10 day YOU challenge | 1 Picture

I don't believe that I am at the last link of this chain. So, this is my favorite picture of myself. This was clicked by my colleague Chandrakant Shenoy in EFX. Thanks Chandu for making me look so cheerful. :)

10 day YOU challenge | 2 Songs

1. Aanewala pal  
I am a Kishore Kumar fan and this one is my favorite Kishore number. The deep voice just suits Amol Palekar so perfectly.

2. Tum pukar lo
One of my favorite from the 60s era. Hemant Kumar's velvety voice is so mesmerizing. I have some romantic memories attached to this song too... :)

10 day YOU challenge | 3 Films

1. Jane bhi do yaron
Its a cult movie and the best dark comedy ever made in India. I love the satire and simplicity of the plot. And of-course it has my favorite actors Naseer, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapoor and Ravi Vaswani. The Mahabharat seen in the climax is one of the funniest scenes.

2. Golmaal
I love how Hrishikesh Mukherjee made simple stories into such beautiful films. This is his masterpiece.

3. Angoor
Besides being my favorite Angoor is kind of family film for me. My dad and sisters (including me) can't meet without mouthing a dialogue or two from this movie

10 day YOU challenge | 4 Books

1. Midnight's Children
I was an avid reader as a kid but the habit took a backseat as I grew up. It came back to life once I read Midnight's Children. I love Rushdie's style of writing and his imagination.

2. The Fountainhead
For the philosophy it delves into. I usually take time to finish a book but this one I finished within a week.

3. The Godfather
 Godfather is a masterpiece. I had already seen the movie when i read the book still it was equally gripping. 

4. Harry Potter Series
Yes, I am an adult and in love with HP series. I like the wild imagination and the whole magic thing. Feel like a kid again.

10 day YOU challenge | 5 Foods

10 day YOU challenge | 5 Foods

1. Rajma-chawal 

This is something i totally lurrrrve from my mom's kitchen. Will give up anything to eat some steamy rice with soupy rajma, bhindi and cucumber ka raita. Slurrp!

2. Shami kebabs

Nobody cooks it better than my dad, not even the much hyped Tunda in Lucknow. They taste splendid with green chutney and onions.

3. Pasta

This is something I love from my own kitchen :D. I love making pasta and eating it too.

4. Salads

Give me any kind of salad with any dressing and I'll eat it. Just throw in some boiled or grilled chicken.

5. Jalebi

I am not an early riser but for some fresh, hot and crispy jalebis i can wake up even at dawn.

 

10 day YOU challenge | 6 Places                                                            10 day YOU challenge | 4 Books

10 day YOU challenge | 6 Places

Since I haven't traveled the whole world, I'll list the six places I would like to visit.

France

Andaman

Greece

Leh

Tuscany

Pondicherry

 

10 day YOU challenge | 7 Wants                                                           10 day YOU challenge | 5 Foods

10 day YOU challenge | 7 Wants

1. Publish a book: I don't know what it'll be about but I definitely want that.
2. World tour: Huh! wild dream.
3. Tattoo: As soon as I think of a killer design.
4. Try every cuisine
5. A house by the ocean: No, not in Juhu. Somewhere in Goa maybe.
6. Be as thin as I was five years back: I wish...I wish...I wish...
7. Create a home library for books: I already have a small one :)

10 day YOU challenge | 8 Fears                                                              10 day YOU challenge | 6 Places

10 day YOU challenge | 8 Fears

Day 3....my 8 fears.

1. Heights: I am scared of heights...dead scared...
2. Roller-coaster: Nothing can make me sit on one...nothing.
3. Dogs: I try to stay as far away from them as possible...period.
4. Writer's block: I am afraid of not being able to write one day. What if I stop getting ideas? :(
5. Losing a job: That's actually stupid but yeah I do fear the thought sometimes. 
6. Getting fat: Self explanatory.
7. Brain explosion: Sometimes I feel that there is so much going on in my head that it'll explode.
8. Pak beating India in cricket: That's one thought that dreaded me in school. It still does to a certain extent.

10 day YOU challenge | 9 Loves                                                            10 day YOU challenge | 7 Wants

Ganpati bappa morya!

Happy Ganesh chaturthi...

10 day YOU challenge | 9 Loves

Today is the day for 9 loves. This was pretty easy cos I can definitely count more than nine. Here they are:

1. Family: I know it sounds cliche but my family is my first love. My husband, parents and sisters...I just can't survive without them. My friends also come in this category cos whoever is close to me is as good as my family.
2. Books: I don't just love them...I obsess after them. They are an essential part of my existence.
3. Writing/Blogging: I blog for the love of writing and write to earn. I guess that explains my love. :)
4. Food/cooking: I am a foodie....I like experimenting with new cuisines and the love for food translates in my cooking too. I think its a big stress buster.
5. Theatre: This is something I've grown up on. Watching my dad acting/directing plays and acting in a few myself as a kid. Even today I love an occasional visit to Prithvi Theatre.
6. Music: There's no greater love than the love for music...that goes without saying and that's my love too. And if it's Kishore Da or Jazz I love it even more.
7. Traveling: If you haven't traveled you haven't lived...that's what I believe.
8. Independence: I am quiet an independent person and protect my independence quiet fiercely.
9. Ocean: I am more of a sea person than mountain. It's depth calms me down.

10 day YOU challenge | 10 Secrets                                                  10 day YOU challenge | 8 Fears

10 day YOU challenge | 10 Secrets

I've been wanting to do this for a very long time and finally got some time. I found this on Monika's blog and thought it would be interesting to write and hopefully read too. And it'll keep my blog busy for a while ;)

It's tough...very tough. 10 secrets and two songs? I wish it was the other way round, still I'll give it a try. So here are the 10 secrets:

1. I can lie...bluntly and beautifully but harmlessly.
2. After a certain point I hated being an Animator. I always wanted to be a writer.
3. I get jealous when my best friend gets more friendly with someone else.
4. I don't hate shopping in general...I just hate aimless shopping.
5. Normally I am a quiet person...very cool...but if you bug me enough hell might break loose.
6. I hate confrontations especially with unreasonable people.
7. I wanted to join army when I was in school.
8. As a kid I hated wearing specs. I thought they made me look ugly.
9. I don't like people talking to kids in baby language cos what they hear is what they learn. And if they    can't understand what you are saying in normal language they won't understand it in baby language either.
10. I was a Salman Khan fan once....there..I said it.

Wohoo! I did it...there goes the Day 1 challenge. :D

10 day YOU challenge | 9 Loves

A trip to Nepal ; A nation of 'Bandhs'

I have been born and brought up in a city called Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh which happens to be one of the closest to India-Nepal border. Still I never went beyond Bhairahawa (a town on the Nepal border) and Butwal (22 kms from Bhairahawa) that too with the school picnic.

So, this time when my sisters and I along with our husbands planned to visit Gorakhpur for a wedding my father chalked out a 3 day trip to Nepal. The itinerary included Pokhara and Kathmandu. A winger was booked, bags packed and we set out on our journey. After a 2 hour drive we reached Sunauli (Indian town on the border). We crossed into Nepal and headed to a restaurant for lunch as our driver went to finish some paper work. At the restaurant, we were received by a weedy eyed waiter who sleepily took our order. Time passed as we patiently waited for the food. After 30 mins or so my father himself went into the kitchen to inquire. We were then informed that no restaurant keeps food ready in Nepal. So, that was our first lesson; order well in advance.

After lunch we proceeded to Pokhara which is a 6-7 hours drive from Bhairahawa. On this drive we found out that our driver was quiet a Gorakhpuriya (my friends from that part of the country will know that term). A typical Gorakhpuriya is a person who will never give a straight answer to your questions, will always remain angry, will have complete disregard to what you want and will think that he's doing you a favor even when you're paying him for his services. And. to our amusement, his name was Vijay......haaaiiin...so we chose to call him 'angry young man'.

However, the drive was pleasant and filled with scenic beauty and we enjoyed it to the most. We reached Pokhara around 9.00 pm and as per the first lesson the first thing we did was order food. So while we checked in our hotel and got fresh our dinner was getting ready. As we were planning our next day the driver broke the news; 'Kal Pokhra band hai...chakka jam. gadi nai niklegi' (Pokhara is closed tomorrow, no vehicle on the road). Since democracy has taken over in Nepal, a city or the other is closed every now and then.There went our plan. The next day we set out on foot, had our breakfast by the famous Fewa lake and went on a boat ride. The lake surrounded with tall mountains was absolutely enchanting.

There wasn't much to do after that since the shops too were shut. We were told that the 'bandh' will be over by 4 and then we can go sight seeing. So the youngsters decided to pick up few bicycles and go for a ride while the elders rested. We rented the bikes (cleaned them and pumped air in the tyres too :P ). We din't go very far when the first one got punctured....and after a while the second one too...an hour was spend trying to mend them but in vain. We went back and immortalized the saying 'khaya piya kuch nai, gilas toda barah ana' (don't ask me the meaning now).

After lunch at Laxman's restaurant and Bar (I must admit, the yummiest momos I've ever had and some great fish curry with rice) it was time to get the wheels out. As we moved towards the Devi's Fall we found out that the band wasn't yet over and sensing danger went in a casino (and blew off some money too :D ). We came out after 20 mins and finally went on to see the Devi's fall, Gupteshwar cave and Bhadra Kali temple.

As we were heading back to our hotel from Bhadra Kali temple it started raining and there was a sudden urge for 'garam chai'. We went in a small tea shop. Since it was raining and we are Indians, we also wanted some 'pakoras' but the shop owner didn't sell any food. So, we offered to make them ourselves in her personal kitchen if she gave us raw stuff, which she did. And there were hot pakoras and 'adrak wali chai'. Amongst this merry making we forgot to talk money and the shop owner charged us a hefty 500 Nepali Rupees for that. But our 'angry young man' intervened and we paid only 300 NC.

We went back to the hotel, planned our next day which was to see the sunrise point and head to Kathmandu. The day was pretty much over for the senior people but the 'young gang' was not done yet. It was my husband's birthday the next day so we planned to head out for a couple of drinks. We found an amazing restaurant at the lake side where the bartender mixed up some amazing cocktails for us.

Next morning we went to the sunrise point. The Himalayan ranges (annapurna, dhaulagiri) turned beautiful golden as sun cast its rays on them.

The sight was breathtakingly beautiful. After a cup of tea and some light breakfast we started towards Kathmandu, again an 8 hours drive from Pokhara.

We reached Kathmandu at around 3 in the afternoon, checked into the hotel and as we were going out for lunch another bomb blasted. Kathmandu was also closed the next day (21st May). Since we had a flight to catch from Lucknow on the 23rd we only had an evening in Kathmandu. We planned to make the most of it and decided to visit the Pashupatinath and Swayambhu temple right after lunch. Thankfully the restaurant in Kathmandu had the food ready and our order arrived in 10 minutes.

As we were going towards Swayambhu from Pashupatinath, our winger broke down and we waited for another one which took us to the temple. Swayambhunath or The monkey temple as its famously called (because of the resident monkeys) is set atop a hill and is visited by Budhists all over the world. The Stupa is beautifully lit and you can see the whole town from the top.

After the temple visit we came back to the hotel and planned to leave early in the morning as Kathmandu was 'bandh' and yeah...our car had broken down so we had to adjust ourselves in the smaller one. 9 of us in a Tavera. We started towards India. On our way we stopped at Manakamna temple. The temple is accessible through a cable car from Kurintar, 2 hours drive from Kathmandu. To our relief there wasn't much crowd and we got into the longest cable car in Asia. It crossed through 3 hills with a river flowing at the bottom. The car ride was amazing but to our bad luck the temple was closed for a special pooja. We chose to have breakfast instead and then took a cable car back to Kurintar. Well, the 'bandh' didn't just leave us there. As we were on our way back the cable car also stopped for a couple of minutes. But it wasn't scary and we had a nice view of the hills.

Praying no more 'bandhs' on our way we headed straight to India.

Nepal is a beautiful country but is heavily affected by the current political scenario. So, if you are planning a trip to Nepal make sure that you don't bump into a 'bandh'.

The 10 things tag

Its been almost an year since I was tagged for this post by Tanvi. But since I wasn't blogging regularly back then, I could never take out enough time to sit and think of 10 things about me. Now that I am free for a while I thought let me just give it a try. I mean, how hard can it be? writing 10 things...just 10 things about myself that people might or might know and are true....not that hard...huh??

So, before I start with the post I'll quickly run through the rules of the game;

• Tell your readers 10 things about yourself that they may or may not know, but are true.
• Tag 10 people with the award, and be sure to let them know they’ve been tagged (a quick comment on their blog will do).
• Link back to the blogger who tagged you.

 Here I go...

1. I love reading; Books, magazines, comics, newspaper anything. I feel incomplete if I don't have a book on my side table even if I don't pick it up to read for a week.
2. I love sleeping as much as I love reading. My idea of a perfect relaxed vacation is to have a pile of books by my side while I keep dozing off reading them.
3. Shopping is a pain for me if I don't know what to shop for. I only enjoy shopping when I know what I want. I hate accompanying compulsive shoppers who just wander around and take hours to decide on one thing (Dids...Neha...pls don't kill me for that :P )
4. I feel jealous and insecure when my best friend gets more friendly with someone else. I have never told her that but I guess she knows it. Now, you all know it... :P
5. I love my independence.....a lot. Having stayed alone for a while I don't like any intrusion in my life. I might start hating the very person who tries hard to intrude. I love others' need of independence and privacy too.
6. Not many people know that I am good with sketches and I like sketching portraits. 
7. I don't like people talking to kids in baby language cos what they hear is what they learn. And if they can't understand what you are saying in normal language they won't understand it in baby language either.
8. How-much ever cool or chilled out wife I am, I love being showered with gifts, chocolates, flowers etc. (dear husband...take a hint ;)  ) and yeah...I love chocolates...more chocolates....more n more n more chocolates.
9. Its not easy (almost impossible) to change my decisions once I am stuck on them. I am a sort of rebel and would fight for what I need or want.
10. I am addicted to blogging.....its kind of in my blood now. I can't spend a day without checking out my blog once.

Phew...so its done...10 things...here they are. Not bad I must say. I think I faired pretty well and deserve this award :D

and now time to tag my friends.

Aparna
Abhishek
Magiceye
Shrijit
S
Double-dolphin
Bandra-buggers
Neha
Vishesh
Deepika

I hope it makes for an interesting read.

Wanna make franship??

I could never really decipher the meaning of this message whenever I saw it on my Orkut scrapbook or FB inbox. Was it an indecent proposal hidden under the wraps of 'franship' or just a simple request by someone who lost his way through English?

No offense to anyone but I seriously wonder whether these messages get any response. Like this one "Preety smile, wanna be friends?". I mean c'mon dude, you wannna be friends because of smile? or just cos I have 'preety' smile I am obligated to be your friend?

I also don't understand the meaning of those love/friendship messages that look like a flower or a heart or worse...a guitar...yuck! And trust me I've got it from people I hardly know or haven't spoken to in years. Is writing a simple 'hey, how r u doin' that hard?

I have also observed few traits of people who are habitual of sending such messages. Here they are;

1. These guys never have their real picture on their profile. They have mostly pictures of bikes, flowers, Salman Khan, John Abraham or that weird tattooed guy from that serial 'Dil Mil Gaye'. Girls mostly opt for teddy bears, chocolates and Katrina Kaif.

2. Their 'about me' section has lots of words but still you can't make out who or what they really are like 'I am a very emotional guy who's looking for nice frenship...blah..blah...blah' or like this one...:D



3. Some also like to throw a bit of attitude once you visit their profile eg.
'About Me - and why exactly should I tell you?'.....(bitch)

4. And some are just plain dumb eg.
'About Me - You tell me no' :-|

5. Some are just too busy or lazy to write anything so they choose to showcase all possible emoticons there are... :) :P :D ;) :( 8) :-| :-/

To all such people; Guys, its not that hard to be yourself and real...just try.

If I have hurt any feelings through this blog...well, I am not sorry for that. :P

And for the last time, NO...I don't wanna make franship.

AND.....it all ends...

Spoiler alert if you haven't read the book.

A certain kind of excitement surges through your veins when a relationship reaches its peak. A similar emotion crept in me since the promos of the latest edition (which also happens to be the last) of Harry Potter series came out. This was going to be the end of my relationship with the series that started 10 years ago when the first movie released. But it was only 5 years back that I grew fond of the books as well.

So, after a sleepless night (like the ones you have a day before the school picnic) I was finally face to face with some of my favorite characters of the literary world.

Harry Potter and the deathly hallows Part 2 starts from where the part 1 ended. Voldemort (its not you-know-who anymore as Professor McGonagall says "call him Voldemort, he will try to kill you anyway") finds the Elder Wand and its Harry whom he wants now. Harry on the other hand is busy looking for the rest of the horcruxes with Ron and Hermoine. The trio goes on a roller coaster ride at the Gringotts, escapes on a fire breathing dragon and reaches Hogwarts for the final showdown. To be honest, my eyes got a bit moist watching Harry reunite with his fellow Gryffindors.

The beloved school of magic is attacked by Voldemort and his followers who have to fight Harry, his team and 'The Order of the Phoenix'. Amongst many expelliarmus, crucios and avada kedavra Hogwarts witnesses the biggest duel of its time between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.

The war ends with Dark Lord's death. While we cheer to that, there's pain of losing the best ones too (Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin). Severus Snape, to everyone's surprise, turns out to be a nice guy but is sadly killed by Voldemort. Molly Weasley's attack on the notorious Bellatrix Lestrange is worth a clap. Neville Longbottom comes out to be a hero this time as he kills the Nagini with Gryffindor's sword. I missed Hagrid in the first half but makes for his absence when he carries the dead Harry in his arms.

The last film is a great end to a brilliant journey. Kudos to David Yates for the great work. I just love the way he turned the kiddy movie into a dark fantasy since he made the 4th part (Harry Potter and the goblet of fire). Although the end where we see the 36 years old Daniel Radcliffe and others is a little disappointing and you rather leave the theater before '19 years later' flashes on the screen.

Although there wont be any potion classes to mess with and no quiddich matches to look forward to yet the end couldn't be any better.

The missing link

27 Jun 2011 – A rave party in the Raigad district near Mumbai was busted by the police late on Sunday night where about 300 people were rounded up. 

5 July 2011 - 31 fined for 'indecent' dancing in Mumbai nightclub after police raid 

13 July 2011 - 3 serial blasts rocked Mumbai in the busy hours. 

Do these news when put together make any sense to you? If not them let me elaborate.

A semi-harmless rave party is raided by cops and some very harmless Dirty Dancers are fined, by cops of-course. But a very harmfull bomb blast is neither stopped nor the people behind it fined, caught or as much as traced.

I would like to know that while our police force is busy busting and fining the defenseless youth who's going to take charge of the constant bombings the city is going through? Why is everyone (read cops and politicians) trying to stop something that could happen over something that is actually happening.

The drinking age in Maharashtra is 25 because if you drink before that you might drive irresponsibly and die. What the hell? You'll anyway die, in a bomb blast or a terrorist attack. Why doesn't the police of this country forget about the culture and morals and do some real policing for once.