! I just woke up to the fact I have not updated this since you last visited... You would not believe that my hands were chopped off and I was waiting for bionic ones. Apologies to my regular readers! Even the little blue ones!.

I am going ahead with only your readership as life preserver, hoping you haven't found other blogs, just generally being asleep, dreaming and chancing to my husband, my day pisses me off from the first cockadoodledoo from the rooster to midnight. I am avoiding recapture. life is good.

I swear on the bones of my ancestors I will write something that makes sense soon. You wanna test me? This is for my ever faithful, devoted public..

"

With lots of luv

Epitaph for my friend Namit Bhatia

Here lies Namit Bhatia
He died of blabbermania
As he spake too much of the spoken word
Of thoughts and ideas in his head
There was no dearth!

Here lies Namit Bhatia
Was very fond of trivia
Movies, music, comics and scrabble
And a lot of online babble
Anything and everything he liked to dabble

Here lies Namit Bhatia
Spending wisely was his criteria
Movies, music, comics and clothes
And of things about which he could gloat
No- he did not suffer from dementia

Here lies Namit Bhatia
He died of Gamophobia
As he tried time after time
Marry and make the two rhyme
But I guess it was not worth his dime!

Here lies Namit Bhatia
Was from Andulasia
As he travelled a bit too much
Across the green and the sand
Wherever his feet and the plane could land

Here lies Namit Bhatia
Under the dunes of Bahrain
Lays with all his energies drained
Under the basking sun
What next - his unending conundrum!!!

Chocolate Cookies

I have been reading a lot from Anita's Blog  lately and must admit that I got bit by the baking bug. Hence over the previous weekend, decided to try out my first sample of chocolate biscuits / cookies... call them what you like :-P

Well this is what my first tray and sample looks like.

My key learnings from this baking experiment:

1. Do not use Ghee (or processed Ghee - in my case Amul Ghee): It left a slight salty taste on the edges.

2. Use a good measure of Baking soda (actually more than 1/4 teaspoon)

3. Try not to make plain chocolate cookies... some dry fruits or choco chips could add a different dimension. 

4. Try baking more often....:-)

Receipe used for this baking experiment:

1. I dare not share it since the taste of the cookie was not something I was proud of.

2. The author might sue me :-P

Outcome of this experiment:

1. I praised my own baking to my mother and mother - in - law (since no one else was going to do it).

2. Hubby had half a cookie since he got a shock of how much sugar and "ghee" I had used.

Moral of the story:

1. Bake more.

2. Bake no more.

Think I will try the former :-)!!!!

Mid-week chutti - Yeh Saali Zindagi

Had a mid week holiday yesterday...wednesday that is...occasion being Maha Shivratri... was observing fast... hence had some "fast" food -if I may say so...Komal came over to my place...since she was fasting too...thought it would be easier :-P..well it was not...not wanting to waste much energy and then end up feeling hungry later, we stayed put at my place ...watching television... Got bored very soon...had a mid day nap... got even more bored....finally we decided to drag our lazy selves and catch a movie at a cinemax near by... "Yeh Saali Zindagi"....:-). The smell of the popcorns was all around but we focussed on the movie... Overall, the movie was nice..worth watching..paisa wasool... Well, what follows below is not exactly a movie review but something which I wanted to write about ....

'Yeh Saali Zindagi' is a thriller...fast paced...does not waste time.... and as for the movie goer - one better be focussed or you miss out on the understanding bit...

The movie was very well scripted. All the characters were defined properly. Since, the movie was based out of Delhi, NCR, it missed the dialogue delivery style of a typical Dilliwala. However, towards the end, the movie tends to become a bit slow and predictable, making one wonder about the ending. Too much complexity or inter-connection between the characters works quite the opposite at times.

Irfaan Khan was outstanding in this film...excellent performance and a very mature one at that...Chitrangadha Singh was good.... and well all the actors gave a good performance.

Its a typical Sudhir Mishra film and must be watched. Its not everyday that one gets to see a good thriller!!!!