Meeting Old Friends

Meeting old friends after 33 years is like a true joy. I met Gulnaz and Nalini after 33 years! It was great, fun and laughter. We caught up with our lives after we had left college, exchanged notes on our family, children, work, home etc etc. I do hope to meet more friends:)) 

Reading as a Habit...

Recently, I have taken up reading and have (re)discovered the happiness and joy you get when you read something. During my childhood, I would always spend all my free time reading, reading and reading. However on Sunday afternoon's between 12.30 noon and 1.00 p.m. (I think I am right), I would hang around the 1 and only transistor that we had at home. Vividh Bharathi used to play English numbers and  my favorite songs were Sunday Morning (by  Daniel Boone) and Knock 3 Times on the Ceiling..(Tony Orlando) and  Strawberries Cherries (By Frank Sinatra). I guess this was because we had no Internet, no mobile phones  so life was far more simple.

Consideration

What does this word mean? According to the Merriam Webster dictionary it simply means, "thoughtful and sympathetic regard". Of course we can never expect this from our neighbors (most often). I have a 1 set who always believe in leaving their smelly garbage bags outside their flat (so that they are not bothered about the stink within the house but have bounced it off to others by placing the bags out.). Another neighbor who parks his car in front of another car (in this case my car), and then disappears in the morning, to put me in a quandary on how to remove my car to go to office. Is is that people are so inconsiderate that they do not realize the inconvenience they cause because they do not realize or are they simply daft? I can never solve this mystery.

Sunday Chores

Plants on the kitchen ledge

My plants in the landing

This    Sunday, I enjoyed talking to my plants, I ventured taking some photos and of course I baked 2 breads (brown and white).. the result success -tasty bread

Freshly baked bread

Shopping Spree

I had the opportunity to shop in Balapet and it was a wonderful experience. I always like walking down the dingy lanes, jumping on to the road sometimes, when a cyclist is riding his bike on the footpath. Sometimes I jump on to the footpath (when I find space) to avoid the autorickshaws ferrying people around.
The rawness, colorfulness and the variety makes the shopping in these little lanes wonderful. This is the brighter part of the shopping. On the other hand you miss shopping in malls, miss the toilets, a/c etc etc.

Whatever, shopping is a wonderful therapy (in my opinion). I consider myself lucky that it today's tech driven world, I still have the choice to go back to something that my parents, grandparents enjoyed.

Never get an answer for the question/s asked...

Yes, this is a topic that I have never get an appropriate response to. Almost everyday, I encounter this. For example, when I ask a student, "Do you think you could have told the faculty that you were unable to complete the assigned task?" The response I get it, "My internet was not working". Now I am not asking her why she did not send us an e-mail, but why did she not speak to us, since she comes to class everyday. These are the youngsters who want to join MNCs, get a very very fat salary, becomes the COO/Director/CEO by the 2 nd week!!

Day 2 @ home

Was woken up by a telephone call from a dear thathi, enquiring about Ravi''s health. Brewed fresh decoction, drank strong coffee, made rasam, planned the menu blah blah blah. Nothing new eh? Well, sometimes unplanned leave becomes a bane or a boon, depending on what pending tasks you have. I have planned some activities for today and will try and accomplish it successfully:))

Back Home...

We are back home. But before, I left Mumbai, I had to complete my "aunty" duty, otherwise the trip would have been incomplete. I cooked rasam and chota aloo sabzi, a favorite with many of my children (my own and adopted ones too). Saumya would have definitely been unhappy and I think Shevaita has also joined the team (fan, as I would like to call it:)) of people who like rasam and chota aloo sabzi group.

So I made it and got a call in the night, while Saumya was slurping (I think) the same. The only thing missing was, I was not there to mix the rasam rice. Anyway there is always a next time...

Cancelling our Vacation

We were all set for this lovely trip to Himachal Pradesh with some dear friends of ours. But alas, Ravi got his muscular spasm, yet again and is lying in bed at Mumbai. We took a decision of not going on tyhis trip :((. But I guess we have no other choice. So as I writing this blog, Ravi is taking rest and we return to Bangalore tomorrow. I heard Ravi mumbling, man proposes and God disposes.... 

Greetings, Salutaions Huh?

Yes, greetings, salutation are things of the past. Today, people are so busy that they believe and feel it is fine if you do not greet or wish people. There is absolutely no smile, office seems to be a place where they are forced to come, complete a drudgery and go home. What a pity!!!

Uncertainities in Life

Sometimes I wonder should I plan or should I not? When I plan the comfort zone/level is high, I am more relaxed. However, on the flip side of planning, sometimes things can go awry. This is of course unexpected, time consuming and sometimes uncomfortable. But I guess this is what life is all about. During these times I remember the song from My Fair Lady:

With a little bit of luck, With a little bit of luck,
You can have it all and not get hooked.
The three With a little bit...with a little bit...
With a little bit of luck you won't get hooked.
With a little bit...with a little bit...
With a little bit of bloomin' luck!

Baking Class

Last evening I successfully baked my 2nd bread (brown bread). Experts have commented that it is yummy:)). A secret my the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th attempt at baking bread were a super flop show. Reason: I did not use the right measuring cup:((.

Hmm, but yours truly is a die-hard and ventured directly into baking wheat brown and here is the proof:

Vacations, Planning, Scheduling and blah blah blah

I am super excited about holiday to Himachal Pradesh. Dear friends of ours are organizing the same and creating the right aura of excitement by sending SMSs every week. This is the 1st time that we are going out on a trip and I am planning to make little notes and publish the same.

Married Life-31 years

After 31 years of being married, not much has changed in life. We have grown older, fulfilled some family obligations, continuing to work, meet people and waiting to see what has life got for us next.

Animal Welfare

Animals, animals the best thing that was created. Dogs especially are so expressive. Every morning when I go for my walk, I am welcomed by Blackie, Spotty and Brownie. I have a feeling that they are mama's puppies (whom we nurtured when they were pups-check my earlier post).

Mama of course has moved on with her new set of friends. I see her leading a small team very often. I do get her company once in a while, when she demands for biscuits and waits patiently till I feed her.

This weekend I visited some temples in Tamilnadu-Kumbakonam to be precise. We visited our family temple at Mannakal. After attending the pooja we had lunch in one of the houses. I met young Gayatri who has completed her Std. 9th exams. I had an interesting discussion with her and learnt that she would like to be a teacher or join the army. Way to go Gayatri...:))