So Much So

What’s the most tragic, disheartening, striking and yet the most satisfying sibling-feeling you’ll ever get? It’s, probably, losing them to a life partner they would eventually spend their lives with. For all the time you might have spent together, you might not have cared a bit and might have also taken their presence tad too casually, but it is at this point in life that you want to shed your outer, worldly self, to bare your naked soul to them, showing that you have always been that ‘first’ next to them. It is this, weirdly-emotional, crazy-yet-sorted phase that I am going through right now!

So, the grand news that it is the time for us, the family members to push my brother into a brand new life of ‘husbandship’ and see him transition through a fun boyhood to an even merrier manhood, all laughing through his learning phase. While we shall remain on the shore bidding him happiness, he shall embark on a fresh new sailing, in a direction unexplored, to a more-fulfilling life. Well, this had to happen one day, so, now.
*tears of happiness*.

Having spent around two and a half decades with my brother, living closely and sharing all the fabrics of life with him, I can say our companionship has really seen a lot. All through the journey, I would have come across zillions of shades of my brother, some funny, other grim, some possessive, while others I-don’t-give-a-damn, some rather secretive and others open-to-all, some very loving and others close to breaking a bone, some really supporting and others contradicting, a few caring publicly and a lot more caring very secretly – I have grown as a sister all this while, seeing him change, grow up to be a better human being.

From the time I remember I know him to the time he cried for me on phone just after a day after my marriage to now, when I miss him even more because of the distance, of course, every day carries equal substance in the pages of my memories. I can say I have spent some of the best and the most memorable moments of my life with this champ. In fact, our journey in life has been a lot familiar. Right from studying in the school together, crossing teenage to experiencing a new phase, called college, to further getting placed and earning money, we have tasted these struggles almost at the same time.

I so feel both of our lives are so interconnected and strongly influenced by each other’s that we both would, now, get married to spouses with a similar initial, “H”! What a great, darn coincidence!

Finally, a note to the protagonist here: I wish you be as good a companion as you’ve been a big brother! Congratulations for entering a new phase of life and thanks for getting us all a nice sister-in-law! I really hope we have zillions of times like these in store ahead!

*Love*

An Attitude of Gratitude

Here are some of my happy realizations, which make me want to give my life a bunny hug.

1. Living in the real skin

This incidence happened while I was preparing to head back to my home having taken steam bath in my fitness center. I bumped into this maid who was cleaning the washroom. Looking at my choorha and having concluded that I was recently married, she asked me if I was living at my in-laws’ place. Giving in to her curiousness, I answered affirmatively. I can’t really articulate the astonishment I saw on her face; I am too sure gravity had no role to play in making her jaw drop to the floor! She, very skeptically, re-asked me if they (my in-laws) do not object my wearing shorts despite my marital status. After seeing my what-is-this-nonsense look, she went ahead to explain to me the reason behind her bizarre reaction - back from where she came, she was not even allowed to let her scarf budge from her head to show off her hair. I got the gist and thanked God my ‘usual’ life lets me wear whatever I get my mind on. 

2. Technology, the savior

This was way back in time when I had begun working for Kobo, Inc. Since I worked from home, all my work was dependent on this black box I am fiddling with right now – my laptop. I remember the reaction on my maid’s face the first time she saw me and my boss video-chatting. She was all drenched in bewilderment seeing how I could see a person sitting millions of ‘houses’ away from me. Actually, she could not grasp how I could talk to a person AND see him on a ‘box’. I remember her telling me how many problems she faced while connecting to her mother back in her hometown, Nepal – financial being the first. I had to look at the sky and pass a flying kiss. 

3. Decision making

This doesn’t come easy to an ‘Indian’ married girl. All her decisions, big or small, financial or otherwise, relating to herself or her family, do not opt for an easy path to go her way. They demand an intervention at all levels, starting from her husband, to his family to the neighbors to everyone else but her. Finally, she consumes a broth everyone's but her mind has cooked. No wonder, Christ had me at the first alphabet of his name (it’s the same as my)!

4. Compliments from strangers

This one elates me to the core! During my internship there, I was waiting at the reception of All India Radio, holding a bouquet, for my aunt who had her birthday that day. I remember this beautiful lady, who passed by me, turned around, came back to me and said while lowering herself to my ears, ‘you're a flower holding a bouquet’! For once, I could not believe my ears - that was the best compliment anyone had ever given me. I could not help but smile that entire day and, worst still, almost everyone who knows me has listened to this incident more than once. Following that, there have been many from people like my gym trainers, kids playing around, my cousins, my friends and the family but it's the ones I have received from strangers that entered my mind and never really left.

5. The finest of the lows and the finest of the highs

Been there, done that. I have rode the wavelength of life, had my best smiles with tears and my worst tears with smiles at my crests and at my troughs. All in all, it has been a wonderful roller-coaster ride and it has always been about moving ahead, in the right direction. The best reason to look forward to life is that the best of it is ‘yet to come’!

6. Good food, good workout and good vibes

This feeling of being surrounded by exactly the people you have ever wanted to be with, the no-nonsense thoughts, the art of controlling the senses, love and prayers – this realization of how the best things in life don’t cost a dime is, surely, priceless.

7. Great books by my pillow

How could I not realize the immense power these little lumps of pages have before! Now that I have, I am not going to let this habit go till I am breathing. 

8. Chase them dreams

The feeling that marriage should set oneself free is contrary to what we are taught our entire spinster life. We've only got one life to dream big and fight for them!

9. The night outs!

Not that I was handcuffed when in home or there was curfew outside that I could not step out, but you know when you have doting parents back home who are curious to know what goes on in your life, it IS tough to go out on dates. The worst restriction on me was no night outs. Things seem to have changed now that I am hitched – we party all night, watch late night movies, dine late and never look at the watch while we're havin' fun. 

10. My blog

This crucial part of my life has not only brought me closer to some of the most wonderful intellectuals I would not have ever been able to meet otherwise, but also has made me embrace solitude like a warrior. Nothing really makes my day mighty fine more than writing and publishing a post and, further, reading the comments my readers leave on my blog - pure bliss! 

Lastly, love, love, love - parents, siblings, elders, colleagues, kiddos, acquaintances - it's raining everywhere and I feel it on my skin. As they say, good vibes are extremely contagious, I feel them sinking in :)

Honeymoon Diaries Part 3: Vishakhapatnam: No Other Place I Would Rather Be

I'm sure God had personally set the plan for us – perfect place, perfect hotel, perfect set of people and perfect weather – no other place would have treated us better; it had to be his hometown!

The first day, around 11 in the morning, we reached Vishakhapatnam, the city of destiny as they call it. We reached the hotel where we had planned to stay – Novotel – one decision I am really proud of. 

What a treat it was – the rooms, the service, the view, the quality of the food they served – everything was out of this world! Driving you a bit offbeat, I would like to mention that there are times in life when we can’t thank few people enough – the people we call friends. His one such friend, Kalyan, took so good care of us during our short stay that saying ‘thank you’ would only nullify his efforts. He sent us a car, with a friendly driver, to pick us up and take us wherever we wanted to go. Kalyan also did a superb job by giving us a bullet to ride on wherever we wished to. I cannot really write my husband's feelings while riding the bullet, his favorite machine, by the sea, with me riding as pillion - it was mesmerizing, like a dream come true! Things got even better when my parents landed the same evening.

We went for dinner to one of his relative’s home and the moments we spent there were overwhelming. We had a great time eating great food and talking our hearts out. We could not, for a moment, feel that both our families were from two different states and cultures.

The next morning, we headed for the famous Simhachalam Temple. His one more friend had his father as the head priest of the temple. Therefore, we could get VIP entry and special pooja done for all our family members and the bliss we all experienced there can't be summed up in words. Once we were back at the hotel, we decided to head to the beach and give it a polar-bear hug – needless to say, we all had an amazing time there J

The same evening, we had our wedding reception planned. The kind of reception I received, being a new entrant to his family, was so heart-warming that I was floating in clouds. I tried reciprocating all the love I received from the elders and the kids, and so did my family. Thanking my new family for this love would never be enough. Having reached the hotel, we (my family and my husband) sat by the pool and tried to re-live the day’s happenings. The sea breeze helped us freshen up and live each moment we were breathing there.

The next morning, my brother had an early flight to catch, therefore we bade him adieu and set off for Rushikonda beach. Thereafter, we saw our parents off, who too had to head back home. We reached our hotel and decided to head to the hotel gym. The amazing time working out together, and then while taking steam bath energized every cell in our bodies and we were all set for a new phase of adventures.

The two days we stayed back together was our private time together, so to say J We spent the best time meeting relatives and friends, seeking blessings at Sampath Vinayagar Temple, shopping jewelry, riding bike in the entire city, even when it was raining, eating at the most fabulous places in Vizag – Daspalla's Dimple Rooftop Restaurant, Dolphin Hotel, Cabana and Novotel and the climax: riding a speed boat in the sea at Rushikonda beach. Our honeymoon just couldn’t have been better than this. All this while, the weather in Vizag was similar to heaven. Only when we were heading back that it was hot there – probably, the place wasn’t happy seeing us leaving. One more incident which brings smiles to our faces is the meeting with one of his friend's mom on our way back to the airport. This friend, Chandrashekhar’s mom not only blessed us, the newly wedded couple, and gave us goodies to take along back home, but also offered “Bournvita” to us, the kids! Never ever in my life had anyone offered me Bournvita when I visited them. This cute incident made me hug the lady even tighter – people have THAT kind of influence on you J

With this, my extended honeymoon came to an end and I must say that this was THE best time of my life. Not only this trip got us emotionally closer to each other, but also introduced a new level of intimacy which wasn’t there when we were dating. We also got together as a family, a unit – my family lovingly accepted my husband as a member and so did he. We all had an amazing time exploring a new place and new relations.

I can say God listens to all the prayers and how! With our each breath ticking the life away, our gratitude to them increases manifolds. 

Honeymoon Diaries: Part 1: Tirupati via Chennai

We have been planning this since six months and dreaming about this ever since we started seeing each other – travelling together. The first phase of our honeymoon kept us dreamy-eyed for months and now that it was happening, it was hard for both of us to contain all the excitement. TIRUPATI!

Having heard a lot of stories about the temple from him, I really wanted to visit it and experience the divinity there. It was, indeed, God’s grace that we got to visit the holy place, right after our marriage, together. I confess going there had me extremely casual about the values it holds, but coming back had me transformed 360 degrees into a girl who was bathed in colors of divinity, continually chanting – edu kondalavada venkataramana govinda goooovindaa!

One part of travelling together, or in rather preparing for it, that I thoroughly enjoyed was packing for the same. It was like two amateurs planning up for a holiday, in fear of not leaving anything at home, carry everything that they saw around – including clothes they hadn’t wore in a century! Result – we were set with four bags, which we had to unpack later in the night to declutter.

Anyway, the adventure started the next day at 4 AM, as we had an early morning flight to catch. I am sure I was living my dream, breathing in the ecstasy of boarding our first flight together - 6E 285. Having arrived at Chennai, we took a taxi, which took us to Marina beach.

(Note: I might just go crazy writing hereon. This was THE first time I saw sea in my life!)

A huge, massive body of water – water till wherever your eyes can go – water so energetic, it brings you to life – water so loud - you want to sit by it and talk to it. Boy! I loved every bit of this experience. 

Hybrid, Orange Coconuts we saw at Marina Beach; obviously, we couldn't resist tasting the nectar it contained.

That's me! :)

Moving on from here, to quench our thirst for authentic, local food, we checked out a restaurant – Sangeetha – which served us the delectable, Tamil food on a banana leaf. I could not stop licking my fingers way after we had finished munching.

Biryani with Raita at Hotel Sangeetha

This point on, we had to rush for our train from Chennai to Tirupati – our first train journey together – this entire trip had plenty of surprises to keep us entertained throughout. Having reached Tirupati at 7:30 PM, we checked in a hotel really close to the railway station – Hotel Bhimas Deluxe. A decent hotel, which was comfortable for us to spend a night and move to Tirumala the next morning. In order to use the time we had at hand to the best, my husband proposed we should go to Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple in Chittoor (some 65 odd kms away from where we were staying). 

Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple

It turned out to be the best day we could visit the temple as it was Kartik Purnima that day – a blessing-in-disguise we were unaware about. We had the best pooja and the best darshanam that day and we returned to our hotel extremely content and satisfied. And did I talk about the beauty? You have to be there to feel the aura of the place - it's magical!

The best thing which could conclude our day right was great food, which we had at Hotel Mayura. The local food buffet we had there and the kind of service we received left us feeling blessed all through. We had our taxi the next morning to Tirupati. What happened there is something I’ll share in my next blog (that’s a complete record of experiences)! Till then, I will leave my readers with the feeling an extremely tasty fruit punch ice cream leaves in your mouth - glutted yet unsatisfied! :) 

Buffet at Hotel Mayura

Behaving My Age

It’s that time of the lifetime when you finally have to change skins to become a responsible human being while your inner soul still pretends to be a kindergarten brat; that time when speaking shit comes as easy as a storm in a desert and listening patiently seems a task next to impossible; the age when the conscience about one’s own stupidity does not show up and everything that you say sound pearls of wisdom to yourself; when doing household tasks seem the most crucial KRA of your maid and you helping her in the same implies deduction in her salary; when the fact that you earn and work in an MNC overpowers everything else left to do in the world, including cooking and when you look in the mirror and feel tad too proud of the way you look and wonder who on Earth would be able to match that nerve and fail to find one name, even close – YES, this age, this time, this phase – PRECISELY this is when THEY decide to get you married!

It’s like taming a mad ape – accepting that you are getting married and knowing that you get to be the female in this setup – the traditional one who behaves the way others program her to. The one advice, order, request or commandment that you hear from all the directions, while you happily behave the way you have been doing since ages, is “behave your age”. “Well, I’ve been all the same!” is all I can say in return. Suddenly, everything you do right from dressing to walking, from speaking to shutting up, from eating to picking your utensils up from the table, from getting up in the morning to pretty much, existing starts to appear faulty to those people who loved every bit of whatever nonsense you did before THIS time.

Now, I try to behave my age – in fact the one well ahead of it. It will, obviously, take me some time to shed the skin I have been comfortably living in since ages. But all that I have got to do is try to monitor how I behave, timing my smile, gauging the number of times I nod, looking at all random places while keeping mum in a room where the topic being discussed seems as stupid as the arguments being thrown to defend each other by the people involved, checking the usage of words like shit, crap, fuck, bitch, booh and trying to fit in a circle of “all grownups”.

Or, I have got an easier way out! I believe in order to get a valid visa to be able to step into the shoes of an “espoused”, all that you need to do is screw this gyaan up and team with your spouse up for a bigger mess. You never know, he might already be choking himself while acting a “grownup”. Behaving your “self” over your age is a nice idea for a cool, relaxed life. I bet behaving my age would never come easy to me, especially when I know I am good when I am “a lady” but I am much more a fun when I am “me”.

There's A New "Hair"sitter in Town!

A long stint of trial, patience and hard work but were the efforts all worth it? You’ll have to read on till the end of this post in order to get the answer. I am talking about my hair and the amount of efforts it has demanded of me to bring them up right. This might be the first time in my life (another first!) when I have thought of cultivating this natural harvest to the extent it happily could and I dare say it has brought out the best in my behavior. How? Ohkay.

I, now, feel as if, being a child psychologist, I am writing the best of parenting techniques parents should practice but I must concede growing your hair right to see them how exactly you’ve wanted them to be is no way a lesser job. I have seen myself go through a lot of behavioral changes in order to accommodate the pain: tears, worries, fears, anticipations and, finally, bliss that growing my hair right has brought along. I confess I am now more patient with them falling and have learnt how to toss the blame on to the environment - you have to control your tears when you see them going down the drain or leaving their home to elope with the comb – great deal of perseverance, indeed. You have to make friends with the fact that some seasons are there in existence because they have some number targets of hair strands they have to register as fallen before they bid adieu to that place.

I get a feeling that I have become an erudite “hair”sitter, capable of writing a book on good “hair”sitting (I would love to call it that because I hate to repeat what I’ve said before). I must have read thousands of magazines and blogs online talking about the best hair care tips by everyone from amateurs to professionals – I had a patient ear for everyone. One side-effect of this whole activity was that a lot of times, I was directed to some fabulous recipe websites from these blogs; there was so much food to be applied on either hair or scalp being talked about that I finally gave up on covering my head with them and thought of becoming an unrepentant sinner indulging herself in gluttony J

Anyway, one year of persistent determination, eating right, oiling my hair twice a week, taking multi-vitamin supplements, working out regularly, combing with utmost care, breathing right, burping less, blogging more, praying even more, turning a blind eye to all the ‘good’ things in the world, watching lesser television, drawing constellations on assumed-to-be starry nights, bitching less, smiling to all the relatives, saying yes and all the ‘sane’ stuff those blogs could ask me to do - I have done IT ALL; some tips worked, others were fun to try; some gave good results while a few reassured there’s more to life than long, healthy hair. Finally, here I am, with THE results. I am sharing a few pictures with y’all – a few experiments I have done, now that I have learned to tame my hair. While I prepare myself for my first trimming session in all this time, I pray to God that I don’t return with a bad face and a back-on-track behavior (to hell with perseverance, I want them to stay for long!) J

Daddy Was a Thief

I have challenged myself to complete a blog in half an hour – a ‘first’ in my life. I guess I want to give a new dimension to 2014 by filling this year with a series of many ‘firsts’ – things I have never tried before. So, this is one THAT thing I would want myself see doing.

I am digging into my own life to look for something worth sharing – which could be my one great writing and your one great read. Alright, what better than this new game that I have downloaded from Android store – Daddy Was A Thief!

I know the name is extremely funny and suspicious, too, but this game is surely worth a download, two hours of casual playing as long as it continues to entertain you and kill your spare time and lastly, an uninstall, too. That’s what Angry Birds did to us, right? We all have had enough of it till it started to taste stale!

So, Daddy here gets pinkslipped, seen with the harsh “You’re FIRED” letter from his boss, doesn't think anyone would give him another job now that he is out of work and further thinks of robbing a bank for he worries about the survival of his “boodhi ma and kuwaari behen” J How I wonder these guys are least concerned about their own selves but their families.

Anyway, he jumps off, having robbed a real big bank (exactly like the one we saw in Dhoom 3), from the rooftop on to a building and THERE, your role begins. Apparently, it’s YOU who has to save daddy from being caught or worse, from being dead. So, you help him break his way, apartment by apartment, to a lower floor, so as to reach his way to the ground so he could catch his way back home. These floors are worse than that of the buildings we find in Mumbai or Old Delhi – Daddy just has to jump hard to break them – eh?

Anyway, the houses are equally funny, with a grandma, with exceptional martial arts skills, moving across any single floor, a bored man fiddling with a TV remote which apparently passes current and might possibly kill Daddy if he comes in the middle of the TV and the remote – well, who cares about that ugly, bored man J – and a few policemen wandering inside the houses.

I wonder what made the game developer slate the game's name in past tense, for every time you play this game, Daddy turns into a brand new thief – a fresh pinkslip, fresh wounds, fresh robbery and fresh motive to cause mega destruction and fresh struggle to find his way out of this sky-kissing building. Step into the shoes of Daddy who would never be a proven thief if he never gets caught.

No, this is not a promotion campaign that I am running to promote this game. I am admitting you might find it extremely boring or rather cold if you play a lot of similar games on your android device but this game has apparently got a decent rating (4.5) and cool number for downloads (close to 10 millions). So, as I said worth an evening’s play and worth THAT uninstall if you think watching Aravind Kejriwal on TV is far better than playing this!

And yay! I successfully completed a 30-minute blogpost J

Cheers amigos for reading this!  

Keep Calm and Use This!

It is one of those days when I feel the presence of so many bitches surrounding me, keeping a check on me to know what I do, how I do it and if doing nothing, then just being there like a spy counting my breaths. It’s like you were leading your life peacefully, oblivious to all the political, social and miscellaneous shit happening around and suddenly, you get poked in your ribs, jabbed on your back and punched on your face for the sheer reason that you were not paying attention. Why does the world starve for my attention to begin with? I doubt if it is made of gold!

There have been instances when I was so less concerned about the people around me that they had to do something as silly as climbing a tree on their back to get my eyes on them. And then, there have been those instances, too, when my response to any situation they pulled me in was appalled at just because my (weird) thoughts fertilized those words.

I am a person who loves to live in my dream-bubble, which is so often gemmed with luxuries like creativity, experiments, yearnings, desires, aim, talent, plans and more plans. I am so happy dwelling in my-this-prized-mansion that many a times, I do not feel the need of any next-in-number thing around me (living or non-living). Since the bitches around do not pay attention to the implied meanings of my face expressions, most of the times, they end up calling me anti-social or worse, arrogant.

This is one of those days when I see my ‘self’ getting lost in the smoke these bitches have filled my mansion with. Well, I stay calm and wait for this bad air to get cleared. I am sure moods change and so do people; for bitches, I could never say anything with absolute certainty but I am sure even they would someday get tired of being ignored and would opt for an alternate path to tread on. I wish I had something like this to shoo them all away! 

 

Germs of happiness

The day marks its beginning for her when the sun rises up too high, when the world starts buzzing loud and its inhabitants begin to run hastily, resembling molecules in the liquid state, which unless freed into the gaseous mode, continue to buzz too close all the while.

Post a wide yawn and a lazy stretch of limbs, she will open up the windows, letting the duo, fresh air and sunshine, in. Sitting by the window for some time, she would thank God for granting her another day to inch closer to her dreams – the ‘always known’ bigger ones and the 'newly discovered' smaller ones. He has been way too kind to her, after all. 

Having dragged herself to the washroom while pulling up her hanging shorts, she would complete her daily chores – everything except for taking a shower! A lazy routine had brought along a habit of bathing at ease. Not giving up the darling night dress, which has incidentally become the uniform now, she begins her day at work!

If she says she has worked tad too long in one stretch, one has to understand that she has worked continuously for two hours and she, now, needs to take a nap. Post another really ‘long’ session of work, she would hit the gym and would also learn how to shake a leg on Bollywood numbers. When back home, a well-deserved, hot cup of green tea would await her, symbolizing an award for sustaining the tiring, read 'fun', work-out session. Having shown her colleagues how ‘hard(ly)’ she has worked all day, she would happily take a shower. Seeing how terribly tired and dim others appear in the evening when getting back home, this girl would, definitely, seem the freshest face in the entire time zone.

Few more mails, chatting with the once-stray-now-a-friend cat, TV, YouTube, some more work, chatting with the cat again, social networking sites, blog, a bit more work, high five to the cat, work, blog, reading, work, blog, calls, work, cat and the day ends – the end being the best part. She gets an array of the best books in the world, right next to her pillow, for no fee.

‘Working from home’ has brought along a way for discovery – of self, of interests, of loved ones, of people around, of life, generally, and of life, specifically. I must say that a profound mind and a profound life is in making, thanks to the turn life has taken *Amen*.

A great quote, which I happened to hear in a popular comedy show, would be fine to end this blog – if your present is not better than your past, you’re not living your life the way it’s supposed to be lived. *Cheers* 

Embracing the discomfort

My life swears to obey by the famous French saying, the only thing constant in life is change. Conquering the apprehensiveness, skepticism and anxiety that comes along with the nearing ‘change’ surely seems a task big enough to discourage many ‑ for others, growing and evolving is a message every second ticking away leaves in mind.

So, I made my mind to move ahead in my professional life having left behind a plethora of memories which were weaved, thread by thread, in the three years I had spent in my previous organization. I feel it’s absolutely correct that when there are no external forces to make you feel uncomfortable, you never feel the need to break the cocoon of comfort and step out. That’s why, along with change, one thing that I would happily embrace all my life would be ‘discomfort’. This feeling of uneasiness made me feel I am worth more and the belief paved my way to success and a more worthy life.

Stepping into the change and finally experiencing it have been two exciting phases in my recent life. I dare say that I am living the dream of millions—no matter how dearly I thank my God for this, it will still be less. Living every bit of my entrepreneurial role, I feel I am no less than a CEO of a big MNC. Thankfully, the atmosphere I got is conducive enough to write my success story without considering any punctuation marks. Did I say before that I am a real lucky bum; anyways, I don't mind tossing a flying kiss to sky again!

Lastly, the learning life has made me take back home is:

The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.

Soliloquy: Who cares anyway!

When the things that happen around have way more impact on the atmosphere within; when the perceptions, opinions, thoughts and interpretations all battle amongst themselves to have a stand; when the matters boiling over in mind seem too crazy to be spilt out; when the world looks like a crazy sphere and us the sanest mortals alive; when fluxing out what mind has to say becomes a necessity and identifying who will understand it perfectly seems too much of a task, speaking to oneself DOES help; soliloquy, in fact, then acts like a medicine, an elixir or a monitor who ensures that sanity is in place.

When seen being practiced in public, it looks absurd but soliloquy is something which we all do, at some point, at least once in a day. While walking on my way back home one evening, I saw this half-awake, heavily drugged person lying on the footpath loudly complaining about the system, talking to himself, completely oblivious to the people passing by him. Living alone, may be, in a noisy world has made him struggle too much for silence in his life. For once, I did not see anything funny in his behavior; he did not look as if he has lost it or if he is a daft. He looked normal, a person who did not have a live person to talk to or to bounce ideas off of.

I, in fact, love this concept, of talking to self. This practice brings along multiple benefits which goes like follows. Firstly, since I am not saying the trash (that comes to my mind way too often) in front of the person who it is about, I’m saving my ribs from being broken or my face being deformed. I happily stay insured and safe. Secondly, there will be no complex in self-accusation. I could build upon the feeling of being wrong, identify the factors that could have averted the trouble and the things I could possibly do in future to insure I do not make an ape of myself again. Thirdly, I could criticize, applaud, appreciate, make commitments, over-estimate and curse myself without having to take anything on my ego. Everything, anyway, remains at home, no?

Further, I could discuss my dreams, no matter how absurd they may sound, and the possible steps I would want to take in order to inch them closer without having to explain whys and hows. I would want to learn belly dancing, dress in a neon-colored bikini, sip the most expensive wine on a private beach, become a multi-billionaire in a perfectly legal way, buy a lottery ticket every weekend, adopt a cub and NOT explain the ‘why’ part to anyone on the planet.

Lastly, when I am talking to myself, I might appear kooky to everyone but never to myself. I know I am the sanest person around with sound sense of judgment and fine taste in all spheres. Case Closed!

 

Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die.

If a person says he does not like to party, chances are he hasn’t met crazy animals of his like. Partying might not always mean wearing as less /better as possible, boozing and hitting the floor, dancing like no one’s watching, saying what might look foolish otherwise, shouting at the top of one’s voices, gormandizing on great food, cribbing hearts out, crying, laughing or in short wasting time ‘living your life’. It might also mean the above lines paraphrased! 

On my way to growing up, I might have attended numerous parties, with families, friends, people I don’t know or rather don’t remember, and for a number of random reasons, one of which also includes my friend’s losing her iPhone 5—that calls for a party too! 

So now, all eyes are set on me, for I am going to play host to the most tantalizing, happening, wishful, legal, and, of course, most tasteful culinary adventure in the town,  MY PARTY where everyone but the ones I choose to invite are allowed to watch and sigh from either outside the gates or from terraces of their homes.

Here’s how the invitation card would look like:

Click to expand

The most pataakhedaar-dhamaakedaar event calls for an extra-special invite too. The location has to be our own home. The reason why I am choosing my home as the venue is because it will prove to be a nice place for overnight stay for guests who wouldn’t feel like going back home after an exhaustive evening. Another reason which should better be kept under the wraps is that by partying at my home, I will end up saving a lot on setting up a venue and thus, could spend much much more on good food.

Now, because the party seeks the guests to dress down and come in the attire of the place where they would want to settle having retired from work, it would be great fun to see everyone’s wishes so explicitly exhibited. 

Another glorious aspect of my party—the food—would be a perfect concoction of the best of north, west, south and east, so that all the guests could foresee their retirement days and imagine themselves having the best of what their dreamland could offer. All the parts of the meal, be it starters, main course, desserts or drinks will showcase what our country is popularly known for. Since hard drinks are common to all the states, that clause will be kept open and the best of booze will be made available.

So now, the stage is all set. We know where we have to go and how we have to look like, what we would be gormandizing on and what is there to gulp down and look pie-eyed. The only thing left is to design an agenda. The agenda which would clearly say, Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. ♥

7 PM: Meet and greet our clan. No kisses-in-the-air allowed—it has to show on *cheeks* if at all it has to happen.

7:30 PM:  Let’s dive into chitchatting and see where all of us want to settle and why.  Why everyone feels life after retirement would be better than now. Time to let the cat out of the bag!

8:30: Starters are up-for-grabs *only till the stock lasts*

8:45: Dance floor is open to be rocked and rolled. Get the best out of you today.

9:30 – 11:00: Pamper your taste buds with the best delicacies out there.  

11:00: Cards, carom, PlayStation, dance floor, gossips, show-off, food, everything is available if you wish to be further pleased!  

12:00: Head home or to the bed. The best of the dreams are waiting for you to close your eyes.

Anyway, no one looks back on their life and remembers the nights they got plenty of sleep. I hope all my guests remember the pleasant experience plenty of spare time and reason to celebrate brings along!

I remember a saying which makes me want to revel even more, if life is a waste of time and time is a waste of life, then let’s get wasted and have the time of our lives.

This blog is an entry to the contest ‘My Gourmet Party’ happening on Indiblogger.com. Know more at http://shopping.kitchensofindia.com/ and see what best Kitchens of India could offer you.